Quick Start Guide StarterWare 02.00.XX.XX (supports AM335x)

StarterWare Overview

StarterWare 02.00.XX.XX provides no-OS platform support for AM335x. The StarterWare package contains Device Abstraction Layer libraries and peripheral/board level sample/demo examples that demonstrate the capabilities of the peripherals on AM335x.

Running The Demo Application

For those who want a quick look on the StarterWare deliverable for AM335x, described below, are the steps to load and run the StarterWare bootloader and a system level demo application from an SD card.

• Installation
  • If you are using beaglebone black board, make sure the Beaglebone black patch (if there is one like 02.00.01.01) is installed.

• Set Up Requirements
  • For beaglebone board
    • Connect serial port to beaglebone board
      • For beaglebone original(white): The mini USB port (Connector P3) has to be connected to the host. Please make sure that the Virtual COM Port driver is installed. The driver is available here for downloading. This mini USB-to-serial connection is used for displaying messages on the serial console on the host, if the port is properly selected.
      • For beaglebone black(BBB): Unlike beaglebone original, BBB does not come with an FTDI FT2232 populated. Therefore, an external USB to serial adapter is required to access serial console. The USB to TTl converter cable TTL-232R-3V3 from FTDI is a reliable option. See beaglebone black Serial wiki for more details.
    • A serial terminal application (like Tera Term / HyperTerminal / Minicom) should be running on the hst.
    • The host serial port is configured at 115200 baud, no parity, 1 stop bit and no flow control.
    • Ethernet port on board connected to a port on the LAN.
    • A microSD card is required. MMC/SD booting on beaglebone board essentially means booting via a microSD card.
  • For TI AM335X (General Purpose) EVM
    • The serial port (Connector J12) on the baseboard of the EVM is to be connected to the host serial port via a NULL modem cable.
    • A serial terminal application (like Tera Term / HyperTerminal / Minicom) should be running on the host.
    • The host serial port is configured at 115200 baud, no parity, 1 stop bit and no flow control.
    • Ethernet port on the base board connected to a port on the LAN.
    • Audio LINE OUT of the EVM connected to headphone/speakers with 3.5mm audio jack.
    • An SD card is required for MMC/SD booting. Booting via MMC cards are not supported.
  • For EVM Starter-Kit (EVM-SK) board
    • The micro USB port (Jumper P3) has to be connected to the host. Please make sure that the Virtual COM Port driver is installed. The driver is available here for downloading. This micro USB-to-serial connection is used for displaying messages on the serial console of the host, provided the port is properly selected.
    • A serial terminal application (like Tera Term / HyperTerminal / Minicom) should be running on the host.
    • The host serial port is configured at 115200 baud, no parity, 1 stop bit and no flow control.
    • Ethernet port(s) on board connected to port(s) on the LAN.
    • A microSD card is required. MMC/SD booting on EVM-SK board essentially means booting via a microSD card.

• Locating The Bootloader And Demo Application Binary Images
  • For beaglebone board
    • The bootloader binary image (boot.bin) appended with the TI Image Header at the beginning is named as MLO. This is available at "\binary\armv7a\cgt_ccs\am335x\beaglebone\bootloader\Release_MMCSD\".
      
    • The demo application image (demo.bin) appended with the TI Image Header at the beginning is named as 'app'. This is available at "\binary\armv7a\cgt_ccs\am335x\beaglebone\demo\Release\".
      
  • For TI AM335x EVM
    • The bootloader binary image (boot.bin) appended with the TI Image Header at the beginning is named as MLO. This is available at "\binary\armv7a\cgt_ccs\am335x\evmAM335x\bootloader\Release_MMCSD\".
    • The demo application image (demo.bin) appended with the TI Image Header at the beginning is named as 'app'. This is available at "\binary\armv7a\cgt_ccs\am335x\evmAM335x\demo\Release\".
      
  • For EVM-SK board
    • The bootloader binary image (boot.bin) appended with the TI Image Header at the beginning is named as MLO. This is available at "\binary\armv7a\cgt_ccs\am335x\evmskAM335x\bootloader\Release_MMCSD\".
    • The demo application image (demo.bin) appended with the TI Image Header at the beginning is named as 'app'. This is available at "\binary\armv7a\cgt_ccs\am335x\evmskAM335x\demo\Release\".
• Loading and running
  • For beaglebone board
    • Format the microSD card and load the binaries as explained here.
    • Insert the microSD card into the proper slot and reboot the board. A URL will be displayed on the UART Console. On accessing the URL, a webpage will be displayed which will allow the user to explore the features presented in the Demo application.
  • For TI AM335x EVM
    • Format the SD card and load the binaries as explained here.
    • Set the EVM in profile 0 (SW8[1:4] = OFF). For more details refer to EVM reference manual.
    • Configure the BOOT pins for MMC/SD Boot mode
    • Insert the SD card into the proper slot and reboot the EVM. Observe the messages on the UART console/LCD display 
  • For EVM-SK board
    • Format the microSD card and load the binaries as explained here.
    • Insert the microSD card into the proper slot and reboot the board. Observe the messages on the UART console/LCD display.

NOTE
The application start time/delay may depend on the size of the application itself (copy time from storage device increases), peripheral initialization time and others.
The pre-converted demo application image "app" is not available in releases prior to StarterWare_02.00.00.05. For releases prior to StarterWare_02.00.00.05, MMCSD booting does not expect the binary image to have the TI Image header. In this case, rename the "demo.bin" to "app" and use the latter.

For more information on StarterWare AM335X please refer to getting started guide.