Can't install MKR1000 drivers, now board is dead?

[wil@sciencebar.com]

I'm trying to set up an MKR1000 on an old-ish HP Pavilion dv6 laptop from approximately 2010, running a fully up-to-date version of Windows 7.  As many have noted, the installation instructions do not work; the board is never plug-and-play recognized as a port in Device Manager.  Instead, something screwy happens; once the board is plugged in, Windows recognizes it as a new device, but it does so repeatedly, every few seconds, and keeps saying it did not install correctly.  The device manager keeps refreshing, and the only new device the system finds is one with a blank name.  I tried manually installing the hardware via hdwwiz.exe, the hardware installation wizard, using all the different drivers people have recommended here.  All gave the same result:  an error message stating that the driver was installed correctly, but the device could not start.

Throughout most of this, there were two green lights illuminated on the board while it was plugged in, and also an amber light that would flash on and off.  However, at some point I noticed the amber light wasn't flashing anymore, and also that Windows stopped making the plug-n-play beep when the device was unplugged and plugged back in again.

So, I deleted all the drivers, and the software, and did a System Restore to two days ago to clear out any bad settings I may have introduced.  No dice.  Windows still doesn't recognize the device at all.

A search of the forum doesn't turn up a set of symptoms quite like what I'm describing.  Am I simply dealing with a defective board?  Alternatively, is this simply the wrong computer to be trying this with?

[ballscrewbob]

Did you try the "quickly double tap reset" trick to put it in bootloader mode on its own com port ?

DO NOT use any external programs to find drivers as some are riddled with thing you do not want on your computer.

You say you tried lots of things but if you had you would have known there is a section devoted to the MKR boards.
I will ask the nice moderators to move this there for you.

[wil@sciencebar.com]

OK, I tried double-clicking the reset button, and also holding it down for 30 seconds.  Neither thing changed the behavior of the board, or Windows.

[ballscrewbob]

Have you installed the board package yet ?
The MKR section has that aspect covered.

BTW you have to QUICKLY double tap the reset.

You can also for the most part ignore the amber light as that has a specific use that you will read about in the MKR section.

Also ensure you are using a proper DATA USB cable and not just a charging cable as there is a vast difference between the two.
Oh and avoid USB 3.0 ports too

[wil@sciencebar.com]

Thanks, Ballscrewbob.  Sorry for posting in the wrong area; I was searching the forum from Google rather than browsing it directly.

I'm not sure how quickly is "quickly," but I'm double-tapping the reset button as fast as I can, with no apparent result other than a momentary brightening of the green ON light.  I'm pretty sure the cable I'm using is OK, because I got it with the MKR100 Bundle, and also because Windows was initially (though incorrectly) recognizing it.

I have installed the MKR1000 via the Boards Manager in the IDE, per instructions.  It's immediately after that that things go wrong.

As for USB 3.0, yes, that's what my machine uses.  From poking around the forum, it looks as though an external USB 2.0 hub may either fix this or else eliminate it as a suspect? 

[wil@sciencebar.com]

Hmm.  I dug up a USB 2.0 hub and plugged the MK1000 into that.  No change in behavior on either end.  Nothing happens when I plug it in, or when I unplug it.  Nothing ever appears or disappears in the Device Manager.  When I try to force an installation with hdwwiz.exe, I have four possible drivers to choose from:

MKR1000 version 1.1.0.0
MKR1000 version 1.2.3.0
MKR1000 bootloader version 1.1.0.0
MKR1000 bootloader version 1.2.3.0

All four produce the same result:  "The software for this device is now installed, but may not work correctly.  This device cannot start. (code 10)"  This result is exactly the same whether the MKR1000 is plugged in when I run the wizard.  I can install multiple instances, and get multiple nonfunctional COM ports under Device Manager.

If I force it to use the drivers directly from the "drivers" directory, I get the same result.  If I force it to look in the FTDI USB Drivers directory (as some posts have suggested), then it won't proceed at all.

I'm really hoping someone has an idea about this.

[ballscrewbob]

The FtDI drivers wont in this case do anything for you.

USB hubs should be of decent quality and include thier own PSU of adequate supply otherwise results will vary wildly.

I went through a lot of issues with my first one but it was a beta version so it was to be expected.

Win 7 pro here so it should not be such an issue.
We dont have all the info about your system so there is a chance we may miss something really simple such as an aggressive antivirus program or other security in place on your computer or even you not having full admin privileges etc etc.

There is a sticky at the top of this forum and I would suggest you read it and add any extra info you can

[wil@sciencebar.com]

All right, here's what I can add:  I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit with Service Pack 1.

My processor is a 1.5 GHz AMD A8-3500M.

The USB hub is a cheap 4-port model from Targus, and does not have its own power supply.  Is that critical?

For security software I'm running Norton 360.  Windows Defender is turned off.

My account has administrator privileges.  Is there anything more specific I need to set?

Given that the board isn't doing the *wrong* thing when I plug it in (it's doing absolutely nothing), I feel like I'm getting close to the point where it makes sense, diagnostically speaking, to either buy a new board or a new computer, to rule out those two critical variables.

[ballscrewbob]

System looks good for spec.

Hub should have its own PSU as that has been known to make a difference.

Norton has already been seen to cause issues but switching it off for testing should still work

Account is fine but there is another level of administrator above a user with admin rights.

The only thing I can spot is the USB hub not having its own power.
After sorting out that issue then if the problems persist there is a good chance the board is dead in some way.

Another thing would be to test it on another computer as a final method of ruling out your system.
You would not even have to install the IDE etc just look for an unidentified device or a device that needs drivers. If thats the case then the issue goes back to your computer.

[wil@sciencebar.com]

OK, thanks.

I tried plugging the board into a Lenovo Thinkpad Edge running 64-bit Windows 7 Enterprise, Service Pack 1 on a 2.3 GHz Intel Core.

It replicated the earliest behavior I saw on my own machine:  Windows *did* recognize the device and try to install drivers for it, but failed after about 2 seconds and then immediately tried again, in an endless loop.  Nothing appeared in Device Manager, under Ports, Other, or Unknown Device, and the Device Manager was also endlessly refreshing every ~2 seconds.

I tried putting my unpowered Targus USB 2.0 hub in the middle, and this behavior did not change at all.

[ballscrewbob]

Consign it to an early grave...

[wil@sciencebar.com]

Thanks, Bob.  Alas.

[gerardospinelli]

Hi all,

maybe this is silly but I hope somebody may find it useful.

I was having exactly the same problem, tried different cables, teo MKR1000s and all sort of software tinkering.

The problem was that I didnt remove the board from the black foam it is shipped with. Apparently the foam is conductive and creates all sort of erratic behavior, such as blinking LEDs and appearing/disappearing from Windows.

I hope this helps!

G.

[ballscrewbob]

Been mentioned a few times.

But good to get a reminder out to new people.