PBO Bootcode Update (TFTPD/LAN Free) Under $6 and Under 666 Seconds

[aasoror]

I. Materials (under $6):

4 dupont wires TPK pin header (get 20 for $2.5 here (http://shop.ebay.ca/?_from=R40&_trksid=m570&_nkw=TPK+wire)), or use a 4 pin CD/DVD audio cable (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=23752&postcount=164).
Nokia CA-42 USB Data cable (get one for $2.68 here (http://shop.ebay.com/i.html?_trkparms=65%253A12%257C66%253A4%257C39%253 A1%257C72%253A3030&_nkw=nokia+ca+42&_dmpt=PDA_Accessories&_ipg=200&_sticky=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_sop=15&_sc=1))
Wire stripper
Electric tape

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8057/p1010139e.th.jpg (http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8057/p1010139e.jpg)


II. Serial Cable Preparation (under 4 minutes):

cut the CA-43 cable and strip the part of it.
strip the wires inside the cable (depending on the specific cable manufacturer you might find different arrangement than the one below)
The most straight forward way is to use continuity test on the cut connector (check the pic here (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/w/images/thumb/8/8f/CA-42_DKU-5_pinout.jpg/619px-CA-42_DKU-5_pinout.jpg) for pin assignment) else try the procedure listed at the end of this post.
The wires are color coded as the following:


BLACK --> GROUND
RED --> VCC
WHITE --> TXD
GREEN --> RXD
http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3539/nokiacableassignment.th.jpg (http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/3539/nokiacableassignment.jpg)

strip the dupont wires
twist together (use typical soldering knots or solder them if possible)
cover with electric tape

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2471/p1010142z.th.jpg (http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/2471/p1010142z.jpg)


III. Hock up (under 2 minutes)

Download and install the cable drivers from here (http://www.prolific.com.tw/support/files/%5CIO%20Cable%5CPL-2303%5CDrivers%20-%20Generic%5CWindows%5Cwd_pl2303h-hx-x_v20019v2021.zip) (Nokia drivers wont work), get Win7 compatible drivers from here (http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=203&d=1272524620) (thank you tskitishvili (http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20031&postcount=53)).
Insert the cable and use the device manager to set the COM port parameters as follows (115200,8,N,1,N)

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9428/htpbosettings.th.jpg (http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9428/htpbosettings.jpg)

open up the PBO (make sure back switch is turned off), connect the serial port pins to the matching wires as indicated earlier.

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/6900/serialpbo.th.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/6900/serialpbo.jpg)


IV. Bootcode update (under 5 minutes)

Get the bootcode file you want from here (http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3683).
Open MS Hyper Terminal (or get it from here (http://digitizor.com/downloads/apps/hyperterminal.zip) or the get the one extracted from my XP pro machine from here (http://www.2shared.com/file/12651757/4a96efa9/hyper_terminal.html))
Create a new connection with the same setting as the serial cable COM port settings (115200,8,N,1,N).
connection should now be open (with a time counter at the status bar)
holding the Esc key switch the PBO on
You should now be connected to the Realtek Rom Monitor

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3865/pboht1.th.jpg (http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3865/pboht1.jpg)

Type the following command at the prompt to load the bootcode file (press Enter when done)


load -b asc://tty0 0x80100000

When you get the message to dump the file, transfer the bootcode bin file to the PBO using the Ymodem-G protocol (from the Transfer menu)

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/4568/htpboload.th.jpg (http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/4568/htpboload.jpg)

Wait till the transfer is complete and window disappears, press OK at the message box that follows.
Next execute the bootcode by typing the following command at the prompt (press Enter when done)


go 0x80100000

Wait until code is executed and you are back the Realtek prompt.
Turn off the PBO
close Hyper Terminal (remember to save the created connection)
unhock the serial cable from the PBO then from your PC
close the PBO, hock back to your TV, check the bootcode version, you should see .18


Viola .. total cost under $6 .. total time under 666 seconds


Side notes:

You can similarly reload corrupted video / audio drivers (http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showpost.php?p=15266&postcount=1) without TFTPD:

load -b asc://tty0 0x81b00000
and transfer the bluecore.audio (extracted from the firmware image) using the Ymodem-G protocol
then

load -b asc://tty0 0x81d80000
and transfer the video_firmware.bin (extracted from the firmware image) using the Ymodem-G protocol.

Also if you need to clear a corrupted firmware image (unbricking without bootcode update)

erase -m
then proceed with the FAT32 USB firmware recovery procedure (http://www.patriotmemory.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17862&postcount=4).

If you happened to get a 3 wire cable that you don't know the proper wire assignment to .. you can try this

you can try a simple test that wont break anything (you can only do this because you got 3 wires so the cable is USB powered).

Twist the naked green and white wires together, connect to the cable, run the HT, setup the connection as described in the OP, once you get the connection to open .. type anything at the prompt, if the white/green are indeed the txd/rxd then you should see whatever you type echoed back to you.
If one of them is ground then you should see nothing (tx/gnd) or trash (rx/gnd), so try green/yellow then white/yellow.

Once you determine the ground (by elimination), proceed with the connection to the PBO, even if rxd/txd are inverted this wont harm the PBO, you wont be able to send anything to the box and you will just see the startup sequence on the HT screen (because you will not be able to interrupt it with the escape key), just switch those wires and you should be done.



Disclaimer:

Perform at your own risk, you might end up bricking your box and voiding your warranty.

Acknowledgments:

Mickez for reminding me about the cheap phone cables
The Globule and the anonymous guy from O!Play hack forum for getting me inside the Realtek Rom Monitor
Outatouch0 for motivating me to get this done this century
Google .. for pretty much everything else :)


Resources:

Use a Nokia Serial Cable on an ARM9 Linkstation (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Use_a_Nokia_Serial_Cable_on_an_ARM9_Linkstation)
Use a cheap phone sync cable with the serial port (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Use_a_cheap_phone_sync_cable_with_the_serial_port)
How to install Windows XP HyperTerminal client on Windows 7 or Vista for Free (http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/how-to-install-windows-xp-hyperterminal-client-on-windows-7-or-vista-for-free/)


Its OK to rate this thread ;)

Various reports about the wire color codes of the CA-42:

BargainCell via Amazon, ... Green is ground, TXD is white and RXD is yellow.

Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M8WA2G/ref=oss_product), Red --> TX, Green --> RX, Black --> GND, White --> (not used)



Ark Pioneer Microelectronics Ltd., with 6 wires. White (GND), yellow (TX) and blue (RX). (Black, Red and Green UNUSED)


My cable is CA-42, VCC+ - Red, RX - Blue, TX - white, GND - black

I bought a Chinese eBay CA-42 cable, Blue - GND, Green - TX, White - RX

my cable is an eBay CA-42. Blue --> Rx, Red --> Tx, Orange --> GND

I've got a 3 wire CA-42 cable which is based on the Prolific PL-2303 chip. BLUE = GND, WHITE = Rx, YELLOW = Tx

My DKU cable setup BLUE = GND, WHITE = Tx, YELLOW = Rx

My CA-42 cable has:gnd = orange,tx = blue,rx = red

yellow: not in use, red: VCC, black: GND, blue: Rx, white: Tx

Black = Grnd, Green = Vcc, Blue=Tx, White=Rx, Orange=not use.

(Compatible Win7 driver) (http://www.prolific.com.tw/support/files//IO%20Cable/PL-2303/Drivers%20-%20Generic/Windows/allinone/PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v130.zip)

[wigout]

Well done aasoror.
That's showing that pbo who's boss.
It'll boot up the bootcode you tell it to boot up or else.
(or else you'll get an o!play)
-wigout

[outatouch0]

Thanks for the above - I think we all encourage and motivate each other.
Step IV is taking me a little bit more than 6 min lol - not so easy for neophytes to networking though I do enjoy the learning despite the occasional frustration.

[aasoror]

It'll boot up the bootcode you tell it to boot up or else.
(or else you'll get an o!play)
-wigout
The way things are going now, it seems that it will be getting an O!Play firmware update whether or not it decided to cooperate on the bootcode update :)


Step IV is taking me a little bit more than 6 min lol - not so easy for neophytes to networking
Thats exactly the reason step IV shouldn't take much time now, there is no more networking involved ;)

[Toolman]

Great post! thanks for the info. I ordered the parts and will give this a try.

[watcher]

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:D:D:D
you get all the stars on this one!
;)

[visionlogic]

Thanks aasoror! :) Just ordered the supply of chinesium & will give it a shot.

[snappy46]

Outatouch0 for motivating me to get this done this century


I hope that getting this done this century did not interfere with your high paying 24/7 job here on this forum. Maybe that's the reason I was able to help a few people here before you had time to jump in first? :D

Well Done step by step tutorial.

[The Globule]

I don't like this method... :mad:

Just kidding! :p

Great job on this post aasoror :cool:

[jamaroney]

Looks tempting!

But, remind me, please - what are the advantages of the newer bootcode? I seem to have no issues with my present bootcode - should I simply leave well enough alone?

[aasoror]

Looks tempting!

But, remind me, please - what are the advantages of the newer bootcode? I seem to have no issues with my present bootcode - should I simply leave well enough alone?

specifically old bootcode was related to the 650GB, 1TB HDD incompatibility, and slower spinning fans (I can confirm that my fan is still spinning at the 12v after the update :( )
More importantly if you into firmware cross-flashing then you are more likely to need this to unbrick your PBO *just in case*

[outatouch0]

Looks tempting!

But, remind me, please - what are the advantages of the newer bootcode? I seem to have no issues with my present bootcode - should I simply leave well enough alone?

Definitely something you need to consider. For me, I am certainly fixing something that isn't broken (yet). My thinking is I would like to get some practice so I know how to do it. This way I can learn it at my leisure and still have use of my PBO. That way when the new P05 firmware update comes out in 2015 I will be prepared in case I brick it.

[Monkey]

Job well done!

Just a quick question, the serial port on PBO side it is 5V TTL level or 3.3V signal?

Thx!

[aasoror]

Job well done!

Just a quick question, the serial port on PBO side it is 5V TTL level or 3.3V signal?

Thx!

3.3V output, so the PBO is powering the nokia cable in this setup.

[tskitishvili]

Hello aasoror,

Your instructions are great. Since in the poll you offer a choice "Only as an unbricking attempt", maybe it make sense embed unbricking instructions right into section IV so that readers would not need to follow the links to find that info. BTW. I have ordered the cable :)

[cableman2288]

Guys,

Since I had already ordered this cable (yet to be delivered): http://cgi.ebay.com/FTDI-USB-To-RS232-TTL-Converter-FT232-FT232RL-3-3V_W0QQitemZ360224079446QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_Defa ultDomain_0?hash=item53df073e56 before I saw this post, could someone please tell me if it will do the same thing (provided I use the appropriate USB/Serial drivers)?

Thanks for the info and great screenshots aasoror!!

[aasoror]

could someone please tell me if it will do the same thing (provided I use the appropriate USB/Serial drivers)?


Yup, its the very same thing.


maybe it make sense embed unbricking instructions right into section IV so that readers would not need to follow the links to find that info.

Done, (on the side notes section)

[outatouch0]

II. Serial Cable Preparation (under 4 minutes):

cut the CA-43 cable and strip the part of it.
strip the wires inside the cable (depending on the specific cable manufacturer you might find different arrangement than the one below)
The wires are color coded as the following:


BLACK --> GROUND
RED --> VCC
WHITE --> TXD
GREEN --> RXD


The pins are marked on both the device and the PBO and it is easy to connect with a four pins cable (I had to remove the ground pin from the connector to match the lay out of the device pins):

3.3V to 3.3V
Gnd to Gnd
TXD to RX
RXD to TX



Notice that depending on your converter you might need to:
- not connect 3.3V pint (if the converter is USB powered)
- swap RX and TX if the above mapping doesnt work (depending on how the converter defines the TXD and RXD, usually there is not enough documentation that comes with the converter)

I tried all of the above configurations. I do not get the Light on the front to light up, indicating connection, without the 3.3V connected to the VCC pin on the PBO.
The light does come on for TXD to RX & RXD to TX as well as TXD to TX and RXD to RX. Since I have the same USB/TTL as Globule mine should connect the same way as he indicated. I mention this just to let you know I tried this as a troubleshooter already and same effect both ways.




IV. Bootcode update (under 5 minutes)

Open MS Hyper Terminal (or get it from here (http://digitizor.com/downloads/apps/hyperterminal.zip))
Create a new connection with the same setting as the serial cable COM port settings (115200,8,N,1,N).
connection should now be open (with a time counter at the status bar)

At first hyperterminal would go "(not responding)" in 4 seconds. Then I figured out this is not a Vista program and set it to run in compatibility mode (WinXP) under properties. I seemed to have success with that as the timer would continue past 4 sec. and appear not to lock up...



holding the Esc key switch the PBO on
You should now be connected to the Realtek Rom Monitor



Here is where it breaks down for me. I do not get the Realtek Rom Monitor. I really don't get anything. Globule's way came up instantly for me. (Had other issues though via his method so I tried this one).
How long should it take for it to come up with this method?
Also I notice the "file" "edit" "transfer" menus do not respond to the mouse.
Is there anything I should be doing with hyperterminal? I have it in a folder, within my downloads folder. Does it need to be in system 32 folder?




Type the following command at the prompt to load the bootcode file (press Enter when done)


load -b asc://tty0 0x80100000

Are we renaming the bootcode file here as per Globule's method?
How does the above command know how to find the file on my computer?
Any special place we need to put the bootcode file or will it have me browse to it?

[wigout]

When I had trouble getting the realtek rom monitor to respond to the esc button, it was because of the "flow control" setting. Once I set if to "no" or "off", the esc button was recognized.

[cableman2288]

Yup, its the very same thing.

Thanks!!

