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AM4379: eMMC 4-bit boot

Guru 15510 points
Part Number: AM4379
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CSD

Hi,

I have a question about AM437x eMMC boot.

My customer are planning to use eMMC 4bit mode boot.
In Technical Reference Manual of AM437x(spruhl7h) page.212 "5.2.6.5 MMC/SD Cards",
it said as following :
***************************************************************************
Initial 1-bit MMC Mode and optional 4-bit mode, if MMC/SD card supports it.
***************************************************************************

So, AM437x are supporting eMMC 4-bit mode boot, right?
But it said 4-bit mode is optional.
How does RBL detect 4-bit mode?
Does RBL read EXT_CSD register[183] of eMMC memory?

best regards,
g.f.

  • Hello,

    We are sorry about the inconvenience but our expert on the topic is not available today and we should be able to give you feedback by early next week.

    Regards,
    Krunal
  • Hi, g.f.

    In u-boot user's guide, it says on some hardware, it may not be able to run u-boot out of ROM from the storage device. For the eMMC boot, I believe it only boots kernel from it. U-boot can detect if the eMMC is 4-bit or 1-bit.

    => mmc info
    Device: OMAP SD/MMC
    Manufacturer ID: 3
    OEM: 5344
    Name: SL08G
    Bus Speed: 48000000
    Mode : SD High Speed (50MHz)
    Rd Block Len: 512
    SD version 3.0
    High Capacity: Yes
    Capacity: 7.4 GiB
    Bus Width: 4-bit
    Erase Group Size: 512 Bytes
    =>

    Rex
  • Hi Rex,

    Thank you for the reply.

    I want to know how the AM437x internal ROM Bootloader detects the data bus width supported
    by the eMMC memory itself.

    From AM437x TRM, I guess ROM Bootloader(RBL) will start with 1-bit mode when using
    eMMC boot mode and then if the eMMC memory are supporting 4-bit data width,
    RBL will change to 4-bit mode, is it correct?
    During 1-bit mode, I guess RBL will access to the register(CSD) of eMMC memory to find
    either eMMC memory are supporting 4-bit or not, isn't it correct?

    best regards,
    g.f.
  • Hi, g.f.

    eMMC standard defines the process. I found some slides on internet, cmosedu.com/.../eMMC_Architecture_and_Operation.pdf

    Please take a look at slide #36 which mentions briefly on how it works, but you should be able to find more detailed info in the eMMC standard as shown in the slide.

    Rex