Can't install board for Node MCU 8266

Using Arduino IDE 1.x
1

I have been using 2 Node MCU's and they have worked good. I started using them in Canada were I installed the boards. I have since moved to Ethiopia and one day I lost the board drivers on one computer but one computer was still installed now I have lost it on that computer also. Below is the errors that come up when I try to install the boards again (under board manager). I tried the steps outlined on an old post Can't Download ESP8266 Board Package - Installation & Troubleshooting - Arduino Forum but nothing works. Please help!!!

... 1 more
Caused by: java.net.UnknownHostException: downloads.arduino.cc
	at java.net.AbstractPlainSocketImpl.connect(AbstractPlainSocketImpl.java:184)
	at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.connect(PlainSocketImpl.java:172)
	at java.net.SocksSocketImpl.connect(SocksSocketImpl.java:392)
	at java.net.Socket.connect(Socket.java:589)
	at sun.net.NetworkClient.doConnect(NetworkClient.java:175)
	at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.openServer(HttpClient.java:463)
	at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.openServer(HttpClient.java:558)
	at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.<init>(HttpClient.java:242)
	at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.New(HttpClient.java:339)
	at sun.net.www.http.HttpClient.New(HttpClient.java:357)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.getNewHttpClient(HttpURLConnection.java:1220)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.plainConnect0(HttpURLConnection.java:1199)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.plainConnect(HttpURLConnection.java:1050)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection.connect(HttpURLConnection.java:984)
	at cc.arduino.utils.network.FileDownloader.downloadFile(FileDownloader.java:181)
	at cc.arduino.utils.network.FileDownloader.download(FileDownloader.java:132)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:137)
	... 5 more

I installed a VPN to see if this would help but so far it has not.

2

Can you open this URL in your browser on the same computer?:
https://downloads.arduino.cc/packages/package_index.json

If you can't get Boards Manager installation working, the workaround would be to do a manual installation of the ESP8266 core for Arduino, following these instructions:

That is primarily intended to be used for beta testing so it gives you the beta version of the core. If you want to use the stable release instead you only need to change the git clone command:

git clone -b 2.4.2 https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino.git esp8266

will install the 2.4.2 release.

3

Thanks for your suggestions! I thought there would be a work around, but it doesn't seem to work (see below). Is it a problem if I have the app store IDE and the old style IDE both installed? Are they conflicting?

pert:
Can you open this URL in your browser on the same computer?:
https://downloads.arduino.cc/packages/package_index.json

Yes
image

I am running Window10. CMD prompt and power shell both said they didn't recognize the "git" command. However this is what is in the hardware folder. Is something missing?

EDIT: contents under url

{
"packages": [
{
"name": "arduino",
"maintainer": "Arduino",
"websiteURL": "http://www.arduino.cc/",
"email": "packages@arduino.cc",
"help": {
"online": "http://www.arduino.cc/en/Reference/HomePage"
},
"platforms": [
{
"name": "Arduino AVR Boards",
"architecture": "avr",
"version": "1.6.2",
"category": "Arduino",
"url": "http://downloads.arduino.cc/cores/avr-1.6.2.tar.bz2",
"archiveFileName": "avr-1.6.2.tar.bz2",
"checksum": "SHA-256:2909a4c6dd6d7497e7e1b5fcaa2f66a100271417510f3a68593b65af8ff78c1c",
"size": "4877442",
"boards": [
{"name": "Arduino Yún"},
{"name": "Arduino Uno"},
{"name": "Arduino Diecimila"},
{"name": "Arduino Nano"},
{"name": "Arduino Mega"},
{"name": "Arduino MegaADK"},
{"name": "Arduino Leonardo"},
{"name": "Arduino Micro"},
{"name": "Arduino Esplora"},
{"name": "Arduino Mini"},
{"name": "Arduino Ethernet"},
{"name": "Arduino Fio"},
{"name": "Arduino BT"},
{"name": "Arduino LilyPadUSB"},
{"name": "Arduino Lilypad"},
{"name": "Arduino Pro"},
{"name": "Arduino ATMegaNG"},
{"name": "Arduino Robot Control"},
etc............

EDIT: contents of esp8266 folder under hardware
Under hardware in my esp8266 folder is, library_index.json, package_esp8266com_index.json.sig.tmp, package_esp8266com_index.json.tmp, package_index.json, package_index.json.sig, package_index.json.tmp

Are the images showing up? I took screen shots of the contents of the URL you mentioned and the contents of the hardware folder.

4

daveeno:
Is it a problem if I have the app store IDE and the old style IDE both installed? Are they conflicting?

I doubt it.

daveeno:
I am running Window10. CMD prompt and power shell both said they didn't recognize the "git" command.

Windows doesn't come with Git installed. You need to install it. I guess the next problem you'll probably have after that is needing to install Python also.

