Dm800 clone Idiot's Guide to Latest Images and Drivers - Files Included

titan_uk

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No offence meant - By idiot, I mean simplified (and long) necessary for ease of understanding, sorry ;) Experts can go straight to procedure. Took me a while so it's getting posted :)

WARNING! - USE AT YOUR OWN RISK! Please read fully before attempting. It is also recommended you read the posts on how to flash with the web interface.

Notes:

This is a collection of information from everywhere in one place, with my own experiences added. Special thanks go to Oozoon for his incredibly awesome images. If you like them and you use them, please donate to him. (As you should to the guys making any images you use)

Thanks also to the various authors of software and posters of information I've unashamedly ripped off ;) - Chouchou, Way75, Mfaraj57, Ferret, Brummie and all the other people I've nicked off - hopefully it's pretty comprehensive. Feel free to criticise or point out errors.

I would never flash anything over wireless, so this guide is for cabled only. You can substitute relevant bits for wireless if you must.

Find out what 2nd stage boot loader your DB is running (watch the display carefully as you insert power, will be probably be something like #72 or #70, if you flash and get a CA error try backtracking with earlier versions)

You'll probably want to download your bouquets / sat data using Dreamset or Dreambox edit before following this procedure, otherwise, when you're done, they'll all be wiped and you'll have to scan.

Don't get eager between unplugging the power and re-inserting - you can trip the surge protection and that just means unplugging and waiting even longer (can be hours, even overnight!) for it to discharge before re-inserting. I don’t agree with the widely spouted idea of quickly inserting and re-inserting the power until your box comes alive again. It seems insane to me and you are asking for something to blow - Quick or possibly dead – your choice. DON'T DO IT! (Please correct me if you’ve waited longer than a day and this is the only way – otherwise I don’t wanna know)

NEVER unplug any cables especially the power and sat cable (unplug power before sat cable) while powered on. Nearly every connection at the back is live with power in and you are risking a fatal short.

Personally tested on 1xBL#70, 3xBL#72 and 2xBL#74 (my BL74 seems to be hacked and appears to be a BL72 in disguise **to be confirmed** - it doesn't matter really and I use #72) but no reason why same procedure can't be used with other BLs. HOWEVER... If using a BL lower than 70 Then ONLY replace the tuner file (bcm7401.ko) AND NOT the card reader (stb-core.ko) or the box will hang and you'll probably end up starting again.

I am going to assume that you will be either carrying the DB to your PC or vice versa and therefore will have BOTH a serial AND an RJ45 connection available. If like me, your serial is a fatty you may have to unplug the DVI to get it in, since you don't need video output for the important flashing bits, feel free, as I do to leave the DVI & sat cable out until needed.

I use Oozoon lean images for speed, lightweight and ease of use - you'll see why later. Plus makes a nice grounding for Barry Allen (look it up, I might do an idiot's guide to that sometime if needed :)

Even though this is long the actual procedure is quite quick.

Definitions used and items needed:

Firstly download & unpack DM800 Flash Pack.part1.rar, DM800 Flash Pack.part2.rar & DM800 Flash Pack.part3.rar - They contain all the files you need (up to date as of 18/10/09). We won't be using everything but there for those who want.

Wait - At least 30, preferably 60 seconds waiting time

BL - Boot loader 2nd stage - Initializes the box and lets the actual image load - Wrong BL = No boot! - We will only be using .nfi but I supplied .ipk for those that want.

DB - The Dreambox 800HD

PC - Laptop or PC

Serial cable - DB9 Null modem serial cable

RJ45 Patch lead - RJ45, either normal or crossover - modern PCs usually have auto crossover ports, so just a normal lead is usually required.
You won't need a crossover if your PC & DB are both plugged into a hub/router.
To test which you need - Plug a normal RJ45 from PC into DB - DB can be fully running, in NHF mode or in Upload mode. Open a command prompt and ping your DB. If it pings, you don't need a crossover. If it doesn't ping, try a crossover cable, if it still doesn't, something else is wrong.

COM port - The serial com port used to connect to DB. Usually listed in windows device manager under ports (COM & LPT) eg. Communications Port (COM 1)

NHF - Networked HTTP Flash mode. Called because DreamUp will ALWAYS force a boot loader flash (in my case usually #65) to your DB before allowing you to do anything. Steps to achieve:

1. Power off DB and unplug the power from DB. Wait. (you can do step 2 whilst waiting)

2. Connect both a serial cable AND an RJ45 to both PC AND DB. Serial is only used for initial connection because it's sloooowwwww! but it can be used for flashing images if you can't get the DB into networked mode (un-tick "use network" in DreamUp for this)

3. Open DreamUp. Select COM port. Tick “Use network”. Make sure the PC ip address is in both "Local IP (PC):" and "select one:" boxes. As long as the DB is on the same subnet(first 3 sets of numbers), as long as it's unique on your network, the DB can be more or less any number you like (may as well keep it close to PC though) eg. PC ip address = 192.168.1.50, DB ip address = 192.168.1.51

4. Hit connect. When connection is prepared, plug in power to DB. DreamUp will flash a basic boot loader. When complete, the flash button should be available.

