[SOLVED] Having problem with iMpact

I am unable to program my FPGA board using iMpact. I have a Nexys3 board. It works perfectly fine with Digilent Adept and programs and implements properly with no issues. But the iMpact is not even detecting the cable, and gives an error message that says 'cable autodetect failure, no cable detected' (or something like that). I have tried everything I could to get it working but its not.

Can anyone please tell me what the problem is here? I am using Xilinx ISE 12.1

Thanks

Just quick browsing through the 'Nexyx 3 board tutoral', it seems that you need the Digilent Adept software to actually program the FPGA. Thus, the programming file is generated by Impact, but you need to use this separate piece of programming software to program the FPGA.
So, not directly supported through Impact.

From the tutorial (covering ISE 13.2 which is more recent than 12.1; the latest would be 13.3 at this moment):
"Loading the FPGA

The next step is to transfer the FPGA bit file through the USB cable using the Digilent Adept
software (download from the Digilent website and install).

Connect your Nexys2/3 board to a USB connector on the PC.
Click on the Adept software and the Adept software should recognize the board and
FPGA and PROM devices: ....."

Yes, with Adept its working good. No problem with programming or implementation.

But, shouldn't iMpact also be able to program the device??

The programming method the Nexyx3 uses is -not- the method Xilinx typically uses.
Digilent uses it's own, integrated, method of accessing the FPGA (so you don't need a dedicated JTAG programmer).
Assuming there is a JTAG port on the Nexyx3 board (and I guess there is), then you can always use the JTAG port, using Impact and a Xilinx JTAG programmer.

Ok. I get it. Thanks for clearing my doubt.

There's also a digilent plugin for Impact, so you have both options. In my experience it's easier to get the standalone version working. Once you have that working, you may want to mess with the plugin and see if that's any use in your workflow.

The plugin can be found here: Digilent Inc. - Digital Design Engineer's Source

And adept stuff here: Digilent Inc. - Digital Design Engineer's Source

I just downloaded Xilinx 13.2 and its working fine. I think its the problem with older tools.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions