Intermittent USB Emulator Connection

I am happy to report that I am operational using VMware Fusion 3.1.0

It seems my intermittent USB connection problem is not completely resolved. I have been using VMware Fusion for two weeks now and I have a persistent problem with emulator disconnects. I have tried everything I can think of to determine the issue and I believe it is confined to Code Composer and theXDS510USB emulator.

Here is what I know:

1.  If I run CCS and connect to the target and do nothing else, the emulator will disconnect seemingly at a random time interval (anywhere from less than a min. to as long as 18 mins.).
2.  If I download and run a program, the emulator NEVER disconnects.
3. When connected and not running, if I interrogate the target every few seconds (i.e. dump memory, single step, run to a breakpoint, etc), the emulator NEVER disconnects until I get bored and forget what I am doing and wait too long between clicks.
4. I have tried adjusting the EmuJclkFreqMHz field in sdopts.cfg
5. All testing with SDConfig and SDConfigEx works fine
6. I have tried a powered USB hub and direct connect
7. I do not believe it is an issue with the computer idling the USB port to save power because the disconnections occur at such random times but under Windows device mamanger for the USB Root Hubs I have tried unchecking the tab: "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
8. I am not sure if I can control this under OSX.
9. I have tried multiple senerios, including,
   1. two emulators (XDS510USB and XDSUSB510 Plus)
   2. Two EVM boards
   3. Two custom boards each with 3 dm648s
   4. Two USB cables (2.0 rated, shielded and standard)
   5. CCSv3.3 and CCSv4
   6. Two VMs (Virtual Box and Fusion) - Virtual Box disconnects immediately
   7. Multiple gel files with varying levels of OnConnect initializations to include no initialization.
10. When using a desktop windows machine I get no disconnects
11. Error Message:
                Error: Error 0xA00020A0/-1250 Error during: Execution, Target
                Communication, Control,  Device driver: Lost USB connection to
                emulator. You should ABORT and restart to re-establish the USB link 
12. I simply reconnect and everything works as before. I never need to abort and exit CCS to get the connect back.

Any further ideas?

Regards,
Eric

I have discovered a fix to my problem and wanted to document it for others. I do not know what the long term solution will be as I am not able to get support from vmware.

I discovered that if I connect my Mac SD card reader slot (no SD card required) to the windows VM I never get any emulator disconnects. I have been running like this for weeks with no issue at all. The card reader is setup auto connect each time I startup the VM.

Hello Eric,

I have exactly the same problem as you described. Identical error messages, identical behaviour. Only my set-up is slightly different, which makes it interesting:...

My setup:...

Host OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 2002 with Service Pack 3.

VMware VM: Player 3.0.1. build 227600.

Guest OS: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 2002 with Service Pack 3.

Emulator: Spectrum Digital XDS510 USB.

Code Composer: 3.3.82.13.

Target: Spectrum Digital EzDSP 2812.

I tried to solve the problem by using your suggestion. I have a build-in RICOH SmartCard Reader in my HP Elitebook 8530w and connected it to my VM. But with me this did not solve the problem. With me it showed no difference at all, with or without this SD card reader in the VM.

But this made me think. Why did this SD card solve the problem at your side (and not at my side). It has to be the way the VM handles the (virtual) USB bus. The host HW and OS can't be the reason since we both use completely different stuff for that. Therefore I started experimenting. And I found that with me I can solve the problem by simply connecting a USB memory stick to my VM...!!! It's as simple as that...!!! It looks like the virtual USB bus somehow needs some sort of "activity" on it's virtual lines in order to keep it alive. The USB stick I used seems to generate some activity on the virtual USB bus, because I can see in the VMware window bottom tray bar it flashes it's "sine-wave-in-a-circle" symbol for this USB stick. The "sine-wave-in-a-circle" symbol on the SmartCard reader is present too, but not flashing. Also the XDS510USB symbol contains a "sine-wave-in-a-circle" which does not flash.

Probably your MAC SD Card Reader does the same as my USB Stick; it keep the USB bus alive. And probably my SmartCard reader does not activy the virtual USB bus (enough). I guess that if you look in your VM to the bottom tray bar at your MAC SD Card Reader symbol, with you it also shows a "sine-wave-in-a-circle" flashing which indicates it generates the virtual USB bus activity the XDS510USB devices needs to remain functional in times of no communication over the JTAG channel...

I hope this additional info helps us all in the Virtal Landscape...

Best regards from the Netherlands,

In some small way it makes me feel better that someone else has the same problem. I hope my efforts helped you to get to a solution faster.

I believe your are correct. The problem seems to be the the way the VM handles the virtual USB bus. I have been unable to verify that my solution of connecting the SD card reader (with no SD card, btw) causes "activity" on the virtual USB bus because I do not seem to have the same "sine-wave-in-a-circle" icon that you have. I have tried all viewing modes (single, unity and full screen) to no avail. Maybe this icon is not available in Fusion. When I was testing, prior to connecting the card reader, activity every few seconds with the emulator prevented this condition as well.

best of luck from HOTlanta (GA, USA),

Eric

Hello Eric,

Indeed, it's good to know that a problem not only hit you but that others are affected too.Your efforts and reporting back on this forum indeed helped me a lot in finding an alternate solution.

Just for your (and other readers) information; the "sine-wave-in-a-circle" icon I talked about can be seen (to some extend) in the http://www.vmware.com/pdf/ws7_manual.pdf document on page 55 in Figure 3-1. If you zoom-in on the right-bottom corner of this "VMware Workstation Window" graphic, you can see the "Status Bar" which shows the icons of all host hardware connected to the virtual machine. Most of the icons shown here have a "green dot" in the lower-right corner of the icon. Because of the poor quality of this manual graphic, it looks like just a green dot with some yellow pixels in it. But if you have the real deal (in my case in the VMware Player, not VMware Workstation like the manual), then you'll see it's a green circle with a small yellow sine-wave in it.

I tried searching for the true meaning of this added sine-wave symbol to status bar icons. But nowhere on the VMware site/forum nor in the manuals I can find anything. I already encountered icons without this sine-wave, icons with a grey sine-wave and icons with a flashing green/yellow sine-wave. So there must be meaning in this. The VMware Player manual is non-graphical and only contains text references to the status bar and icons in it, but not what states these icons can have or show. I know using VMware is pretty straight-forward and seldom manuals or reference guides are needed, but in this specific case it would be handy. I will continue (on lower priority because all works now) to search for the meaning, and in case I find it I will add it to this forum post.

Thanks again from the windy and wet Netherlands.