I bricked my PBO with Xtreamer firmware. Had the AC Ryan/PlayOn F/W working (with YAMJ), but couldn't leave well enough alone. Any progress on why the Harmony remote won't control it (with Xtreamer F/W)? I can see the language selection screen, but can't move past it. Also, is the no vertical sync because the box defaults to PAL output?

BTW, I left the box running (with Xtreamer F/W) for a while and noticed (through the rolling) that it had went to screen saver. When I shot it with the Harmony, it brought it out of screen saver... :confused:

[outatouch0]

When I had trouble getting the realtek rom monitor to respond to the esc button, it was because of the "flow control" setting. Once I set if to "no" or "off", the esc button was recognized.

Thanks Wig
I will double check the setting but I am pretty sure I had it set correctly. Maybe it returned to default on me with one of my wire switches or something.

[wigout]

Thanks!!

I bricked my PBO with Xtreamer firmware. I can see the language selection screen, but can't move past it. Also, is the no vertical sync because the box defaults to PAL output?

If you have your serial cable you can recover from that easy- but it sounds like you don't.

Do you have telnet access stil?

If yes try this:
get a fat32 usb with your pbo firmware image on it at root. Plug it in.
telnet in.
then

kill -6 1That will tell the system (in a roundabout way) to look for a firmware update (on the usb or at an internet address) for a flash image and start to update.
I can verify this will work on a pbo running a pbo firmware- but you've got the xtreamer on there so:

An alternative "internet" based approach is outlined here:
http://minimodding.com/SystemRescue#comments
h t t p://minimodding.com/SystemRescue#comments
(You shouldn't need the rescue bat file, because you're not looping, though running the /usr/bin/stopall at step 3 would probably be good)

Anyway, in the mean time perhaps you'll get your logitech to work with the xtreamer firrmware.

-wigout

[aasoror]

Here is where it breaks down for me. I do not get the Realtek Rom Monitor. I really don't get anything. Globule's way came up instantly for me. (Had other issues though via his method so I tried this one).
How long should it take for it to come up with this method?

Instantaneously, you might want to decrease the speed of the port to 57600 (in both device manager and the HT connection settings), there is also buffering settings that you can play with to increase port stability (from the device manager)


Also I notice the "file" "edit" "transfer" menus do not respond to the mouse.
Is there anything I should be doing with hyperterminal? I have it in a folder, within my downloads folder. Does it need to be in system 32 folder?

Nope there is nothing more, if its instability issue with HT and you got Globule solution work (i.e. putty) then just check how to use the Ymodem-G protocol to send a file with putty and use the same "load command" mentioned here.


Are we renaming the bootcode file here as per Globule's method?

nope we aren't, we are choosing it regardless of the name, I am guessing also that Globule's method didn't mandate renaming, it was more of a convenience because the file name is included in the command (the longer it is the more you have to type).

How does the above command know how to find the file on my computer?

The "load command" doesn't know about the file, it just tells the PBO to get ready to receive a file and tell it also where to place it.
The "transfer -> send file" is the one responsible for sending the file.

Any special place we need to put the bootcode file or will it have me browse to it?
nope, you will be get to browse for it.

[aasoror]

I bricked my PBO with Xtreamer firmware.


You might want to try rebooting with a firmware as outlined here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17862&postcount=4), the bootcode is responsible for the emergency recovery and should pickup the image regardless of the firmware installed.



BTW, I left the box running (with Xtreamer F/W) for a while and noticed (through the rolling) that it had went to screen saver. When I shot it with the Harmony, it brought it out of screen saver... :confused:
It beats me too, 2.1.something was last hacked firmware to work with harmony remote, on the other hand the harmony remotes are still working fine with the latest Xtreamer firmware on the Xtreamer hardware ?! my only guess that they have implemented some kind of hardware checking before executing the IR commands (thats might explain that the screen saver thing .. which means that the firmware is actually receiving signal from the remote)

[foxeye]

Great Thread!
Sticky Please.

[hzor]

Thanks for great thread.

I have an old nokia cable, but he has only 3 wires out, there is no 3.3v wire. If do not connect the 3.3v port on the PBO, will it work in the same way, or something needs to be changed in workflow?

[outatouch0]

Instantaneously, you might want to decrease the speed of the port to 57600 (in both device manager and the HT connection settings), there is also buffering settings that you can play with to increase port stability (from the device manager)

Nope there is nothing more, if its instability issue with HT and you got Globule solution work (i.e. putty) then just check how to use the Ymodem-G protocol to send a file with putty and use the same "load command" mentioned here.

nope we aren't, we are choosing it regardless of the name, I am guessing also that Globule's method didn't mandate renaming, it was more of a convenience because the file name is included in the command (the longer it is the more you have to type).

The "load command" doesn't know about the file, it just tells the PBO to get ready to receive a file and tell it also where to place it.
The "transfer -> send file" is the one responsible for sending the file.

nope, you will be get to browse for it.

Thanks for your replies.
Was thinking doing it with putty in a similar/same way you described was the next step but it was late and I was too tired. Tired thus probably missing something right in front of me in the first place anyway. Will try again today :)

[outatouch0]

[/LIST]
Type the following command at the prompt to load the bootcode file (press Enter when done)
[/LIST]

load -b asc://tty0 0x80100000

When you get the message to dump the file, transfer the bootcode bin file to the PBO using the Ymodem-G protocol (from the Transfer menu)

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4568/htpboload.th.jpg (http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/4568/htpboload.jpg)


Ok I have got to the point of entering the load command into Putty

load -b asc://tty0 0x80100000
But now all I get is CCCCCCCCCCCCC like you have in your picture above but no message to dump/transfer. I have 15+ lines of "CCCCCCCC..." and still going.
At this point I am guessing it is not going to work?
Oh well never simple for me lol :rolleyes:

Hopefully stopping this does not brick my PBO - fingers crossed

[aasoror]

Thanks for great thread.

I have an old nokia cable, but he has only 3 wires out, there is no 3.3v wire. If do not connect the 3.3v port on the PBO, will it work in the same way, or something needs to be changed in workflow?

It will work in the same way, you just need to check the proper wire assignment, and no need to connect VCC. (check this section (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Use_a_Nokia_Serial_Cable_on_an_ARM9_Linkstation#De termining_the_wiring_assignment_of_your_cable) that talks about 3 wire CA-42)

Just notice that there is only two nokia cables that have serial usb connections (DKU-5 and CA-42) and other nokia cable wont work.


Ok I have got to the point of entering the load command into Putty

load -b asc://tty0 0x80100000
But now all I get is CCCCCCCCCCCCC like you have in your picture above but no message to dump/transfer. I have 15+ lines of "CCCCCCCC..." and still going.
At this point I am guessing it is not going to work?
Oh well never simple for me lol :rolleyes:

Hopefully stopping this does not brick my PBO - fingers crossed

The "CCCCCC..." means the PBO is just waiting for your file, thats what I meant by checking how to send file with the Ymodem-G protocol using putty. This is the step you are now missing.

Nope I don't think this will brick your PBO because you haven't sent anything to it.

[outatouch0]

you might want to decrease the speed of the port to 57600 (in both device manager and the HT connection settings)

Whew... Just tried that and thought I bricked it...
redid at 115200 and the realtek monitor came up again... 2 lines of CCCC's now and counting...

[aasoror]

Whew... Just tried that and thought I bricked it...
redid at 115200 and the realtek monitor came up again... 2 lines of CCCC's now and counting...

on the HT ?! or on putty ?!

[outatouch0]

The "CCCCCC..." means the PBO is just waiting for your file, thats what I meant by checking how to send file with the Ymodem-G protocol using putty. This is the step you are now missing.


LMAO - I was waiting for a prompt...
tried a google of putty and Ymodem-G but only turned up download pages for putty. Was hoping for a prompt with options... hehehe silly NOOBE !!

[outatouch0]

re: decrease the speed of the port to 57600 in putty


on the HT ?! or on putty ?!

Putty, HT just sits there and doesn't seem to let me do anything.

[aasoror]

Putty, HT just sits there and doesn't seem to let me do anything.

too bad I don't have putty to check it, but there should be a "file transfer" menu somewhere :o

[outatouch0]

too bad I don't have putty to check it, but there should be a "file transfer" menu somewhere :o

no menu buttons, just a command prompt. Probably have to do some commands for the type of file transfer before the load command.
Looks like I have deeper googling to do on this one. Of course at this point it would be faster to go Globule's route but why stop now when I am having so much fun!?

[aasoror]

Putty, HT just sits there and doesn't seem to let me do anything.

I have uploaded my own XP Pro HT version (http://www.2shared.com/file/12651757/4a96efa9/hyper_terminal.html) (you might have better luck with it), the 3 files was from "C:\Program Files\Windows NT" (might want to put it in the same folder if possible)

Edit: checking the file versions it seems the one I listed on the main thread is actually newer 5.1.2600.2180 as opposed to my version 5.1.2600.0, but at least its a different one ..

[outatouch0]

I have uploaded my own XP Pro HT version (http://www.2shared.com/file/12651757/4a96efa9/hyper_terminal.html) (you might have better luck with it), the 3 files was from "C:\Program Files\Windows NT" (might want to put it in the same folder if possible)

Edit: checking the file versions it seems the one I listed on the main thread is actually newer 5.1.2600.2180 as opposed to my version 5.1.2600.0, but at least its a different one ..

Okay, will give this one a try later - have some other things to get done today. BTW, are you running HT in compatability mode on your Win7? If so, what OS are you selecting it to run under?

Not really finding much on the serial file transfer for putty. Maybe it is not primarily designed to do that? IDK

[aasoror]

BTW, are you running HT in compatability mode on your Win7?

Nope I am running it from my last standing XP laptop.

[outatouch0]

Thanks aasoror,
I finally got it to work via the other method (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3060)
I think your suggestion to turn down the buffering (advanced tab) to improve the connection was what did the trick for me. Once I did that it worked just fine.
Went back and tried the HyperTerminal to see if the slower buffering would make it work but it seems my Vista does not want to play with HT.

Perhaps someone more versed in Putty can explain how your method can be done via your method. Advantage being less unhooking of wires and changing network settings. Either way it is pretty easy now that I have it figured out for my system.

[aasoror]

Thanks aasoror,
I finally got it to work via the other method (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3060)
I think your suggestion to turn down the buffering (advanced tab) to improve the connection was what did the trick for me. Once I did that it worked just fine.


great .. whatever your PC feels like doing .. as long as it eventually gets the job done ..
ENJOY your updated PBO ;)

[aasoror]

I have been looking around and it seems putty is missing x/y/z modem protocols for file transfer (http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/wishlist/zmodem.html).

Here is couple of alternatives :

Le Putty (http://leputty.sourceforge.net/) (putty port with Zmodem)
Tera Term Pro (http://hp.vector.co.jp/authors/VA002416/teraterm.html) (X/Z modem)
Tera Term Pro Web (http://www.ayera.com/teraterm/) (more recent port of Tera Term .. didn't find any info about serial connection for this one, not sure if they have dropped it)

[cableman2288]

Sorry about the delay in replying:


If you have your serial cable you can recover from that easy- but it sounds like you don't.

Cable still en route, hopefully sometime early this week.


Do you have telnet access still?

It won't let me telnet in "Could not open the connection to the host, on port 23: Connect failed" unless I'm not doing it right. Using 192.168.0.9 as IP and getting replies from ping.


You might want to try rebooting with a firmware as outlined here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17862&postcount=4), the bootcode is responsible for the emergency recovery and should pickup the image regardless of the firmware installed.

Tried this several times, but it only reads the USB stick for a moment. Maybe it is not working since the box thinks it is booting up properly (albeit with Xtreamer F/W) and not in an emergency recovery mode?

Also, about the nonfunctioning Harmony; when I get my USB/Serial cable, will the keyboard hack http://minimodding.com/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=1596&forumId=5 control the PBO while running the Xtreamer F/W?

[aasoror]

Also, about the nonfunctioning Harmony; when I get my USB/Serial cable, will the keyboard hack http://minimodding.com/tiki-view_forum_thread.php?comments_parentId=1596&forumId=5 control the PBO while running the Xtreamer F/W?

Nope no luck with that either, and that doesn't go through the serial cable, you need telnet running for that to work.

[cableman2288]

Nope no luck with that either, and that doesn't go through the serial cable, you need telnet running for that to work.

Lovely... more fun than humans should be allowed :D

Thanks!

[The Globule]

Just so you all know, transfering files through a serial TTL cable on many little devices like the PBO is a known issue. :p

The longer the serial cable and the more problem you will have so keep that in mind when selecting or making your cable. ;)

From what I remember reading a while back, this problem comes from the 50Hz signal leaking from the PBO power supply. Powering the PBO from a 12 Volt lab power supply or battery should solve the problem. :)

I did not have any transfert problem by connecting the PBO directly to my computer with a straight Ethernet cable and the transfert is much faster as well. :rolleyes:

The solution is not as elegant as one using only the TTL port but it is solid. :cool:

[aasoror]

Just so you all know, transfering files through a serial TTL cable on many little devices like the PBO is a known issue. :p


Good info Globule, I am just wondering if this problematic behavior has been reported for the PBO, if it leakage as then lot of factors would come to play, like the location to the power supply relative to the TTL port (right?) so what might hold for similar devices might not necessarily hold for the PBO.

Any way I guess I was lucky -twice- then (wouldn't have been nice corrupting the bootload code in the PBO memory), that said, I didn't have any problems whatsoever using the above steps and transferring the bootcode file took around 3 minutes.

Once more I am re-quoting the disclaimer (as Globule pointed .. there might be stability issues with the TTL transferring files .. I didn't experience that and no one has tried this method yet to report .. but there is always a first)


Disclaimer:

Perform at your own risk, you might end up bricking your box and voiding your warranty.

