Unable to upload to Arduino Due using version 1.6.8 of SAM tools; bossac.exe throwing an error

Question

I can successfully see the Arduino Due when I plug it in. I can compile the code, but when I attempt to upload it to the board I get the following error:

C:\Users\user\AppData\Roaming\Arduino15\packages\arduino\tools\bossac\1.6.1-arduino/bossac.exe -i -d --port=COM4 -U false -e -w true -b C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\Temp\build6683778295083335366.tmp/_50key_driver.cpp.bin -R bossac.exe: extra arguments found Try 'bossac.exe -h' or 'bossac.exe --help' for more information

Answer 1

I finally figured out the problem. This occurred on both a Mac and PC (Windows 10).

This error occurred because of the true after the -w switch. To fix it I modified the package to tell the IDE not to use that switch.

1. Go to: %USER_PROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Arduino15\packages\arduino\hardware\sam\1.6.8 (where %USER_PROFILE% is your windows user directory, for me it was C:\Users\user) in Windows Explorer.
2. Make a copy of the platform.txt file (I called it platform_backup.txt).

3. Open the file platform.txt with Word Pad (it had Unix line endings in my environment), search for the string:

   tools.bossac.upload.pattern="{path}/{cmd}" {upload.verbose} --port={serial.port.file} -U {upload.native_usb} -e -w {upload.verify} -b "{build.path}/{build.project_name}.bin" -R

4. This was 3rd line from the bottom for me, and remove the text between the quotes "{upload.verify}". It should now look like this:

   tools.bossac.upload.pattern="{path}/{cmd}" {upload.verbose} --port={serial.port.file} -U {upload.native_usb} -e -w -b "{build.path}/{build.project_name}.bin" -R

5. Restart the IDE so it can re-read the file you just edited. You'll now be able to upload to the Due.

Answer 2

Tim's solution is also applicable to Version 1.6.9 of the SAM tools. I just installed it in my Arduino IDE V1.6.8 and had the same parameter problem as originally reported. Following Tim's solution fixed the problem right away. As this is clearly a configuration issue on the Arduino IDE side, it should happen on any supported Windows platform, mine was Windows 7. The only difference I encountered was the path to the SAM tools directory. On my Enterprise version of Win7, the path was not in AppData\Roaming but in AppData\Local , so %USER_PROFILE%\AppData\Local\Arduino15\packages\arduino\hardware\sam\1.6.9\ for the full pathname.

Answer 3

There's a better option:

(For Windows)

1/ Download the latest IDE release.

2/ Uninstall the IDE completely.

3/ Reboot PC

4/ Go to %USER_PROFILE%\AppData\Local\Arduino15 and delete it (the entire folder). If the path doesn't match then find it in AppData folder, it's in there somewhere.

5/ Reinstall the IDE, problem fixed.

Answer 4

I tried this solution in linux Fedora, it worked fine, but the location of the file "platform.txt" was /home/{user}/.arduinoxx/packages/arduino/hardware/sam
It is a hidden folder, so make it visible so you can handle it. No sudo access was necessary.