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Sam9x75 Curiosity

Last modified by Microchip on 2025/03/03 07:09

SoC Features

The SAM9X7 Series microprocessors are high-performance and cost-optimized Arm926EJ-S CPU-based embedded microprocessors (MPU) running up to 800 MHz. The devices integrate powerful peripherals for connectivity and user interface applications, including MIPI-DSI, LVDS, RGB and 2D graphics, MIPI-CSI-2 camera , Gigabit Ethernet with TSN and CAN-FD. Advanced security functions are offered, such as tamper detection, secure boot, secure key storage, TRNG, PUF as well as high-performance crypto accelerators for AES and SHA. The SAM9X7 Series is supported by Microchip MPLAB®-X development tools, Harmony, Linux® distributions and the Ensemble Graphics Toolkit.

Microchip offers for different supply configurations, fully tested power management solutions respecting the SAM9X7 power sequencing specifications that are referenced in the product specification.

Kit Information

Kit Overview

The SAM9X75-Curiosity documents can be found on microchip website, as following:

Kit Overview

Kit User Guide

sam9x75_curiosity_connectors.png

Access the console

The usual serial communication parameters are 115200 8-N-1 :

Baud rate115200
Data8 bits
ParityNone
Stop1 bit
Flow controlNone

Access the console on DEBUG serial port

The serial console can be accessed from two connectors. One is from the DEBUG port with the help of a TTL-to-USB serial cable (marked as DEBUG J11), another is from micro-A USB connector that gives access to the on-board serial-to-USB converter (marked as J1 USB_A).

Using DEBUG on TTL-to-USB connector (DEBUG J11)

  • For Microsoft Windows users: Install the driver of your USB TTL serial cable. FTDI-based ones are the most popular, have a look to this page to get the driver: http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
  • Be sure to connect a 3.3V compatible cable and identify its GND pin. Place it properly according to the silkscreen and connect the cable to the board (J11)
  • Make sure the jumpers J14 and J15 are closed on the side marked as DBGU for the UART to work as Debug console.
  • For Microsoft Windows users: Identify the USB connection that is established, USB Serial Port should appear in Device Manager. The COMxx number will be used to configure the terminal emulator.ftdi serial line
    • For Linux users: Identify the serial USB connection by monitoring the last lines of dmesg command. The /dev/ttyUSBx number will be used to configure the terminal emulator.
        [605576.562740] usb 1-1.1.2: new full-speed USB device number 17 using ehci-pci
        [605576.660920] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device found, idVendor=0403, idProduct=6001
        [605576.660933] usb 1-1.1.2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
        [605576.660939] usb 1-1.1.2: Product: TTL232R-3V3
        [605576.660944] usb 1-1.1.2: Manufacturer: FTDI
        [605576.660958] usb 1-1.1.2: SerialNumber: FTGNVZ04
        [605576.663092] ftdi_sio 1-1.1.2:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
        [605576.663120] usb 1-1.1.2: Detected FT232RL [605576.663122] usb 1-1.1.2: Number of endpoints 2
        [605576.663124] usb 1-1.1.2: Endpoint 1 MaxPacketSize 64
        [605576.663126] usb 1-1.1.2: Endpoint 2 MaxPacketSize 64 [605576.663128] usb 1-1.1.2: Setting MaxPacketSize 64
        [605576.663483] usb 1-1.1.2: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0 
      A /dev/ttyUSB0 node has been created.
  • Now open your favorite terminal emulator with appropriate settings