[The Globule]

When the problem exists, the 50Hz just leaks through the power supply and is not linked to the location of the power supply itself.
I don't know if the PBO is actually affected but other similar devices are.
From what I read, people solved the issue with the use of a battery to power their device.

[outatouch0]

Any way I guess I was lucky -twice- then (wouldn't have been nice corrupting the bootload code in the PBO memory), that said, I didn't have any problems whatsoever using the above steps and transferring the bootcode file took around 3 minutes.


FWIW - the bootcode file transfer via Ethernet cable (The Globule's method) took about 30 seconds once I was finally able to do it.

[wigout]

It won't let me telnet in "Could not open the connection to the host, on port 23: Connect failed" unless I'm not doing it right. Using 192.168.0.9 as IP and getting replies from ping.

Well, since you've flashed it with the xtreamer firmware perhaps the trick to get telnet outlined in this link will help (I'd guess you should use a usb stick OR hook it up to your desktop by usb cable and drag the files over):

http://forum.xtreamer.net/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=4914
h t t p://forum.xtreamer.net/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=4914

Of course, it would be just your luck that even web access is limited by some deeper gui menu option.... that you can't get to without a working remote setup. Or telnet.

Anyway, give it a shot while you wait on that cable.

-wigout

[cableman2288]

Well, since you've flashed it with the xtreamer firmware perhaps the trick to get telnet outlined in this link will help (I'd guess you should use a usb stick OR hook it up to your desktop by usb cable and drag the files over):

http://forum.xtreamer.net/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=4914
h t t p://forum.xtreamer.net/viewtopic.php?f=38&t=4914

Of course, it would be just your luck that even web access is limited by some deeper gui menu option.... that you can't get to without a working remote setup. Or telnet.

Anyway, give it a shot while you wait on that cable.

-wigout

Just as you predicted, no joy...

Guess I'll wait on the cable... now there's a thought: the "cableman" waiting on (a) cable... hmmmm :eek:

[tskitishvili]

I got the suggested CA-42 cable and followed aasoror instructions. To connect with PBO port I used the standard computer 4 pin sound cable which perfectly matches PBO port.


Download and install the cable drivers from here (http://www.prolific.com.tw/support/files/%5CIO%20Cable%5CPL-2303%5CDrivers%20-%20Generic%5CWindows%5Cwd_pl2303h-hx-x_v20019v2021.zip) (Nokia drivers wont work).


These drivers didn't work on my Window 7 64bit. I have downloaded others and installed them manually. I do not recall where I got them, but google has plenty of links to prolific drivers.

After that I have connected to PBO using hyper terminal. Now I am not afraid to experiment with core linux system installed in my PBO. Thank you aasoror !

[aasoror]

I got the suggested CA-42 cable and followed aasoror instructions. The computer sound cable worked great for connecting PBO ports.



These drivers didn't work on my Window 7 64bit. I have downloaded others and installed them manually. I do not recall where I got them, but google has plenty of links to prolific drivers.

After that I have connected to PBO using hyper terminal. Now I am not afraid to experiment with core linux system installed in my PBO. Thank you aasoror !

You are always welcomed tskitishvili, it would be great if you can post the Win7 drivers (the latest XP from prolific didn't work on my XP machine), a link would be great, an upload to rapid share would be even better ;)

btw, did you end up using any of the hyperterminals linked in the thread ?

[tskitishvili]

You are always welcomed tskitishvili, it would be great if you can post the Win7 drivers (the latest XP from prolific didn't work on my XP machine), a link would be great, an upload to rapid share would be even better ;)


Prolific installers have some compatibility issues with Windows 7. Even if it finished without errors , something does not work. I bet it's due to virtualization mechanism 64 bit Windows uses to run 32 bit programs.

So I ended up extracting pure drivers from some Vista installation package which didn't even run on my machine because it was not Vista. :) But inside the package I found 64 bit driver which worked great on Windows 7. The package also includes 32 bit version.

So I am attaching drivers to this post. You have to install them manually. Please try 203 and report the results.



btw, did you end up using any of the hyperterminals linked in the thread ?

I used first of two hyperterminals you have suggested. I haven't trid any file transfers, because I don't need to upgrade bootcode. I just want to have a rescue mechanism in case I screw up the firmware.

[GreatSunJester]

Offbeat questions sort of related...

What other USB connectors could be used to create this serial connection? I ask because I would dig through my boxes-o-leftovers to see what might work.
Can (and if so, how) a normal serial cable be modified and used?

[aasoror]

Offbeat questions sort of related...

What other USB connectors could be used to create this serial connection?

only 2 nokias, and bunch of other cables listed here:
Use a cheap phone sync cable with the serial port (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Use_a_cheap_phone_sync_cable_with_the_serial_port)



Can (and if so, how) a normal serial cable be modified and used?
the serial cable need to be a TTL/Serial cable (not your normal printer serial cable), check the discussion here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2951&page=2). That said, unless you already have the materials nothing will cost less than the solution quoted here. ;)

[snappy46]

Do I need this cable if I have an RS232 port available on my computer? Will the -12V to +12V voltage from the standard RS232 burn out the PBO or is that the voltage that it expect? Why do we need the Vcc; since the PBO is turn on don't we just need the gnd, rx and tx line connected. Why the Vcc line; to power up the circuit inside the cable????

I know it's a lot of questions; just trying to figure out if the RS 232 cable and Jtag cable I have available will suffice.

Thank you.

[aasoror]

Do I need this cable if I have an RS232 port available on my computer? Will the -12V to +12V voltage from the standard RS232 burn out the PBO or is that the voltage that it expect? Why do we need the Vcc; since the PBO is turn on don't we just need the gnd, rx and tx line connected. Why the Vcc line; to power up the circuit inside the cable????

I know it's a lot of questions; just trying to figure out if the RS 232 cable and Jtag cable I have available will suffice.

Thank you.

if you have RS232 port, your will need RS232 to TTL board (lots available on ebay yet 4~5 times the cost of the nokia cable). You will need the Vcc to power the TTL board, if the TTL can be powered via external output (some is powered via USB) then you don't connect the Vcc.

[snappy46]

if you have RS232 port, your will need RS232 to TTL board (lots available on ebay yet 4~5 times the cost of the nokia cable). You will need the Vcc to power the TTL board, if the TTL can be powered via external output (some is powered via USB) then you don't connect the Vcc.

I see the vcc is an output from the PBO not an I/P. Thanks; I guess I will have to create an ebay account.

[aasoror]

I see the vcc is an output from the PBO not an I/P. Thanks; I guess I will have to create an ebay account.

If you want to go the RS/TTL way, check this post (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=14479&postcount=18) for options.

[piyomaru]

I have a CA-70 lying around and want to use it to establish serial connection to my PBO. However, when I plug in the cable, a COM doesn't show up in device manager, is this cable not usable? I've check the compatibility matrix for CA-43 and CA-70, the supported phones are vitually the same, it'll be odd for it not to work in place of a CA-43 cable.

[aasoror]

I have a CA-70 lying around and want to use it to establish serial connection to my PBO. However, when I plug in the cable, a COM doesn't show up in device manager, is this cable not usable? I've check the compatibility matrix for CA-43 and CA-70, the supported phones are vitually the same, it'll be odd for it not to work in place of a CA-43 cable.

Only DKU-5 and CA-42 are compatible from the Nokia cables.

[snappy46]

This is where I ordered my cable for those of you that do not like to deal with Ebay. Still comes from Hong Kong so probably the same people as on ebay but you don't have to create an Ebay account etc.... A little more expensive though $4.70. A lot of cheap stuff there too.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.446

I am in Canada I will let you know how long it took to get it.

[scboley]

Will any samsung cables work as I have some of these and I'm sure when I used them they would have a com device when driver was loaded.

[visionlogic]

Just a big thanks to aasoror for the procedure, and to tskitishvili for linking the Win 7 drivers (see post #53). My chinesium pieces arrived during the week and this morning I hocked them together, loaded the Win 7 drivers, followed aasoror's procedure and voila! Bootcode 18 done! Stuff like this keeps the plaque out of my 60 year old brain. :D

[aasoror]

Will any samsung cables work as I have some of these and I'm sure when I used them they would have a com device when driver was loaded.

If you get a com port when you plug them in then they should work. the only problem is to figure out the mapping, (wire assignment), if you have a voltmeter you should fine.

[tskitishvili]

I wonder if there are unit shipped with newer bootcode 19, 20, etc. and if there are if it is possible to extract it using serial link.

[snappy46]

While looking thru all my electronic parts to see what I could use to adapt the end of the CA-42 cable I found out that the computer power supply 4 pins connector (the small one usually used for CD Rom or Floppy drive) is a perfect match for the 4 pins on the PBO. So if you intend to build this cable but have a scrap computer power supply around; I suggest you use the connector from that power supply and splice it to the CA-42 cable. After that just connect that connector to the four pin and you are ready to go.

[aasoror]

I suggest you use the connector from that power supply and splice it to the CA-42 cable. After that just connect that connector to the four pin and you are ready to go.

For completeness, members have also reported success using an optical drive audio cable connector to match the PBO pins

[Amowagou]

This is where I ordered my cable for those of you that do not like to deal with Ebay. Still comes from Hong Kong so probably the same people as on ebay but you don't have to create an Ebay account etc.... A little more expensive though $4.70. A lot of cheap stuff there too.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.446

I am in Canada I will let you know how long it took to get it.

I bought stuffs from dealextreme.com all the time. They usually ship within a couple of days and the shipment from Hong Kong to Canada takes about 7 business days.

[snappy46]

I bought stuffs from dealextreme.com all the time. They usually ship within a couple of days and the shipment from Hong Kong to Canada takes about 7 business days.

Thanks for the info Amowagou.

[aasoror]

Thanks for the info Amowagou.

Yup I can vouch for Dealxtream where else can you get a Wii mote + nunchuck for under $20 shipped.

Shipping for me is around the 2 weeks mark (10 business days)

[Shep5554]

aasoror, I ordered the cables you recomended for the Bootcode upgrade last night. Now just waiting, but have a few questions. My PBO is in the terminal rolling BOX OFFICE screen of death since I upgrade firmware P05 on top of Bootcode 16. In your instructions you point out an "unbricking" method using the cable drivers and MS HT. Do you recommend that I "unbrick" my PBO first then go through the Bootcode upgrade procedure, or just go straight to the Bootcode 18 upgrade? I guess the question is will the upgrading to Bootcode 18 both erase the flash and upgrade at the same time? Then I can go back and install which ever firmware that suits me. I'd like to know your views on this please. In case nobody has said it before, thanks for your insight and help with this product. You make using this product alot easier.

[aasoror]

I guess the question is will the upgrading to Bootcode 18 both erase the flash and upgrade at the same time?

Nope, the bootcode update will just replace the bootcode, if you need to erase the flash you need to issue the command manually from the HT (in the side notes section).

You can also clear the flash without updating the bootcode (for your typical unbricking needs)

[Shep5554]

So I would have to go through both procedures to "unbrick" with erase -m, then upgrade to Bootcode 18, and then reinstall fimware? Another perhaps silly question is where is Bootcode 18s file? Thanks

[aasoror]

So I would have to go through both procedures to "unbrick" with erase -m, then upgrade to Bootcode 18, and then reinstall fimware? Another perhaps silly question is where is Bootcode 18s file? Thanks

you can do them in whatever order you like,
once you connect to the box, you can do of them first, but if you are going with P05 then it makes sense to first update the bootcode then clear the flash, the proceed with the P05 update.

The bootcode file is inside the P02 firmware update file (in the firmware sticky)

[snappy46]

So I would have to go through both procedures to "unbrick" with erase -m, then upgrade to Bootcode 18, and then reinstall fimware? Another perhaps silly question is where is Bootcode 18s file? Thanks

You might posssibly be ok with just upgrading your bootcode to 18 since you already flash P05 in the PBO. So maybe once you have bootcode 18 your PBO might be ok. That's a theory that I will check out once I receive my cable.



Onto another topic, a friend from work mentioned to me that he has a USB to RS232 converter; something like that http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.24512. He will have a look at home; he hasn't seen it in a while and if he finds it he will bring it to work tomorrow. Hopefully I can get something done with that and won't have to wait a couple weeks before I can restore my PBO.

[Shep5554]

That seems reasonable. Thanks Snappy. On another note, I just went to the "sticky" to download P02 so I can get access to Bootcode 18 and now there is also a Bootcode 20. Anybody know what features that will bring about?

[aasoror]

That seems reasonable. Thanks Snappy. On another note, I just went to the "sticky" to download P02 so I can get access to Bootcode 18 and now there is also a Bootcode 20. Anybody know what features that will bring about?

where did you find bootcode 20 ?!



Onto another topic, a friend from work mentioned to me that he has a USB to RS232 converter; something like that http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.24512.

If you use this adapter you still need an RS232 to TTL converter.

[Shep5554]

If I'm reading the support sticky correctly they're packaging Bootcode 16 with P05 firmware, and Bootcode 18 & 20 with P04. Shouldn't that be the other way around? BC 16 should go with P04 & BC 18 & 20 should be with P05.

[Shep5554]

I'm sorry it would'nt be the "sticky" it is here: http://www.patriotmemory.com/products/detailp.jsp?prodline=6&catid=69&prodgroupid=159&id=895&type=20 on there product support page.

