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Help? "MSP430: Error initializing emulator: Could not find MSP-FET430UIF on specified COM port" (Lots of Details)

Karl Gluck
Prodigy 20 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: MSP430G2231, MSP430G2211

Has anyone found a convenient way to solve this issue?  If not, I hope someone from TI will get involved to look into this driver problem.  It's getting annoying enough that I'll probably spend the extra money on a different company's microcontroller solution.

Problem:  MSP430 Launchpad driver will not create a valid serial port once the system is rebooted, sleeps or goes into hibernate mode after a fresh install of Code Composer Studio.  Additionally, if another program starts using the serial port while debugging, the error will usually occur.  Furthermore, it almost always stops programming before being used normally a dozen times.  All situations result in Code Composer Studio displaying the error "MSP430: Error initializing emulator: Could not find MSP-FET430UIF on specified COM port" when attempting to program the device.  The COM port can't be opened by any serial-port program (e.g. HyperTerminal) even though the device is present and "working properly" in Device Manager and the MSP430 is running its last program correctly.

Workaround (15-20 minutes):  Uninstall the three "Windows Driver Package - Texas Instruments..." and "Code Composer Studio v5" programs, restart computer with the Launchpad disconnected, re-install Code Composer Studio and plug in the Launchpad.  Code Composer Studio will now be able to program and debug the MSP430 normally until the problem happens again.

Versions and Info

I bought 3 more brand-new Launchpads from DigiKey this week and verified that the firmware is up-to-date.  I verified that the driver is being started when the Launchpad is connected to the computer.

Code Composer Studio Version: 5.1.0.09000 
Operating System

Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit, fresh install, fully updated
Microcontroller MSP430G2231, MSP430G2211
MSP430 Application UART (COM6) Driver Date: 12/11/2007, Version: 1.3.0.0
Driver Details (usbser.sys) File version:  6.1.7601.17514 (win7sp1_rtm.101119-1850)
Processor, Motherboard Intel Core i7 2600K, DZ68DB

Attempted and Failed Solutions

Every case below was tested without CCS running, and with it re-started in a fresh workspace with the Blinky test program after the problem occurred.

  1. Rebooting, multiple times
  2. Different Launchpad--2 brand new from the box and 1 old
  3. Different MSP430 (I have 10, tried 6 of them, three on each Launchpad)
  4. Disconnect, uninstall device from Windows, reboot, connect
  5. Disconnect, uninstall device & delete drivers, reboot, connect, have Windows install drivers from under C:/ti/ccsv5/ccs_base/emulation/drivers/msp430
  6. Verified the same set and versions of services is running every time
  7. Run CCS with Administrator privileges
  8. Run CCS in XP Service Pack 3 compatibility mode
  9. Connect the Launchpad to different USB ports on the computer (tried 6 different ports on 4 different on-board controllers)
  10. Changing the COM port assigned to the device in Windows, with and without restarting
  11. Adjusting the serial port device driver baud rate and flow-control settings

Notes

The drivers in "C:/ti/ccsv5/ccs_base/emulation/drivers/msp430/USB_FET_Win7_64" are never touched by Windows; it doesn't recognize them as drivers for the MSP430.

The "C:/ti/ccsv5/ccs_base/emulation/drivers/msp430/DPInst/DPInst64.exe" program doesn't find any drivers designed for my machine, and DPInst.exe is 32-bit and can't be run.

Programs on the Launchpad run fine (it's getting power) even though it can't communicate.

If a connection was previously established through HyperTerminal and it stops being programmable, occasionally HyperTerminal can still communicate with the device.

Similar Cases

http://rowley.zendesk.com/entries/258132-msp430-dll-write-operation-failed

http://e2e.ti.com/support/development_tools/code_composer_studio/f/81/p/34821/437897.aspx

Misc

I really don't care about debugging the device, but I can't find a way to simply program it without launching the debugger in CCS.

  • 0
    Guru 227245 points

    Karl Gluck said:
    Error initializing emulator: Could not find MSP-FET430UIF on specified COM port" when attempting to program the device.  The COM port can't be opened by any serial-port program (e.g. HyperTerminal) even though the device is present and "working properly" in Device Manager

    If the COM port cannot be opened with any program, CCS won't be able to open it too.

    It is possible that the port is opened by a different program.
    Some PDA/smartphone syncing programs are known for grabbing any free COM port annd trying to access an assumed PDA. THi scan take forever if there's really someone (the FET) answering on the other side, even if the answers are incompatible. Poor programming, but software/drivers have to be cheap these days, so poor programming is the normal case. If all is as expected (there is a PDA on teh COM port, or nothing at all), things work fine. But in the not-common case of a different device answering, things can go terribly wrong. And the COM port is locked

    Karl Gluck said:
    I really don't care about debugging the device, but I can't find a way to simply program it without launching the debugger in CCS.


    You can use the free Elprotronic FET-Pro430 software for programming. it requires the MSP430.DLL and the virtual COM port drivers installed, but does not need CCS installed.

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Prodigy 20 points

    Jens-Michael,

    Thank you so much for your advice!!!

    I was able to fix the problem by deleting my Razer DeathAdder mouse device & drivers from Device Manager, uninstalling the software that comes with it, and restarting with a standard USB mouse instead.

    Even after restarting several times I can still reprogram the Launchpad with no issues.

