Using an Aliexpress STM32G070RBT6 board, no ST-Link

[DRobe.4]

I bought a $4 Aliexpress STM32G070RBT6 board. I have a program that uses various UARTs, timers, pins, etc. The CPU should be unprogrammed since the board is new. For all I know, the CPU may be counterfeit, but usually these sort of Chinese boards work. I use my laptop to program an STM32F7 (presumably genuine) MCU all the time, so ST-link works on my setup. But when I try to download my G0 program using Keil, it says there is no ST-Link. Does anyone use these very common, widely used Aliexpress boards? If so, can I program through the USB connector. Is there anything special that I should be doing?

[Tesla DeLorean]

Do you have an ST-LINK?

Do you see it in Device Manager?

Random AliExpress boards aren't likely to have an on-board ST-LINK.

You might hope of a BOOT0 pin, jumper, or button, to get the board into a System Loader mode, where you could use STM32 Cube Programmer via USB/DFU mode or COM/UART mode.

Alternatively you have an ST-LINK and you can connect it to the SWD header, or SWDIO/SWCLK pins.

[DRobe.4]

OK I think I understand.. the USB connector can only be used to deliver power to the G0 board. SWDIO and SWCLK use GPIO pins, so I must figure out which pins they connect to. Sorry to both you folks. Of couorse if anyone has already figured everything out, please feel free to share.

[DRobe.4]

I have an ST-Link gadget that is very old but used to work. I'll try it on the G0 board. Thanks for your help. I won't close this thread yet because I may still be painted into a corner.

[Tesla DeLorean]

Provide a picture or link to the board you're talking about.

If you have a schematic, even better.

ST-LINK/V2 with current firmware should work with G0 parts

I wouldn't expect ST-LINK Utilities to work, but STM32 Cube Programmer should support G0

[DRobe.4]

I haven't used the ST-Link gadget shown in pic for 10 years, so I'm back to being a newbie.

Connected 3.3V, SWCLK, SWDIO, GND. but not BOOT0. Keil says need to upgrade, when I say yes then msg about not in DFU mode.. If refuse upgrade, Keil says "command not supported". Device Mgr says STM32 ST-Link V2. Maybe I need to use BOOT0, which is not one of the G0 board programming pins. Maybe I need to google more, experiment more. 10 years ago, I got all this working on an old STM32 board.

[Andreas Bolsch]

Watch out for power supply: As there is an USB connector, there is probably a voltage regulator present. Then the STLink's 3.3V should NOT be connected to the board (if it's an STLink clone as on the photo), otherwise the regulator will be back-powered. But then you need USB for power supply.

The BOOT0 pin is rather irrelevant as long as SWD is used.

[JJame.5]

Be cautious about the power supply: If there is a USB connector, it is likely that a voltage regulator is present. In this case, it is important not to connect the STLink's 3.3V to the board (especially if it is an STLink clone as shown in the photo), as it may cause the regulator to be back-powered. However, if you require power supply, you will still need to use the USB connection.

The status of the BOOT0 pin is not significant as long as you are using SWD.