Demo

Demo archives

Media typeBoardFeaturesBinaryDescription
Yocto Project / Poky based demo
NAND FlashSAM9X75 CuriosityHeadlesslinux4sam-poky-sam9x75_curiosity-headless-2024.10.ziphttps://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif (~ MB)
md5: c5ef70fb94f4578eb517c2558abd23b3		Linux4SAM Yocto Project / Poky based demo
compiled from tag linux4sam-2024.10
Follow procedure: #Flash_the_demo
Graphicslinux4sam-poky-sam9x75_curiosity-graphics-2024.10.ziphttps://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif (~ MB)
md5: a6b42c14cd2cd7ed1567ce4356bddddc
SD Card imageSAM9X75 CuriosityHeadlesslinux4sam-poky-sam9x75_curiosity-headless-2024.10.img.bz2https://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif (~ MB)
md5: 7717af382ab8c0410f9b2c9fb6a592b4		Linux4SAM Yocto Project / Poky based demo
compiled from tag linux4sam-2024.10
Follow procedure: #Create_a_SD_card_with_the_demo
Graphicslinux4sam-poky-sam9x75_curiosity-graphics-2024.10.img.bz2https://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif (~ MB)
md5: 660029d8ce36372b00ccdd4b0fed7b77
BuildRoot based demo
SD Card imageSAM9X75 CuriosityHeadlesslinux4sam-buildroot-sam9x75_curiosity-headless-2024.10.img.bz2https://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif (~ MB)
md5: 14167836f0ec4f72c966dd2f0ca4816f		Linux4SAM BuildRoot based demo
compiled from tag linux4sam-2024.10
Follow procedure: #Create_a_SD_card_with_the_demo
Graphicslinux4sam-buildroot-sam9x75_curiosity-graphics-2024.10.img.bz2https://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif (~ MB)
md5: 0574190826181829c2e0c952fa50ad0b

Create a SD card with the demo

You need a 1 GB SD card (or more) and to download the image of the demo. The image is compressed to reduce the amount of data to download. This image contains:

  • a FAT32 partition with the AT91Bootstrap, U-Boot and the Linux Kernel (zImage and dtb).
  • an EXT4 partition for the rootfs.

Multi-platform procedure

To write the compressed image on the SD card, you will have to download and install balenaEtcherhttps://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif. This tool, which is an Open Source software, is useful since it allows to get a compressed image as input. More information and extra help available on the balenaEtcher websitehttps://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif.

  • Insert your SD card and launch Etcher:

Etcher selection step

  1. Select the demo image. They are marked as "SD Card image" in the demo table above.
    Note that you can select a compressed image (like the demos available here). The tool is able to decompress files on the fly
  2. Select the device corresponding to your SD card (Etcher proposes you the devices that are removable to avoid erasing your system disk)
  3. Click on the Flash! button
  4. On Linux, Etcher finally asks you to enter your root password because it needs access to the hardware (your SD card reader or USB to SD card converter)
  5. then the flashing process begins followed by a verification phase (optional)

Etcher flashing done!

  • Once writing done, Etcher asks you if you want to burn another demo image:

Etcher flashing done!

  • Your SD card is ready!

Flash the demo

Warning

use SAM-BA 3.9.y onwards. You can download it here: SAM-BA 3.9 release page.

Connect the USB to the board before launching SAM-BA

  • Ensure SDCARD is not inserted
  • Make sure that J8 NAND BOOT jumper is kept closed
  • Press RESET = reset button to boot from on-chip Boot ROM
    • For Microsoft Windows users: verify that the USB connection is well established
      AT91 USB to Serial Converter should appear in Device Manager. If it shows a unknown device you need to download and install the driver: AT91SAM USB CDC driver
      devman_AT91_USB_SAMBA-CDC.png
       
    • For Linux users: check /dev/ttyACMx by monitoring the last lines of dmesg command:
[172677.700868] usb 2-1.4.4: new full-speed USB device number 31 using ehci-pci
[172677.792677] usb 2-1.4.4: not running at top speed; connect to a high speed hub
[172677.793418] usb 2-1.4.4: New USB device found, idVendor=03eb, idProduct=6124
[172677.793424] usb 2-1.4.4: New USB device strings: Mfr=0, Product=0, SerialNumber=0
[172677.793897] cdc_acm 2-1.4.4:1.0: This device cannot do calls on its own. It is not a modem.
[172677.793924] cdc_acm 2-1.4.4:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

idVendor=03eb, idProduct=6124: from this message you can see it's Microchip board USB connection.

