[A-110] How to recover Firmware if something goes wrong

[werner]

Sometimes it can happen that something goes wrong after an firmware flash, your device stays dead, or anything else, here is the instruction to make it working again.
You can find that Instruction also in the FAQ's for A-110 on http://support.popcornhour.com/article.aspx?ID=1053

How to recover Popcorn Hour A-110 from firmware update failure with fail-safe kernel.

Follow these instructions to recover the Popcorn Hour A-110 if the firmware update fails.

This method is only applicable for the Popcorn Hour A-110. For A-100 recovery go here http://www.networkedmediatank.com/showth...?tid=10780

1. Download the following zip file: http://www.popcornhour.com/download/a110...080818.zip
2. Unzip both *.bin files into the root of a USB thumbdrive and plug the USB thumbdrive into the Popcorn Hour A-110 USB port.
3. Connect the Popcorn Hour A-110 to a TV through the Component or Composite outputs (do not connect with HDMI).
4. Power up (Plug in) the Popcorn Hour A-110.
5. Component or Composite video will display following colours depending on the recovery status:
   ALL RED SCREEN (4:3 ratio) - Required binaries on USB thumbdrive detected, starts recovery
   WHITE DOTS ON A RED SCREEN BACKGROUND (4:3 ratio) - reprogramming
   ALL YELLOW SCREEN (4:3 ratio) - Recovery failed
   ALL WHITE SCREEN (4:3 ratio) - Recovery success
6. After successful recovery, power cycle will bring it up again to 01-17-080818-15-POP-403 firmware.

If steps 1 - 6 stated above fail or do not produce a white screen, follow these instructions:

1. Power down the Popcorn Hour A-110 (unplug it from the power supply).
2. Insert a jumper on uart0 (see http://www.popcornhour.com/download/a110-jumper.jpg for exact location)
3. Plug the same USB thumbdrive with the same bin files into the Popcorn Hour A-110 USB port and the same component or composite cables into the Popcorn Hour A-110 and TV. If these cables have not been removed since you followed steps 1-6, just leave them plugged in.
4. Power up the Popcorn Hour A-110
5. Follow steps number 5 and 6 above.
6. When the all white screen comes on, power down the unit.
7. Remove the jumper.
8. Remove USB thumbdrive, component and/or composite cables.
9. Your Popcorn Hour will is now using 01-17-080818-15-POP-403 firmware.
10. Plug in desired connectors (HDMI, Component, Network, optical, etc.) and pat yourself on the back for successfully fixing your Popcorn Hour A-110.
    

[hseijdel]

doesn't work with a "dead" a110: no signal on a screen at all, only the light of the orange led at the front tells that there is power on the PCH

[werner]

i tried it at home, with one of my samples, i disconnected my device at flashing, after that my device was dead and after that steps it works again, but if there is an hardware problem then this cant help at all

[tomasvilda]

(09-17-2008 04:39 PM)werner Wrote:  i tried it at home, with one of my samples, i disconnected my device at flashing, after that my device was dead and after that steps it works again, but if there is an hardware problem then this cant help at all

you have disconnected at what stage? i think if you disconnect at Kernel reprogramming, this recovery firmware won't help. Somewhere I have read that recovery firmware works only if kernel programming stage completed succesfuly

[werner]

i disconnected at the kernel stage and sure it must work because the failsafe kernel is on the device already, it was already on the device since production

[tomasvilda]

(09-17-2008 05:03 PM)werner Wrote:  i disconnected at the kernel stage and sure it must work because the failsafe kernel is on the device already, it was already on the device since production

oh, that's good news Thank you, now I don't have to worry to much when firmware is updating.

[hseijdel]

maybe i do something wrong, for example:
Unzip both *.bin onto the root of a USB thumbdrive and plug into NMT

unzipping the bin files doesn't work, unzipping the package a110_recovery_080818 gives two files on the usb: one called boot-image and another called up5fw2TP
alright? Then plug in into the nmt. Does it matter? in the front or in the back?
So far so good?

[werner]

normaly not, omg i flash sometimes on one day 3 times for testing (older firmwares to new ones and then again back to old ones, ....) and need to recover also sometimes because i test it from time to time

regards werner

[werner]

yes thats correct, i use normaly the front usb, because i do it that way, but the device has to be powered off!! so plugin usb with the two bins inside into your nmt and then connect power to the device and it should start the recovery.
Oh last info, i put it into the first post, because i didnt know that also
there is an way to force the nmt to start recovery with an jumper setting, maybe try that also.

(09-17-2008 05:21 PM)hseijdel Wrote:  maybe i do something wrong, for example:
Unzip both *.bin onto the root of a USB thumbdrive and plug into NMT

unzipping the bin files doesn't work, unzipping the package a110_recovery_080818 gives two files on the usb: one called boot-image and another called up5fw2TP
alright? Then plug in into the nmt. Does it matter? in the front or in the back?
So far so good?

[hseijdel]

thanx,
but how could there be a hardware problem? yesterday i received it, and it was plug and play. After half an hour all of a sudden i had only a orange light left and the message on the screen: no videosignal. Can hardware have a spontane failure?

[werner]

hmmm did you try the TV mode thing already? or did you try other connections already like component (TVmode + 4, 5 or 6) or composite (TV Mode + 1 or 2)?

[hseijdel]

i'm not familiar with jumpers. I saw the photo. What do i have to do and how. At the photo there is some white "thing" (called a shunt?), do i need such? I found one on a old audio PCI card (shunt), can i use that? It does fit! But before i put the power on? Sorry, i'm no technician

by the way, in photo version i count 5 led lights on a row, i only have 4, other machine?

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yes i did already other connections

[werner]

i have an sample of a110 with 5 leds that was befor it goes to endproduction
the jumper is an bridge so it only makes an connection with two pins, as i worked in an other business we did that also with an screwdrive to close contacts normaly you cant destroy your device with closing that connection to be clear the UART has

10 pins or 5 per row and you have to close the midel as described in the photo, i use normaly jumpers from IDE Harddrives but from PCI Cards it is also ok and yes i think you are right with shunt we call them jumpers hehehe

[hseijdel]

thanx, i'll have a try

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nothing
only an orange light at the front and when putting the power in: the leds of the ethernet port blinks once

[werner]

strange then for me it looks like that realy the hardware is broken , strange that it happens please open an case on the pch support site, write everything in you tried also tell them that you already tried recovery thing.
Or if you bought it over an reseller then talk to him

regards werner