Chapter 4 ■ Hello World!

4.5 Burn It!
Now that we’re satisfied that our design works in principle, it’s time for the moment of truth: running it on
real hardware!

4.5.1 Install USB Blaster Driver

You only need to run these steps one time. If you already installed the driver then go the Program Design
section.
1.
Connect your BeMicro MAX 10 kit to your PC using the provided mini-USB cable.
2.
The Installing device driver software pop-up dialog box appears (Figure 4-50).

Figure 4-50.  Windows tries to find a driver for you

3.
The Windows driver installation will NOT find a driver. Click Close (Figure 4-51).

Figure 4-51.  Device driver software was not successfully installed

1.
Launch the Windows Device Manager by clicking the Windows Start button and
selecting Control Panel then double-clicking the Device Manager icon.
2.
Right-click the USB-Blaster which will be listed under Other Devices and select
Update Driver Software… (Figure 4-52).

89
Chapter 4 ■ Hello World!

Figure 4-52.  Device Manager

3.
Do not search automatically. Instead select Browse my computer for driver
software (Figure 4-53).

90
 Chapter 4 ■ Hello World!

Figure 4-53.  Device manager

4.
When you are prompted to insert the disc that came with your USB-Blaster,
select “I don't have a disc. Show me other options.”
5.
Select Browse my computer for driver software (advanced) when you see that
Windows couldn't find the driver software for your device dialog box.
6.
Click Browse, and browse to the C:\altera_lite\15.1\quartus\drivers\usb-
blaster directory. Note: Do not select the x32 or x64 directories. Click OK. Select
the Include subfolders option, and click Next (Figure 4-54).

Figure 4-54.  Update Driver Software - Altera USB-Blaster

91
Chapter 4 ■ Hello World!

7.
If you are prompted that Windows can't verify the publisher of this driver
software, select Install this driver software anyway in the Window Security dialog
box. The installation wizard guides you through the installation process. When
the software for this device has been successfully installed and the dialog box
appears, click Close.

4.5.2 Program Design
This is the last step to put your first FPGA design into the real world-hardware!
1.
Back in Quartus Prime, switch to the Task tab. Check that the Assembler
(Generate programming files) task has a green check next to it (If there isn’t a
green tick, then double-click the Assembler and it should run and change to
a green tick after it finishes) as Figure 4-55 and double-click Program Device
(Open Programmer) to open the Altera programmer (Figure 4-55).

Figure 4-55.  Open Altera USB-Blaster Programmer

Quartus Prime will grind away for a while as it turns our design into a bitstream
suitable for loading onto your FPGA. This takes the form of a file with the
filename extension .sof in the project folder. You can find out some interesting
statistics about the design, including its utilization of FPGA resources, in the
Compilation Report. Unsurprisingly, we’re using less than 1% of what the chip
has to offer, and our design meets all timing constraints.
2.
Click the Hardware Setup… icon in the Programmer (Figure 4-56). In the
Hardware Setup dialog select USB-Blaster [USB-0] and click Close (Figure 4-57).

92
 Chapter 4 ■ Hello World!

Figure 4-56. Programmer

Figure 4-57.  Programmer—Hardware setup

93