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AR# 59128

Is it possible to (re)install the Xilinx USB/Digilent cable drivers without a full reinstall of Vivado Design Suite?

Description

If the Xilinx USB/Digilent cable driver was not installed when installing Vivado Design Suite or if the Xilinx USB/Digilent cable driver is disabled, is it possible to reinstall the driver without a full reinstallation of Vivado?

Solution

Yes, the driver installers are always supplied with the Vivado installation and are located in <Vivado installation dir>\data\xicom\cable_drivers\

In this directory, there are subdirectories for each OS (nt/nt64) or (lin/lin64)
 

For Windows there is an install_drivers_wrapper batch file which needs to be called with the following arguments:

in 64-bit Windows:

cd <Vivado install path>\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64

install_drivers_wrapper.bat <Vivado install path>\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt64 C<Vivado install path>\install.log <Vivado install path>\

 

in 32-bit Windows:

cd <Vivado install path>\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt

install_drivers_wrapper.bat <Vivado install path>\data\xicom\cable_drivers\nt C<Vivado install path>\install.log <Vivado install path>\


For Linux you need to follow the procedure outlined in the readme.txt (<Vivado installation dir>/data/xicom/cable_drivers/lin64/install_script/install_drivers/readme.txt):

1) Disconnect all Xilinx USB cables from the host computer.
2) Open a shell or terminal console.
3) Extract the driver script and its support files to a local drive of the machine where the cable will be used by typing: 
tar xzvf install_drivers.tar.gz
The extraction creates a directory named install_drivers in the current directory.

4) Navigate to the install_drivers directory by typing: 
cd install_drivers
5) Run the script by typing: 
./install_drivers
6) When the installation is complete, reconnect the cable.
 
7) Change permissions on the USB / PC4 driver by typing:
 
chmod 666 /dev/windrvr6
 
Note: By default, access to windrvr6 is restricted to root only.
 

This step grants group and user access to the driver.

However, if you reboot your system, access to the driver will revert back to root-only and you will have to repeat step #7 (you do not have to rerun the installation script).

If the STATUS indicator on the cable illuminates, then the driver installation completed successfully.

Linked Answer Records

Associated Answer Records

Answer Number Answer Title Version Found Version Resolved
54381 Xilinx Programming Cables - Platform Cable USB and Parallel Cable IV - Driver install FAQ N/A N/A
AR# 59128
Date 02/25/2015
Status Active
Type General Article
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