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iMX6 WEC Software

Please find images, BSP, Platform Builder workspace, and other downloads and information about Toradex Windows Embedded Compact Software for iMX6 in this article.

Binary Image, BSP, and Workspace Downloads

Windows Embedded Compact 7.0
(CE7)
Windows Embedded Compact 2013
(CE8)
OS Image
BSP
Workspace

Release Roadmap

The WEC iMX6 BSP Release Details contain the roadmap for new features and bug-fixes and include also known issues and limitations of released BSP versions.

Board Support Packages (BSPs)

WinCE Board Support Package

The Toradex Board Support Package for Windows CE is one of the most advanced BSPs available on the market. Aside from the standard Windows CE functionality, it includes a large number of additional drivers as well as optimized versions of standard drivers.

The Toradex bootloader and BSP were designed to be easily configurable. This relieves the application developer from the burden of creating a customized operating system image. Instead, the necessary adaptations can be made by registry settings and adding files to the on-board flash file system.

Toradex even provides the workspace for Microsoft's Platform Builder, which enables the customer to build exactly the same Windows CE image as the standard Colibri image.

The binary for our Colibri modules are available for download for free.

Before building your own Windows CE image, check if it is really required as our standard is very flexible and you can add a lot of drivers, components and programs without building your own image.

BSP Source Code

We do not provide the source code of our BSP. If you think you need source code, please contact us.

Platform Builder Workspace

Microsoft Platform Builder Workspace

Toradex provides the Microsoft Platform Builder workspaces (solution files) which can be used to build an identical image as the pre-built binary images provided by Toradex. However, we recommend to use the binary images and configure them to your needs rather than building your own image. There are many advantages:

  • The binary image is tested by Toradex and thousands of customers
  • It is easier to upgrade to a newer BSP version since you only have to upload a new binary image instead of building your own image again
  • You don't have to buy the Microsoft Platform Builder
  • It's not necessary to build your own image if you want add or exclude features. As an example you can disable drivers, install drivers, add other WinCE features like the .NET Compact Framework, disable the explorer (desktop), etc.
  • Toradex integrates the Microsoft Windows CE updates into their binary images.

In order to build a Windows CE image you need to download the workspace files and the BSP files which are located with the respective product BSP in our Software Section.

Toradex WEC Features

Overview on the Toradex Windows CE Features

We have invested a large amount of time and resource in developing our Windows CE operating system, and as a result, are able to provide you with an extremely robust, highly optimised and easily configurable operating system with a rich set of functional enhancements.

What do you mean by highly optimised?

To unlock the full potential of any hardware platform, it is important that the software is able to make use of the hardware resources in an efficient, effective way. We spend many thousands of man hours improving existing software implementations from device vendors and software providers to take advantage of features that may not have been fully utilised, or are simply not optimal. The result of such investment is that we really do squeeze every last drop of performance out of our systems, allowing you to fully leverage the capabilities of our computer modules.

Testament to this is our Windows Embedded Compact operating system for the Colibri T20 module which is able to cold boot (i.e. boot from power being applied) in 480 milliseconds. We have optimised many areas of operating system startup process, such as cache performance and concurrent driver loading, to achieve this very fast boot time, which today is unrivalled by any similar system.

What makes it easily configurable?

While our computer modules may be highly standardised, the applications they are deployed in are anything but. Every application has its own specific requirements and to be able to provide a standardised solution that is capable of meeting the requirements of a diverse range of applications requires a large amount of flexibility and configurabilty.

Through the use of the Windows registry, it is possible to configure the behaviour of our customised Windows CE operating system in almost every area you can think of. A short list of examples of things you can do with our registry configuration parameters are as follows:

  • Configure display interfaces including all resolution and timing settings
  • Rotate the display to support either portrait or landscape modes
  • Change allocated video memory
  • Configure audio and touch screen controller settings
  • Disable any drivers that are not required
  • Configure support for different serial interface standards
  • Modify the behaviour of the USB stack including USB over current control

Our approach means you don't have to mess about creating your own operating system image - you can simply use ours and tailor it to your own needs.

Our Bootloader also provides provisions for system customisation. Examples include splash screen support on system startup and the ability to configure various system parameters such as MAC address and serial number.

What makes it extremely robust?

We have a very large customer base that have deployed our solutions into a hugely diverse range of applications with widely varying operating environments and conditions. From rally car instrumentation to tsunami warning systems, our operating system has been tried and tested and is one of the most mature available. Our systems run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without interruption.

