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Whats the use of System memory & flash memory

Sprak.11
Associate II

Please any one help how to differentiate the system memory & flash memory in STM32MCUs,

Whats the use of the both memory?

Where we need to store the user code & where we need to store the customized setting?

How to store FAT(File Allocation Table)?

How we get the EEPROM in STM32MCUs, through which Emulating Software?

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions

System memory is read-only (ROM), containing the default bootloader and calibration values etc.

You store code in FLASH.

You can store some user data in FLASH, but note that unless you have on of the dual-bank STM32 models, program execution from FLASH waits while any other part of FLASH is being erased/programmed. Some STM32 models have a dedicated EEPROM area in FLASH, which can be erased in small pieces, in contrast to normal FLASH which is erased in relatively large chunks.

FAT is one particular file system, in most cases it's not appropriate to run a file system in the internal FLASH.

JW

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2 REPLIES 2

System memory is read-only (ROM), containing the default bootloader and calibration values etc.

You store code in FLASH.

You can store some user data in FLASH, but note that unless you have on of the dual-bank STM32 models, program execution from FLASH waits while any other part of FLASH is being erased/programmed. Some STM32 models have a dedicated EEPROM area in FLASH, which can be erased in small pieces, in contrast to normal FLASH which is erased in relatively large chunks.

FAT is one particular file system, in most cases it's not appropriate to run a file system in the internal FLASH.

JW

berendi
Principal

Flash organization depends on the MCU series and sometimes on the exact part number. It is documented in the reference manual.

Mind the erase and write timings and the supported number of erase cycles in the datasheet. Also note that program execution might be stopped for an extended duration (up to a couple of seconds on some models) even when using EEPROM emulation. This applies to MCUs with internal EEPROM too, because that's just as well an emulation, in hardware.