EtraxFlasher usage introduction

• Startup
• The top part
• The RAM configuration
• First time use instructions
• Flashing your image
• Advanced commands
• Troubleshooting
• FAQ / Troubleshooting

As soon as you start EtraxFlasher, all COM ports on your computer are being detected and suddenly the main form shows up. It mainly consists of three parts:

1. The top part with basic settings like maximum baudrate, flash image filename etc.
2. The middle part where you can adjust the RAM settings (this part may be hidden)
3. The main part with a list of all available COM ports.

The program shows all COM ports at the same time because it was developed to program multiple chips at the same time. If this functionality is available depends on the version, however.

The very top part of the window you can do these settings:

• Max baudrate: EtraxFlasher detects the best available baudrate in an automatic way. However, if you experience problems with the detected baudrate then you can limit the baudrate to a slower value. The program supports baudrates up to 6 MBit but rates over 460kbps probably knock out the ETRAX processor!
• Flash image file: This is the file that is being written to the flash. Use the button next to the input box to activate the file select dialog. This file name is also used when doing a flash verify.
• Options: Here you can fine-tune the flash writing process:
  • Simulate only: The flash will be left untouched even if all data is being transferred. Use this option to test the connection.
  • Verify flash: If activated, the flash will be backread after writing to check if it is correct. This adds some seconds to whole flashing process but can be useful to be sure that flash is correct.
  • Enable flash unlock bypass: Some flash chips allow a special writing mode that is a bit faster. Don't use this if you are unsure if it is supported by the chip.

Note: The flash type(s) and size(s) are autodetected.

With this panel you can specify your RAM characteristics and timings. If you don't see the controls, click on the button beneath the "RAM configuration (click to open)" title.

You should be familiar with the meanings of the controls. If not, read the documentation of AXIS and your RAM chip. If you're using the ETRAX MCM module or the developer board, use the preset you'll find in the list. The default settings work with the MCM too, but please note all changes are autosaved when the program closes.

It is very important that these settings are correct, otherwise it won't be possible to load the flash image to the processor!

Now let's try to get some life to the ETRAX processor (without modifing the flash yet).

1. Connect your board to your computer. It depends on your board wheter you need a patch- or a cross-cable.
2. (Maybe select a max. baudrate of 57,6kbaud or so to avoid I/O problems right from the start)
3. Activate serial boot mode on ETRAX:
   1. Keep holding the "BOOT" button
   2. Press once the "RESET" button (or power up the device)
   3. Release the "BOOT" button (if it is a jumper then there's no need to remove it - you can leave it there all the time)
4. On the correct COM port panel click on the little "Command mode" button on the right. The log/command toolwindow pops up and you'll see some activity in the main window. A bootloader is now being transfered to your device. If it fails, check your connection, baudrate and COM port. Don't care about RAM configuration yet. Often it's necessary to powercycle the device before it's working again. Then retry from point 2.
5. If all went well you'll see the status "Ready for commands..." in the main window.
6. In the log/command window open the "RAM tester" panel.
7. Now we are going to test your RAM configuration. Go through all three tests (they take some time). If one fails check your configuration (don't forget about the RAM size setting!!) and try again.

If the RAM test succeeds, then you may go ahead with flash writing!

First, be sure to have a valid flash image that will fit on the flash chip. It must be a image build with AXIS' tools that has a 24 byte trailer at the end that contains HWID and checksum!

We suggest to select a maximum baudrate of 460 kpbs to use the fastest baudrate your computer and ETRAX can handle (no problem if your serial port can't go over 115 kbps).

1. Select the correct image file name (top part of the main window)
2. Activate serial boot mode on ETRAX (see "first time instructions" chapter for more information)
3. Now click on the big "START" button in the correct COM port panel.
4. The program should now start transfering the image in four stages. During the fourth stage the image is actually being transmitted (and flashed at the same time) so it takes up the most time. At 460kpbs it takes up 1-2 minutes depending on the image size and contents. You'll notice that the progress bar doesn't always advance at the same speed. That's normal because it skips empty parts of the image (that doesn't affect writing, however).
   A CRC checksum takes care that transfer errors are corrected.
   The upper progress bar shows transfer progress while the lower bar shows how much has been written to the flash chip so far.
5. Click on the "Logfile..." button to see verbose information.
6. If you activated the "Verify flash" option, then at the end of the transfer process the processor will be busy some seconds checking the flash integrity.
7. When everything is done, status "Finished" is displayed and some statistics show up in the log window. The processor halts in an endless loop.

Now you can connect to your board using a standard terminal program and boot your fresh Linux system (if the serial console is enabled, of couse)!

Depending on the EtraxFlasher version some more sophisticated commands are available. Their primary use is to test the hardware of custom made boards. These commands are available in command mode (see "first time use instructions" above).

All commands are activated through the "log/command toolwindow" and are discussed here briefly:

• reconfigure RAM: Sends the current RAM configuration (from the main window) to the processor. So you can test various settings without rebooting the processer.
• proceed with flash writing: Exits command mode and proceeds like if you had clicked on the "START" button.
• verbose level: Defines how much information is being written to the logfile. Verbose level 2 could make some problems with low baudrates.
• RAM tester panel: Already discussed earlier. The "auto-reconfigure checkbox" is like clicking on "Reconfigure RAM" each time you start a RAM test
• Flash verify / writing panel: Used to verify the contents of the flash or to read it back and save it to a file.
  • Quick flash verify: Verified the contents of the flash by calculating the CRC of smaller blocks (very fast and reliable enough).
  • Precise flash verify: Compares byte by byte reading back the contents of the flash. Because all data has to be transferred over the serial line, it may take up a while.
  • Read flash contents: Loads the complete flash and stores it in a local file. You have to specify the size of the image yourself (click on the "A" button to adjust it to the selected file). The HWID input field is used to build the 24 bytes trailer that is found in all AXIS images. Choose HWID 0 if you don't wish such a trailer.
• 32 bit RAM access: Used to read and write 32 bit values to anywhere in the RAM. Of couse, registers and flash are possible too. But please be careful what you do. Most important, don't write to the cache area 0x380000F0..0x38001CF0 because the program resides there!
• bit-by-bit address area access: a handy version of 32 bit RAM access where you can set and clear single bits (useful for registers).

The pause/resume buttons at the bottom disable/enable updating of the logfile window. On resume no data is lost because everything is stored in an internal buffer.

• When activating command mode or transferring a flash image I get an "Timeout waiting for ACK" error!
  Check your connection, choose a slower baudrate or powercycle your board.
• Using the AXIS devboard 82/83 I still get ACK errors - but I think the connection is fine!
  Please note you cannot use the original BOOT button to start serial flashing. You need a little jumper on the board that is not soldered on by default. [More information]
• While in command mode I suddenly get "unknown command" errors in the logfile!
  The protocol got out of sync. Reload the bootloader (ie. start from beginning).
• I have problems when using a USB-to-serial converter!
  Some converters say they support high baudrates while they really can't. Choose the next smaller baudrate and try again. At least 115 kbps should work. Also try to unplug and plugin the adapter again. We experienced the most problems with Profilic-based converters. However, they are the cheapest way of having a serial port up to 460 kbps.
• I get timeouts when using a Ethernet-to-serial converter!
  Those converters usually have big internal buffers that knock out the protocol. Better not to use such converters!
• I think I found a bug! What should I do?
  First, check if you're using the most recent version. If that's the case, contact us providing detailed information about your hardware, what you tried to do and what went wrong (error messages where available, please!).