USB2ANY: TI Analog LaunchPad Framework software does not recognize USB2ANY

Hello Christopher,

Today is public holiday for the US so we will look into your issue but since most team members are out, please expect a response early next week.

Best Regards,

Casey 

Hi Casey,

Thank you for the update.  Sounds good--look forward to hearing back next week.

Christopher

Christopher,

Thanks for the details and trying all those experiments. This looks like a very strange issue. Could you help me with

a) What's the firmware version you are updating USB2ANY to?

b) It's not very clear if you are using an external usb2any board? As UB954EVM comes with builtin USB2ANY, I assume you are using the onboard usb2any circuit. Please confirm

c) I have seen sometimes the USB2ANY explorer software conflicts with ALP. Do you have USB2ANY explorer software from our website installed in your PC? I wonder if it installs dll that conflicts with the version we are using as part of ALP installation. Please uninstall USB2ANY explorer software in case you have it on your PC and check.

http://www.ti.com/tool/USB2ANY

d) Is ALP working ok when you start without any hardware connected? In this case it should come up in demo mode, and you should be able to choose different profiles using the demo mode setup under Tools.

e) a minor point: When you uninstall / reinstall ALP, please confirm you install ALP-PROFILE-UPDATE (latest version) from our web. Just to confirm you have all the latest profiles and scripts installed as part of your ALP installation. Under Help --> About the Program, you should confirm build date matches the ALP-PROFILE-UPDATE (latest version) date.

f) I assume you have full admin permission on your PC. Also, just for info, are you on windows 7 or windows 10?  

g) Please show me a screen shot of your following ALP install folder

C:\Program Files (x86)\Texas Instruments\Analog LaunchPAD v1.57.0010\Drivers\i2c_controllers\usb2any\python

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

Thank you for the detailed response.  Below are responses to your questions:

a) I first update to 2.6.1.0 using USB2ANY Firmware Loader v2.0.0 (3034.USB2ANY Firmware Loader.exe").  Then when I open ALP it performs the update to 2.7.0.0.

b) I am actually using an external USB2ANY.  I was not aware that the 954 EVM had an onboard USB2ANY.  I am following the procedures roughly outlined between the two userguides for the 953 and 954 EVMs.  I am following the steps detailed in the DS90UB953-Q1EVM user guide, Section 3.

c) I do have USB2ANY Explorer installed.  I have just uninstalled it and the issue persists as originally described.

d) Yes, it comes up in demo mode just as expected.

However, as soon as I click USB2ANY/Aardvark setup, the demo device disappears.

Clicking "Demo Mode Setup" works as expected, and even brings the device back so it appears again under "Devices".

e) I can confirm that I also install the ALP Profille update.  I can confirm my current release info displayed in "About this Program" shows Release 1.57.001 with build date Monday, October 15, 2018

f) Yes, I have admin permission on this machine.  I am running windows 10

g) Here is the screenshot of the folder you requested:

Sincerely,
Christopher

Christopher,

Demo mode seems to be working fine. Thanks for checking and updating. A few additional inputs:

a) All our newer EVMs have the USB2ANY circuit (with MSP430F5529 MCU) as part of the EVM itself. So for example to connect ALP to 954EVM, use the onboard USB port J2 to your PC USB. Sorry the UB953 EVM user guide still shows an external USB2ANY. 

b) EVM usb2any firmware to be used v2.7.0. I think USB2ANY DLL (latest version) has the feature of detecting and updating firmware. So in addition to uninstalling USB2ANY explorer software, you might have to reboot the PC so ALP starts finding the right DLL.

c) Before you reboot, I suggest you also update the ALP Profile to the latest version on the web. Please dowload ALP PROFILE UPDATE (v05) from our website http://www.ti.com/tool/ALP  You don't have to uninstall the framework, just only update the profile using the following steps

- Quit ALP if it is running

- Download and extract the exe file from zip and go through the install

- Restart ALP and confirm through Help -> About this Program, ALP build date is updated to 4/26/2019

After you successfully update ALP, I suggest you reboot and test ALP working through the J2 connector of 954 EVM. Please let me know if you are able to successfully connect then.

