Cannot install nRF SDK

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Rick Cai — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 15:05:13 GMT

It looks there is no conclusion in this thread.

I met this same problem today when I ran "west init -m github.com/.../ncs-example-application --mr main my-workspace" in "ncs" folder.

Then I realize that the problem is "ncs" folder. "ncs" folder is created by "nRF Connect" of VS Code extension.

I guess it added some flags to protect access privilege of "ncs" directory when VS code is open.

So I switch another folder "test", there is no problem at all.

Hope this can help you guys in the future.

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

JONATHAN LL — Sun, 08 Dec 2024 20:07:11 GMT

Nice to see that you found a fix in some way and thanks for updating. I will report infernally, and see if anyone has a expiation here but not sure if I will find a answer.

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Will_20241202 — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 16:53:01 GMT

[UPDATE 2024-12-06]

This morning I started digging into what exactly was being tried and failing so I looked at the "project.py, line 339" and changed the debug print above it at line 326 from "level=Verbosity.DBG_EXTREME" to "level=Verbosity.DBG" so I could see what it was moving and where.

Presumably that didn't have any significant impact (since I never see the print in the output) but when I tried again to install SDK v2.7.0 and v2.8.0 they both succeeded without issue!

I wish I had an explanation for why it worked this time but not the twenty other times I tried in the past few days, but at least I can move forward.

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

JONATHAN LL — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 14:48:06 GMT

We see similar issues when Widows defender blocks installs. So windows is blocking the python here for some reason, can be a write\read permission issue for python here that you have already tried to bypass.

You will not be able to go around this step manually as running this manual is just running the same command by hand so you will get the same error, or that is what I suspect from seeing the other steps you have done here.

Check with IT if you can disable windows security for this install to test.

You can try to run on a different computer, ask to borrow from IT just to test if it is yours only, sometimes windows can behave strange.

Regards,
Jonathan

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Will_20241202 — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 13:26:10 GMT

Thanks Jonathan. Unfortunately this is a work computer that is managed by the IT department and getting permission for turning off security features is unlikely at best. Is there any way to get more information about what the install script is trying to do - especially during the part that's failing - and find another way to accomplish it manually?

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

JONATHAN LL — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:31:27 GMT

Thanks:

Chance antivirus or any other 3rd party software is in place that blocks this?

This issue can be related to antivirus or widows defender in some cases, so try to disable any antivirus or defender SW and try again.

Regards,
Jonathan

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Will_20241202 — Thu, 05 Dec 2024 14:09:57 GMT

# nRFConnect System Report - 2024-12-05T14-08-56.604Z

- System:     Dell Inc. XPS 8940
- BIOS:       Dell Inc. DELL   - 1072009
- CPU:        1 x Intel Gen Intel® Core™ i9-11900K 3.5 GHz 16 cores (8 physical)
- Memory:     31.2 GB free of 63.7 GB total
- Filesystem: C: (NTFS) 1.9 TB 24.1% used

- OS:         Microsoft Windows 10 Enterprise (10.0.19045) Windows x64

- Versions
    - kernel: 10.0.19045
    - git: 2.37.1.windows.1
    - node: 20.18.0
    - python: 3.11.3
    - python3:
    - nrfutil-nrfutil-toolchain-manager: 0.15.0
- Connected devices:

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

JONATHAN LL — Wed, 04 Dec 2024 23:34:29 GMT

Hi,

Can you share a system report and share with us?

In the about section of the toolchain manager.

Regards,
Jonathan

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Will_20241202 — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 17:04:05 GMT

Out of desperation I tried manually installing the SDK following the guide at https://docs.nordicsemi.com/bundle/ncs-latest/page/nrf/installation/install_ncs.html and ran into the same error.

How is a folder/file that is created by the running process not accessible to that same process???

