after power cycle microcontroller will work for a few days then we get this error message


here is picture of microcontroller board it has a mcu two dram chips and one flash nand chip and also has a boot loader io pin and a watch dog pin and a master reset button.. firmware updates are done using usb ports. does anybody have an idea what chip would cause this error?

and does anyone know if i replace flash memory bga chip would i need manufacturers boot loader code or will a usb update reprogram the flash
thanks

 

Welcome to AAC.

It's a bit hard to follow your post. So let me ask some questions to clarify...

What is the device?
Have you seen it reboot to this screen?
How are you powering it?
What do you think defective hardware is the cause?

Separately, what does the manufacturer say?

 

Thanks for your reply
This is a main board out of a Crane vending machine. i’ve had no problems repairing the power section on these boards
with damaged rectifiers and capacitors but i have several boards like this one that that seem to freeze on this crane boot screen. Some boards will "fix" by reinstalling the software with a thumdrive, but will only last a few days before
freezing on the crane screen again.
This crane screen comes up during a reboot from power off or during a thumb drive software update so i have seen this screen before but not this error message. This board gets its power from 120 ac from wall to a power box in machine with a transformer that takes it down to 27 volts ac that goes to this board.

i’m guessing that it’s a hardware issue
because i’ve been reading that flash memory can only be written around a thousand times before it is damaged.
so that seems like the weak link in this hardware set up. But i’m open to any suggestions on other reasons
why i’m experiencing booting problems.

The manufacturer will not give support on repairing board, they just want to sell new 500$ board

 

This is a tough one.
This is an embedded MCU application with a proprietary board.
I don't see a simple solution except going back to the original manufacturer for assistance.

 

Sounds like a flakey memory bit, but only the manufacturer can tell you. Could be on-board the mcu or exterior flash. Where does J12 go to?

 

Sounds like a flakey memory bit, but only the manufacturer can tell you. Could be on-board the mcu or exterior flash. Where does J12 go to?

i’m not sure where the j12 ( boot loader connection) goes. Most traces are embedded in the board and theyre probably going to bga chips so i can’t check for continuity whiteout removing the chip. im hoping it’s a flash problem too’ but if i change the flash memory chip will i loose the boot loading? or will the thumb drive usb software reprogram the flash?
the manufacturer won’t help but i believe the manufacture of the mcu chip and flash chip is micron.. i wonder if they might
have some advice on how there chips boot.

 

i’m not sure where the j12 ( boot loader connection) goes. Most traces are embedded in the board and theyre probably going to bga chips so i can’t check for continuity whiteout removing the chip. im hoping it’s a flash problem too’ but if i change the flash memory chip will i loose the boot loading? or will the thumb drive usb software reprogram the flash?
the manufacturer won’t help but i believe the manufacture of the mcu chip and flash chip is micron.. i wonder if they might
have some advice on how there chips boot.

did some more research. The MCU is made by NXT here is what i found on their data sheet about boot loading.

does this mean the boot loading program is in the MCU chip memory?
thanks

 

Yes. The boot loader is built-in in the MCU.

 

Yes. The boot loader is built-in in the MCU.

sweet! so that means i can replace sdram ic or flash nand ic and i should be ok to just load software by usb?

and if so which one (flash or ram) should i attempt to replace first?

thanks for your help

 

Before replacing any chips, are you capable of reloading the firmware?

 

Before replacing any chips, are you capable of reloading the firmware?

These boards can be changed from running a drink machine to running a food machine by changing the application firmware. I do have that firmware on a usb sticks. But i don’t think the boot loader program is on those usb sticks.
I’m just learning about boot loader programs. I don’t quite understand why there is the j12 connector on the board marked bootloader? and why there is a jumper between two pins on the board marked boot loader?

thanks

 

The boot loader is on the MCU.
The procedure to upgrade the firmware is manufacturer specific. You need to obtain instructions from the manufacturer on how to do this.

 

Look to see if there is an ic that drives rs232. Many systems will pump boot info out this port for diagnoses. Without interpretation it may not mean much, but an operating should declare itself. The J12 could well be spi as described in the ‘service’ select.

 

tried to see where that connector goes bit all the traces are hidden between layers on the board..

i’m going to see if i get lucky and order the flash but digikey says it’s obsolete.. they do have a substitute but it came with a warning from digikey this is there warning…
"
Unfortunately, I cannot guarantee success for your particular application as there are security features for devices such as this including a One Time Programmable (OTP) area as well as a unique ID that may or may not be activated in your device. Also, there may or may not be a method to update the flash memory contents."

do you guys think this is anything to worry about?

thanks