Run script to flash the demo

  • download the demo package for the board. They are marked as \"Media type: \" in the table above
  • extract the demo package
  • run your usual terminal emulator and enter the demo directory
  • make sure that the sam-ba application is in your Operating System path so that you can reach it from your demo package directory
  • for Microsoft Windows users: Launch the demo_linux_.bat file
  • for Linux users: Launch the demo_linux_.sh file
  • this script runs SAM-BA 3 and the associated QML sam-ba script (demo_linux__usb.qml) with proper parameters
  • when you reach the end of the flashing process (this will take a few minutes), the following line is written:
    -I- === Done. ===
  • connect a serial link on DBGU and open the terminal emulator program as explained just above
  • power cycle the board
  • monitor the system while it's booting on the LCD screen or through the serial line

Build From source code

Setup ARM Cross Compiler

  • First step is to dowload the ARM GNU Toolchain:
    wget -c https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu/13.2.rel1/binrel/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
  • Next step is to add the ARM GNU Toolchain into your system:
    tar -xf arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
    export CROSS_COMPILE=`pwd`/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf/bin/arm-none-linux-gnueabihf-

    or

    tar -xf arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf.tar.xz
    export CROSS_COMPILE=arm-none-linux-gnueabihf-
    export PATH=$PATH:/YOUR/PATH/TO/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.2.Rel1-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf/bin/
export PATH=${PATH/':/YOUR/PATH/TO/arm-gnu-toolchain-VERSION-x86_64-arm-none-linux-gnueabihf/bin/'/}

Build AT91Bootstrap from sources

This section describes how to get source code from the git repository, how to configure with the default configuration, how to customize AT91Bootstrap based on the default configuration and finally to build AT91Bootstrap to produce the binary. take the default configuration to download U-Boot from NandFlash for example.

Get AT91Bootstrap Source Code

You can easily download AT91Bootstrap source code on the at91bootstrap git repository.

To get the source code, you should clone the repository by doing:

$ git clone https://github.com/linux4sam/at91bootstrap.git
Cloning into 'at91bootstrap'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 17621, done.
remote: Counting objects: 100% (3324/3324), done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (1029/1029), done.
remote: Total 17621 (delta 2465), reused 3102 (delta 2285), pack-reused 14297
Receiving objects: 100% (17621/17621), 5.65 MiB | 4.65 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (13459/13459), done.
$ cd at91bootstrap/

Configure !AT91Bootstrap

Configure AT91Bootstrap

Assuming you are at the AT91Bootstrap root directory, you will find a configs folder which contains several default configuration files:

sam9x75_curiositynf_uboot_defconfig
sam9x75_curiositysd_uboot_defconfig
sam9x75_curiositydf_qspi_uboot_defconfig
Information

 Tips: qspi means to read quad-SPI serial flash, sd means to read mmc card, nf means to read nand flash

You can configure AT91Bootstrap to load U-Boot binary from SD Card by doing:

$ make mrproper
$ make sam9x75_curiositysd_uboot_defconfig

If the configuring process is successful, the .config file can be found at AT91Bootstrap root directory.

Customize AT91Bootstrap

If the default configuration doesn't meet your need, after configuring with the default configuration, you can customize it by doing:

$ make menuconfig

Now, in the menuconfig dialog, you can easily add or remove some features to/from AT91Bootstrap as the same way as kernel configuration.
Move to <Exit> with arrows and press this button hitting the Enter key to exit from this screen.

Build AT91Bootstrap

Then you can build the AT91Bootstrap binary by doing:

$ make

If the building process is successful, the final .bin image is build/binaries/at91bootstrap.bin.

Build U-Boot from sources

Getting U-Boot sources

Dedicated page on U-Boot wiki: http://www.denx.de/wiki/U-Boot/SourceCode

You can easily download U-Boot source code from Linux4Microchip GitHub U-Boot repository:

