Windows native

The preferred method is to use Windows WSL, but also in native windows we can install the tools. For this purpose we are going to use MSYS2 and the CAD tools.

Installing MSYS2

Download and install MSYS2 from the official website. It’s recommended to not change the default installation path, as this guide will assume that MSYS2 is installed in the default directory: C:\msys64.

Note

MSYS2 is used to provide commands such as mkdir, ls, etc. in a windows terminal.

We will be using make. To install it open an MSYS2 MSYS terminal. In this terminal execute following command:

pacman -S make

Installing the cad-tools required

Open a MSYS2 MSYS terminal. In this terminal execute following command:

pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-ghdl-llvm mingw-w64-x86_64-iverilog mingw-64-x86_64-verilator mingw-w64-x86_64-gtkwave mingw-w64-x86_64-yosys mingw-w64-x86_64-nextpnr mingw-w64-x86_64-prjtrellis mingw-w64-x86_64-openFPGALoader

Important

To use the oss-cas-suite you always need to work in an MSYS2 MSYS terminal!

Installing the device driver

As the tools are based on libusb, we have to change the device driver for the GECKO5Education/Modular. For this purpose we are going to use the tool zadig. Download zadig from the official website and execute it.

To change the device driver, do following:

  1. Plug-in your GECKO5Education/Modular board into your computer.

    Important

    In case of the GECKO5Education make sure that you hold the ESP32 bootmode button.

  2. Goto Options and click List All Devices.

  3. In the drop-down list select Dual RS232-HS (Interface 0)

  4. Click on the button Replace Driver (This can take a while).

You should now be able to use the GECKO5Education/Modular. To test your setup, open a terminal and execute:

openFPGALoader --detect

You should see as response:

empty
No cable or board specified: using direct ft2232 interface
Cannot read iSerialNumber field from FTDI: considered as empty string
Jtag frequency : requested 6.00MHz   -> real 6.00MHz
index 0:
        idcode 0x41113043
        manufacturer lattice
        famely ECP5
        model  LFE5U-85
        irlength 8

Important

  1. Each time after a windows update you have to repeat this procedure!

  2. Windows is very persintent, it has been observed that it changes ramdomly the device driver, so if you can not download your bitfile, you have to repeat the above procedure.