How to setup Bootloader

[sincity337]

Hi,

I can't answer your bootloader question, but how old your PicStart Plus? I found out the one I had was kind of old and had to get an upgrade card for it to get it to work properly. Just a thought....

James

[ardhuru]

Hi koossa,

What stage are you at? Do you need help with the bootloading, or the ICD?

Once you have correctly programmed the bootloader firmware into the PIC, your programmer (Picstart, or any other) is out of the picture.

Can you give some more details about where exactly you are stuck?

Regards,

Anand

[koossa]

My I ICD is working as well as serial communication from pic to PC, it is only my bootloader that I strugle with.

After I upload the bootloader hex file to my pic using the picstart plus, I put it back in the circuit, connect my serial cable to the circuit and in MicroCode Studio I click on the menu "PROJECT", "COMPILE AND PROGRAM" then I get the message:
"Reset Required, please reset the target microcontroller in order to access to the bootloader process... ".

I have tried to reset it then, but with no luck.

Thx

[ardhuru]

Since you have the ICD working, like you said the Pic to PC connection is intact.

Are you sure you dont have an incorrect bootloader file programmed for the clock speed you are using?

Also, make sure the baud rate chosen in the Microcode Loader is on Auto.

Regards,


Anand

[Bruce]

With the MCS loader & a 4MHz oscillator, make sure you're programming the 877 with the 877 MCS loader firmware for 4MHz.

Add these to the top section of your code;

DEFINE LOADER_USED 1
DEFINE OSC 4

Setup the MCS loader as the programmer. Then click the Compile/Program button from within MCS.

If you have not wired the auto reset circuit as shown in the MCS loader help schematic, then you need to cycle power when this message pops up, or have a switch to /MCLR to reset the PIC during the boot loading process.

Assuming you have wired the MAX232 correctly, have a good serial cable/connection, etc, it should work fine.

[koossa]

I am using MPLAB to program the 877 hex file onto the pic and not with the MCS loader firmware, I think that could be my problem?

[ardhuru]

No; how you load the bootloader hex file into the pic is immaterial. In fact, you cannot program the bootloader firmware itself using the MCS loader; that would be a chicken-and-egg situation.

Do you have another programmer at hand? Or, you could perhaps build a simple JDM type programmer for initially downloading the bootloader firmware into the PIC. After that, the bootloader should work, and you would not require the programmer (for that chip).

Regards,

Anand