Programming AT91SAM7S - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: Sudo_apt-get_install_yum
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 07:20:11 am
content: Hello everyone!I’m trying to program the AT91SAM7Shttps://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/en/AT91sam7s256but I’m not sure how to setup Atmel Studio for it.I have used Atmel’s AVR processors loads of times through Atmel/AVR Studio but never programmed one of their OLD ARM's. The AVR processors show up in the processor selection menu when you start a project but the AT91SAM7S does not show any ware.I have the correct programmer (J-Link) but I have no idea how to setup the IDE to use the µC. The processor page at Microchip says that it is compatible with Atmel Studio 7.I am aware that the processor is old but i want to get it up and running.Thanks for any help!

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 07:34:12 am
content: When you install Atmel Studio you get a choice of installing support for 8-bit AVR, 32-bit AVR, and ARM. If ARM support was not selected, they won't be supported.But I have no idea tow to check what was installed. You can try to poke around the AS installation location and see if there are ant tools or packs for ARM.

author: Sudo_apt-get_install_yum
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 07:47:32 am
content: I was also think this so I reinstalled Atmel Studio 7 and made sure to select all option 8, 32-bit and ARM but it does still not show in the processor section menu

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 07:51:34 am
content: Yes, I looked at my installation and those devices appear to be missing. It looks like AS7 may not support them.They are so old that I think AS6 was the last version to support them.

author: Sudo_apt-get_install_yum
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 08:15:41 am
content: Just downloaded Atmel Studio 6 but can still not find the processor. I’m not sure what I’m missing...

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 08:23:06 am
content: Memories are coming back to me. None of the studios support those old devices. When AS6 was created only newer ARM devices were supported (SAM3, SAM4). ARM7TDMI-based devices were never supported by any Atmel IDEs. SAM7S are seriously old. I personally would not waste time on them. It is just not worth it.Your options were either just Makefiles and GCC or Keil/IAR. And I think it was possible to setup Eclipse as an IDE, but it was even more painful than now.

author: Sudo_apt-get_install_yum
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 08:40:11 am
content: That’s a bit misleading from Microchip/Atmel, it says that I can program it through Atmel Studio 7 :/I do have access to old make files (last modified 2008, probably much older), it comes from some sort of "getting started" project from Atmel. The project is configured for standard GCC, but I’m not sure how I would go about compiling it using standalone AVR GCC, I suppose I would have to use AVR Dude.Is there a way to import the configuration/make files into Atmel studio so I can have a proper IDE to work with.I have access to a lot of old board with this processor and programmer and would like to fiddle around with them.

author: ataradov
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2020, 05:24:26 pm
content: AVR GCC and AVR Dude will not help here. SAM7S is an ARM device. You will need an ARM compiler and I guess JLink has its own set of tools for programming.The way software examples were distributed back then is though the software packs (everything else was a downhill slope from there). You can still download the packs herehttps://www.microchip.com/design-centers/32-bit/softpacks/legacy-softpacksYou will need to download one for "AT91sam7s ek". It will have some example application with corresponding Makefiles. You will need a make utility to build them.You will need to install arm-none-eabi-gcc. Any modern version from ARM web site should work, no need to hunt for outdated toos.Once you have Makefile build working, it would be possible to setup AS to use it, but you still won't be able to program or debug from the IDE, so it will just be a glorified test editor.