TI AppLoader Driver Readme
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PURPOSE:  The TI AppLoader Driver is a Windows USB device driver that enables firmware for TI's TUSB3410, TUSB3210, TUSB2136, or TUSB6250 devices to be kept on the PC rather than in the USB device's EEPROM.  When a USB system using one of these devices is inserted onto the bus, Windows associates it with this driver, which downloads the firmware to the device.  

This function is intended for development purposes only.  Firmware on production systems should be stored on an EEPROM in the USB device, or a driver should be used that provides both the end function and the firmware-download function.  

This driver has been tested under Windows XP and Vista (both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms).  

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INSTALLATION:  The install should be performed after the device is initially plugged into the system. Prior to the manual installation, please modify the BIN file's name at the Apploader.INF file, within each driver's folder depending on the OS you are attempting to install it.

The driver's folders may be uninstalled by going to "Add/Remove Programs" in the Windows Control Panel, or by running the install again after it has been previously installed.

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CONFIGURATION OF THE FIRMWARE FILE:

The name of the firmware file that will get downloaded to the USB system is specified in the INF file for the driver.  The INF file can be found in the \WINDOWS\INF directory. On Windows XP, Windows Vista, it is named "OEMxxx.INF", where the "xxx" is a system-generated incrementing number based on how many third party drivers have been installed on that system.  

The header at the top of the INF reads:
;
; TI Application Firmware Loader Driver INF
;

The name of the firmware file to be downloaded is listed under [SourceDisksFiles] and [DriverCopyFiles] AND referenced under the [DriverHwAddReg] section.  (These values MUST match).

By default, the INF is configured to look for a particular *.bin file in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS directory.  This needs to be an absolute binary file.  If using an IAR compiler, this is the *.i51 output file.  (Either change the name to the one specified in the INF, or change the INF as described below.)  If using a Keil compiler to produce your own firmware file, it is necessary to process the *.hex output file with Keil's "hex2bin.exe" utility.  (This utility can be downloaded from the support page on Keil's website at http://www.keil.com.)  After processing the *.hex file with the utility, the resulting *.bin file should be placed in the directory.  Again, make sure the name matches the names in the INF file.

If you would like to use a name other than the one specified, simply replace all the instances of that name in the INF with the filename of choice.  The current installation of this driver should then be uninstalled and an "Update Driver" operation should be performed in order to cause windows to reprocess the INF and update the firmware filename in the registry.  

Note that no firmware is provided with AppLoader.  A firmware file must be placed in the directory by the user for AppLoader to function properly.  

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COMMENTS:

When using AppLoader, it is best to not use an EEPROM on the I2C bus.  First, it isn't necessary, since there is no need to keep custom device/string descriptors on the USB device, as there is for a production system.  Further, an EEPROM may interfere with AppLoader operation if the VID/PID in the EEPROM's device descriptor don't match the ones in the AppLoader INF, or if there is firmware in the EEPROM.   

By default, the AppLoader INF recognizes the default VID/PID pairs present within the bootcode of the TUSB3210/3410/2136/6250 devices.  Therefore, the easiest way to ensure download is to make sure there is no EEPROM on the I2C interface.

*** As an example, please use the proper *.BIN file depending on the device your are using. There's a folder under "C:\Program Files\Texas Instruments Inc\TI USB Apploader Drivers" named BIN files that contains three different binary files examples (one for each device). You can use them in order to see how the new HW is enumerated and detected by the system's device manager (they will appear has a keyboard and HID device on its proper categories...).   

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UPDATES:

03/06/2003 KLQ
06/10/2003 KLQ
08/20/2008 IDR