nRF Connect SDK Intermediate Lesson 1 Exercise 1 Debugging Issues

[TomSansome]

Hi

This is my first time using nRF connect and Visual studio but I have been following through first the Fundamentals course on the Dev Academy using the nRF52840 DK with no issues.

However in exercise 1 of lesson 1 of the Intermediate course, when attempting to debug i do not end up in "main" function but in the file ".../zephyr/arch/arm/core/cortex_m/reset.S". I also do not have any of the functions showing in the call stack or any threads in the thread view of the NRF Debug terminal.

The code appears to run correctly if i stop debugging and i get the LEDs toggling and the terminal outputs as expected and i get the same behavior using the solution code so i assume it is something to do with my setup rather than the code itself.

I am connected to the nRF52840 DK directly via USB.

I would be grateful for an suggestions on how to go about resolving this.

[Edvin]

Hello,

Does it start in reset.S? Have you tried setting a breakpoint somewhere near the start of your main() function, and then hit the "play" button near the top of the VS Code window?

Does it jump into main() then?

Best regards,

Edvin

[TomSansome]

Hi Edvin,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Yes it starts in reset.S, if i set a break point in main() and then continue it stops at the break point in main() but I don't get anything in the Thread Viewer and the call stack only contains main().  If i add a break point at the end of main() and continue to it then the tread viewer is populated but greyed out (cannot interact with anything unlike the description in exercise 1) and the call stack still only contains main(). Is this how it is supposed to function?

Best regards,

Tom

[TomSansome]

Hi Edvin,

Thank you for your help, hopefully this is the correct way to upload the file, please let me know if you need anything else.

inter_less1_exer1.zip

Best regards,

Tom

[Edvin]

When you see the window that you are seeing, and says "No threads are available for display.", like it does in your previous screenshot. What does it say if you press "Terminal"? Can you share a screenshot of that aswell?

And please try to make sure you selected the correct project before clicking "Debug", and that you have opened the main.c file of that project before you click "Debug". (Opened properly, by double clicking the main.c tab at the top of the screen:

What does the terminal tab look like?

[TomSansome]

Here is the screenshot of the terminal window after starting debugging and having continued to the breakpoint in main():

I only have a single project open so i dont think that has been an issue but doing as you suggest seems not to make a difference, still not threads available for display.

Not sure if it is useful but here is the debug terminal output as well:

Cheers,

Tom

[Edvin]

Hello Tom,

Ok, try opening a new nRF Connect terminal by pressing the little plus sign at the far right:

And kill all other terminals than the nRF Connect one. Then start the debug session all over. See if that helps. If not, can you please try to generate some support information:

Save that information to a file, and upload it here. 

TomSansome said:

Not sure if it is useful but here is the debug terminal output as well:

What does this say if you press the play button so that the breakpoint in main is hit? And after it is hit, does the NRF DEBUG terminal still doesn't show anything?

BR,
Edvin

[TomSansome]

Hi Edvin,

Closing the other terminals and the opening a new nRF connect terminal does not make any difference, but it does appear to be named differently than the terminal in your screenshot. When i start a new debug session it creates a new terminal that does not start with "nRF Connect:" not sure if this matters?

here is the support information:

Fullscreen nRF Connect support information 13-5-2024.txt Download

IMPORTANT: The data below could contain sensitive or confidential information about your environment.
If you do not wish this to be seen by others, please make sure to remove it before sharing.

For help and support, visit the Nordic DevZone at https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/.

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Edvin said:

What does this say if you press the play button so that the breakpoint in main is hit? And after it is hit, does the NRF DEBUG terminal still doesn't show anything?

I had continued to the breakpoint in main() in the previous screenshot (the breakpoint was not right at the start of main() but it makes no difference where i place it in main(). The NRF DEBUG window still shows no threads available at this breakpoint.

Many thanks,

Tom

[Edvin]

Hello Tom,

Sorry for the late reply. We have had several public days off the last couple of weeks, and the backlog has grown proportionally with that.

Have you tried this on another computer? I ran this by the team that wrote the DevAcademy course that you refer to, and we didn't find anything that stood out as a mistake. Perhaps there is something wrong with the way that the toolchain is set up. Your project works as intended on my computer.

So for debugging (the debugging) purposes, can you please try to run the application on a different computer?

Best regards,

Edvin

[TomSansome]

Hi Edvin,

No worries, thanks again for helping with this.

I have not tried on another computer as I unfortunately don't have access to one at the moment.

Would removing and then reinstalling everything be worth trying in the mean time? If so are there any specific steps i should take to ensure a fresh install (i.e. just re-install VS code or remove the command line tools and jlink drivers as well)?

I had previously setup VS code and nRF Connect around a year or two ago but at the time found out that ANT+ was not supported so had to use SES instead. When i set it up this time i wanted to start fresh and uninstalled VS code, the command line tools, jlink drivers etc. and then reinstalled them as per the instructions on the dev academy but found that VS code came back with all my previous extensions and settings for some reason. Do you know if there is a way to do a clean install of VS code?

Many thanks

Tom

[Edvin]

Hello Tom,

I don't know all the quirks with VS Code, but perhaps you can try some of the hints here:

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/47689536/how-to-completely-uninstall-vs-code-on-windows

Also, J-Link is a bit weird some times. I have v7.94e and v7.88j installed on this computer, so perhaps you can try that combination.

Best regards,

Edvin

[TomSansome]

Hi Edvin,

I have removed and reinstalled VS code, the command line tools and the jlink drivers you suggested. The only thing of note was that when reinstalling the command line tools it did not prompt me to install a jlink driver so i manually installed the versions you recommended. I also had to add the command line tools and the jlink software to the system Path variables in order for them to be found by VS Code.

Unfortunately there is no change in the behaviour and still no threads are displayed.

It should not matter how i am powering and connecting to the dev kit i assume? i am currently just connected and powered over USB.

Many thanks,

Tom

[Edvin]

Hello Tom,

You should just power it like you usually do when you program the kit. Unfortunately, I am not sure what the issue is, then. But you are able to run a debug session, right? You just don't see the thread information?

How about debugging with Ozone? Did you try that? I do experience some bugs myself when debugging using VS Code, but most is solved after power cycling the DK, or even deleting the build folder and rebuilding the project.

BR,
Edvin