I guess the workaround is pretty complex. Maybe it's better to spend more effort trying to get Boards Manager working before going down that path so forget about the workaround for now.

The first thing to try is clearing out your Arduino15 folder:

  • (In the Arduino IDE) Click the link on the line following File > Preferences > More preferences can be edited directly in the file. This will open the Arduino15 folder.
  • Delete all files and folders under the Arduino15 folder except preferences.txt
  • (In the Arduino IDE) Tools > Board > Boards Manager
  • Try to install the ESP8266 boards in Boards Manager

Let me know if you still get the error after doing that.

5

I left only the preferences.txt and tried again. See error below.

WARNING: Error loading hardware folder C:\Users\Surface\Documents\Arduino\hardware\esp8266com
  No valid hardware definitions found in folder esp8266com.
 Error downloading https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz
java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.Exception: Error downloading https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz
	at cc.arduino.contributions.packages.ui.ContributionManagerUI.lambda$onInstallPressed$2(ContributionManagerUI.java:175)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:748)
Caused by: java.lang.Exception: Error downloading https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:139)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:73)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:55)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.packages.ContributionInstaller.install(ContributionInstaller.java:109)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.packages.ui.ContributionManagerUI.lambda$onInstallPressed$2(ContributionManagerUI.java:172)
	... 1 more
Caused by: java.net.SocketException: Software caused connection abort: recv failed
	at java.net.SocketInputStream.socketRead0(Native Method)
	at java.net.SocketInputStream.socketRead(SocketInputStream.java:116)
	at java.net.SocketInputStream.read(SocketInputStream.java:171)
	at java.net.SocketInputStream.read(SocketInputStream.java:141)
	at sun.security.ssl.InputRecord.readFully(InputRecord.java:465)
	at sun.security.ssl.InputRecord.readV3Record(InputRecord.java:593)
	at sun.security.ssl.InputRecord.read(InputRecord.java:532)
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.readRecord(SSLSocketImpl.java:983)
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.readDataRecord(SSLSocketImpl.java:940)
	at sun.security.ssl.AppInputStream.read(AppInputStream.java:105)
	at java.io.BufferedInputStream.read1(BufferedInputStream.java:284)
	at java.io.BufferedInputStream.read(BufferedInputStream.java:345)
	at sun.net.www.MeteredStream.read(MeteredStream.java:134)
	at java.io.FilterInputStream.read(FilterInputStream.java:133)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection$HttpInputStream.read(HttpURLConnection.java:3393)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection$HttpInputStream.read(HttpURLConnection.java:3386)
	at cc.arduino.utils.network.FileDownloader.downloadFile(FileDownloader.java:220)
	at cc.arduino.utils.network.FileDownloader.download(FileDownloader.java:132)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:137)
	... 5 more
Could not find boards.txt in C:\Users\Surface\Documents\Arduino\hardware\esp8266com\esp8266. Is it pre-1.5?
Could not find boards.txt in C:\Users\Surface\Documents\Arduino\hardware\esp8266com\esp8266old. Is it pre-1.5?
WARNING: Error loading hardware folder C:\Users\Surface\Documents\Arduino\hardware\esp8266com
  No valid hardware definitions found in folder esp8266com.
6

Delete C:\Users\Surface\Documents\Arduino\hardware\esp8266com. This is not the cause of the problem but it adds distracting warnings and serves no purpose.

It looks like you have the wrong ESP8266 URL. Please do this:

Let me know if you have an error this time.

7

In board manager it gets till about 15,300 of 15,500 kb then I get a red message at the bottom that says error downloading github.com/esp8266/arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz

Funny thing is I clicked on 2.4.2 I believe??

 Error downloading https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz
java.lang.RuntimeException: java.lang.Exception: Error downloading https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz
	at cc.arduino.contributions.packages.ui.ContributionManagerUI.lambda$onInstallPressed$2(ContributionManagerUI.java:175)
	at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:748)
Caused by: java.lang.Exception: Error downloading https://github.com/esp8266/Arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:139)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:73)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:55)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.packages.ContributionInstaller.install(ContributionInstaller.java:109)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.packages.ui.ContributionManagerUI.lambda$onInstallPressed$2(ContributionManagerUI.java:172)
	... 1 more
Caused by: javax.net.ssl.SSLException: SSL peer shut down incorrectly
	at sun.security.ssl.InputRecord.readV3Record(InputRecord.java:596)
	at sun.security.ssl.InputRecord.read(InputRecord.java:532)
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.readRecord(SSLSocketImpl.java:983)
	at sun.security.ssl.SSLSocketImpl.readDataRecord(SSLSocketImpl.java:940)
	at sun.security.ssl.AppInputStream.read(AppInputStream.java:105)
	at java.io.BufferedInputStream.read1(BufferedInputStream.java:284)
	at java.io.BufferedInputStream.read(BufferedInputStream.java:345)
	at sun.net.www.MeteredStream.read(MeteredStream.java:134)
	at java.io.FilterInputStream.read(FilterInputStream.java:133)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection$HttpInputStream.read(HttpURLConnection.java:3393)
	at sun.net.www.protocol.http.HttpURLConnection$HttpInputStream.read(HttpURLConnection.java:3386)
	at cc.arduino.utils.network.FileDownloader.downloadFile(FileDownloader.java:220)
	at cc.arduino.utils.network.FileDownloader.download(FileDownloader.java:132)
	at cc.arduino.contributions.DownloadableContributionsDownloader.download(DownloadableContributionsDownloader.java:137)
	... 5 more

