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MSP-GANG430 Read Image

Tarik Aweimrin
Prodigy 30 points

I am using the MSP-GANG430 in standalone mode.  To verify that the image being burnt onto the targets in production matches the approved hex code I would like to be able to read the image data from the gang programmer via the RS232 port.  I cannot burn the code onto a target then read the target memory because the target is put into "Secure Device" mode.  Any assistance would be appreciated.  Thanks

  • 0
    TI__Intellectual 2185 points

    Hi Tarik Aweimrin,

    there is no way to read out the stored image in the GANG430. The GANG430 can verify (if flag set) in standalone mode the image written to target device by calculating the checksum. It processes before securing device.

    Please let me know why you need to read out the image from the GANG430 into PC. If you are not sure what the image is in the GANG430, the simplest is to load the right image with right options before start programming.

    Regards,
    Rosty

  • 0 in reply to Rostyslav Stolyar
    Prodigy 30 points

    I need to read the image to verify that the GANG430 programmer contains the "approved" code for government audit purposes, not that the image in the programmer is correctly programmed to the target.

  • 0 in reply to Tarik Aweimrin
    Guru 227245 points

    If you can compare the code your read from the GANG with the 'approved code' you can also just upload the approved code. Both methods have the same weakness for tampering: if the 'reference' image has been altered, it will verify a wrong version as the right one, and if the transfer process is insecure, tampering may happen in both directions, during verify or during upload. And it's exactly the same effort for both directions.

    Well, I know that Government 'requirements' are not always logical.

    But if you cannot read the image, you cannot. A fresh upload of an approved image is the only way then.

  • 0 in reply to Jens-Michael Gross
    Prodigy 30 points

    New Approach... I want to monitor the communication lines to the target as it is being programmed and decipher the data being transmit to the microcontroller.  Is there any documentation on the communication protocol?  Thanks

  • 0 in reply to Tarik Aweimrin
    Guru 227245 points

    The communication protocol is JTAG.

    However, this won't help you much. The way at least mspgcc (and I think most other programming tools) do an upload is to write a small code snippet into the MSPs RAM that contains part of the binary to flash and code to do the flashing. It is then executed on the MSP and performs the programming process. the next bunch of data is uploaded through JTAG commands.

    Analyzing the data that is being written by monitoring the JTAG process is like analyzing what is being printed by watching the commands that spray a pixel on the paper. Not impossible, but quite complex.

    There's an appnote about JTAG low-level access. And the MSP430 library is available as open source (but that's only part of the whole picture - there is no source available for the FET firmware that does the actual JTAG transfer).

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