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I just started working with FPGAs/CPLDs. Coding and simulation went well and now I wish to program a device. So, I bought the DLC9G programmer plugged it into the USB port. I di not install any drivers, since the cable drivers were installed during the ISE WebPACK installation process. The message popped up:

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So, I clicked on it for detailed information:

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I went to the Device Manager and right-clicked one the Unknown device to update the driver. I manually pointed out the path suggested by @Tut in his comment, but it said that the driver was up-to-date (hopefully that was said about the driver for the cable).

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I decided to take a different route and followed the ug344 guide for device configuration. For my Win7 x64 and ISE 14.7 WEBAPCK I downloaded a ug344_windows.zip dirver stated on p.15, Step 5.2 of the guide. After extracting the files and running the install_xusb.bat as administrator, I got the following message from the console window "cannot run x86 build of this utility on x64 platform":

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Any one has an idea if this is a defective device, or it's because of the driver issues? what's the problem with the driver installation? Should this device be at least recognized as programming cable/xilinx product if no driver is present?

Nazar
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1 Answers1

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It's funny you should ask this. I just managed to successfully install the DLC9G driver for ISE 14.7 Webpack just two days ago onto a Windows 7 Professional 64 bit computer (a painful experience).

There were a couple things I needed to do in order to install the driver:

  1. Despite administrator privileges and performing all installs using "Run as administrator", I kept getting driver installation failures which included an "Access is denied" message. I finally found FIX: Access is denied error while installing software on Windows 7 | 8. Scenario 2 provided the help I needed. This required going to "User Account Control" and setting it to "Never notify" and then rebooting.
  2. The next thing that needed to be done was to manually install the driver. First I went to Device Manager. I then plugged in the DLC9G and noticed the exclamation point over (I believe) "unknown device" (or something similar) located in "Programming cables". At this point, I thought it would be a good idea to right-click over "unknown device" and select "Uninstall". Next I right-clicked over "unknown device" and selected "Update Driver Software...". Next I selected "Browse my computer for driver software". Next I chose "Browse..." and pathed to C:\Xilinx\14.7\ISE_DS\common\bin\nt64 ... I also had "Include subfolders" checked. Clicking on "Next" installed the driver and my DLC9G was working!

The driver I used came with ISE 14.7 Webpack. The path I used above was the path for the default installation. I did not use the User guide (ug344) or the drivers indicated in that guide.

Item 1 above (the fix for the "Access is denied" error) also fixed a problem I was having installing drivers for the Microchip ICD3.

After correct installation, Device Manager indicated "Xilinx USB Cable" under "Programming Cables". It also indicated "WinDriver" under "Jungo" which previously also indicated "unknown device" (or something similar).

Tut
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  • I assume, in your Device manager it was actually saying "Xilinx USB Cable". Well, in my case, it's an unknown device. See my edits to the question. – Nazar May 07 '14 at 18:51
  • @Naz Now that you mention it, I think it may have been "unknown device". The "Xilinx USB Cable" is what I am seeing now. I believe I also saw an "unknown device" (or some other failed device) in "Jungo" in Device Manager. Under "Jungo" I now see a correctly installed "WinDriver". In any case I have seen Device Manager report slightly differently for some failed devices when I plugged them in a second time. I'll edit my answer. – Tut May 07 '14 at 19:04
  • @Naz Did you try Item 1 above (the fix for the "Access is denied" error)? This was what finally made my installation work as I had already been trying Item 2. – Tut May 07 '14 at 19:19
  • I never had the "access is denied" error. I also have "Win driver" under Jungo, but when I connect the cable, it's just not recognized. Did you have the same message initially? I suspect that maybe the cable itself is not good. Where did you get your's? – Nazar May 07 '14 at 20:08
  • You also mention "...located in Programming Cables". Where is "programming cables"? I do not have anything like this in the Device Manager. – Nazar May 07 '14 at 20:21
  • @Naz I got my DLC9G about 5 or 6 years ago in a development kit. "Programming cables" appears in Device Manager when I plug in the DLC9G. It is odd that your "Unknown device" appears under "Universal Serial Bus controllers". I have not seen it there. Perhaps your cable is not good. Do you have access to a Windows Xp machine? Driver installations are much easier on that OS so perhaps you could see if it works on that. – Tut May 07 '14 at 20:53
  • It's strange. After going through many forums, someone said to use motherboard USB. After plugging the cable in the USB port located on the motherboard, the system finally recognized the cable. And now I have the Programming Cables with Xilinx cable underneath. However, when I go to Impact and go to set up cables, I have "Platform Cable USB II" option, whereas the sign on the actual box says "Platform cable USB". Does it matter? – Nazar May 07 '14 at 21:02
  • And, of course, the cable is "not available", choose other cable message comes up in the console. – Nazar May 07 '14 at 21:03
  • @Naz "Platform Cable USB II" is the correct selection. I went back and ran iMPACT 14.7 and was also getting connection failures. I tried moving my USB from the front to the back of the computer and then had to re-install drivers which would no longer install. After moving the programming cable back to the original port and re-installing the drivers, mysteriously I can now connect with it while running iMPACT. I have been going through a computer change as our systems administrator is requiring it since Microsoft no longer supports Xp. This change to Win7 Pro 64 bit has not been fun. – Tut May 08 '14 at 13:12
  • Did you get a $225 cable, or a $40 cable? Now I know for sure that this device can only be recognized by certain USB ports, not all. In addition, I tried to connect it to USB3.0 and USB2.0 ports - the same problem: the system recognizes it, but Impact can not find it. – Nazar May 08 '14 at 13:18
  • Also, does it have to be connected to the power on the other end, or just USB side in order to be recognized? – Nazar May 08 '14 at 13:22
  • @Naz I'm not sure, but probably cheap as it came with a Xilinx Spartan-3 Starter Kit a number of years ago. I have used it quite a bit with my older Xp machine without problems. I have had all sorts of USB problems with the new computer, problems with drivers and problems with where things are plugged. Oddly, many devices seem to want to be plugged into the back while the Xilinx Platform Cable seems to need to be in the front. – Tut May 08 '14 at 13:27
  • @Naz The cable is recognized if just plugged into USB. If it is not plugged into a powered target, it complains with a large error message that starts with: "ERROR:Cse - A reference voltage has not been detected on the ribbon cable interface to the target system (pin 2) ..." – Tut May 08 '14 at 13:32
  • You are not going to believe it. I tried it on my desktop, laptop, and even found an old XP comp. No luck. I already started packing the device for return and noticed that USB cable and the Programmer came in one box, but different bags. I thought, what if amazon made up this order themselves and used a crappy usb cable? Indeed, after getting my own usb cable, the red light came on right away, but the green one did not come until I provided reference voltage. Thank you, and good luck. Hope this question will save some time to someone else. – Nazar May 08 '14 at 19:22