Hmm, well now it seems to be working, but I don’t know why.

Here’s some more detail:

• I’m using the MSP-FET430UIF debug interface.
• My production board is designed with only the SBW interface – I can’t use JTAG there.
• However, I also have a MSP-TS430PW24 target board, which I can switch between JTAG and SBW using jumpers.
• My production board isn’t quite ready to go yet, so I’m experimenting with the MSP-TS430PW24 target board. I started with the board configured for SBW, since that’s what I’ll need to use with my production board.
• I installed VisualGDB and loaded up the LEDBlink sample. It compiled successfully, and I chose “Start Debugging with GDB.”
• The debugger started up, but it could not find my device. I don’t remember the precise error messages, and I neglected to write them down.
• I checked connections and settings and repeated this a few times with the same result.
• I switched the jumpers on the target board to JTAG mode and tried again. Now it worked. At this point, my conclusion was that gdbproxy was not properly configuring the MSP-FET430UIF to communicate with the target using SBW, and I posted my previous message asking how to do that.
• Later, I experimented with some other tools, including Elpotronic’s Lite FET-Pro430. Initially, this software was also unable to communicate with my target. However, it has a setting for JTAG or Spy-Bi-Wire. I chose Spy-Bi-Wire, and then it worked perfectly.
• Now, VisualGDB appears to be working perfectly over Spy-Bi-Wire, even though I haven’t made any changes there. I found mention of a –spy-bi-wire argument for msp430-gdbproxy.exe via a Google search, but it doesn’t look like the standard version of msp430-gdbproxy.exe included with VisualGDB supports this argument, and I’m not using it.
• The MSP-FET430UIF and my computer has been power cycled since last using FET-Pro430, so unless the SBW setting in the MSP-FET430UIF is stored in nonvolatile memory, it shouldn’t be remembering the setting from my last use of FET-Pro430.

It’s nice that VisualGDB is working over Spy-Bi-Wire now, but it’s a little too magical at this point, and it may stop working again in the future. I’d like to understand what’s going on here.

Thanks!

(PS: This issue notwithstanding, I like VisualGDB so far! I tried Code Composer Studio but was completely lost in Eclipse.)