Zaurus WAS Bricked, Now solved!

[derekp]

Foxdie,
Does your 760 have a standard JTAG connector?  If so, then mabe this can help: http://openwince.sourceforge.net/jtag/
It\'s an open-source jtag programmer, it also has links to a couple different circuits that can be wired up to connect a parallel port to a standard jtag connector.  Only two questions need to be answered: 1) Do the various Zaurus models need a special cable to connect to the xscale jtag interface, and 2) is a NAND backup good enough to use as an input file for the jtag software.
I personally don\'t have any experience with jtag programming, so I\'m hoping someone else here can answer this.  I\'m assuming that with the proper setup, you\'d be able to easily unbrick any zaurus.

[Foxdie]

Well I heard about this JTAG thing and asked around, there IS a JTAG interface for the Zaurus but apparently you have to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement form from Sharp before they give you the specs.

I think JTAG is a little too extreme for me. I managed to get in contact with the guy I bought my Zaurus from and hopefully I\'ll be able to send it to him in a week and get it back in a month.

[Abichai]

I was wondering: where exactly are located the \"flash menu\" and \"service menu\" hardware-wise? Is there a risk of wiping them out, effectively turning a SL-Cxx0 into a brick?
Well ok, urs is close to being a brick but since u can still have some menu it\'s not technically dead.
And also, has Sharp Japan given any insight on this format error in NAND restoring?

Too bad we (I?) do not have any clue as to the chosen architecture behind those menus. It wud be so much easier to always have a fallback, whatever and however u flash the Z.

BTW, I\'ve got a questioin: I\'ve been told that u need to at least boot once the normal way to be able to get the service menu? Any clue on this?

[mussi]

How large must the Flash be to do a NAND restore? I have a tiny 32 MB CF card that will flash any Zaurus dead on, and is not quite finicky. Since it\'s small, I can even mail it. ICQ me if you need it.

[Foxdie]

A full NAND Flash for the C760 (and most if not all C series) is 130MB which means you need a 256MB or above card.

[derekp]

Foxdie,
Have you checked out the files on www.pocketworkstation.org/files/recover ?
Apparently, there is another flash method which doesn\'t use the service menu, but uses the NOR (non-overitable rom).  So apparently you can completely recover a C series even if it is totally bricked.  According to the documentation, you load the appropriate files (a bunch of .bin\'s) on your CF, and do the C + D key combo with a reset.  You can also hook up a serial cable and monitor progress/errors off of that.

[Foxdie]

Yes I have derekp, I outlined this in my original post  this is why I have asked if people can send me a serial lead.

Well markb was nice enough to lend me his SL5000D cradle to see if it could be used as a serial lead, but according to sashz it can\'t without resoldering so I will return that to him.

Someone else offered to lend me a genuine serial lead, can that person please contact me as I\'d like to take you up on the offer. I would like to diagnose what the problem is before it gets sent back to Japan in a couple of weeks, thanks.

[offroadgeek]

Someone else offered to lend me a genuine serial lead, can that person please contact me as I\'d like to take you up on the offer. I would like to diagnose what the problem is before it gets sent back to Japan in a couple of weeks, thanks.

I have two serial leads, one is the Sharp one that covers the 5500 keyboard, and the other from SerialIO.  I\'d be happy to ship either one or both to you.  You could keep the Sharp one if you\'d like .

I don\'t have either with me currently, so I\'ll have to ship them tomorrow.

[Foxdie]

Someone else offered to lend me a genuine serial lead, can that person please contact me as I\'d like to take you up on the offer. I would like to diagnose what the problem is before it gets sent back to Japan in a couple of weeks, thanks.

I have two serial leads, one is the Sharp one that covers the 5500 keyboard, and the other from SerialIO.  I\'d be happy to ship either one or both to you.  You could keep the Sharp one if you\'d like .

I don\'t have either with me currently, so I\'ll have to ship them tomorrow.

Okay but this time I\'m forcefully paying something towards it!

