Patent ID: 7685380

Claim:
A method of updating data stored in a memory for use with a configurable integrated circuit (IC) device, the method comprising: programming first data into the memory, the first data including configuration data for configuring the configurable IC device and user data; wherein the programming the first data into the memory is via an input/output (I/O) port of the memory, and individual storage locations of the memory cannot be individually accessed via the I/O port; marking the first data as valid; configuring the configurable IC device with the first data; programming second data into the memory without erasing the first data using a controller implemented in the configurable IC device, the second data including updated user data for updating user data in the first data; marking portions of the first data corresponding to user data being updated as stale; and marking the second data as valid; wherein the programming the second data into the memory, the marking portions of the first data, and the marking the second data are via a boundary scan port of the memory and individually access individual storage locations of the memory; wherein the portions of the first data marked as stale are only erasable by a chip-erase function.