User Guide

MPLAB
®
PICkit™ 4 USER’S GUIDE
 2018 Microchip Technology Inc. DS50002751C-page 3
Table of Contents
Preface ........................................................................................................................... 5
Chapter 1. About the In-Circuit Debugger
1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 11
1.2 MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger Description ........................................ 11
1.3 MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger Advantages ....................................... 12
1.4 MPLAB PICkit 4 In-Circuit Debugger Components ...................................... 13
1.5 MPLAB PICkit 4 Block Diagram ................................................................... 14
Chapter 2. Operation
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 15
2.2 Debugger to Target Communication ............................................................ 15
2.3 Target Communication Connections ............................................................ 17
2.4 Debugging .................................................................................................... 19
2.5 Requirements for Debugging ....................................................................... 20
2.6 Programming ................................................................................................ 22
2.7 Resources Used by the Debugger ............................................................... 23
Chapter 3. Debugger Usage
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 25
3.2 Installation and Setup ................................................................................... 25
3.3 Debug Tutorial .............................................................................................. 26
3.4 Quick Debug/Program Reference ................................................................ 26
3.5 Debugger Limitations ................................................................................... 27
3.6 Common Debug Features ............................................................................ 27
3.7 Connecting the Target Board ....................................................................... 27
3.8 Setting Up the Target Board ......................................................................... 27
3.9 Setting Up MPLAB X IDE ............................................................................. 28
3.10 Starting and Stopping Debugging ............................................................. 29
3.11 Viewing Processor Memory and Files ........................................................ 29
3.12 Breakpoints and Stopwatch ........................................................................ 29
Chapter 4. Troubleshooting First Steps
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 33
4.2 Some Questions to Answer First .................................................................. 33
4.3 Top Reasons Why You Can’t Debug ........................................................... 33
4.4 Other Things to Consider ............................................................................. 34
Chapter 5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................... 37
5.2 How Does It Work ........................................................................................ 37
5.3 What’s Wrong ............................................................................................... 37