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Graduate II
August 10, 2022
Solved

How to get back stlink v2-b version? 32F429IDISCOVERY board

  • August 10, 2022
  • 3 replies
  • 2410 views

After switching to cubeIDE, i was prompted to upgrade the stlink firmware, after doing so the version changed from stlink v2-b to stlink v2 (without the uart functionality)

Now i have the v2j40s0 St-link/V2

This is on the 32F429IDISCOVERY board.

Is it possible to get back the uart functionality, is there a firmware version that contains uart for this discovery board stlink and is compatible with the new toolchain?

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Best answer by Peter BENSCH

    Well, then you have a 32F429IDISCOVERY, i.e. the old revision B, which only has an STM32F103 with 64KB flash and can only do STLINK/V2.

    The newer revisions have the STM32F103CBT6 with 128KB flash, so there is room for more functionality like VCP and mass storage.

    When upgrading, the STM32CubeProgrammer or STM32CubeIDE (precisely STLinkUpgrade.jar) checks which flash size is available and selects the appropriate firmware.

    Therefore, version V2-B could never be included on your Rev B board, but only through a hack.

    Regards

    /Peter

    3 replies

    Technical Moderator
    August 11, 2022

    I don't know what you mean by UART functionality, but in principle you can always restore previous firmware versions by using an older version of STM32CubeProg. Either you start the firmware upgrade (in this case a firmware downgrade), or you start the Java program directly (Windows: <install_folder>\Drivers\FirmwareUpgrade):

    java -jar STLinkUpgrade.jar.

    You obviously upgraded to V2J40S0 with STM32CubeIDE 1.10.1, but STM32CubeProgrammer can easily be used to downgrade the 32F429IDISCOVERY or the newer STM32F429I-DISC1:

    • STM32CubeProgrammer 2.0.7 --> V2J37S0
    • STM32CubeProgrammer 2.0.8 --> V2J38S0
    • STM32CubeProgrammer 2.0.9 --> V2J39S0
    • STM32CubeProgrammer 2.10.0 --> V2J39S0
    • STM32CubeProgrammer 2.11.0 --> V2J39S0

    Does it help?

    Good luck!

    Regards

    /Peter

    Graduate II
    August 17, 2022

    Sorry but it does not help.

    Please refer to TN1235

    By uart functionality I mean, the VCP (virtual com port) feature of the stlink.

    The stlink V2-B is a composite USB device with a mass storage and a Virtual

    COM port interface to the USB, in addition to the ST debug interface

    The stlink firmware V2J**S0 -> is for the v2 version not for the v2-b (does not include vcp and mass storage)

    I would need somethinng like this V2J27M15 (STM32 debug interface, mass storage interface, Virtual COM port)

    The original version that came on the board had all the required features, the discovery boards have the uart pins routed to the stlink onboard debugger.

    But now since i have the V2J**S0, the tool thinks it is a V2 version and doesn't let me upgrade/downgrade to a V2J**M15 version.

    I would like to get back the V2-B features, not use a different version of V2

    Technical Moderator
    August 17, 2022

    Let's check this one by one:

    What is the revision number of your board? There should be a sticker on the bottom: MB1075 ***, where *** is the rev number.

    What is the marking of the STM32F103 next to the MiniUSB socket: STM32F103C8T6 or STM32F103CBT6?

    Graduate II
    August 17, 2022

    It is MB1075 B-01, it has the STM32F103C8T6 chip

    Technical Moderator
    August 17, 2022

    Well, then you have a 32F429IDISCOVERY, i.e. the old revision B, which only has an STM32F103 with 64KB flash and can only do STLINK/V2.

    The newer revisions have the STM32F103CBT6 with 128KB flash, so there is room for more functionality like VCP and mass storage.

    When upgrading, the STM32CubeProgrammer or STM32CubeIDE (precisely STLinkUpgrade.jar) checks which flash size is available and selects the appropriate firmware.

    Therefore, version V2-B could never be included on your Rev B board, but only through a hack.

    Regards

    /Peter

    Graduate II
    August 17, 2022

    Thank you for the answer, this clears it up then, i have many discovery boards and probably remembered wrongly that this was working before, however from the documentation available now on st.com it is not clear that the v2-b features are only available on the new revision of the board and not the old one, and i can't find the old original documentation.

    Nevertheless this clears it up, thank you.

    Technical Moderator
    August 17, 2022

    Is is mentioned in UM1670:

    New features supported on ST-LINK/V2-B are:

    • Virtual COM port interface on USB
    • Mass storage interface on USB

    I am indeed pleased to have been able to help a little.

    Good luck!

    /Peter

    Technical Moderator
    August 17, 2022

    oops, forgot to mention the real information in section 6.3:

    Revision B01

    The revision B-01 of the MB1075 board is the initial official release.

    Revision C01

    The revision C-01 of the MB1075 board removes the limitations of the revision B-01.

    1. STM32F103C8T6 replaced by STM32F103CBT6 for ST-LINK/V2-B
    2. Mbed Enabledâ„¢, SB11 and SB15 closed

    [...]