Goof up on Ultra

[AcWxRadar]

Thanks Radar. Rick told me to do the formatting of the app area three times because of the reasons you just mentioned.
These boxes are like our computers, when so much software changes, the cookies from the internet, etc go thru the computer, it tend to get sluggish in performance. I noticed that with the Ultra and after I formatted the app area, and reinstalling the 2050 FW it is doing much better. All the old settings that I did since I bought the box are completely gone. Kinda reminds me of defraging the harddrive on our computers.
I will install the newest FW tonight then program all my satellites. Did I read somewhere that I need to unplug my HDD before doing so?

MrFTAMan,

It was probably from me that you read about disconnecting your HDD before updating the firmware. This is just another safety tip from my personal arsenal.

One time, I found my HDD contents all scattered. Movies were missing, playing one movie would start and then in midstream go to the middle of another movie, some movies would no longer play at all, some movies were listed under a title of a different movie and on and on...... It was just totally hosed up! I had to reformat my HDD and start over from scratch. That may not seem so bad, but on a 1 TB HDD filled to 75% of capacity, do you realize how much time I had spent to get there? If you guessed about 9 months, you would be pretty close. Do you want to put that much data on your HDD and then just flush it down the toilet and then restore it once again with another 9 months of work, just to save 5 minutes of time in order to avoid disconnecting the HDD?

You will have to understand that I was transferring my entire DVD library to my AZBox's HDD. If you are just using your HDD to record a specific program off the sat while you are at work so that you can watch it later and you don't care what happens to that recorded program after you have viewed it, then you don't need to bother disconnecting the HDD. It is only my recommendation to do so if you absolutely want to ensure that you don't lose any of those programs and you have not backed them up to another device already.

I do not know what actually caused my HDD contents to become scrambled and scattered as it did, however, updating the firmware was one of the things that I knew that I had done in the few days preceding the problem. I may have also played with the Hardware Acceleration feature at the time, too (before I knew better). So, in order to play it safe, I just power down and unplug the HDD prior to doing any modifications, including firmware upgrades.

I now have my 1 TB HDD nearly full again and have been working on a few other HDDs as well. I don't intend to lose any of that data again!

I think that you understand why I am recommending this safety measure. You may use your own judgement based on how valuable you percieve the recorded content on your HDD to be. You won't harm the HDD itself as far as I know, but you may scramble the file directory if something goes wrong. You should just scrutinize how important the data you have saved on your HDD is to you, personally, and decide from there. If you have a USB HDD, I wouldn't think twice about disconnecting it in these cases. It's too easy and only takes 15 seconds. That is a no-brainer. With the Premium and the Premium Plus, I actually have to open the box and disconnect the HDD. That takes all of five minutes. If it takes me one year to fill up a 1 TB HDD, I would certainly forfeit the five minutes here and there to save me from having to forfeit an entire year. It is just logical.

RADAR

 

[AcWxRadar]

Where is the JTAG information available?

You may want to look around here to see if Radar sent me that info:
https://sites.google.com/site/azboxtools/home

Look under AcWxRadar pdf files first as he may have sent it to me.

I don't remember putting that info into the user guide since this was information to be used only if there was a serious problem with the AzBox.

If it is not there and you find it let me know so I can make sure it is added for others who may have need of it.

I do know that OpenSat was sent the info at this site and they were quite impressed with the info there.

Any information regarding JTAGing of the AZBox did not come from me. I know the recovery procedure using a back-door, but that procedure is NOT actually a true JTAG procedure.
I have read some information here and there about doing a TRUE JTAG of the AZBox, but in all honesty, I don't believe that anyone has actually succeeded with it as of yet, although it has been the subject of discussion on some of the European forums. There was some doubt regarding the proper connections and if they were actually brought out to a JTAG port. A couple of individuals claimed to know of a JTAG port, but never followed through with proving it. In the same discussion, another AZBox tester claimed that they had to actually remove the processor from the board and reprogram it with special equipment and software programs. I tend to believe the latter, but the procedure they cited seemed to be beyond the capabilities of most (especially myself) as some rather expensive and technical equipment was required that most of us would not have access to (too expensive).

