OSError: Could not detect STM32F, check connections, BOOT MODE entry setup

1

Hi,

We purchased the ChipWhisperer Lite 2-Part version. Using Virtual Box I had everything working correctly and was able to successfully execute a few of the tutorials. However, for some reason, it has stopped working and I get the error “OSError: Could not detect STM32F, check connections, BOOT MODE entry setup”.

It fails on the line “cw.program_target(scope, prog, fw_path)” in multiple tutorials. The previous line "%run “Helper_Scripts/Setup_Generic.ipynb” runs successfully.

Here are all of the things I have tried:

  • Reconnected all of the cables multiple times.
  • Powered off the system and upon reboot only ran VB and Jupyter to make sure no other app had control of the device.
  • One of our techs buzzed out all of the cables and said they were all fine. Also, the chip on the target board was tested and was also fine.
  • Tried different USB ports on the laptop.
  • Verified that USB 3.0 is selected in VB.
  • Checked device manager and ChipWhisper-Lite appears before VB runs and there are no errors.
  • The USB driver was manually loaded during the initial setup. And as stated, the tests used to run without error.

Any idea what could be wrong?

Thanks and regards,
Tom

2

Hi Tom,

Can you confirm the target you are using? If you are getting the STM32F error, that suggests it’s looking for a STM32F3 device. The normal 2-part version has an XMEGA target.

In which case check the PLATFORM= line in the notebook - is it specifying the correct target? That platform specification changes the programmer between STM & XMEGA - using the wrong programmer will give a general error like that!

Thanks,

-Colin

3

Hi Colin,

Thanks for the reply. We do have the 2-part version. Changing to XMEGA resolved the issue.

Best regards,
Tom

4

OK perfect! Probably it sounds like a SW update was applied (git pull etc), as I think the default in all the notebooks is CWLITEARM right now. Will try and flag that as something we could include in the documentation, since it’s a non-obvious result.

Thanks,

-Colin

5

Thanks Colin. We figured the software changed somehow.

Best regards,
Tom