[U-Boot] i.MX286 U-Boot fails with code HTLLCL0x8050100b

[U-Boot] i.MX286 U-Boot fails with code HTLLCL0x8050100b

[Stuart Longland]

Hi all,

I'm trying to build a previously known working branch of U-Boot that I
built some time back which forks from revision
e89d623f099c44b0b166ccf46bce2e6a0b99c984.

I previously built this before, the binaries and source for which are
here: http://bne.vrt.com.au/technologicsys/

There you'll find the notes on exactly how I built it too.

Since I did development there, I've done a number of system updates on
my workstation, and so I suspect one of them has broken something, as
when I try to build that U-Boot branch and `dd` the resulting
`u-boot.sd` (according to the documentation in doc/README.mxs), I now
get the following error code displayed:

HTLLCL0x8050100b

The documentation I found here http://www.denx-cs.de/?q=blogm28mxssb
seemed to suggest the following meaning:


.--------------- Valid SB
|.-------------- SB tag
||.------------- u-boot-spl.bin loaded
|||.------------ IVT loaded
||||.----------- SPL executed
|||||.---------- U-Boot binary loaded
HTLLCL0x8050100b
      '--------'
        CRC Error

I'm guessing "IVT" here means interrupt vector table, and that the lack
of a second 'L' suggests it was loading of this interrupt vector table
that failed due to a CRC error.

I've tried building u-boot with a number of different toolchains:
- binutils-2.25.1, gcc-4.7.3, glibc, EABI, built using Gentoo crossdev
- arm-none-eabi toolchain, self-built using sources from
https://launchpad.net/gcc-arm-embedded
- Linaro arm EABI toolchain from
http://releases.linaro.org/14.11/components/toolchain/binaries/arm-linux-gnueabi/

None of these seem to generate a successfully booting binary, which is
perplexing to say the least.  Is there somewhere else I should be
looking for the cause of the above issue?

Regards,
-- 
     _ ___             Stuart Longland - Systems Engineer
\  /|_) |                           T: +61 7 3535 9619
 \/ | \ |     38b Douglas Street    F: +61 7 3535 9699
   SYSTEMS    Milton QLD 4064       http://www.vrt.com.au

[U-Boot] i.MX286 U-Boot fails with code HTLLCL0x8050100b

[Stuart Longland]

On 11/02/16 15:34, Stuart Longland wrote:
> I now
> get the following error code displayed:
> 
> HTLLCL0x8050100b
> 
> The documentation I found here http://www.denx-cs.de/?q=blogm28mxssb
> seemed to suggest the following meaning:
> 
> 
> .--------------- Valid SB
> |.-------------- SB tag
> ||.------------- u-boot-spl.bin loaded
> |||.------------ IVT loaded
> ||||.----------- SPL executed
> |||||.---------- U-Boot binary loaded
> HTLLCL0x8050100b
>       '--------'
>         CRC Error
> 
> I'm guessing "IVT" here means interrupt vector table, and that the lack
> of a second 'L' suggests it was loading of this interrupt vector table
> that failed due to a CRC error.

I've since read up in the datasheet, I was close, it's "image vector
table".  I've been trying to hexdump a "known good" image and my broken
ones to figure out what's going on.

I can make some sense of the SD image header, but yet to fully figure
out the bootstream format itself.  Searching for more information on the
issue simply reveals copies of my earlier email to this list.

> None of these seem to generate a successfully booting binary, which is
> perplexing to say the least.  Is there somewhere else I should be
> looking for the cause of the above issue?

I've now tried numerous other toolchain version combinations, including
building it on a Debian chroot.  I don't seem to be able to get SPL
debugging going -- even though I've #define'd DEBUG, and
CONFIG_SPL_SERIAL_SUPPORT.

I figure if I had the wrong pins configured, I wouldn't even see the
error code I've been getting, so clearly that works.

I've been trying to debug this for days now and it's driving me insane.

The code previously worked.  I've also tried building images for the
mx28evk, which is a very similar board to the one I'm using, and I get
the same result.

I ask again: Is there somewhere else I should be looking for the cause
of the above issue?

Regards,
-- 
     _ ___             Stuart Longland - Systems Engineer
\  /|_) |                           T: +61 7 3535 9619
 \/ | \ |     38b Douglas Street    F: +61 7 3535 9699
   SYSTEMS    Milton QLD 4064       http://www.vrt.com.au

[U-Boot] i.MX286 U-Boot fails with code HTLLCL0x8050100b

[Stuart Longland]

On 15/02/16 14:09, Stuart Longland wrote:
> I ask again: Is there somewhere else I should be looking for the cause
> of the above issue?

Well, found my issue in the end I think.  In exasperation I dd'ed one of
my working SD card images, proved that the machine booted, then dd'ed
the newly build U-Boot image over the top of the old U-Boot partition.

It worked.

So I'll put this down to the i.MX286 boot ROM being *exceptionally*
picky about partition placement.  If things aren't *exactly* right,
it'll flatly refuse to work.

I might see if I can reproduce the bad image and hex-dump it to better
understand what was "wrong".
-- 
Stuart Longland
Systems Engineer
     _ ___
\  /|_) |                           T: +61 7 3535 9619
 \/ | \ |     38b Douglas Street    F: +61 7 3535 9699
   SYSTEMS    Milton QLD 4064       http://www.vrt.com.au