[aasoror]

If I'm reading the support sticky correctly they're packaging Bootcode 16 with P05 firmware, and Bootcode 18 & 20 with P04. Shouldn't that be the other way around? BC 16 should go with P04 & BC 18 & 20 should be with P05.

nope, you can download and extract all files from their repository.
P01 (comes with bootcode 16 inside the rar)
P02 (comes with bootcode 18 inside the rar)
P04 (no bootcodes just the install image)
P05 (no bootcodes just the install image)

[aasoror]

I'm sorry it would'nt be the "sticky" it is here: http://www.patriotmemory.com/products/detailp.jsp?prodline=6&catid=69&prodgroupid=159&id=895&type=20 on there product support page.

lol I can't believe it .. they can't even put the correct info in their webpage (they are going to get even more bricked devices now)

Firmware:
Bootcode: 16 Download - P05 Firmware
Bootcode: 18 or 20, Download -P04 Firmware

Should say


Firmware:
Bootcode: 16 Download - P04 Firmware
Bootcode: 18 or 20, Download -P05 Firmware

[snappy46]

lol I can't believe it .. they can't even put the correct info in their webpage (they are going to get even more bricked devices now)


Should say

Just checked and they made the changes required to reflect the correct information. This is getting better all the time OMG. I think some people at patriot definitely need to get their act together. This is ridiculous!!!

[aasoror]

Just checked and they made the changes required to reflect the correct information.

You are welcomed Patriot Memory :p

[outatouch0]

You are welcomed Patriot Memory :p

cLAsSic - just what some of us have come not just ExPECT but to have REAL SOLID faith in :rolleyes:

[Shep5554]

I'm almost afraid to ask. The above referred to link http://www.patriotmemory.com/product...id=895&type=20 implies there is a Bootcode 20. If there is, wouldn't that be a valuable piece of information for the community to have?

[snappy46]

If you use this adapter you still need an RS232 to TTL converter.

Hmmm! Maybe, it all depends on the implementation of this device and the implementation of the PBO interface. Realistically if the USB port is used as the voltage driver wouldn't one expect the O/P at the RS232 port to be 0 to 5Vdc ??? 0 - 5 Vdc; now that sound pretty much like TTL to me.


What makes those type of adapter works is the fact that although the RS 232 standard specification specify that an O/P between -3v to +3V is considered an undefined signal state; many implementation of the RS232 are quite happy with a signal above +2v as a space signal, where a voltage of 0 Volt or less is recognized as a mark signal.


Above Info from this link http://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/info/RS-232-usb.html
Pretty interesting if you have the time.

Cheers!

[aasoror]

sticky ... YAAAAAY :D

[aasoror]

two successful updates using the above instructions so far. :)

[tskitishvili]

two successful updates using the above instructions so far. :)

Aren't you curious what you have gained or lost ? :rolleyes:

[aasoror]

Aren't you curious what you have gained or lost ? :rolleyes:

For sure I am, but do you really think someone from PM will tell us :p ? Isn't it enough that they have supplied the bootcodes ? I will keep using the box as usual and note any change and report it here.

[tskitishvili]

For sure I am, but do you really think someone from PM will tell us :p ? Isn't it enough that they have supplied the bootcodes ? I will keep using the box as usual and note any change and report it here.

You convinced PM to release GPL sources. I believe you can get the change list.

[GreatSunJester]

So I ordered a CA-42. Got it, set up with my instructions, and parts (including a sound card connector just to make it easier.... cut the CA-42 cord and stripped back a couple inches of covering....and am rewarded with 3 wires....

I did look at the 3 wire link from page 3 of this thread, but wanted to ask if someone here might have the answer for me: My wires are Yellow, White and Green. Any idea which is which?

[hzor]

So I ordered a CA-42. Got it, set up with my instructions, and parts (including a sound card connector just to make it easier.... cut the CA-42 cord and stripped back a couple inches of covering....and am rewarded with 3 wires....

I did look at the 3 wire link from page 3 of this thread, but wanted to ask if someone here might have the answer for me: My wires are Yellow, White and Green. Any idea which is which?

I think you should not count on wire colors, you should determine which wire leads to which pin on the Nokia connector end. And then figure out right wires according to the picture provided on
Use a Nokia Serial Cable on an ARM9 Linkstation (http://buffalo.nas-central.org/wiki/Use_a_Nokia_Serial_Cable_on_an_ARM9_Linkstation) webpage. You can double check by voltmeter if you have one.

[aasoror]

I think you should not count on wire colors ..
+1
but most probably the configuration would be:
green and white (rxd and txd)
yellow (grnd)

That said, you can try a simple test that wont break anything (you can only do this because you got 3 wires so the cable is USB powered).

twist the naked green and white wires together, connect to the cable, run the HT, setup the connection as described in the OP, once you get the connection to open .. type anything at the prompt, if the white/green are indeed the txd/rxd then you should see whatever you type echoed back to you.
If one of them is ground then you should see nothing, so try green/yellow then white/yellow.

Once you determine the ground (by elimination), proceed with the connection to the PBO, even if rxd/txd are inverted this wont harm the PBO, you wont be able to send anything to the box and you will just see the startup sequence on the HT screen (because you will not be able to interrupt it with the escape key), just switch those wires and you should be done.

Let us know if that works for you ..

[Seal]

Just wondering where you bought the CA-42 cable from, so I don't get it from there. :)



So I ordered a CA-42. Got it, set up with my instructions, and parts (including a sound card connector just to make it easier.... cut the CA-42 cord and stripped back a couple inches of covering....and am rewarded with 3 wires....

I did look at the 3 wire link from page 3 of this thread, but wanted to ask if someone here might have the answer for me: My wires are Yellow, White and Green. Any idea which is which?

[GreatSunJester]

BargainCell via Amazon, $3.51 including shipping. Green is ground, TXD is white and RXD is yellow. Bootcode 18 now installed and my PBO is running PO5 firmware!

[aasoror]

BargainCell via Amazon, $3.51 including shipping. Green is ground, TXD is white and RXD is yellow. Bootcode 18 now installed and my PBO is running PO5 firmware!

Good to know the wire assignment trick worked for you.
Enjoy your unbricked PBO :)

[Shep5554]

To aasoror, just wanted to thank you for you tutorial on "Under $6 dollars and Under 666 Seconds". A couple of days ago I received the cable & wires from the links you provided, followed your steps, and now I am running the latest Bootcode 20 with P05 firmware. I went from a rolling screen, non-functioning PBO to an unbricked updated better running (with the updates) PBO. Now I just need to find PBO in windows explorer and find my network in the PBO. But it runs grand off of USB attached HDDs. Thanks again for all the info you impart on this forum. And to PM, this thing is starting to feel / run like a solid piece of AV equipment. Now understand this is from a novice's point of view. You can probably get a more in depth analysis from the seniors on here.

[aasoror]

To aasoror, just wanted to thank you for you tutorial on "Under $6 dollars and Under 666 Seconds".
...
Now I just need to find PBO in windows explorer and find my network in the PBO. ..

You are most welcomed :)
Enjoy your PBO.

p.s. If your networking issues are not resolved, you might want to check in the networking section or post there and any of the knowledgeable members there would work with you on it.

[hotmilk]

will this device work?

coz it don have vcc... or which one should i use as vcc?

[hotmilk]

will this device work?

coz it don have vcc... or which one should i use as vcc?

sorry.. i mean this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.my/USB-2-0-TTL-UART-6PIN-Module-Serial-Converter-CP2102-/170470613730?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item27b0d722e2

[aasoror]

sorry.. i mean this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.my/USB-2-0-TTL-UART-6PIN-Module-Serial-Converter-CP2102-/170470613730?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item27b0d722e2

Yes this should work.
According to the ebay listing this would be the pins you need to use ... 3.3V,TXD, RXD, GND.

[The Globule]

sorry.. i mean this:
http://cgi.ebay.com.my/USB-2-0-TTL-UART-6PIN-Module-Serial-Converter-CP2102-/170470613730?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Computing_CablesConnectors_RL&hash=item27b0d722e2

It will work.
It is basicaly the same as the one I use (mine has a cover on it).

[mrfreshy]

cross-posted to spread the awesome!

I ordered Aasoror's cable making goodies a few weeks ago, and got the last part today.

I did some cutting, splicing, and taping, and had a nice interface cable ready.

I followed the step-by-step instructions in the first post, and everything went great!

I had a "bricked" PBO, had an RMA number, but wanted to do it myself, and thanks to you guys, it was a dream!

The only thing I had to adjust was my Windows Firewall settings (I just disabled it during the process).

[aasoror]

cross-posted to spread the awesome!


You are most welcomed buddy :D

[__B__]

My Nokia CA-42 cable has 6 wires! It that a problem? I have the same color cables provided in the example though.

[aasoror]

My Nokia CA-42 cable has 6 wires! It that a problem? I have the same color cables provided in the example though.

r you positive its the CA-42 and not another Nokia cable ?
Can you list all the colors that of the wires ?

[__B__]

Yes, CA-42. Colors: Blue, Yellow, Black, White, Red and Green.

Some pictures that I took from the cable:
http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/5881/dsc02206w.th.jpg (http://img227.imageshack.us/i/dsc02206w.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/3031/dsc02207vc.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/i/dsc02207vc.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7742/dsc02208x.th.jpg (http://img228.imageshack.us/i/dsc02208x.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[aasoror]

Yes, CA-42. Colors: Blue, Yellow, Black, White, Red and Green.


Ok, this is going to be tough to deduce because clearly the board isn't self powered, so you need to decide on to determine VCC before you can proceed.

I would be inclined to assume that Red is VCC and Black is GND (common colors for these terminals) and then use the elimination proceed as described in my first post to find which is the RXD and which is the TXD (but you never know what those Chinese factories are up to).

There is much direct way that would eliminate the need for any guess work, if you can crack the connector open (not the USB side, the phone side), here is the pin assignment for the connector.

http://buffalo.nas-central.org/w/images/thumb/8/8f/CA-42_DKU-5_pinout.jpg/619px-CA-42_DKU-5_pinout.jpg

crack it open (or use flat nose pliers to extract the pins from the connector) and see which is which.

[__B__]

I tried to open it, but I just screwed it. It was really hard and now I have a broken connector.

I connected the wires (with the red and black ones as you said) on my media player using the colors on your guide, and connecting the usb activates the power led. I installed the drivers too. When I plug the cable, it's detected as "USB to UART", but it doesnt install the driver, becoming an "Unknow device". Is it possible that a wire color mismatch is responsible for this problem?

By the way, I'm using Windows XP SP2 on an Acer Laptop. I tried on my other Laptop with Windows 7 x64, but the driver didn't even installed:

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/9491/inferror.th.png (http://img20.imageshack.us/i/inferror.png/)

And I realy appreciate all your efforts, trying to help me with this issue, you even brought a picture of my cable looking elsewhere. Thanks a lot.

[aasoror]

I connected the wires (with the red and black ones as you said) on my media player using the colors on your guide, and connecting the usb activates de power led. I installed the drivers too. When I plug the cable, it's detected as "USB to UART", but it doesnt install the driver, becoming an "Unknow device". Is it possible that a wire color mismatch is responsible for this problem?


The wire mismatch has nothing to do with this, the cable should be detected before its even connected to the box.

That said I did have this problem (unknown device) when I was trying to install the latest drivers from the manufacturer website, also when I tried the Nokia drivers from Nokia's website, only the drivers I have linked worked for me (seems to be older but works), I have also linked another drivers for Win 7 x64 (thanks tsk). I have noticed from the pics that you have posted that there is a driver CD included, have you tried that ? or did you try the one I linked ? or did you try the official ones from Nokia ? Notice that in there might be couple of different manufacturers for these cables (mine was Prolific PL2303, FTDI is another manufacturer) so one driver that would work on one cable doesn't necessary work for the other.

[__B__]

I just followed what is described in your thread (and downloaded both zips, and tried in two different operating systems). I'm going to test with the driver cd that came with the cable and post the results.

[__B__]

I installed the original drivers. "ArkMicro USB to Serial Ports (COM16)" "Ark Pioneer Microelectronics Ltd." in my Windows XP installation, and configured as (115200,8,N,1,N).

Now I'm stuck in "holding the Esc key switch the PBO on", nothing happens. I've tried for more than one minute... do I have to wait more?

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/7328/hyperterminalnothinghap.th.png (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/hyperterminalnothinghap.png/)

[aasoror]

I installed the original drivers. "ArkMicro USB to Serial Ports (COM16)" "Ark Pioneer Microelectronics Ltd." in my Windows XP installation, and configured as (115200,8,N,1,N).

Now I'm stuck in "holding the Esc key switch the PBO on", nothing happens.

http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/7328/hyperterminalnothinghap.th.png (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/hyperterminalnothinghap.png/)

ok, you got the timer running (which is good, PC side is now done)
Now if you switch the box on and then nothing happens (even without holding the escape key), then the wires aren't connected correctly (at least the read pin.. which should be responsible for bringing the box screen on your HT).

So now I would disconnect the PBO read write wires (leave the PBO turned on), leave the VCC and GND (hopefully they are correctly assigned), and try twisting each two together and see if you can get an echo of your input on the screen (the determination by elimination procedure outlines at the end of my 1st post)

[__B__]

Hey, I have two driver folders:

PL2303

ARK3116

How do I know I'm using the correct one? I resintalled using ARK3116 since it's a prefix to the company name drivers.

When I connect JUST vcc and gnd (red/black) and the usb in my machine, the led doesnt light on. When I connect 4 wires, the led lights. Is it possible that vcc and gnd are incorrect?

(I've tested all cables using a battery tester)

Oh, about your wire troubleshooting at the end of your 1st post: I should mix the wires WITHOUT connecting to the PBO, right? It's like a "simulation".

[kmassner]

I couldn't get the driver to work under Vista. Grabbed my kid's netbook with XP and bingo!

Unbricked, and put boot code 20 on for the hell of it.

I'll try P05-B next week and see if it'll let me create symbolic links.

[aasoror]

Hey, I have two driver folders:

PL2303

ARK3116

How do I know I'm using the correct one? I resintalled using ARK3116 since it's a prefix to the company name drivers.



If you can open the port in the HT and you can see the timer running then whatever driver you are using is the correct one.