  • clone the Linux4microchip GitHub U-Boot repository
$ git clone https://github.com/linux4microchip/u-boot-mchp.git
 Cloning into 'u-boot-mchp'...
 remote: Enumerating objects: 951876, done.
 remote: Counting objects: 100% (17718/17718), done.
 remote: Compressing objects: 100% (5735/5735), done.
 remote: Total 951876 (delta 12391), reused 15314 (delta 11846), pack-reused 934158
 Receiving objects: 100% (951876/951876), 164.77 MiB | 401.00 KiB/s, done.
 Resolving deltas: 100% (790362/790362), done.
   $ cd u-boot-mchp/
  • The source code has been taken from the master branch which is pointing to the latest branch we use. If you want to use the other branch, you can list them and use one of them by doing:
  $ git branch -r
  origin/HEAD -> origin/master
  origin/dev/tony/sama7g5ek_optee
  origin/master
  origin/sam9x60_curiosity_early
  origin/sam9x60_early
  origin/sam9x60_iar
  origin/sam9x7_early
  origin/sama5d27wlsom1ek_ear
  origin/sama7g5_early
  origin/u-boot-2012.10-at91
  origin/u-boot-2013.07-at91
  origin/u-boot-2014.07-at91
  origin/u-boot-2015.01-at91
  origin/u-boot-2016.01-at91
  origin/u-boot-2016.03-at91
  origin/u-boot-2017.03-at91
  origin/u-boot-2018.07-at91
  origin/u-boot-2019.04-at91
  origin/u-boot-2020.01-at91
  origin/u-boot-2021.04-at91
  origin/u-boot-2022.01-at91
  origin/u-boot-2023.07-mchp
  origin/u-boot-2024.07-mchp
  origin/uboot_5series_1.x

   $ git checkout origin/u-boot-2024.07-mchp -b u-boot-2024.07-mchp
  Branch 'u-boot-2024.07-mchp' set up to track remote branch 'u-boot-2024.07-mchp' from 'origin'.
  Switched to a new branch 'u-boot-2024.07-mchp'

Cross-compiling U-Boot

Before compiling the U-Boot, you need setup cross compile toolchain in the section.

Warning, important Latest versions of U-boot (2018.07 and newer) have a minimum requirement of 6.0 version of the GCC toolchain. We always recommend to use the latest versions.

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Once the AT91 U-Boot sources available, cross-compile U-Boot is made in two steps: configuration and compiling. Check the Configuration chapter in U-Boot reference manual.
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Pointing hand Go to the configs/ to find the exact target when invoking make.
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The U-Boot environment variables can be stored in different media, above config files can specify where to store the U-Boot environment.
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 # To put environment variables in nand flash:
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   sam9x75_curiosity_nandflash_defconfig
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  # To put environment variables in SD/MMC card:
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   sam9x75_curiosity_mmc_defconfig
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Here are the building steps for the SAM9X75-Curiosity board:
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 # You can change the config according to your needs.
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make sam9x75_curiosity_mmc_defconfig
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make
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The result of these operations is a fresh U-Boot binary called u-boot.bin corresponding to the binary ELF file u-boot.
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  • u-boot.bin is the file you should store on the board
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  • u-boot is the ELF format binary file you may use to debug U-Boot through a JTag link for instance.
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Build Kernel from sources

Required packages

You must install essential host packages on your build host. These requirements are listed in the Linux kernel documentation with the chapter Install build requirementshttps://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif. You must follow this process which includes, but not limited to, the following packages:

  • build-essential
  • flex
  • bison
  • git
  • perl-base
  • libssl-dev
  • libncurses5-dev
  • libncursesw5-dev
  • ncurses-dev

Getting Kernel sources

To get the source code, you have to clone the repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/linux4microchip/linux.git
Cloning into 'linux'...
remote: Enumerating objects: 8587836, done.
remote: Total 8587836 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 8587836
Receiving objects: 100% (8587836/8587836), 3.49 GiB | 13.44 MiB/s, done.
Resolving deltas: 100% (7117887/7117887), done.
Updating files: 100% (70687/70687), done.
$ cd linux

The source code has been taken from the master branch which is pointing on the latest branch we use.

Pointing hand Note that you can also add this Linux4SAM repository as a remote GIT repositoryhttps://www.linux4sam.org/pub/TWiki/TWikiDocGraphics/external-link.gif to your usual Linux git tree. It will save you a lot of bandwidth and download time:

$ git remote add linux4microchip https://github.com/linux4microchip/linux.git
$ git remote update linux4microchip
Fetching linux4microchip
From https://github.com/linux4microchip/linux
 * [new branch]                linux-6.1-mchp -> linux4microchip/linux-6.1-mchp
 * [new branch]                linux-6.6-mchp -> linux4microchip/linux-6.6-mchp
 * [new branch]                master     -> linux4microchip/master

If you want to use another branch, you can list them and use one of them by doing this:

