Home

FAQ

This is a simple design example that writes data to sectors on an IDE hard disk and then reads it back to verify it.

USING THE IDE HARD DISK INTERFACE ON THE XST-3.0 BOARD

This is a simple design example that writes data to sectors on an IDE hard disk and then reads it back to verify it.

DESIGN FILES

common.vhd
This file contains some definitions and functions used in the rest of the VHDL code.
atacntl.vhd
This is the VHDL file that describes an ATAPI interface to an IDE hard disk. You can get a more detailed description of the interface at http://xess.com/appnotes/an-041404-atacntl.pdf .
memtest.vhd, randgen.vhd
These VHDL files describe a memory tester module that writes a stream of data from a random-number generator (RNG) to a storage device and then reads the data back and compares it to the RNG output to verify it was stored correctly.
debounce.vhd
This VHDL file describes a simple switch debouncer.
ide.vhd
This is the VHDL file that combines the IDE interface and memory tester module to create a design that tests writes and reads of hard disk sectors.
ide.ucf
These are the constraints which assign the I/O signals of IDE interface to the appropriate pins of the FPGA on the XSA-3S1000 + XST-3.0 combination.
ide.bit
This is a compiled bitstream for the design that can be downloaded into the XSA-3S1000 + XST-3.0 combination.
ide-200.ucf
This is an alternate set of pin assignments to be used if the design is recompiled for an XSA-200 + XST-3.0 combination.
ide.npl
Open this project file with WebPACK if you need to recompile the design.

Step 1:
Attach an ATX power supply to the XST-3.0 Board and an IDE hard disk.
Step 2:
Attach an IDE cable from header IDE1 on the XST-3.0 Board to the IDE hard disk.
Step 3:
Set jumper J9 on the XSA-3S1000 Board to XS.
Step 4:
Download the default parallel port interface into the XSA-3S1000 (\XSTOOLS\XSA\3S1000\dwnldpar.svf) if it is not already present. (Running GXSTEST will do this automatically.)
Step 5:
Download the ide.bit file to the XSA Board.
Step 6:
After a 20-second delay, the application will write and read sectors on the hard disk and report the success or failure of the operation by displaying an ``O'' or an ``E'' on LED2, respectively. Press switch SW2 on the XSA Board to re-run the test.