Nios® II Flash Programmer User Guide

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ID 683118
Date 11/06/2017
Public
Document Table of Contents
Document Table of Contents x
1. Overview of the Nios® II Flash Programmer 2. Using the Flash Programmer GUI 3. Using the Flash Programmer from the Command Line A. Non-Standard Flash Memories B. Troubleshooting C. Document Revision History
1. Overview of the Nios® II Flash Programmer x
1.1. Prerequisites 1.2. Nios® II Flash Programmer GUI and Command-Line Utilities 1.3. How the Flash Programmer Works 1.4. Document Revision History for Overview of the Nios® II Flash Programmer
1.3. How the Flash Programmer Works x
1.3.1. Flash Programmer Target Design
2. Using the Flash Programmer GUI x
2.1. Starting the Flash Programmer GUI 2.2. Specifying your Flash Programmer Settings 2.3. Working with Flash Programmer Settings Files 2.4. Setting the Hardware Connection 2.5. Checking System ID and System Timestamp 2.6. Generating Flash Files and Programming Flash Memory 2.7. Document Revision History for Using the Flash Programmer GUI
3. Using the Flash Programmer from the Command Line x
3.1. quartus_pgm --nios2 3.2. sof2flash 3.3. elf2flash 3.4. bin2flash 3.5. Document Revision History for Using the Flash Programmer from the Command Line
3.1. quartus_pgm --nios2 x
3.1.1. quartus_pgm --nios2 Parameters 3.1.2. quartus_pgm --nios2 Command-Line Examples
3.1.1. quartus_pgm --nios2 Parameters x
3.1.1.1. General Parameters 3.1.1.2. Device Parameters
3.2. sof2flash x
3.2.1. sof2flash Parameters 3.2.2. sof2flash Command-Line Examples
3.2.1. sof2flash Parameters x
3.2.1.1. General Parameters 3.2.1.2. Device Parameters 3.2.1.3. Configuration-Specific Parameters
3.3. elf2flash x
3.3.1. elf2flash Parameters 3.3.2. Programming Both Hardware and Software into an EPCS/EPCQ Device 3.3.3. elf2flash Command-Line Examples
3.3.1. elf2flash Parameters x
3.3.1.1. General Parameters 3.3.1.2. CFI Parameters 3.3.1.3. EPCS Parameters
3.4. bin2flash x
3.4.1. bin2flash Parameters 3.4.2. bin2flash Command-Line Example
A. Non-Standard Flash Memories x
A.1. Built-in Recognition and Override A.2. Flash Override Files A.3. Width Mode Override Parameter A.4. Document Revision History for Non-Standard Flash Memories
A.2. Flash Override Files x
A.2.1. Flash Override File Format A.2.2. How to Use the Flash Override File
B. Troubleshooting x
B.1. Overview B.2. Start Button Grayed Out in the Flash Programmer GUI B.3. 'No Nios® II Processors Available' Error B.4. 'No CFI Table Found' Error B.5. 'No EPCS Registers Found' Error B.6. 'System Does Not Have Any Flash Memory' Error B.7. 'Reading System ID at Address 0x<address>: FAIL' Error B.8. 'Base Address Not Aligned on Size of Device' Error B.9. Document Revision History for Troubleshooting
B.2. Start Button Grayed Out in the Flash Programmer GUI x
B.2.1. Probable Cause B.2.2. Suggested Actions
B.3. 'No Nios® II Processors Available' Error x
B.3.1. Probable Cause B.3.2. Suggested Actions
B.4. 'No CFI Table Found' Error x
B.4.1. Probable Cause B.4.2. Suggested Actions
B.5. 'No EPCS Registers Found' Error x
B.5.1. Probable Cause B.5.2. Suggested Actions
B.6. 'System Does Not Have Any Flash Memory' Error x
B.6.1. Probable Cause B.6.2. Suggested Actions
B.7. 'Reading System ID at Address 0x<address>: FAIL' Error x
B.7.1. Probable Cause B.7.2. Suggested Actions
B.8. 'Base Address Not Aligned on Size of Device' Error x
B.8.1. Probable Cause B.8.2. Suggested Actions
1. Overview of the Nios® II Flash Programmer
2. Using the Flash Programmer GUI
3. Using the Flash Programmer from the Command Line
A. Non-Standard Flash Memories
B. Troubleshooting
C. Document Revision History

1.3.1. Flash Programmer Target Design

To use the Nios® II Flash Programmer, you must have a valid flash programmer target design downloaded to your board. A valid target design contains a Platform Designer system with at least the Platform Designer components shown in the "Minimum Component Set for the Flash Programmer Target Design" table.

The minimum component set provides facilities for the target design to communicate with the host and to write to flash memory. The minimum component set depends on the type of flash memory you intend to program. "Minimum Component Set for the Flash Programmer Target Design" lists the minimum component set for programming each kind of flash memory.

Table 1.  Minimum Component Set for the Flash Programmer Target Design
Component Flash Memory to Program
CFI EPCS/EPCQx1 EPCQ On-Chip Flash ( Intel® MAX® 10)
Nios® II processor, with JTAG debug module level1 or greater Required Required Required Required
System ID peripheral Recommended Recommended1 Recommended1 Optional
Generic Tri-State Controller Required      
Tristate Conduit Bridge Required3      
Legacy EPCS/EPCQx1 Flash Controller   Required    
Intel FPGA Generic Quad SPI Controller     Required 4  
Intel FPGA Generic Quad SPI Controller II     Required4  
Intel FPGA Serial Flash Controller     Required4  
Intel FPGA Serial Flash Controller II     Required4  
Intel On-Chip Flash       Required
Figure 2. Example Target Design Containing the Minimum Component SetThis is an example of a Platform Designer system with the minimum component set for a system composed of an EPCS serial configuration device. The system also includes other components which relate to the purpose of the system, not to the flash programmer.
Note: The data master and instruction master of the Nios® II Processor must be connected to the same address space as the On-Chip memory.

Hardware example designs capable of programming the flash memory are provided with development boards. If you are developing for a custom board, consider using one of these example designs as a starting point for your flash programmer target design.

1 If present, a System ID Peripheral component allows the Nios II Flash Programmer to validate the target design before programming the flash memory.
2 A Nios® II system can interface with more than one CFI flash memory device. The system must contain one Flash Memory (Common Flash Interface) component for each flash memory device on the board.
3 Tri-state Conduit Bridge is needed to drive the CFI flash memory signals.
4 Only one of these components is required. Use these controllers to communicate with an EPCQ device in ASx4 mode.
Level Two Title