Forum Discussion

indu_man's avatar
indu_man
Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
3 years ago

Cyclone IV ISSI 256 Mb flash .jic file not working

Hi,

though its an old thread, however we are encountering a similar issue with IS25LP256D flash. This is ISSI 256Mb flash connected with Cyclone IV EP4CGX75 FPGA.

Using the blow guidance (in that thread), I could generate the .jic file using 4-byte address mode (3-byte did not work for me perhaps, due to the larger size flash compared to 128Mb).

https://community.intel.com/t5/Intel-Quartus-Prime-Software/Has-anyone-managed-to-program-a-jic-into-an-ISSI-128Mbit-config/m-p/633772?profile.language=de&countrylabel=Argentina

Quartus Programmer v22.1, successfully Programs and can Verify the generated .jic file programming to hardware.

However, the design does not work. When the system is rebooted, the FPGA is not able to load the bitstream from the flash.

I tired to "Examine" the flash contents in the Quartus Programmer, however after successful examination the output Checksum is different from the file which was programmed.

Though the program/verify cycle is successful, I still doubt my device which I added using the above procedure to get the jic file.

Is there a standard (tested/working) device file to generate .jic file for ISSI 256 Mb flash which can use the Cyclone IV flash loader?

Any other idea where to look for problem is appreciated.

BR,

Adnan

8 Replies

  • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
    FakhrulA_altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi indu_man,


    Could you provide the screenshot of the errors that occurred? May I know the part number of the flash you're using?


    Regards,

    Fakhrul


  • indu_man's avatar
    indu_man
    Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi,

    I have mentioned the part number of the flash IS25LP256D .

    Here is the datasheet link.

    https://www.issi.com/WW/pdf/IS25LP(WP)256D.pdf

    However, yesterday I found out in the Generic Flash Quartus Programmer User Guide that Cyclone IV only supports 3-bytes addressing.

    Hence I concluded (and may be you can confirm ) that the flash of 256 Mb size from ISSI is simple not compatible with the Cyclone IV.

    Is there a way around this?

    I can try to program the flash to use 3-byte addressing, however in this case the flash size should be 128 Mb. Is there a trick to achieve that the tool (Quartus programming tool) takes it as a 128 Mb flash and not a 256 Mb flash?

    Best Regards

    Adnan

  • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
    FakhrulA_altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi Adnan,


    Sorry for the delay in response. I was OOO. Let me check this internally and will get back to you soon.


    Regards,

    Fakhrul


  • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
    FakhrulA_altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi Adnan,


    Sorry for the delay in response as we had an access issue earlier this week in the community forum. Yes, Cyclone IV only supports 3-bytes addressing. Besides, there's no trick to use a 256Mb flash device as 128Mb.


    Hope this clarifies your concern.


    Regards,

    Fakhrul


  • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
    FakhrulA_altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi Adnan,


    I wish to follow up with you about this case. Do you have any further questions on this matter? Please feel free to let me know if there is any concern so that we could further assist you. Otherwise, this thread will be marked as inactive and will be transitioned to community support because there is no update received from you in a while.


    Regards,

    Fakhrul


  • indu_man's avatar
    indu_man
    Icon for New Contributor rankNew Contributor
    3 years ago

    Dear Fakhrul,

    thanks for asking.

    We are waiting for the new hardware. However, we are bound to use a 256 Mb ISSI flash with this Cyclone IV due to some other things stored in this flash as well, which require a large capacity flash.

    Since the flash is connected to a microcontroller as well, we will try to configure the flash to boot in 3-bytes addressing mode and in that case the Cyclone IV "should be" able to boot from it.

    We may need your assistance, therefore, I would like to request you keep this thread open until we reach some conclusion.

    Best regards,

    Adnan

  • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
    FakhrulA_altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi Adnan,

    I regret to inform you that the ISSI flash is not supported nor has it been tested with the Cyclone IV, and it is recommended that you refer to the user guide (Page 186), which specifies that only Micron flash devices are supported.

    Regards,

    Fakhrul

  • FakhrulA_altera's avatar
    FakhrulA_altera
    Icon for Regular Contributor rankRegular Contributor
    3 years ago

    Hi Adnan,


    I wish to follow up with you regarding this case. Do you have any further questions or concerns about this matter? Please feel free to let me know if there is anything we can do to further assist you.


    However, if we do not receive any update from you in a while, we will have to mark this thread as inactive and transition it to community support.


    Thank you for your attention and cooperation in this matter.


    Best regards,

    Fakhrul