[DorsetFlyer]

I have a CC3D that appears to be faulty. When I connect it via USB it is recognised as a "CopterController" but is not assigned a port. So it can't connect to LibrePilot. I suppose it is a dud, but before I bin it I wonder it there is a fix.

[hwh]

There's probably nothing wrong with the board if it's recognized as a coptercontrol.  There's probably a driver problem on your computer.  I'd try a different USB cable and different USB port to start with.

I'm not sure what you mean about "not assigned a port".   If you're talking about a com (serial) port the boards don't normally have one, they use the built in windows hid drivers.

If it's showing up in GCS but not working you might want to try looking at https://librepilot.atlassian.net/wiki/display/LPDOC/Troubleshooting

[DorsetFlyer]

When I connect a good CC3D to a USB port it shows up in Device Manager as CopterControl Virtual COM Port (COM3). Then when I open LibrePilot it connects automatically to this port. If I disconnect, COM3 comes up as an option and I can connect to it again. All as it should be.

But with the suspect CC3D I don’t get a Virtual COM Port so of course none is available to LibrePilot and it doesn’t connect. I have tried different USB leads and a different PC but with the same result.

[hwh]

When I connect a good CC3D to a USB port it shows up in Device Manager as CopterControl Virtual COM Port (COM3). Then when I open LibrePilot it connects automatically to this port. If I disconnect, COM3 comes up as an option and I can connect to it again. All as it should be....

Not as it should be.  That's a misconfigured cc3d that you or someone else misconfigured to come up as a com port instead of it's default usbhid device.  By default ALL cc3d come up as USB:coptercontrol, not com3.  The option to come up as a com port exists primarily so that other programs can access the board.   And the only way to get a board set that way is to connect to it first as a usbhid device and change the settings.

...But with the suspect CC3D I don’t get a Virtual COM Port so of course none is available to LibrePilot and it doesn’t connect. I have tried different USB leads and a different PC but with the same result.

Until you connect to the board as a usbhid device and change the settings to make it a com port there is no com port.  CC3Ds have never defaulted to being a com port.  A new cc3d comes up using usbhid, not the serial port driver.

[DorsetFlyer]

The good board shows up in Devices and Printers as a Device called CopterControl, categorised as a Games Controller.

Under Hardware Properties five device functions are listed
  CopterControl Virtual COM Port (COM3)
  HID-compliant game controller
  HID-compliant vendor-defined device
  USB Composite Device
  USB Input Device
The manufacturer is OpenPilot and the location is 0000.001a.0000.001.003.000.000.000.000

The suspect board show up in Devices and Printers as Unspecified but it is called CopterControl, categorised as an Input Device.

 Under Hardware Properties only two device functions are listed
  HID-compliant vendor-defined device
  USB Input Device
The manufacturer is Standard system devices and the location  is Port_#003.Hub_#004. It is said to be working properly.

I haven't changed any settings. They are just as received.

Could you explain how to connect to the board as a usbhid device and change the settings to make it a com port ?

[TheOtherCliff]

If you don't care about the settings, do a "manual" "upgrade and erase" on this page:
https://librepilot.atlassian.net/wiki/display/LPDOC/Firmware+Tab

If you do care about the settings, perhaps it is a quad that came pre-configured, you must use the GCS version that matches the firmware:
- unplug USB and battery
- stop GCS
- start GCS
- press Firmware -> Rescue
- plug in USB
- press Firmware -> SafeBoot
- export settings with File -> ExportUavSettings
- change USB settings back to default with Configuration->Hardware->Save (it saves the currently running defaults)
You will still have to manually configure your Configuration->Hardware page.

[DorsetFlyer]

Thanks for all that advice. I have gone through the rescue method which seems to work OK but I still cannot connect to the other tabs on the GCS. These seem to require the appropriate serial port (ie COM3), which is not available. I only see COM1, LogFile and UDP. It doesn’t seem to be a firmware problem, or anything to do with LibrePilot, but something more basic in the way ports are allocated.

[TheOtherCliff]

If you don't care about what is on the FC, just do "manual" "upgrade and erase".

If that doesn't fix it, flash the current bootloader (don't forget to reboot it and run it for 30 seconds immediately after flashing the new bootloader-updater so it can actually write the real bootloader) and redo the "manual" "upgrade and erase".

Are you sure it is a CC3D.  It could be a CC.  It could be another board with the wrong bootloader on it.

[DorsetFlyer]

I’m pretty sure it is a CC3D because I can flash it with “bu_cc3d” and it would not accept “bu_cc”. I'm not sure why the firmware has an exclamation mark.

The problem is still that it can connect to LibrePilot only on the Firmware tab. It can’t connect with the “Connect” button at bottom right.

[f5soh]

According to the screenshot you have only the bootloader and no firmware flashed or running.

Put some firmware on it using the manual method:
https://librepilot.atlassian.net/wiki/display/LPDOC/Firmware+Tab#FirmwareTab-Manualmethod

[DorsetFlyer]

Thanks, I’ve tried that and whether I use the Manual method or the Boot Loader plus Firmware method it updates the firmware but cannot reboot the board. Just times out.

[f5soh]

What do you see in bottom/right corner when board is connected ?

Is the board booting / running correctly : Fast blinking and next slower blinking ?

[DorsetFlyer]

When I plug the board into a USB port the red and blue lights come on. After about 5 seconds the blue light starts to flash about once per second. 

On the bottom right of the screen I have the drop down list of available connections that shows only Serial COM1, Log file replay and UDP Un-configured. The Connect button is enabled but it won’t work with any of the three options.

[f5soh]

If you don't see fast blinking after powering you can expect some hardware issue that prevent a correct boot.

[DorsetFlyer]

I guess it must be a hardware fault so it's for the bin. Thanks for all the advice.