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Tibbo Project System (TPS)
© Tibbo Technology Inc.
Firmware reinstallation
A complete reinstallation of the firmware can help if the device becomes inoperable
because of empty or corrupted NAND flash. Due to the additional preparation and
relative complexity — not to mention its irreversible nature (all files on the system
will be erased) — this procedure should only be attempted as a last resort. This is a
two-part process that replaces the system's bootloader and then reinstalls the
firmware. If you only have a corrupted bootloader, you only need to replace it, not
reinstall the firmware.
In addition to a TFTP server providing the firmware image, you will also need to
download the bootloader — comprised of two files: u-boot-spl.bin and u-boot.img —
which will be uploaded to the system.
With the system powered off, connect the serial and Ethernet cables as you would
for a regular update. Launch your serial console software, start a session, and
power on the device.
You'll see the system prompt for an XModem transfer in the serial console, with a C
printing in the terminal with each request. If you do not receive the prompt, power
off the device, jump CN4 (which forces the system into recovery mode), and power
the board again.
Call XModem to upload u-boot-spl.bin from your computer. Once the transfer is
complete, the device will immediately prompt for YModem. Call YModem to upload u-
boot.img from your computer. After the transfer is complete, you'll see diagnostic
information printed out before the system reboots.
If the board's NAND memory is empty or the firmware is corrupted, you will enter a
command-line interface, with "TPP#" representing the shell.
You will need to request an IP address from your network's DHCP server with the
command
dhcp
. However, if you would like to first specify the Ethernet adapter's
MAC address instead of using the default random value, you can do that by entering
setenv ethaddr XXX
— replacing XXX with the desired MAC address — followed by
saveenv
to save the changes, and then calling
dhcp
.
Next, define the IP address for the TFTP server hosting the firmware image with the
command
setenv serverip XXX
, replacing XXX with the actual IP address.
Now you can start the firmware reinstallation by running
tps_upd tftp:XXX.itb
,
where XXX is the file name of the firmware image hosted on the TFTP server. This
part of the update process is nearly identical to that of the serial console, with the
principal difference being that after it is complete, you will be returned to the
"TPP#" prompt.
Finally, reboot the device by entering
reset
.
Further considerations
A complete reinstallation — and sometimes even a plain update — of the system's
firmware will result in the Ethernet adapter's configuration being reset. As such, you
will need to
manually configure the adapter's settings
After a complete firmware reinstallation with an image that includes AggreGate, the
system's first boot will take at least an additional 90 seconds to complete post-
installation tasks.
Do not interrupt the system during this process
, or you might
need to reinstall the firmware again. The next time the device is booted up, it will
need about 30 seconds to get AggreGate functionality ready.