The added advantage of so many customers using our standardised operating system is that when fixes or enhancements are made, everyone benefits from them. Our development engineers support our customers directly and so whenever there is an issue that needs addressing or an enhancement to make, we make sure that it is addressed and deployed promptly.

What functional enhancements do you provide?

We have extended the standard feature set provided by Windows CE to include additional functionality to help support your needs. For a list of such features, please see the section Special Features and Enhancements.

Drivers

Our standardised Windows CE operating system includes support for all of the standard features that are provided by the Colibri module. On top os this, we can also provide driver features for non-standard features which may be required, such as Bluetooth stacks and matrix keypads. The below table describes those driver which are included as standard and those which are available for purchase with support hours.



DriverDescriptionCost (Support Hours)
FFUARTFFUART supports the full RS232 specification with all 9 signals.-
BTUARTBTUART only supports RXD/TXD/CTS/RTS-
IRDAHandles the PXA270's IrDA port-
Ethernet10/100Mbit driver for Davicom DM9000-
USB Host2 Ports supporting mass storage devices (USB-stick, hard disc, CD-ROM…) and other devices as keyboard, mouse, USB hub…-
USB ClientCan be used as ActiveSync connection, mass storage or RNDIS-
Audio16Bit stereo output (up to 48kHz), mic input, line-In-
Touch ScreenAll 4-wire resistive screens supported-
DisplayAll types of displays supported. Easy configuration in registry-
PS2 MouseSupports any standard PS/2 mouse-
PS2 KeyboardSupports any standard PS/2 keyboard-
Compact FlashMemory cards, Wireless LAN, modem, Bluetooth, serial card, GPS, GSM, …-
SD/MMCMemory cards, Wireless LAN, Bluetooth, GSM, GPS …-
Wireless LANSupport for different Wifi adapters-
Flash File SystemStandard FAT as well as TFAT (transaction safe FAT) are supported-
SATASupport for SATA interface (driver disabled in the registry by default)-

The following drivers are also available and can be purchased at Toradex. For more details on the Support Hours, please click here.
Bluetooth SupportWindows CE Bluetooth Stack and HCI Transport Driver for USB Devices-
Colibri Plugin for TCPMPUse the open source media player TCPMP (The Core
Pocket Multimedia Player) on all Colibri modules
8
Matrix Keypad (PXAxxx only)Fully customizable through registry (MK_IN, MK_OUT and scan code to virtual key)-
External UARTSchematic and driver for external 16550-compatible UART controller attached to the system bus (up to 8 ports)8
External Ethernet controllerDriver for the Asix AX88772B controller attached to USB. Reference schematics and further information about the controller are available on the Asix website-
External Ethernet controllerSchematic and driver for Colibri PXA and Colibri T20 modules for an additional Ethernet controller attached to the system bus (Asix AX88796B).4
Soft Key Touch Driver ExtensionSupport for "Soft Keys" on touch areas larger than the display size-
SPI SD Card DriverAdd an additional SD memory card to one of the Colibri's SPI ports10

Services

Our Windows CE operating system supports a variety of services out of the box.



ServiceDescriptionCost (Support Hours)
FTP ServerAccess Colibri using the FTP File Transfer Protocol-
HTTP ServerAllows the Colibri to act as a web server-
Time Server / ClientSynchronize time with the network using the NTP protocol-
File ServerFile sharing over the network using the SMB protocol-
OBEX ServerProtocol for IrDA File Transfer-
Telnet ServerAccess Colibri using the Telnet protocol-

The following services are also available and can be purchased at Toradex. For more details on the Support Hours, please click here.
Mail ServerSMTP, POP3 and mail sender services20
Web ShopShopping cart, product selector, mail order formon request

Special Features and Enhancements

Our Windows CE operating system supports a range of additional features and enhancments to the standard Windows CE operating system.



FeatureDescriptionCost (Support hours)
Bootloader enhancementsConfiguration through RS232, clear flash registry, download image to RAM, download image to Flash, set/save config structures, define initial GPIO configuration.
Debug Functionality: erases flash range, write/read 32bit value at address.
-
Splash ScreenDisplay default start-up screen while Windows CE is booting.-
GPIO InterruptsEach GPIO can be configured to act as an interrupt source.-
Power ManagementAdvanced Power Management, possible to set the wakeup sources and GPIO Sleep state in the Registry-
SetFailSafe (PXAxxx only)Add fail safe feature: This tool configures the bootloader to be fail-safe. This allows you to boot even after a failed bootloader update.-
Bootloader Customizer KitThe Bootloader Customizer Kit allows to place customer code directly in our standard bootloader.8
.Net Framework 2.0 / 3.5 Flash InstallerInstall the .Net Compact Framework 2.0 or 3.5 to the flash memory.-
Silverlight Installer (CE 7 / CE 8 only)Installs Silverlight support to the flash memory.-
Multilanguage SupportAdd additional languages to your system (can be switched at runtime)8 per western language
Large Input PanelAdd a larger software keyboard (SIP) (about 465x195 pixels)-
WinCE Image Compression ToolCompresses your own Windows CE image to about half of the original size. This saves Flash memory and improves the boot time. This feature is already used for Toradex binary images.4
Splash-Screen Converter ToolConverts your own bitmap to a Toradex Splash-Screen file4

