Flashing troubles

[gemini_user_j]

How do you flash your gemini these days??


Recently I had trouble to get USB access to the preloader (The USB device that appears the moment Gemini is powered on)

Planet Support mentioned to me in a support email conversation that other users had trouble after recent windows 10 update.
I have been using windows 10 inside a VirtualBox on a MacBook Pro without trouble previously, and suspect my own issue is limited to faulty windows 10 USB drivers.

Planet support suggested as a possible solution, to use windows 7, as this should provide more consistant usb driver support.

From the virtualbox forum there are some situations with USB devices failing to connect on MacOS catalina hosts, this however, should be solved in VirtualBox 6.1.

If I do try to use the flash tool (Newest Win10 as of this date, VirtualBox 6.1 on MacOS catalina host) I manage to get the audible USB-connect notification of Windows at the expected moment when the gemini PDA is turned on and vibrates. From this moment, the gemini however just continues to boot up into the commercial Sailfish OS, which I currently have as a single boot setup.

QUESTION:
Does anyone have a suggestion for a solution model here?
* How to obtain correct Win 10 USB drivers?
* How to Roll-Back windows 10 if possible?
* potentially overseen Catalina / VirtualBox issue?
* anything else?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My Experience, running the linux flasher on a Ubuntu Mate 18.04 machine:
I get connection to the preloader, and for 2 seconds, I get the progressbar to reach 100% (Red, does not change to green) with the text: "Download DA 100%" after a while however I just get an error. If I do this with USB2, the error is not specified, but with USB3, I get the following:

Code: [Select]

connect DA end stage: 2, enable DRAM in 1st DA: 0
Failed to Connect DA: STATUS_PROTOCOL_ERR
Disconnect!
BROM Exception! ( ERROR : STATUS_PROTOCOL_ERR (-1073676283) , MSP ERROE CODE : 0x00.


[HINT]:
)((ConnectDA,../SP-Flash-Tool-src/Conn/Connection.cpp,131))QUESTION:
Did anybody actually have success flashing from a linux machine, and if so do you have any guidelines to follow?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ENCOURAGEMENT:
I would also like to know if any of you otherwise ran into troubles to flash, maybe this can collectively help to pinpoint the issue/affirm the win10 drivers issue.

Cheers

[gidds]

One option might be to drop Windows and boot into Linux, as there's a version of the Flash Tool which runs on Linux.

That's what I did.  I couldn't get it to work with Ubuntu, but it ran fine on Debian.  (You may need the non-free tools installed with it too.)

One advantage is that it can run off a USB stick, without needing any HD space.

[gemini_user_j]

Hey thanks for the suggestion!!

I just tried on a fresh debian 10 install ... forgot non-free sources at install but edited "contrib non-free" into /etc/apt/sources.list - are those what you are referring to?

I am not sure this would actually get me any new software, just enable me to get it, so I am not sure if there are certain packages that I missed from the automatic installation.


I get a similar error as from Ubuntu Mate, where the usb device seems to connect, and the progress bar advances for 2 seconds.

Code: [Select]


vid is 0e8d

device vid = 0e8d

pid is 2000

device pid = 2000

com portName is: /dev/ttyACM0

Total wait time = -1576497719.000000
USB port is obtained. path name(/dev/ttyACM0), port name(/dev/ttyACM0)
USB port detected: /dev/ttyACM0
BROM connected
Downloading & Connecting to DA...
connect DA end stage: 2, enable DRAM in 1st DA: 0
Failed to Connect DA: STATUS_PROTOCOL_ERR
Disconnect!
BROM Exception! ( ERROR : STATUS_PROTOCOL_ERR (-1073676283) , MSP ERROE CODE : 0x00.


[HINT]:
)((ConnectDA,../SP-Flash-Tool-src/Conn/Connection.cpp,131))
cheers

[gemini_user_j]

Just turned on my gemini (SFOS 3.2.0.12 singleboot)

I have an interesting wifi from the dropdown menu called NVRAM WARNING: Err = 0x01

[gemini_user_j]

Follow up: I successfully flashed the gemini using a win7 physical machine (this was also the recommended solution by planet email support)

[tpp]

Is this still unfixed?

[Mr Rimmer]

I am running Windows 10 64 bit 1909 and cannot get the VCOM driver to install successfully.  It sits there with a "code 10" error.  I will try a windows 8.1 laptop next...

[gemini_user_j]

For me, it ended with a success, but took a long time before I had a vacant laptop to throw a new OS on:

I had a Win7 iso from my uni, and used this method to make it bootable: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2017/06/create-...s-10-usb-ubuntu

The USB drivers were functional without updating anything from online, win7 was also what planet computers support had recommended me in email support.



Prior to this solution, I tried Win8 (or 8.1 - dont remember) in Virtual box on Mac, this is how I used to do it, but after my mac updated to Catalina it didn't work, and I tried tons of different parameters for host and guest USB settings, without any progress.

Also failed with the linux version of flasher on debian, ubuntu and ubuntu mate.

Tried win7 in virtual box from ubuntu mate and from mac with Catalina, also no luck.

Let us know if you have success with win 8.1!