[Coco] DE-1 Clarification Please

[Dave Philipsen]

I think that the chip on the DE1 has a lifetime of 100,000 writes.  So try not to flash it more than 10x a day else it might fail after maybe 28 years.  Haha!  Just kidding.....

Dave

> On Oct 28, 2017, at 2:56 PM, tim franklinlabs.com <tim at franklinlabs.com> wrote:
> 
>   ...Oh one more thing... Pay close attention on the number of times you
>   program the flash *POF or ROM). Flash has a limit on the number of
>   times you can write to it before it dies. It's write capability is very
>   large but it does have a limit. Use SOF files if you are experimenting.
>   Most flash cards do whats called "wear leveling" to increase the write
>   cycles. I'm not sure if the DE1 flash supports wear leveling.
> 
>   -Tim
> 
>     On October 28, 2017 at 1:58 PM James Ross wrote:
>     Hey Tim,
>     Thanks for this clarification. Nice to know!!
>     Since the day I got my DE1 to boot up to the 3 amigos, I have not
>     had time to play w/ it again. However, I really want to get the
>     process down pat, since I want to go back-and-forth re-programming
>     it with tutorials and the CoCo3FPGA.
>     Here is my question: does the order in which you program DE1 matter?
>     For example, the last few messages on the Yahoo group a couple of us
>     in that thread have determined that you must:
>     1) First program the FLASH w/ the ROMS
>     2) Next program the CoCo3 FPGA *.pof file
>     Since if you reverse that order, programming the FLASH second, it
>     will clobber the *.pof file?
>     Since apparently to program the FLASH, regardless which control
>     panel you use, the process must load a *.pof file -- w/ the older
>     control panel you have to do it manually, w/ the newer control panel
>     it does it automatically.
>     *OR* am I/we incorrect in that assessment?
>     James
>     ________________________________________
>     From: Coco on behalf of tim franklinlabs.com
>     Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2017 9:58 PM
>     To: CoCoList for Color Computer Enthusiasts
>     Subject: Re: [Coco] DE-1 Clarification Please
>     The PROG/RUN switch enabled the write capabilities of the on board
>     FPGA
>     flash device. NOT the FLASH RAM. The FPGA doesn't retain anything
>     when
>     power is removed. You can send the progtam directly to the FPGA
>     (.sof)
>     file and run it using the programming tool. When power is removed,
>     the
>     FPGA forgets the program. There's a "Config Flash" chip connected to
>     the FPGA that programs the FPGA automatically at power up. This
>     flash
>     is programed by placing the RUN/PROG switch in PROG mode and sending
>     the POF file the same way you send the SOF file This is done with
>     the
>     programmer tool (not the control panel).
>     The control panel allows you to write to the on board external
>     flash. A
>     totally seperate chip. This chip is NOT connected to the RUN/PROG
>     switch therefore the switch has no affect on writing to it.
>     On October 24, 2017 at 4:22 PM rcrislip wrote:
>     Trying to follow the various procedures to flash/program the DE-1 is
>     a
>     little confusing for me. An answer to this question will clear the
>     fog
>     tremendously. When using the Control Panel, is the "prog/run" switch
>     set to prog or run, likewise when using Quartus, what position is
>     the
>     switch to be in? I think I know, but conformation from you folks
>     will help a lot. TIA
>     RECrislip
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