Windows Embedded Compact Software Development Kit (SDK)

Prior to starting Windows CE development for the Colibri module, we recommend you install the Colibri Software Development Kit (SDK). This will enable you to take advantage of some of the Toradex specific enhancements.

Software Development Kits for all supported versions of Windows CE/Embedded Compact can be downloaded using the following links:

Installation of Toradex SDKs for Visual Studio

Please follow the step by step documentation below to install the Toradex SDKs. The documentation has been tested on Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit) with Visual Studio 2008.

Install Windows CE 5.0 SDK

  1. Make sure VS2008 is up to date and close it before starting the installation.
  2. Download the Toradex Windows CE 5.0 SDK.
  3. Run the command prompt as administrator (Right-click -> Run as administrator).
  4. Browse to the folder you downloaded the SDK and run installation by typing:
    msiexec /qb /i NAME_OF_THE_SDK.msi
  5. Select Custom Installation.
  6. We only need the ARM4I platform. So extend Embedded Visual C++ and set all platforms to Entire feature will be unavailable except the ARMV4I platform.
  7. Finish the installation process.

Install Windows CE 6.0 SDK

  1. Make sure VS2008 is up to date and close it before starting the installation.
  2. Download the Toradex Windows CE 6.0 SDK.
  3. Start the installation process.
  4. Finish Installation Process.

Install Windows Embedded Compact 7 SDK

  1. Install Windows Embedded Compact 7 specific updates for VS2008: [1], [2]
  2. Close VS2008 before start the installation.
  3. Download the Toradex Windows Embedded Compact 7 SDK.
  4. Run the installation process.

Install Windows Embedded Compact 2013 SDK

  1. Install Visual Studio 2012 or 2013 and make sure you have Application Builder for Windows Embedded Compact 2013 installed. You can get it here.
  2. Download the Toradex Windows Embedded Compact 2013 SDK.
  3. Run the installation process.

Updating from older SDKs

Older SDKs did not have unified names. With the following SDK version the new naming convention has been applied:

  • CE 5 SDK 6.0
  • CE 6 SDK 2.0
  • CE 7 SDK 2.0
  • CE 8 SDK 2.0

In case you want to migrate your project to one of the new SDKs, some renaming in the .sln and .vcproj files has to be done. Toradex provides a command line tool that does this job for you. Run the tool and provide the path to one of your projects as a parameter. You get the tool from here.

Installation issues

SDK not shown in Visual Studio

Some customers reported, that their SDK was not shown in Visual Studio after finalizing the installation process. Installing the SDK using user Administrator by command line as described for CE 5 SDK solved this issue. Try to uninstall the SDK and install it again by doing the following steps in such a case:

  1. Run the command prompt as administrator (Right-click -> Run as administrator).
  2. Browse to the folder you downloaded the SDK and run installation by typing:
    msiexec /qb /i NAME_OF_THE_SDK.msi

Windows CE 5.0 SDK on Windows 10

When installing on Windows 10 we noticed that some users have issues with SDK not showing inside Visual Studio. To fix this issue please check that files are located in installation directory usually: C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows CE Tools\wce500\Toradex_CE500\
Then locate file WCE.VCPlatform.config and add this entry.


