A pof-file read out from a MAX10 development board does not run on another one.

[Jos]

I have a MAX10 development board Rev. C (1) with a functioning

application. I would like to run it on a second, similar one (2).

So I read the pof-file with the programmer from (1), by using the

'Examine' feature. I programmed board (2) with it, in one go,

without changing anything. However, the application on (2)

does not run. In particular, a TCP/IP connection cannot be made

with (2). I use Quartus Prime 16.0.0.

I also tried to program (2) with the disk pof-file I used in the past

to program (1). The result was the same as above. This notwithstanding

that I did this 1-2 year ago several times  successfully.

I am stupefied.

Any idea about the cause?

Thanks,

Jos

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Thank you for contacting Intel community.

Kindly try below suggestion and let me know your feedback.

1. Program the examine .pof again on board A. Is it working?

2. After program the .pof file in board B, try to examine again. Also, try to compare old .pof and new .pof.

3. What is the OPN number that is used for board A and B?

Let me know your feedback.

Thanks.

Regards,

Aiman

[Jos]

Dear Aiman,

Thanks for your reply. Mine is late because of a vacation.

Point wise:

1. I thought of doing this, but I did not do it because I was afraid

    to be left with a board/firmware that does not work anymore.

    And I need it for our radar.

2. The old and new .pof differ a bit at the start and the end.

3. OPN= 10M50DAF484C6GES

Thanks,

Jos

[Jos]

Some additional information:

I accidentally programmed the working board A with the

pof-file read from it previously. The board A was still working.

I programmed the pof-file of board A into the new

board B and 'examined' it. The resulting pof-file of

B and the one of A were identical. Nevertheless,

board B did not work with the radar.

As a final check I 'examined' boards A and B and compared

the pof-files: they were identical.

So board A and B have the same firmware but only A functions.

By the way: I used the auto detect result: 10M50DA.

Jos

[Jos]

Some more information: the design includes a flashing LED.

On both board A and B the LED flashes. So part of the design

runs on B. The trouble starts with TCP/IP not functioning.

Jos

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I am checking this with my internal team and will let you know once i got the answer.

Thanks for your understanding.

Regards,

Aiman

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Is there any further update on this request? If not, i will proceed to close this case.

Thanks.

Regards,

Aiman

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Apologize for the delay in response.

After looking into your feedback and checking with our internal team, since the LED flashes from both board A and B, there should be no problem with your device. LED flashes means your configuration is working. However, may i know what do you mean by TCP/IP not functioning? Are you using IP/protocol that is dependent on device? Some IP/protocol can only be use on specific/multiple devices.

Thanks.

Regards,

Aiman

[Jos]

Dear Aiman,

Thanks for your reply. I am a bit late because

of a vacation.

I agree with your remark about the flashing LED. 

I use a C program running on NIOS that uses

the TCP/IP stack from an example. When the FPGA

is started it waits for a TCP/IP connection. This 

connection is initiated by a program on a laptop.

What I mean by TCP/IP not functioning is that

the laptop issues an error message, because it cannot

establish a connection.

The TCP/IP stack/protocol functions on one 

MAX10 board, while it does not on another,

of  the same model. This is strange. I doubt if this is

really a problem with the stack.

Best regards,

Jos

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Additional feedback is can you check if your board B is having problem or not by using simple .sof file.?

Regards,

Aiman

[Jos]

Hi,

I tried BoardTestSystem.exe (which loads sof-files), but

could not get it working. I got the error message:

"No JTAG cable is detected or selected". 

I searched in the Design store for a simple sof-file

that e.g. blinks some LEDs, but could not find one.

Can you provide one?

Thank you,

Jos

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Apologize for the delay in response as i was on leave.

I have shared LED blinking sof file through forum email.

Thanks.

Regards,

Aiman

[Jos]

Thank for your sof-file. Before I tested it we found the source of the problem and solved it.

I use NIOS, which tries to read the MAC address from the flash. This has no success with freshly programmed boards. So therefore the TCP connection is refused, which is the only error visible to the application program.

The solution is to connect to NIOS from ECLIPSE. NIOS asks (visibly) for a code via the JTAG UART. As soon as that is provided a MAC address is stored. From that moment on NIOS/TCP functions o.k.

[NurAiman_M_Intel]

Hi,

Thank you for your response. Glad that your issue has been solve.

I will proceed to mark this case as close, however if you need further support in the future, feel free to open a new case.

Thanks.

Regards,

Aiman