Problem with S9 Firmware upgrade - need help

[a_hockeynut]

I had read about a new firmware upgrade which fixes the green tint issue for the s9 here:

http://www.satelliteguys.us/248448-using-openbox-s9-recording-help-2.html

I thought I would give it a try.

Now my S9 does not seem to want to power on. The front control panel just has the following letters:

oN (actually the N is like a capital upside down U).

I cannot get the menu to come up. I cannot tell if it is actually on or not. I tried flipping through formats to no avail. I only have the hookup through A/V. I could try the HDMI hookup on my TV if somebody thinks I may actually get to see something there.

I have the backup firmware version on my USB stick, but I cannot even pull up the menu to put the old version back on.

Any ideas?

 

[FaT Air]

I haven't used it, as I haven't run into this problem. But a bit of research found this at a European site:

Box does not respond (appears dead) or displays On?

If your box does not respond, or just displays "On", there is a good chance the current FIRMWARE on the box is somehow corrupt. This could be from a number of things.

To solve it, you will need to flish it with the firmware again, but as you can not access it, you may think the box is stuck.

You will need to use this tool, connect a serial cable to the box and follow the instructions.
Hopefully it will bring your box back to life.

Please use this tool: Openbox Upgrade Tool (Loader) V2.0.0c

which is included in the OpenBox S9 Software Bundle. Link is in this thread http://www.satelliteguys.us/free-air-fta-discussion/235750-how-change-boot-image-openbox-s9.html (I cannot guarantee that the link is still good, but I did download it back in November) Hope it fixes your problem.

 

[a_hockeynut]

Thanks for the response! In my thinking about it through a restless night of sleep, I thought the serial cable update may be my only hope.

You have validated that thought!

Hoping I can find that serial cable and put back my original firmware via this tool.

Thanks again! Will post back here when I get time to give it a try.

 

[thebaggins]

Just remember you need a null cable not a strait through, I've used the procedure a few times it does work.

 

[PopcornNMore]

I just tried and unfortunately this link is no longer available.

 

[FaT Air]

I could upload the zip file to satelliteguys, what's the procedure to get it posted?

 

[Candid]

hxxp://www.4shared.com/get/wksSyB5V/Openbox_S9_Upgrade_Tool_v2000.html

 

[Candid]

I could upload the zip file to satelliteguys, what's the procedure to get it posted?

Just go to the download section and you can upload it.

Candid

 

[brentb636]

I uploaded it yesterday, but apparently it's still in the approval queue. Not available in the list, I know.
If you want to PM me with your email address, I'll send it personally.

 

[a_hockeynut]

Whew, finally had the time to try the rescue mission, went very well, when I saw 0001 on the panel, I knew that was a good sign! Thanks everyone! I may try the update for the green tint through the serial port also, and maybe download it anew in case it was corrupted during download. At least I know now I can get back to a working box as long as I keep my orignal backup safe!

 

[a_hockeynut]

Woohoo!

I woke up early today, and decided to try loading the firmware to fix the green tint issue. I found the firmware in the downloads section (rather than downloading it from the other place I had found it). Loaded it up, and here is where it gets even better! I figured out what I goofed up last time to corrupt my S9 (that required a reload through the serial port)!

After loading the firmware, I wanted to reload my channels. To save the channels, I had a TP_prog.dbs file. Then it hit me. When I was playing around with my backup version before, I had renamed the file with an abs extension (TP_prog.abs) so I could look at it in the editor, and when I had tried to reload my channels I had forgot to rename the file back, so apparently when I instructed my S9 to load a file named TP_prog.abs it corrupted my system!

So anyhow this time I reloaded my channels from the TP_prog.dbs file. Interesting thing here is my channels did not "reappear" until I powered down and back up. One happy camper now! Woohoo!

I am very thankful for the new downloads section here on satelliteguys, and also for the many contributors in this forum!

 

[brentb636]

It's good to hear your news...
Glad that you know how the original corruption was created and how to avoid it. There is a version of the editor available that does NOT require renaming the TP_prog.dbs file, and I've started using that modified editor with success.

 

[zamar23]

I could upload the zip file to satelliteguys, what's the procedure to get it posted?

Did you have a chance to upload the whole "OpenBox S9 Software Bundle" to Satguys or any free file sharing server like Megaupload? I can't seems to find it here...

 

[brentb636]

I just uploaded the modified editor file. If it clears the moderator queue, we'll have it on file in the download section.

 

[zamar23]

Did you mean, the Editor (which one?) was modified at some point? Do you have the whole software bundle listed in this thread?

 

[brentb636]

Yes, the editor was modifed from operating on ".abs" extension files, to ".dbs" extension files. Thus, editting the Channel dump does not require renaming any files, and it works. I have the software bundle , but it's too large for the download section to accept. It's about 13 MB .

 

[Mr Tony]

I just uploaded the modified editor file. If it clears the moderator queue, we'll have it on file in the download section.

thats been taken care of

 

[Mr Tony]

Chad glad you got it working again

 

[zamar23]

I have the software bundle , but it's too large for the download section to accept. It's about 13 MB

OK, got it. May be you can upload it to ShareIt or Megaupload when you have time... It doesn't look too large nowadays, may be for very slow uploads. Another idea is to shrink unpacked original files (not archive files) with 7-zip archiver, choosing 7z format instead of .rar or .zip and "Ultra" compression level - can make it a lot smaller.

 

[Mr Tony]

brent what files are in it?
Are the files already in the downloads section? I thought we had everything there