Arria® 10 GX Transceiver Signal Integrity Development Kit User Guide

ID 683553
Date 12/01/2025
Public
Document Table of Contents

A.5. Programming Flash Memory Using the Nios II EDS

If you have generated a .sof that operates without a software design file, you can still use the Board Update Portal to upload your design. In this case, leave the Software File Name field blank.

The Nios® II EDS offers a nios2-flash-programmer utility to program the flash memory directly.

To program the .flash files or any compatible S-Record File (.srec) to the board using nios2-flash-programmer, perform the following steps:

  1. Set the SW3.2 to OFF (1) position to load the Board Update Portal design from flash memory on power up.
  2. Attach the Intel® FPGA Download Cable and power up the board.
  3. If the board has powered up and the LCD displays either "Connecting..." or a valid IP address (such as 152.198.231.75), proceed to step 8. If no output appears on the LCD, or if the D24 (MAX_ERROR) is ON, continue to step 4 to load the FPGA with a BUP design.
  4. Launch the Quartus® Prime Programmer to configure the FPGA with a .sof capable of flash programming.
  5. Click Add File and select <package dir>\factory_recovery\build_factory_source\*\a10_si_bup.sof.
  6. Turn on the Program/Configure option for the added file.
  7. Click Start to download the selected configuration file to the FPGA. Configuration is complete when the progress bar reaches 100%.
  8. On the Windows Start menu, click All Programs > Altera > Nios II EDS > Nios II Command Shell.
  9. In the Nios® II command shell, navigate to the <package dir>\factory_recovery directory (or to the directory of the .flash files you created in the Creating Flash Files Using the Nios® II EDS section and type the following Nios® II EDS command:

    nios2-flash-programmer --base=0x0 <yourfile>_hw.flash r

  10. After programming completes, if you have a software file to program, type the following Nios® II EDS command:

    nios2-flash-programmer --base=0x0 <yourfile>_sw.flash r

  11. Set the SW3.2 to ON(0) position and power cycle the board.
Programming the board is now complete. For more information about the nios2-flash-programmer utility, refer to the Nios® II Flash Programmer User Guide.