Bootloader - erase flash memory

Hi there,

I've got a C164CI and I have to write a bootloader in assembly to load my
Hex-Files into the Flash memory. I've got a 32-Byte primary loop that loads
another loop, refered to as secondary loop, which should load the main prog
and write it into the flash memory. Everything seems to work fine, as I've
inserted some LED controll codes, and the code seems to work, but when I've
finshed sending the Hex-File and reseted the microcontroller it starts the
prog that was (and obviously still is) in memory before.
My secondary loop only temporarly stores the data in a register and then
directly writes it into the flash starting on 00h.

I've got the disassembled code of an existing bootloader and there I found
that it is deleting the flash memory before it writes the data to it. But I
could not really find out how that works. The dissasembled code uses
instructions like
        MEMMOV 0XAAAA, #0xAAAA, R3
but I havn't found out what this instruction does and the assembler I use
(Reads166 - Rigel Cooperation) doesn't even know it. So could anybody tell
me what MEMMOV does? (google didn't help :'-( )

Or/And 

how you can erase the flash with assembly code?
What exactly is the principle of erasing memory? Is it to set every bit to
zero or exactly does that mean?


Thanks for your help


Thomas

>Subject: Bootloader - erase flash memory
>From: Thomas Baier thomas@tho-bai.de 
>Date: 16/11/2004 20:38 GMT Standard Time
>Message-id: <419a6525$0$25322$9b4e6d93@newsread2.arcor-online.net>
>

>
>I've got a C164CI and I have to write a bootloader in assembly to load my
>Hex-Files into the Flash memory. I've got a 32-Byte primary loop that loads
>another loop, refered to as secondary loop, which should load the main prog
>and write it into the flash memory. Everything seems to work fine, as I've
>inserted some LED controll codes, and the code seems to work, but when I've
>finshed sending the Hex-File and reseted the microcontroller it starts the
>prog that was (and obviously still is) in memory before.
>My secondary loop only temporarly stores the data in a register and then
>directly writes it into the flash starting on 00h.

>
>I've got the disassembled code of an existing bootloader and there I found
>that it is deleting the flash memory before it writes the data to it. But I
>could not really find out how that works. The dissasembled code uses
>instructions like
>        MEMMOV 0XAAAA, #0xAAAA, R3
>but I havn't found out what this instruction does and the assembler I use
>(Reads166 - Rigel Cooperation) doesn't even know it. So could anybody tell
>me what MEMMOV does? (google didn't help :'-( )

Hi,you cant write to flash unles it's been earased first. If you can write to
flash then you must allready know how to use the flash commands, so why has the
earase command got you baffled? Writing a true bootloader is a problem because
they but have to share the same reset vector.

Thomas Baier wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> I've got a C164CI and I have to write a bootloader in assembly to
> load my Hex-Files into the Flash memory. I've got a 32-Byte primary
> loop that loads another loop, refered to as secondary loop, which
> should load the main prog and write it into the flash memory.
> Everything seems to work fine, as I've inserted some LED controll
> codes, and the code seems to work, but when I've finshed sending the
> Hex-File and reseted the microcontroller it starts the prog that was
> (and obviously still is) in memory before.
> My secondary loop only temporarly stores the data in a register and
> then directly writes it into the flash starting on 00h.
>
> I've got the disassembled code of an existing bootloader and there I
> found that it is deleting the flash memory before it writes the data
> to it. But I could not really find out how that works. The
> dissasembled code uses instructions like
>         MEMMOV 0XAAAA, #0xAAAA, R3
> but I havn't found out what this instruction does and the assembler I
> use (Reads166 - Rigel Cooperation) doesn't even know it. So could
> anybody tell me what MEMMOV does? (google didn't help :'-( )
>
> Or/And
>
> how you can erase the flash with assembly code?
> What exactly is the principle of erasing memory? Is it to set every
> bit to zero or exactly does that mean?
>
>
> Thanks for your help
>
>
> Thomas

Thomas,
  I'm not familiar with the C164CI, but the sequence above
looks like the start of an embedded algorithm for an AMD
flash chip.  Basically, a CHIP ERASE consists of 6 cycles,
where each cycle consists of a write to one of two command
registers with a "magic" value.  This value is documented in
the datasheets for the flash.  In order to perform a CHIP ERASE,
the following sequence would be performed (these are 16-bit
writes):

    ADDRESS    VALUE
   ----------------------------------
    AAAA             AAAA
    5554               5555
    AAAA             8080
    AAAA             AAAA
    5554               5555
    AAAA             1010

After the erase operation, all of the bits return to a "1" state,
so any (16-bit) reads of memory will result in the value FFFF.

Programming a memory location consists of a 4 cycle operation.
The following example would set the contents of address 4567
to  C123:

    ADDRESS    VALUE
   ----------------------------------
    AAAA             AAAA
    5554               5555
    AAAA             A0A0
    4567               C123


Joe

> how you can erase the flash with assembly code?
> What exactly is the principle of erasing memory? Is it to set every bit to
> zero or exactly does that mean?

Erasing flash means setting every bit to 1.  Programming flash means to
set an arbitrary number of bits to 0.  Bits cannot be "programmed" from
0 back to 1, except by erasing (possible only for a whole page at once).

So, to write your firmware into the flash, you have to first erase the
flash, and then program your firmware.

To avoid accidential writes, most flash chips need a special programming
sequence (and a special erase sequence as well).  Usually the sequence
begins with writing 0xAAAA to address 0xAAAA, followed by writing 0x5555
to address 0x5554, and then writing a command (eg "ERASE") to address
0xAAAA.  These writes are purely virtual and dont overwrite your firmware
addresses 0x5554 or 0xaaaa.  They make the flash listen to your command.

Read the datasheet of your flash, or copy off a working flash driver to
make your project going.

Marc

Thomas Baier wrote:
> The dissasembled code uses
> instructions like
>         MEMMOV 0XAAAA, #0xAAAA, R3
> but I havn't found out what this instruction does and the assembler I use
> (Reads166 - Rigel Cooperation) doesn't even know it. So could anybody tell
> me what MEMMOV does? (google didn't help :'-( )

I don't know Reads166, but it is defninitely not the fault of the assembler.

I am pretty sure, that there is no such instruction available on a C16x CPU.
The correct version of the instruction would be something like
   mov 0xAAAA, R3
assuming that DPP2 contains the correct value.
I don't know the meaning of the second operand in your example.

What disassembler are you using that produces these funny mnemonics?
Are there any options to tell him that it should use the C16x 
instruction set?



Best regards
Gerhard

Gerhard Hempl said
> Thomas Baier wrote:
> > The dissasembled code uses
> > instructions like
> >         MEMMOV 0XAAAA, #0xAAAA, R3
> > but I havn't found out what this instruction does and the assembler I use
> > (Reads166 - Rigel Cooperation) doesn't even know it. So could anybody tell
> > me what MEMMOV does? (google didn't help :'-( )
> 
> I don't know Reads166, but it is defninitely not the fault of the assembler.
> 
> I am pretty sure, that there is no such instruction available on a C16x CPU.
> The correct version of the instruction would be something like
>    mov 0xAAAA, R3
> assuming that DPP2 contains the correct value.
> I don't know the meaning of the second operand in your example.


This has been known to work ....


 ; assuming r15 = segment address of FLASH address to be written to
 ;          r14 =  offset address of FLASH address to be written to

    mov     r12,#0AAAAh         

    exts    r15,#1       ; extended segment sequence of len = 1 
    mov     [r14],r12    ; [r15:r14] = r12




Casey