USERS GUIDE - Advanced Micro Devices

AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card

Embed Utility

User’s Guide

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AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................................... 5

Preparing to use the

Embed

program ......................................................................... 5

Starting the Embed program ................................................. ...................................... 6

Selecting the Flash Card .............................................................................................. 6

Using Common Memory ............................................................................................... 7

Reading memory ....................................................................................................... 7

Programming a word to common memory ................................................................ 9

Programming a byte to common memory ................................................................. 9

Programming a file to common memory .................................................................. 10

Erasing common memory ........................................................................................ 10

Erasing a sector pair .......................................................................................... 10

Erasing the entire card ....................................................................................... 11

Using the Attribute Memory ....................................................................................... 11

Displaying Attribute Memory .................................................................................... 12

Writing a Byte to Attribute Memory .......................................................................... 12

Writing a File or File Image to Attribute Memory ..................................................... 12

Reading Attribute Memory to a File ......................................................................... 13

Exiting to DOS temporarily ........................................................................................ 13

Using Erase and Suspend; Resume Erase ............................................................... 13

4 AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User’s Guide

AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide 5

Introduction

The Embed program is a DOS utility that allows you to perform the following functions on any AMD C-series

or D-series Flash m emory PC card:

• Read from the card’s common or attribute memory

• Program a byte or file contents into the card’s common or attri bute memo ry

• Erase a sector or the entire card’s common memory.

AMD Flash memory cards verify program and erase operations through Embedded Algorithms. Each Flash

component within a Flash memory card executes these algorithms.

This guide presents th e features of the Embed program and explains how to use them. This version of the

Embed program is preliminary; currently only minimal support is available.

For general information on the PCMCIA specification, refer t o the PCMCIA Trai ning Manual (PID 17515B),

included in this Eval uat ion Kit.

Preparing to use the

Embed

program

The Embed utility was designed to assist users of the AMD F lash Memo ry Car d Evalu at io n Ki t. Refer to

AMD Flash Memory Card Evaluation Kit User’s Guide for information on installing the card drive provided

with the kit. You can also use Embed with any 365-compatible card drive.

Embed has a built-in flash file system; you should disable any FFS or FTL drivers before running Embed to

avoid possible conflicts. Embed can also conflict with networking software; consider disconnecting the PC

from the network before running Embed.

You can use the boot men u option of confi g.s ys to choo se which drivers you r PC load s at startu p. Whil e

Embed is running, it copies the contents of this address space to the Flash card. Adding this line to the

config.sys file prevents EMM386.exe from using this address space in upper memory. Also, add the

following line to your config.sys file:

device=emm386.exe noem s x=D000-DFFF

If y ou a re using a multip le card driv e con figu r ation, determin e which car d socket is desi gnat ed as the first

(slot 0). Embed always uses the designated first card socket in the system.

To install the Embed utility, copy embed.exe from the floppy disk to the system’s hard drive.

6 AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User’s Guide

Starting the Embed program

To r un the Embed progr am, t ype embed at a DOS command line. Figure 1 shows the main menu that appears.

Figure 1 . Main Me nu

Selecting the Flash Card

To select a Flash card, press f on the keyboard. The screen scrolls and displays a list of AMD’s Flash card

part numbers (Figu re 2). Press a number key (1-7) that corresponds to the card plugged into the card drive,

and then press Enter. If you press Enter without pressing a number key, you return to the main menu. When

Embed identifies the card and matches it to your selection, Embed displays the message, “Correct card

selected.” and displ ays th e manufactu r er and device codes. Press Enter to return to the Main Menu.

Embed calculates the highest valid address based on your selection; for example, if you select the letter

corresponding to a 1 MB card, but you have a 4 MB card plugged into the card drive, Embed will not report

the correct address informati on beyond the highest address for a 1 M B card. Therefore, ensure that the

selection you enter matc hes the card plugged int o the drive.

AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide 7

Figure 2. Card Selection Menu

If Embed cannot identif y the card, Embed displays an error message (Figure 3). Pressing any key then returns

you to the mai n sc r een.

Figure 3. Card Error Message

Using Common Memory

Embed can read, program, and erase both the common and attribute (CIS) memory data. This section de-

scribes the steps for interacting with the common memory. For information on the attribute memor y, see “Us-

ing the Att rib ute Mem ory” on pag e 11.

Reading memory

Press Esc to return to the main menu. Press r on the keyboard. The screen scrolls and asks for a starting

address, in hexadecimal format, from which you wish to read (Figu re 4). Type the desired starting address

and press Enter. Ensure that you selected the proper card with the “Card Select” option on the Main Menu,

or Embed may display an address that is higher than the highest address on the physical card in the card drive.

After reading the highest physical address, Embed reads data starting from address 0 again, but continues to

increment the address value.

8 AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User’s Guide

Figure 4. Entering a Starting Address

Press Enter to view the next screenful of memo ry con tent s, or press Esc to return to the Main Menu.

Figure 5. Error Message During Read Request

Figure 6. Displaying Memory Contents

AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide 9

Programming a word to common memory

To program a word to common memory, return to the Main Menu. Press w on the keyboard. Embed requests

a starting address and the word of data you want to program to memory. Figure 7 shows the screen that Embed

displays for these steps. Ensure that you enter a valid hexadecimal value to avoi d programming erroneous

data into memory. After the program operation is complete, Embed displays the message, “Program

Successful. Hit Return to Continue.” You can verify the operation was successful by returning to the Main

Menu and reading data from the address to which you just programmed.

Embed calculates the highest valid address based on your card selection. Embed will not program to an

address higher than the highest address associat ed with the card part number you entered at the main menu.

For example, if you selected a 2 MB card, but had actually plugged in a 4 MB card, then tried to program to

an address beyond 2 MB, Embed reports an “out of range” error message.

Figure 7. Programming a Word to Common Memory

Programming a byte to common memory

To program a byte to common memory, return to the Main Menu. Press b on the keyboard. Embed requests

a starting address and the byte of data you want to program to memory. Figure 8 shows the screen that Embed

displays for these steps. Be sure to enter a valid hexadecimal value to avoid programming erroneous data into

memory . After the prog ram operati on is complete, Em bed dis pl ays the mes sage, “Pro gram Success ful . Hit

Return to Continue.” You can verify the operation was successful by returning to the Main Menu and reading

data from the address to which you just programmed.

Figu re 8 . Pro gra m m in g a Byte to Com mon Mem or y

10 AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide

Programming a file to common memory

Embed allows you to program a file into common memory. To program, press p at the Main Menu. Type in

the file name (and path, if necessary), press Enter. Type the starting address at which you want to load the

file; press Enter. If you specify a starting address that is too high, Embed reports “Maximum Address

Exceeded.” Press Enter to return to the menu. Figu re 9 shows the prompts that Embed displays during these

steps.

Figure 9. Programming a File into Memory

Erasing common memory

In Flash devices and cards, an erase command programs all the affected bits to a logical 1. A subsequent read

operation will confirm this by displaying ff for all words. The erase function in Embed affects only common

memory; it does not alter the attribute memory.

Erasing a sector pair

Embed has two functio ns that erase the contents of the Flash mem ory card: sector eras e and card erase.

Specifying a sector address erases a sector pair. On Flash memory cards, the Flash devices are paired off such

that one sector from one device pairs with one sector of the other device to form a single contiguous address

space in common memory. A sector pair thus holds twice the data of a singl e sector. The fi rs t sector pair

addresses are from 00000-1ffff, the second sector pair addresses are from 20000-3ffff, and so on.

To erase a sector pair, return to the Main Menu and press s. Type in the starting address of the sector you

want to erase, then pr ess Ente r. The starting address can be any address with in th e sector pair. To erase the

proper sector, ensure you selected the correct card at the main menu. Figure 10 shows the prompts during the

erase enabling sequence. Embed displays the elapsed time for the erase operation when finished.