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

I have tried your instructions with unfortunately no success.  Trying to communicate to the EVM onboard USB2ANY did not fix the ALP installation, nor did updating the profiles.  When I open ALP, there are still no devices listed.  I rebooted after installation and confirmed the build shows April 26, 2019.

As in the earlier screenshots, ALP still reads "ALP Framework - Hardware Connected" in the bottom left corner, but does not list the USB2ANY in the device list.

What do you advise for next steps?

Christopher

Christopher,

You mentioned on a new laptop ALP is working with the UB954 EVM. Could you please check in the new laptop if you are able to connect through the J2 connector of the 954EVM with ALP? So please don't use the external USB dongle and confirm you are able to connect and see the board in ALP using J2 connector. I want to be sure the onboard USB circuit has the firmware programmed and you are able to connect from a working PC.

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

Yes, I can confirm that the second laptop works fine with the onboard USB2ANY.  When I open ALP on the second laptop the 954 EVM USB2ANY appears in the device list.  When I unplug it, the device disappears from the list.

The issue appears to be isolated to the first laptop.

Christopher

Christopher,

It might be some other software or driver in your PC/laptop is interfering on the USB port and not allowing ALP to communicate.

Did you try testing it on a different USB port?

Please double check under control panel programs and features, USB2ANY Explorer software is uninstalled. 

Please also check if your USB port is always on and not going into low power mode or something.

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

The USB2ANY Explorer appears to certainly be uninstalled.  Windows cannot find it:

I do not know how to check the status of low power mode on a usb port.  However the LED on the USB2ANY devices remain illuminated the whole time while plugged in to this machine.

I have tried a different USB port with the same results.  I can communicate to other devices via usb without issue.  Further, I am able to flash the firmware of the USB2ANY from this machine without any issues.  Similarly, ALP will recognize the USB2ANY when the firmware is not one of the versions it likes, and offer to flash it to 2.7.0.0 without any issue.  Flashing a USB2ANY to any different version has not failed to date.  The specific part that fails is the listing of the device on the left bar under "Devices" and the "USB2ANY/Aardvark Setup" tool.

Additionally, this laptop has been working with ALP just fine since November 2018 up until this June.

In a new development, I've managed to get the Aardvark/USB2ANY Setup window to open.  However, there is no way to re-add the device as all the buttons are disabled:

Perhaps you know of a way to re-enable those buttons to allow me to re-add a USB2ANY device?

Christopher

Christopher,

>>>Perhaps you know of a way to re-enable those buttons to allow me to re-add a USB2ANY device? 

As you can see there's no USB2ANY button. USB2ANY is something automatically detected. 

>>>Similarly, ALP will recognize the USB2ANY when the firmware is not one of the versions it likes, and offer to flash it to 2.7.0.0 without any issue. 

To my knowledge automatic detection of firmware version is a feature of the USB2ANY Explorer software DLL. ALP uses an older version of the DLL which doesn't support that. Are you seeing this feature still working after uninstalling explorer software?  I have to cross check about this further internally. 

I will check about this issue internally and see if I can find something more to help.

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

>>>As you can see there's no USB2ANY button. USB2ANY is something automatically detected. 

Then it seems clear there is a deeper issue at play here, as my installation will automatically detect USB2ANY devices, yet not display them.

>>>Are you seeing this feature still working after uninstalling explorer software?

Yes.  Windows does not recognize USB2ANY Explorer as being installed, since I uninstalled it after your instructions.  Yet today when I close ALP and downgrade the USB2ANY firmware to 2.6.1.0, ALP prompts me to update the firmware:

Thank you for continuing to look into how to resolve this issue.

Christopher

Christopher,

I found a way to reproduce your problem. In screen shot shown below, if user mistakenly removes USB2ANY itself instead then the issue you are facing happens.

