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ctacke
877 Posts |
 Posted - 07 Jun 2002 : 14:23:39
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Q: What is the purpose of the five files loaded from a flash card during CE system updates?
If you have your development system's DIP switches set to upgrade from the ATA card, when the system starts up it looks for the following files in the root of the ATA card in this order:
- ADSLOAD.BMP
- ADSLOAD.HWT
- ADSLOAD.REG
- ADSLOAD.EXE
- NK.BIN
If these files are found on the ATA card, they are copied to the Flash disk of your development system where they will remain until either overwritten or explicitly erased. Loss of power to the system will not cause these files to be lost.
To see specifically where these files are loaded into the onboard flash and RAM, take a look at the CE Memory Map
ADSLOAD.BMP
This optional file is used to update the bitmap image that is displayed on the Windows CE desktop. This file must be less than 256k in size and either 4-bpp or 8-bpp.
Click here to download the file shipped on standard evaluation systems
ADSLOAD.HWT
This file is the hardware table for your development system. It defines specific aspects of your hardware that the bootloader or Windows CE needs to start up, such as where the image resides in flash and how large it is.
ADSLOAD.HWT also must be less than 256k in size.
For information on modifying ADSLOAD.HWT, see this topic
ADSLOAD.REG
ADSLOAD.REG contains registry entries to set certain configurations for Windows CE. The ADSLOAD.REG file also allows you, the developer, to add or modify registry keys to the registry that's built in to the build of CE.on your system. The ADS Windows CE loader adds these keys to the standard registry when your system boots.
ADSLOAD.REG also must be less than 256k in size.
ADSLOAD.EXE
ADSLOAD.EXE can be any compiled executable that you want to run at system startup. Once copied to the development system, this executable will be run whenever the development system comes up from either a hard-reset or a loss of power situation.
ADSLOAD.EXE is optional, but if it is used, it must be less than 256k in size.
Click here to download the file shipped on standard evaluation systems
NK.BIN (formerly NKLOAD.BIN)
NK.BIN is the actual Windows CE image, containing everything from the kernel to the development system drivers to applications like IE and Media Player. When uploading a new NK.BIN file to your development system, you must ensure that the NK.BIN file is for your specific platform (i.e. a Bisty image will not work with a Graphics Master) with the same hardware configurations (i.e you cannot use a build designed for a 64MB system on a 32MB system). You must also ensure that you modify your ADSLOAD.REG and ADSLOAD.HWT files to match the new image size.
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Chris Tacke, eMVP
Applied Data Support
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Edited 19-Sep-2007 by ljoy
Changed NKLOAD.BIN references to NK.BIN
Changed ADSLOAD.BMP link to refer to the version with the new corporate logo.
Edited 21-May-2008 by ljoy
Changed ADSLOAD.BMP link to refer to the version with the new corporate logo. |
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3963
85 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2002 : 16:25:23
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When does the ADSLOAD.EXE program run?
Can it have a UI?
Is it before devices (in this case USB) are registered, so I can copy required dlls to the WINDOWS dir before they're required? Thx... |
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jbaik
22 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2002 : 09:23:58
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#launch_order
ADSLOAD.EXE is run after the CE Shell Program.
Here is the order for the Processes:
1. "Launch10"="shell.exe"
2. "Launch20"="device.exe"
3. "Launch30"="gwes.exe"
4. "Launch51"="ADS launcher Program"
The ADS Launcher program (4) launches the following processes:
4.1. CE shell (explorer.exe)
4.2. ADSLOAD.EXE
4.3. Any EXE files in the Startup Folder either on the Storage Card or in the FlashFX disk.
4.4. Any VB application from the Startup Folder either on the Storage Card or in the FlashFX disk.
This means that if you copy a DLL using adsload.exe, it will be too late to use the DLL for a Device Driver.
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3963
85 Posts |
Posted - 12 Jun 2002 : 10:17:12
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So, it looks like a UI is appropriate for ADSLOAD.EXE.
Just to clarify, what is the order (if any) that the exe files in the startup folder are executed?
What are my options for device driver dlls? |
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ctacke
877 Posts |
Posted - 13 Jun 2002 : 09:56:45
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ADSLOAD.EXE is an excellent opportunity to launch a GUI application (take a look at HTMLView.exe for example).
I don't believe there is any partiicular order in which the files in the startup folder are launched. If anything they may be launched in the same order that they appear in the FAT.
To load device drivers so they are available at boot, the best option is to have it included in the image. Another option that has been used is to write ADSLOAD.EXE to check for the driver's existence in the Windows directory. If it isn't there, it copies it over and calls RESTART.EXE.
This makes the boot sequence a bit longer for the device, but the LCD doesn't display the desktop until after ADSLOAD.EXE runs, so it won't display before restarting. THis method should allow you to install most any driver.
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Chris Tacke, eMVP
Applied Data Support |
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HBPayne
45 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2003 : 15:29:21
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| If a storage card exists with a startup folder and exe, does it circumvent the FlashFX Disk startup from running or is there a sequence? |
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akidder
1519 Posts |
Posted - 24 Apr 2003 : 16:47:03
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Yes. Files on a flash card override the onboard startup files. We often refer to this as the "techincian override."
For example, if your application suppresses the CE desktop, you could put explorer.exe in the startup folder of a flash card to launch the CE desktop without running your app. |
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ken.yeung
20 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 12:46:08
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| How can I find a fresh copy of ADSLoad.exe? |
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ctacke
877 Posts |
Posted - 14 Jun 2004 : 13:11:36
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Update
We've added download links in the primary Topic text (above) for the default ADSLOAD.BMP and ADSLOAD.EXE files shipped on standard ADS evaluation systems. |
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