$ git branch -r
  linux4microchip/linux-5.10-mchp
  linux4microchip/linux-5.15-mchp
  linux4microchip/linux-5.15-mchp+fpga
  linux4microchip/linux-6.1-mchp
  linux4microchip/linux-6.1-mchp+fpga
  linux4microchip/linux-6.6-mchp
  linux4microchip/linux-6.6-mchp+fpga
  linux4microchip/master
$ git checkout -b linux-6.6-mchp --track remotes/linux4microchip/linux-6.6-mchp
Branch linux-6.6-mchp set up to track remote branch linux-6.6-mchp from linux4microchip.
Switched to a new branch 'linux-6.6-mchp'

Setup ARM Cross Compiler

Failed to execute the [display] macro. Cause: [Current user [null] doesn't have view rights on document [xwiki:Development.applications.linux4sam.subsections.cross-compiler.13-2-rel1.WebHome]]. Click on this message for details.

Configure and Build the Linux kernel

Now you have to configure the Linux kernel according to your hardware. We have two default configuration at91 SoC in arch/arm/configs

arch/arm/configs/at91_dt_defconfig
arch/arm/configs/sama5_defconfig
arch/arm/configs/sama7_defconfig
  • at91_dt_defconfig: for SAM9 (ARM926) series chips
  • sama5_defconfig: for SAMA5 series chips
  • sama7_defconfig: for SAMA7 series chips

At this step, you can modify default configuration using the menuconfig

$ make ARCH=arm menuconfig

Now, in the menuconfig dialog, you can easily add or remove some features. Once done, Move to <Exit> with arrows and press this button hitting the Enter key to exit from this screen.

Build the Linux kernel image, before you build you need set up the cross compile toolchain, check this section.

$ make ARCH=arm

[..]

  Kernel: arch/arm/boot/Image is ready
  Kernel: arch/arm/boot/zImage is ready

Now you have an usable compressed kernel image zImage.

If you need an uImage you can run this additional step:

make ARCH=arm uImage LOADADDR=0x20008000

[..]

  Kernel: arch/arm/boot/zImage is ready
  UIMAGE  arch/arm/boot/uImage
  Image Name:   Linux-6.6.23-linux4microchip-202
  Created:      Thu May 16 14:36:06 2024
  Image Type:   ARM Linux Kernel Image (uncompressed)
  Data Size:    5221704 Bytes = 5099.32 KiB = 4.98 MiB
  Load Address: 20008000
  Entry Point:  20008000
  Kernel: arch/arm/boot/uImage is ready
make ARCH=arm dtbs

[..]

  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sam9x60_curiosity.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sam9x60ek.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sam9x75_curiosity.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sam9x75eb.dtb  
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama5d27_som1_ek.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama5d27_wlsom1_ek.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama5d29_curiosity.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama5d2_icp.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama5d2_ptc_ek.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama5d2_xplained.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama7d65_curiosity.dtb
  DTC     arch/arm/boot/dts/microchip/at91-sama7g5ek.dtb

[..]

If the building process is successful, the final images can be found under arch/arm/boot/ directory.

Build Yocto/Poky rootfs from sources

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Note that building an entire distribution is a long process. It also requires a big amount of free disk space.
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The support for Microchip AT91 SoC family is included in a particular Yocto Project layer: meta-atmel. The source for this layer are hosted on Linux4SAM GitHub account: https://github.com/linux4sam/meta-atmel
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Building environment

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A step-by-step comprehensive installation is explained in the Yocto Project Quick Build. The following lines have to be considered as an add-on that is AT91 specific or that can facilitate your setup.
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Prerequisite

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Here are the reference pages for setting up a Yocto Project building environment: What You Need and How You Get It.
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add git-lfs to the package requirement list from whichever Linux distribution you use.
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For instance, on Ubuntu or debian, these packages need to be installed on your development host:
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sudo apt-get install gawk wget git-core git-lfs diffstat unzip texinfo gcc-multilib \
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     build-essential chrpath socat cpio python3 python3-pip python3-pexpect \
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     xz-utils debianutils iputils-ping python3-git python3-jinja2 libegl1-mesa libsdl1.2-dev \
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     pylint3 xterm
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Step by step build procedure

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here is a copy of the README procedure available directly in the meta-atmel layer. This file in the meta-atmel layer repository must be considered as the reference and the following copy can be out-of-sync.
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Using SAM-BA to flash components to board

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Install SAM-BA software in your PC

In addition to the official SAM-BA pages on http://www.microchip.com, we maintain information about SAM-BA in the SoftwareTools page.

