Pickit2 quit working??

[Drakkor]

Hi. I have been having some good projects going for a month or so. It seems that all of a sudden I am having trouble getting things to work on my pickit2 and low pin count board? The ONLY thing that I have changed was that I updated my ATI Radeon video drivers. Could this be what is causing this? God this gets frustrating sometimes. I end up staying up all night cause I can't quit and then work sucks the next day...repeat...repeat bla bla bla...HHEEELLP : )

[Benj]

I found that a Microsoft windows update took out my HID mouse. The PICkit 2 is also a HID device have you recently installed any HID updates via Windows update?

Does the PICkit work via it's stand alone software or via MPLAB? Could the device on the low pin count boards have been damaged by a voltage spike or a static shock?

[Drakkor]

Hi Benj. It seems that it will not work with Mplab either. I remembered that I was using an external hard drive for a backup and left the powered USB hub in place after the backup. A couple days later is when I started to have strange problems. It was also the first time I ever used a powered hub for pickit. I orderd another pickit and low pin count board that should be here today and I will use my UNpowered hub. While we're on the same subject. I do not know if there is a standard procedure for running Flowcode and Mplab at the same time so I can test while connected to the LPC board? If I am using flowcode and then I want to move the chip to a breadboard, is it ok to just unplug the usb cable, then remove the chip or do I have to shut down the programs, etc..... I have been just unplugging the usb? Lots questions in one post but it may answer a lot of questions for me, and the next guy that has more curiosity than smarts : )

[Benj]

Hello,

I think if MPLAB is running and connected to the PICkit then the PICkit is unavailable for external use eg. with Flowcode. To get them to work together you have to remember to disconnect the PICkit from MPLAB before trying Flowcode.

[Drakkor]

Well, I got my new pickit 2 and a new board. This did not fix anything? I built several projects and they all worked great. I looked at all the compiler and programmer settings and used the same ones. I am thinking it may be the linker??? There are so many in the tools folder that I may be using the wrong one. On my past projects (In Flowcode), I wasn't even worrying about setting the configuration bits but all was working. Something has changed and I am wasting so much time trying to figure this out. I notice that when I got to the pickit, it seems to change my configuration and then says it's invalid, expecting xxxxx? I am at a loss?? : (
Failed verify (Address = 0x0 - Expected Value 0x3FFF - Value Read 0x2873)

[Benj]

This message

Failed verify (Address = 0x0 - Expected Value 0x3FFF - Value Read 0x2873)

Is something I get quite a lot when programming boards without a soldered ICSP header. Basically when you place the header into the pickit and then lever it against a board to program without fitting a header onto the board. Could your signal connections be a bit poor? maybe a dry solder joint on the PCB?

[Drakkor]

Benj, Hi. Thanks for the quick reply. I bought a brand new PicKit and a new board too. I try using fresh chips also. Last night I reinstalled flowcode and MpLab but that didn't help either. I am at work now but tonight when I get home, I want to post my Flowcode settings and maybe you can spot something? It is so strange as it was working so well. I used to do it all in assy. but too much work. It might be possible that I am not setting my chip correct too. When I used MpLab, I always set my option reg, pullups, etc. It seems that I can't really do that now. I can't wait to find out what it is that is causing this but it has to be somethin that I am doing/not doing. Just for information, I am using a Pic12f675. It is the same chip that has worked in the past so ????? Hopefully when this is all done, this will help someone else too : )

[Drakkor]

Ok..........Finally figured it out : ) I missed ONE setting in MPLAB. I am using PicKit 2, but found it easier to use MPLAB to test my code. I am using the Low pin count board but I am not (Manually) opening PicKit 2. I leave MPLAB open in the background. I was going back and forth and trying to adjust settings in Flowcode options. I have attached a picture. You might have to zoom when you look at it to see the text. I just copied and pasted 4 or 5 setting boxes so the next person can see all the settings. Most of them are already on the message boards but I did not see the MPLAB ones anywhere. I just figured I would put them all in one big picture for kind of a one stop shop deal : ). Thanks for all the help.

[Drakkor]

NOTE...... Some of the image was not showing completly in the post. I had to double click in the image to show the entire image which is 5 pictures in one. : )