Hello, I am seeking assistance with a recurring “Writer process ended unexpectedly” error in balenaEtcher (v1.18.x) while trying to flash a PYNQ SD image to a 32GB microSDHC card.
Environment:
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OS: Windows 11 (Laptop)
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Etcher Version: 2.1.4
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Target Hardware: Zybo Z7-10 (XC7Z010)
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Image File:
Zybo-Z7-10-3.0.1-fix-havege.img.xz(Compressed XZ archive) -
SD Card: 32GB Class 10 microSDHC
Steps Taken:
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Administrator Rights: I am running balenaEtcher as an Administrator.
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SD Card Preparation: I have used the official “SD Memory Card Formatter” tool to perform a full “Overwrite Format” to ensure a clean MBR partition table.
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Hardware Verification: I have successfully verified the target FPGA board (Zybo Z7-10) is functional by manually flashing bitstreams and running “Hello World” over JTAG/UART.
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Different Ports: I have tried different USB ports on my laptop.
The Issue: The process consistently fails during the “Flashing” stage with the error: “Something went wrong. If it is a compressed image, please check that the archive is not corrupted. The writer process ended unexpectedly.”
I have confirmed the archive’s integrity and previously saw some files written to the BOOT partition, but the validation always fails, and the board will not boot (DONE LED remains off).
Are there specific Windows 11 security settings (like Controlled Folder Access) or background services known to kill the writer process mid-stream?