MSP430 JTAG Interface USB Driver
From Texas Instruments Embedded Processors Wiki
Contents |
Officially Supported Operating Systems
- Windows XP, 32- and 64-bit
- Windows Vista, 32- and 64-bit
- Windows 7, 32- and 64-bit
Overview
For MSP-FET430UIF operation, two driver components are necessary:
- Low-Level USB VCP Drivers. These drivers are responsible to provide an interface between the high-level debugger drivers and the MSP-FET430UIF's USB interface. This is accomplished through means of a Virtual COM Port (VCP).
- High-Level Debugger Drivers. The debugging and emulation's intelligence resides in the high-level driver files MSP430.dll and HIL.dll. MSP430 IDEs such as Code Composer Studio or IAR Embedded Workbench access the debugger through these library files.
Low-Level USB VCP Drivers
The necessary low-level drivers for the MSP-FET430UIF are included with the latest IAR Kickstart and the TI Code Composer Studio IDEs and get installed automatically. Alternatively, the driver can be downloaded and installed from here: http://focus.ti.com/docs/toolsw/folders/print/tusbwinvcp.html. All drivers are Microsoft WHQL certified.
High-Level Debugger Drivers MSP430.dll & HIL.dll
The MSP430.dll and HIL.dll are two files required to interface a JTAG interface such as an MSP-FET430UIF with your PC. These drivers allow the IDE to download code and debug applications over JTAG. Officially supported versions of the dlls are included with the IDE. In order to support newer devices with a specific software tool (IAR, CCS, etc), the dll must include support for the target device. Note that the MSP430.dll is also responsible for upgrading the firmware of the MSP-FET430UIF if necessary and for this includes the MSP-FET430UIF's firmware image. This process is invoked automatically by the IDE if needed. Note also that when installing or moving driver libraries between different IDEs (such as from IAR to CCS), both MSP430.dll and HIL.dll must be exchanged at the same time.
Preliminary as-is drivers implementing new features or addressing known issues are available for evaluation use. These changes will likely be available soon as part of an official IAR and CCS release/service pack. In case you don't have an immediate issue, do not install these preliminary drivers. Instead, wait for the next official IDE release / service pack. Also, only install these drivers if they are newer than the ones currently installed with your IDE. Please do not contact TI support if you run into any issues. Please provide feedback on the MSP430 Forum.
Driver Installation
To install new drivers, simply copy the DLL files into the the IDEs directories. The default locations for these files are shown below. The IDE should be shut down while doing this, and also it is strongly recommended to make a backup copy of the original files.
- IAR: C:\Program Files\IAR Systems\Embedded Workbench 5.0\430\bin
- CCS: C:\Program Files\Texas Instruments\ccsv4\DebugServer\drivers
- CCE: C:\Program Files\Texas Instruments\CC Essentials v3\DebugServer\drivers
Comments
Comments on MSP430 JTAG Interface USB Driver
Shenle said ...
Shenle said ...
Update: due to TI's recent reorganization of the forums, the link to the topic is now http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/msp43016-bit_ultra-low_power_mcus/f/166/t/18596.aspx
--Shenle 08:17, 13 December 2009 (CST)
The current incarnation of hil.dll and msp430.dll breaks compatibility with the TI USB FET from the eZ430-RF2500 kit. The versions of the files supplied with the currently available (4/12/09) IAR workbench Kickstart (5.4) asa well as the ones from this site don't allow code to be downloaded to target boards via the USB FET as documented by me at http://e2e.ti.com/forums/p/13091/52058.aspx#52058
Overwriting these files with older versions taken from the IAR Kickstart 4.10E restores said function.
--Shenle 22:45, 4 December 2009 (CST)