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MCF8316AEVM: MotorStudio can't attach to serial port

Marc Schuman
Intellectual 750 points
Part Number: MCF8316AEVM
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: MOTORSTUDIO, , MSP430FR2355, MCF8316A

I am randomly having a problem using MotorStudio with the MCF8316AEVM.  Sometimes it is not able to see the EVM.  If I click Proceed and go to Options / Serial Port, it says: "Not enough USB ports detected. Please check your USB connections..."  The virtual serial port is showing in Device Manager (Win10), so it seems like something may be grabbing it before MotorStudio can.  I'm suspicious of the Cloud version of Motor Studio maybe having installed some driver that is doing this--I experimented with the Cloud Motor Studio before installing the local software version (0.1.9).  I have looked all over and don't seem to see any junk installed, and have used Process Explorer to try to find the Service that is attaching the Serial Port with no luck.  It used to work sometimes, but now is not working at all.  How can I fix this or get past it somehow?

  • 0
    TI__Expert 8030 points

    Hi Marc,

    Just to clarify, the new Motor Studio GUI superseded the old MCF8316A_GUI. While they have very similar functions, these are 2 different GUIs that relies on different MSP430FR2355 communication firmware to be programmed on the EVM. Please refer to this E2E FAQ for firmware compatibility information. 

    • The new Motor Studio is a standalone offline-only GUI.
    • The older GUI Composer cloud based MCF8316A_GUI can be accessed both online through web browser, but also has an offline option if you download the standalone installer.

    You mentioned that you are using v0.1.9 of the Motor Studio, which was an older version. Could you please uninstall it and install the newer v0.1.12 from the Motor Studio download page?

    Since you mentioned that you tried using the cloud GUI, which is the older GUI (not Motor Studio), it's possible that if you have the old GUI open in a browser tab while running the Motor Studio GUI, when you plug in the EVM, the old GUI is taking over the serial port before Motor Studio. In this case, please ensure all other GUIs or applications that can grab the EVM serial port are closed besides Motor Studio.

    Regards,
    Eric C.

  • 0 in reply to Eric Chen
    Intellectual 750 points

    The software I'm currently using was installed from the file motorstudio-0.1.12.exe downloaded from the link you gave.  However, when I go to Help / About, it displays the version as 0.1.9  I have uninstalled and reinstalled with the same result.

    The issue does not have to do with a browser tab--if I reboot the computer fresh and don't launch my browser (FireFox) at all, I can still encounter the problem.

    I found also that launching MotorStudio when Vm is off will produce the same error message about "Not enough USB ports", although the virtual serial port is powered by the USB connection, and shows up in Device Manager and is listed in the dialog in MotorStudio.  That is not, though, the issue that I'm inquiring about.  The problem I have is that sometimes I get the error message when power is applied and everything looks good.  In that case, rebooting the computer generally but not always fixes the problem.  This is a big nuisance, though, and I'd like to fix the root cause.

  • 0 in reply to Marc Schuman
    TI__Expert 8030 points

    Hi Marc,

    The Motor Studio attempts to identify the device as soon as it starts up and connects to the serial port, so it sends a couple I2C commands to read device ID registers. If the Vm is off when USB is connected or when the Motor Studio is launched, then this automatic identification will fail.

    I was able to recreate the issue where the GUI starts but is unable to recognize the serial ports. The GUI seems to be stuck in a bad state where it no longer is able to refresh the USB serial ports. I've found that repeating the process below allows me to reconnect again, usually in a couple tries:

    Keeping Vm enabled:

    1. Close the GUI
    2. Un-plug the USB and re-plug the USB (switching to a different USB port also works sometimes)
    3. Launch GUI

    It appears to me that there's a bug in the Motor Studio's startup sequence that identifies the USB ports, perhaps a race condition, that sometimes puts the GUI into a state where it can't refresh the USB ports. We are working with our GUI developer on updates, and I will make sure this issue gets addressed in the next version.

    Regards,
    Eric C.

  • 0 in reply to Eric Chen
    Intellectual 750 points

    Ok, thanks.  This was helpful, at least to understand what was going on.  It seems like it would be good if the error message in Motor Studio distinguished between not being able to attach the Serial Port and being able to attach the Serial Port but not being able to communicate with the MCF83xx.

    It would also be helpful if Motor Studio reported the correct version in Help / About.

    I did in my initial experimentation try the web version and also installed the local version of the old GUI, which included installing some additional software: TI Cloud Agent and some kind of GUI Builder.  I eventually uninstalled the local version, but I've been wondering if that left the TI Cloud Agent installed and that is what is sometimes grabbing the serial port.  Do you know if that is a possibility, and if there is a way to make sure than any remnants of the TI software have been removed?  I've looked around, but I don't know where it was installed in the first place, and haven't been able to find anything.

  • 0 in reply to Marc Schuman
    TI__Expert 8030 points

    Hi Marc,

    The TICloudAgent serves as a bridge between the hardware USB interface and the Web Browser/GUI. In the cloud version of the old GUI, the backend TICloudAgent service that you installed communicates with the browser TICloudAgent extension to relay serial data.

    The local TICloudAgent's default install path is located in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Texas Instruments\TICloudAgent

    There might be a slim possibility, but I think as long as you don't have any instances of the GUI Composer based GUIs running in the background (either in browser or as local GUI), the TI Cloud Agent shouldn't be interfering with the Motor Studio's connections.

    You can always use the Windows 'Add or remove programs' to uninstall the TICloudAgent if you'd like to ensure it's not causing interference.

    Regards,
    Eric C.

  • 0 in reply to Eric Chen
    Intellectual 750 points

    Thanks, that's helpful.  Nothing shows up in Add/Remove programs; I had tried that before.  There is nothing at the path you specify, although there is some other residue with Cloud Agent in the name in related paths that refer to CCS.  Nothing that looks like an executable, though.

    I'll hope that it's not causing any issues at this point.  So it seems like the problems I've been having are just Motor Studio bugs.

  • +1 in reply to Marc Schuman
    TI__Expert 8030 points

    Hi Marc,

    I will let you know when the Motor Studio bugs have been address by our GUI developer. Sorry for the inconvenience for the time being.

    If it's indeed causing too much nuisance, one option is to follow this E2E FAQ and program the old firmware so that you can use the old GUI, which has stable/reliable connections.

    Regards,
    Eric C.

  • +1
    Intellectual 750 points

    Thanks Eric.  We can consider this issue closed at this point.

    FYI, I just posted a new question about another bug in Motor Studio having to do with EEPROM Control that should be addressed as soon as possible.

  • 0 in reply to Marc Schuman
    TI__Expert 8030 points

    Thanks Marc, I will address your new post as well.