How to: PIC32MZ EC Starter Kit or other development board suddenly stopped connecting to my PC via USB

Question:

I have no idea why my development board suddenly started to refuse a USB connection no matter which firmware version I use.

Answer:

During debugging, it is not uncommon for the standard Microsoft USB port device driver to start repeatedly refusing a USB connection from PIC32MZ EC Starter kit or any other USB device for a specific PID and VID combination.

A solution to this problem is very simple. If you notice a yellow triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle when you open the device properties, but there is no particular reason why a USB connection would not be established, you may uninstall Microsoft USB driver for the device and unplug the device. Then plug in the device again to the same USB port. The device driver would reinstall and the device would connect properly, if there are no hardware or firmware errors.

It is a good praxis to keep at least one operational backup copy of your firmware. Program this version to your development board before reinstalling the device driver to make sure that there are no firmware errors.