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ChristianMS's avatar
ChristianMS
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5 months ago

Arria10 Secure Boot : unable to boot SPL FUSE

On the Arria10, a signed SPL using the FUSE method does not boot at all, but it does boot when using the USER method. The behavior is the same as if we had not programmed the fuses. Details : Usi...
Hps Boot
nareshrkumar's avatar
nareshrkumar
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5 months ago

Hi Christian

Immediately after programming the volatile fuses, the board resets (the power supply current drops from 1A to 0.8A, and then returns to 1A), and the fan stops and restarts.

Preliminary impressions of the issue are, since the board resets after programming the volatile fuses, the saved hash is also lost. Hence, the hash comparison step fails, leading to no prints on the console.

So, basically we need to avoid reset once the fuse is flashed, this I believe is happening because reset is initiated by the Quartus tool or your programmer.

There are 2 points for us to check, one with Quartus tool and the other with your programmer:

  1. From my end, I am checking whether Quartus is initiating the reset, and if there is a way to avoid it.
  2. I believe you are using JTAG as your programmer, can you please check if the programmer is initiating the reset?

Thanks

Naresh

  • ChristianMS's avatar
    ChristianMS
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    5 months ago

    Thank you for your involvement.

    1. Just for your information, I was using the Programmer from Quartus Prime 23.1 (Standard Edition), while the EKP file was generated using Quartus Prime 24.2 (Pro Edition). I will try installing the same version to ensure compatibility.
    2. We are using the "JTAG Altera USB Blaster." We’ll investigate the reset pin behavior, but if the reset does not occur, there should be an alternative way to boot the SPL (such as jumping to the entry address directly).

    Best regards,

    Christian & Baptiste

  • ThFo's avatar
    ThFo
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    5 months ago

    Hi @nareshrkumar,

    Thanks you for your feedback.

    I'm working with Christian and Baptiste. Without further information, the project, that we working on is currently at a deadlock situation.
    Do you have new information about how to bypass the reset that can be triggered by quartus ?

    - Have you encountered/known issues with certain Quartus version ? (standard, pro or specific version number)
    - If the USB blaster forces the reset, is there a method to bypass it using Quartus?


    Thanks,
    Théo

    • nareshrkumar's avatar
      nareshrkumar
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      4 months ago

      Hi Theo, Christian and Baptiste

      Thank you for the information shared.

      As of today, I am not aware of any known issues with a Quartus version.

      As the issue involves multiple components, U-Boot, Quartus, programmer and signing tool etc., I am working with different teams internally to get definitive information. Please give me some more time, I will update you on the status.

      Thanks

      Naresh

      • ThFo's avatar
        ThFo
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        4 months ago

        Hi nareshrkumar,

        Thank you for your help, we are still listening.

        Christian & Baptiste & Théo