Feather M4 Express - with CP7.0 - neopixel issue

[roger413]

Feather M4 Express, loaded with CircuitPython7.0

When:

import neopixel

is used, code will not execute: the REPL says the neopixel.mpy module needs to be "updated".

neopixel.mpy can't be anymore "updated" than CP7.0

Other things seen:

FEATHERBOOT is never seen on the drive list. (w/Windows 10 on a Dell laptop)

And the REPL says in the title it using CP5.3, even when the drive shows CP7 is being used!

One final detail, one of the two boards purchased works when the neopixel.mpy module is used in the code; the other board does not.

Boards purchased Oct. 10 Order Number 2675380-5087638483

[tannewt]

How are you checking the version numbers of everything? If the REPL says 5.3 then I'd trust it. To update to 7.0 you'll need to double click reset to get to FEATHERBOOT.

[roger413]

The problem is that I never see FEATHERBOOT as a mounted drive after I double click. It disappears from the list.
Apparently this is a frequent issue, and am unable to move forward.

How can I drag and drop CP7.0 to Featherboot - when there is no FeatherBoot shown? There is no drive to drag CP7.0 to.

CircuitPython newbie.
Feather M4 Express newbie.

Frustration level high.

So my question is: how do I get CP7.0 installed on Feather M4 Express?
Do I remove CP5.3 first (which is what the boards came installed with); if so, how to do that?

Step by step guidance would be much appreciated.

[tannewt]

This sounds totally frustrating. When you have recovered from the frustration I'd suggest joining #help-with-circuitpython on the Discord chat: https://adafru.it/discord Even though it isn't official support, it is more real time and could help.

I haven't heard of the BOOT drive disappearing after it appears before a file is copied over. It will automatically disappear after copying a file onto it. It can tell when it's gotten the whole UF2 so it is safe to restart.

After double clicking, the BOOT drive should show and stay. If that doesn't happen, hen that is the first thing is to fix.

Trying another USB cable is worth a try and maybe a different usb port.

[roger413]

Thanks, cables are verified good; using other USB ports gives same issues. Other Dell laptops and desktops give the same result.
The commonality is they all are running Windows 10.

My goal is to load CP7.0 onto the Feather M4 Express, so I can use the board in development work.
When I attach Feather M4 Express to the USB port it appears as CIRCUITPY drive.
When I double click the reset button to put it into boot mode, it does appear to do that - with a steady green NEOPIXEL and the red led in a dimming cycle.
BUT, and this is important to note:
NO FEATHERBOOT shows up. Therefore I can not move the CP7.0 .UF2 file on to it.

I am stopped in my tracks at that point. Have run out of ideas on how to proceed.

I have attached a file showing two screen shots: the top image is what appears when I attach the Feather M4 Express, where it shows up as CIRCUITPY
And the lower image is a screen shot of how it has disappeared.

I tried Discord; don't understand how to post specific questions, etc.

Thanks again for your support.

[danhalbert]

Here are some reasons why the BOOT drive may not appear: https://learn.adafruit.com/welcome-to-c ... leshooting. Most of them are due to utility programs that are interfering. Do you have any of these or any other third-party utility programs, such as antivirus, backup programs, or disk monitoring programs?

Note that you can delete the .UF2 file from CIRCUITPY. It is not doing any good there. It needs to be copied to the BOOT drive.

[roger413]

That was a very good clue; this development is being done on company, firewalled PCs with lots of anti-virus S/W, and there was no way they were going to turn it off or uninstall it even for a short while.

I found an old Windows 7 PC and FEATHERBOOT appeared when the Feather M4 Express was doubled clicked and put into boot mode.

It was then successfully loaded with CP7.0

Still, to whom do I address this issue? Our anti-virus S/W and firewalls are very normal and industry standard.
To have this issue crop up means many other users will experience this super frustrating issue.

Again, much thanks for your help.

[danhalbert]

We would be interested in exactly which antivirus, monitoring, and utility programs you have installed on the company machines. In several cases there have been bugs in these programs, which have eventually been fixed. These programs expect external disk drives to act in a certain way. I don't think we are necessarily acting out of spec, but they are expecting something to act in a certain way, and it doesn't match their expectations.

See for instance this list: https://learn.adafruit.com/welcome-to-c ... -2999180-8. You are not having lockups, but something is scared of the BOOT drive.

Note that the BOOT drive is a "fake" drive: it does not act like a real drive in certain respects (you can't copy arbitrary files to it, etc.)

If you have company-sanctioned Macs or Linux machines, you might try one of those.