U4 firmware upgrade not working

[drharry2442]

I have tried to upgrade my U4 to the latest firmware, version 19.3 but without success, can anyone tell me if I am doing something wrong please.

I downloaded the firmware, extracted the beyonwiz folder and copied it to a USB drive which came with the machine (I deleted everything from the USB first).
I shutdown the U4, powered off at the back then powered on again after inserting the USB into the front port.
It asked me to press the button which I did.
I then got thefollowing
initrd
kernel
Rootfile Sys
displayed on the front panel but then it stops and does nothing more.

I have waited up to 30 mins but in the end I just have to power off, remove the USB and power on again.

I am currently running version 17.5, enigma2 17.5-819

I have also tried to search for upgrades online but the U4 does not find anything to upgrade.
I have also tried this using the rear USB port. I have also tried downloading the upgrade again and repeating the steps from scratch.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Try another flash drive.
With the U4, you can also use a USB portable hard drive (create a small 1GB partition, formatted to FAT32).
I find the Lexar Jumpdrive S50 USB flash drives work every time - I use a 32GB version.
Woolies sell them - https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/sear ... 0usb%20s50

[drharry2442]

thanks, that did indeed solve the problem.

it is weird though because I have used that same USB drive before for upgrading firmware.
It came with the U4 when I bought it and I have kept it specifically for that purpose and have never used it for anything else.
Which is why I didn't think of trying a different USB. Strange.

Bit disappointed to find that the settings have all disappeared after the install though. Despite taking a backup before the new upgrade.
tried to restore the settings after the installation and it said it could not find the backup.
So I spent the next hour setting up all my network shares and button settings etc etc again.

Still it is up and working again and that it the main thing.

Thanks again for the help.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Perhaps the backup didn't successfully complete, or it was written to other than the default location.

What's the latest backup present in /media/hdd/backup/beyonwiz/v1? You can use File Commander to take a look.
Is there an enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz file dated for yesterday/today when you took that last backup? Is its size relatively close to a previous backup (YYYY-MM-DD-enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz)?

Did you have any USB storage device connected at the time of taking the backup?

[drharry2442]

no USB in the U4 when I took the back up. I do have a hard drive installed though so I would have thought the backup would have been on it.

Not to worry though as I have set it all up again now anyway and it did refresh my memory on how to do all that, most of which I had forgotten.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

You're the second person this week to report they took a backup, and after the firmware flash had finished the Wiz didn't ask the user if they wanted to restore the backup.

That's why I'm asking you to check the backup location.

[MrQuade]

no USB in the U4 when I took the back up. I do have a hard drive installed though so I would have thought the backup would have been on it.

Yep, default location is the internal HDD. That location won't change unless the user changes it.

A bit strange about not having the backup though. 17.5 and 19.3 settings backups should be compatible.
In any case, having a fresh new config is a very good thing to have when moving to a new firmware series .

it is weird though because I have used that same USB drive before for upgrading firmware.
It came with the U4 when I bought it and I have kept it specifically for that purpose and have never used it for anything else.
Which is why I didn't think of trying a different USB. Strange.

A bit odd. It's possible that when the new firmware was written to the USB, something went wrong.
I'd say if you re-wrote the firmware to USB and tried again it may have worked.
Then again, the USB stick may be faulty.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

I'd say if you re-wrote the firmware to USB and tried again it may have worked.
Then again, the USB stick may be faulty.

That was tried though -

I have also tried downloading the upgrade again and repeating the steps from scratch.

Perhaps re-formatting the USB stick may have worked.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

A bit strange about not having the backup though. 17.5 and 19.3 settings backups should be compatible.

Yes. It was in a 17.5-series beta in July 2017 that the default backup location changed, so if the latest backup was made using one of the two 17.5-series production/general releases (20180417, 20190207) then it should've been found.
I'm wondering if there's a subtle bug in either the backup or restore process, as this happened to Judy too.

[drharry2442]

I guess it could be a bug. I terestingly I own a T4 as well that my wife uses and I just upgraded her T4 to the lastest firmware and the same thing happened. She could not restore the settings either. But when she set up the T4 again with all the settings she had problems backing up the new settings. when I get a bit of time over the weekend I will have s closer look and see what is happening. Just tied up with work at the moment.

[Paul_oz53]

When I upgraded my U4s/T4 a while back I noticed that it only saves one backup per day. Apparently it overwrites the day file each time. This is not a bug as it stands; just the way it is.

However, if a user were to take a backup after a failed upgrade attempt, possibly the settings file will be in corrupted state after the first attempt.

Possibly, what is happening in some cases is the user repeats the save settings step and this results in a default settings file becoming the backup.

If one takes regular backups then the advanced settings restore menu avoids this problem though timers may require attention if an old backup is restored.

By the way, for no obvious reason I too had to replace a usual USB stick to upgrade my second U4.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

However, if a user were to take a backup after a failed upgrade attempt, possibly the settings file will be in corrupted state after the first attempt.

Possibly, what is happening in some cases is the user repeats the save settings step and this results in a default settings file becoming the backup.

These backups were taken before the firmware upgrade process began.

I don't understand the "failed" upgrade scenario.

[prl]

When I upgraded my U4s/T4 a while back I noticed that it only saves one backup per day. Apparently it overwrites the day file each time. This is not a bug as it stands; just the way it is.

