Bricked MD

[ignotus]

Today I thought I'd update my module as it was running a pretty old version. I recalled having trouble doing it last time with MDMFX and today it was no different - it just wipes the firmware but won't update. But back then I did have success with mdfwupdate, so I thought no problemo, I'll do it that way. But nothing. I've spent the last 3 hours trying different computers, cables, OS's... And now even the screen won't show the "updateonPC" message, it's just blank I'm really kicking myself because I didn't really need to update, it was working just fine - but I think it's well and truly bricked now. I went over the board with a magnifying glass but can't really see anything wrong. @Dmitri, are there any tests I can do, anything you might suspect?

[ignotus]

I dug out my old MD circuit I built on perforated board 16 years ago and had a go at updating it. It went fine.

[dmitri]

What happens when you keep LEFT button pressed when powering it up? Nothing on the LCD, no USB detected by OS? What firmware version was it on? What MCU is it?

[ignotus]

Initially when powering up with the LEFT button pressed it would show the "UpdateOnPC" (or whatever) message. Now the screen just goes a darker shade of grey and there's no text. I think it's still entering update mode though because the MIDI led still turns on for a while and then off.

The OS does detect the module as a USB device when in update mode, though MDMFX can't connect to it (Sysex timeout error). The firmware it was on before was 20210520, and the MCU is a STM32F205RCT6 (so using STM32d).

[dmitri]

Looks like the LCD failed or you moved/removed the LCD detection jumper.
If you do 'blind' update following viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1252 , at what step does it fail?

[ignotus]

I get as far as choosing the MIDI in/out ports and pressing Enter. Then the progress stays at 0% and it reattempts several times to establish connection until it gives up. The final error message is that the "File is corrupted". I re-downloaded it several times just in case, always with the same result. As I said, I was able to update my old Atmega644 board on the first try (with mdfwupdate), so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong. I also hadn't touched any cables or jumpers before this started happening and the screen was working, though it is possible it got damaged afterwards when I started pulling everything apart to try and update the board with just the buttons connected, in case a crossed cable somewhere was causing the error. I'm not too concerned about the screen - the module clearly enters recovery mode when booting with the LEFT button (evidenced by the MIDI led and how the PC detects it) and I can always use an LCD while I wait for a new one.

[ignotus]

Ok, so the TFT is dead - I connected a 16x2 LCD and I get the "StartUpdateOnPC" message again when booting with LEFT button pressed. But still no luck getting it to load the firmware.

[dmitri]

Ok, so the TFT is dead - I connected a 16x2 LCD and I get the "StartUpdateOnPC" message again when booting with LEFT button pressed. But still no luck getting it to load the firmware.

When connecting a color LCD, where do you place the LCD detection jumper? Can you take a picture?

As I said, I was able to update my old Atmega644 board on the first try (with mdfwupdate), so I don't think I'm doing anything wrong.

The procedures do differ slightly. Can you please describe step-by-step (just like it is in viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1252 ) what you do (what you type/press) and what happens (what displayed on PC ) EXACTLY?

[ignotus]

Ok, here's a pic of the TFT wiring. It has been like this for years and working properly:

TFT_wiring.png

Firmware update procedure:
- I boot the module holding the LEFT button. The screen shows the "StartUpdateOnPC" message.
- I CD to the directory where both mdfwupdate.exe and the firmware file are located and on the command line I write

Code: Select all

mdfwupdate.exe megadrumSTM32d_56_20220530.bin

- It prompts me to select a MIDI input and output port number, which I do (I choose the same port for each). It says the port is opened each time.
- I then press Enter.
- It tries to transfer the file repeatedly until it gives up. Here's a screenshot of the process:

CMD_output.png

[ignotus]

It's alive!!! PHEW!

Here's the deal: I've always had trouble with MDMFX on Linux - I haven't been able to do a firmware update through it for years. So I'd do it with mdfwupdate running in a virtual machine, which up until now had worked for me (yesterday I was able to update the old Atmega board like that). So when it didn't work for the ARM board I was stumped. Also, an initial attempt at updating through MDMFX had wiped the firmware, rendering the board useless. I then remembered I have an ancient PC stored that has WinXP installed on it, so in a last ditch attempt I decided to give it a go - and it worked.

Luckily the TFT screen also works - I think one or more of the cables is wonky because it goes blank if I move them, so I'll be redoing those. The cabling in general is a mess so I'll be taking the opportunity to clean it up a bit.

So there it is - MDMFX won't play nicely with Linux when it comes to updating firmware (sending and receiving settings does work ok though), and mdfwupdate can't be relied on to work in a virtual machine. I also tried running it with Wine and it would behave the same as in the virtual machine. It's a PITA to have to drag out and set up a PC just for updates, but at least it's not something I have to do regularly. I suppose there aren't many Linux users but if there are any who can successfully update their ARM module I'd be interested in hearing from them.