If anyone cares to check it out and prove me wrong, I think that would be excellent!

RADAR

 

[iq180]

Where is the JTAG information available?

i dont remember where i got the JTAG file from but it has a how to use and what parts you need with pinouts location in the reciver
if i remember rite you need a rj45 crossover cable and a usb urt to ttl conector
i think i still have the file on a thumb drive.
just googe = azbox JTAG

 

[iq180]

the file calls it a JTAG but is it a true jtag i dont know but you can read and rite to the kernal so to me that is a jtag but that is just me, all i know is that it works.

 

[sony1]

i dont remember where i got the JTAG file from but it has a how to use and what parts you need with pinouts location in the reciver
if i remember rite you need a rj45 crossover cable and a usb urt to ttl conector
i think i still have the file on a thumb drive.
just googe = azbox JTAG

iq180

Please send me the JTAG information or where to obtain same.

 

[AcWxRadar]

i dont remember where i got the JTAG file from but it has a how to use and what parts you need with pinouts location in the reciver
if i remember rite you need a rj45 crossover cable and a usb urt to ttl conector
i think i still have the file on a thumb drive.
just googe = azbox JTAG

the file calls it a JTAG but is it a true jtag i dont know but you can read and rite to the kernal so to me that is a jtag but that is just me, all i know is that it works.

IQ180,

That procedure is the one that I posted the instructions for (re-authored by me to put it in my own words from the original instructions of others). It is not a JTAG procedure because it does not access the JTAG port of the chip. It is the second best thing next to a true JTAG, but it is not actually a JTAG procedure. It is simply a backdoor for circumventing the standard communication links. I don't take any credit for the procedure, but I think I helped explain the procedure little better, at least I hope that I did. When I tried it for the first time, I did not understand it fully. I had to wade through the procedure time after time and ask many questions to clarify the instructions until I got it right. When I finally figured it out, I tried to rewrite the procedure so that it was simpler to follow.

RADAR

 

[GreatFTA]

Thanks Radar for that info on the HDD issue. I pay alot attention to what you and Stargaze (and others) complied to help us other AZBOX users get the most of our boxes.
I really enjoy my Ultra. The only thing I don't like is the fact that there's no display on the front panel. Overall the Ultra is great! I hate this particular box has been discontinued. But any new FW upgrade that become available will be for the Ultra as well.
Like computers, the boxes will be obsolete within a year. It is a computer so it will be old news soon. There is talk of new Azboxes becoming available in the near future.

 

[AcWxRadar]

MrFTAMan,

You are most welcome. You know that we do want to do the most to help everyone keep it simple. There is a lot of stuff to consider and keep track of, so it is good that we write it all down for everyone to access and use. No one should have to keep all this stuff up in their head. It is sufficient to know where to go to find it rather than recall every detail from memory.

Sony1,

The procedure I posted is here somewhere. I passed it on to StarGaze to put up on his personal site.

StarGaze,

I cannot get to that document at this time. I get a broken link message. Is it me or is your site down for the moment?

RADAR

 

[Keith Brannen]

StarGaze,

I cannot get to that document at this time. I get a broken link message. Is it me or is your site down for the moment?

RADAR

If it is the file AzBox_Stuck_in_Booting_by_AcWxRADAR.zip, it is there, accessible from the home page hXXps://sites.google.com/site/azboxtools/home (then click on PDF Files From AcWxRADAR).

 

[GreatFTA]

Guys, I finally got the latest FW installed with no issues, using the USB.
The YouTube works great.
Thanks for all your help!

 

[AcWxRadar]

Guys, I finally got the latest FW installed with no issues, using the USB.
The YouTube works great.
Thanks for all your help!

Excellent, MrFTAMan!

Loading via the USB is always the best method for the AZBox. It is the option with the least variables to contend with and create conflicts.

RADAR