 After this, ALP cannot find USB2ANY because the USB2ANY driver associated to the device is removed and in default enumeration USB2ANY doesn't come up. USB2ANY works as a HID device and when this association is removed a standard microsoft driver gets associated. I tried different things by finally the steps that helped to get ALP to work on my windows 10 computer are the following

a) Make sure your board is updated to firmware version 2.7. I found DLL version 2.6.and above automatically support firmware version detection/update so update to version 2.7

b) Quit ALP, remove usb cable connected to PC

c) Uninstall in Programs and Features both Analog LaunchPAD frame work and ALP Profile Update. As there is some dependency between the two, it takes a few tries to fully uninstall them. 

d) Also, you have to manually go the following install folder

C:\Program Files (x86)\Texas Instruments

and remove completely Analog LaunchPAD v1.57.0010 folder

e) Reboot your computer

f) Reinstall ALP framework and latest ALP Profile Update

g) connect 954EVM board again 

Please try and hopefully it works for you again.

Thanks,

Vishy

Christopher,

I found a way to reproduce your problem. In screen shot shown below, if user mistakenly removes USB2ANY itself instead then the issue you are facing happens.

 After this, ALP cannot find USB2ANY because the USB2ANY driver associated to the device is removed and in default enumeration USB2ANY doesn't come up. USB2ANY works as a HID device and when this association is removed a standard microsoft driver gets associated. I tried different things by finally the steps that helped to get ALP to work on my windows 10 computer are the following

a) Make sure your board is updated to firmware version 2.7. I found DLL version 2.6.and above automatically support firmware version detection/update so update to version 2.7

b) Quit ALP, remove usb cable connected to PC

c) Uninstall in Programs and Features both Analog LaunchPAD frame work and ALP Profile Update. As there is some dependency between the two, it takes a few tries to fully uninstall them. 

d) Also, you have to manually go the following install folder

C:\Program Files (x86)\Texas Instruments

and remove completely Analog LaunchPAD v1.57.0010 folder

e) Reboot your computer

f) Reinstall ALP framework and latest ALP Profile Update

g) connect 954EVM board again 

Please try and hopefully it works for you again.

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

Thank you for the details.  I have tried your procedure twice, however I still have the same issue with ALP.  Even after following all the steps you've outlined, ALP will still not display the USB2ANY in the devices list.

I uninstalled ALP and ALP Profile Update and then made sure "Apps & Features" does not list anything related to "Analog" or ALP.  I also ensured I deleted the entire TI folder in Program Files (x86).  However after reboot and reinstallation the issue still persists.

Christopher

Christopher,

We will redo this experiment again and get back to you with confirmed steps.  

Thanks,

Vishy

Hi Vishy,

Sorry for the delay on my end.  Was out of office for several days.

ALP in admin mode seems to recognize the USB2ANY device just fine.  I tested this before using the USBDEVIEW tool.

I tried to use the NirSoft USBDEVIEW tool, and successfully uninstalled the 2047 / 0301 devices, however it appears to not have changed anything.  After reconnecting the USB2ANY, the device shows back up in USBDEVIEW but doesn't show in the list of devices in ALP.

Starting up again in admin mode behaves as ALP did before uninstalling the devices in USBDEVIEW, so it seems that Admin mode is separate from regular mode.

Is there perhaps an additional step that I am missing in the USBDEVIEW tool?  Or are you also observing that the USBDEVIEW tool does not rectify the issue in regular user mode?

Sincerely,
Christopher

Sounds good, thank you Vishy.  I will run in Admin mode for now until we hear back from the windows experts team on how to get ALP to recognize the tool for unprivileged users.

Christopher

Hi Vishy,

I wanted to check in to see if you heard back from the Windows team yet.

Sincerely,
Christopher

Hi Vishy,

Do you have any further updates on how to make the software work in regular user mode?

Thanks,

Christopher