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  • Author Author: DaveYoung
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How to Easily Burn a Binary File to an MSP430 Chip Using the LaunchPad

DaveYoung

Often times someone other than the firmware designer on a development team needs to program a TI MSP430 chip.  An analog, apps, or test engineer, client; even an end user does not want to mess around with installing an entire IDE for a released firmware update.  There are too many settings and parameters to worry about, in addition to a heavyweight program which may require a paid license to be installed.

 

Thankfully, a Binary file can be created by Code Composer Studio.  A Binary file has everything a microcontroller needs to know in order to execute the program, and can be sent directly to the chip to be run.   Usign this file, a small computer program called Lite FET-Pro430 by Elprotronic can use the MSP430 Launchpad hardware to program a chip without the user having to face a single line of code. It's easy, free, and best of all, leaves little room for error.

 

The video below shows how to create the Binary file and burn it to a chip.  I'm basing this video on TI's excellent tutorial located here.

 

 

Steps:

  1. Setup CCS to output a binary file.
  2. Download and install Elprotronic's FET-Pro430 Lite software
  3. Open FET-Pro430 Lite
  4. Load the binary file created by CSS
  5. Define the MSP430 Group and the type of chip
  6. Press 'AUTO PROG.'
  7. Press 'RESET'

 

And you're done!

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  • Hi,Dave

                I really like this methodology of burning the chips of TI,but i do have one question in my mind if you can solve and find a better resource /solution to that .

    I want to know how to write firmware for chinese multimedia players(mp4/mp5 players) and make their binary files and how they are burn into the ROM from the manufacturer.

    How these files are able to boot these players including soc chips from chinese manufacturers like sunplus...ARM926ej  is generally used in these portable players...

    I want to customize these binary image files and want to play with these....kindly provide me players firmware knowledge and which is the development platform for these files?is it some kind of OS..?

    thanks in advance

    Akshay

  • in reply to dr.akshay_1980@yahoo.com

    Hi Akshay-

    That is quite a leap from programming a well-documented and understood piece of firmware on a well understood microcontroller.  I've never programmed an ARM926ej, so I don't think I can help you.  However you may be able to scour the web to determine the programmer you need, the pins that need to be connected on the chip for programming, and the IDE that is required.

    Best of luck,

    Dave

  • in reply to DaveYoung

    When ever we program a micro controller we convert the C file into a hex file and then we burn that into controller.My question is that why a hex file only, is that hex file a hexadecimal version of binary executable? If yes then why do not we use a binary file instead? Eg: IAR workbench provides us the binary executable for ARM controllers. If this is so we may have octal format output file from the compiler ready to be burned for execution in micro controllers.

  • in reply to DaveYoung

    Hi Dave,

                    Can I make a VIRUS for the microcontroller so that its not able to boot the application? My main concern is to write a code that can directly affect the bootloader or the sensitive memory area and the application code is unable to boot .

  • in reply to dr.akshay_1980@yahoo.com

    I don't know about a virus, but if you want to change what happens when the chip powers up you can load a different bootloader on the part. I've never put bootloader variants on an MSP430, but I know with Atmel parts you can't change the bootloader over the TX/RX lines (since they require the use of a bootloader to edit flash) but instead a 6-pin ICSP programmer must be used.

  • in reply to DaveYoung

    Hi Dave ,

                      Thanks for the reply but I want that my application should get freeze at a particular point after wrong inputs from the user,say a password based application so that even after resetting or powering the chip again it must get caught in a infinite loop or the application should not be able to boot from the main function. I am not using any kind of external eeprom for the application. I can use PIC,AVR which ever is feasible.

     

    Can IAP i.e. In Application Programming helps us in this regard any how?

  • in reply to dr.akshay_1980@yahoo.com

    You could write the firmware to add this functionality, apart from anything related to the method of programming the part or changing the bootloader. Something along the lines of running a loop to test if the user has input the correct sequence, and if they have, then run another loop forever with the desired code. I bet someone has come up with a project that does this; I'd suggest looking around to see how others have solved this problem. Or if you're the first one, make a post on the community for the part that you want to use (Arduino, MSP430, pic, etc...) asking the best approach.

     

    Good luck!

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  • in reply to dr.akshay_1980@yahoo.com

    You could write the firmware to add this functionality, apart from anything related to the method of programming the part or changing the bootloader. Something along the lines of running a loop to test if the user has input the correct sequence, and if they have, then run another loop forever with the desired code. I bet someone has come up with a project that does this; I'd suggest looking around to see how others have solved this problem. Or if you're the first one, make a post on the community for the part that you want to use (Arduino, MSP430, pic, etc...) asking the best approach.

     

    Good luck!

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