Flashing With IFA
===========
Of late, I have been using the Image Flashing Assistant (IFA) frequently.
Not really something to boast about but it sure saved the DBox from
becoming a large piece of useless plastic, on numerous occasions.
There are already many posts on this topic, yet this topic never seems
to go away. Here is an attempt to explain how to use the IFA by
detailing a concise account of what I did to recover a semi-dead (or
is that semi-alive?) DBox.
Actually, you might not be recovering a semi-dead DBox at all. You
could simply be flashing on a new image. Etiher way, the methods
described in this guide would still apply.
Assumptions
========
01. You have IFA installed on the PC. If not, get it from the official
site [DLMURL="http://www.dboxservice-hallenberg.de/freedownloads.php"]here[/DLMURL], or if you prefer, get it here in one of the forum
threads (e.g. here). Once downloaded, install it.
02. A crossover ethernet cable is available to connect the DBox to the
PC running IFA.
03. You have a suitable image for your DBox accessible by IFA. To avoid
any potential nightmare scenarios, make sure you get the correct
image (e.g. 2xI or 1xI).
Flashing Steps - Part 1
===============
Here is what I normally do to reflash the DBox.
01. Turn off power to the DBox.
02. Connect the crossover cable between the DBox and the PC.
03. Load IFA, configure and start flashing process (by clicking start
followed by clicking ok in the popup message box). It is recommended
that a NULL modem cable used. That way, you can see the communication
messages between the DBox and the PC. However, if you don't have
a NULL modem cable, the flashing process should still work. The
NULL modem cable is NOT absolutely necessary.
04. Turn on power to the DBox.
05. Observe the word "FLASHING" on the DBox's LCD.
06. Hang around for about 2 minutes.
07. Observe the words "FLASHING Done!" on the DBox's LCD.
08. Turn off power to the DBox.
09. Wait a few seconds.
10. Turn on power to the DBox.
The steps above should work every time in an ideal world but
unfortunately, sometimes the DBox play up and it doesn't flash
in the first try - you have to power cycle the DBox a few times
for it to start flashing. Why, you ask? I have no idea. See
below.
Flashing Steps - Part 2
===============
The following instructions apply if the flash doesn't work on the
first try.
Some of the symptoms I observed with failed flashes include:
--> Seeing the BMON information on the LCD, getting to the u-boot stage,
and the kernel is supposedly booting but this is as far as it gets.
No response from the DBox with frantic button presses on the remote.
--> Same as above but the DBox LCD displays a message showing
"FlashAssistant Hallenberg" and a picture of the IFA is displayed
on the TV. Wait for a while but nothing happens.
When doing a flash, neither of the above scenaios should happen. The
kernel definitely shouldn't be booting. The flash process simply hasn't
done anything. Turn off the power to the DBox.
Close the IFA - it isn't doing anything. Search for ppcboot directories.
By default, these are located in the top level C: drive. If your default
temporary location is different, find these ppcboot directories and
delete all of them.
Repeat steps 3 & 4 from the "Flashing Steps - Part 1" section. Do you
see the word "FLASHING" on the LCD? Still no? Turn off the DBox again.
But leave the IFA running! Wait a little while (say 20 seconds). Now,
repeat steps 3 & 4 again. Keep doing this until you see the word
"FLASHING" on the LCD. This may take a couple of tries, anything between
two to ten. Be patient - don't sweat.
Hopefully, you should now see those magic letters and the DBox is
finally getting flashed. At this stage, do not disturb the PC, the DBox,
or the crossover cable. If all is well, you should observe the words
"Flashing done!" on the LCD. It is now okay to close IFA and power
cycle the DBox.
After the power cycle, the DBox should be up and fully operational.
Backing Up
=======
There is nothing more annoying than having tweaked the DBox for an
entire day to suddenly find that it refuses to boot and you have
not backed up any of the changes. Always remember to backup, it is
simple and extremely quick to do.
There are numerous ways on how to backup your running DBox image.
I will attempt to explain one of those many ways.
First grab that DBox remote and press the following keys:
dbox->
service->
Image Backup->
Flash read/write->
Read one partition->
flash without bootloader
A popup window will now be shown on the TV with a progress bar
showing the DBox image being backed up. In my particular case, I
ended up with an image named "mtd3.img" in the "/tmp" directory.
Whole process took less than a few seconds.
What you need to do now is transfer this image from the "/tmp"
directory on the DBox and store it somewhere safe. For example,
burn the backed up image on to a CD.
On your windows PC, open up a command prompt and enter the
following to retrieve the backup image to the PC:
ftp xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (replace the xxx's with your DBox's IP address)
root (when prompted for username)
dbox2 (when prompted for password - actually mine was blank)
bin (transfer using binary mode)
cd /tmp (change directory)
get mtd3.img (copy image across to PC - change the filename accordingly)
When the image download is complete, type:
quit
which will close the command prompt window. That's it. You now
have a backup DBox image.
Notes to myself and others
==================
01. Do not rush to flash some image you just found in some random
forum. It is worthwhile to double check that you have the correct
image (1xI or 2xI) before flashing the DBox.
02. You can power cycle the DBox by pressing the "Stand-by"
button and the "Up" button simultaneously on the front of the
DBox (just behind the front panel). Press and hold until the LCD
clears itself.
