Accomplishing Common Tasks

  • Article

This overview explains and demonstrates the most common tasks that MFDeploy can accomplish.

Upgrading Firmware

Follow these steps to upgrade or update a device's firmware.

  1. Connect your device to your computer.

  2. Run MFDeploy.

  3. Choose the device's port type.

  4. Choose the device's port.

    Note

    The default address for a TCP/IP port is 10.52.32.196.

  5. Browse for the SREC (.hex) object file you want to deploy, or select a file in the pull-down list. Typically, the file name will be one of the names listed in the following table.

    File Name Comments
    Tinyclr_compressed.hex Contains the Microsoft® .NET Micro Framework common language runtime (CLR). The file ER_CONFIG.hex must always be included with Tinyclr_compressed.hex.
    ER_CONFIG.hex Contains the .NET Micro Framework configuration sector. ER_CONFIG.hex cannot be deployed by itself. You must also include the file Tinyclr_compressed.hex with ER_CONFIG.hex.
    TinyBooter_image.hex Contains the bootstrap loader, which is needed to boot the device.

  6. Click the Deploy button.

Deploying a File When the CLR Is Unresponsive

If the code on the device becomes corrupted, the CLR becomes unresponsive. Follow these steps to upload and re-deploy your image file.

Note

You can check to see if the CLR is responding by clicking the Ping button.

  1. Set the TinyBooter port.

  2. Select the image file or files.

  3. Activate the bootstrap loader (TinyBooter). The method for doing this is platform-specific. For details, see your hardware platform's documentation.

    Examples:

    • Freescale
      Press and hold the UP ARROW and DOWN ARROW keys at the same time while rebooting the device.
    • ConnectME
      Connect using the serial interface, reboot the board, and click the Ping button in MFDeploy repeatedly until the bootstrap loader (TinyBooter) responds.

Note

You can also erase deployment sectors and configure network settings while the bootstrap loader is active.

Configuring Your Firewall for MFDeploy

MFDeploy requires the use of some specific multicast IP addresses and ports. By default, the installation process automatically makes these addresses and ports available. However, it is possible that your firewall prevents this. In such cases, MFDeploy will not function properly on your computer.

If your firewall blocks MFDeploy's access to the addresses and ports it needs, you must manually configure your firewall to allow access. For details on how to do this, see your firewall's documentation. The addresses and ports that MFDeploy requires are as follows.

  • IP Receive: 234.102.98.44
  • IP Send: 234.102.98.45
  • IP Port: 26001
  • UDP Protocol