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KnowledgeBase

296 Posts
Posted - 18 Jun 2002 :  15:33:23  Show Profile  Email Poster
Linux Bootloaders for ADS boards

If your board is listed in one of the sections below, your board's bootloader can be upgraded. You can download the appropriate bootloader from this topic and reprogram the bootloader on your system according to the instructions in the Linux Bootloader Manual.

Notice: Starting in 2005, ADS will begin using the open-source bootloader, u-boot, on systems that boot Linux. Older boards will continue to use the traditional ADS Linux Bootloader.

Be sure to look at the reply section below for additional notices such as compatibility with previous versions.
U-boot

The bootloader for ADS boards is based upon the u-boot bootloader. The relevant source and patch distributions are listed below for each model board. Details on the changes with each release can be found here.

Precompiled binary files are provided below for each of our boards that ships with u-boot. If you prefer to compile u-boot yourself, download the source and patch files from the links above, then set the UVER, PVER and MACH variables as appropriate and build it as follows:
    UVER=2008.10          # The base source version.
    PVER=08-12-31         # The ADS patch version.
    MACH=gcm              # The machine, e.g. gcm, bitsyxb, turboxb, etc.

    mkdir u-boot
    cd u-boot
    tar -jxf u-boot-${UVER}.tar.bz2
    zcat u-boot-${PVER}.diff.gz | patch -p1
    make ads${MACH}_config
    make
You can use a native compiler on the target board or the gcc-3.3.2 cross-compiler.

See this topic to download and find information on u-boot configuration files.

Here are the tar files that contain precompiled binary files for the u-boot bootloader:

    18-APR-2008
    Sphere 64M bootloader (tar.bz2 ~80kB)

      This release is built from the 14-APR-2008 release source.
ADS Linux Bootloader

The current version of the ADS Linux Bootloader for boards with a PXA CPU is Ver 4.20. This version is incompatible with versions prior to 4.12. For details on these releases, see the Readme.txt.

The current version of the ADS Linux Bootloader for boards with an SA1110 CPU is Ver 4.5.

In either case, be sure to download the correct file for your board's DRAM configuration.

Here are the tar files for these releases of the ADS Linux Bootloader:
What if my board isn't listed?

Some boards have their bootloader in a ROM chip instead of on-board flash. If your board is not listed, it may not be field upgradeable. Contact ADS Sales to order the latest version. In your message, specify the ADS product you're using and that you need a Linux boot ROM. Charges may apply.
Edited by - adrian on 19 Sep 2007 10:29:12

jlackey

213 Posts
Posted - 04 Dec 2002 :  09:44:24  Show Profile  Email Poster
Some of the steps for upgrading the bootloader have changed. Follow the instructions in the manual for your current bootloader to upgrade it.

Be very careful to choose the correct board and DRAM size when you download a new bootloader. Loading the wrong one can make your board unbootable!

Also if you bootloader is stored in on-board flash and you are upgrading from a pre-4.0 bootloader, you must reprogram your zIamge and file system image(s) after you boot with the new bootloader. The size of the bootloader partition in on-board flash was reduced to 256k, changing the starting locations for the other partitions.
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sdsteam

60 Posts
Posted - 01 Nov 2003 :  03:52:04  Show Profile  Email Poster
Apart from RAM Test, what are other device test performed (implicit/explicit) by Bootloader before it loads the Kernel.

Is there any checksum maintained by the kernel, which is verified by Bootloader before it launches the kernel ?
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rwhaley

628 Posts
Posted - 03 Nov 2003 :  08:51:20  Show Profile  Email Poster
The only tests performed by the bootloader are tests of the DRAM.

The bootloader does maintain a checksum in the zImager header in the on-board flash zImage partition. However, this checksum is not verified by the bootloader on subsequent boots. See this topic for zImage_update a program that knows about the zImage header format.

The zImage is compressed with gzip and has a CRC. This CRC is checked by the decompression software built into the zImage.
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jlackey

213 Posts
Posted - 24 May 2004 :  16:20:56  Show Profile  Email Poster
If you are upgrading your ADS PXA Linux bootloader from a version prior to Ver 4.12, you must reprogram the zImage and file system image(s) in on-board flash after you boot with the new bootloader. The size of the zImage partition and the sizes and starting locations of subsequent partitions in on-board flash were changed to accomodate larger zImages and ramdisk root file systems.

Beginning with PXA Ver. 4.12, the new default partition sizes are:
    0.25M adslinux.rom
    1.50M zImage
    5.00M ramdisk.gz
    25.25M flashfs1
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