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Rodo's avatar
Rodo
Icon for Occasional Contributor rankOccasional Contributor
4 years ago

MAX10, on-board RAM or ROM: What does memory initialization do?

Hi all,

I'm playing with a BeMicroMAX10 that I've had for a while. Last time I used it was in Quartus web (free) v15, now using v21.1.0 (also free).

I was getting an error at compile with error initialization. In the platform designer (old qsys?) I add on-board ROM or RAM and I click the textbox for memory initialization. Anyhow ... I got rid of the error by clicking the box below to give it a name. If I click the boxes or don't click the boxes the total memory bits usage does not change. So, what does memory initialization actually do? I wonder if it really sets the value of each memory cell to a certain hex value? This sounds silly unless it is needed for some reason. When using microcontrollers I always assume the value of uninitialized memory is a random value.

Thanks

11 Replies

  • sstrell's avatar
    sstrell
    Icon for Super Contributor rankSuper Contributor
    4 years ago

    It's an FPGA, so you can program the contents of memories with whatever values you want when you program the device. You need to associate a .hex or a .mif file with a particular memory for this to work, and you can do that in the IP parameter editor for the memory or with a synthesis attribute in your HDL code.

    If you don't have a .hex or .mif file, make sure you disable memory initialization in the parameter editor.

  • YEan's avatar
    YEan
    Icon for Contributor rankContributor
    4 years ago

    Hi Rodo,

    Do you have any updates on your question?

    Thank you.

    Best regards,

    Ean

      • YEan's avatar
        YEan
        Icon for Contributor rankContributor
        4 years ago

        Hi Rodo,

        I think that your issue has been resolved by sstrell.

        I'll now transition this thread to community support.
        If you have a new question, feel free to open a new thread to get the support from Intel experts.

        Thank you.

        Best regards,

        Ean