When I connect JUST vcc and gnd (red/black) and the usb in my machine, the led doesnt light on. When I connect 4 wires, the led lights. Is it possible that vcc and gnd are incorrect?

thats possible, why not try every two wires of the for in the VCC,GND and see which pair brings the light on (by the way, which light is that ? does your connector have a led?)



Oh, about your wire troubleshooting at the end of your 1st post: I should mix the wires WITHOUT connecting to the PBO, right? It's like a "simulation".
Yup, tested wires shouldn't be connected to the PBO except for the VCC because you need the cable to be running (if you have another 3.2v source you can use it instead)

[__B__]

by the way, which light is that ? does your connector have a led?)

It's the PBO "power on" led. When I connect my CA-42 to it, the power on led is turned on, but with less intensity if I connect the power source to it.

I'm asking about wire setup and such because I couldn't find the "dupont wires TPK pin header" and had to do other setup using some power wires from an old pc.

[aasoror]

It's the PBO "power on" led. When I connect my CA-42 to it, the power on led is turned on, but with less intensity if I connect the power source to it.

Oh OK I got it now, but unfortunately I don't recall noticing my PBO power led when the cable was hocked up, so I am not sure if this a correct behavior or just a bad omen :)

[supergizboy]

Finally received my USB TTL cable from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M8WA2G/ref=oss_product), $4.72 including shipping. Color codes are below,

Red --> TX
Green --> RX
Black --> GND
White --> (not used)

Using driver on first post, Windows 7 with HyperTerm on first post. Unbricking my PBO in few minutes. I didn't even connect the White wire. Thanks guys.

People having trouble, if you don't see anything coming on the terminal, most likely your connection is wrong, use multimeter to figure out the color codes on the wires first, each type of cable could have different color codes. Good luck.

[aasoror]

Finally received my USB TTL cable from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M8WA2G/ref=oss_product), $4.72 including shipping. Color codes are below,



Thank you for sharing :), I think I will collect all the color coding information perhaps someone can make use of it.

update:
I have already scanned the thread and found 2 reports with color codes. For those who have purchased the CA-42, can you please share the color coding with us if you haven't posted it already ?

[supergizboy]

I'm asking about wire setup and such because I couldn't find the "dupont wires TPK pin header" and had to do other setup using some power wires from an old pc.

You're most likely have the wires incorrectly connected. I think I have the same cable you do, try this color codes,

Red --> TX
Green --> RX
Black --> GND
White --> (not used)

if you're still having trouble, use multimeter to figure out the TX, RX and GND wires based on this picture. You most likely don't need the VCC wire too, chip getting power from USB.
http://buffalo.nas-central.org/w/images/thumb/8/8f/CA-42_DKU-5_pinout.jpg/619px-CA-42_DKU-5_pinout.jpg

people pls keep in mind, there's no standard color codes for this, each factory might have different color codes. but the Nokia data connector pins are standard.

[__B__]

You're most likely have the wires incorrectly connected. I think I have the same cable you do, try this color codes,

Red --> TX
Green --> RX
Black --> GND
White --> (not used)


I tried this setup, and I get this (strange) connection:

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/4078/strangechars.th.png (http://img139.imageshack.us/i/strangechars.png/)

Does this mean I'm still using an incorrect wire setup, or my PBO is a forever broken brick? At least now it's outputing something on my PC screen...

EDIT: GUYS, I got it! I'm going to post the results after I try to flash my unit! I changed my wire setup and now it's working!

[__B__]

I can't get my PBO to detect my flash drive.. I've tried two different ones, but gets stuck in a screen called "box office". I tried to follow the instructions here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17862&postcount=4), but using a P05 firmware, but the usb led on my PBO doesn't light on (just my flash drive led that lights). Any thoughts?

[scboley]

You're doing right just wait some have taken a couple hrs for it to come back up when it boots to the recovery mode.

[__B__]

You're doing right just wait some have taken a couple hrs for it to come back up when it boots to the recovery mode.
Oh, ok, I didn't know some people needed hours!!! Thanks!!

[aasoror]

I can't get my PBO to detect my flash drive.. I've tried two different ones, but gets stuck in a screen called "box office". I tried to follow the instructions here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17862&postcount=4), but using a P05 firmware, but the usb led on my PBO doesn't light on (just my flash drive led that lights). Any thoughts?

Have you erased the flash after you have updated the bootcode ? snappy reported that updating the bootcode didn't get his already mis-matching P05 install working.
He had to issue "erase -m" from the HT to clear the flash, then the unit would upgrade normally.

[__B__]

Have you erased the flash after you have updated the bootcode ?

Yes, I've run the "erase -m" command. I updated my bootcode and ran "erase -m". It's only possible to upgrade the firmware using a flash drive? If I don't know how much time do I have to wait to see if it's working, and so can't know if it's a flash drive/PBO problem, it's going to be difficult...

[aasoror]

Yes, I've run the "erase -m" command. I updated my bootcode and ran "erase -m". It's only possible to upgrade the firmware using a flash drive? If I don't know how much time do I have to wait to see if it's working, and so can't know if it's a flash drive/PBO problem, it's going to be difficult...

Though 2 hours is not unheard of, but it can be anything but common.
I would turn off the box, reformat the drive in FAT32 (perhaps use another one), then attempt reflashing (preferably after re-erasing the flash from HT), one sign to look for to know if the upgrade would ever work is to watch for the USB read light (if your USB drive have one), it should light up intensely when the firmware update starts (because its copying the file) then it would intermediately flashes afterwards, the whole upgrade shouldn't normally take more than 5 minutes (be sure to use composite).

[__B__]

I've left for 2 hours, nothing happened.

This is a fresh flash drive, from Patriot. I formatted (not even selected "Fast Formatting") in FAT32 and copied the install.img only, at root.

The flash drive led light up intensely, but the usb led on PBO doesn't light on, even after 2h.

I'm going to connect it again, and run erase -m a second time. If possible I'm going to post the screen results. Thanks.

[__B__]

It worked.

I didn't have to wait a couple of hours, in fact, in 5 minutes I was testing a mkv movie in my unit.

The problem was with the flash drive. They all worked on all machines I tested except the PBO, so it's impossible to know if it's going to work before you connect to the unit. In fact, I used a NOKIA N95 8GB in Mass Storage mode!!!

I'm going to do some more tests, and post the correct wire combination with some pictures.

Thank you all! You helped me a lot.

(Another question: now that I know it's possible to unbrick and brick in an easy way, I have a generic wireless usb adapter here at home. Does exist a firmware with a better driver range to detect it, like a "better Linux distribution") or something? Which firmware do you recommend?)

[aasoror]

It worked.

Good to know that.
Enjoy your PBO ;)



(Another question: now that I know it's possible to unbrick and brick in an easy way, I have a generic wireless usb adapter here at home. Does exist a firmware with a better driver range to detect it, like a "better Linux distribution") or something? Which firmware do you recommend?)

Unfortunately there is no complied drivers (for any realtek based player) than those already available inside the PBO. As a matter of fact P05 is the built in the most recent SDK (more recent than the "you know which" firmware), thus whatever drivers are there are the latest.

Notice that a generic USB adapter wont work unless it has a realtek chip inside it (check the wifi USB sticky for a list of the supported realtek chipsets)

[scboley]

I have a generic wireless usb adapter here at home. Does exist a firmware with a better driver range to detect it, like a "better Linux distribution") or something? Which firmware do you recommend?)
If you're savvy with linux yes you could add another adapter to it BUT you would have to find TSK's post for compiling in a mips environment and then get the source package from PM and then IF your usb wireless controller is supported in linux, you could get that driver source compile it against the mips kernel the PBO utilizes and manually go in and add it to the module tree and then as long as it compiled correctly I'm sure it would then work on the PBO. The thing to do would be do some research for the best performing usb wireless N on linux and then someone compile the module and distribute it to everyone that would want to purchase that adapter.

It's not impossible to go outside Realtek branded chipsets but it's definitely a PITA.

[sky-chicken]

The link for the USB CA-42 cable on eBay is not correct. The cable you get is a 3-wire knock off and has no 3.3 Volt VSS (pin 4).
I send the eBayer an email and ask whats going on. You better remove this link for now !

[aasoror]

The link for the USB CA-42 cable on eBay is not correct. The cable you get is a 3-wire knock off and has no 3.3 Volt VSS (pin 4).
I send the eBayer an email and ask whats going on. You better remove this link for now !

Great first post .. you need to do your homework first my friend before spreading misinformation :)

- The cable is not a knockoff (does it say its Nokia cable?) it says its a replacement for (compatible with) Nokia cable and not from Nokia (typically called OEM). That said, I could care less of its a knockoff as long as it work. BTW : The ebay listing is now expired (the link is given for reference only).

- The cable have different number of wires depending on the Chinese factory from which you get the cable. they might have 3/4/6 wires.
If your cable has 3 wires (i.e. no volt ) which is called VCC by the way, that just means its USB powered (I guess you didn't read my first post if you raise this issue).

- I am not sure about the ebayer you have contacted (about a perfectly legitimate and expired ebay listing) but he must be having a good laugh now (unless he doesn't know how to read English which is quite possible).

Peace,

[__B__]

The link for the USB CA-42 cable on eBay is not correct. The cable you get is a 3-wire knock off and has no 3.3 Volt VSS (pin 4).
I send the eBayer an email and ask whats going on. You better remove this link for now !

Sky, I bought a chinese cable, with 6 wires, and was able to use it. The problem with the approach is just that it's not going to be completely straighforward, but still helpful, since you need to test your wire's combinations.

I'm going to post my config soon, I suggest you to do the same if having different configurations.

Good luck!

[aasoror]

I'm going to post my config soon, I suggest you to do the same if having different configurations.


Thank you, just the wire assignment should be enough and I will edit my first post to include it once you post it.

[__B__]

Ok. Since a lot of people helped me with my bricked device, I think the minimal thing to do is to share my own experiences with a different cable and a full description of my device.

A lot of advice that I got from my cable config was from a different forum, when I searched google about "CA-42 Nokia cable with 6 wires" or something like that, and I would like to give proper attribution to the following advice:


If you don't have a volt meter, you can also do a very rough test. Set up your terminal session and slightly let touch 2 wires at once. If you see come up strange characters in your terminal window, then you have in your hands RX and GND wires. Then, type random characters in your terminal and do the same with the other wire and when you'll see what you type come back in your terminal window it just means you connected RX and TX togheter (a loopback connection!!).

... to dskbrk, from msfn forums (http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/128807-the-solution-for-seagate-720011-hdds/page__st__500).

Cable Information and Pictures

My cable was a chinese model from Ark Pioneer Microelectronics Ltd., with 6 wires. It came with a cd with drivers: PL2303 and ARK3116. I used ARK3116.

http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/3031/dsc02207vc.th.jpg (http://img33.imageshack.us/i/dsc02207vc.jpg/)

The correct combination is White (GND), yellow (TX) and blue (RX).

Assembled Cable Pictures

(Don't follow this image color configuration, the correct combination is: White (GND), yellow (TX) and blue (RX). This picture is only to show a different way to connect your wires if you have less resources (!!!) than the proposed by the first post of this thread)

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5228/assembledcable.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/i/assembledcable.jpg/)

Unit Information and Pictures
Hornettek Phantom MP2020. Came with Bootcode 16 and (I believe) P02 firmware, since in the back there's P020A01. The Hardware id is RTD1073-DEMO.

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/5395/unitmodel.th.jpg (http://img641.imageshack.us/i/unitmodel.jpg/)http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/5651/insidecase.th.jpg (http://img101.imageshack.us/i/insidecase.jpg/)http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/3405/backmodel.th.jpg (http://img185.imageshack.us/i/backmodel.jpg/)

Working Unit Pictures
This is my unit in a small television after reflashing - you can see "Box Office" on my TV, and "Hornettek" on my unit.

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/198/workingunit.th.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/i/workingunit.jpg/)

Thank you all!

[sky-chicken]

Sky, I bought a chinese cable, with 6 wires, and was able to use it. The problem with the approach is just that it's not going to be completely straighforward, but still helpful, since you need to test your wire's combinations.

I'm going to post my config soon, I suggest you to do the same if having different configurations.

Good luck!

Thank you "B"!
I really appreciate your help and thank you for not posting unconstructive criticism :-)

[sky-chicken]

Great first post .. you need to do your homework first my friend before spreading misinformation :)

- The cable is not a knockoff (does it say its Nokia cable?) it says its a replacement for (compatible with) Nokia cable and not from Nokia (typically called OEM). That said, I could care less of its a knockoff as long as it work. BTW : The ebay listing is now expired (the link is given for reference only).

- The cable have different number of wires depending on the Chinese factory from which you get the cable. they might have 3/4/6 wires.
If your cable has 3 wires (i.e. no volt ) which is called VCC by the way, that just means its USB powered (I guess you didn't read my first post if you raise this issue).

- I am not sure about the ebayer you have contacted (about a perfectly legitimate and expired ebay listing) but he must be having a good laugh now (unless he doesn't know how to read English which is quite possible).

Peace,

Thank you very much for your response. It was not my plan to insult you with my post and I am still not sure how I did this on the first place.
First I like to mention that if I would know all the different USB flavors I would not read your post at all. I thought this post was for someone like me not knowing the details but looks like I was wrong and apologize.
The phrase "knock-off" for this cable came from doing my research. If you try and Google 3-wire CA-42 you going to notice postings referring to this cable as "knock-off". Sorry if I used the "phrase".
No, the ebayer did not respond what kind of shows that customer service is not his "top priority".

"May the Force be with you" :-)

-Sky

[GreatSunJester]

aasorors advice to me on page 10 of this thread worked like a charm for my generic 3 wire cable. Once I had the wires sorted out, it was not long till I had bootcode 18 and now the unlocked AC Ryan firmware up and running.
I probably put too much paranoia into my wire testings by unplugging the USB before I swapped pairs of wire, but the advice was very sound.

