In memory of Ben “bushing” Byer, who passed away on Monday, February 8th, 2016.

Difference between revisions of "Hardware/Starlet"

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''Note: this page is incomplete. Please expand it as you see fit!''
 
''Note: this page is incomplete. Please expand it as you see fit!''
  
== Hardware ==
+
== Specs ==
  
 
* NEC ARM926EJ-S SoC.  See also [http://www.chipworks.com/seamark.aspx?sm=s4%3BDatedfl14%3BDeviceCategory6%3BMemoryfl10%3BReportCode12%3BCAR-0703-201&cw=detail ChipWorks].
 
* NEC ARM926EJ-S SoC.  See also [http://www.chipworks.com/seamark.aspx?sm=s4%3BDatedfl14%3BDeviceCategory6%3BMemoryfl10%3BReportCode12%3BCAR-0703-201&cw=detail ChipWorks].
 
* Big endian for compatibility with the Broadway
 
* Big endian for compatibility with the Broadway
 
* ARM thumb instructions
 
* ARM thumb instructions
* AES and SHA-1 hardware engines
 
* Boot ROM
 
* OTP key/hash area
 
 
[[Starlet memory map]]
 
 
== Tasks ==
 
The Starlet handles at least these tasks in the Wii
 
 
* NAND access / filesystem
 
* DVD subsystem
 
* Authentication (RSA, EC, SHA1, HMAC-SHA1) and encryption/decryption (AES, RSA, EC)
 
* USB HCD (generic USB interface), Keyboard driver, Ethernet driver
 
* WiFi (both for networking and communication with Nintendo DS devices)
 
* TCP/IP and UDP
 
* SD card
 
* GPIO (Sensor bar, drive LED, power LED, etc)
 
* Audio/Video encoder (I2C) bus
 
  
 
== Boot ==
 
== Boot ==
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* The BOOT2 bootstrap then loads the embedded ELF file.
 
* The BOOT2 bootstrap then loads the embedded ELF file.
 
* BOOT2 starts the IOS.
 
* BOOT2 starts the IOS.
 
+
* IOS loads code into the EXI buffer and bootstraps the {{hw|Broadway}}
At some point, Starlet loads code into an EXI buffer and bootstraps Broadway.
 
  
 
== Links ==
 
== Links ==
 
More information about the Starlet:
 
More information about the Starlet:
  
 +
* [http://infocenter.arm.com/help/topic/com.arm.doc.ddi0198d/DDI0198_926_TRM.pdf ARM926EJ-S Technical Reference Manual] - CPU, MMU, Cache specs and programmer's interface
 +
* [http://rtds.cs.tamu.edu/web_462/techdocs/ARM/cores/DDI0222B_9EJS_r1p2.pdf ARM9EJ-S Technical Reference Manual] - CPU specs and programmer's interface
 +
* [http://www.arm.com/miscPDFs/14128.pdf ARM Architecture Reference Manual] - Documentation about the ARMv5 architecture.
 
* [[IOS]] - the OS that runs on the Starlet and handles calls from the Broadway during game execution and while in the system menu.
 
* [[IOS]] - the OS that runs on the Starlet and handles calls from the Broadway during game execution and while in the system menu.
 
* [[ARM Binaries]] - the formats used for Starlet executable code
 
* [[ARM Binaries]] - the formats used for Starlet executable code
 
* [[WAD Files]] are used for BOOT2 and the IOS
 
* [[WAD Files]] are used for BOOT2 and the IOS
 
[[Category:Wii_Hardware]]
 
[[Category:Wii_Hardware]]

Revision as of 20:49, 11 March 2009

The Hollywood includes an ARM9 core to handle I/O and security, nicknamed the Starlet. This is a very interesting piece of hardware, as it basically does everything that makes a Wii different from a GameCube.

Note: this page is incomplete. Please expand it as you see fit!

Specs

  • NEC ARM926EJ-S SoC. See also ChipWorks.
  • Big endian for compatibility with the Broadway
  • ARM thumb instructions

Boot

Starlet is the first processor to run code in the Wii.

  • Starlet boots from an internal Mask ROM, BOOT0 (about 1300 bytes of code out of 4K possible)
  • BOOT0 decrypts, verifies, and runs the first few blocks of NAND, BOOT1 (up to the first 48 pages of flash)
  • BOOT1 locates, loads, decrypts, verifies, and runs BOOT2
  • The BOOT2 bootstrap then loads the embedded ELF file.
  • BOOT2 starts the IOS.
  • IOS loads code into the EXI buffer and bootstraps the Broadway

Links

More information about the Starlet: