M54451EVB: Can it be run from Windows XP?

[rickardjones]

Can the EVB's memory be exercised without Linux and CodeWarrior?

I purchased the M54451EVB, and it said must use Linux and run code warrior. 

My PC is running Windows XP SP3 (512MB RAM).

I don't have Linux installed, & never used it.  Looks like HyperTerminal could be used, but no instructions in the package I bought.  In fact, on-line, paper, and CD don't completely agree on how to set up and run.

[TomE]

I was going to suggest you run a Linux VM, but XP is probably too old for this (2001 to 2008), and 0.5G of memory isn't enough to run a VM.

Assuming it is shipped running a version of Linux (I don't know, is it shipped pre-loaded?) you can probably talk to the Console using any terminal emulator. That will get you a prompt, but won't get you the ability to run programs other than shell scripts.

What do you mean by "memory exercised"? Simply turning it on exercises the memory. You can make the memory busy by running shell scripts and copying files. Or do you want to run a specific memory test or speed test?

Tom

[rickardjones]

Thanks for the response.  I did not find how to contact NXP, no phone, email, ...  just post and hope. 

I have an old (2005 or something) multi-boot laptop (DOS, Win98, WinXP) mainly for controlling instruments (DOS and/or '98 limit RAM to 512MB).  Suppose the multi-boot could add Linux, but the file system (not FAT or NTFS) may be an issue to install.  Its BIOS does not recognize USB at bootup.  Poor me.  A new laptop will fix the USB boot issue, so maybe I'll go pick one up and attempt to install Ubuntu via a USB Flash drive. 

I want to write data to SDRAM (e.g. combo of zeroes, 1s, checkerboard, inverse checkerboard, etc.) and then read it back to verify memory read and write works.  Just a basic functional test.  No speed tests required.  [I was thinking of chosing a range of memory addresses, then send a file, then read back the contents, and verify data integrity.]

[TomE]

> A new laptop will fix the USB boot issue,

Get a new laptop with "your favourite" OS on it. That's more likely to be Windows rather than Linux, and most likely the Windows it came from the shop with (Windows 10). Don't try to multi-boot it, unless you can get a "boot and run from this USB stick" version of Linux (which might be a good way to run). Run a VM on the laptop and run Linux in there. Then you can cut-and-paste and share files between the two machines at the same time.

> I want to write data to SDRAM

If you're using the EVB then it is very unlikely you'll be able to get any failures on the SRAM on the EVB. So what memory are you trying to test, and why? Have you developed a memory board you want to plug in to the EVB?

If you've added extra memory the you'll probably have to rebuild Linux with a new configuration that includes that memory. If you copy files (with data patterns in them) then they'll be going through memory somewhere, with the addresses out of your control. That will do the test you want to some degree, but won't fail, so I don't see the point. If it did fail that test then the operating system (running in the same SDRAM) will have crashed long before with memory corruptions.

That EVB showcases the CFv4, which can run Linux, and requires that as the development system. Pretty much all other CF chips (CFV1, 2, 3) use CodeWarrior under Windows for development. You could run CodeWarrior and build code for that board, but you'd likely have to "start from scratch".

Tom