CLI command Particle Identify crashes my Macintosh

Troubleshooting
1

I was going to give my Particle to a friend and wanted a copy of the id.
The device has firmware 0.6.1 and I am running Mac OS X 10.9.5
I put the device into Listen Mode (medium speed blue flashing).
When I type “particle identify” (without the quotes) at the terminal prompt it replies with
the correct id and a few seconds later my machine crashes with a kernel panic.
No other Mac applications are running at the time.
Other CLI commands seem to work properly. For example: “particle list” returns the
id that I want (as well as firmware variables and functions).

Suggestions most appreciated.

Thanks everyone.

–
Alan

2

hmm, perhaps reinstall or update the cli?
npm update -g particle-cli

3

Good idea. Tried it - no change.
:frowning:

(FYI - on my third crash so it is easily repeatable.)

4

particle-cli relies on node.js, perhaps update/upgrade that first?

brew update
brew upgrade node
npm install -g npm
5

What versions (npm, node, CLI) are you running?

6

cli = 1.21.0
node = 6.10.0
npm = 3.10.10

7

I see node.js is not the latest so I updated to 6.10.2
No change: “particle identify” still results in kernel panic crash.

8

Try using something else like CoolTerm and send “i” and see if it crashes.

It sounds more like a driver issue to me. First time hearing this behavior on a mac.

9

Tried CoolTerm.
“i” responds with the id.
“m” responds with the Mac address,
“v” with the version,
etc.
No crashes.

Does this point the finger at the USB driver?

10

To set the WiFi creds, send “w”

But for the CLI crashes we might ping @jvanier

11

I tried a number of single letter commands just out of curiosity since I couldn’t find instructions. All seemed to work.

Please, if someone is willing to contact the CLI authority regarding the crashing, I would appreciate it.

12

Had a brilliant thought (which are becoming more and more elusive these days.)

Last year I was playing with cheap Arduino clones which use the CH340 series USB chips, and
of course, had to download the Chinese USB driver to match. So, just now I reinstalled the
FTDI drivers and (drumroll please)… Success. No more kernel panic.

I will attempt to mark this as Solved, but if not successful perhaps a kind reader will do so for me.

Thanks for the responses - especially the one that suggested a bad driver.

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