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JFrye2's avatar
JFrye2
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
6 years ago

CycloneV U-Boot FPGA Load Fails: Code -6

Hello, I am trying to program the FPGA of my CycloneV from U-Boot. It appears to be failing and I am not sure why. The exact u-boot commands are

echo --- Programming FPGA ---
echo -----Loading image------
# load rbf from FAT partition into memory
fatload mmc 0:1 ${fpgadata} socfpga.rbf;
# program FPGA
echo -----Print filesize-----
printenv filesize;
echo -----Program FPGA-------
fpga load 0 ${fpgadata} ${filesize};
# enable HPS-to-FPGA, FPGA-to-HPS, LWHPS-to-FPGA bridges
echo -----Enabling IFs--------
bridge enable;

What I am seeing during boot is the following

Hit any key to stop autoboot:  0
449 bytes read in 3 ms (145.5 KiB/s)
## Executing script at 02000000
--- Programming FPGA ---
-----Loading image------
7007204 bytes read in 366 ms (18.3 MiB/s)
-----Print filesize-----
filesize=6aebe4
-----Program FPGA-------
Command 'load' failed: Error -6
-----Enabling IFs--------
switch to partitions #0, OK
mmc0 is current device

What does the error code -6 mean? When I look at FPGA manager status in Linux, it prints the following.

root@cyclone5:~# cat /sys/class/fpga_manager/fpga0/state
write init

5 Replies

    • JFrye2's avatar
      JFrye2
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
      5 years ago

      @AhmedH_Intel​ , sorry for the delayed response. This is a custom design. I tried putting my question out on the u-boot mailing list and they redirected me back here since Intel maintains https://github.com/altera-opensource/u-boot-socfpga

      I am targetting DE1-SoC with the u-boot software from the repo above.

      I tried socfpga_cyclone5_defconfig and that led to the programming error.

      I also tried socfpga_de1_soc_defconfig and I didnt even get console messages when I booted when I used that configuration.

      I can send you a zip of the hardware design if needed.

      Thanks.

  • Ahmed_H_Intel1's avatar
    Ahmed_H_Intel1
    Icon for Frequent Contributor rankFrequent Contributor
    5 years ago

    Hi,

    Are you trying to store the kernel or the FPGA image on the flash? (like Nand flash)

    I saw this issue before while storing them on a NAND flash. We recommend storing the file system on NAND.

    Please confirm.

    • sf69's avatar
      sf69
      Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
      5 years ago

      with the Cyclone V SOC Development Board

      i have the same issue, loading from u-boot the rbf file:

      => dhcp ${loadaddr} soc_system.rbf
      .....
      Bytes transferred = 7007204 (6aebe4 hex)
      => fpga load 0 ${loadaddr} $filesize;
      Command 'load' failed: Error -6

      But if i compress the rbf file:

      => dhcp ${loadaddr} soc_system_compressed.rbf
      Bytes transferred = 3051080 (2e8e48 hex)
      => fpga load 0 ${loadaddr} $filesize;

      it works

      is there a size limit somewhere ?

      thanks

      • MV's avatar
        MV
        Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
        2 years ago

        I think this is a good question and begs for an answer.
        Running into a similar issue and also speculating about a size limit of .rbf file that perhaps u-boot or the FPGA driver is able to handle.
        Anyone can shed light on this?
        Thanks!