===========
Of late, I have been using the Image Flashing Assistant (IFA) frequently.
Not really something to boast about but it sure saved the DBox from
becoming a large piece of useless plastic, on numerous occasions.
There are already many posts on this topic, yet this topic never seems
to go away. Here is an attempt to explain how to use the IFA by
detailing a concise account of what I did to recover a semi-dead (or
is that semi-alive?) DBox.
Actually, you might not be recovering a semi-dead DBox at all. You
could simply be flashing on a new image. Etiher way, the methods
described in this guide would still apply.
Assumptions
========
01. You have IFA installed on the PC. If not, get it from the official
site [DLMURL="http://www.dboxservice-hallenberg.de/freedownloads.php"]here[/DLMURL], or if you prefer, get it here in one of the forum
threads (e.g. here). Once downloaded, install it.
02. A crossover ethernet cable is available to connect the DBox to the
PC running IFA.
03. You have a suitable image for your DBox accessible by IFA. To avoid
any potential nightmare scenarios, make sure you get the correct
image (e.g. 2xI or 1xI).
Flashing Steps - Part 1
===============
Here is what I normally do to reflash the DBox.
01. Turn off power to the DBox.
02. Connect the crossover cable between the DBox and the PC.
03. Load IFA, configure and start flashing process (by clicking start
followed by clicking ok in the popup message box). It is recommended
that a NULL modem cable used. That way, you can see the communication
messages between the DBox and the PC. However, if you don't have
a NULL modem cable, the flashing process should still work. The
NULL modem cable is NOT absolutely necessary.
04. Turn on power to the DBox.
05. Observe the word "FLASHING" on the DBox's LCD.
06. Hang around for about 2 minutes.
07. Observe the words "FLASHING Done!" on the DBox's LCD.
08. Turn off power to the DBox.
09. Wait a few seconds.
10. Turn on power to the DBox.
The steps above should work every time in an ideal world but
unfortunately, sometimes the DBox play up and it doesn't flash
in the first try - you have to power cycle the DBox a few times
for it to start flashing. Why, you ask? I have no idea. See
below.
Flashing Steps - Part 2
===============
The following instructions apply if the flash doesn't work on the
first try.
Some of the symptoms I observed with failed flashes include:
--> Seeing the BMON information on the LCD, getting to the u-boot stage,
and the kernel is supposedly booting but this is as far as it gets.
No response from the DBox with frantic button presses on the remote.
--> Same as above but the DBox LCD displays a message showing
"FlashAssistant Hallenberg" and a picture of the IFA is displayed
on the TV. Wait for a while but nothing happens.
When doing a flash, neither of the above scenaios should happen. The
kernel definitely shouldn't be booting. The flash process simply hasn't
done anything. Turn off the power to the DBox.
Close the IFA - it isn't doing anything. Search for ppcboot directories.
By default, these are located in the top level C: drive. If your default
temporary location is different, find these ppcboot directories and
delete all of them.
Repeat steps 3 & 4 from the "Flashing Steps - Part 1" section. Do you
see the word "FLASHING" on the LCD? Still no? Turn off the DBox again.
But leave the IFA running! Wait a little while (say 20 seconds). Now,
repeat steps 3 & 4 again. Keep doing this until you see the word
"FLASHING" on the LCD. This may take a couple of tries, anything between
two to ten. Be patient - don't sweat.
Hopefully, you should now see those magic letters and the DBox is
finally getting flashed. At this stage, do not disturb the PC, the DBox,
or the crossover cable. If all is well, you should observe the words
"Flashing done!" on the LCD. It is now okay to close IFA and power
cycle the DBox.
After the power cycle, the DBox should be up and fully operational.
Backing Up
=======
There is nothing more annoying than having tweaked the DBox for an
entire day to suddenly find that it refuses to boot and you have
not backed up any of the changes. Always remember to backup, it is
simple and extremely quick to do.
There are numerous ways on how to backup your running DBox image.
I will attempt to explain one of those many ways.
First grab that DBox remote and press the following keys:
dbox->
service->
Image Backup->
Flash read/write->
Read one partition->
flash without bootloader
A popup window will now be shown on the TV with a progress bar
showing the DBox image being backed up. In my particular case, I
ended up with an image named "mtd3.img" in the "/tmp" directory.
Whole process took less than a few seconds.
What you need to do now is transfer this image from the "/tmp"
directory on the DBox and store it somewhere safe. For example,
burn the backed up image on to a CD.
On your windows PC, open up a command prompt and enter the
following to retrieve the backup image to the PC:
ftp xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (replace the xxx's with your DBox's IP address)
root (when prompted for username)
dbox2 (when prompted for password - actually mine was blank)
bin (transfer using binary mode)
cd /tmp (change directory)
get mtd3.img (copy image across to PC - change the filename accordingly)
When the image download is complete, type:
quit
which will close the command prompt window. That's it. You now
have a backup DBox image.
Notes to myself and others
==================
01. Do not rush to flash some image you just found in some random
forum. It is worthwhile to double check that you have the correct
image (1xI or 2xI) before flashing the DBox.
02. You can power cycle the DBox by pressing the "Stand-by"
button and the "Up" button simultaneously on the front of the
DBox (just behind the front panel). Press and hold until the LCD
clears itself.
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