Quartus Prime 18.1 & ModelSim

Unless you have a specific reason to use an older version of the Intel Quartus Prime software, it is recommended to use the latest version. Refer to this guide for the installation of the latest version.

Setup

Downloading the installation files

Download Intel Quartus Prime Lite 18.1 for either Windows or Linux (Apple OSX is not supported).

Note that the installation archive is around 6GB large.

Installation steps

  • Extract the TAR archive and execute the setup script with admin rights. The following window should be visible and the installation process can be started by pressing Next.

Intel Setup Image 1

  • Choose an installation directory without spaces in it the entire path and hit Next.

Intel Setup Image 2

  • Choose the components to install ( Cyclone 10 LP, Cyclone IV and ModelSim Starter Edition must be checked for the LEGUAN board ).

Intel Setup Image 3

  • Continue the installation using Next and wait for the installation to finish, which might take a few minutes.

Intel Setup Image 4

  • Before you finish the installation, make sure that Launch USB Blaster II driver installation is selected and click Finish.

Intel Setup Image 5

  • Click Next in the Device Driver Installation Wizard.

Driver Setup Image 1

  • Confirm the Windows Security pop-up message.

Driver Setup Image 2

  • The driver installation can be closed by clicking Finish.

Driver Setup Image 3

  • The following screenshot shows the items added to the Windows start menu.

Installation Over

Post-installation steps

  • To program the LEGUAN board, the first generation USB Blaster driver has to be installed. Navigate with the Windows Explorer to C:\intelFPGA_lite\18.1\quartus\drivers\usb-blaster. Right-Click usbblstr.inf and select Install.

Post-Install Driver 1

  • The success of the installation process is confirmed by a message window.

Post-Install Driver 2

  • Plug in the LEGUAN FPGA board to the computer

  • If Windows Defender Core Isolation is enabled, a warning may pop up that the driver could not be loaded on the device.

Windows Core Isolation

  • To fix this issue, Memory Integrity has to be disabled. Simply open this link or navigate to Windows Defender, turn Memory Integrity off and restart the machine.

Windows Memory Integrity

Testing the installation

  • When you first launch Quartus Prime 18.1 Lite Edition, a window pops up to ask if you want to purchase a full Quartus license. Select Run the Quartus Prime software and press OK.

Testing the installation

  • Once Quartus Prime Lite Edition is open, open the Menu Tools and click Programmer.

  • In the Programmer window, click Hardware Setup.

Hardware Setup 1

  • In the drop-down menu, select the USB-Blaster and Close the Hardware Setup Dialog.

Hardware Setup 2

  • Back in the Programmer window, hit Auto Detect to scan for the FPGA.

Auto-Detect this

  • When a “Select Device” dialog pops up, make sure to select the 10CL016Y device and hit OK.

Checking the right FPGA

  • Congratulations, you have fully set up Intel Quartus Prime, installed drivers and connected the LEGUAN FPGA board to your machine!

Congratz

Usage

Refer to the Getting started with Questa & Quartus Prime Guide guide for a basic introduction to ModelSim (Questa) and Quartus Prime.