Thread: Alpha 100 US in EU, problems after fw downgrade & cure used

Thanks, i've downloaded it and examined your 14.bin first however need some more info.

First question: Where did you get the original firmware to make the Cure from? Please supply me a link to the original's source.

Hi @Butters,

I followed a link from this Forum, to a directory with ALL the Alpha 100 firmwares, since the first one.
I have the file (please see below) if that helps, but, I haven't saved the link. Unfortunately, I had to clear the cookies and the cache, so, I don't have it in the history either.

Spoiler: fw v3.0 archive

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

I have included both the .gcd and .rgn files in archive.

Sorry. I will try to revisit the steps, and maybe I stumble upon it again.
Regards,

It was the Perry site you got V3 GCD from in that case. BTW, the RGN you enclosed is the custom boot RGN that i made for initiating text commands on the sd card. Certainly the 14.bin you supplied is the cure version of V3's fw_all.bin however although it has the expected empty FFs making up the unused space of region 14, it also has data repeated from earlier in the file. Hopefully that corruption is what has caused the problems and re-flashing a healthy original fw_all.bin will restore all functions. Look behind Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Replace the update.txt file in your card's 1562 folder with this file: [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]. Ensure that there is no other file in the 1562 folder other than the new txt file. Remove all the BINs from the root of the card to some safe location (don't just delete them, we may still need them). Place the file "14_clean.bin" extracted from [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] in the root of the card alongside (not in) the Garmin folder, where you removed the other BINs from. Put the card in the Alpha and run the command using Updater.exe as before by opening the custom boot RGN i made for you in preboot. Good luck, it should boot.

Now that it's booted fully it would have re-created a fresh GarminDevice.xml which Garmin uses to determine what needs to be downloaded from it's servers. As you clearly realize, the first thing GE does is to determine if the firmware needs to be updated and if so it will do that by loading a new GUPDATE.GCD before offering other updates and it'll then tell you to disconnect the device so it boots before then re-connecting to the PC. GarminExpress then checks the XML again to see that it reflects that the fw update has been done on the device. If it hasn't, it prompts again before proceeding. There are two ways to get other updates and associated software without having a newer system firmware loaded against your wishes, discussed below:

(i) You can connect the device to PC but first (make sure GarminExpress isn't running already), open the Alpha's Garmin directory and edit the GarminDevice.xml in Notepad, look for this near the start of it: "<SoftwareVersion>300</SoftwareVersion>". Change '300' to '780', save the change and without disconnecting the alpha from PC start GE to re-download your maps and other software. This method is quicker but riskier as you're exposing the device directly to GE and Garmin's servers.

Or, you can do this for complete safety, it's more time-consuming of course and sometimes it doesn't work for all types of device:

(ii) You can use a media card or usb stick, formatted only as FAT32, to 'mimic' your alpha by copying over all it's present contents to the 'clone' then altering the XML's SoftwareVersion to '780' as above. Connect that cloned fake device to GE. If it's recognized properly you'll be offered to re-download what's needed without an insistence for fw update. Then simply copy new files over to the Alpha in their correct locations.

Using either method, keep in mind for later that you must be aware of a newer version fw being issued and amend the XML accordingly (It may be possible to keep your xml change one version ahead like using '790' for now to keep a safety margin). Also that having such an old version of main firmware may result in unwanted behavior in the field, some tracking functions may not work properly or the device may glitch or freeze or reboot randomly for instance. Note that GE may not replace all your needed files, like Keyboards or Text or example. You'll need to take anything missing after updating from your previous backup.

BTW, most of the files which you have in the backup (but not the file GUPDATE.GCD if it exists there) are likely quite safe to reload regardless without doing either of the above, because i really doubt they had anything at all to do with the 'bricking' problem however fresh downloads via GE are indeed preferable.

