I think I may have zapped my Nissan firmware in my Nissan Phatbox

[sbingner]

It's doing like I said, it's working fine but not actually playing music.  That is usually caused by the incorrect firmware or a bad or incorrectly seated cable.

The patch may, or may not have completed.... once you get it playing music we'll know -- I'm not sure if it plays the startup sound without any "Play" command, but I can see from your logfile that it never tried to do so.  When it executes the startup sound the patch is run.

Don't worry about the contents of your ramdisk.

[16vpup]

If the red light is on solid can that still mean it is applying the hack? I just got finished putting the magazine in my truck and leaving it w/ the key on to see if the hack would restart and complete even w/ the red light only on constant and no green lights coming on after original startup. Can I apply Nissan 2.00 unhacked firmware on a hacked magazine? Currently it has Nissan 3.00 firmware unhacked before running the hack on it. I wanted to try and see if the other version 2.00 would allow it to play this time. Just curious and wanting to try anything I can to get it working.

[sbingner]

You can put anything you like on there.  Like I said, it did not run any sounds in your logfile.txt which means it didn't try to run anything.  You need to get your player to play music, I would use whatever firmware worked before.

[16vpup]

The firmware that was on the player originally is what worked because it was Nissan original. Now after the few hack attempts at getting a 120GB magazine usable I have not been able to get the radio to recognize the Phatbox once plugged up and the magazine put into the player. I have tried disconnecting the player, installing the magazine, then plugging up the player. And I have also tried plugging up the player and then inserting the magazine, still no radio interaction. Do you guys have any kind of failsafe way to for sure get the system to boot and run by the looks of my log info.

I have read and read and read as much as I can about the process but everyone else seems to have better luck than me on getting their systems working. Is there any way to verify that the firmware that I have been constantly trying to install works w/ a system that goes through the SAT radio wiring plug? My radio does not have a separate SAT radio button, but my system when it was 1st plugged up and working used one of the 3 sets of presets to access the phatbox. When toggling through the presets A,B, and C one of them was used by the Phatbox, that was fine with me as long as it was working but now it's not.

I am wondering if I bought another Nissan radio w/ the separate SAT button on it like the BOSE system if the Phatbox would have it's own button and all of a sudden work. Any thoughts on that? or should I just try to work w/ what I've got. I still have 2 VW players that have not been screwed up at all, but I would prefer to use the Nissan ones since that was my reasoning for buying them. I am also not sure if the BOSE system would even work in my truck at all w/out rewiring the whole system.

I don't want to screw up the other 2 players but would be willing to use one of them if you think that would help. I would very much want the most detailed instructions before attempting to hack them. Otherwise I may end up w/ 4 different shaped and colored bricks that won't match anything in my house, the Phatboxes that is. Still need help and after leaving the system w/ the key on and red light on I did not get any different results. Still no interaction.

[16vpup]

What is the right thing to do after the new firmware looks to have been installed? Unplug the unit, then apply fresh hack utilities, then put the magazine in the player and plug it back up? Or just leave it plugged up, apply the fresh hack utilities, and hope it works. I need some more suggestions or some other way around my problem. At this point, do I need to delete the contents of the Phatsys partition or maybe run patchclean.bat to clean out the hack in hopes that the firmware took this time. Or should I consider starting w/ another player and restoring my original mag., then applying the firmware again and then possibly screwing up  the 3rd of the 4 players I have. I'm definitely running out of options and I really need some info from anyone who may have a Nissan system that is working w/ the hack on it. Do you know anyone who does?

[sbingner]

First Commandment: Thou shalt not hack until thy phatbox doest play music.

Get it to play music, then worry about finishing the hack.  Does it play music now?

[VorTechS]

Like I said, it did not run any sounds in your logfile.txt which means it didn't try to run anything.  You need to get your player to play music, I would use whatever firmware worked before.

I think what sbingner was trying to get you to do was:

1) Using an existing original DMS, loading the 'non-hacked' firmware version (based on the version last loaded into the PhatBox)

Easiest way of doing this is to run v2.10 of the Windows DMS tools.
Select the top toolbar button 'Create New DMS', select your DMS and select the correct firmware version.  
DO check the option 'Install non-hacked firmware' and DO NOT check the option 'Reflash box'
Click on the 'Upgrade Firmware' button to begin the process of patching the firmware on the DMS.

2) If there's no music on the original DMS, put some music on the new DMS

Use whatever you normally use to create new playlists, and creating just one playlist of music should be enough to test with.

Now....if when you insert the DMS the box doesn't work, then something isn't right.

If it works then you may need to try v2.11 of the tools as like my Kenwood Keg and a few other boxes, when the box boots up it's not running the startup sound (which then applies the hack).

v2.11 of the Windows tools, which is NOT publicly available, fixes this problem by inserting a playlist onto an original DMS, as the first playlist...so when you start your PhatBox the first playlist will play and run the hack.  I can send you a URL to these version of the tools, and as I think I've mentioned it before somewhere, these tools are NOT publicly available because only one person has tested, and verified that they work.

[sbingner]

VorTechS pretty much interpreted everything right except:

DO check the option 'Reflash box' <--

The point is to have the same firmware version on there that was working before... so you'll want it to reflash

[sbingner]

Oh and stop worrying about the fact that it's nissan... that doesn't matter, the patch tests to be sure that the ROM matches a signature before it even starts to patch it... if it didn't match it wouldn't start

[VorTechS]

VorTechS pretty much interpreted everything right except:

DO check the option 'Reflash box' <--

The point is to have the same firmware version on there that was working before... so you'll want it to reflash

Well I used the phrase 'select the correct firmware version', meaning select the version that's known to be on the box.  If you don't know the version on the box then DO choose the 'Reflash box' option.

