Why is the NIOS I core now missing from the sopc builder in a legacy build that needs to be rebuilt?

[DNewm1]

I have a customer who has to alter an older design in cyclone 1 device.  It was originally compiled in Quartus 7.2 Build 203, using SOPC Builder, with a NIOS I core.  Now when they open the project many library components are missing, most notably the NIOS I.  The NIOS II is present however.

Here are some comments from the customer:

...elements do not appear in the library list, chiefly among them and of most concern is the original NIOS.  [When this was first built I was] able to choose in the library between NIOS and NIOS II. I’ve found that the Tools>Options Set IP search path is not functional for PTF “classic” SOPC projects.  But if I open choosing “Upgrade” to where it can save as .SOPC I still can’t get the library elements, most notably the NIOS, even though I can edit the IP Search path and refresh the component list and the system.

Now I can’t get there and there is little evidence of where the NIOS is supposed to live. Our server folder looks more like just the SDK elements.

In Quartus I have set the Global IP Search Path to include L:\prj\AlteraNiosLib and L:\prj\AlterNiosLib7x which I understand to include all of these elements, but something else is breaking it down.

I have tried this many times with many IP path variations in my Virtual XP Machine with Quartus 7.2, 8.0, and 8.1 all to no avail.

[Abe]

Since the tools have been updated as well as IP blocks and softcore processors, the NIOS 1 has been replaced with NIOS-II in all later versions on Quartus. If you still want to use the NIOS-I then you will have to use the version of Quartus that has this support. If using later versions of Quartus, you will have to update the design to use later components and IPs such as NIOS-II, the earlier versions of NIOS have been obsoleted.

[DNewm1]

Hi Abraham Thank you for your response to my question. Can you tell me which versions of Quartus support Nios-1? Or, when was the version that support for Nios-1 was dropped and Nios-II become the only version supported? I’m still searching for this info but haven’t had much luck so far. Also the customer is using quartus 7.2, and they say it used to show the Nios-1 core, until recently. I believe they used this version to build the program originally. They’ve restored the archive to change something and rebuild, but the nios-1 cores is missing. Thank you, Danny Newman Field Applications Engineer Arrow Electronics 4601 Creekstone Dr Suite 170 Durham, NC 27703 919-381-7162 danny.newman@arrow.com<mailto:danny.newman@arrow.com>

[Abe]

Hey Danny,

To use NIOS-1 processor you will have to use the Quartus II ver 4.0 and below along with SPOC builder ver 3.02. These are the ones that have support for the NIOS-1 and peripherals used by it. For more refer the following link:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/programmable/support/intellectual-property/processors/nios2/compatibility.html

You can download the Quartus tools from here:

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/programmable/bin/get-download?swcode=WWW-SWD-QII-WE-40-PC

[DNewm1]

Hi Abraham, Thank you for the response. I checked with the customer and they say they have now tried using quartus versions back as far Quartus 3.0, and still are not able to see the NIOS 1 library. Only the NIOS II shows up. It seems the SOPC builder is not independent from quartusII in the early versions so they aren’t able to individually roll back SOPC versions from quartus. Or maybe I’m missing something. The goal of this effort is to change some wait state parameters in a legacy design that was built with NIOS 1. Are there any files they can hand edit to update sram wait states without invoking the actual tool? Thanks Danny Newman Field Applications Engineer Arrow Electronics 4601 Creekstone Dr Suite 170 Durham, NC 27703 919-381-7162 danny.newman@arrow.com<mailto:danny.newman@arrow.com>