Altera Cyclone III LS FPGA - Manual (Page 18)

5–2 Chapter 5: Board Update Portal
Using the Board Update Portal to Update User Designs
Cyclone III LS FPGA Development Kit User Guide © October 2009 Altera Corporation
5. Click Cyclone III LS FPGA Development Kit on the Board Update Portal web
page and verify that you have the latest version of the development kit software
(the software version also appears on the CD-ROM).
1 If you download new software, double-click the downloaded .exe file to
begin the installation process.
6. Visit the Board Update Portal web page occasionally for documentation updates
and additional new designs not included on the CD-ROM.
f If the Board Update Portal does not connect, refer to the Cyclone III LS FPGA
Development Kit page on the Altera website to determine if you have the latest kit
software.
Using the Board Update Portal to Update User Designs
The Board Update Portal allows you to write new designs to the user portion of flash
memory. Designs must be in the Nios II Flash Programmer File (.flash) format.
1
Design files available from the Cyclone III LS FPGA Development Kit page on the
Altera website include .flash files. You can also create .flash files from your own
custom design. Refer to
“Preparing Design Files for Flash Programming” on page A–2
for information about preparing your own design for upload.
To upload a design over the network into the user portion of flash memory on your
board, perform the following steps:
1. Perform the steps in “Connecting to the Board Update Portal Web Page” to access
the Board Update Portal web page.
2. In the Hardware File Name field specify the .flash file that you either downloaded
from the Altera website or created on your own. If there is a software component
to the design, specify it in the same manner using the Software File Name field,
otherwise leave the Software File Name field blank.
3. Click Upload. The progress bar indicates the percent complete.
4. To configure the FPGA with the new design after the flash memory upload process
is complete, set the PGM/USER LOAD switch (SW2.6) to the off position and
power cycle the board, or press the PGM_SELECT button (S9) until the
PROGRAM LED1 LED (D30) illuminates and then press the PGM CONFIG button
(S8). Refer to
Table 6–1 on page 6–5 for information about the PROGRAM LEDs.
1 As long as you don’t overwrite the factory image in the flash memory device, you can
continue to use the Board Update Portal to write new designs to the user portion of
flash memory. If you do overwrite the factory image, you can restore it by following
the instructions in
“Restoring the Flash Device to the Factory Settings” on page A–4 .