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Doc: 506-003

Introduction

The Digilent MemUtil application is used to

read data and write data to and from the

Digilent Mem1 module.

MemUtil allows for:

• writing data to Flash from files

• reading data from Flash to file

• erasing data from the Flash

• writing data to RAM from file

• reading data from RAM to file.

Definitions

MEM1 C0 128Kb SRAM, 512Kb Flash

MEM1 C1 512Kb SRAM, 512Kb Flash

MEM1 C2 1Mb SRAM, no Flash

MEM1 C3 1Mb Flash, no SRAM

D2SB XC2S200E system board

D2FT 300 XC2S300E system board

D2FT 400 XC2S400E system board

Pegasus1 XC2S50 system board

Pegasus2 XC2S200 system board

S3 200 XC3S200 system board

S3 400 XCS3400 system board

Net1 Ethernet Communications Mod

USB2 USB Communications Mod

SIO2 Serial Communications Mod

Setup

Installing Adept Suite

The Digilent Adept Suite must be installed

before MemUtil can be used. The Adept Suite

is available on Digilent’s website,

www.digilentinc.com

Board Setup

The placement of the communication module

and Mem1 module(s) depends on the logic

loaded into the FPGA. Configuration files (.bit)

to control the reading and writing of memory in

the FPGA are provided. The Communications

module (for example the USB2 module) is

always placed on the A1 expansion connector

on the system board.

All memory modules are

connected to the A2 expansion connector on

the system board. If two MEM1 C1 modules

are used simultaneously, then the placement

of the second Mem1 C1 module varies

depending on the device. For more information

see the following table, that illustrates where

the memory modules are placed based on the

logic loaded into the FPGA.

D2FT D2SB Peg S3

Mem1 C1

A2 A2 A2 A2

Mem1 C1X2

A2, B1 A2, C1 A2, B1 A2, B1

Mem1 C2

A2 A2 A2 A2

Mem1 C3

A2 A2 A2 A2

Configure FPGA

Before MemUtil can be used, logic to control

memory, reading and writing must be loaded

into the gate array on the system board.

After connecting the modules to the proper

expansion ports, power up the module and

configure the FPGA with the .bit file

corresponding to the module in use. To locate

the .bit file, first open the directory for the

specific memory module, then within that

directory there are specific directories for each

Digilent board. Select the directory that

corresponds to the board being used.

Using MemUtil

Once the system board FPGA has been

configured with the proper .bit file, MemUtil can

be used.

User Interface

All numeric values can be entered into MemUtil

as binary, decimal, or hexadecimal. For

example, a decimal byte is written as 170, a

hexadecimal byte as 0xaa, and a binary byte is

written as 10101010.

Digilent, Inc

MemUtil User Manual

www.digilentinc.com

Doc: 506-003

Selecting a Connection

Click the “Properties” tab in MemUtil. In this

tab, a communications module can be selected

from the device table. By clicking the

“Configure” button, the Communication

Modules dialog box will appear and the device

table can be manipulated. For more

information about the device table, see the

Digilent Adept Users Manual.

Selecting the Mem1 Configuration

The Mem1 configuration must be selected in

MemUtil before performing any read/write

operations. This setting is under the

“Properties” tab in the “Memory Configuration”

box.

Setting a Starting Register Address

Different reference designs may need starting

default address of 0. This setting can be

altered under the “Properties” tab in the

“Starting Register Address” box. The address

must be within the range of 0 and 255 and

must be a multiple of 8.

Loading Data to RAM From File

Click the “Load RAM” tab. Enter the path and

name of the file to load into RAM in the “File

Name” text box. The path and file name can

be retrieved using a windows dialog box by

clicking the “Browse” button. Enter the offset

from the beginning of the file (in bytes) in the

“File Start Location” text box. Data will begin

to be loaded into RAM from this offset location

in the file. In the “Start Address” text box,

enter the starting address in RAM to which the

data is to be written. The first address in the

RAM is 0x00. In the “Length” text box, enter

the number of bytes to be loaded into RAM. A

file can be completely loaded or partially

loaded into RAM. To verify that the data has

been loaded properly, check the “Verify after

load” box. Finally, to load the RAM, click the

“Load” button.

If MemUtil tries to write to an address higher

than the maximum address in the RAM, the

logic in the gate array will load the rest of the

data from the beginning address in the RAM.

Store Data from RAM to File

Click the “Store RAM” tab. Enter the path and

name of the file to store data from RAM in the

“File Name” text box. The path and file name

can be retrieved using a windows dialog box

by clicking the “Browse” button.

Choose a method of writing the data to the file.

If the file exists, it can be appended, replaced

completely, or overwritten from a specified

location. In the “Start Address” text box, enter

the starting address in the RAM from which

data is to be read. In the “Length” text box,

enter the number of bytes to store from the

RAM. Finally, to store the RAM, click the

“Load” button.

Loading Data to Flash From File

Click the “Load Flash” tab. Enter the path and

name of the file to load into Flash in the “File

Name” text box. The path and file name can

be retrieved using a windows dialog box by

clicking the “Browse” button.

Enter the offset from the beginning of the file

(in bytes) in the “File Start Location” text box.

Data will begin to be loaded into Flash from

this offset location in the file.

In the “Start Address” text box, enter the

starting address in Flash to which the data is to

be written. The first address in the Flash is

0x00.

In the “Length” text box, enter the number of

bytes to be loaded into Flash. A file can be

completely loaded or partially loaded into

Flash. To verify that the data has been loaded

properly, check the “Verify after load” box.

Finally, to load the Flash, click the “Load”

button.

It is very important that the Flash be erased

before it is programmed. To avoid damage to

the Mem1, it is advised that the “Auto erase

before programming” box remain checked.

If an address higher than the maximum

address in the Flash is to be loaded, MemUtil

will post an error, and not load any data.