diff --git a/tcl/target/pxa255.cfg b/tcl/target/pxa255.cfg
index 7137621a43c87de0ed2daf7ac756286e65d1d26f..44efdaa4b9987f9d2abafae5eace0a20104fafc8 100644
--- a/tcl/target/pxa255.cfg
+++ b/tcl/target/pxa255.cfg
@@ -31,6 +31,10 @@ target create $_TARGETNAME xscale -endian $_ENDIAN \
 jtag_khz 300
 $_TARGETNAME configure -event "reset-start" { jtag_khz 300 }
 
+# both TRST and SRST are *required* for debug
+# DCSR is often accessed with SRST active
+reset_config trst_and_srst separate srst_nogate
+
 # reset processing that works with PXA
 proc init_reset {mode} {
 	# assert both resets; equivalent to power-on reset