Note: Both versions of DreamUp seem a bit buggy, if the flash button isn't available, unplug power, wait and try again from Step 3. I use v1.3.3.4 and it always works eventually. If after a couple of tries it doesn't, you can try the DM800 repair tool (run it and use "info" for a how to use) - I have never needed it.

Upload mode - This is probably the most commonly used mode - used for flashing new images. Steps to achieve:

1. Power off DB & unplug power from DB. Wait. Connect RJ45.

2. Hold down power button & plug in power - keep holding power button until an ip address (make a note of it) and **stop** appears in DB display.

Note: If you don't see the message or get something like "Error ->", it usually means your finger slipped off the power button. Unplug power. Wait. Go to step 2. In my experience, the DB will stay in upload mode (red light flashing) for ages, so no rush to do anything, however shortly after flashing the image file, the interface will automatically shut down and become unreachable - DON'T PANIC! - it's normal. I only mention it because some people prefer to quickly upload the 2nd stage after the image but you have to be quick and it isn't necessary.

Allll righty then. All set? Let's get to it! Even though this is relatively easy and safe, no responsibility is taken for anything you do from here on....Here be Dragons!

Procedure:

1. Power down and unplug DB. Open a browser.

2. Enter Upload mode and take note of the ip address on DB display. Enter ip address browser and enter the DB web interface. Click the "firmware upgrade" link.

3. Click browse button and browse to images/OoZooN-CVS-lean-dm800-20091017_dev75.nfi on PC, click it and click open.

4. Click Flash! and off we go! When the upload reaches 100%, wait a few seconds, unplug power from DB. Wait.

5. Connect a serial cable & RJ45 to DB and PC and enter NHF mode with DreamUp

6. Click Flash and Browse to the 2ndstage-dm800 folder on your PC. Pick the *.nfi for your DB, eg. secondstage-dm800-72.nfi – when you hit open - off it goes!!

7. 2 seconds later - You should see Box flashed successfully - hit OK, hit Disconnect, hit Exit.

8. Unplug the power to DB. Wait.

9. Insert power and let DB boot up - If you see an update message, Hit No. (This is so you can to the options in step 12 before a reboot)

10. Run through the configuration until you see the channel selection box and hit exit on the remote control. If you miss the video set-up, just wait it will cycle around and come back again.

11. You should be at the default screen and staring at a penguin - Hit menu on the remote control and go to plugins.

12. Hit update check and review the options. I like to control updates myself so I disable everything apart from console output. Set as you like but REBOOT CONFIRMATION DEFAULT ANSWER - MUST BE DISABLED!!
13. This next bit is up to you but works fine for me up to the time of writing and I intend to keep doing it :)11_1_206sq: Ooozoon) - Hit yellow button (check) on remote control and you'll probably get an update message. Go ahead and update. Hit Ok when you see execution finished message - IMPORTANT - HIT NO to the reboot question.

14. Hit green (OK) button on remote control to save your selections and exit on remote control to return to main menu.

15. Go to Standby/Restart, Hit ok on remote control, pick Deep Standby, hit ok on remote control. Wait for unplug message and unplug power. Wait.

16. Redo steps 5 - 9.

17. Open up DCC_E2 (you left RJ45 in right?) - If not plug in, go to configuration tab - network. Set Connection type, ip addresses and if there is no green line, hit reconnect - should say network ok. Default name=root, Passw=dreambox

17a. (not required) I’ll keep using Oozoon to update and check the tuner and card reader files but here’s how to manually update drivers to latest if you must. In Dcc - Click on Tools tab, click on ipkg Packages, click on upload package, browse to dvb-modules/original driver package on PC, select latest driver .ipk file, click open – drivers automatically updated. Proceed to 18.

18. Click on the FTP tab. In the left pane (DB) browse to lib/modules/2.6.12-5.1-brcmstb-dm800/extra folder (name may change in future updates but will be in same place) you should see about 13 files with the 2 most important ones - bcm7401.ko & stb-core.ko. In the right pane (PC) browse to your extras (older drivers) folder. TAKE NOTE OF WHAT I SAID AT THE BEGINNING ABOUT BL VERSIONS! Click the bcm7401.ko file in the RIGHT pane and hit the <- button in the middle to send the file to the DB. Click YES to overwrite. Do the same with the stb-core.ko file (if required). Click Exit in Dcc.

