CH32V003 power OFF and power ON bug CH32 no starting !

[rylou31]

Hello,
after programming a sketch in the CH32V003, everything works...
but a simple power OFF /power ON cycle is enough to make the CH32V003 stop working!

I found the cause using WCH-LinkUtility; you have to use F12 (reset).

But that's not the cause...
The real problem is that it boots from the "boot area"...
So, first of all, you have to program the CH32V003 using WCH-LinkUtility by unchecking "Starting from the boot area" in MCU Configuration !

Isn't it possible to add this option in the Arduino interface?

Thanks

[maxint-rd]

This issue doesn't sound familiar. Are you programming the V003 using only the Arduino IDE, or are you using other methods?

Whenever I uploaded a sketch using the IDE, the chip just starts.
The few occasions I uploaded an exported .hex file using the Link Utility, I didn't have to change any such option. (I think that the "Starting from the boot area" option is on by default).

You're asking to add this option to the Arduino IDE, so I'm assuming you are using the IDE for uploading. Whenever I'm programming a new chip, I don't need to change anything using the Link Utility. Sometimes I first use the Link Utility to check if it's connected properly and recognized by the LinkE programmer, but nothing else.
What is your setup? (What chip package; what OS, what version IDE, what version of LinkE firmware, etc.)

Some suggestions:

• Try other V003 chips? Do they all have this issue?
• Try other V003 package (eg. TSSOP20 instead of SOP8), try EVT board.
• Try running the interactive debugger in the IDE. (Compile with symbols and optimize for debugging, put breakpoint in Setup()).
• Check your wiring/breadboard. (Using iffy wires can cause weird issues)
• Try brand new IDE installation. (For test purposes I'm using a Windows 11 VM with fresh installation, next to my development PC)

Hope this is helpful

[rylou31]

Thank you for your reply.

I understand how it happened. I programmed some tests from "rv003usb-master" using WCH-LinkUtility, and since the boot configuration isn't modified by default with Arduino, I ran into this problem!
It's a shame it can't be modified from within Arduino...
Thanks again!

[maxint-rd]

Okay. Good to know you found the cause and documented it here. That might help others.

Since it's not a regular issue, I don't think it will ever be added to the IDE. BTW: One way to temporarily brick the V003 SOP8 was to use serial. This would reassign the SWIO pin. The only fix is to do a power-on erase using the Link Utility. I don't think that will ever be added to the IDE either.

One thing I added to the IDE menu myself was disabling/enabling peripherals. Doing so can safe valuable flash space. It's really useful for the memory limited V003 and V002. In PR #200 I included my changes for that, but mind you that using that PR may break things for processors I haven't tested.

(If you consider this issue resolved, please close it.)