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MSP430: Error connecting to the target: Unknown device

halo
Expert 1030 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: MSP430F5529, MSP430BT5190, MSP430FR6972

I am running Windows 7 and am using CCS 5.1.1 to connect to an MSP-FET430UIF which is in turn connected to a privately designed board containing an MSP430F5529. I have been getting the above error message when I try to connect. A search on this forum came up with a solution to someone else's similar problem, where they were using an MSP430BT5190. The solution was provided by Andreas Dannenberg on 18-Jan-2012 as a zip file: SP_MSP430BT5190_Tue001_17_2012__11_16.zip. The zip file is dated/authored 01/17/2012 Florian Berenbrinker. Reading the enclosed pdf and txt files I get the distinct impression it will not work for other MSP430 devices. Is there a more general solution that works for all MSP430 devices and where can I get it? Regards, Harry.

  • 0
    TI__Guru 73236 points

    Hi Harry,

    That issue you are referring to (with the patch that Andreas provided) only applied to a small set of devices (the BT5190 and some particular 4xx parts) - I've been using CCS 5.1 myself to program F5529 target boards without any problems. Your issue is more likely being caused by some incorrect connection on your board - have you compared all of your connections against those laid out in the Hardware Tool's user's guide Figure 2-1 (4-wire JTAG) or 2-2 (Spy-bi-wire)?

    Regards,

    Katie

  • 0 in reply to Katie Pier
    Expert 1030 points

    Hi Katie, and thanks for your reply.

    Before I designed my board I had looked at Fig 2-1 in the Hardware Tools User's Guide, but my design was actually based on another design I found on the TI website. As with Fig 2-1 in slau278, the TDO,TDI,TMS and TCK tracks are direct connections, but the RST/NMI connection is slightly different. There is a series resistor-capacitor net from the positive rail to ground and this is connected directly as you would expect to the RST/NMI pin on the MCU, but the connection to the JTAG RST pin is via a 220 Ohm resistor. That's the only difference. You can find the design I used in Fig 2-1 on page 65 of slau320d.pdf (MSP430 Programming Via the JTAG Interface). Since I trust TI design implicitly, I think the problem lies elsewhere.

    Things you might like to comment on:

    • The MCU draws about 2.5 mA with DVCC of 3.3V and using default internal oscillator. This seems reasonable.
    • The track lengths for TDO, etc. are approximately 4 inches. Long, but not too long I would have thought.
    • I may not have sufficient bypassing on the DVCC pins (Due to an oversight, I only have 100nF caps on the 2 DVCC pins.) Problem?

    Thanks for any help/suggestions you can give me.

  • 0 in reply to halo
    TI__Guru 73236 points

    Hi Harry,

    The design you referenced from slau320 is actually the design for the replicator tool, which is basically a custom JTAG programmer that you can make. For future reference the recommended configuration for the programming connections is to match Fig 2-1 from slau278, and to also check the recommended R and C values for the RST line against the recommendations in the user's guide for your part, in this case the 5xx user's guide table 1-3 "connection of unused pins".

    I think the reason that the replicator design has that additional series resistor on RST is because it has a button on that line - you can see this in the schematic labeled as "S2". I think the series resistor is there so that pushing the button would not provide a direct short to ground. The series resistor is not needed for programming, but since it is on the replicator design it probably isn't going to interfere with your programming either. So you are likely encountering some other problem.

    Did you connect the TEST pin? You listed the other JTAG pins (TDI, TDO, TMS, TCK) but you also need TEST connected to the FET tool program this device.

    My next question is whether you are powering your board externally or from the FET tool, and which pin (2 or 4 on the JTAG header) you have connected to Vcc on the MSP430?

    Regards,

    Katie

  • 0
    Prodigy 10 points
    Make sure that your MSP-FET430UIF programmer is NOT plugged into a USB hub. Plug it directly into a primary USB port. This solved the same problem I had with an MSP430FR6972 device on a custom board design.

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