19. On remote control hit menu, goto Standby/Restart again and Deep Standby. Unplug DB when told. Wait.

[B20.[/B] Re-plug power in and let it boot.

Woo Hooo!! :banana: Congrats if you got this far. You have a fully updated DB with latest image and drivers. Now all that's required is to set-up your tuner and upload/scan your bouquets & sat info. I recommend Astra HD Demokanal channel on Astra 19.2E for showing off your 800 – It’s gorgeous.

Please Note: Anytime an update updates your 2nd stage and or the tuner/card reader (keep checking with Dcc) you will need to re-flash (Steps 5-9 & 18). If you don't know if it will, or you don't want to re-flash/FTP all the time – DON’T UPDATE. If you do anything wrong or at sometime in the future an update screws everything up and you are left with No CA Found or similar - DON'T PANIC!, unplug power. Wait. Try to re-flash your 2nd stage (Steps 5-9). If that still doesn't work, get into NHF mode and start again or alternatively flash a full image like the patched nabilo_11 included (only if you have BL#72 or later) using DreamUp either in NHF mode or Serial mode with no RJ45 & ip address.


Good luck! I hope this helps.



Titan.
 
absolute brilliant guide m8 well done !.i kept away from buying a clone for the simple reason i didnt know what to do flashing wise so big thanks goes out :).

in your opinion , is it worth buying a clone ?.so many ppl have warned me away through the bootloader which ive never quite understood.
 
This is great will it work on DM800HD for cable? Will this work on a genuine box aswell?
Cheers
 
Very nice post titan, cheers for that :Cheers:

One slight clarification, the bcm7401.ko driver is not a tuner module but the main driver for the broadcom 7401 chip - this from their site:

The BCM7401 is a high-definition satellite, cable, and IP set-top box DVR solution offering integrated AVC (H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10), MPEG-2, and VC-1 video decoding technology. It combines a data transport processor, high-definition AVC/MPEG-2/VC-1 video decoder, advanced-audio decoder, 2D graphics processing, high-quality video scaling and motion adaptive deinterlacing, six video DACs, stereo high-fidelity audio DACs, a MIPS32/MIPS16e™ class CPU, and a peripheral control unit providing a variety of set-top box control functions.

The MPEG-2 DVB-compliant transport stream/PES parser and demultiplexer is capable of simultaneously processing 256 PIDs via 128 PID channels in up to five independent external transport stream inputs and two internal playback channels.

This chip is basically the CPU/GPU of the DM800, and not just a tuner module.
 
Excellent guide Titan, thanks for posting:Clap::Cheers:
 
Great thanks !
If I correctly understand, Oozoon is able to update all the drivers (on a Clone) from OSD ? Right ?
 
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great guide m8 thanks.i was thinking last night of puting oozoon in flash with barry alen so i can put images on usb.
 
@ Silverdale
100% I would atm. my 74s work beautifully at 72. latest bootloader is mainly for e-peen. Ask me again when we reach BL100 and decent 800 hardware changes.

@Stelladrinka
You have a working image file with 2nd stage atm right? Get one. your choice to try. You're changing the 7401 driver which supports cable and the card reader to earlier versions, I don't see why it won't work. FTP your working lib/module over as a backup and try it. Worse that can happen is you have to reflash with original image. Let us know how it goes.

Genuine? yeah, but why would you? If you mean image wise - yeah just get a latest image and plonk it on via web interface and reboot.

@mrbleu500
hehe yeah, Thanks for definition - tuner is easier to type :) God that sounds sarcastic but it isn't, honest! As I understand it, the 7401 is a high definition AVC/VC-1/MPEG-2 digital video system-on-a-chip. Think along the lines of a digital camera but better. Technically not a CPU/GPU but a GPU with a CPU
View attachment 48802
That liddle box in the top left is the processor - the rest is (nearly) all video baby

@Chercheur
Console output says yeeaaas.

...i was thinking last night of puting oozoon in flash with barry alen so i can put images on usb.

^^ this

Please note this is latest 2.6 dev version if you prefer stable version it's called 2.5 "stable" (strangely enough ;) works exactly the same
 
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Please note this is latest 2.6 dev version if you prefer stable version it's called 2.5 "stable" (strangely enough ;) works exactly the same

Err re-reading that bit - it should actually read as:
Please note this is latest 2.6 dev version if you prefer stable version it's called 2.5 "stable" (strangely enough ;) ) you flash exactly the same.

To clarify since I've been asked if the image is bug free - Probably not! It seems ok so far but as mentioned I'm only using it as a base image for Barry Allen. If you just want one image in internal flash either use the stable version or a patched Nabilo like the one mrbleu posted the other day (nabilo 12 patched for Bl72). I should've put that in the guide - I apologise.
 
excellant guide that m8 really usefull for us dbox virgins...Simples...:Clap:
 
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