• State Resolved
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 3 replies
  • Subscribers 30 subscribers
  • Views 2423 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Support feedback
Options
Options
Related

This thread has been locked.

If you have a related question, please click the "Ask a related question" button in the top right corner. The newly created question will be automatically linked to this question.

Re-Flash EK-TM4C129XL with LM Flash Programmer to re-write MAC address

Jason Long
Prodigy 190 points

Hi All,

I recently got the EK-TM4C129XL Connected Launchpad and was playing around with it and somehow managed to lock the Debug Port (be careful with your system clock !) . Anyway, I used to LM Flash Programmer to open the port and I know I will have to use LM Flash's "MAC Address Mode" to re-write the boards MAC into my User0 and User1 regs.

But this got me worried , is there anything else other than the MAC address I need to restore here ? I do not want to go on developing if there is something fundamental missing here.

So Basically:

1. Is there any other vital info supposed to be in the Flash other then the boards MAC Addr (I'm sure the answer here is yes) ?

2. If so, is there a way to load the flash back to factory default (i.e. "Right Outta the Box" ) then re-write my boards MAC using LM Flash Programmer.

Sorry for the rudimentary question, I cannot find a document (in TivaWare folder) describing what should be in the flash. The other threads I found were not specifically asking after a "best practice" procedure to re-flash a board back to full operation. 

People who came here may also find the following thread helpful:

http://e2e.ti.com/support/microcontrollers/tiva_arm/f/908/p/312378/1087270.aspx#1087270

All Help Appreciated,

Jay Long.

  • 0
    Guru 86755 points

    Hi Jason,

    Jason Long said:
    1. Is there any other vital info supposed to be in the Flash other then the boards MAC Addr (I'm sure the answer here is yes) ?

         MAC address is only relevant when your application is communicating in the internet. Otherwise, you don't need it.

         MAC address is written to USER_REG0 and USER_REG1, which is FLASH protected. Once committed or set, one way to restore to factory default is to use LM Flash Programmer Debug Port Unlock Utility. You, can read about that at the datasheet. It is in a different location where your application will be stored.

    Jason Long said:
    2. If so, is there a way to load the flash back to factory default (i.e. "Right Outta the Box" ) then re-write my boards MAC using LM Flash Programmer.

         By doing the LM Flash Programmer Debug Port Unlock utility, you are restoring the microcontroller to factory default. I think the MAC address was written afterwards in production.

         You, don't need to worry much about what contents should be in FLASH when you are going to use it for your application, as the process of loading a binary file to flash, requires to ERASE that part of flash before writing.

         I think it will serve you best to read the datasheet or other relevant documents, such as bootloaders guide. 

    -kel     

  • 0 in reply to Markel Robregado
    Prodigy 190 points

    Hi Kel, firstly thanks for the words of wisdom.

    I have restored my USER_REG0 and USER_REG1 to the correct MAC. 

    I had read the "Recovering a Locked uC"  of the data sheet (page 211) and the boot loader doc as you mentioned. While this seems straight forward enough and indeed the LM Flash Programmer worked perfectly I was just looking for a sanity check that I was not missing something crucial (i.e. something like a  "Do NOT blow up" flag in Flash). I must admit I'm quite new to this stuff.

    Do you know if a document exists outlining the non-volatile FLASH values that come on a particular launchpad ?

    The problem here is I probably read through the relevant section at an earlier stage but failed to recongnise the significance.

    Thanks again,

    Jason 

  • 0 in reply to Jason Long
    Guru 86755 points

    Jason Long said:
    Do you know if a document exists outlining the non-volatile FLASH values that come on a particular launchpad ?

    I don't know if there is such a document. I only know of what is mentioned about FLASH in the datasheet.

    -kel