Cannot reliably connect to dev board from MacOS Sonoma

[walterg]

Hello,

TLRD: I cannot connect to a STM32H747I-DISCO board using my Mac/M3.

my setup is a MBP with M3 (Apple Silincon) and  MacOS Sonoma 14.4. Installed latest release of STM32CubeProgrammer and bought a STM32H747I-DISCO dev board. Connecting through a USB-C to Micro USB cable on default port CN2 (labeled STLINK-V3E USB connector) and verified that the Jp6 Jumper is set correctly to STlk.

Checked on system preferences that there is a STLink under the USB tree of MacOS.

The board lights up and the connect led flashes then stays green. The powe led below stays green. Nothing shows up on the touch screen.

Upon launching STM32Connector I cannot connect to the board with buttons. I've tried upgrading the firmware with the corresponding button/modal dialog.

Sometimes (after plugging and unplugging the USB cable) the system detects the firmware SN (it's a long string of numbers) and gives the option to update, but then fails. 

In the meantime the ST_Link configuration panel shows a Serial number in the Drop down (after a refresh). Port is set to SWD. 

After trying to connect explicitly or updating the firmware, every trace of serial number diasppears.

What's more, my Mac complains that the disc STM-I747X (or something like this string) was unplugged before being unmounted.

When I can see the "disk" mounted, if I click on it in the Finder window, the system hangs for a little while then the disk goes away with the same above message.

The least I can say is that everything is very unstable.

Is it because I am using a MacBookPro and what's worse, an Apple Silicon chip?

Any idea on how to debug this issue?

Thanks

 

That's the most I have achieved. When I get back to my lab I can share a screenshot of the Firmware update panel if I can get it "working" again.

[FBL]

Hi @walterg 

To mitigate USB communications failures with your STLink-V3 device, we suggest the following proposed solutions:

1. Try to connect to another USB port on your computer if available
2. Connect STLink-V3 through an external USB High Speed hub or adapter
3. Use an external probe to connect to your target instead of the STLink-V3 (Ex: STLink-V2, STLINK-V3PWR...)

Our teams are continually investigating the root cause of the issue and are actively working on a solution.

 

[walterg]

Hello @FBL ,

thanks. 

I've tried some:

1.   sometimes it works, even unplugging and plugging
2. I've tried but I was not sure about the USB-A to USB-mini cable, wether it was data or just power, will investigate further
3. I've searched briefly.. STLink-V2 seems more familiar to me (I've used something similar to program a Raspberry Pico), while STLINK-V3PWR seems a bit too much, but maybe is better. Can you briefly give a suggestion of which one could be better suited for my use case?

Anyway, thanks for the answer!

Will keep updated once I have bought an external probe

Best regards

WG

 

[walterg]

HI, Just received a STLink-V2.

But looking at the dev board doc I don't exactly see where to connect the pins. 

I've looked for SWDIO/SWCLK ping but 

* either are on an unsoldered header (CN4) and right now I'm on leave and don't have my soldering kit

* are on a smallish header CN13 which is too big for my dupont connector wires (usual 0.1")

* on the JTAG pad, which I cannot connect with the external probe I've bought

I suspect I bought it too quickly before checking the specs, but maybe I am wrong? If you hve any inputs it's welcome

But..I've tried via a external HUB and a USB-A - to mini cable, and it seems connected! I've tried STM32CubeConnect and I can see this! @FBL , thanks for the suggestion!

 

Thanks

W

 

[walterg]

I've succeeded in programming the demo hen formatted a card as ExFAT (and also normal FAT) and copied the Media/ dir content onto the card.

Plugged the card but.. nothing. The main led stays red.

I've tried the Reset or Wakeup buttons, nothing.

Is there a step that I am missing? 

Thx

 

[FBL]

Hi @walterg 

Did you insert a hub and see if the issue persists?

 

[walterg]

Yes, @FBL ,

it's only by using  a usb-c HUB that I could plug  a standard USB-A to micro-USB cable, and thus program the board. 

The issue I have is that, after having successfully programmed the demo onto the board (at least that's what STM32CubeProgrammer wrote), nothing happened on the board. Screen was blank and remained blank.

What Can I do to check that the demo is installed and how can I make it "run"? Shouldn't it run when the board wakes up?

Maybe the SD card was formatted wrongly? 

Regards

W

[FBL]

Hi @walterg 

It is possible that SD Card is not formatted to FAT32. Make sure to use latest version of DEMO from STM32CubeH7/Projects/STM32H747I-DISCO/Demonstrations at master · STMicroelectronics/STM32CubeH7 (github.com)

Ensure your HW configuration is by default. Follow step by step demo readme to make it work.

[walterg]

Hi @FBL ,

I've tried everything from scratch:

• formatted the SD as MS-FAT (FAT32)
• copied multimedia files (see image)
• followed the readme in the latest download :
• 2- Open STM32CubeProgrammer, go to "External loaders" menu then check "MT25TL01G_STM32H747I-DISCO" box
  3- Connect the STM32H747I-DISCO board to PC with USB cable through CN2 and click on STM32CubeProgrammer "Connect" button
  4- Use "STM32Cube_Demo-STM32H747I-DISCO-VX.Y.Z_FULL.hex" file provided under "Binary" with STM32CubeProgrammer
  to program both internal Flash and external QSPI memory.
  - From Erasing and programming Menu browse to select the "STM32Cube_Demo-STM32H747I-DISCO-VX.Y.Z_FULL.hex" file (mine is STM32Cube_Demo-STM32H747I-DISCO-V1.0.0_FULL.hex dated from 27 Feb 2019)
  then click on start programming
• I've also set "verification on" and "run after programming"

Everything is OK but nothing shows on the display. The main led blinks

Any idea on what I am missing?

There is something basic I think.. why the led blinks? 

Thanks

W

[FBL]

Hi again @walterg 

Unfortunately Demo binary is built for an old revision of the board and it is no longer maintained. Could you try the updates to support Dynamic ID? You need to update patch of CubeH7.

Update STM32H747I-DISC BSP board drivers to support Dynamic ID · STMicroelectronics/STM32CubeH7@dd1b1d7 (github.com)

[walterg]

Hi @FTL,

thanks for following this thread. 

So you are suggesting that I download the full demo source tree, then apply the patch, then recompile everything and upload it to the board? 

It's a bit daunting, since it would be my first trial at compiling something for STM32. I was hoping for something along the lines of "Hello World" :) 

Seriously, can you briefly otuline the steps needed?

I think I have to clone this project https://github.com/STMicroelectronics/STM32CubeH7 then switch to the branch with the commit you mentioned? then what?

I am sorry I have to ask newbie questions but it's all new to me. (compiling no, but embedded C code, yes) 

Thanks a lot

W