Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

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Beamz
 
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Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

I have been working with several Metro M4 Express boards using Arduino IDE and of the four I have, two are no longer recognized when plugged into the computer. One does not have any lights switching on or off, and the other has a short flash of the On light and the Neopixel flashes white for a moment and then nothing. These boards are brand new, the first one worked for a couple of hours, and the second just a couple of days.

I have not had issues using several Arduino Unos and SparkFun RedBoards in the past. Do I have faulty equipment, am I handling them incorrectly, or is there a way to reset them?

Thank you for you help!

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by mikeysklar »

It is very unusual for two boards to show no LEDs and not appear to the OS after working for a few days.

Is there any other device connected?

Which USB port are you connecting to on your machine? I'll assume it is the same known good cables being used.

What kind of code is being uploaded?

Is there any response with the device going into bootloader (press reset once) mode?

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-met ... bootloader

If not the boards likely need a fresh bootloader installed via J-link programmer.

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Beamz
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

mikeysklar,

One of the boards is now working but the other is completely dead, no lights and not showing up on the computer.

The board that is not working at all was connected to a flight simulator, which works fine on the second board.

I have tried all of the ports and two different machines on the board that will not light up and the cable works well with other boards.

The code was provided to me to work on the Metro M4 using Arduino IDE. I did update all of the libraries and boards to do this. This initially was successful and then while trouble shooting how to modify the code to log data, the board went dead.

I may look into the J-Link. I am not familiar with them, can I get any J-Link Programmer to reinstall the bootloader and reset the board?

Thank you!

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by mikeysklar »

The Metro M4 Express which is not showing any LED activity can you post a photo of it top and bottom?

Do you recall the purchase date for this board?

Any of the J-Link debuggers Adafruit sells will work for getting bootloaders onto bare metal. The EDU is the most affordable option.

https://www.adafruit.com/product/3571

https://learn.adafruit.com/how-to-progr ... ootloaders

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Beamz
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

Attached are top and bottom pictures, and is was purchased March 15th.
Top.jpg
Top.jpg (353.89 KiB) Viewed 264 times
Bottom.jpg
Bottom.jpg (301.97 KiB) Viewed 264 times

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by mikeysklar »

We can replace this Metro M4 express for you. It is under 30-day warranty.

Please e-mail [email protected] with a request for replacement. Include your invoice# and a link to this forum thread.

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Beamz
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

mikeysklar,

I have run into new issues with the two other Metro M4 boards that I purchased along with the one being replaced. One of them also no longer lights up, so I connected a different one which does light up, but it cannot be recognized by either of my computers.

Any advice on what I should do?

Thank you!

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by mikeysklar »

It seems something about your environment is causing these controllers to get into a funky state.

You should pickup a j-link so you have a way to recover from bare metal if things go sideways like this.

In the meantime what are you seeing from the controller in terms of LED colors, blink patterns and even on the serial console?

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Beamz
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

mikeysklar,

I am not sure what environmentally could be causing trouble with these controllers, as we have not seen issues like this with any other controllers. These are our first controllers from adafruit, but we have been using Arduinos for several years and have not run into this.

I would purchase a J-Link EDU like you suggested, but it seems that they are out of stock currently. I selected to be notified as soon as they come back in stock and will hopefully be able to get one at that time.

One M4 shows no lights, just like the previous one I contacted you about. The other it periodically working. It initially intermittently had the on light green and the neopixel would flash white, but the computer could not recognize it. Then the green and white light stayed on but the board could not be recognized on either of the computers that I have access to. Now after sitting unused for several days it seems to be communicating with the computer again. It has done this twice in the last two weeks.

When the board is not communicating with the computer nothing is showing on the serial monitor in Arduino IDE.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by mikeysklar »

How are you using these M4 Express boards? eg. What is connected to them and is everything going into the GPIO pins coming in at 3v3 voltage? Since you had been using Arduinos before my concern that maybe you are connecting in some 5v sources?

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Beamz
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

Up until now I have been powering the M4 themselves using 5V USB, however I do have instructions that have 9V into the VIN and did test that today successfully. I am connecting the M4 board to a Payload Interface Board that produces simulated flight data for a rocket and sends it to the M4 that is also where the 9V input to VIN comes from. (Wiring Diagram Below)
TechRise Wiring.png
TechRise Wiring.png (294.85 KiB) Viewed 170 times
I then have 3.3V out to a SPI 512 for data logging using pin 4 for CS, and 5V out to a Geiger Counter using pin 6 for data.

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mikeysklar
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by mikeysklar »

Is the 9v power supply making a difference? That is fine to use.

Nice diagram. This is a cool project with a lot going on.

You will need to determine if any individual component is sending 5v into the Metro M4. That would be the most likely cause for the controllers to get seized up.

Have you been able to run the components one at a time to see which ones work versus seize up the controller?

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Beamz
 
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Re: Metro M4 Express no longer recognized by computer

Post by Beamz »

mikeysklar,

We have been able to use all the pieces individually and together. The cause of issues does not seem to be apparent since as of right now I have an M4 plugged in and working without any issues. When the other boards stopped it seemed random since they were working just beforehand and nothing new was plugged in or unplugged at those points in testing the code and equipment.

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