Figure 10. Erasing a Sector

AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide 11

Erasing the entire card

To erase the entire card, return to the Main Menu and press c. (Figure 11). Embed displays the line “Erasing

card: <AmCXXXXFLKA>” for each internal component it erases. In Figure 11, Embed is erasing an

AmC001CFLKA, which has eight Am29F010A components. Embed displays the elapsed time for the erase

operation when finish ed.

Figure 11. Erasing the Entire Card

Using the Attribute Memory

AMD’s Flash memory cards store the CIS (Card Information Structure) data on an separate EEPROM on the

card. The memory space on this EEPROM is called the attribute memory. The CIS always begins at address

0 of the attribute memory. Embed allows you to access the CIS data in the attribute memor y via the Attribute

Memory M en u. To access this menu, return to the Main Menu and press a. Figure 12 shows the Attribute

Memory Menu that appears. To return to the Main Menu, press Esc.

Figure 12. Attribute Me m or y Men u

12 AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide

Displaying Attribute Memory

To display the contents of the attribute memory on the screen, press d while Embed is displaying the Attribute

Memory Menu. Type the address from where Embed will begin reading; press Enter. Embed displays the

memory contents in hexadecimal and ASCII formats (Figure 13).

Figure 13. Displaying Attri bu te Me m ory

Writing a Byte to Attribute Memory

Embed allows you to write individual bytes into attribute memory. To do this, access the Attribute Memory

Menu, then press m. Figure 14 shows the options that appear. Press 1 to proceed with modifying the attribute

memory. Type the starting address; press Enter. Type the hexadecimal value to write into attribute memory;

press Enter.

Figu re 14. Specifying Data to Write Into Attribute M emory

Writing a File or File Image to Attribute Memory

The attribute memory has valid data only in the even bytes, as an anti-virus measure. When you select w (write

a file to Attribute Memory) from the Attribute Memory Menu, Embed writes the contents of a file you specify

to only the even bytes of the attribute memory. This places the file contents only in attribute memory locations

with valid data.

Selecting f writes the contents of a file you specify to all bytes in attribute memory, not just the even ones.

This means that the sequence of data in the file should be exactly the sequence of data you want in the attribute

memory. This is why the file you specify with the f option is called the file ima ge.

AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide 13

Reading Attribute Memory to a File

The r option is the “complement” of the f option. Sel ectin g r reads all bytes of the attribute memory and

saves them to a file you specify. To save the contents of the Attribute memory to a file, return to the Attribute

Memory Menu, then press r (see Figure 15). Type the name you wish to give the file; press Enter. If you do

not specify a path, Embed writes the file to the C:\ directory. Embed assumes a file size of 128 bytes and an

attribute memory size of 256 bytes, since only the even bytes of the attribute m emory cont ain valid data.

You can use the r and f options together to back up and restore the CIS information.

Figure 15. Reading Attribute Memory to a File

Exiting to DOS temporarily

You can exit to DOS temporarily from Embed, then resume working with Embed by typing “exit” and press-

ing Enter. Simply press e whi le at either the Main Menu or the Attribute Memory Menu.

Figure 1 6. Exitin g to DO S tem por a rily

Using Erase and Suspend; Resume Erase

The Erase and Suspend option demonstrates th e ability of AMD’s Flash memory cards to suspend an erase

operation, and then read from any sector (excluding the one being erased). After the read operation is

comp lete, the Resum e Er ase opti on resum es the erase operat ion. To erase and suspend , press x while at the

Main Menu and confirm your choice. Enter the sector address to erase, and Embed erases that sector an d

suspends the erase operation (Figure 16). To resume the erase, select y from the Main Menu and confirm your

selection. Enter the address to resume the erase operation, and Embed continues it (Figure 17).

14 AMD PCMCIA Flash Memory Card Embed Utility User ’s Guide

Figure 17. Suspending an Erase Operation

Figure 18. Resuming an Erase Operation

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