Re: [PATCH 1/3] mtd: m25p80: utilize dedicated 4-byte addressing commands

[Matthieu CASTET <matthieu.castet@parrot.com>]

Brian Norris a écrit :
> Traditionally, the command set used by SPI flash only supported a 3-byte
> address. However, large SPI flash (>= 32MB, or 256Mbit) require 4 bytes
> to address the entire flash. Most manufacturers have supplied a mode
> switch (via a "bank register writer", or a "enable 4-byte mode"
> command), which tells the flash to expect 4 address cycles from now on,
> instead of 3. This mode remains until power is cut, the reset line is
> triggered (on packages where present), or a command is sent to reset the
> flash or to reset the 3-byte addressing mode.
> 
> As an alternative, some flash manufacturers have developed a new command
> set that accept a full 4-byte address. They can be used orthogonally to
> any of the modes; that is, they can be used when the flash is in either
> 3-byte or 4-byte address mode.
> 
> Now, there are a number of reasons why the "stateful" 4-byte address
> mode switch may not be acceptable. For instance, some SoC's perform a
> dumb boot sequence in which they only send 3-byte read commands to the
> flash. However, if an unexpected reset occurs, the flash chip cannot be
> guaranteed to return to its 3-byte mode. Thus, the SoC controller and
> flash will not understand each other.
What's funny is the other side work :

you can have a ROM that use 4-byte mode with 3-byte or 2-byte device as soon as
the read command is the same. [1]

What's happen is that the first 1/2 bytes will be skipped and you need to take
care of that when flasing the device.

Matthieu

[1]
- send Read Data (03h)command
- send 32 bits address
- read data