Fa_Piter has a far better understanding of dog devices and how the radio blocking can be overcome in later version firmware. His self-admitted claim that his English is poor doesn't affect his expert knowledge of Alpha and other tracking devices. Perhaps he'll offer some insight so maybe you should delay a little before going too much further as suggested above.

I'll ask a Moderator to soon move the relevant group of posts to it's own 'Solved' thread in the discussion section as the whole thing is quite lengthy and a very specific situation involving a corrupt region, i.e.: The actual problem wasn't a normal 'bricking' where corrupt files are on-board. In your case it was a corrupt firmware region which is far less common. I apologize for taking the 'long way home', my slow approach was to prevent any further damage while getting my head around what was for sure the root-cause. Thanks for your patience though out this saga.
Done. Moved from [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] to new thread due to actual problem caused by corrupt firmware region rather than corrupt files 'bricking' device.

Hi @Butters,

Thank you very much for being with me through this saga. It was educational in many ways (one of them being to learn the theory before practicing).
Anyway, your last reply, confirmed what I surmised myself - that copying the map files from the backup, would NOT do any damage.
So, I did copy the "old" files, and I got back the maps, tracks, stations, and everything else.
BEFORE doing that, I did a backup of the device, and copied the files from the SD card, so as if anything did happen, I would be able to revert to the last known working software. Luckily, everything went well.

Originally Posted by Butters

Now that it's booted fully it would have re-created a fresh GarminDevice.xml which Garmin uses to determine what needs to be downloaded from it's servers. There are two ways to get other updates and associated software without having a newer system firmware loaded against your wishes, discussed below:

(i) You can connect the device to PC but first (make sure GarminExpress isn't running already), open the Alpha's Garmin directory and edit the GarminDevice.xml in Notepad, look for this near the start of it: "<SoftwareVersion>300</SoftwareVersion>". Change '300' to '780', save the change and without disconnecting the alpha from PC start GE to re-download your maps and other software. This method is quicker but riskier as you're exposing the device directly to GE and Garmin's servers.

I did edit the GarminDevice.xml to show the software version as v7.8, but, nonetheless, GarminExpress recognizes that an update is needed, asking to install the fw v7.8

Originally Posted by Butters

Fa_Piter has a far better understanding of dog devices and how the radio blocking can be overcome in later version firmware. His self-admitted claim that his English is poor doesn't affect his expert knowledge of Alpha and other tracking devices. Perhaps he'll offer some insight so maybe you should delay a little before going too much further as suggested above.

I will send a message to @Fa_Piter, and follow up. I do trust his knowledge, and I believe that he would be able to help on the matter.

Originally Posted by Butters

I'll ask a Moderator to soon move the relevant group of posts to it's own 'Solved' thread in the discussion section (with this one sentence deleted) as the whole thing is quite lengthy and a very specific situation involving a corrupt region, i.e.: The actual problem wasn't a normal 'bricking' where corrupt files are on-board. In your case it was a corrupt firmware region which is far less common. I apologize for taking the 'long way home', my slow approach was to prevent any further damage while getting my head around what was for sure the root-cause. Thanks for your patience though out this saga.

It has been my privilege to go through this with you, and I thank you very much for the efforts.

Originally Posted by jupigarmin

............
I did edit the GarminDevice.xml to show the software version as v7.8, but, nonetheless, GarminExpress recognizes that an update is needed, asking to install the fw v7.8

Did you also try the GE connection with a 'clone' as suggested in (ii)?

I will send a message to @Fa_Piter, and follow up. I do trust his knowledge, and I believe that he would be able to help on the matter.

Yes, i'm sure he can help you further.

Originally Posted by Butters

Did you also try the GE connection with a 'clone' as suggested in (ii)?

No, I didn't try that. But, I am happy as it is, so, I don't mind.
Tnx

To Butters: My English is really not good.

As for problems with blocking Alpha and Astro devices, this forum has posted tools to overcome this problem.
Or you can write to me in private, I’ll be happy to help.