programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Andrew Dixon]

Hi All,

I'm trying to put ppcboot onto my sbc8260 board using a vision ice and I
was wondering if there is a preferred way to do this?  I've compiled
ppcboot on a native gcc-2.95 with the commands:

$make sbc8260_config
$make

and I get a binary file ppcboot.bin.  When I try to program the
ppcboot.bin onto the flash it complains that the format is not
recognized as mpc8260 code.

Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks,
Andy

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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Peter Desnoyers]

You need to take the ELF file, ppcboot, and convert it into a .bin file
using the vision ICE convert utility.

The file format referred to as "BIN" in the visionICE documentation
isn't a real binary image - it has a special header.

Andrew Dixon wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> I'm trying to put ppcboot onto my sbc8260 board using a vision ice and I
> was wondering if there is a preferred way to do this?  I've compiled
> ppcboot on a native gcc-2.95 with the commands:
>
> $make sbc8260_config
> $make
>
> and I get a binary file ppcboot.bin.  When I try to program the
> ppcboot.bin onto the flash it complains that the format is not
> recognized as mpc8260 code.
>
> Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?
>
> Thanks,
> Andy
>

--
.....................................................................
 Peter Desnoyers            (781) 457-1165   pdesnoyers@chinook.com
 Chinook Communications     (617) 661-1979   pjd@fred.cambridge.ma.us
 100 Hayden Ave, Lexington MA 02421

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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Andrew Dixon]

Peter Desnoyers wrote:
>
> You need to take the ELF file, ppcboot, and convert it into a .bin file
> using the vision ICE convert utility.
>
> The file format referred to as "BIN" in the visionICE documentation
> isn't a real binary image - it has a special header.
>

OK.  When I try that it tells me:

Conversion Failed: no data was extracted from the selected address
range.

Where the address ranges are:
/var/opt/visionXD/bin/convert  -w ppcboot -b
convert v7.8A Copyright (c) 1996-2001 Wind River HSI
convert ELF file ppcboot to BDX file ppcboot.bdx
Extracting image from 'ppcboot'
Writing binary download image to 'ppcboot.bdx'
Maximum packet size: 0x100
Lower address: 0x0
Upper address: 0xffffffff
Execution address: 0x40000000
Image written
Processing time: 0.011 seconds

Lower Image Address: 0xfe000000
Upper Image Address: 0xfe020000


I also tried:

/var/opt/visionXD/bin/convert  -w ppcboot -b
convert v7.8A Copyright (c) 1996-2001 Wind River HSI
convert ELF file ppcboot to BDX file ppcboot.bdx
Extracting image from 'ppcboot'
Writing binary download image to 'ppcboot.bdx'
Maximum packet size: 0x100
Lower address: 0x0
Upper address: 0xffffffff
Execution address: 0x40000000
Image written
Processing time: 0.011 seconds

which gives me a file "ppcboot.bdx".  VisionXD still complains that it's
not a flat binary though.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Andy

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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Jerry Van Baren]

Your PPCBoot image is linked at 0x40000000 and your convert defaults are
converting from 0xfe000000..0xfe020000 (this is where EST puts the boot
memory unless you've changed the HRCW to ORG it at 0x00000000 -- glossing
over quite a few details here).  Anyway, there ain't no data in that range,
which is exactly what the error message is telling you.

The EST convert utility doesn't allow you to relocate the code, only to set
the lower and upper boundaries of the conversion.  You can use an elf tool
(objcopy) to re-org the code or change your link mechanism to re-org your
code.  You can also leave it at 0x40000000 and change your visionICE setup
to map the ROM into that memory area (hmm, isn't that the secondary
flash?  Maybe you just need to program it and switch your CS0/CS6 jumper).

By the way, PPCBoot will load a new HRCW which will ORG the boot memory at
0x00000000 (first instruction at 0x100) instead of 0xFFF00000 (first
instruction at 0xFFF00100).  There are benefits and drawbacks to either
start up location and PPCBoot can be configured to boot high as well as low.

gvb


At 03:38 PM 12/3/2001 -0500, Andrew Dixon wrote:

>Peter Desnoyers wrote:
> >
> > You need to take the ELF file, ppcboot, and convert it into a .bin file
> > using the vision ICE convert utility.
> >
> > The file format referred to as "BIN" in the visionICE documentation
> > isn't a real binary image - it has a special header.
> >
>
>OK.  When I try that it tells me:
>
>Conversion Failed: no data was extracted from the selected address
>range.
>
>Where the address ranges are:
>/var/opt/visionXD/bin/convert  -w ppcboot -b
>convert v7.8A Copyright (c) 1996-2001 Wind River HSI
>convert ELF file ppcboot to BDX file ppcboot.bdx
>Extracting image from 'ppcboot'
>Writing binary download image to 'ppcboot.bdx'
>Maximum packet size: 0x100
>Lower address: 0x0
>Upper address: 0xffffffff
>Execution address: 0x40000000
>Image written
>Processing time: 0.011 seconds
>
>Lower Image Address: 0xfe000000
>Upper Image Address: 0xfe020000
>
>
>I also tried:
>
>/var/opt/visionXD/bin/convert  -w ppcboot -b
>convert v7.8A Copyright (c) 1996-2001 Wind River HSI
>convert ELF file ppcboot to BDX file ppcboot.bdx
>Extracting image from 'ppcboot'
>Writing binary download image to 'ppcboot.bdx'
>Maximum packet size: 0x100
>Lower address: 0x0
>Upper address: 0xffffffff
>Execution address: 0x40000000
>Image written
>Processing time: 0.011 seconds
>
>which gives me a file "ppcboot.bdx".  VisionXD still complains that it's
>not a flat binary though.
>
>Any thoughts?
>
>Thanks,
>Andy
>


