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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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14 years ago

A question about cyclone3 boot configuration from external flash

Hi everyboby.

I've got an ebv cyclone 3 demoboard (dbc3c40).

Actually I'm able to program via jtag both epcs and cfi flash but only the epcs one lets the fpga configuration when I restart the entire system . Is this because of msel pins that are set to 1101 according with active serial configuration? Could I set it to 0111 according with active parallel configuration to boot from cfi flash? If so I think in this board is not possible to configure fpga from parallel flash because msel pins are hard wired to 2.5V or 0V...I don't understand why they don't put 4 jumpers for boot configuration...:(

Any clarification to my doubts will be appreciate :)

Thanks

2 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    14 years ago

    Hi,

    I know the dbc3c40 board too.

    Cyclone III supports active serial ( serial epcs device ) and active parallel configuration ( cfi flash ).

    But if you want to configure your device from cfi flash, you have to set the correct msel pins. But that's not all !!!. You have to connect the cfi flash to the dedicated programming pins on your device ! ( See Cyclone III Handbook, active parallel configuration sheme ).

    On the dbc3c40 the cfi flash is connected to gpio pins. Only the epcs flash is connected to dedicated programming pins.

    So you can only use the active serial configuration mode.

    If you use the Altera Cyclone III Starter Kit, there you can use the active parallel configuration mode with a cfi flash.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    14 years ago

    Hi, thank you very much for your answer. I decided to use a serial flash for fpga configuration in my application in order to prevent any problems since I have to test it on dbc3c40. :)

    Best regards