How to back up current firmware?

[Genesis]

Ok, so I have a version of firmware on my DMS, which I updated the box with.

Now, how to isolate those files - since Phatnoise just updates it "in place"?

That is, does anyone know what file(s) I must copy off the DMS to save a firmware revision, so I can put it back by replacing them and then putting an empty "forceupdate" file on the DMS?

Anyone have the procedure?

Thanks in advance....

[sbingner]

your phatsys partition -- but this firmware is just the CPLD firmware not what is modified by us.

[judb]

Phatnoise's files update the firmware of the 8052 microcontroller.. this device is what talks to your head unit.. its not the CPU itself.  Our process updates the FLASH chip that holds the bootloader..

the bootloader boots the operating system on the CPU which runs the phatnoise software which talks to the 8052 controller to talk to the head unit.

Hope that helps make sense of things.

[Genesis]

I understand that...

What I'm asking is this...

Let's say my Phatbox (hardware) takes a puke.

Now I get another one.

But Phatnoise has patched their firmware so that it won't work with the hack.

So I now have a DMS I cannot use.  I still have my original disk, and can put it back, but I can't recover the firmware that I had in the old box, because the only one I can select from them to update the new box is the one that disables the patch.

So....

What I want is a way to save off the update that their software puts on the DMS, so that if that happens I can put back a working version of firmware on the replacement machine.

Question is, what do I need to save in order to accomplish that?

[judb]

Well, you can't.  we just patch portions of the bootloader stored in the flash.  This is done because some very smart people figured out that we can change bits only one way and which bits to change would make things work the way they needed to.

We can't really rewrite the whole flash so backing it up does you no good right now.  I am sure as time progresses that we'll get there but not now.

sorry man.

[judb]

Well, you can't.  we just patch portions of the bootloader stored in the flash.  This is done because some very smart people figured out that we can change bits only one way and which bits to change would make things work the way they needed to.

We can't really rewrite the whole flash so backing it up does you no good right now.  I am sure as time progresses that we'll get there but not now.

sorry man.

As for their software, currently they only update the 8052 controller which we dont touch.  just save a copy of your firmware files from phatbox.sixpack.org and you can write that back to it.  However if phatnoise makes a change that blocks us out it will likely be a permanant change for the hardware I would guess.  Like disabling the write pin on the board.. But since they are not doing new dev on this older phatbox tech I doubt they care much.

They'll be more likley to just sue someone or something or release a better protected new box to sell more drives.