Re: Target Board specification?

Altera_Forum · ‎07-30-2004

I'm probably missing something obvious here, but...

How do you create your own "target board"? SOPC builder's EPCS Flash device wants a reference designator from this, and the Nios II IDE Flash Programmer says I need to select a target board in SOPC Builder. SOPC Builder gives me a popup menu with "Unspecified Board" (which I have selected) and four Altera Nios demo boards. I figure I need to add something to this list, but how do I do that?

Altera_Forum · ‎07-30-2004

Try this:

nios ii flash programmer user guide (http://altera.com/literature/ug/ug_nios2_flash_programmer.pdf)

Chapter 2

Altera_Forum · ‎07-30-2004

Okay, now I'm trying to work through that chapter.

I have a Quartus project and SOPC Builder system file, and the epcs_controller module in my system (blank refdes).

mk_target_board dies with Undefined subroutine &europa_utils::find_component_dir called at q2installdir\kits\nios2/bin/create-board.pl line 509. Workaround: specify software directory created by IDE with undocumented switch --src=software.

Looking through my nios2/bin/* and nios2/bin/europa/* directories I find no definition of find_component_dir.

Of course, now that I override src, I get a new error:

(SEVERE) Error copying: "software/system/firmware_ROM.hex" to: "q2projectdir/boardname/system/firmware_ROM.hex" and the board directory contains a "system" directory and nothing more.

So, I need to have my software built before I can define my board?

BTW, my install is Quartus II 3.0 + Quartus II 4.0 + Nios I 3.2 + Nios II 1.0. I've been doing all this work under Quartus II 4.0. Supposedly, they don't interfere with each other...?

Anyway, the IDE is refusing to build a near-empty main (I've got calls to enable the heartbeat and watchdog timers, and check/reset them in a main loop, all via registers, no timer HAL API usage) as anything less than 8K of code (I've got about 2K of ROM and 128 bytes RAM available on this EP1C3) so I'm off to figure that out...

Since I'm operating entirely out of internal memory, and the "onchip memory" ROM and RAM devices say they'll initialize from ROM.hex and RAM.hex, respectively, maybe I don't need the epcs_controller (and its always-on bootloader memory) and I could use an old ASMI instead?

I'm surrounded by lostness right now. Guess I'm going to have to read the whole software manual this weekend...

Altera_Forum · ‎07-30-2004

Others can tell you better, but I believe that Q 4.0 sp1 is required for Nios II.

And no, they shouldn't interfere with each other.

I'm heading home right now, but if that's what you're running you should be OK there.

Kerri

Altera_Forum · ‎07-31-2004

Mike,

I can't really help except to say I got my custom board made following the instructions so it can work.

Seems like I looked at the provided examples.

I don't know for sure but I think its a minimal config thats used just during the early bootstage? At least I hope you don't have to go to all that trouble just to (pre)specify the sysclk http://forum.niosforum.com/work2/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif

I'd like to get an explanation from Altera, because I don't see any big purpose. It uses the EPCS so the pins and all the workings are not negotiable.

Ken

Altera_Forum · ‎08-03-2004

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

--- Quote Start ---

Workaround: specify software directory created by IDE with undocumented switch --src=software.[/b]

--- Quote End ---

Mike,

I think you may have pointed to the wrong directory with the --src= switch. You need to point it to the directory where the target board template files live.

Try using the directory: C:/altera/kits/nios2/components/altera_user_board_setup