Forum Discussion

Rick-old-space-cadet's avatar
Rick-old-space-cadet
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
10 months ago

how to copy program EPM3064ALC44-10

I have a EPM3064ALC44-10 chip and I want to copy the program from it to a new old stock EPM3064ALC44-10 that are blank can it be done?

5 Replies

  • _AK6DN_'s avatar
    _AK6DN_
    Icon for Frequent Contributor rankFrequent Contributor

    Probably the easiest way at this point is to use a 3rd party device programmer from companies like Xeltek or EEtools.

    They allow reading, writing, verifying, erasing the device contents.

    Using the supported Quartus version for these devices (version 13.0sp1) with a USB blaster does NOT permit reading the program.

    You can program, reprogram, erase, verify, blank check, etc but NOT read the program of the device.

    Why IDK but Altera deprectated the feature back then.

    Of course this assumes the security bit is not set, allowing programming access for read. If the security bit is set you are out of luck.

    I happen to have an EEtools TopMax II and it shows this device is supported for programming ...

  • WZ2's avatar
    WZ2
    Icon for Frequent Contributor rankFrequent Contributor

    Is your device booting from flash? If you have not added an encrypted image and can access the device via JTAG, you can try using the "Examine" function in the programmer to read out the contents of the flash and then program them into a new device.


    • _AK6DN_'s avatar
      _AK6DN_
      Icon for Frequent Contributor rankFrequent Contributor

      That is not how the program is stored in the MAX series legacy CPLD devices. There is not a separate external FLASH memory device that can be read. The program is stored in cells distributed across the device internally, so it when it is powered on it is instantly configured and ready to go. Read the datasheet.

      The programming of these devices is accessible via JTAG, but Altera/Intel deprectated the program readback feature in the versions of Quartus still available that support these devices (Quartus 13.0sp1 specifically). I don't recall if any version of Quartus ever supported read back of the MAX EPM3 and EPM7 series devices or you would have to go back to MAX PLUS II to have support for program readback.

      As I mentioned in my prior post 3rd party programmers do support program image readback. I have one such programmer an EEtools TopMaxII that supports these devices for programming. Other manufacturers like Xeltek have programmers with the same capability.

      • FvM's avatar
        FvM
        Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
        Hi,
        isn't it so that recent Quartus programmer versions are still supporting old devices like MAX3000 series? I see that they are able to load EPM3256A .pof files. I have no device hardware at hand to check if it's recognized through JTAG and if the seemingly enabled programmer functions including "Examine" are actually working.