    Karl

  • 0 in reply to Karl Gluck
    Guru 227245 points

    An alternative to deleting the driver might be manually assigning a fixed COM port number in the device manager - for both devices. And it's best to have the FET assigned the higher COM port number, so the other driver will find teh correct virtual COM port before stumbling over the FET one.
    The FET software (MSP430.dll) is smart enough to detect the correct port by doing some handshake with the FET. But most other software will simply try one after the other and (in case of mouse drivers which only send data when hte mous is moved) will simply 'sit' on the first found, or on the one that was the correct one during driver installatiopn (but may have moved since, because Windows assigns the numbers dynamically if not forced otherwise)

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Prodigy 30 points

    Jens-Michael,

    I had the similar problem as Karl. When I try to download my code to the MSP430 and I got the error "MSP430: Error initializing emulator: Could not find MSP-FET430UIF on specified COM port." I've tried everything Karl listed prior and it still did not work for me. I have the same setup of CCS running on 2 other machines without any problem. Only with one PC, I keep getting the same "Error initializing emulator". All 3 machines run Windows7.

    The PC which I cannot connect to the device, has no gaming controller or PDA attached. I removed all TI driver packages and started a fresh installation a few times but it did not work either.

    Any suggestion would be much appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Nam

  • 0 in reply to Nam Nguyen93628
    Guru 227245 points

    If the right COM port is there but CCS/IAR cannto find the FET, then the only chance is to detect who's interfering.
    There are tools on the net which allow you to monitor who's opening/using a COM port and even allow restricting access to the port to specific applications/processes.

    Another possible problem could be a second virtual COM port driver that competes for the same port nr. This shouldn't happen if the drivers are written properly, but these days, nobody seems to take the time to write proper software. :(
    You can try to manually change the port # in the device manager.

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Prodigy 30 points

    I don't know how CCS determine what COM port to use. Your reply implied that user can specify in CCS which COM port the FET is on, is that correct?

    Thanks!

  • 0 in reply to Nam Nguyen93628
    Guru 227245 points

    IIRC from other threads (I don't use CCS myself): yes there should be a settign somewhere. But by default, CCS probably makes an 'auto detect' by testing all unused COM ports and hoping for a 'known' reply from the FET. Or it checks for the "device name" of the com port and tries there - failing in your case. This would explain the error message: the por tidentification returns a COM port as if it were user-defined, btu the attempt to access the FET through it fails. And since both steps are independent, the error is 'cannot access' and not 'cannot find a FET'.

    But that's only educated guessing :) The guys in the CCS forum surely can give more authoritative answers.

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Genius 4925 points

    There is under Project -> Properties:

     

    You can set the connection there, maybe you have to select something different.

    I don't know how it works - but my guess would be it gets some additional information from the COM driver and decides whether it is a COM port generated by a FET or not (using ID numbers or device names). And so maybe something is wrong with driver installation.

    Or you can check your energy savings settings and turn them to high performance, so that USB devices don't get suspended - maybe that's an issue for the FET as well, one of my projects stopped working because the USB serial converter was shut down by Windows and wouldn't supply the voltage to my board anymore.

  • 0
    Prodigy 10 points

    I had this same error even with no other USB drives plugged in.

    Every time I tried to load any code from the IAR Embedded Workbench it would say the firmware was out of date… would you like to upgrade, but it would never respond or act as though it had done anything.

     Periodically I would get the ""MSP430: Error initializing emulator: Could not find MSP-FET430UIF on specified COM port"" message.

    My solution to update the firmware in the FET was to download the MSP430 Flasher and us it to update the firmware in moments with no problems what so ever. You can get it at http://processors.wiki.ti.com/index.php/MSP430_Flasher_-_Command_Line_Programmer

  • 0 in reply to Greg Dance
    Prodigy 10 points

    I updated the firmware and still get the same errors:

    Error initializing emulator:
    Could not find MSP-FET430UIF on specified COM port

    I have not been successful in getting this to run

  • 0
    Prodigy 10 points
    I ran into a similar problem with the MSP430. After some hours of try and error I disabled the Intel xHCI Controller at the BIOS. After that the MSP430 works as intended, no error messages and a successful write of my testprogramm to the controller.
    A little problem remains, after disabling xHCI all my USB Ports are only USB 2.0. Maybe it's a problem between Intel xHCI Driver and Launchpad Driver.

    My config:
    CPU: i7 4790K
    MB: Asus ROG Maximus Hero VII
    OS: Win 8.1
    Microcontroller: MSP430G553
    CCS: Version 5.5
  • 0 in reply to Erik Falk
    Guru 227245 points
    Depending on your mainboard, some USB sockets may be only USB 2.0 and below, some are 3.0 and below. It depends on the used controller chips and the wiring of the internal root HUBs.
    You might be successful when trying a different slot (maybe one that is only internally available and requires an adapter).
    If you can locate such a slot, you can use USB3.0 on the other ones again.

    It's also possible that you can deactivate USB3.0 support for certain slots only, by some cryptic (undocumented) registry keys. Maybe Google can help.
  • 0 in reply to Erik Falk
    Prodigy 40 points

    Spent 3 days off an on trying so many things to fix this error and the xHCI Controller disable finally worked. There might be something going on with ASUS motherboard products here...

    i7-4790K, asus z97i-plus, win 8.1, win 10, MSP430G553, CCS6

  • 0
    Prodigy 10 points

    Try every usb ports that your pc has. I solved the problem by this way.

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