How Do I Erase My FPGA's Flash Memory?

How can I erase the contents of the flash memory on my FPGA board?

For NI-RIO 2.1 or later, the contents of the flash memory can be erased through the RIO Device Setup Utility. This utility can be accessed through an open LabVIEW project containing your FPGA target. 

1. Right-click on your FPGA Target in the Project Explorer and select RIO Device Setup to launch this utility, as illustrated below:

2. Once the utility is started, click on the Erase Bitfile on Flash button to erase the contents of the RIO device's flash memory.

If you do not have LabVIEW 8.2 (or later) but do have NI-RIO 2.1 (or later) installed, then the RIO Device Setup Utility can also be accessed through the Windows Startup menu by clicking on Start»Programs»National Instruments»NI RIO»RIO Device Setup Utility.

For versions of NI-RIO older than 2.1, the flash memory can be erased by compiling an empty FPGA VI and then downloading its bitfile to the target. Previously loaded bitfiles will be erased whenever a new bitfile is downloaded to the flash memory.