Download the OS to the Device (Compact 7)

  • Article

3/12/2014

Now that you have designed and built your OS, you can use Platform Builder to download the run-time image to the vCEPC. To do so, you prepare Platform Builder to connect to the vCEPC, establish a connection, and then download the run-time image to the vCEPC.

Prepare Platform Builder to Connect to the vCEPC

To prepare Platform Builder to download the run-time image to the vCEPC, you must set up a device profile for the vCEPC. The device profile is a set of connectivity options that specify communication settings between your development computer and your device, which in this guide is a vCEPC. For a description of all of the connectivity options, see Target Device Connectivity Options Dialog Box.

For this guide, you create a simple setup to download and debug the run-time image over Ethernet. Because the default connectivity settings in Platform Builder are already set to Ethernet, all that is left for you to do is to associate Platform Builder with your particular device. To do so, you put Platform Builder in a mode in which it listens for the device, and then you start the vCEPC. As the vCEPC starts, its boot loader obtains an IP address and then broadcasts BOOTME messages over the network. When Platform Builder receives the BOOTME messages, it recognizes the device. From then on, Platform Builder will automatically recognize the vCEPC; you do not have to configure the connection again.

To configure the connection, complete the following steps, which describe how to create a device profile, start the vCEPC, and associate the vCEPC device name with the device profile.

To configure a connection between Platform Builder and the vCEPC

  1. Create a device profile.

    1. In Platform Builder, with your OS design project open, click Target, and then click Connectivity Options. The Target Device Connectivity Options dialog box appears.

    2. In the left pane of the Target Device Connectivity Options dialog box, under Device Configuration, click Add Device.

    3. In the box under New target device name, enter vCEPC, and then click Add. The Target Device Connectivity Options dialog box should now look like the following figure. Note that the selection on the left has changed to Kernel Service Map.

      GetStartedWEC7-DevGuide-ConnectivityOptions

      Note that Kernel Download and Kernel Transport are set to Ethernet. Platform Builder uses the kernel download service to download the run-time image to the vCEPC, and the kernel transport to establish a kernel-level connection between your development computer and your vCEPC for debugging. Also, the default setting for Kernel Debugger is KdStub so that Platform Builder can establish a connection to the device.

    4. Under Kernel Download, next to Ethernet, click Settings. The Ethernet Download Settings dialog box appears. Note that the box under Target device boot name and the box under Active target devices are empty, as shown in the following figure. This dialog box will be used in the next few steps, so leave it open.

      GetStartedWEC7-DevGuide-EthernetDownloadSettingsEm

  2. Start the vCEPC.

    1. On your development computer, go to your Virtual Machines folder. One way to do so is to click Start, then All Programs, then Windows Virtual PC, and then Windows Virtual PC again.

    2. In Windows Explorer, in your Virtual Machines folder, double-click your vCEPC to start it. The vCEPC window appears as the vCEPC starts the boot process.
      During the boot process, the vCEPC displays the text Hit space to enter configuration menu… five times. You do not need to press the spacebar because you do not need to configure the boot loader for this guide, but for information about how to do so in the future, see Develop with Virtual CEPC.
      After the vCEPC presents the opportunity to configure the boot loader, the vCEPC acquires an IP address and starts broadcasting BOOTME messages.

      Important

      The vCEPC boot loader broadcasts BOOTME messages for only two minutes. If that time expires before Platform Builder recognizes the vCEPC, you need to turn off the vCEPC, ensure that Platform Builder is in a state in which it is listening for BOOTME messages (by following the previous instructions), and restart the VCEPC.

  3. Associate the vCEPC device name with the device profile.

    When Platform Builder receives the BOOTME messages, the device name appears in the Ethernet Download Settings dialog box under Active target devices. Click the device name (it will turn red as shown in the following figure), and then click Apply.

    GetStartedWEC7-DevGuide-ActiveTargetDevices

  4. You can now turn off the vCEPC. To turn off the vCEPC, follow the instructions below.

    1. At the top of the Windows Virtual PC window of the vCEPC, click Action, and then click Close.
    2. In the vCEPC - Windows Virtual PC dialog box that appears, click Hibernate, and then click Turn Off.
    3. Click OK.

    You will restart the vCEPC when you download the run-time image in the next section.

  5. In Platform Builder, click Close to close the Target Connectivity Options dialog box.

Establish a Connection and Download the Run-Time Image

Now that you have set the connectivity options for the vCEPC in Platform Builder, you can download the run-time image to the vCEPC. To establish a connection between Platform Builder and the vCEPC, and download the run-time image to the vCEPC, complete the following steps.

To establish a connection and download the run-time image

  1. In Platform Builder, with your OS design project open, on the Device menu, select vCEPC. The Device menu is shown in the following figure.

    GetStartedWEC7-DevGuide-DeviceMenu

  2. In Platform Builder, click Target, and then click Attach Device.

  3. In Windows Explorer, in your Virtual Machines folder, double-click your vCEPC to start it. The vCEPC window appears as the vCEPC starts the boot process. After the vCEPC prompts you to enter the boot loader configuration menu, the vCEPC acquires an IP address and starts broadcasting BOOTME messages.

    Important

    The vCEPC boot loader broadcasts BOOTME messages for only two minutes. If that time expires before Platform Builder connects to the vCEPC, you need to turn off the vCEPC, ensure that Platform Builder is in a state in which it is listening for BOOTME messages (by following the previous instructions), and restart the VCEPC.

    When Platform Builder receives the BOOTME messages, it starts to download the run-time image to the vCEPC. Platform Builder displays the download progress in the Device Status window as shown in the following figure.

    GetStartedWEC7-DevGuide-Run-TimeImageDownload

    Note that in the Device Status window, the status bullet at the end of the Download line is green because the connection for the kernel download has been established, whereas the bullets for Transport, Debugger, and Target Control are half green and half yellow. After the run-time image is completely downloaded to the vCEPC and the OS has started, the Transport bullet turns fully green to indicate that the development computer and the vCEPC have established a kernel-level connection. The Debugger bullet turns fully green because the kernel debugger connection is established. The Target Control bullet turns fully green because a KITL connection is established.

    After Platform Builder fully downloads the run-time image to the vCEPC, the vCEPC starts Windows Embedded Compact 7. When Windows Embedded Compact 7 is running, your vCEPC looks like the following figure.

    GetStartedWEC7-DevGuide-WEC7Shell

Now that the OS is running on your device, you can run tests to verify that the device drivers are working properly. These tests are not covered in this guide, but for information about the tests, see Compact Test Kit Overview.

See Also

Concepts

Getting Started