MICEpack/SLD for PowerPC ------------------------ Host System Requirements ------------------------ The following host computer requirements and recommendations apply: 1. An Intel 386DX, Intel 486, or Intel Pentium(tm)-based PC or 100% compatible system. 2. At least 8 Megabytes of RAM. 3. 4 Megabytes of available disk space. 4. VGA or Super VGA graphics card and color monitor (A graphics accelerator card will boost performance, and a monitor capable of at least 800x600 operation is highly recommended). 5. Mouse. 6. RS-232 for connection to emulator. 7. MS-DOS 3.3, 5.0, or 6.x. 8. Windows 3.1 running in 386-enhanced mode. 9. 4 Megabytes or greater swap file (permanent swap file recommended). 10. Minimum: Files=30 Buffers=30 MICEpack/SLD-PPC Configuration Guidelines ----------------------------------------- * Use a disk cache such as smartdrive for improving Windows performance. * Be sure you have a swap file of at least 4 Megabytes (a permanent swap file is recommended). * MICEpack/SLD requires a minimum of 5 Megabytes of free memory after Windows is loaded. More memory is better, especially if you run other applications at the same time. If memory is low, close other applications to regain memory. * While the emulator runs, status messages are sent from the chassis to the host PC. If you are running a DOS shell at the same time, give it a low priority via the .PIF file settings, or stop the emulator. * One GP fault that showed up in MICEpack/SLD was traced to a faulty video device driver of the Diamond Stealth ISA 1M VRAM card (version 2.31) in 1024 X 768 mode. The problem went away by reducing the resolution to 800 X 600. Another problem exists with the Genoa 256-color small font driver. The symptom is the load-progress indicator is not updated completely at the completion of a load. If you encounter a fault in a driver file (*.DRV), try installing a more current device driver. Toolchain Notes --------------- * Enumerated types do not display symbolic values. * Enums, structs and unions are limited to 256 elements. * The fatal error "Out of object pointers" indicates that MICEpack/SLD has exhausted system display resources. If you frequently encounter this error condition, try the following: - close windows that are not in use. - reduce the size of windows. - decrease the number of saved transcript lines and history commands in the shell window. - when loading, select "On Demand Symbol Loading". - include symbols in only the modules that are being actively debugged. MICEpack/SLD-PPC supports the ELF/DWARF file format. Testing has confirmed, however, that there are numerous interpretations of the specifications. MICEpack/SLD-PPC has been tested with these toolchains: Green Hills C-PowerPC Ver 1.8.7b Diab Data/PowerPC Ver 4.0a For more detail, please refer to Compiler Information appendix in MICEpack/SLD-PPC User's Manual. Default Radix in Addresses Input -------------------------------- all addresses input from dialog box or Shell commands are assumed to be hexadecimal. The default radix for data continues to be decimal, with hexadecimal values indicated by a "0x" prefix. For example: shell command interpretation ------------- -------------- reg SRR0 55; set register pc to 55 hexadecimal dump 400; dump memory at address 400 hexadecimal write 500 0x33; write 33 hexadecimal to location 500 hexadecimal Known limitations -------------------------------- * Variable inspection (double clicking on a variable in the source window) does not work in Mixed mode, only in Source mode. * The shell command AddressOf does not support #module#staticVar lookup if #module is not the current execution context. Initialization Script in MICEPACK.INI ------------------------------------- * Communication Selection MICEpack-PPC only supports the serial ports specified in MICEPACK.INI. In "Comm" section, the type is always "serial". In "serial" section, the comPort could be com1, com2, com3, or com4. For example: [Comm] type=serial [Serial] comPort=com1 The selection of communication port can be set by MP/Setup application. * Emulated Target CPU Selection MICEpack/SLD-PPC can be set up the emulated target CPU in "SystemInfo" section of MICEPACK.INI file. For example: [SystemInfo] MICEpack=PPC860 The selection of target CPU can be set by accessing MP/Setup application. * Running Auto-initialization Script. MICEpack/SLD can be set up to run an auto-initialization script. The script sets up the emulator to your requirements each time you run MICEpack/SLD. The product is shipped with an include file that describes how to do this. The file is named "include.me". To create your own script file, create a file with the commands you want for initialization. BE SURE TO END EACH COMMAND WITH A SEMICOLON. Edit the MICEPACK.INI file (in your windows directory), and change the "script=include.me" line, replacing "include.me" with your initialization file. Be sure to include the full path, including drive letter if necessary. For example: script=c:\mpppc\reset.inc You can also run the same initialization file in the Shell window. For example: include "c:\mpppc\reset.inc"; * Shell command history You can access the Shell command history with Ctrl-uparrow and Ctrl-downarrow keys. Diagnosing Fatal MICEpack/SLD Errors ------------------------------------ * GP Faults If you have received a GP fault, our ability to find and fix it is increased if you run the Dr. Watson recorder, which captures information at the point of the GP fault. The Dr. Watson program is shipped with Windows and is located in your windows directory. To start Windows with Dr. Watson enabled, use the File Manager to drag and drop the drwatson.exe icon (in your windows directory) into the Windows StartUp Group. Another way to do this is to add the path and filename to the load= line of your win.ini file. Example: load=c:\windows\drwatson.exe After a GP fault, the drwatson.log file in your Windows directory holds the information. Fax this file, along with any other information that led up to the GP fault, to Microtek International. Fax: +886-3-5776-443 E-Mail: micefae@microtek.com.tw * PV.DMP Under some conditions, an error can occur which produces a message box indicating that information about a problem has been placed in the file pv.dmp in your MICEpack/SLD directory. This file gets written over each time an error occurs, so we recommend that you rename the file, then fax it to Microtek International.