Granted Patent B2

US 9,471,785 · App. 14/015,429 · Granted Oct 18, 2016

Abstract

Claims (41)

1. A data processing system comprising:

a boot read only memory (ROM) configured to store boot code;

one time programmable (OTP) storage circuitry configured to store patch instructions;

a random access memory (RAM);

a processor coupled to the boot ROM, the OTP storage circuitry, and the RAM, and configured to:

in response to a reset of the data processing system, copy one or more patch instructions from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM, and

during execution of the boot code, execute one or more of the patch instructions from the RAM in place of a boot instruction of the boot code; and

a ROM controller coupled to the ROM, wherein the OTP is configured to store ROM controller configuration data, and the processor is further configured to:

in response to the reset of the data processing system, use the ROM controller configuration data to configure the ROM controller, wherein the ROM controller configuration data indicates a location in the RAM of the patch instruction; and

storage circuitry configured to store a ROM lock bit, wherein the processor is configured to assert the ROM lock bit after the one or more patch instructions are copied from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM.

2. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the boot code comprises ROM controller configuration instructions, wherein the processor is configured to, in response to the reset of the data processing system, use the ROM controller configuration data to configure the ROM controller in response to execution of the ROM controller configuration instructions from the ROM.

3. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to:

in response to the reset of the data processing system, determine whether at least one patch instruction for the boot code is available, wherein the copying of the one or more patch instructions from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM is performed in response to determining that at least one patch instruction for the boot code is available.

4. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to, in response to the reset of the data processing system, disable ROM patching if no patch instructions are available.

5. The data processing system of claim 1 , wherein the boot code comprises patch copy instructions, wherein the processor is configured to, in response to the reset of the data processing system, copy the one or more patch instructions from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM in response to execution of the patch copy instructions from the ROM.

6. In a data processing system having a boot read only memory (ROM), one time programmable (OTP) storage circuitry, and a random access memory (RAM), a method comprising:

receiving a system reset signal;

in response to the system reset signal, copying at least one patch instruction from the OTP storage circuitry to the RAM;

executing boot code from the boot ROM, wherein during executing the boot code, a patch instruction of the at least one patch instruction in the RAM is executed in place of a boot instruction of the boot code;

in response to the system reset signal, executing configuration instructions of the boot code from the boot ROM to configure a ROM controller coupled to the ROM using configuration data stored in the OTP storage circuitry, wherein the ROM configuration data indicates a location in the RAM of the patch instruction; and

after copying the at least one patch instruction from the OTP storage circuitry to the RAM, asserting a lock bit of the ROM controller to indicate completion of configuring the ROM.

7. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

in response to the system reset signal, receiving a reset vector which indicates a location of the boot code in the boot ROM.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising:

in response to the system reset signal, prior to copying the at least one patch instruction from the OTP storage circuitry to the RAM, determining that the OTP has one or more available patch instructions.

9. A data processing system comprising:

a boot read only memory (ROM) configured to store boot code which includes patch copy instructions;

a ROM controller coupled to the boot ROM;

one time programmable (OTP) storage circuitry configured to store patch instructions;

a random access memory (RAM); and

a processor coupled to the boot ROM, the ROM controller, the OTP storage circuitry, and the RAM, and configured to, in response to a reset of the data processing system:

begin executing the boot code at a location indicated by a reset vector received from the ROM controller;

execute the patch copy instructions to copy at least one patch instruction from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM, and

continue executing the boot code, wherein during execution of the boot code, the at least one patch instruction from the RAM is executed in place of a boot instruction of the boot code; and

storage circuitry configured to store a ROM lock bit, wherein the processor is configured to assert the ROM lock bit after the at least one patch instruction is copied from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM.

10. The data processing system of claim 9 , wherein the boot code includes ROM controller configuration instructions and the OTP is configured to store ROM controller configuration data.

11. The data processing system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

execute the ROM controller configuration instructions to configure the ROM controller using the ROM controller configuration data, wherein the ROM controller configuration data indicates a location in the RAM of the patch instruction.

12. The data processing system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to:

in response to the reset of the data processing system, determine whether any patch instructions for the boot code is available, wherein the copying of the at least one patch instruction from the OTP storage circuitry into the RAM is performed in response to determining that one or more patch instructions for the boot code is available.

13. The data processing system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to, in response to the reset of the data processing system, disable ROM patching if no patch instructions are available within the OTP.

Assignments (18)