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PROCESSOR-SDK-J721E: Boot fails on J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8 board

Taekmin Lee
Expert 1445 points

Part Number: PROCESSOR-SDK-J721E

Hi! Ti experts,

We have two EVMs.
- EVM_001: J721E SR1.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7
- EVM_002: J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8

We are develop using PROCESSOR SDK 7.3 and 8.0. but EVM_2 always boot fails.

U-Boot SPL 2021.01-g53e79d0e89 (Aug 04 2021 - 23:32:00 +0000)
Model: Texas Instruments K3 J721E SoC
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8
SYSFW ABI: 3.1 (firmware rev 0x0015 '21.5.0--v2021.05 (Terrific Llam')
Trying to boot from MMC2
spl_load_image_fat: error reading image tispl.bin, err - -6
bad MBR sector signature 0x00aa
spl: no partition table found
SPL: failed to boot from all boot devices
### ERROR ### Please RESET the board ###

We found this thread in community. and it works. 
https://e2e.ti.com/support/processors-group/processors/f/processors-forum/1034036/tda4vm-boot-fails-at-board-j721ex-pm2-som-rev-e8

However, using this solution, it looks like drop the GPU performance.
(The replacement system.itb(=sysfw.itb ?), tiboot3.bin file runs on the R5F core, but I'm not sure why it affects GPU performance.)

We test glmark2 using 2 EVM, PROCESSOR SDK 7.0/7.3/8.0.
This score is the average of the results of glmark2 three times.

Board glmark2 Score
EVM_001 SoC: J721E SR1.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7		 PSDK 7.0 boot 7.0 958
SoC: J721E SR1.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7		 PSDK 7.3 boot 7.2 883
SoC: J721E SR1.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7		 PSDK 7.3 boot 7.3 1137
SoC: J721E SR1.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7		 PSDK 8.0 boot 7.2 883
SoC: J721E SR1.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7		 PSDK 8.0 boot 8.0 1174.66
EVM_002 SoC: J721E SR2.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8		 PSDK 7.0 boot 7.0 959
SoC: J721E SR2.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8		 PSDK 7.3 boot 7.2 887.66
SoC: J721E SR2.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8		 PSDK 7.3 boot 7.3 Boot Error
SoC: J721E SR2.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8		 PSDK 8.0 boot 7.2 870.66
SoC: J721E SR2.0
Board: J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8		 PSDK 8.0 boot 8.0 Boot Error

If boot_7.2 is used in EVM_002 as shown in the table above, booting is possible, but GPU performance is drop.
EVM_001 also showed similar results. (And the GPU performance was similarly drop in RTOS's OpenGL app.)

Q. I want to boot up EVM_002(J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8) using PROCESSOR_SDK 8.0 + boot 8.0.
     How can I create a boot file(sysfw.itb, tiboot3.bin) that can be booted from this EVM_002?

Regards,
Lee.

  • 0
    Expert 1445 points

    I found SDK document that build sysfw, u-boot section.
    https://software-dl.ti.com/jacinto7/esd/processor-sdk-linux-jacinto7/08_00_00_08/exports/docs/linux/Overview_Top_Level_Makefile.html

    i downloaded recent k3-image-gen, u-boot (08.01.00.002) and build it.
    It works EVM_001(J721E SR1.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7).
    but EVM_002(J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8)  doesn't work.

    Is there any patch or solution for EVM_002?

    Regards,
    Lee.

  • 0 in reply to Taekmin Lee
    Expert 1445 points

    I did some tests with boot(sysfw.itb, tiboot3.bin) file.

    TEST #1. PROCESSOR SDK 7.3 + boot 7.3 + sysfw.itb(7.2)
    - EVM_001(J721E SR1.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7): Boot success. GPU performance is normal.
    - EVM_002(J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8): Boot fail

    TEST #2. PROCESSOR SDK 7.3 + boot 7.3 + tiboot3.bin(7.2)
    - EVM_001(J721E SR1.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7): Boot success. GPU performance is drop.
    - EVM_002(J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8): Boot success. GPU performance is drop.

    TEST #3. PROCESSOR SDK 8.0 + boot 8.0 + sysfw.itb(7.2)
    - EVM_001(J721E SR1.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7): Boot success. GPU performance is normal.
    - EVM_002(J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8): Boot fail

    TEST #4. PROCESSOR SDK 8.0 + boot 8.0 + tiboot3.bin(7.2)
    - EVM_001(J721E SR1.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E7): Boot success. GPU performance is drop.
    - EVM_002(J721E SR2.0 + J721EX-PM2-SOM rev E8): Boot success. GPU performance is drop.

    * GPU performance checked using glmark2

    I know that "tiboot3.bin" file is u-boot for R5F core.
    Why does the U-boot of R5F affect GPU performance?

    Is there U-Boot patch for using boot 8.0 in EVM_002?
    I tried recent version of u-boot(ti-u-boot-2021.01-next,  08.01.00.002) to boot up EVM_002. but it's failed.

    Regards,
    Lee.

  • 0 in reply to Taekmin Lee
    Expert 1445 points

    Hi,

    Is there any update on this thread?

    I tried "ti-u-boot-08.01.00.003 (21.11.05), k3-image-gen-08.01.00.003 (21.11.05)" to boot up EVM_002. but it's failed.

    Regards,
    Lee.

  • 0 in reply to Taekmin Lee
    TI__Expert 8385 points

    Hello Lee,

    Apologies for the delayed response. We will look into this and get back to you soon.

    Regards

    Hemant

  • 0 in reply to Hemant Hariyani
    TI__Guru**** 169100 points

    Hi Lee,

    SDK 7.3 & 8.0 have DDR Speed set to 4266 MTS. Can you try as per the below E2E: https://e2e.ti.com/support/processors/f/791/t/1028163

    The above E2E will reduce the speed of DDR to 3733 MTS. I believe the above should help you boot.

    Best Regards,
    Keerthy

  • 0 in reply to Keerthy J
    Expert 1445 points

    Hi Hemant, Keerthy.
    Thaks for answer.

    I apply reduce the speed of DDR to 3733 MTS. It works!
    The EVM_002 boot up successfully.

    Also I checked GPU performance using glmark2, there is no performance drop. (EVM_001: 1174.66, EVM_002: 1122.66)

    What is the relationship between DDR frequency, booting, and GPU performance?
    I don't understand why this is.

    Regards,
    Lee.

  • +1 in reply to Taekmin Lee
    TI__Guru**** 169100 points

    Hi Lee,

    The hypothesis is EVM_002 DDR is not stable at 4266MTS. Hence requesting you to use DDR at 3733MTS which
    works nicely for you on EVM_002. If no further questions then please click on verify answer.

    Best Regards,
    Keerthy