[aasoror]

\It was not my plan to insult you with my post and I am still not sure how I did this on the first place.

None taken my friend, I was merely correcting the info in your post.
I hope the cable did the trick for you and you got your issue resolved, would be great if you can post the wire assignment when you have a chance.
Thanks :)

[sky-chicken]

aasorors advice to me on page 10 of this thread worked like a charm for my generic 3 wire cable. Once I had the wires sorted out, it was not long till I had bootcode 18 and now the unlocked AC Ryan firmware up and running.
I probably put too much paranoia into my wire testings by unplugging the USB before I swapped pairs of wire, but the advice was very sound.

Indeed ... I did not read all 15 pages so I did not do my homework.
It's tuff to read all 15 pages. I think it would be better to have all the technical data transferred to the first page so that read-lazy people like me get the the essence.
Thank's all of you for your help.

-sky

[aasoror]

Indeed ... I did not read all 15 pages so I did not do my homework.
It's tuff to read all 15 pages. I think it would be better to have all the technical data transferred to the first page so that read-lazy people like me get the the essence.
Thank's all of you for your help.

-sky

The problem is that I guess you didn't even read the whole first post on the first page, not to mention the whole first page.

All the technical details were promptly transferred into the very first post on the very first page my friend ;) (so read-lazy people as you said don't really need to read a single post other than the first one :p )

- The wire assignment is in the first post.
- The different wire configuration is in the first post.
- The deduction by elimination procedure that GreatSunJester mentioned is also in the first post.

have fun :)

[samcintron]

just upgraded two of my boxes from boot code 16 & 18 to 20 using aasoror cable and method. flawless!!!!

aasoror you the bestest :D

[aasoror]

just upgraded two of my boxes from boot code 16 & 18 to 20 using aasoror cable and method. flawless!!!!


Good to know that, enjoy your PBO.
BTW .. it would be great if you can share the wire color/assignment if they are different from the several posted in the first page.

[samcintron]

Good to know that, enjoy your PBO.
BTW .. it would be great if you can share the wire color/assignment if they are different from the several posted in the first page.

wires and color assignments were exactly as you had posted. your pics were most helpful as well. thanks again for this posting.

[Piero]

aasoror,
I've just successfully upgraded the bootcode to ver.0020 and the fw to ver 05B.
Now my PBO works like a charm and the HDMI cable as well, having fixed the Toshiba issue.
Thanks a million!

[aasoror]

I've just successfully got upgraded the bootcode to ver.0020 and the fw to ver 05B.


Thanks for the update . Enjoy your PBO.

BTW .. it would be great if you can share the wire color/assignment if they are different from the several posted in the first page.

[Piero]

Thanks for the update . Enjoy your PBO.

BTW .. it would be great if you can share the wire color/assignment if they are different from the several posted in the first page.

Well, I used a different interface, like the one in the image attached.
I simply plugged the GND wire, TX-> RX and RX->TX.
:)

I can use this device for my PIC experiments, in fact I ordered three of them.

P.

[tskitishvili]

I finally decided to update to bootcode 20, but I had some issues getting into ROM Monitor prompt. I think that this is something people should be aware of.

I kept pressing ESC , I was able to see the ROM Monitor, but it was not giving me a prompt to enter commands. The problem turned out to be my new microsoft keyboard. When I used older keyboard, it worked just fine.

Update: I made some investigation what's wrong with new keyboard. It turned out to be "Repeat Rate" setting in control panel. I increased it to the maximum and the new keyboard works fine.

[kakureru]

My cable is
CA-42
3.3 - Red
RX - Blue
TX - white
GND - black

[aasoror]

My cable is
CA-42
3.3 - Red
RX - Blue
TX - white
GND - black

Thanks for the update kakureru, OP updated :)

[chmasi]

I have A CA42 Nokia with 5

yellow
red
black
blue
white

if I connect it to my PBO and give Power to the PBO my Computer found new Hardware and installed it as Nokia CA-42 USB Phone parent
and Nokia CA 42 USB Modem, but I am not be able to change the drivers, how can I solve this?

The drivers forr the modem are

c:\windows\system32\drivers\modem.sys
c:\windows\system32\drivers\usbser.sys
c:\windows\system32\usbser_lowerflt.sys


Thanks for help



metzi


My cable is
CA-42
3.3 - Red
RX - Blue
TX - white
GND - black

[aasoror]

if I connect it to my PBO and give Power to the PBO my Computer found new Hardware and installed it as Nokia CA-42 USB Phone parent
and Nokia CA 42 USB Modem, but I am not be able to change the drivers, how can I solve this?

Hello,
I am not sure why do you need to change the drivers ?! apparently they are the correct ones, have you went on with hyper terminal connection ?

[chmasi]

yes I tryed but I can not select the Comport, only the modem driver and her nothing is working, i have also a normal usb to serial adapter with a profilic 2303 device in it, will this work? If I got the other not working?

metzi


Hello,
I am not sure why do you need to change the drivers ?! apparently they are the correct ones, have you went on with hyper terminal connection ?

[aasoror]

i have also a normal usb to serial adapter with a profilic 2303 device in it, will this work?


Yup it should work, just connect the correct pins and you should be good to go.

[chmasi]

Yup it should work, just connect the correct pins and you should be good to go.

can you help me finding the right pins please?

[aasoror]

can you help me finding the right pins please?

if you are using a serial/usb adapter the pins should be marked (vcc+, rx, tx, gnd .. or something similar), can you see any labels on your adapter ? like the ones shown here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=22898&postcount=151).

[chmasi]

No, I have on one side a usb plug and onthe other side a 9 pol male sub d

[chmasi]

No, I have on one side a usb plug and onthe other side a 9 pol male sub d
I only got somthing like this in the terminal

/[]Nz9swNZ]t9sw'K]^z9sw'[Mt9sw'[]^z;soN.O'K]^z{sgN.[Mt;so/K\^~o9{wgN]Nz9swNK^z9s
wNK]^:9{wNK]^z9s=9sw'[\^z;sw'[\^z9swNK]Nz;swg{=9swNZ]t9sw'Z]z9{.O'K]wOg{9swNK\^z
9so'O'Z]t9swN[]Nz;sO'Z]Nz9sw'K]^z9{wN[]Nz;so'O'[Mt9sw'Kz{swN[]^z9

whats wrong

[aasoror]

I only got somthing like this in the terminal

/[]Nz9swNZ]t9sw'K]^z9sw'[Mt9sw'[]^z;soN.O'K]^z{sgN.[Mt;so/K\^~o9{wgN]Nz9swNK^z9s
wNK]^:9{wNK]^z9s=9sw'[\^z;sw'[\^z9swNK]Nz;swg{=9swNZ]t9sw'Z]z9{.O'K]wOg{9swNK\^z
9so'O'Z]t9swN[]Nz;sO'Z]Nz9sw'K]^z9{wN[]Nz;so'O'[Mt9sw'Kz{swN[]^z9

whats wrong

If you are seeing trash, then the RX of the serial adapter is connected to GND, if the adapter is connected to the PBO, then whatever connected to the PBO GND pin is your RX (you need to connect that to the PBO TX).

Now that have determined RX on your adapter, try this pin with the other pins on your serial adapter, check for the pin that would echo your input back to you on the terminal screen when connected to RX, this pin is TX (you need to connect that to PBO RX).

To find GND on your adapter, find the pin that would output trash to the terminal once connected to RX (of your adapter), this pin needs to be connected to the PBO GND pin.

I guess since the adapter is working your VCC is connected correctly :)

[si1verfish]

A perfect fit for recovery cable connection...

4 wire = $1.99 shipped

http://www.directron.com/audb4wire.html

[aasoror]

A perfect fit for recovery cable connection...

4 wire = $1.99 shipped

http://www.directron.com/audb4wire.html

Main post updated, thanks si1verfish.

Those following this path should make sure that the cable has 4 wires (if they have 4 wire nokia cable) as some audio cables have just 3 wires (perfect for USB powered serial adapters).

[tskitishvili]

Main post updated, thanks si1verfish.

Those following this path should make sure that the cable has 4 wires (if they have 4 wire nokia cable) as some audio cables have just 3 wires (perfect for USB powered serial adapters).

I had cable with just three wires and four slots connectors. But cable has two ends :) So it was quite easy to add fourth wire into empty slot.

[aasoror]

But cable has two ends :)

lol, I just meant it wont be plug and play. :)

[JB_Htpc]

Just wondering. Can any USB cable be used or does it have to be a Nokia CA-42?

What is the difference between a Nokia CA-42 and, say, a printer or camera cable?

Thanks!

[snappy46]

Just wondering. Can any USB cable be used or does it have to be a Nokia CA-42?

What is the difference between a Nokia CA-42 and, say, a printer or camera cable?

Thanks!

You need a cable/circuit with a rs232 communication protocal to TTL converter, A printer or camera is just that a "cable" no signal voltage conversion are being done hence no-go for that. Just google rs232 to TTL converter to see your option. IMHO however the ca-42 is probably your cheapest and easiest option.

[JB_Htpc]

Thanks! I guess that's why the computer end of the cable looks biger than usual - there's a chip buried in there.

Just ordered one of the Chineese CA-42 cables on eBay.

[JB_Htpc]

Got my Chineese CA-42 cable today. Wiring is exactly like the one in the original post. Spliced it together with a 4 pin CD audio connector and hooked it up to an old XP laptop.

Everything went smoothly and worked just as described. My PBO is now at bootcode 20 and firmware P05.

Thanks for the excellent write up.

[aasoror]

Got my Chineese CA-42 cable today. Wiring is exactly like the one in the original post. Spliced it together with a 4 pin CD audio connector and hooked it up to an old XP laptop.


Thanks for the update.
Enjoy your PBO :)

[aasoror]

2 boxes just updated to BC23 no problem :)

[gmd024]

Notice any difference/improvements yet? -- I was told that bc23 adds TV compatibility for newly released/shipped models - but not what brands

[aasoror]

Notice any difference/improvements yet? -- I was told that bc23 adds TV compatibility for newly released/shipped models - but not what brands

no performance changes for me, if that was the improvement then I would not be able to verify that .. :), though I thought HDMI compatibility was more firmware related (P04 fixed the Sony, P05 fixed the Toshiba .. etc)

[gmd024]

no performance changes for me, if that was the improvement then I would not be able to verify that .. :), though I thought HDMI compatibility was more firmware related (P04 fixed the Sony, P05 fixed the Toshiba .. etc)

Yah - me too -- I emailed PM support telling them I plan on purchasing another PBO soon and asked what firmware and bc was shipping and what did bc23 add - and the answer was 'TV compatibility for new/current shipping models' - although "HDMI" wasen't speciffically mentioned in the answer

[GuyllFyre]

I bought a Chinese eBay CA-42 cable, this might be the same one:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230444644835

Inside were three wires and here's how they mapped out and worked:
Blue - GND
Green - TX
White - RX

Cable worked with the drivers in the link on the first page.
Bootcode update was a success, currently running Bootcode 23.
Also upgraded to Firmware P05 Rev 2.

I'm noticing browsing the share where my movies are located is a little sluggish compared to the original BC and FW P02.

Also noticed some new options for browsing.

[bland328]

I built the cable, followed all the instructions to the letter, but couldn't unbrick my PBO...until five minutes ago.

At first, cable building and bootcode updating went smoothly, and for the first several unsuccessful attempts at unbricking, the PBO even apparently saw the Install.img file on the USB thumbdrive and chewed on it for a long time--despite the PAL image rolling like mad, I could even see the message telling me not to power off.

Rebooting the PBO just brought sadness each time, however, as I'd be right back to being stuck on the PAL "Box Office" logo.

That is, until I switched from my 16GB (can you even have a legit 16GB FAT32 volume?) thumbdrive to a 4GB thumbdrive!

The firmware flashing was FAST, and I'm now unbricked.

Oh, and on bootcode 23 :)

I hope this helps someone!

[aasoror]

I bought a Chinese eBay CA-42 cable
OP updated, thanks for the sharing the wire assignment GuyllFyre.

[GuyllFyre]

You're welcome. I figured that the contribution might help others. Your FAQ is excellent, thank you.

[tourist]

That is, until I switched from my 16GB (can you even have a legit 16GB FAT32 volume?) thumbdrive to a 4GB thumbdrive!



Yes, you can. The original FAT32 supports upto 32GB. With 3rd party software, you may format up to 2TB in FAT32. Nevertheless, the file size limit is 4GB.

[chop69]

OK, I think I may have gotten a bad cable. It installed fine with the drivers from the first post, and shows up fine in device manager, but when I try to open it in hyperterminal, it tells me it cant open COM3. I've checked and the port settings match between device manager and hyperterminal.

I get the same thing on an XP machine and a Win7 machine. (Using the appropriate driver for each of course)

[aasoror]

OK, I think I may have gotten a bad cable. It installed fine with the drivers from the first post, and shows up fine in device manager, but when I try to open it in hyperterminal, it tells me it cant open COM3. I've checked and the port settings match between device manager and hyperterminal.

I get the same thing on an XP machine and a Win7 machine. (Using the appropriate driver for each of course)

Did you get a USB powered version (without VCC) ? If the device manager is shows up the adapter once you insert the cable this is a GOOD indication, might also want to try a different USB port or a different COM port, I remember the very first time I used the cable I needed to jump between ports till I found one that work.

[blocked]

Did you get a USB powered version (without VCC) ? If the device manager is shows up the adapter once you insert the cable this is a GOOD indication, might also want to try a different USB port or a different COM port, I remember the very first time I used the cable I needed to jump between ports till I found one that work.

Actually, I also have the USB powered version, and it worked first with windows 7, while I was trying to figure out the wiring, but now says "can't open com" - and changing the ports does not help. Might try it on another computer to see if it works there.