Warning

use SAM-BA 3.8.y onwards. You can download it here: https://github.com/atmelcorp/sam-ba/releases/tag/v3.8.1SAM-BA 3.8.1 release page.

Launch SAM-BA tools

  • According to this section make sure that the chip can execute the SAM-BA Monitor.

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In addition to the Qt5 QML language for scripting used for flashing the demos, most common SAM-BA action can be done using SAM-BA command line.
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For browsing information on the SAM-BA command line usage, please see the Command Line Documentation that is available in the SAM-BA installation directory: doc/index.html or doc/cmdline.html .
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SAM-BA includes command line interface that provides support for the most common actions:
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  • reading / writing to arbitrary memory addresses and/or peripherals
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  • uploading applets and using them to erase/read/write external memories
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    The command line interface is designed to be self-documenting.
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    ​
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    The main commands can be listed using the "sam-ba --help" command:
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    SAM-BA Command Line Tool v3.8
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    Copyright 2024 Microchip Technology
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    ​
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    Usage: ./sam-ba [options]
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    SAM-BA Command Line Tool
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    ​
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    Options:
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      -v, --version                          Displays version information.
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      -h, --help                             Displays this help.
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      -t, --tracelevel <trace_level>         Set trace level to <trace_level>.
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      -L, --applet-buffer-limit <SIZE>       Set applet buffer limit to <SIZE>
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                                             bytes (default 131072).
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      -x, --execute <script.qml>             Execute script <script.qml>.
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      -p, --port <port[:options:...]>        Communicate with device using <port>.
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      -d, --device <device[:options:...]>    Connected device is <device>.
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      -b, --board <board[:options:...]>      Connected board is <board>.
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      -m, --monitor <command[:options:...]>  Run monitor command <command>.
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      -a, --applet <applet[:options:...]>    Load and initialize applet <applet>.
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    == Configure NAND ECC ==

    === Using default PMECC parameters ===

    {{info}}
    when choosing the board variant with the -b parameter of SAM-BA, the default PMECC configuration for the NAND populated on the board is valid. You can verify its value by running the command that reads one byte in a dummy file (named test.bin in the following command):
    {{/info}}

    {{code language="bash"}}
    # sam-ba -p serial -b  -a nandflash -c read:test.bin:0:1
    Opening serial port 'ttyACM0'
    Connection opened.
    Detected memory size is 536870912 bytes.
    Page size is 4096 bytes.
    Buffer is 12288 bytes (3 pages) at address 0x003085a0.
    $percntORANGE$percntNAND header value is 0xc2605007.$percntENDCOLOR$percnt
    Supported erase block sizes: 256KB
    Executing command 'read:test.bin:0:1'
    Read 1 bytes at address 0x00000000 (100.00%)
    Connection closed.
    {{/code}}

    You can figure out that the default PMECC parameter for this == board is $percntORANGE$percnt0xc2605007$percntENDCOLOR$percnt.

    {{info}}
    Note that if you connect a serial console to the SoC RomCode default UART, you can see even more details about the NAND ECC parameters given by the SAM-BA Applet:
    {{/info}}

    {{code language="bash"}}
    Applet 'NAND Flash' from SAM-BA Applets Framework 3.8 (v3.8).
    Initializing NAND ioSet1 Bus Width 8
    PMECC configuration: 0xc2605007
    Sector size: 512
    Sectors per page: 8
    Spare size: 256
    ECC bits: 8
    ECC offset: 152
    ECC size: 104
    PMECC enabled
    Buffer Address: 0x003085a0
    Buffer Size: 12288 bytes
    NAND applet initialized successfully.
    {{/code}}

    If you want to change the default PMECC parameters you can simply specify another value on the SAM-BA command line with the -a nandflash argument as shown below:

