Mac doesn't see Digispark Pro Boards

[keepersgain]

Hi,

Just received my Digispark Pro boards. Downloaded latest Arduino IDE 1.5.8. I'm running a Macbook Pro on 10.6.8. I can select the Digispark Pro board and set the programmer to USBasp but after uploading a sketch and pluging in the Digispark, nothing happens. The blink program starts up again on the Digispark and the Arduino IDE is left with the message:

Running Digispark Uploader...
Plug in device now... (will timeout in 60 seconds)

way after 60 seconds it's still there. I've tried different usb ports on the Mac and the two Digispark boards.

Should I be able to see the Digispark registering the system preference under network?

Any help gratefully received.

Keepersgain.

[digistump]

the programmer setting does not matter - so it should be working

Do you have a second computer you can test with?

The issue may be 10.6.8 - the programs were compiled on 10.8/10.9 - I'm no mac expert so I'm not sure if that is the issue

Also worth trying a second usb cable if you haven't yet.

[traphyk]

This sounds like the issue I'm having but without the crash. The crash could also be part of my setup, though, an unrelated coincidence. If you wouldn't mind posting your mach. specs we could compare and (maybe) straighten this out. I'm also running 10.6.8 on a MacBook Pro motherboard so that's where I'm thinking the issue is. Is your Macbook from the same generation as my motherboard?

[gemby]

Same here OSX 10.9.5 MBP late 2012
Arduino 1.5.8
Digispark works, Digispark Pro does not work
I have correct board chosen ( Digispark Pro for Digispark Pro ) and correct programmer ( micronucleus for both of them ), tried with hub, without hub, several cables ( which all of them works with leonardo, and powers up Raspbery PI without problems )

[gemby]

It is solved, it was cable, Pros and Mac are in love yet.

[traphyk]

I have yet to get mine working and am thoroughly convinced it's the software.

I've got my Pro working on a friend's computer but it's quite disappointing that I can't get it to work on my own machine, because I'm not really able to do anything with it until this gets figured out.

It's definitely the software being incompatible with 10.6.8 for me. Same software, same pro, same cable worked on 10.8
I'd be interested if there will be a solution or if I'll be stuck without a working solution.

[digistump]

We are working on a more compatible version - I can't say for sure if it will work on 10.6 but it will be out for testing next week, and if it doesn't then we just need to get someone with 10.6 to compile a few things for us

[traphyk]

Any news on compatibility? I haven't been around for a few weeks so if the update still needs testing I can test it out and let you know. I'm on 10.6.8. I can probably compile what is needed if it doesn't work as well. I'm just currently not sure where the issue was.

[digistump]

If you can test 1.5.8B (or higher if we release 1.5.8C before you see this) I swapped out the usb libraries for copies that were compat with older versions of OSX

[traphyk]

I've tested the current IDE (1.5.8B) on my machine. Still getting the same issue - sh crashes and the Pro does nothing. Well, it continues to blink as the original sketch provides. I've tried a multitude of cables, and I'm finding that sh will fail even if I don't have a Pro plugged in at all. I'm wondering if it's the usb library or something else. I've gotten it to run on another machine, running OSX 10.9, but it is slow and sometimes fails to upload.

Now that you've released the linux version as well, I will test that on this same machine (booted into a linux box of course) and let you know my results. Hopefully, it is the software and not my machine. However, I believe it may be a still unresolved software issue.

[defragster]

New IDE Release for All Digistump Boards (Digispark, Pro, and DigiX) - 1.5.8C
http://digistump.com/board/index.php/topic,1665.0.html

Night be worth a try released the 16th.

[traphyk]

Thanks defragster, I actually made a typo when I wrote 1.5.8B, I meant C. All of the previous talk about B must've gotten to my head.

Anyways, to report back, correctly this time, 1.5.8C does not run on my Macbook running OSX 10.6.8 - however, when booted to Ubuntu 14, the linux build works just fine. This isn't my regular setup, but I can use it as a temporary work around.

The issues I previously reported have continued into 1.5.8C when using OSX 10.6.8, and in fact, on the original beta release of software, I saw more functionality. The IDE is very slow and laggy on 10.6.8, which I noticed carried over (less slow, and less laggy, though) when I tried 10.9 - maybe it is not optimized for the systems I have been using but it is significantly slower than the stock Arduino IDE even when working with UNOs.

I have been able to get the IDE to work with boards other than the Digispark PRO, however, as I mentioned before, it is slow. I've tested with a generic and real UNO, an SMD generic UNO, several Pro Minis, and a standalone chip using an UNO as a programmer. I've been able to successfully upload in all of these cases, but I have noticed one other issue - almost every time, I must quit and reopen the IDE or it will not upload a second time to the same board, even when I have physically detached the board and reattached it. It worked fine with the Pro Minis, but I'm skeptical because they are generic boards.

[digistump]

@traphyk

Thanks for the detail!

We don't' change the IDE in any meaningful way - we just add more hardware definitions and our upload tools which only run on upload - so I don't know why it would be laggy. Can you tell me what version of the regular Arduino IDE you are using/comparing to?

I think 10.6 might just be too early of a version for the USB libraries we are using - if we can get someone using 10.6 that can compile micronucleus (from the V2 branch) and then provide us with the compiled binary and the dylib files for it then we can support it - there are some good threads here on how to do that if you (or anyone reading this) is willing!

[traphyk]

Thanks - in the meantime, I've use some slick tricks to get past Apple's auth for OSX Lion (10.7.5), and was able to get it installed, and now I've got two bootable partitions for this machine. I'm hopeful that the IDE and adjustments will function fine with Lion.

So, for now I will be able to run the IDE on Lion. I was running the latest nightly of the Arduino IDE - but get this - there is another issue - the Arduino 1.5 IDE isn't compatible with Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6.X) at ALL. However, the more recently released nightly betas are (advertised as) compatible. This could be a reason I'm seeing issues, because prior to updating for the Digispark Pro, I have run the 1.1.0 IDE for quite some time. I would like to look into this and find out if this is the issue with the IDE - that inherently Arduino IDE 1.5.X just won't work fully on OSX 10.6.8

I'm a student and we're just getting back to classes, but if no one else tackles it first, I will absolutely compile (or at least make an attempt) micronucleus from 10.6.8. My spring break is in mid-March, and that's about the time I'll have time to sit down and work on it, so, if it isn't done by then, expect to hear from me!

Even though I have a workaround, it would be helpful for anyone else on 10.6.X who isn't able to forcibly upgrade their machine like I was. Sometimes hardware incompatibilities are extremely annoying!