How to Bring Up a Hardware Platform by Cloning an Existing BSP (Windows CE 5.0)

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After you design and develop the standard development board (SDB) or target device you will use to create a Windows CE-based device, you must bring up the SDB or target device.

You must complete the device bring-up process before you add more functionality to your OS design.

To bring up an SDB or target device, you must develop the hardware platform code necessary to initialize the new run-time image on your SDB or target device.

You can bring up a device two ways:

  • Clone an existing board support package (BSP) using the Platform Builder IDE.

    When you clone a BSP, you create a copy of all the files from the existing BSP you have chosen, and you create a copy of all the .cec descriptions for the new BSP.

    For information on how to bring up a device by creating a BSP from the beginning, see How to Bring Up a Hardware Platform by Creating a New BSP.

  • Create a BSP from the beginning.

    If you do not have an SDB, and you want to design your own to develop and test your OS design, see Standard Development Board Design.

Hardware and Software Assumptions

  • You have tested the hardware and other peripherals on your SDB or target device.

  • Your Platform Builder installation includes BSP support that closely matches your SDB and CPU peripherals.

    For more information about supported BSPs, see Supported Board Support Packages.

To track your progress in the following table, select the check box next to each step.

  Step Topic
1. Use the BSP Wizard to create a BSP by cloning an existing BSP; then add the cloned BSP to the Platform Builder Catalog. Cloning an Existing BSP
2. Use the BSP Wizard to add device drivers for your new BSP.

This step is reiterative. You can add as many device drivers as you need, so that specific peripheral hardware devices can work with the Windows CE OS.

Adding a Driver to an Existing BSP
3. Use the Export Wizard to export your BSP so other Platform Builder users can use the BSP.

The Export Wizard packages all BSP files into an .msi file.

Other Platform Builder users can then easily import the .msi file into a Platform Builder project.

For more information about the Export Wizard, see Export Wizard Overview.

Microsoft recommends that BSP vendors complete this step.

For OEMs, this step is optional.

Exporting Items from the Catalog

See Also

Developing a Board Support Package | How to Create a Board Support Package | How-to Topics

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