msr

Move Register to Special Register (Thumb)

MSR <spec_reg>, <Rn>

Write special register (Thumb).

Details

Move Register to Special Register writes the value from the general-purpose register Rn to the system register specified by spec_reg. In T32/Thumb, this is a 32-bit instruction used to modify APSR, IPSR, EPSR, or other banked registers. The instruction may update condition flags (N, Z, C, V) if the target is APSR; otherwise, flags remain unaffected based on the register written.

Pseudocode Operation

WriteSystemReg(spec_reg, Rn)

Example

MSR nzcv, r1

Encoding

Binary Layout
cond
00010
R
1
0
mask
1111
0
0
0
0
0000
Rn
 
Format Thumb System
Opcode 0x0120F000
Extension A32 (System)

Operands

  • spec_reg
    Reg
  • Rn
    First source / base general-purpose register

Reference (Arm AArch32 ISA)

Instruction Forms

Encoding Instruction ISA Bit pattern
0x0120F200 MSR{<c>}{<q>} <banked_reg>, <Rn> A32 cond | 00010 | R | 1 | 0 | M1 | 1111 | 0 | 0 | 1 | M | 0000 | Rn
0xF3808020 MSR{<c>}{<q>} <banked_reg>, <Rn> T32 11110011100 | R | Rn | 10 | 0 | 0 | M1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | M | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0
0x0320F000 MSR{<c>}{<q>} <spec_reg>, #<imm> A32 cond | 00110 | R | 10 | mask | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | imm12
0x0120F000 MSR{<c>}{<q>} <spec_reg>, <Rn> A32 cond | 00010 | R | 1 | 0 | mask | 1111 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0000 | Rn
0xF3808000 MSR{<c>}{<q>} <spec_reg>, <Rn> T32 11110011100 | R | Rn | 10 | 0 | 0 | mask | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0

Description

Move general-purpose register to Special register moves selected bits of a general-purpose register to the APSR, CPSR or SPSR_<current_mode>. Because of the Do-Not-Modify nature of its reserved bits, a read-modify-write sequence is normally required when the MSR instruction is being used at Application level and its destination is not APSR_nzcvq (CPSR_f). If an MSR (register) moves selected bits of an immediate value to the CPSR, the PE checks whether the value being written to PSTATE.M is legal. See Illegal changes to PSTATE.M. An MSR (register) executed in User mode: An MSR (register) executed in System mode is unpredictable if it attempts to update the SPSR. The CPSR.E bit is writable from any mode using an MSR instruction. Arm deprecates using this to change its value.

Operation

if ConditionPassed() then
    EncodingSpecificOperations();
    if write_spsr then
        if PSTATE.M IN {M32_User,M32_System} then
            UNPREDICTABLE;
        else
            SPSRWriteByInstr(R[n], mask);
    else
        // Attempts to change to an illegal mode will invoke the Illegal Execution state mechanism
        CPSRWriteByInstr(R[n], mask);