[U-Boot-Users] Re: U-Boot Boot Sequence

[Wolfgang Denk]

In message <29726.1042461249 at www64.gmx.net> you wrote:
>
> > See the README.
> 
> I've already looked. Here is a part:
> 
> > System Initialization:
> > ----------------------
> > In the reset configuration, U-Boot starts at the reset entry point
> > (on most PowerPC systens at address 0x00000100). Because of the reset
> > configuration for CS0# this is a mirror of the onboard Flash memory.
> > To be able to re-map memory U-Boot then jumps to it's link address.
> 
> What means link adress exactly? Run-Time adresses to RAM?

Link address is the address for which the code is linked, i.  e.  the
argument to the "-Ttext" linker option. You defined this as TEXT_BASE
in  your  board  specific  config  file.  And  no,  this is not a RAM
address, this is an address in flash memory (after  the  final  flash
mapping has been set up).

> But anyway whether to boot from, at adress 0x100 must be the the _start
> label located. How (or where) do you set the _start label to this adress
> in U-Boot image?

See the previous discussion on the list, and read the  MPC860  User's
manual  about  the  reset sequence. In short: after reset, the memory
addresses by  CS0  will  be  mirrored,  so  it  will  be  visible  at
0x00000000 and 0xFFF00000 and many other addresses as well.

> The other question was why to jump to the in_flash label? Following

This has been answered in detail before. Once we program  an  address
mask  to  OR0,  the mirroring will stop, and we must be sure that our
code is executing from an address that "stays visible".

> When I look what happens before the jump to the in_flash label, I see,
> that there no BRx or ORx have been set. Actually we still running, still
> the flash is mirrored over the whole adress space. 

Right, if we would program OR0 before jumping to a correct address in
the area defined by the link address we would  simply  crash  as  the
code woul be no longer visible.

> Anyway, what important is, are the following statments true:
> 
> 1) We, for instance, burn U-Boot image to external flash

OK.

> 2) and start at adress 0x100. 

OK.

> 3) Because code is relocatable, you can start executing where you like, for
> instance
>     on adress X, depending on your processor. 

Wrong. You start at _start only, which  in  your  case  seems  to  be
visible at 0x100 after reset.

> 4) You simply must ensure _start is at your entry point 

This sentence makes no sense. _start _IS_ the entry point. Period.

> -> How is this done on the MPC8xx, since _start will be in .text and .text
>     following .interp in the flash image?

There is no ".interp" in the image. Here is an example:

-> objdump -h u-boot 

u-boot:     file format elf32-big

Sections:
Idx Name          Size      VMA       LMA       File off  Algn
  0 .text         00021590  40000000  40000000  00000078  2**2
                  CONTENTS, ALLOC, LOAD, READONLY, CODE
  1 .reloc        00001158  40021600  40021600  00021678  2**0
                  CONTENTS, ALLOC, LOAD, DATA
  2 .data         0000642c  40022758  40022758  000227d0  2**3
                  CONTENTS, ALLOC, LOAD, DATA
  3 .bss          00004270  40028c00  40028c00  00028c78  2**2
                  ALLOC
  4 .stab         000318d8  00000000  00000000  00028c78  2**2
                  CONTENTS, READONLY, DEBUGGING
  5 .stabstr      00010335  00000000  00000000  0005a550  2**0
                  CONTENTS, READONLY, DEBUGGING
  6 .comment      00000cb1  00000000  00000000  0006a885  2**0
                  CONTENTS, READONLY

I have no idea what ".iterp" is. There is no single reference to  any
".interp" in the whole U-Boot code.


> 5) Since we procced executing from _start in flash,
> 
> -> why to jump to in_flash as already been mentioned? 

Go back to position 0, and re-read this message from beginning.


I am NOT going to explain this YET ANOTHER TIME.



Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

-- 
Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-4596-87  Fax: (+49)-8142-4596-88  Email: wd at denx.de
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.