MCUXpresso Installer Troubleshooting

The MCUXpresso Installer Troubleshooting guide is designed to help users quickly identify and resolve common issues encountered during the installation of development software tools dependencies.

Table of Contents

• Python Installation

• Python Virtual Environment

• Python-Tk Library

• Wget Utility

• Windows Developer Mode

Python Installation

The installation process for Python can fail unexpectedly due to various reasons, usually related to system configuration.

Common causes

• Manual deletion of Python folders before uninstalling

• Corrupted or incomplete Python installation

• Conflicts with Windows App Execution Aliases

• Missing registry entries or broken uninstall paths

Recommended solutions

1. Use the Python Installer

Steps:

• Download the installer for the same Python version.

• Run the installer and choose Repair.

• After repair completes, run the installer again and choose Uninstall.

2. Use the Installed Apps Settings

Steps:

• Open Settings → Apps → Installed Apps.

• Locate Python, click the three-dot menu → Modify.

• Choose Repair, then repeat and choose Uninstall.

3. Disable App Execution Aliases

Steps:

• Open Start → Manage App Execution Aliases.

• Disable all Python-related entries (e.g., python.exe, python3.exe).

• Retry installation or uninstallation.

4. Clean Up Environment Variables

Steps:

• Open System Properties → Environment Variables.

• Remove any PYTHONPATH or Python-related entries from both User and System variables.

• Delete folders like:

  • %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\

  • %USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\PythonXX\Scripts\

Python Virtual Environment

Issues can be encountered during the creation, updating, activation, or usage of the Python virtual environment.

Common causes

• Corrupted Python installation

• Corrupted virtual environment

• The already existing virtual environment is tied to a missing Python installation

Recommended solutions

1. If the virtual environment does not already exist

• Make sure that the correct version of Python is installed and functional by following the Python Installation troubleshooting guide.

• Retry the creation of the virtual environment using the MCUXpresso Installer:

  • Open MCUXpresso Installer.

  • Perform a check for newer versions of components.

  • Install the Python dependencies for the desired package.

2. If the virtual environment already exists

• Remove the existing virtual environment from %USERPROFILE%(or $HOME on Unix systems)/.mcuxpressotools/.venv.

• Make sure that the correct version of Python is installed and functional by following the Python Installation troubleshooting guide.

• Retry the creation of the virtual environment using the MCUXpresso Installer.

  • Open MCUXpresso Installer.

  • Perform a check for newer versions of components.

  • Install the Python dependencies for the desired package.

Python-Tk Library

Issues regarding the python-tk (python3-tk) library can occur on systems where Python is installed via the system’s package manager - APT (Ubuntu) or Homebrew (macOS).

Common causes

• The Python installations from the system’s package manager do not include the python-tk library.

Recommended solutions

1. For APT-based systems (Ubuntu)

• Open a terminal window

• Install the python3-tk library:
  sudo apt update
sudo apt install python3-tk

• Verify the installation:
  python3 -m tkinter

2. For Homebrew-based systems (macOS)

• Open a terminal window

• Install the python-tk library for your installed Python version (e.g. 3.10, 3.13):
  brew install python-tk@<VERSION>

• Verify the installation:
  python3 -m tkinter

Wget Utility

Issues regarding the installation of Wget can occur on systems where network connectivity is restricted or proxy configurations are modified.

Common causes

• Incomplete or misconfigured network settings

• Proxy server restrictions

• Firewall blocking download connections

• Invalid or outdated SSL/TLS certificates

Recommended solution

Manual Wget download and configuration

• Download Wget from an official mirror site

• Add Wget to the PATH environment variable

• Verify the installation by running wget --version in a new instance of the command prompt or terminal

• Restart the MCUXpresso Installer application to ensure the new configuration takes effect

Windows Developer Mode

Some development tools require Windows Developer Mode to be enabled for proper functionality, particularly for debugging and development features.

Recommended solutions

1. Enable Developer Mode through Settings

Steps:

• Open Settings (Windows key + I)

• Navigate to System → For developers (Windows 11) or Update & Security → For developers (Windows 10)

• Select Developer mode

• Click Yes when prompted to confirm the change

• Restart your computer if prompted

2. Enable Developer Mode through Registry (if Settings method fails)

Steps:

• Press Windows key + R and type regedit

• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock

• Create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense

• Set the value to 1

• Restart your computer

3. Verify Developer Mode is enabled

Steps:

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator

• Run the command: reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AppModelUnlock" /v AllowDevelopmentWithoutDevLicense

• Verify the value is set to 0x1