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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Andrew Dixon]

Jerry Van Baren wrote:
>
> Your PPCBoot image is linked at 0x40000000 and your convert defaults are
> converting from 0xfe000000..0xfe020000 (this is where EST puts the boot
> memory unless you've changed the HRCW to ORG it at 0x00000000 -- glossing
> over quite a few details here).  Anyway, there ain't no data in that range,
> which is exactly what the error message is telling you.
>
> The EST convert utility doesn't allow you to relocate the code, only to set
> the lower and upper boundaries of the conversion.  You can use an elf tool
> (objcopy) to re-org the code or change your link mechanism to re-org your
> code.  You can also leave it at 0x40000000 and change your visionICE setup
> to map the ROM into that memory area (hmm, isn't that the secondary
> flash?  Maybe you just need to program it and switch your CS0/CS6 jumper).

Yes that is the start of Flash.  For our final product we want our
bootloader to live in Flash but I'm rethinking that for the EST board.
>From what I've read on the list is sounds like PPCBoot wants to live in
ROM on the sbc8260 right?

Is the above documented anywhere?  I don't feel the need to reinvent the
wheel for this board and I'd rather start off the right way.

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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Jerry Van Baren]

At 09:49 AM 12/4/2001 -0500, Andrew Dixon wrote:

>Jerry Van Baren wrote:
> >
> > Your PPCBoot image is linked at 0x40000000 and your convert defaults are
> > converting from 0xfe000000..0xfe020000 (this is where EST puts the boot
> > memory unless you've changed the HRCW to ORG it at 0x00000000 -- glossing
> > over quite a few details here).  Anyway, there ain't no data in that range,
> > which is exactly what the error message is telling you.
> >
> > The EST convert utility doesn't allow you to relocate the code, only to set
> > the lower and upper boundaries of the conversion.  You can use an elf tool
> > (objcopy) to re-org the code or change your link mechanism to re-org your
> > code.  You can also leave it at 0x40000000 and change your visionICE setup
> > to map the ROM into that memory area (hmm, isn't that the secondary
> > flash?  Maybe you just need to program it and switch your CS0/CS6 jumper).
>
>Yes that is the start of Flash.  For our final product we want our
>bootloader to live in Flash but I'm rethinking that for the EST board.
> >From what I've read on the list is sounds like PPCBoot wants to live in
>ROM on the sbc8260 right?
>
>Is the above documented anywhere?  I don't feel the need to reinvent the
>wheel for this board and I'd rather start off the right way.

Yes, PPCBoot wants to run out of ROM.  It is a boot/loader, and thus its
whole purpose in life is to run out of ROM starting at Power On
Reset.  While it is theoretically possible to run it other ways, and this
is discussed periodically, it is (arguably) silly to do anything else (one
side of the argument part is running out of RAM for debug, but the other
side of the argument is that it should just work, or nearly work, and you
might as well get it working in ROM before addressing RAM issues which can
be a Real Bitch).

I have a copy of PPCBoot running on a EST board and it works well.  I
loaded it with the Abatron debugger which is easier to use than the
visionICE (I've used both).

I've used the EST vxWorks-based BootROM (disclaimer: not the latest
version) and it is nearly functional... if you use vxWorks, it works just
fine.  If you warp your non-vxWorks world just right, it also works
fine.  But there comes a point where you simply get sick of living in a
warped world, throw away vxWorks, and load PPCBoot.  PPCBoot is MUCH easier
to use and more functional (the only thing EST's BootROM has that PPCBoot
doesn't is the ability to load via FTP instead of TFTP -- this simplifies
the server configuration, but not a big deal).

gvb


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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Wolfgang Denk]

Dear Andrew,

in message <3C0CE281.2E0F451C@seranoa.com> you wrote:
>
> Yes that is the start of Flash.  For our final product we want our
> bootloader to live in Flash but I'm rethinking that for the EST board.
> From what I've read on the list is sounds like PPCBoot wants to live in
> ROM on the sbc8260 right?

No. The default configuration installs in the 4 MB  SIMM  flash;  you
can change the configuration to install in the onboard flash.

> Is the above documented anywhere?  I don't feel the need to reinvent the
> wheel for this board and I'd rather start off the right way.

Well, the config file for the SBC8260 is pretty well  documented.  If
anything is not clear, ask me or on the ppcboot-users mailing list.

Wolfgang Denk

--
Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87  Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88  Email: wd@denx.de
How many seconds are there in a year? If I tell you there are 3.155 x
10^7, you won't even try to remember it. On the other hand, who could
forget that, to within half a percent, pi seconds is  a  nanocentury.
                                               -- Tom Duff, Bell Labs

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Re: programming ppcboot onto an sbc8260 with a vision ice

[Wolfgang Denk]

In message <5.1.0.14.2.20011204095651.01b2b6b8@falcon.si.com>
Jerry Van Baren wrote:
>
> I've used the EST vxWorks-based BootROM (disclaimer: not the latest
> version) and it is nearly functional... if you use vxWorks, it works just
> fine.  If you warp your non-vxWorks world just right, it also works
> fine.  But there comes a point where you simply get sick of living in a
> warped world, throw away vxWorks, and load PPCBoot.  PPCBoot is MUCH easier

BTW: you can use PPCBoot and still continue to use VxWorks  as  RTOS;
PPCBoot  can  boot  more  things than just Linux - although that's is
main purpose :-)

Wolfgang Denk

--
Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87  Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88  Email: wd@denx.de
It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare  a  good  impromptu
speech.                                                  - Mark Twain

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