Latest version will no longer flash esp32-P4 chip revision 1.3 If I set the option to flash versions <3.1 the project will compile but not build

[DickyOZ]

OS

Windows

Operating System version

Windows 11 PRO

Visual Studio Code version

1.112

ESP-IDF version

v2.0.2

Python version

3.8.7

Doctor command output

All latest versions

Extension

No response

Description

My project will compile and build using my original menuconfig but flash fails because the chip revision is not in the range v3.1 - v3.99. If I set the menuconfig entry to tick <v3.0 the project compiles but will not build:
-esp-elf/14.2.0/../../../../riscv32-esp-elf/bin/ld.exe: error: --enable-non-contiguous-regions discards section .sdata.s_time_update_lock' from `esp-idf/esp_timer/libesp_timer.a(esp_timer_impl_common.c.obj)'

etc... etc... (Another 82kB of similar errors)

C:/Espressif/tools/riscv32-esp-elf/esp-14.2.0_20251107/riscv32-esp-elf/bin/../lib/gcc/riscv32-esp-elf/14.2.0/../../../../riscv32-esp-elf/bin/ld.exe: error: --enable-non-contiguous-regions discards section .sdata.__global_locale_ptr' from C:/Espressif/tools/riscv32-esp-elf/esp-14.2.0_20251107/riscv32-esp-elf/bin/../lib/gcc/riscv32-esp-elf/14.2.0/../../../../riscv32-esp-elf/lib/rv32imafc_zicsr_zifencei/ilp32f/no-rtti\libc.a(libc_a-locale.o)'
C:/Espressif/tools/riscv32-esp-elf/esp-14.2.0_20251107/riscv32-esp-elf/bin/../lib/gcc/riscv32-esp-elf/14.2.0/../../../../riscv32-esp-elf/bin/ld.exe: error: Total discarded sections size is 20486 bytes
collect2.exe: error: ld returned 1 exit status
ninja: build stopped: subcommand failed.`

Debug Message

ninja: build stopped: subcommand failed

Other Steps to Reproduce

Reverting to an older version did not resolve the issue which appears to be caused by different memory mappings.

I have checked existing issues, online documentation and the Troubleshooting Guide

• I confirm I have checked existing issues, online documentation and Troubleshooting guide.

[brianignacio5]

I'm not sure if the issue you are describing is related to this extension but rather to a behavior in ESP-IDF itself. We only flash based on values from build/flasher_args.json and should not be affected by ESP-IDF version.

Please open an issue in https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/issues instead.

[DickyOZ]

Thank you for the reply. The issue is indeed in ESP-IDF. All was working ok until the latest update. Unfortunately reverting to an earlier version does not seem to revert to the earlier build tool. It was a very steep learning curve to get up to speed with ESP-IDF, so this show stopper is a big disappointment.

…

On Tue, 24 Mar 2026, 14:07 Brian A. Ignacio, ***@***.***> wrote: *brianignacio5* left a comment (espressif/vscode-esp-idf-extension#1796) <#1796 (comment)> I'm not sure if the issue you are describing is related to this extension but rather to a behavior in ESP-IDF itself. We only flash based on values from build/flasher_args.json and should not be affected by ESP-IDF version. Please open an issue in https://github.com/espressif/esp-idf/issues instead. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1796?email_source=notifications&email_token=APHB4YK6UBHB6HAPXWA2XSD4SICZZA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIMJRGUZDKOBTGIYKM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L#issuecomment-4115258320>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APHB4YNBBLJ5UJ2LBGL6CAD4SICZZAVCNFSM6AAAAACWYVAXRGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DCMJVGI2TQMZSGA> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[brianignacio5]

There might cache in the current project build directory after switching to an earlier version. I would suggest doing a fullclean (there is an extension command called like this or using idf.py fullclean).

Otherwise I'm sure better support in the ESP-IDF repository regarding flash version issue.

[DickyOZ]

I cleaned everything out of the PC and reinstated vs-code and then hit another brick wall. EIM now has a bug that causes it to 'hang' when installing tools. There are numerous bug reports on that. I will have to wait for that to be resolved before I can again. I raised a bug with espressif. I did think of trying to convert the esp32-p4 mipi dsi code to an arduino library (not an easy task) but that would conflict with the arduino lvgl library . I would much rather use arduino, my esp-ide project folder is 760MB comprising over 7,600 files - just to build a 500kB app.

…

On Tue, 24 Mar 2026, 16:13 Brian A. Ignacio, ***@***.***> wrote: *brianignacio5* left a comment (espressif/vscode-esp-idf-extension#1796) <#1796 (comment)> There might cache in the current project build directory after switching to an earlier version. I would suggest doing a fullclean (there is an extension command called like this or using idf.py fullclean). Otherwise I'm sure better support in the ESP-IDF repository regarding flash version issue. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#1796?email_source=notifications&email_token=APHB4YOG3F7WCXXHZ5I7VHD4SIRRVA5CNFSNUABFM5UWIORPF5TWS5BNNB2WEL2JONZXKZKDN5WW2ZLOOQXTIMJRGU3DQNBZGQ2KM4TFMFZW63VGMF2XI2DPOKSWK5TFNZ2KYZTPN52GK4S7MNWGSY3L#issuecomment-4115684944>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/APHB4YPBA6ZWVTFJMVKCVE34SIRRVAVCNFSM6AAAAACWYVAXRGVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DCMJVGY4DIOJUGQ> . You are receiving this because you authored the thread.Message ID: ***@***.***>