This article provides some tips to troubleshoot the "Failed to initialize ramloader" error you get while trying to update your Anybus CompactCom firmware in Firmware Manager II.
APPLICABLE PRODUCTS
Anybus CompactCom 30 and Anybus CompactCom 40 products
PRE-REQUISITES
Anybus CompactCom 30 / Anybus CompactCom 40
Anybus CompactCom Starter Kit
Anybus Firmware Manager II
Anybus Transport Provider
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION
You want to update your CompactCom firmware using the ABCC Starter Kit. However, you keep getting the "Failed to initialize ramloader" error after selecting development board transport path and clicking Ok. Therefore, you are unable to move forward with the firmware update.
HOW TO TROUBLESHOOT
Typically, this error occurs when you are using the Manual Update Wizard in Firmware Manager II. In general, this occurs because something prevents the transport path to be fully established between the Firmware Manager II and the ABCC40 module.
We will share what are the points to check step by step if you are getting this error.
- Windows Device Manager
First, when you connect the development board to your computer, make sure it is correctly being detected in your system. For this, go to the Device Manager. When the board is correctly detected, you should see this under 'Universal Serial Bus controllers':
If the board is not being correctly detected, it's important to solve this first. For this, you could try:
- restarting your computer
- using a different cable
- doing the test from a different computer
- Anybus CompactCom state machine
Once the board is correctly detected in your system, you should make sure that you have NOT initialized the module with the example application project provided, because the application will hog the Transport Provider to communicate with the Anybus CompactCom. That serial channel no longer being available for a firmware download, that error will be thrown when you try calling the Transport Provider again from Firmware Manager II.
- Transport Provider
As pointed out earlier, the manual firmware update in Firmware Manager II is done using the Transport Provider tool to communicate with the Anybus CompactCom.
Therefore, if you are still getting the ramloader error, you need to check that the Transport Provider is also correctly detecting the board.
For this, you simply go to the transport path selection window again in the Transport Provider. Select the development board transport path and click on 'Configure'.
If the Transport Provider detects the board correctly, you should see this in the window that pops up:
If the Transport Provider is unable to detect the board, you will see this:
If you see 'No Device Found!' despite the fact that the board correctly appears in the Device Manager, then there is an issue in the system preventing the Transport Provider to find the board.
In this case, restarting your computer should normally solve the issue.
- On-board Dip Switches
If you are still getting this error despite all the previous points being cleared, it is important to check that the control switches on the Starter Kit are in the correct positions, allowing for a manual firmware update.
It is often helpful to make sure that the ON/OFF switches make good contact. Similarly, it could happen that the rotary switches get stuck in an in-between position so it could help to turning it a bit backwards, then turning it back to the desired position.
- On-board RX and TX LEDs
If you are still getting the error despite all the above points being cleared, check if the RX and TX LEDs on the development board flash when you select the transport patch and click 'Ok', like in the following video.
If the RX and TX LEDs are in fact flashing, the issue may be related to your CompactCom module. Try swapping the module with another one and check if the error is still occurring.
If the RX and TX LEDs do not flash, then the issue is either related to the development board or to some issues in your system.
To investigate the issue further, please get in touch with our Technical Support team by creating a ticket on our [Support Portal].