[chop69]

I got it to work finally. I had to set the terminal emulation to TTY; auto detect would not work for some reason.

And for another data point, my cable is an eBay CA-42. It looks just like the one in the first post, except it just says "CA-42" not "FOR CA-42" and it is a 3 wire version, blue, red, and orange.

Blue --> Rx
Red --> Tx
Orange --> GND

[aasoror]

I got it to work finally. I had to set the terminal emulation to TTY; auto detect would not work for some reason.

And for another data point, my cable is an eBay CA-42. It looks just like the one in the first post, except it just says "CA-42" not "FOR CA-42" and it is a 3 wire version, blue, red, and orange.

Blue --> Rx
Red --> Tx
Orange --> GND

Thank you chop69 for sharing the wire assignment, OP updated.

[blocked]

I got it to work finally. I had to set the terminal emulation to TTY; auto detect would not work for some reason.

And for another data point, my cable is an eBay CA-42. It looks just like the one in the first post, except it just says "CA-42" not "FOR CA-42" and it is a 3 wire version, blue, red, and orange.

Blue --> Rx
Red --> Tx
Orange --> GND

Thanks for confirming this wiring - we have the same one. Mine still cannot open ports, though, even with TTY. May be one of the cords to avoid.

[berisanico]

Bonjour, je souhaiterais mettre à jour le bootcode de mon PBO qui est en bootcode 16, mais je ne comprend pas très bien l'anglais. Je viens voire si sur le forum il y a quelqu'un qui pourrait me faire une explication en français. Merci par avance.

[berisanico]

Hi, I would like to update the bootcode from my PBO (bootcode 16 to 23), but I don't understand very well English. I have even if the Forum there is someone who could be an explanation in French. Thank you in advance.

[tourist]

So far, I still have not seen the need to update the bootcode from 16 to newer ones. It seems all the current firmwares have BC16 compatible ones available, even the latest IMS demo. Anyway, I got the cable just in case. ;)

[venn]

Hi guys,

I've got a 3 wire CA-42 cable which is based on the Prolific PL-2303 chip.

I can't get it working with Hyperterminal. I installed the driver provided by aasoror in post #1, later tried one from Prolific's website - in both cases the driver installs properly and I get a COM port number assigned, but when I try to open it in Hyperterminal I get an error message: "Unable to open COM#. Please check your port settings" . Tried to open the COM through another terminal program (Comtrol) and I still can't open the port. Tried it on another PC with no luck.

BTW, the wires in the cable are as follows (on the cable side):
BLUE = GND
WHITE = Rx
YELLOW = Tx

The cable is working fine with the CA-42 driver and I was able to connect to my Nokia phone.

Any idea how I can get Hyperterminal to open the port?
Thanks in advance for the advice.

[aasoror]

Any idea how I can get Hyperterminal to open the port?
Thanks in advance for the advice.

Have you tried assigning other ports ? (in the device manager and the HT connection properties)

[venn]

Have you tried assigning other ports ? (in the device manager and the HT connection properties)

Just tried other port (COM3 --> COM10) and after the requested reboot still no luck.
The port is available from the drop down list of the Hyperterminal, but no matter what settings I pick for speed or flow control I get the same error message.

[RandyG]

You probably just have the wires backwards.

Your cable TX goes to RX on the PBO, and RX to TX.
Ground is required, power is not (use this cable with PBO powered up)

It tells you which COM port your usb/serial cable is on, in device manager.

No flow control - the connection settings are exactly as it shows on POST#1 <aasoror>:

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/9428/htpbosettings.jpg

[venn]

I am doing it exactly like that and yet... no luck.
Flipped the Rx <-> Tx for a test - same.

With or without the cable been connected to the PBO Hyperterminal fails to open the port. BTW the chip is powered from the USB and it should not matter for its initialization whether there is a device to communicate with or not.

Thanks for the reply.
I guess I got a "lemon" cable.

[LastButNotLeast]

Thanks for the reply.
I guess I got a "lemon" cable.


Try starting HT with the cable NOT connected to the box (or, conversely, if you've had it not connected, try connecting it, but I usually have the problem the other way). Once HT recognizes the cable and starts, connect it to the box.

[aasoror]

I guess I got a "lemon" cable.


Might want to check the tools petec uploaded here (http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/showpost.php?p=27650&postcount=40).

[venn]

Thank you, RandyG, LastButNotLeast, aasoror.

Finally I got it working.

RandyG, you were right - the cable must be connected to PBO and the box has to be powered on when I start(connect) the Hyperterminal.
Here's the weird stuff - the closer that connect is to the PBO bootup the better as there's a lot of data shot out on the PBO's Tx pin. Later the box issues just watchdog pid once every second and then sometimes I get again the error opening the port. I guess it has something to do with the input buffer for the cable.

Anyway, it's working now so I can leave aside the RS232 cable with level shifter which I was using up to now.

aasoror, thank you for the Bootcode update guide.

[aasoror]

RandyG, you were right - the cable must be connected to PBO and the box has to be powered on when I start(connect) the Hyperterminal.
Here's the weird stuff - the closer that connect is to the PBO bootup the better as there's a lot of data shot out on the PBO's Tx pin. Later the box issues just watchdog pid once every second and then sometimes I get again the error opening the port. I guess it has something to do with the input buffer for the cable.


This is strange, I thought you mentioned your cable was a 3 wire version (USB powered), since the VCC isn't connected thus the PBO isn't powering up the adapter, how can this affect the ability of the HT to open the port ?!

BTW ... how were you able to get into the RT Rom Monitor if you are powering up the PBO before starting the HT connection (I mean you were supposed to interrupt the PBO boot sequence by pressing ESC key during powerup .. or can it be interrupted further on the boot sequence ?)

In any case, as long as it working we aren't complaining, thanks for the update.

[venn]

since the VCC isn't connected thus the PBO isn't powering up the adapter, how can this affect the ability of the HT to open the port ?!

BTW ... how were you able to get into the RT Rom Monitor if you are powering up the PBO before starting the HT connection (I mean you were supposed to interrupt the PBO boot sequence by pressing ESC key during powerup .. or can it be interrupted further on the boot sequence ?)


It's a three wire cable powered by the USB.
While being "idle" there is 3.3V on the Tx pin and the Rx pin is floating.
If I have the Rx pin connected to GND (i.e. there's low level on that pin) I get the error message Hyperterminal not being able to open the port. If I use a loop-back wire to connect the Rx to Tx pin (i.e. high level on the Rx pin) HT starts up without any errors.
It might be unlisted auto shut-down feature of PL-2303 when there's no device attached... or it is just a protection against incorrect start-up state, short to GND for example. This rules incorrect my previous statement that the input buffer is related to the problem.

It doesn't matter how the high level to the cable's Rx pin is provided. If the PBO is on I get the high level, the start-up condition for the controller is satisfied and I can connect with HT. Once the HT is running I cycle the power of PBO and with ESC interrupt the boot sequence to get into Realtek Monitor.

Thanks for the assistance

[RandyG]

That isn't actually what I meant, but I'm real glad you got it working all the same :-)


What I was talking about - is sometimes you power the target with the cable, OR the target powers
itself with it's own power supply (and powers your TTL cable too if you have that kind), but never
do both at the same time. In this case, it's only a 3 wire cable with no power available,
and the PBO must be switched on.

(My CA-42 cable is modded to supply power, when I need it, with a mobo battery...)
http://members.shaw.ca/RandyG/PBO/CA-42.JPG

Anyway, I just tried it to make sure before posting, my CA-42 has no problem starting with WinXP hyperterm,
whether it's plugged in to the PBO or not, using the settings above.

And the PBO can be turned on, or not turned on, prior to plugging the cable
in and the text just starts scrolling on the open terminal window. It makes
no difference.

So maybe you have a wonky CA-42 cable after all ;-)

[kcalvert]

i bought a ca-42 cable from ebay recently (Brooklyn, NY seller) that has 5 wires: white, black, green, orange, blue

i already tossed the phone connection to figuring out which cable does what, that was, is no longer an option.

any help?

[gabe]

Is it safe to update bootcode with a different product's newer bootcode?

[snappy46]

Is it safe to update bootcode with a different product's newer bootcode?

Is it safe to cross the street when the light is red????:). Sorry I could not help myself; could you be a little more specific as to which other player you are talking about. Does it use the same 1073 realtek chip??? Do you have a way to recover if it does not work??? A bad flash of the bootcode could possibly means the end for that player as a player and the beginning of his life as a door stopper.

[gabe]

I have an Egreat HD-R1 clone(Dayfly) which has 1073 realtek chip, it has 15 bootcode or 0215, which I think doesn't support squashfs filesystem. But I've managed to repack a new firmware to yffs2 fs & I don't need the bootcode update anymore. I have an USB to TTL adapter, but I don't have the original bootcode. Can I save it somehow from mtdblock?

[tourist]

I got the cable from eBay a month ago. I got the 3 wire (blue/red/orange) version. I cut a PC audio cable, rearrange wires at the pin, and assemble the cable within 5 minutes. :)
http://www.patriotmem.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=336&stc=1&d=1285773524

[venn]

RandyG

Once Hyperterminal is started the cable works stable and I get whatever shows up on the serial line.
The problem is that the Chinese manufacturer cheapened to the max (hey, what else can you expect from a cable for $1.99 shipped) and skipped installing a weak pull up resistor to keep the Rx line high, but just left it floating. According to the Prolific's PL-2303 datasheet there is no pull-up or pull-down resistor on the input pin. Actually for the CA-42 project skipping the resistor is Ok as Nokia software would not try to communicate without a phone and once one is attached it drives the Rx line... the way it happens when I attach the PBO. Leaving the Rx line floating is not CA-42 cable requirement as the other cable I have, which is ArkMicro chip based, has that resistor installed, verified it physically.

And.. your idea with the battery is cool. I was planning to chop that cable apart too to get the power out from the controller.

[RandyG]

That's weird... the chip on mine is a "blob", so I can't see the pins... I don't see any resistors on the serial port side of the circuit though.

I do have two short black jumper wires across some of the pins... This cable has been around at least 5 or 6 years, and I don't remember if I did that, or it came that way. pin 1 to 4 on the back, and back to front on DTR.
http://members.shaw.ca/RandyG/PBO/2303_PCB_B_F.PNG

The cable schematic is here: SCH_PL2303_CABLE.PDF (http://members.shaw.ca/RandyG/PBO/SCH_PL2303_CABLE.PDF)

Does yours look like that?

[aasoror]

That's weird... the chip on mine is a "blob", so I can't see the pins... I don't see any resistors on the serial port side of the circuit though.

I can see the pins are labeled on the board, this is an excellent way to tell the wire assignment without any guess work, crack the shell open :)

[venn]

No, my version(s) is(are) different.

Here's the cable based on ArkMicro chip. You can see the 4K7 pull up resistor, so the Rx input will not float without a phone (device) attached. It's a 6 wire cable even with ACI (Accessory Control Interface) wire.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb444/venn123/ArkMicroCA42comments.jpg

And... here's the Prolific PL-2303 version. The Rx pin is left in the air and this is why I can't start Hyperterminal without anything attached to drive the Rx line high. I've added a resistor 10K(ohms) between Rx pin and 3V3 (one side of a capacitor) and the problem is solved - I don't need the PBO or anything attached to get Hyperterminal connected to the COM port.

http://i1206.photobucket.com/albums/bb444/venn123/ProlificCA42comments.jpg

Why your cable is working fine without a resistor - I don't know. As I already mentioned, according to the datasheet PL-2303 (http://www.prolific.com.tw/support/files/%5CIO%20Cable%5CPL-2303HX%5CDocuments%5CDatasheet%5Cds_pl2303HX_v15F. pdf) there's no such resistor built in. According to the schematic from your link (dated 1999) pin 22 controls the tri-state for pins 1, 2 and 3 (TXD, DTR and RTS). All three are outputs. According to the datasheet pin 22 is a General Purpose I/O pin i.e. no straight hardware control, but a software (driver) controlled behaviour.
Up to now I haven't seen a schematic of Prolific's PL-2303 without RS-232 driver/receiver interface chip and it is the one to keep the Rx line of PL-2303 high with nothing present on the line.

A resistor with cost of maybe fraction of a penny saved the manufacturer some money and killed some of my time. Anyway, I've got it running and thank all of you guys for the assistance.

[wigout]

I have an Egreat HD-R1 clone(Dayfly) which has 1073 realtek chip, it has 15 bootcode or 0215, which I think doesn't support squashfs filesystem. But I've managed to repack a new firmware to yffs2 fs & I don't need the bootcode update anymore. I have an USB to TTL adapter, but I don't have the original bootcode. Can I save it somehow from mtdblock?

Not exactly-
You can easily dd copy the mtdblock/0, which contains the bootcode.

Writing to the mtdblock/0 is kind of an unknown at this point. There are certainly parts of the mtdblock/0 that need to be in a precise place- the fw_tbl.bin, for example.

And if you mess something up there, it won't boot, and until someone figures out the jtag interface, you'll have a lovely brick.

Now the the dayfly players actually are one of the few firmwares which have had bootcodes distributed with the firmwares:
/DayFly/HD3548HL/1073_c0000_Deimos_avhdd.0000.0202.0017_ID003.bin
DayFly/HD3548HL/1073_c0000_Deimos_avhdd_no_hdd_128x1_pal_rsq.0000. 0202.0012.bin

Now I can't tell you either of those are a match for your device, but that's about all I know right now.

Let us know what you find.

-wigout

[__B__]

I decided to update my bootcode. I've updated bootcode and firmware in the past using the serial connection.

But now I'm stuck at here:


Type the following command at the prompt to load the bootcode file (press Enter when done)
Code:
load -b asc://tty0 0x80100000

The message "Start dump from terminal program" shows up, but the unit keeps waiting forever, the box to upload the file doesn't shoes up.

What can be wrong?

