MSP-FET : "MSP430: Error initializing emulator: No USB FET was found"

Thanks for the reply.
Target is connected and still I get this error. I appreciate any help to make it work with CCS Version: 5.5.0.00077.
Regards.

Do few steps of debugging check you can see the Msp-FET-USB com port at device manager in your PC If not then click on the update FET driver after installation if you can see the COM port then connect your target and reconnect your FET usb cable from Pc

Thanks for reply.

Sorry, I was busy in other activity and could not see/respond soon.

Yes, I see drivers installed (application and debug) in device manager.

Any help is appreciated.

Thanks.

The error message means that the debugger (or rather the communication DLL) cannot connect to the FET. Independently of whether the FET is connected to a target.
This may have several reasons. One of them is that the debug port is not accessible. Missing access rights could be a problem. (On my father's PC, he, as a normal user, couldn't use the hardware encoding feature of his camera while I, as admin, had no problems). A bad cable could be a problem too. Or some other software is using the connection (perhaps in a desperate try to connect to an assumed smart phone)
It's also possible that in the debugger configuration, a fixed port address is selected, so the DLL doesn't even look for your FET.

In any case, searching the forum for the error message will reveal a lot of other threads about this topic.

Hi Jens-Michael,

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I am unable to find out how CCS is configured to COM port to be used. I did check debug config in CCS5.5 but could not find it. I guess, CCS configures itself to available COM port and uses it.

I checked in Windows device manager and seems okay. It is using COM11 and COM12. I have attached the screen shot.

It works well with Elprotronic FET-Pro430. I could access MSP430-F5338, read/write memory etc. msp-fet.docx

I read few e2e threads but non-explained about this issue. I read one thread and it says, only CCS6 supports this tool. I am not sure if this is the case. We are using CCS5.5 and we would like to continue as our project is at the end of development stage and we do not want to move to CCS6 just to use this tool.

Any help is appreciated.

Regards,

CB Kolar

I also recently purchased an MSP-FET debug pod from TI. And I had the same "No USB FET was found" error.
The problem is faulty firmware in the MSP-FET pod.
If you plug the MSP-FET probe into a Linux machine, and check the USB device enumeration log, you will see the pod create 2 virtual COM ports, but no HID device. Without the HID device, Code Composer 5 will not recognize the pod as being present. So, CCS v5 won't upgrade firmware in a pod that it thinks is not present.
To solve it, I had to update CCS from v5 to v6.0. CCS v6.0 had enough smarts to recognize that the MSP-FET firmware was 'corrupted', and it then re-installed firmware in the MSP-FET pod. What I don't know is if one can then revert back to CCS v5, and 'downgrade' the firmware in the FET pod to be compatible with CCS v5.

TI needs to fix the faulty firmware in the pods that they have in stock.

Can someone from TI jump in here and explain how to change the pod firmware back to a version that will work with CCS v5?

Thanks Steven,

I hope TI fix this issue and publish soon.

TI support,

We are still waiting on an answer to this question of downgrading firmware in the MSP-FET pod, so it will work with CCS v5.

Thanks Steven,

TI should have provided this information in the product description. I have purchased this product 2+ months back and wasted lot of time.

Hi Lina,

Thanks for the response. I updated MSP430.dll as you explained above. But, now I get "Error connecting to the target: Unknown device" ERROR. I did re-start CCS and my laptop 2-3 times, no help. How can I fix this issue and use MSP-FET ?

Regards,

CB Kolar

Hi Lina,

Thanks.

1. I did go through the link you sent. But, no help.

2. I used the same MSP-FET and cable through Elptronic FET-Pro430 and it works.

3. When I tried to connect MSP-430 to target using CCS5.5, I get "Error connecting to the target: Unknown device" ERROR message.

4. Currently I am using LP (Spy-Bi wire) as debugger along with CCS5.5 without any issue.

I brought MSP-FET for better speed but unfortunately does not work.

Regards,

CB Kolar

Hi CB,

Thanks for the additional info. The error you describe is caused by the JTAG knowing that it sees the device, but not receiving the correct information from it to proceed.

How long is your programming cable?

Reference pg.24/25 of this document: http://www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slau278

Note the 2.2nF capacitor. This is used to eliminate noise in regards to the reset line. However, if using a larger programming cable than recommended, parasitic capacitance in the cable + the 2.2nF capacitor cause an excessive delay in the communications, which could result in the exact error you are seeing. A way to combat this is to use a smaller capacitance value, somewhere around ~1.1nF (See Note B). This amount would still resist noise, but would also refrain from affecting the communications. What size capacitor are you using?

Let me know if this helps.

Hi Lina,

Thanks for your reply. Sorry, I was on vacation and could not see/reply.

1. The capacitor value is 2.2nF.

2. I am using the cable supplied with the MSP-FET which is 3 feet long.

3. After seeing this message, I tried with another USB cable which is 1.5 feet long. But, no use, I am getting same error message as above.

I need it to make it work with CCS5.5. Any help is appreciated.

Regards,

CB Kolar

Just an idea: the MSP-FET can supply the target with programmable supply voltage. Maybe the debugger configuration did set it too low or even off, while the elprotronic tool sets it properly. Without supply, the target is of course not connectible.

We're have the similar issues with the MSP-FET. We have history of successfully using CCS5 (and MSP Flasher & Elprotronic tools) with the MSP-FET430UIF debugger interface. Now that it is discontinued and we are making more test stations we purchased an MSP-FET debugger interface. We can not get it to work properly with CCS5 or CCS6. Are there any rules or specific process steps needed when migrating from computers that already have intsalled CCS5 or MSP Flash Tool and using and MSP-FET430UIF to using an MSP-FET?

Please do look into the following posts too:

e2e.ti.com/.../370382

e2e.ti.com/.../398411

I had problems getting the new MSP-FET to work on Rowley compiler v3.0.0. PC on Win7

Turned off the AVG Security Software

Downloaded MSPDS-USB-Drivers onto a

NEW Win XP (Avoiding all Windows Automatic Updates and can still use my old Mechanical drawing & Graphic Packages) Machine running an old Browser.

Black Box MSP-FET worked first time

Transferred MSPDS-USB-Drivers to the WIN7 PC Machine

Initialised the MSP430 License to the MAC Addr

Hey Presto Ran Tickety Boo

I am a PDE (Product Design Engineer) not a PC Expert.

I only design Embedded Systems/Products at 63 yrs old never been so busy.

Hoped this helps.

Ian