(v2.6.2) C:\ncs> west init -m github.com/.../sdk-nrf --mr v2.8.0 v2.8.0
=== Initializing in C:\ncs\v2.8.0
--- Cloning manifest repository from github.com/.../sdk-nrf, rev. v2.8.0
Cloning into 'C:\ncs\v2.8.0\.west\manifest-tmp'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 278551, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (1482/1482), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (969/969), done.
remote: Total 278551 (delta 797), reused 783 (delta 479), pack-reused 277069 (from 1)
Receiving objects: 100% (278551/278551), 163.94 MiB | 3.72 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (208066/208066), done.
Note: switching to 'a2386bfc84016fa571f997ac871b25bd67ca481a'.

You are in 'detached HEAD' state. You can look around, make experimental
changes and commit them, and you can discard any commits you make in this
state without impacting any branches by switching back to a branch.

If you want to create a new branch to retain commits you create, you may
do so (now or later) by using -c with the switch command. Example:

git switch -c <new-branch-name>

Or undo this operation with:

git switch -

Turn off this advice by setting config variable advice.detachedHead to false

Updating files: 100% (11871/11871), done.
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "shutil.py", line 825, in move
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'C:\\ncs\\v2.8.0\\.west\\manifest-tmp' -> 'C:\\ncs\\v2.8.0\\nrf'

During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "runpy.py", line 197, in _run_module_as_main
File "runpy.py", line 87, in _run_code
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Scripts\west.exe\__main__.py", line 7, in <module>
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\app\main.py", line 1085, in main
    app.run(argv or sys.argv[1:])
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\app\main.py", line 244, in run
    self.run_command(argv, early_args)
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\app\main.py", line 503, in run_command
    self.run_builtin(args, unknown)
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\app\main.py", line 611, in run_builtin
    self.cmd.run(args, unknown, self.topdir,
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\commands.py", line 194, in run
    self.do_run(args, unknown)
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\app\project.py", line 224, in do_run
    topdir = self.bootstrap(args)
File "C:\ncs\toolchains\cf2149caf2\opt\bin\Lib\site-packages\west\app\project.py", line 339, in bootstrap
    shutil.move(os.fspath(tempdir), os.fspath(manifest_abspath))
File "shutil.py", line 843, in move
File "shutil.py", line 759, in rmtree
File "shutil.py", line 624, in _rmtree_unsafe
File "shutil.py", line 624, in _rmtree_unsafe
File "shutil.py", line 624, in _rmtree_unsafe
File "shutil.py", line 629, in _rmtree_unsafe
File "shutil.py", line 627, in _rmtree_unsafe
PermissionError: [WinError 5] Access is denied: 'C:\\ncs\\v2.8.0\\.west\\manifest-tmp\\.git\\objects\\pack\\pack-5b49292d22e3afbb5af7f020a1d2eb9775c3425d.idx'

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Will_20241202 — Tue, 03 Dec 2024 13:15:59 GMT

Unfortunately I have already gone down the account permissions route and it has not made any difference. I have tried running as both regular and administrator user. I have gone into the folder permissions and set them to compete access to all users. I'm still seeing the exact same issue.

Also worth mentioning, I tried changing the install location from the default "C:\ncs" to a completely different drive (D:\ncs) and it still gave me a permissions error.

RE: Cannot install nRF SDK

Dazai — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 22:53:53 GMT

In my experience, "Access is denied" is caused either by:

1. User account not having permissions to modify the folder/file, or

2. The folder/file is open in another application which is preventing it from being accessed.

For #2, simply close any applications that might be using folder/files (including Git clients, if applicable) and try again.

For #1: If you installed the nRF Command Line Tools / SDK with administrator permissions, you may be able to uninstall it and reinstall without using administrator permissions so your normal user account can modify the install folders.

If that's not possible, you may be able to fix it by changing the folder permissions in Windows. DISCLAIMER: changing folder permissions can cause problems, so proceed at your own risk.

I recommend using Windows Explorer to check the permissions on the C:\ncs and C:\ncs\v2.8.0 folders (my guess is it's one of those two) and verify your user account has permission to modify them. Right click the folder, Properties, Security tab, click either on "Authenticated Users" or your user account if it's there, and see if "Allow" is checked next to "Modify," "Read," "Write". If not, click the "Edit..." button to change permissions, and check the box next to "Full control" in the "Allow" column.