    {{code language="bash"}}
    # sam-ba -p serial -b  -a nandflash:help
    Syntax: nandflash:[<ioset>]:[<bus_width>]:[<header>]
    Parameters:
        ioset      I/O set
        bus_width  NAND bus width (8/16)
        header     NAND header value
    Examples:
        nandflash                 use default board settings
        nandflash:2:8:0xc0098da5  use fully custom settings (IOSET2, 8-bit bus, header is 0xc0098da5)
       $percntORANGE$percntnandflash:::0xc0098da5    use default board settings but force header to 0xc0098da5$percntENDCOLOR$percnt
    For information on NAND header values, please refer to SAMA5D4 datasheet section \"12.4.4 Detailed Memory Boot Procedures\".
    {{/code}}

    By reading this in-line documentation we can specify the NAND PMECC parameter with this command:

    {{code language="bash"}}
    # sam-ba -p serial -b  $percntORANGE$percnt-a nandflash:::0xc2605007$percntENDCOLOR$percnt
    Opening serial port 'ttyACM0'
    Connection opened.
    Detected memory size is 536870912 bytes.
    Page size is 4096 bytes.
    Buffer is 20480 bytes (5 pages) at address 0x0020a240.
    $percntORANGE$percntNAND header value is 0xc2605007.$percntENDCOLOR$percnt
    Supported erase block sizes: 256KB
    Connection closed.
    {{/code}}

    == Programming components into NAND ==

    === Program AT91Bootstrap binary ===

    Run SAM-BA with USB connection (equivalent to serial) and erase the beginning of the NAND flash **and then** write AT91Bootstrap binary:

    {{code language="bash"}}
    # sam-ba -p serial -b  -a nandflash -c erase::$percntBLUE$percnt0x40000$percntENDCOLOR$percnt -c writeboot:at91bootstrap-.bin
    Opening serial port 'ttyACM0'
    Connection opened.
    Detected memory size is 536870912 bytes.
    Page size is 4096 bytes.
    Buffer is 20480 bytes (5 pages) at address 0x0020a240.
    NAND header value is 0xc1e04e07.
    $percntBLUE$percntSupported erase block sizes: 256KB$percntENDCOLOR$percnt
    Executing command 'erase::0x40000'
    Erased 262144 bytes at address 0x00000000 (100.00%)
    Executing command 'writeboot:at91bootstrap-.bin'
    Prepended NAND header prefix (0xc1e04e07)
    Appending 4008 bytes of padding to fill the last written page
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x00000000 (83.33%)
    Wrote 4096 bytes at address 0x00005000 (100.00%)
    Connection closed.
    {{/code}}

    === Program U-Boot binary ===

    Run SAM-BA with USB connection (equivalent to serial) and erase the U-Boot section in the [[NAND flash memory map>>https://www.linux4sam.org/bin/view/Linux4SAM/Samba3Subsections#NAND_Flash_demo_Memory_map]] **and then** write U-Boot binary:

    {{code language="bash"}}
    # sam-ba -p serial -b  -a nandflash -c erase:0x40000:0x80000 -c write:u-boot-.bin:0x40000
    Opening serial port 'ttyACM0'
    Connection opened.
    Detected memory size is 536870912 bytes.
    Page size is 4096 bytes.
    Buffer is 20480 bytes (5 pages) at address 0x0020a240.
    NAND header value is 0xc1e04e07.
    Supported erase block sizes: 256KB
    Executing command 'erase:0x40000:0x80000'
    Erased 262144 bytes at address 0x00040000 (50.00%)
    Erased 262144 bytes at address 0x00080000 (100.00%)
    Executing command 'write:u-boot-.bin:0x40000'
    Appending 3137 bytes of padding to fill the last written page
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x00040000 (4.59%)
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x00045000 (9.17%)
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x0004a000 (13.76%)
    [..]
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x00094000 (81.65%)
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x00099000 (86.24%)
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x0009e000 (90.83%)
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x000a3000 (95.41%)
    Wrote 20480 bytes at address 0x000a8000 (100.00%)
    Connection closed.
    {{/code}}

    == Recent FAQ ==

    * [[U-Boot FAQ>>applications.linux4sam.components.uboot.uboot-faq.WebHome]]
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