<Platform
Name="VCProjectWCEPlatform.dll"
Identifier="{98DFB078-D20F-45D1-90C3-80AEB2FCE594}">
<Directories
Include="$(VCInstallDir)ce\include;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows CE Tools\wce500\Toradex_CE500\include\ARMV4I;C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows CE Tools\wce500\Toradex_CE500\include;$(VCInstallDir)ce\atlmfc\include;$(VSInstallDir)SmartDevices\SDK\SQL Server\Mobile\v3.0"
Library="C:\Program Files (x86)\Windows CE Tools\wce500\Toradex_CE500\lib\ARMV4I;$(VCInstallDir)ce\atlmfc\lib\ARMV4I;$(VCInstallDir)ce\lib\ARMV4I;"
Path="$(VCInstallDir)\ce\bin\x86_arm;$(VCInstallDir)bin;$(WindowsSdkDir)\bin;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\Tools;$(VSInstallDir)Common7\IDE;$(VSInstallDir)Common\Tools;$(VSInstallDir)Common\IDE;$(VSInstallDir);$(FrameworkSDKDir)Bin;$(PATH);"
Reference=""
Source=";$(VCInstallDir)ce\atlmfc\src\atl;$(VCInstallDir)ce\atlmfc\src\mfc;;$(VCInstallDir)ce\crt\src"/>
<PlatformData>
<PlatformName>Toradex_CE500 (ARMV4I)</PlatformName>
<SupportsDCOM>0</SupportsDCOM>
<OSMajorVersion>5</OSMajorVersion>
<OSMinorVersion>00</OSMinorVersion>
<UISymbol>STANDARDSHELL_UI_MODEL</UISymbol>
<Macros>
<Macro Name="CEVER" Value="0x500"/>
<Macro Name="ARCHFAM" Value="ARM"/>
<Macro Name="_ARCHFAM_" Value="_ARM_"/>
<Macro Name="INSTRUCTIONSET" Value="ARMV4I"/>
<Macro Name="BINDIR" Value="$(VCInstallDir)ce\dll"/>
</Macros>
</PlatformData>
</Platform>

If the installation path of your SDK is different. Also, change your path inside the pasted code.

Webinar On-Demand: Windows Embedded Compact advantage with Toradex COMs powered by Freescale i.MX 6

Application Development with Windows CE

Toradex CE Libraries and Code Samples

Tools and Utilities

All of this software is available for free if not stated differently. The table entries are encoded as follows:

f = full support
p = partial support

  • = no support
    N.A. = not available

Windows CE Tools

ToolDescriptionApalis iMX6Apalis T30Colibri T30Colibri T20Colibri iMX6Colibri VFxxPXA3xxPXA 270Colibri iMX7
AC97TweakConfigures some special audio codec features which are not accessible through the common wave API. Audio input settings: source left/right, micboost, gain left/right, DC filter, High pass, mute.
Audio output settings: gain left/right, bass, treble, de-emphasis, headphone driver, mute.
Audio test features
-ppp--ff-
ColibriCustomizeCustomization possibility of the Colibri Win CE image. Automatically configures the registry for your own settings (Using .reg file).------ff-
ColibriDbgMsgLoggerDisplays all debug messages from RAM buffer.fffffffff
ColibriMonitorShows the usage of the CPU/RAM, processes/threads running, thread priority and has setting functionalities.ffffffff-
ColibriTweakAdjusts system parameters like display settings, access registers, etc. of the Colibri module.-ppp--ff-
ConfigBlockEditorEdit settings stored in the config block.fffffffff
GPIOConfigProvides an interactive interface to the versatile GPIOs of the Colibri modules.-fff-pff-
RegAccessToolRead from and Write to physical addresses (registers, etc.) in 8bit/16bit/32bit format (Formerly part of Colibri Tweak tool).-fff-fppp
I2CToolTool to Read/Write on I2C.ffffff---
SplashScreen Changes the picture which you can see while WinCE is booting. Now integrated in to the Update Tool.-fff--ff-
TouchTweakAdjusts the touch screen driver to your touch screen if required.------ff-
ImageViewer (a)Provides basic functionality to display a single image or a slideshow.pppfppffp
Launcher (a)Automatically runs any .exe or .Ink file found in an AutoRun folder or copies files in a folder AutoCopy folder on each storage medium.ffffffffp
RTCSync (a)Synchronizes the system time with the RTC chip on I2C.ffffffff-
UpdateTool (a)Updates the WinCE Image and bootloader, warmboot or coldboot, etc, part of the standard image.-ppp--ff-
VideoPlayer (a)included in standard WinCE image.-fff-----

NOTE:

  • (a) Already included in the image.

See here for more information on our Windows CE features.

Download Here

PC Tools

ToolDescriptionPrice (Support Hours)
Colibri LoaderLoads bootloader over JTAG (only for Colibri PXAxxx modules), load Images over EthernetFree
RemoteDisplayControls the Colibri module by a desktop PC (keyboard, mouse, display, file transfer) using a connection through ActiveSync (USB) or Ethernet.Free
CreateTBinThis Windows program converts an OS binary file into a format that works with the Toradex Tool Chain.Free
Splash Screen CustomizerCreates a customized splashscreen which can be shown while Windows CE is booting.4
Win CE Image CompressorReduces the size of the Windows CE Image to about 50%. This leaves more flash space for user applications or the flash file system.5

WEC License and EULA



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