T4 Firmware upgrade v16.1

[OzBoz]

Hi all,
I've been trying for a while now to apply the above upgrade, to no avail. After following all the instructions to the letter, The PVR does not recognise the USB, and boots normally. 2 files on the stick in FAT32 format. After a lot of trawling on this forum, I found the following:-

"Some USB2 sticks and almost all USB3 sticks will not work for a firmware update, so you need to find another stick. The USB stick must be USB1.1 compatible, and not all are unfortunately. Find the cheapest and nastiest USB stick you own and try that instead."

I am gobsmacked at that response. In order to update a $800, 21st Century piece of equipment, I need to source a 20 year old 20th Century USB stick. What a joke. The least Beyonwiz can do now, it to provide a suitable USB to anyone who needs one. I've tried to source one locally, and I'm usually laughed out of the shop, but I'm telling them all why I need it, and they just shake their heads and roll their eyes. I'm sure the word will get around.

Time to look at Topfields again I think.

[prl]

...
"Some USB2 sticks and almost all USB3 sticks will not work for a firmware update, so you need to find another stick. The USB stick must be USB1.1 compatible, and not all are unfortunately. Find the cheapest and nastiest USB stick you own and try that instead."

I am gobsmacked at that response. ...

Gobsmacking or not, it is, unfortunately, true. Some users have found USB3 sticks that are USB1.1 compatible, but many USB3 sticks are not. Most USB2 sticks are USB1.1 compatible.

Indications are that the U4 will at least upgrade from a wider variety of USB sticks.

I suggest that you skip installing 16.1 (that's not actually a Beyonwiz firmware version number, it's a firmware series: there are 18 firmware versions in the 16.1 series) and go straight to the latest beta (in the 17.5 series), 20171230.

That's partly because the 16.1 series firmware is quite old (the most recent update in that series was in March 2017) and also because if you upgrade to a 16.1 series firmware, you'll need to redo all your settings, and then when you upgrade from that to firmware in the current 17.5 series firmware, you'll need to re-do the settings all over again. There have been a lot of improvements and bug fixes between 20170422 and 20171230.

[prl]

... 2 files on the stick ...

What two files? The update is a single .ZIP file that expands into a directory called "beyonwiz/hdp", which contains 11 files.

As long as the unpacked "beyonwiz" directory is at the top level of the USB stick, it should be found, even if there are other files or directories on the top level of the stick.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Go to Big W and get yourself a Lexar Jumpdrive S50 USB 2.0 drive. I use the 32GB version of it, and it's worked every single time for 20+ f/w updates on our T2 and T4.

If you want a USB 3,0 drive that's known to work for firmware updates, then get the Lexar S25.

As prl has posted, ensure you unzip the firmware so that the "beyonwiz" folder is at the top level. It doesn't matter what else is on the drive (I keep a bunch of recent firmware for the T2 and T4 on mine, plus some shell scripts, Series2Folder plugin, and ssh key).

You've only got 10 seconds to press the up button on the T4 front panel (not the remote control) to initiate the firmware update, otherwise the T4 will perform a normal boot.
If you wish, you can change the name of the file "noforce" in the flash drive folder beyonwiz/hdp to "force"; this negates the need to press the front panel up button. The file contents contain -
"rename this file to 'noforce' to require confirmation
rename this file to 'force' to force an update without confirmation"

[OzBoz]

...
"Some USB2 sticks and almost all USB3 sticks will not work for a firmware update, so you need to find another stick. The USB stick must be USB1.1 compatible, and not all are unfortunately. Find the cheapest and nastiest USB stick you own and try that instead."

Peter, Thanks for that. I'm now totally confused. I've just spent the morning running around all the outlets I can think of, and without exception, I've been told that ALL USBs are backward compatible. I've now got family members rooting around in bottom drawers looking for the oldest USBs they can find.

I suggest that you skip installing 16.1 (that's not actually a Beyonwiz firmware version number, it's a firmware series: there are 18 firmware versions in the 16.1 series) and go straight to the latest beta (in the 17.5 series), 20171230.

Is that the same method of installation as the steps given for T4 and can I expect the same USB problems? I am assuming that all previous updates have been rolled up in the latest version.

Cheers
Brian

[prl]

You might want to check what's in and what's out of the [quote][/quote] markup

[MrQuade]

I've just spent the morning running around all the outlets I can think of, and without exception, I've been told that ALL USBs are backward compatible. I've now got family members rooting around in bottom drawers looking for the oldest USBs they can find.

Partly true. A USB3 capable port (and drivers) should always be able to work with a USB1.1 device, but the opposite is not always true. If the USB stick manufacturer has neglected to include any USB1.1 capability in their stick's chipset, a USB1.1-only port(and drivers) will not be able to function with it. The T series bootloader drivers are unfortunately only 1.1 compatible, and the upstream manufacturer of the bootloader device is not forthcoming with anything newer.

You have the right plant for finding a working stick though. Cheap ones that came free with something will often work best .
Grumpy_Geoff also posted known-working modern sticks that are 1.1 compatible.

[prl]

[Some repairs to quoting done...]