[16vpup]

I do not know the version that was on the Nissan box originally that worked. I am going to try the other original Nissan player in a VW I have for sale to see if that player will respond to its firmware being changed to VW then try the VW magazine I have been using lately to see if that setup would play correctly in the VW. Now that I have the hack on the magazine, what is the proper way to remove the hack files to try that setup in the VW I have? Should I use patchclean.bat or should I delete the phatsys partition files and manually load the backup info onto the magazine?

I have tried both 2.00 and 3.00 versions of Nissan firmware and still have gotten no response out of the player into the radio since the original couple of attempts of hacks. What is the right thing to do after the frimware upgrade? Leave the box hooked up, pull the magazine, then reinsert it to check it? Or, remove the magazine, unplug the box, then plug the box back up and insert the magazine. I still wish there was someone who had another Nissan system working that I could get other original sequence setup info from, just in case the sequence of hookup is different from the VW sequence. Let me know if you think of anything else about the Nissan operation, I will be working on the other player in the VW next for verification that the other player actually will work or operate (not the one that's in my truck now).

[sbingner]

There's generally no need to actually unplug the PhatBox after the update... but it doesn't hurt, so you can if you want to see if it makes any difference.

VorTechS posted above a good way to make sure you have a clean DMS...

[16vpup]

I deleted all of the contents of the Phatsys partition, then unzipped the backup of my original contents into the phatsys partition. I inserted the magazine into the 2nd original Nissan player that I had, but I used my other VW PB cable and hooked it up to the 2003 GTI I am selling(my other GTI). the 1st time mag was plugged in it booted but just said no CD and cycled back to the radio. Then I used the Phathack utilities to load on VW firmware 7.02 onto the player. Plugged the magazine back into the player and it did the steady green blinking light (updating firmware). I came back to the car 20 minutes later, unplugged the magazine then plugged it back in and checked the radio.

The original Nissan system took on the VW firmware and started working perfectly, but at the very beginning when it starts up it says "corrupt disk". What does that mean? and can I get rid of it?  and of course since the 1 player that never worked in my truck originally, now works in the VW, I'm kind of back to square one w/ the need for proper Nissan firmware to operate my Nissan system.

Is there any way to check to see if the 2 versions of the Nissan firmware you have listed will even work w/ a SAT radio type install. That may put me back to the easiest thing to do, either get the proper firmware to get it working or buy a radio that just may allow the system to operate easier w/ it's own dedicated button(a SAT button radio maybe).

Still need help from you guys, I just hope this info may shed a little light on what may be my easiest next option for me. Do you know anyone who has a Nissan system working in their vehicle hacked or un hacked?
All I've been used to is VW systems which I don't have many problems getting working but seems like Nissan is a little bit different.

[sbingner]

OK, you have two vehicles and one works.   Have you gotten the other one to work yet?   Don't try to hack it until it is -- the hack won't help it work, it'll just let you use larger and unsigned DMS drives.  There ARE certain head units that require newer hardware than the VW hardware, I'm not sure if Nissan is one but you may want to check into that if it has never worked in the Nissan.  Alternatively you could just hack both of them while they're connected to your VW head unit, since you obviously have firmware that works properly with it.

the one that is working -- you should be fine applying the hack to that one.

[sbingner]

Oh, as to "Corrupt Disc" -- you probably have a bad playlist or something.  debug rc.sh + logfile would help fix that but don't screw with it till you've got things working the way you want them otherwise.  It won't hurt anything.

[16vpup]

I ran through and deleted a couple of the sample music parts loaded by PNoise and then ran PMM clean DMS, then regenerated voice prompts etc. etc. and then I'll try it again in the VW player before I do any other modifying. If I hack it connected to the VW do you think I'll be able to come up w/ the SAT operation firmware to get my Nissan working? I think that may be why it doesn't play through the radio because the original firmware that was loaded on the player (still connected to my truck) may not be the firmware you guys have available in the hack utilities, but I'm still not sure. All I know is that it at least did show a CD type playing display under one set of my radio presets on the 1st couple of attempts at the hack in my truck. Let me know if you can verify the types of firmware offered, my truck is a 2005 model and both firmwares looked to be dated older than that. I am still willing to buy another OEM Nissan radio if there is a chance at getting it working and retaining the steering wheel hand controls.

[sbingner]

I don't know what firmware you had.  Whether the phatbox has the patch applied to it or not will not and will never in any way whatsoever affect whether or not it works in your Nissan.  There won't be a "SAT operation firmware" - there is a NISSAN firmware.  Feel free to go through and try every version to see if one works, but odds are the newest one - which should be the one used by the hack tools by default - is your best bet.  They don't change the protocol daily, so there's no reason an older firmware wouldn't work.   Did it ever PLAY MUSIC in your NISSAN before you started trying to hack it?

[16vpup]

I don't think I had music on it the 1st couple times attempting the hack because it said empty disk, empty disk......   But it did transfer info into the radio in the form of CD type display under the radio mode. I never did get it to actually play music because when it did say empty disk the last time, I did put music on it and it didn't actually play anything and at that point it never showed a display again and for sure did not play any music up until now.

[sbingner]

OK, work on that... when it's playing music we can look at the hack side.

[16vpup]

I erased the Phatdta contents and replaced it with the backup of the original contents and got rid of the corrupt disk error message. Now it's time for the hack because the car I'm using as an experiment may be sold by the weekend. I'm prepared to run the hack on the VW so I can try to get it to work in my Nissan. Any special notes or advise you may have going from one car to another w/ the hack on it I would appreciate. I'm running the hack utilities on the 20GB right after I end this message. I'm guessing I shouldn't put Nissan firmware on until it is going to be put into the Nissan is that correct?

I'm going to start the hack now and check in the a/m if I get a successful message.