I am new to esp8266. Bought a couple of esp8266-01. They responded to the AT command in the Mac Arduino Serial Monitor but showed an old firmware version and did not connect to wifi. Downloaded a few recent versions of firmware and 3 or 4 different flash tools. No matter what, the re-flash (download) of firmware onto the esp8266 stops at some 45 to 50 percent done, with an error. I am using the Mihappy 3.3v 5.5v Ft232rl Ftdi Usb to Ttl Serial Adapter Module from Amazon. Tried adding a 2 uF capacitor between the +3.3V and ground. Also used a pull resistor to the +3.3V from the Reset in case electrical interference caused the reset. Nothing works. In case it matters, I use Windows 32 flashers running Windows XP on my Mac laptop, in Parallels Desktop.
Will greatly appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.