[jfweber]

I have been fighting the issue all week -weekend and up to today.. when I dug out an old-ish opei rom and that installed, just as if it had been waiting for me.POn;y probem I have now id the background pic looks like something from a figure skateing test book, AND I am having problems installing some of my TKC ( for 760 mind) programs to install... Now I ugess I just go dig out some opie ops for multimedia ( oggs included ) as well as a video player.. and no doubt I\'ll be able to dig up lots and lots of games for it...

So , don\'t despair, sooner or later you will find a way to get a rom installed... Just keep trying different ones

[Foxdie]

So , don\'t despair, sooner or later you will find a way to get a rom installed... Just keep trying different ones

It\'s not as simple as flashing a ROM, I can\'t even get up the ROM flash menu. From what I can gather my C760 is unable to format the NAND Flash but I haven\'t confirmed this as I don\'t have a serial lead yet. Offroadgeek is sorting me out along those lines

Do you know what\'s scary? I\'m actually slowly forgetting what it\'s like to use a Zaurus :cry:

[Foxdie]

Okay here\'s a status update. I just got a serial cable today from expansys (thanks michael!) and here is what happens when I try to enter the Service menu D+M:

NAND LOADER ... in NOR                      
built on May 12 2003 at 10:45:38                                
func= 00000003              

(3) BOOT: Service Diag                      
nand_logical_read_block() - empty log_no (00000012)                                                    
ParamCheckDiagImage() - Error? cannot read PARAM_BLOCK_VERSION                                                            

At this point I selected a NAND Flash Restore again, that went normally until I got to the Format Error screen, but no diagnostic output to the serial port. Then I tried the C+D low level recovery and this is what the serial diagnostic spewed out:

NAND LOADER ... in NOR                      
built on May 12 2003 at 10:45:38                                
func= 00000004              

(4) UPDATE: Update NAND from NOR                                

SD/CF UPDATER              
update to NAND Flash.                      
!! cf_in !!            
 initDevice is ok !!.                      

 into GetFile();                
 Out of GetFile() .                    

file count = 00000008
MAINTE  .BIN  addr=00000000  size=00050000  prgid=00000000
VERSION .BIN  addr=00054000  size=00004000  prgid=00000000
PARAMINF.BIN  addr=00060000  size=0000c000  prgid=00000000
MVERSION.BIN  addr=00070000  size=00004000  prgid=00000000
DIAG    .BIN  addr=0007c000  size=00060000  prgid=00000000
KERNEL2 .BIN  addr=000e0000  size=0013c000  prgid=00000000
KERNEL1 .BIN  addr=00220000  size=0013c000  prgid=00000000
ROFLSYS .BIN  addr=00360000  size=00340000  prgid=00000000

NAND device: SAMSUNG K9K1G08U0M
     size: 08000000
nand_logical_read_block() - empty log_no (00000012)
No PARAM_BLOCK_VERSION! make it!

MAINTE  .BIN
 into OpenFile();
 Out of OpenFile() .
Lnand_logical_write_block() - no unused block
 Write error Stop Here
Error : update image error !
ERROR!

It\'s my guess that the NAND Flash has no partition information written whatsoever. Anyone know how to fix this? Anyone know if it\'s safe to do a NAND Flash Format and then be able to recover?

[Ashley]

Hi Foxdie!

The log shows there is an error flashing Version parameter. But if you look at http://www.h5.dion.ne.jp/~rimemoon/zaurus/...pic/nandmap.jpg you\'ll realize that updater.pro is trying to put it in the wrong place!!!

Maybe in c700s, as updater.pro says it was tested, Version is at 0x54000, but the fact is that on 750/760 it is at 0x48000.

I don\'t know if this is the only problem you have, but it looks definitely to be one.

You should edit updater.pro, correct this and try again.

Luck!! :wink:

Ash

[Foxdie]

Quick post: I edited the file and the output remains identical (except for the address listed when it cat\'s updater.pro). I\'ll try editing updater.pro completely tomorrow.

[Ashley]

Foxdie, have you tried to completely remove VERSION.BIN line from updater.pro? I think it isn\'t an important thing to reflash, as a matter of fact the file contains only 0xFF bytes. I\'m presuming that if it is not referenced into updater.pro, the NOR restore won\'t try to flash it.