flash write speed very slow

Technical discussions around xCORE processors (e.g. xcore-200 & xcore.ai).
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diyinhk
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flash write speed very slow

Post by diyinhk »

U8 + external SPI flash + windows7, xtimecomposer write the usb audio firmware in ~10s
XUF216 + internal QSPI flash + windows7, xtimecomposer write the usb audio firmware in ~30s!
Is is normal? any method to speed it up?
the console output of the first 20s is nothing(seems check something) before the actual write/verify process


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mon2
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Post by mon2 »

https://www.xcore.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3158

If you are performing a first time flash write then you should be able to use the xflash tool directly with the compiled .xe file to perform a full erase & write without any additional checks to expedite the process. As a QSPI flash, you should be able to pass the flag to invoke QSPI mode for higher data rate transfers with this internal (or external) memory device.
diyinhk
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Post by diyinhk »

anybody can list their normal flash time of external or internal QSPI flash to compare?
xflash --factory firmware.xx
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mon2
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Post by mon2 »

Try with:

Code: Select all

xflash --noinq --verbose --factory firmware.xx
Reference:
http://www.xmos.com/support/knowledgeba ... ted-xflash

What is the SPI pinout definition inside your .XN file ?

Please post your .XN file for this PCB.
colin
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Post by colin »

Xflash erases the entire flash site before it programs it. Unfortunately the erase process can take a considerable amount of time to complete. QSPI is longer than the SPI process presumably because the SPI device has a significantly smaller memory size and thus less to erase?

Colin
diyinhk
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Post by diyinhk »

the 10S record is external 512kB spi flash
the 30S is internal 2MB QSPI flash
that means everybody using internal QSPI flash will need over 30s to flash one xmos XUF chip?
can I skip the erases entire flash step?
garbage in the remaining unuse flash area should not affect anything
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