Upload to RPi Pico W issue

Using Arduino Avrdude, stk500, Bootloader issues
1

A brandnew Pico W was initiated as follows:

  1. Added this line to Additional Boards Manager:
https://github.com/earlephilhower/arduino-pico/releases/download/global/package_rp2040_index.json,
  1. installed this board in Boards Manager
  2. first-time connection of Pico: press the Bootsel button prior to connecting USB
  3. release the button while connected; the USB port now shows up in Device Manager, and in the Arduino IDE for the, for example, blink program, the port shows up as "Com8 (Raspberri Pi Pico W)"
  4. Remove the USB cable; replug the USB cable.
  5. But when download is selected in the Arduino IDE (of course the correct Pico W board is selected too), after compile, it hangs with the message "Resetting COM8".

What is wrong? Does the Bootsel button have to be pressed, prior to USB cable insertion, for every download?

2

some notes I have from when I used the RPi Pico and had boot problems

  1. disconnect the Pico USB, press BOOTSEL connect the Pico USB
    2 Tools>Port displays UF2 board select it and upload program
    3.after a time UF2 should change to a COM port - select it

if above does not work try unplugging device
COM port appears in Windows device manager
Tools>port select it

very tricky but once COM port is open it programs OK etc

3

But does the Bootsel button have to be pressed prior to inserting the USB cable every time?

4

in the main no - just occasionally I find I need to press BOOTSEL
I prefer the ESP32 WiFi to the RPi Pico WiFi - lower cost and far less problems

5

I just discovered that on one of my three Pico W I used the BOOTSEL "procedure" just once and I can upload every time after plugging in the USB, so that one Pico is ok.

On the other two Pico's I have done the BOOTSEL "procedure" multiple times. Upon upload there appears a "Resetting COM8" (or whatever Com port the Pico is connected to) for about five minutes, and then:

Converting to uf2, output size: 957952, start address: 0x2000
Scanning for RP2040 devices
No drive to deploy.
An error occured during uploading the sketch

I suspect that using this BOOTSEL procedure multiple times that it may have corrupted the bootloading section?
How to get the Pico back to "normal"?

6

Solved. This topic here should really be bookmarked.

The issue of a hard hang of the Pico as soon as a flashing should begin is also addressed by earlephilhower on his Pico Github page (see bottom part).

"In some cases the Pico will encounter a hard hang and its USB port will not respond to the auto-reset request. Should this happen, just follow the initial procedure of holding the BOOTSEL button down while plugging in the Pico to enter the ROM bootloader."

But in my case I would need to press the BOOTSEL button every time prior to USB insertion.

The topic in the first url in my post, by @Papirrruqui , is essential.

  1. He describes how to reset the Pico to its factory status (check this link to the official Pico website) at the bottom of that page: Resetting Flash Memory
  2. he also shows how to clear the USB bus connections history on the Pico on your pc.
  3. and finally how to proceed with the first few Pico flash operations.
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