Re: Using flash disk partition

Tech-Archive recommends: Repair Windows Errors & Optimize Windows Performance

Thanks, but in order to create a partition, I have to be able to 'see' my
flash memory as a store (I think). Scanning my system, using
FindFirstStore(), FindNextStore(), etc... doesn't report my flash memory...


--
kris @ signum


"Dean Ramsier" wrote:

Try this - don't use "Uboot" APIs to make the partitions - the CE OS isn't
likely to understand those partition types. Instead, use the CE boot
partition APIs to create the partitions. That, in combination with the
flash driver that you'll have to provide in CE, will give you what you need
for the OS to see the partition, format the filesystem on top of it, and use
it.

--
Dean Ramsier - eMVP
BSQUARE Corporation


"kris" <kris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0BC1D0CD-E7B7-4BAC-B4D5-B7919D11B7E4@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On th falsh device I have created following partitions using UBoot:


Nr | Name | Start | Size | Type | FS | Flags
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 | U-Boot | 0 | 768 KiB | U-Boot | | fixed
1 | NVRAM | 768 KiB | 512 KiB | NVRAM | | fixed
2 | EBoot | 1280 KiB | 1 MiB | WinCE-EBoot | |
3 | Registry | 2304 KiB | 1 MiB | WinCE-Registry | |
4 | Kernel | 3328 KiB | 20 MiB | WinCE-Kernel | |
5 | lclDisk1 | 23808 KiB | 32 MiB | Filesystem | Unknown |

The device boots correctly using this partition table. Except partition 5,
intended as flash disk is nowhere to be found in the system after booting.
I
know the device isn't correctly formatted, but before I get there I must
be
able to 'see' the device first

regards,
Kris

--
kris @ signum


"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" wrote:

You need to back up and tell us what you've done. What partition?
You've
already built a flash driver for your OS and configured it to handle the
section of flash that you want to devote to filesystem? If that's the
case,
reviewing the serial debug messages from a DEBUG build of the OS should
tell
you whether your driver is being loaded and, if so, what its problem is.

Paul T.

"kris" <kris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:72BD7234-C485-48D7-96ED-4E80BB98773C@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This is just my point. I don't need to see the partition at boot ime. I
just
can't seem to find the partition from within the OS and consequently
can't
format it.



--
kris @ signum


"Chris Tacke, eMVP" wrote:

Why does you bootoader eed to see partitions? Typically it just finds
the
CE image, moves it to RAM and then launches Use the OS to find and
format
any partitions - after it, it's an OS.


--

Chris Tacke, Embedded MVP
OpenNETCF Consulting
Giving back to the embedded community
http://community.OpenNETCF.com

"kris" <kris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:5CFB5B32-E4EF-4F94-B9B8-1E6EC3010F37@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks for your help.

I see that my version of UBoot does not support a FAT-like
filesystem.
This
is probably the reason why the flash disk isn't mounted in the first
place.
Is this assertion correct?.
Secondly, I'll have to look for a way to exclude simultaneous access
to
the
different flash devices.

regards,
Kris
--
kris @ signum


"Paul G. Tobey [eMVP]" wrote:

You need to be aware that a single flash part can't be
simultaneously
used
to execute code in-place (the instructions being executed are in
flash),
and
to read/write to the part as filesystem. Various companies have
come
up
with solutions to this problem. Intel's Persistent Storage Manager
was
available for a long time. It arranged things so that, when the
filesystem
needed to be accessed, it was the only code running and so that it
was
running from RAM, not directly from flash, at that moment.
Datalight
has
a
flash filesystem driver that does something similar, I think. If
you
have
64MB organized as two separate flash chips, you can use one as
in-place
execution linear flash (where the contents of the nk.bin file go),
and
the
other as filesystem. Microsoft's flash driver, documented in the
PB
help,
should work for that. Alternatively, you could arrange things so
that
you
are *NOT* executing the OS code from flash at all. If your
bootloader
copied the contents of some section of flash to RAM on startup and
executed
the OS from there (RAM), then you could use the remaining flash for
anything
you want without conflicting with the code trying to execute there,
too
(and
then use the MS flash driver).

Paul T.

"kris" <kris@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EA010342-10E6-4E03-BECA-DDDC7FFB877D@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hello everybody,

I 'm using an ARM based board running WinCE6.0 and 64MB of flash.
Since
the
enire system uses less than 32MB of the boards Flash, I wonder if
I
can
use a
partition on the same flash device as flash disk for storing
non-volatile
data. Using Uboot, I created this partition as file system
(however
Uboot
supports only following filesystem formats: JFFS2, CRAMFS,
INITRD,
FlashFX,
YAFFS, Unknown) in the free area. First of all I'm not sure wich
of
these
to
use (and I don't seem to find any documentation on the different
filesystems). Second, if the partition is created, how can I
instruct
WinCE
to 'mount' the partition as drive? What are the required settings
in
Platformbuilder to access the drive?

Regards,
Kris Demets
--
kris @ signum












.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Using flash disk partition
    ... The boot partition APIs are callable from the ... flash memory as a store. ... section of flash that you want to devote to filesystem? ... you want without conflicting with the code trying to execute ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsce.embedded)
  • Re: Bootable flash with part of it read-write?
    ... how can I make the bootable flash ... Typing mount again tells me that the filesystem type ... I assume that you are booting off of a usb port. ... You also have various options with respect to your partition layout. ...
    (comp.os.linux.setup)
  • Re: Using flash disk partition
    ... moves it to RAM and then launches Use the OS to find and format ... I see that my version of UBoot does not support a FAT-like filesystem. ... different flash devices. ... I created this partition as file system (however ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsce.embedded)
  • Re: Using flash disk partition
    ... Partition driver ... OS to use my partition as drive... ... The OS doesn't know how your flash is ... section of flash that you want to devote to filesystem? ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsce.embedded)
  • Re: restore SD card capacity
    ... The layout says "partition", but when I right click on the drive, the "delete partition" option is grayed out. ... The first sector contains the MBR. ... I've done a copy of a 1440KB floppy diskette, sector by sector, to a 1GB flash ... Since your drive is currently formatted in some FATxx format, ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)