Also this is a 64 bit OS does that make a difference?

8

Ok I tried updating a different board driver and it gives and error on that also. error downloading downloads.arduino.cc/CMSIS-4.5.0.tar.bz2

Would it be a file permission issue?

Thanks

9

daveeno:
In board manager it gets till about 15,300 of 15,500 kb

Do you have enough disk space on your C:\ drive? During the installation process, the tool is first downloaded to the Arduino15/staging folder, then extracted from there into the Arduino15/packages/esp8266/tools folder. The original downloaded file is left behind in the staging folder and the Arduino IDE never deletes it so you actually end up with maybe 50 MB of disk usage from that one tool installation, and there are several other tools as well.

daveeno:
In board manager it gets till about 15,300 of 15,500 kb then I get a red message at the bottom that says error downloading github.com/esp8266/arduino/releases/download/2.3.0/win32-xtensa-lx106-elf-gb404fb9-2.tar.gz

Funny thing is I clicked on 2.4.2 I believe??

That "2.3.0" in the URL was what made me think your Boards Manager URL was wrong. For some reason, they provide version-specific URLs for the ESP8266 hardware package that often cause problems when people use them long after that version is obsolete. So I assumed you had the 2.3.0-specific Boards Manager URL. However, I now see that this is the correct download URL for that tool, even for the 2.4.2 release of the ESP8266 hardware package. What happened is they are still using the same version of xtensa-lx106-elf-gcc tool ever since the 2.3.0 release of the hardware package so that's why it says 2.3.0 in the URL.

daveeno:
Also this is a 64 bit OS does that make a difference?

No. That same tool is for either 32 or 64 bit versions of Windows. It works fine on a 64 bit Windows installation (that's what I have and I use the ESP8266 hardware package regularly).

daveeno:
Would it be a file permission issue?

I suppose it's possible. As I said, the tool is downloaded to Arduino15/staging folder, then extracted from there into the Arduino15/packages/esp8266/tools folder. However, you're getting multiple different errors during the download so it looks more like a problem with your Internet connection.

10

Ok thanks for the trouble shooting! I have a couple gigs of space so it can't be that. The internet here is terrible! It is the best I have seen it right now it was 0.2 down and 0.3 upload. TO BEEEET ALLLLL IT ALL OF A SUDDEN WORKED!!!!!! MUST HAVE BEEN THE INTERNET CONNECTION!!! Earlier I was getting .01 up and down.

Thanks again.

11

I'm glad to hear you got a successful installation! That's very unfortunate about the poor Internet connection. I live in a rural area where, until recently, (slow, unreliable, bandwidth limited, expensive) satellite Internet was the only option so I can somewhat empathize.

Also unfortunate is that the Arduino IDE seems to have a problem with boards installed via Boards Manager disappear when it doesn't have an Internet connection. The hardware package is still installed but if the .json file and the .json.sig files are lost from the Arduino15 folder the Arduino IDE no longer recognizes the hardware package. I haven't been able to reproduce this issue but it's been reported before. I tried to reproduce it by disconnecting my computer from the Internet and could not but this is making me think maybe it only happens with a bad connection rather than no connection at all (incomplete download of the .json file).

What you might do is to save a backup of the .json and .json.sig files in your Arduino15 folder. If the boards ever disappear on you again you could try dropping the backup files into the Arduino15 folder and restart the Arduino IDE to see if that brings the boards back.

Another thing you might try is to uncheck the File > Preferences > Check for updates on startup option. That update check involves downloading the .json file at some seemingly random time after you start the Arduino IDE. I believe you will still have the problem when you open Boards Manager, as the .json files are always downloaded then (even if you have the check for updates option disabled) so you should avoid opening Boards Manager if possible. The downside to having update checks disabled is you will no longer be notified when a new version is available of one of the hardware packages you have installed via Boards Manager or a library installed via Library Manager. You can occasionally go and check by opening Boards Manager (but remembering this could cause the loss of boards if the Internet is bad at that moment) and selecing "Updatable" from the Type dropdown menu. Then doing the same with Sketch > Include Library > Manage Libraries...