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Segger Embedded Studio and Bootloader

Continuing with my attempts to get this to work on SES I'm not sure if I'm missing something simple or not.

So using the excellent RKNRFGO (which by the way is much quicker for adding the softdevice than linking it in with SES, highly recommended for any Mac users) when I attempt to add the Bootloader the bootloader nor any app appears to be working. I have tried adding a Code hex which has been compiled linking in bootloader_settings_nrf52.hex and I have tried just the softdevice and the bootloader themselves without any Code hex.

How are other people using SES managing to achieve this?

Thanks

[UPDATE] These are the settings for RKNRFGO and this is the log after flashing.

screenshot.png

Reset delay: 0 ms
Reset type NORMAL: Resets core & peripherals via SYSRESETREQ & VECTRESET bit.

Writing 00000001 -> 4001E504

Reset delay: 0 ms
Reset type NORMAL: Resets core & peripherals via SYSRESETREQ & VECTRESET bit.

Sleep(1000)

Downloading file [Section0.0vOdqsDF.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]100%] Done.
Erasing flash     [000%]100%] Done.
Programming flash [000%]000%]005%]005%]010%]010%]020%]020%]025%]025%]035%]035%]040%]040%]045%]045%]055%]055%]060%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash programming performed for 1 range (4096 bytes)
J-Link: Flash download: Total time needed: 0.164s (Prepare: 0.089s, Compare: 0.003s, Erase: 0.000s, Program: 0.061s, Verify: 0.000s, Restore: 0.009s)
O.K.

Downloading file [Section1.lCJ9YuF5.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]100%] Done.
Erasing flash     [000%]100%] Done.
Programming flash [000%]000%]000%]000%]000%]000%]005%]005%]005%]005%]005%]005%]010%]010%]010%]010%]010%]010%]015%]015%]015%]015%]020%]020%]020%]020%]020%]020%]025%]025%]025%]025%]025%]025%]030%]030%]030%]030%]035%]035%]035%]035%]035%]035%]040%]040%]040%]040%]040%]040%]045%]045%]045%]045%]050%]050%]050%]050%]050%]050%]055%]055%]055%]055%]055%]055%]060%]060%]060%]060%]060%]060%]065%]065%]065%]065%]070%]070%]070%]070%]070%]070%]075%]075%]075%]075%]075%]075%]080%]080%]080%]080%]085%]085%]085%]085%]085%]085%]090%]090%]090%]090%]090%]090%]095%]095%]095%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash programming performed for 1 range (110592 bytes)
J-Link: Flash download: Total time needed: 2.169s (Prepare: 0.162s, Compare: 0.012s, Erase: 0.000s, Program: 1.905s, Verify: 0.002s, Restore: 0.086s)
O.K.

Downloading file [Section2.j6YAf9Gp.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]100%] Done.
Erasing flash     [000%]100%] Done.
Programming flash [000%]000%]005%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash programming performed for 1 range (4096 bytes)
J-Link: Flash download: Total time needed: 0.169s (Prepare: 0.115s, Compare: 0.003s, Erase: 0.000s, Program: 0.011s, Verify: 0.000s, Restore: 0.038s)
O.K.

Downloading file [Section3.RxSJH8nW.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]050%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash download skipped. Flash contents already match
O.K.

Downloading file [Section4.qpm37Mkh.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]050%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash download skipped. Flash contents already match
O.K.

Downloading file [Section5.CQi0rkWg.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]040%]040%]050%]050%]090%]100%] Done.
Erasing flash     [000%]000%]100%] Done.
Programming flash [000%]000%]010%]010%]025%]025%]035%]035%]050%]050%]060%]060%]075%]075%]085%]085%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash programming performed for 1 range (16384 bytes)
J-Link: Flash download: Total time needed: 0.662s (Prepare: 0.162s, Compare: 0.099s, Erase: 0.031s, Program: 0.282s, Verify: 0.000s, Restore: 0.086s)
O.K.

Downloading file [Section6.W0fSYpr8.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]100%] Done.
Erasing flash     [000%]000%]100%] Done.
Programming flash [000%]000%]005%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash programming performed for 1 range (4096 bytes)
J-Link: Flash download: Total time needed: 0.171s (Prepare: 0.115s, Compare: 0.004s, Erase: 0.007s, Program: 0.004s, Verify: 0.000s, Restore: 0.038s)
O.K.

Downloading file [Section7.LMfV07KW.bin]...Comparing flash   [000%]000%]050%]100%] Done.
Erasing flash     [000%]000%]100%] Done.
Programming flash [000%]000%]005%]100%] Done.
Verifying flash   [000%]000%]100%] Done.
J-Link: Flash download: Flash programming performed for 1 range (4096 bytes)
J-Link: Flash download: Total time needed: 0.171s (Prepare: 0.114s, Compare: 0.004s, Erase: 0.007s, Program: 0.004s, Verify: 0.000s, Restore: 0.038s)
O.K.

Sleep(1000)

Reset delay: 0 ms
Reset type NORMAL: Resets core & peripherals via SYSRESETREQ & VECTRESET bit.


Script processing completed.
  • I've also tried using nrfjprog tools and on trying to flash the bootloader hex it is throwing an error saying it is attempting to write to the SD area. I've emailed Michael @mjdietz2 with this observation and we'll see where this takes us.

  • I looked at that bootloader hex file - just look at the list of blocks RKNRFGO decodes for it, it's clearly way more than a bootloader, it has code at 0, code at 1000, stuff all over the place. Hence my suggestion to check what was at 0x10001014 to see if it is correct, I'm pretty sure you'll find it's '0x00000000' which is the address of the first block of that hex file and not the address of the bootloader, so you're just going around and around in the MBR. That's a merged bootloader softdevice hex file, which is why it doesn't work and why you get errors with the tools.

    deleting the first 6917 lines of the file makes it look a bit more like a bootloader-only to me. The bootloader starts at the line

    :020000040007F3
    

    inclusive to the end of the file then excluding the second and third to last

    :020000041000EA
    :0810140000A0070000E0070046
    

    altho it'll work with those in.

  • tried that on my PCA10040 today as I came across it in a box. Took the hex bootloader file, trimmed it to be just the bootloader as above, took the stock S132 softdevice, pointed RKNRFGO at each of them, hit the 'both' button, 5 seconds later I had a DFUTarg. So .. it works just fine.

  • That's great RK, but not everyone has the wherewithall to dive into a hex and start carving out the SD. I had been advised by Nordic to flash both the Bootloader hex AND the SoftDevice and that's what I was doing. Now Michael confirmed yesterday that the hex may have also contained the SoftDevice but the issue I have is where is that documented and could the Bootloader hex not be better named to indicate that on its face because there is some confusion on this even at Nordic.

  • I'm just telling you it works if you give RKNRFGO an actual bootloader instead of a bootloader conflated with a softdevice and master boot record, which was something like your original question. There's no may about it, that hex file contains all those three things, Nordic only just started shipping precompiled hex files, which was rather useful of them in general, which build product they ship for them is still probably a bit random. I think it would be more helpful if they shipped a bootloader-only hex file, but you can actually build that by going to the armgcc directory and typing make .. not that I've tested the resulting product; looks right tho.

    It wasn't that hard to see that couldn't have been a bootloader alone, RKNRFGO showed it had many code sections. You don't even need to fiddle with the hex file, you can use the gcc tools to extract the bit you want.

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