Access to COM port denied. Unable to flash Marlin to MKS base 1.4

I was running stock firmware on my Tevo Tarantula. It performed well, but was limited in terms of features. So after reading through a lot of user feedback from Facebook Tevo Tarantula Owners group, I decided to flash Marlin.

Since I had Arduino IDE already installed, I downloaded the Marlin source files which Jim Brown has optimized specifically for Tevo Tarantula.

Follow the link and download: https://github.com/JimBrown/MarlinTarantula

Select EasyConfig-1.1.X from Branch drop down and download. Once downloaded open marlin.ino in Arduino IDE.

Edit the config.h file as required and upload. Now the process so far is straight forward and it should work. However this where all the issue began. "Access to COM port denied."

To being with fixing this issue, I thought some application must be using the COM port. So i closed all applications but nothing fixed it. Then since some applications run in bakground, I rebooted the system thus killing any application accessing COM port. After a reboot nothing worked.

By this time I was frustrated, and something clicked. I remembered installing Repetier-Server when I installed Repetier-Host. So stopped Repetier server and BINGO, it worked. So I uninstalled Repetier server and I was able to upload the firmware to my MKS base 1.4 board. Rebooted and everything works fine. I have to fine tune the options to get perfect print. More on the development in my next post.

P.S. Anybody facing issues connecting to printed using Repetier-Host or uploading firmware using Arduino IDE, check if you have Repetier-Server installed and uninstall it.

Thanks for reading.

Beginning of 3D printing.

3D printing is the new trend and have been around for more than a couple of years. So after considering the cost involved and a lot of research, I concluded that it would be fun to learn something new.

Purchase
Finally that I have decided to get into it, I started researching on the options available based on ease of customization and cost. Being an electronics hobbyist, whats better than being able to tinker around with the circuits and be able to modify as per my requirements. Also being on a very constrained budget, instead of getting a ready to print printer I opted for a DIY kit.

I went through a lot of reviews, feedback and assembly videos for different printers like Anet A8, Anet A6, CR-10, Tevo Tarantula, Tornado, Black Widow. In India the price of a 3D printer kit begins from 20K INR. And finding a reliable seller was a pain. Some who are reliable were selling of a very high cost. So I directed my self towards Chinese manufacturers.


The Hunt for a printer
I browsed through a lot of products on Aliexpress.


Given the price and popularity I settled for Tevo Tarantula. Placed order during a sale and ended up paying $200 (13K INR)  and free shipping.

Tevo took 10 days to ship the product. Today as I write the product has been shipped using DHL. Might take another 10 days before it shows up. Now will have to wait and see what custom duty is charged.

more updates once I receive the printer.