It can actually save up to two backups on the current day. The mechanism is that the backup is always saved to the same file name (enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz. But before that is done, the old file of that name, if it exists, is moved to a filename containing named in the form YYYY-MM-DD-enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz where the date is taken from the old backup's inode change time.

That means that if more than one backup is done in a day, the second most recent will be called todaysYYMMDD--enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz and the most recent will be called enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz. Any earlier backups onthe same day will be lost.

The enigma2settingsbackup.tar.gz is the one used by the startup wizard and in MENU>Setup>Software manager>Restore backup, and the next most recent is accessible using PLUGIN>Software management>Advanced options>Advanced restore, where the restore can be done from any backup.

[Paul_oz53]

However, if a user were to take a backup after a failed upgrade attempt, possibly the settings file will be in corrupted state after the first attempt.

Possibly, what is happening in some cases is the user repeats the save settings step and this results in a default settings file becoming the backup.

These backups were taken before the firmware upgrade process began.

I don't understand the "failed" upgrade scenario.

Admittedly the scenario is speculative. I made one backup prior to upgrading, as is normal and didn't have this issue.

The OP mentions the process failing and, on repeating the install, the settings having been lost. It is not totally clear whether the machine was rebooted in between, and if it was, whether a second backup was taken. If it was, then my scenario applies. The references to "...and power on again" and to "...repeating the steps from scratch" suggests it might have happened. Even so, given it rebooted as 17.5 it's hard to see how the settings would have changed and not be noticed immediately.

Of course, if this didn't happen then it doesn't explain how the settings file was "lost".

[Paul_oz53]

Thanks prl for the extra detail on the backup files operation.

It occurs to me that a feature I would like is to be able to set the Wiz to automatically take a backup weekly or monthly. As the firmware has matured and upgrades become infrequent I'm much less vigilant on my secondary machines than in days past.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

The OP mentions the process failing and, on repeating the install, the settings having been lost. It is not totally clear whether the machine was rebooted in between,

I agree, it isn't clear. I think it would've been rebooted though, so drharry2442 could check to see if the update had succeeded.
The other likely alternative would've been for drharry2442 to prepare the flash drive again (which we know he did) and start the upgrade process from cold boot.
Of course I'm just guessing.

and if it was, whether a second backup was taken. If it was, then my scenario applies. The references to "...and power on again" and to "...repeating the steps from scratch" suggests it might have happened. Even so, given it rebooted as 17.5 it's hard to see how the settings would have changed and not be noticed immediately.

Of course, if this didn't happen then it doesn't explain how the settings file was "lost".

Yeah but drharry2442's U4 didn't update from its 17.5-series firmware to 19.3's 20191106 so the WIZ was still on the old firmware.

There have been a few users that had their U4 firmware flash process not proceed past 'Rootfile Sys', and when patience finally gave out and they gave it the big stick power off and back on, they're still on their current firmware - not a new version with default settings.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

Of course, if this didn't happen then it doesn't explain how the settings file was "lost".

Plus the Doc's missus' T4 had the same issue - the T4 couldn't restore settings post the upgrade. Further, thr T4 had problems creating a backup after the upgrade.

[peteru]

I believe that Beyonwiz may have fallen victim to "fake USB" drives being randomly thrown in to their order. What usually happens in these circumstances is that the supplier that provides the drives writes data onto the drive in such a way that it does not cross the boundary of the real capacity. The drives work just fine as supplied. However if you start writing new data, you can get corruption.

That's probably the most likely scenario for the USB drive not working for the firmware update.

I've had a good run with f3fix making these drives usable.

[Paul_oz53]

Hi Grumpy_Geoff.

I agree it's odd no matter how we look at it. I've not had any problems with the T4 or U4s making backups.

Only the study U4 was a USB USB upgrade and it did fail at the Rootfile SYS stage first time. Different USB stick and a fresh download and it all worked so I assumed it was my problem.

The symptoms here smack of a corrupted download or marginal USB stick but that seems improbable for two machines of different types and different sticks. Really not convinced there's a firmware issue but drharry2442 is not alone on this.

Prl's theory of fake USB drives is appealing for those with recent purchases. My USB stick is an old thing so my problem was probably local.

[Grumpy_Geoff]

The symptoms here smack of a corrupted download or marginal USB stick but that seems improbable for two machines of different types and different sticks. Really not convinced there's a firmware issue but drharry2442 is not alone on this.

Let's not get confused over the two issues -
1. USB sticks.
2. Inability at times to restore settings.
I couldn't care less about the first.

[Paul_oz53]

Let's not get confused over the two issues -
1. USB sticks.
2. Inability at times to restore settings.
I couldn't care less about the first.

Agree totally the issue is an inability to restore settings.

Only mention USB sticks as a possible common source of corruption that might have caused the problem as different downloads at different times for different machines seem to be affected. This would tend to eliminate the download as the problem.

If the hypothesis under test is there's a defect in the firmware causing the inability to restore settings, the null hypothesis would be there's no defect in the firmware. Ergo, something else caused the problem.

That this is not a common problem tends to suggest it's unlikely that the firmware is defective but if it is, it's a remarkably selective defect.

If there's one recurring joy with the Wiz it's the ability to pose new puzzles to be solved