OK, I did as you suggested and that was indeed the solution. And not only did it solve my initial issue, but 3 others as well. That interesting extra feature of dragging a firmware.bin file to the NODE_F411RE drive broke in the process as it’s available space was less than the size of the firmware file. But after reinstalling ST-LINK, that has fixed itself as well. And fortunately, I did not need to dig into the version of OpenOCD that was being used by PIO.
I tested upload, and debug features and both work now. THANK YOU!!!
An interesting observation, actually two. But here is the first. When I check the version number of the USB driver now, it still shows 1.0.0.0 dated 2013. But when I look at the version in the ST-LINK utility, it is 5.1.2.0. Here is a pic…
The second observation… I went to the wrong tab when coming back to this thread and noticed another poster. At first I thought someone piggy-backed on my thread, then realized it was an open tab from my exhausting search for an answer. I did notice though that you two guys were the same two that helped someone else on this similar issue. I am glad you found my thread and was able to help me!!!
Thanks again to the both of you for the assist!! I certainly appreciate your time and effort with helping me!!