[LastButNotLeast]

The message "Start dump from terminal program" shows up, but the unit keeps waiting forever, the box to upload the file doesn't shoes up.

What can be wrong?

You're waiting for something that's not going to happen (an upload box). From post one of this thread:
"When you get the message to dump the file, transfer the bootcode bin file to the PBO using the Ymodem-G protocol (from the Transfer menu)."
Depending on the program you're using, it may be harder or easier to find the correct protocol, but it's (probably) there somewhere.
Good luck.

[aasoror]

You're waiting for something that's not going to happen (an upload box). From post one of this thread:
"When you get the message to dump the file, transfer the bootcode bin file to the PBO using the Ymodem-G protocol (from the Transfer menu)."
Depending on the program you're using, it may be harder or easier to find the correct protocol, but it's (probably) there somewhere.
Good luck.

+1, if you are using HT, there is a "Transfer menu" click on it and choose "send file" then you will get the popup dialogue box you are referring to, from that dialogue box choose the Ymodem-G protocol (drop down menu) and browse for the file to upload.

[__B__]

:p

You're both right... my bad. Thank you both... oh, and there's a broken image in that link, aasoror! If possible, you could change it... thanks for this really fast response from you!

[aasoror]

oh, and there's a broken image in that link, aasoror! If possible, you could change it...
Done :) ...

[adamsky]

Hi,

I've finally received my black 3 wire DKU black cable from ebay. It took me a while though to get prepared my Win7 (64) machine. I found another PL2303 Prolific driver (http://www.prolific.com.tw/support/files//IO%20Cable/PL-2303/Drivers%20-%20Generic/Windows/allinone/PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v130.zip) with installer that perfectly worked on my machine. No manual installations ;) If you have previously installed PL driver that does not work on your PC, use this installer to remove the old driver first and then reinstall.

My DKU cable setup BLUE = GND, WHITE = Tx, YELLOW = Rx

Thank you aasoror! :D

[gromit]

Just dropping in here to report that I successfully unbricked my PBO using these instructions.

My ebay CA-42 cable wire colour assignments matched up with aasoror's original post. I used an old 3 wire CD audio cable scavenged from an old machine, and converted it to a 4 wire cable by using a wire from the other end, as suggested by another user in this thread (thank you, whoever you are!).

The W7 driver suggested by tskitishvili and linked in the original post worked fine on my W7 Home Premium 64-bit.

The instructions were great; my only suggestion would be to put in a note in Step IV that the bootcode update part can be skipped by those who don't want to mess around with their bootcode (I was already on 23) and just want to unbrick their machine. As a beginner it wasn't obvious to me, although I suspected that this step might be optional; I went scouring through the forums to make sure I didn't have to update the bootcode first.

Otherwise the instructions were great! The high res pictures really helped too. Fantastic post, thank you very much to aasoror, tskitishvili, and the user who made the 3-wire to 4-wire audio cable suggestion.

[aasoror]

I've finally received my black 3 wire DKU black cable from ebay.

Thank you for sharing, OP updated.

[aasoror]

my only suggestion would be to put in a note in Step IV that the bootcode update part can be skipped by those who don't want to mess around with their bootcode (I was already on 23) and just want to unbrick their machine.

Thanks for the feedback, OP updated.

[raylang]

I would like to thank aasoror for the help late last night. He made it possible for me to complete construction of the DKU-5 cable for my bootcode upgrade and then with the software install. I upgraded from bootcode 16 all the way to 23 and everything works great. I now have weather,RSS News,CNN video,Last FM and more. So far it's awesome. Thanks again aasoror.

[PDNK]

I can communicate with the PBO and Hyperterminal. But I can't get it to complete the file transfer. Stops anywhere from10% to 95% of completion. I'm using Vista. The only cable driver I could get to work was the Win7 driver. Maybe that's the problem? I've tried different ports, reducing serial buffering, etc.. Nothing works.

I just tried another computer. Same problem. But with other computer the file upload stops really quick, after only a few packets. I'm thinking I have a DOA cable....

[billcat]

I know some people have had problems using hyperterminal in Vista. You might try Putty (http://tinyurl.com/2r4w) instead. I would also redownload the bin because it might be the one you're using got corrupted somehow. Follow the Vista experiences of outatouch0 at the beginning of this thread because there's some helpful info there.

[PDNK]

i bought a ca-42 cable from ebay recently (Brooklyn, NY seller) that has 5 wires: white, black, green, orange, blue

i already tossed the phone connection to figuring out which cable does what, that was, is no longer an option.

any help?
I think I got the same one. Five wires, but after I cracked open the shell I see there are only 3 connected tothe device! And no labels on the board. Solder splattered all over. Time to get a new cable. :-(

[billcat]

I think I got the same one. Five wires, but after I cracked open the shell I see there are only 3 connected tothe device! And no labels on the board. Solder splattered all over. Time to get a new cable. :-(

Wow, you gotta love that kind of knockoff. Make the seller aware of your findings. Don't just let it slide.

[PDNK]

Wow, you gotta love that kind of knockoff. Make the seller aware of your findings. Don't just let it slide.

To add insult to injury, it took 3 weeks to get it. They supposedly lost the first one, then made me wait an extra week before sending a new one. It's amazing how some sellers get positive ratings on Ebay. I think buyers are just afraid of giving negative feedback. I did!

It would be great if there was a list of good/bad cables for this. If anyone has a suggestion for one they know works, please let me know. I don't need the cheapest $2.68 cable. I'll go as high as $2.99.:)

[billcat]

I've got three of these cables, all set up for different devices (two for different media boxes). All three cables work and all three came from overseas, but I would hardly recommend any one seller because it's a crap shoot about the kind of quality you'll get from one shipment to the other. It's only lately I've noticed a lot of serious complaints about failed cables. I would try an in-country seller who will stand by any purchase you make. Although you'll pay more you can ask about and receive better quality assurance, and delivery time should be more convenient as well ..

[PDNK]

Maybe I was actually successfull...

Last time it finally did get to the end of the file upload. I get the message "ca not boot from HDD", which is apparently normal. When I try to boot from flash drive, it goes through the install routine, and keeps ending up on the can't boot display. I've tried both USB ports with same results, and I've tried several flash drives. Maybe this unit needs to go back to Patriot.

[aasoror]

Maybe I was actually successfull...

Last time it finally did get to the end of the file upload. I get the message "ca not boot from HDD", which is apparently normal. When I try to boot from flash drive, it goes through the install routine, and keeps ending up on the can't boot display. I've tried both USB ports with same results, and I've tried several flash drives. Maybe this unit needs to go back to Patriot.

I am not sure about how were you exactly using the cable, but apparently you were trying to upload the bootcode on it. well this shouldn't change that the firmware running on it.

You later describe a failing firmware upgrade process, now to remedy this via serial cable you need to connect to the HT (at this time you should check the first couple of lines on the Realtek monitor to know that your bootcode was upgraded successfully) and issue an "erase -m" command to clear the flash from any firmware there, then try the typical USB upgrade.

[PDNK]

Seems like I do have bc 23 installed. This is copy and paste from HT:

[HDMI]: Read_EDID abort, HDMI cable plug off.
[HDMI]: TV is not connected.
PAL logo

REALTEK ROM Monitor, Revision 0000.0202.0023.
Copyright (c) Realtek Semiconductor Corp. - All Rights Reserved.

For a list of available commands, type 'help'.

Compilation time /version= Apr 30 2010 10:16:33 /0000.0202.0023
MAC address = 00.16.67.02.24.23
Processor Company ID/options = 0x01 (MIPS Technologies, Inc.) / 0x00
Processor ID/revision = 0x93 / 0x78
Endianness = Little
Flash memory size = 256 MByte
SDRAM size = 128 MByte
First free SDRAM address = 0x800fab00

Press 'ESC' to Monitor mode
Realtek> erase -m
/Done
Realtek>

[aasoror]

Seems like I do have bc 23 installed.
true, so is that the bootcode you were trying to load or were you trying bc27 (the latest) ?

Next, I can see you issues "erase -m" now did you try USB reflash and it went on endless cycle still ?

[PDNK]

Yes, I tried to put in BC 23. My unit was kind of old, so I'm sure it had earlier bootcode initially. Possibly it is corrupt? With all the file upload problems, maybe so.

Yes, it just goes into the endless boot mode. Displays "Can not boot from HDD". Waits a minute or so then installs from flash. Says flash was complete, then repeats. It's done this too many times to count.

[aasoror]

Yes, I tried to put in BC 23. My unit was kind of old, so I'm sure it had earlier bootcode initially. Possibly it is corrupt? With all the file upload problems, maybe so.

Yes, it just goes into the endless boot mode. Displays "Can not boot from HDD". Waits a minute or so then installs from flash. Says flash was complete, then repeats. It's done this too many times to count.


That is strange, I would go bootcode 27 just for the sake of it.
Then remove HDD and any other attached peripherals, issue "erase -m" and then try updating with a different file than the one you are using. (might got corrupted during download or something)

[PDNK]

I was able to get bootcode 27 to load. Seems like disecting the cable and resodering the wire actually fixed it. But still same problem with the endless reboot. I've tried every firmware version and several USB sticks. I think my PBO is permanently bricked. :(

[aasoror]

I've tried every firmware version and several USB sticks. I think my PBO is permanently bricked. :(

I have to confirm one more time before you go to RMA. You did remove ALL peripherals including (but not limited to) HDMI cable, HDD, USB Wifi or other external storage ?

[PDNK]

Yes, I removed the HDD first thing. Never had wifi or any other peripheral.

Does it matter if I do the USB update with HDMI or just RCA cable?

I know it took the last bootcode because the display changed. Now I get the message PBO Core and logo.

[aasoror]

Does it matter if I do the USB update with HDMI or just RCA cable?


Well its better to disconnect HDMI as well, just to be on the safe side and keep monitoring the update from the composite, the HDMI is a 2way communication and "might" be troublesome. Also have you tried both back and front USB ports ?

[PDNK]

I've been doing it with RCA, so I think I'm out of options. Yes, I tried both USB ports.

[LastButNotLeast]

I was able to get bootcode 27 to load. Seems like disecting the cable and resodering the wire actually fixed it. But still same problem with the endless reboot. I've tried every firmware version and several USB sticks. I think my PBO is permanently bricked. :(

Have you been able to update firmware before? My problem turned out to be StuffIt. Try another download and a different decompression program.

[PDNK]

Yes, I've updated 2-3 times before. Just this last time I updated to a wrong bootcode version firmware. I just redownloaded the firmware file and unzipped with winzip. (I've been using winrar). I compared with a file compare utility and they are identical. Nice idea but I don't think that is the problem.

[djdandi]

I welcome the CA-42 but I got it 5 cables black, red, green, blue, white, and I can not connect to the competence I have Windows 7
if anyone has a solution for this type of cable
thanks for the reply.

[scboley]

Ordered mine a while back and threw it on the dresser.......well had my first bad flash last nite and it went into an endless bootloop.....found my cable and had to find a sound cable and use the end and go through all the wire matching discovery and an hr later I finally got to run erase -m in a putty console.

If you plan to flash these a lot get a cable is the moral of the story......

[LastButNotLeast]

Ordered mine a while back and threw it on the dresser.......well had my first bad flash last nite and it went into an endless bootloop.....found my cable and had to find a sound cable and use the end and go through all the wire matching discovery and an hr later I finally got to run erase -m in a putty console.

If you plan to flash these a lot get a cable is the moral of the story......

No, if you plan (or NEED) to flash these AT ALL, get a cable.
;)
Glad it worked. I couldn't do it in 11 minutes, either.
:D

[scboley]

No, if you plan (or NEED) to flash these AT ALL, get a cable.
;)
Glad it worked. I couldn't do it in 11 minutes, either.
:D
Yeah splicing miniature wires sux.....I wanted to hurry and it was late and didn't solder and after I undid it all and found one had come undone I just twisted left naked and did the recovery....I'll go back and solder it sometime soon and have it ready for the next time.

[headhunter1974]

Just Wanted to say thanks for all the great advice I've found on your forum. After flashing the wrong firmware, bricked my PBO. Thought that I was screwed. After ordering my CA-42 cable online and waiting well over 2 weeks, Couldn't wait any more. Went to my local cell phone shop and picked up a Maruti USB data cable for a Nokia 6101/6102. It was the only 1 they had, hooked it up and it worked. I don't know if it is a dku5 or ca42.
I was able to go from bootcode 16 to 27.
Thanks again for the great tips
Tim

[djdandi]

I welcome another cable but at last I have a problem of this type
I have 5 colors
green
white
blue
orange
Black
Yours Black -> GND, blue -> TX, orange -> RX
I see rising like a link as shown in Figure

http://brzanekonline.pl/strona/333.PNG

but nothing I can do as I type the command to reset the memory's nowhere I type
How do I take TRANSFER - SEND FILE and select the file
1073_c0000_Deimos_avhdd_P020P00_PAL_128x1_pal_rsq. 0000.0202.0020.bin
it's not to send
please help what is wrong
I recall that a completely different soft Uploader emtec 4133 firmware and now I can get rid of it

[aasoror]

I welcome another cable but at last I have a problem of this type
I have 5 colors

If you see the picture quoted then.
Your VCC is hocked up correctly (as the cable is running fine assuming its not USB powered).
Your RX is hocked up correctly (as you are getting ouput displayed from the box).
Apparently your TX is either wrong or swapped with your ground.

I would try swapping TX with the remaining lead, else swap TX with what you have on GND now.

Best of luck.

[djdandi]

Now I have to GND Black Cable
You can write more clearly how it combined?

[avman]

My CA-42 cable has:

gnd = orange

tx = blue

rx = red

HTH.

[aasoror]

My CA-42 cable has:

gnd = orange

tx = blue

rx = red

HTH.
Thanks for the update OP updated