[U-Boot] Question: Installing U-Boot on the Karo TX25

[U-Boot] Question: Installing U-Boot on the Karo TX25

[Züger Martin]

Hi everybody

My name is Martin and I'm new to this mailing list. I hope this is the right place to ask my question.
I'd like to install U-Boot on a Karo TX25. From the Denx FTP server I've downloaded the 2011.12 release of U-Boot and compiled it using the arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc (4.4.5) from Debian:
  $ make tx25_config
  $ CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabi- make all
After compiling I've downloaded the u-boot.bin file to the board using the pre-installed RedBoot:
  RedBoot> load -r -b 0x80100000 -h 192.168.1.101 u-boot.bin
  Using default protocol (TFTP)
  Raw file loaded 0x80100000-0x80129617, assumed entry at 0x80100000
Finally I tried to start U-Boot directly from RAM:
  RedBoot> exec
  Using base address 0x80100000 and length 0x00029618
After that, the board (or at least the serial connection) stops working. I also tried the same with the pre-compiled binaries from here: http://www.denx-cs.de/sites/all/files/tx25.zip but with the same result.

May someone can explain me, how to download U-Boot to the Karo TX25 using the already installed RedBoot and execute it directly? Is this even possible? My final target is to replace RedBoot with U-Boot, so I'd like to write U-Boot to flash in a second step. Does I've to use the u-boot-nand.bin file instead of u-boot.bin for this?

Thanks!

Best regards,
Martin Zueger

[U-Boot] Question: Installing U-Boot on the Karo TX25

[Stefano Babic]

On 22/03/2012 09:08, Z?ger Martin wrote:
> Hi everybody
> 
> My name is Martin and I'm new to this mailing list. I hope this is the right place to ask my question.
> I'd like to install U-Boot on a Karo TX25. From the Denx FTP server I've downloaded the 2011.12 release of U-Boot and compiled it using the arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc (4.4.5) from Debian:
>   $ make tx25_config
>   $ CROSS_COMPILE=arm-linux-gnueabi- make all
> After compiling I've downloaded the u-boot.bin file to the board using the pre-installed RedBoot:

Wait - as far as I know, the tx25 boots from NAND, and you need also the
SPL part to replace Redboot.

>   RedBoot> load -r -b 0x80100000 -h 192.168.1.101 u-boot.bin
>   Using default protocol (TFTP)
>   Raw file loaded 0x80100000-0x80129617, assumed entry at 0x80100000
> Finally I tried to start U-Boot directly from RAM:

u-boot for TX25 is linked at address 0x81200000, not 0x80100000. Try
with the correct address.

> 
> May someone can explain me, how to download U-Boot to the Karo TX25 using the already installed RedBoot and execute it directly? Is this even possible? My final target is to replace RedBoot with U-Boot, so I'd like to write U-Boot to flash in a second step. Does I've to use the u-boot-nand.bin file instead of u-boot.bin for this?

The correct way (but one-way if you have not a JTAG debugger) is to
replace the redboot code in NAND with u-boot, that is u-boot-nand.bin.
But try with the correct address, if it works you have all u-boot
commands to store u-boot itself in NAND.

Best regards,
Stefano Babic

-- 
=====================================================================
DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: +49-8142-66989-0 Fax: +49-8142-66989-80  Email: office at denx.de
=====================================================================

[U-Boot] Question: Installing U-Boot on the Karo TX25

[Stefano Babic]

On 22/03/2012 15:48, Z?ger Martin wrote:
> Dear Stefano
> 
Hi Martin,

please do not remove the ML when you post an answer. Your experience can
be helpful for other people, too.

> Thank you very much for your help! I've downloaded u-boot to
> 0x81200000 like you told me and it works! After that, I used the
> U-Boot running from RAM to write u-boot-nand.bin to flash. It works
> too, after a reset RedBoot was gone and U-Boot started.

Fine

> The base
> address where U-Boot is linked to for a specific board, is this
> always the CONFIG_SYS_NAND_U_BOOT_DST address?

Generally, they can share the same value, but they have different
meaning. For TX25, the link address is set in board/karo/tx25/config.mk.
However, this is the old way to do things. Currently,
CONFIG_SYS_TEXT_BASE (link address) must be set into the board
configuration file (tx25.h).

CONFIG_SYS_NAND_U_BOOT_DST tells the first loader (nand_spl) where
u-boot code must be copied. If u-boot has a small header that must be
also copied, the two address are different. On tx25, they have the same
value.

Best regards,
Stefano Babic

-- 
=====================================================================
DENX Software Engineering GmbH,     MD: Wolfgang Denk & Detlev Zundel
HRB 165235 Munich, Office: Kirchenstr.5, D-82194 Groebenzell, Germany
Phone: +49-8142-66989-53 Fax: +49-8142-66989-80 Email: sbabic at denx.de
=====================================================================

[U-Boot] Question: Installing U-Boot on the Karo TX25

[Züger Martin]

On Thursday, March 22, 2012 4:06 PM, Stefano Babic wrote:
> Hi Martin,
Hello Stefano

> please do not remove the ML when you post an answer. Your experience can
> be helpful for other people, too.
Sorry about that, I just hit the replay button and didn't realized that the
answer went directly to you instead to the mailing list.

> Generally, they can share the same value, but they have different
> meaning. For TX25, the link address is set in board/karo/tx25/config.mk.
> However, this is the old way to do things. Currently,
> CONFIG_SYS_TEXT_BASE (link address) must be set into the board
> configuration file (tx25.h).
> CONFIG_SYS_NAND_U_BOOT_DST tells the first loader (nand_spl) where
> u-boot code must be copied. If u-boot has a small header that must be
> also copied, the two address are different. On tx25, they have the same
> value.
Thank you very much for your explanation. I'd like to learn how u-boot works
and how a board support package have to be implemented. Probably I'd better
choose another board if the BSP of the TX25 uses some deprecated ways.

Best regards,
Martin