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

3. Using the Flash Programmer from the Command Line

The Nios® II development tools provide command-line utilities which give you complete control of the Nios® II Flash Programmer features. You can create a custom script file to automate a flash programming task.

Alternatively, you can use the flash programmer GUI.

For more information about the flash programmer GUI, refer to the "Using the Flash Programmer GUI" chapter.

The Nios® II Flash Programmer GUI programs flash memory by creating a script based on the command-line utilities. The script is well-formed, customized to your project, and human-readable. You can use it as a reference for flash programmer command-line syntax. The GUI-generated script is particularly helpful if you need to use the --instance parameter listed in the xref table.

After you successfully program flash memory using the Nios® II Flash Programmer GUI, you can find the flash programmer script in the directory you specified in the Staging Directories dialog box, available on the Options menu. The flash programmer script is a file named flash_programmer.sh.

Table 4.  Flash Programmer Command-Line Utilities
Command-Line Utility Description
quartus_pgm --nios2 Programs an S-record file into flash memory. Can also read back data, verify data, provide debug information about the flash chip, and more.
sof2flash Converts an SRAM Object File (.sof) to an S-record file.
elf2flash Converts a Nios® II Executable and Linking Format File (.elf) to an S-record file.
bin2flash Converts an arbitrary data file to an S-record file.

The main utility for programming flash memory from the command line is quartus_pgm --nios2. It requires industry-standard S-record input files. These utilities ensure that the input is compatible with the Nios® II Flash Programmer. Input file names for all utilities must include an explicit extension, such as .elf or .flash.

When you launch the Nios® II Command Shell, in a Windows® operating system, the flash programmer utilities are available in your default search path.

For more information about the Nios® II Command Shell, refer to the "Getting Started from the Command Line" chapter of the Nios® II Software Developer's Handbook.

The following sections list the utilities and their functions.

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