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SYS/BIOS IND SDK 2.1.1.2 Bootloader issues with ICE v2.1

Ryan Armstrong
Intellectual 330 points
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: SYSBIOS

We are presently upgrading our application from SYS/BIOS IND SDK 1.1.0.6 to 2.1.1.2. The application itself has been ported fine, but now we are running into issues with the bootloader(s).

When we were using the 1.x series of the SDK, we noticed that the SPI flash bootloader would also boot an 'app' file on the SD card if it was present, then would fall back to the SPI flash if the file was removed. Is this no longer a supported feature? Would we need to edit the bootloader source code to 'get it back'?

A second problem is we are unable to get our board to boot from an SD Card bootloader at all; the above 'feature' was the only way we were able to boot from SD card previously. I followed the below process:

  1. Copied C:\ti\sysbios_ind_sdk_2.1.1.2\sdk\starterware\binary\bootloader\bin\am335x-evm\gcc\bootloader_boot_mmcsd_a8host_debug_ti.bin to SD card and renamed to MLO
  2. Copied application binary (_ti.bin) to SD card and renamed to APP
  3. Erased the SPI flash bootloader by running C:\ti\sysbios_ind_sdk_2.1.1.2\sdk\tools\flasher\spi_flasher\isdk_spi_flasher.out, selecting erase, and erasing 0x0 with size 64 kbytes.

When starting up the board in this configuration, no text is observed for the bootloader on the USB serial connection, and the application software does not start.

We tried placing the SYSBOOT jumper in both positions (pins 1-2 OR pins 2-3) with no success. Note that we have previously erased the NOR bootloader to prevent interference.

We also noticed that we could still use the SDK 1.x bootloader to launch SDK 2.x application from the SD card if using the .bin file without the TI prefix, which is a temporary solution to allow SD booting. However, the old bootloader will not run SDK 2.x application from SPI flash at all.

Any suggestions for

  1. Having a dual-mode bootloader (preferred), or
  2. Fixing the SD card boot

Would be appreciated.

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 30365 points
    Hi Ryan,

    Let me try out what you mentioned above and get back to you. You have Rev 2.1A ICE v2?

    Lali
  • 0
    TI__Expert 7360 points

    Hello,

    Ryan Armstrong said:
    Having a dual-mode bootloader (preferred), or


    I'm afraid the bootloader should be modified for this

    Ryan Armstrong said:
    Fixing the SD card boot


    Did you complete the "Preparing SD card" section in Starterware User guide?

    Regards,
    Vinesh

  • 0 in reply to Vinesh Balan
    Intellectual 330 points

    Lali, correct; that is the board we have.

    Vinesh, I did perform the latter half of the 'Preparing SD card' section (steps 7 onward) as indicated in the three steps in my post. I did not reformat the SD card, as I have no reason to question that it is properly formatted. I can certainly try this, but I'm not expecting much...

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 30365 points

    Ryan,

    Did you also try the pre-built binaries in the download page to see if they work?

    http://downloads.ti.com/sitara_indus/esd/SYSBIOSSDK-IND-SITARA/latest/index_FDS.html 

    Also, after the board is powered on, can you launch teraterm with the correct COM port, then press the "warmreset" S1 push button to reset the board. Do you see something on the console? Try with SYSBOOT  jumpered as below.

    Lali

  • 0 in reply to Lalindra Jayatilleke
    Intellectual 330 points
    I downloaded the pre-build binaries and compared them to the binaries I already tried. The included file (sysbios_ind_sdk_prebuilt_02_01_01_02\bootloaders\AM335X_ICEv2.1\mmcsd_release\MLO) is the exact same file as bootloader_boot_mmcsd_a8host_release_ti.bin which I have already tried.

    Nothing shows up on the COM port at all. SYSBOOT is in the same position as in your picture, but has been tested in both positions to be sure.
  • 0 in reply to Ryan Armstrong
    Intellectual 330 points
    I went ahead and tried reformatting the SD card without any results. Incidetally, the HP utility did not work for me, as it did not detect the drive (I am using an internal card reader). I instead used the official SD Card formatting utility from the SD Association:
    www.sdcard.org/.../index.html

    Also note the card under test is a Kingston 32 GB MicroSD HC Class 10 card. Since the old SPI flash bootloader (and the SD card test application) can both read the card contents fine, I don't think there is anything wrong with it. I may try another (smaller) card later if I can track down a spare.
  • 0 in reply to Ryan Armstrong
    TI__Mastermind 30365 points

    Ryan,

    I have been experimenting a bit and I think your issue might be that you need to make your type of SD card "bootable". Please see if you can run DISKPART in Win7 and follow the instructions here? Most likely you will have to do the step to Mark Partition as Active.

    WINDOWS 7

    If you have an Ubuntu machine, you could also run the "Disk Utility" app and format the SD card. Ensure that the "bootable" option is selected when you edit the partition. This will change the partition flag to bootable.

    UBUNTU

    Once you have done this, put your bootloader binary bootloader_boot_mmcsd_a8host_debug_ti.bin on the SD card and rename it MLO.

    Now remove the jumper on J5, put your SD card into the ICEv2 slot, power on the board, open Teraterm to the appropriate COM port, and finally press the S1 warmreset switch on the board. The bootloader should now show up.

    Please let me know if this worked for you.

    [EDIT] Please also see the getting started guide located at C:\ti\sysbios_ind_sdk_2.1.1.2\sdk\docs for a better explanation of the ICEv2 boot mode settings on pg 5. The HW wiki isn't that great at illustrating the various J5 jumper settings and needs to reworded.

    Also see the getting started guide for more SD card formatting instructions.

    Lali

  • 0 in reply to Lalindra Jayatilleke
    Intellectual 330 points
    Yes. That was the problem. Thanks for your help. I suspect the HP Formatting utility would have set the partition as active, but since the utility did not work for me, I was unable to confirm. You may want to revise the Starterware User guide to indicate why the SD card needs to be reformatted, and provide alternate methods (like above) for configurations where the old HP utility isn't suitable.
  • 0 in reply to Ryan Armstrong
    TI__Mastermind 30365 points

    Fantastic! Yes, we need to add the bootable partition caveat to the documentation since this might be a stumbling block for others. Thanks for your patience and using TI parts. This type of feedback helps us improve.

    Lali