...
"Some USB2 sticks and almost all USB3 sticks will not work for a firmware update, so you need to find another stick. The USB stick must be USB1.1 compatible, and not all are unfortunately. Find the cheapest and nastiest USB stick you own and try that instead."

Peter, Thanks for that. I'm now totally confused. I've just spent the morning running around all the outlets I can think of, and without exception, I've been told that ALL USBs are backward compatible. I've now got family members rooting around in bottom drawers looking for the oldest USBs they can find.

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice; in practice there is." Attributed (possibly incorrectly) to Yogi Berra.

It's the long and hard experience of many Beyonwiz owners that a lot of USB3 sticks are not backward compatible to USB1.1, whether they should be or not.

I suggest that you skip installing 16.1 (that's not actually a Beyonwiz firmware version number, it's a firmware series: there are 18 firmware versions in the 16.1 series) and go straight to the latest beta (in the 17.5 series), 20171230.

Is that the same method of installation as the steps given for T4 and can I expect the same USB problems? I am assuming that all previous updates have been rolled up in the latest version.
...

I'm confused. Are you updating a T4, as the topic title says?

All the T series have the same sort of problems with USB3 sticks for firmware upgrade. Peteru thinks the U4 will be more forgiving.

USB updates are't really updates. They replace all the firmware with the version on in the USB stick. So they can be used for downgrades, too.

[OzBoz]

"I'm confused. Are you updating a T4, as the topic title says?"

Sorry, I should have said are the 17 series installation steps the same instruction steps as the 16 series.

[prl]

"I'm confused. Are you updating a T4, as the topic title says?"

Sorry, I should have said are the 17 series installation steps the same instruction steps as the 16 series.

Yes, with the proviso that unless you're updating to 20171230 from a reasonably recent version in the 17.5 series, you have to re-do the setup manually, no matter what it says otherwise in the instructions.

[Gully]

"I'm confused. Are you updating a T4, as the topic title says?"

Sorry, I should have said are the 17 series installation steps the same instruction steps as the 16 series.

Yes but again as we all keep saying talking about the firmware in these terms is meaningless as there are exactly the same firmwares released for all models, eg there are v17.5 firmwares for T2, T3, T4 and U4 and the USB install is essentially the same for all so you really need to be specific.

[prl]

"I'm confused. Are you updating a T4, as the topic title says?"

Sorry, I should have said are the 17 series installation steps the same instruction steps as the 16 series.

Yes but again as we all keep saying talking about the firmware in these terms is meaningless as there are exactly the same firmwares released for all models, eg there are v17.5 firmwares for T2, T3, T4 and U4 and the USB install is essentially the same for all so you really need to be specific.

No, OzBob really does have a version-related question about the installation instructions. The page for the 20170310 (16.1 series) update has full upgrade instructions. The page for the 20171230 (17.5 series) has no installation instructions, since it's intended for the beta tester audience and the instructions are implicitly "do what you usually do".

[Gully]

No, OzBob really does have a version-related question about the installation instructions. The page for the 20170310 (16.1 series) update has full upgrade instructions. The page for the 20171230 (17.5 series) has no installation instructions, since it's intended for the beta tester audience and the instructions are implicitly "do what you usually do".

Fair enough then on that point as I had missed that aspect of his post.

[OzBoz]

Thank you everybody for your responses. I have eventually managed to install the latest firmware 20171230 and the T4 is now set up and appears to be working normally. I'm not absolutely sure how I managed it. First thing I did was to find the oldest USB stick I could find, and used that.

There was one other possibility I came across ref the installation instructions.
Step 1. Download the image zip file.
Step 2. Copy and paste the zip file to the USB stick.
Step 3. Unzip the file to the USB stick.
I then had 2 files on the stick. A folder named "beyonwiz- 16.1-beyonwizt4-20170310_usb" and the zip file with the same name. It was mentioned that I should only have one file present.
A folder named Beyonwiz is one level down from there, and the hdp folder one more level down.

Being only semi computer literate, I tend to follow instructions implicitly and it often gets me into trouble.

Anyway, I have it up and running now, and I've learned a lot along the way. So thanks again everybody for the help.

Cheers
Brian

[prl]

The directory named "beyonwiz" must be at the top level of the USB stick for the upgrade to work.

[stevebow]

Step 3. Unzip the file to the USB stick.

Step 3 at http://beyonwiz.com.au/forum/viewtopic.php?f=45&t=11006 says "you should have a folder on the stick named 'beyonwiz'". That is technically true in your case. The instruction should clarify that this folder should be at the root (top level) of the USB stick.

The "problem" is that zip extractors may place the contents of the zip file within a directory, and not extract the contents directly to the same directory as the zip file itself.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

...
The "problem" is that zip extractors may place the contents of the zip file within a directory, and not extract the contents directly to the same directory as the zip file itself.

Yes, with WinZip, when unzipping from the USB drive itself, one needs to choose the option 'Extract to here' and not the option 'Extract to folder {drive:\name-of-the-zip-file}, otherwise the "beyonwiz" folder will not be at the top/root level.
I agree the instructions should state the "beyonwiz" folder location requirement.