SPRUHZ7K August 2015 – April 2024 AM5706 , AM5708 , AM5716 , AM5718 , AM5718-HIREL
The memory booting process starts an external code in memory devices. ROM code can use only the memory type of booting devices as permanent booting devices (that is, devices examined after both cold [POR] and warm resets). Temporary booting devices are examined only after cold resets. The supported permanent booting devices are:
SATA is not supported on the AM570x family of devices.
Two main groups of permanent booting devices are distinguished by code shadowing. Code shadowing means copying code from a nondirectly addressable device (non-XIP) to RAM, where the code can be executed. Directly addressable devices are XIP devices.
Figure 33-15 shows the general memory booting procedure common to all types of devices. First, CH is copied to internal RAM. It is copied even for XIP devices, because the device can temporarily lose a connection with XIP memory during CH execution (for example, while updating interface timings). The second step is to shadow the image, if the device is not XIP. The last step is image execution and any return from image results in a dead loop.
If CH copying or shadowing fails, memory booting returns to the main booting procedure, which selects the next device for booting.
A booting image is considered to be present when the first 4-byte word of the sector is not equal to 0000 0000h or FFFF FFFFh.
During the first read sector (512 bytes) call, sectors are copied to a temporary device on-chip SRAM buffer. Once the image is found and the destination address is known, the content of the temporary buffer is moved to the target device on-chip SRAM location so it is required to reread the first image sector. GP header is not copied into target buffer location; therefore, only executable code is in device on-chip RAM, with the first executable instruction at the destination address.
SATA, eMMC, SD cards, SPI/QSPI and NAND devices can hold up to four copies of the booting image. Therefore, the ROM code searches for one valid image out of the four copies, if present, by walking over the first blocks of mass storage space. Other XIP devices (NOR) use only one copy of the booting image.