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

Originally Posted by jupigarmin

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2. Tried to copy some satellite maps (via BirdsEye), and by mistake allowed PC to update the Firmware to the latest firmware (via Garmin Express), BEFORE doing Backup. I did backup after the fact.
The Alpha 100 would NOT connect to BirdsEye because its license had expired (and it would not accept a new one, before de-registering from the previous owner, which is not important for the story, anyway).
Unfortunately, because of the update, the Radio Function was OFF now, because it reverted to its “original” format – for use within USA, only.
After browsing through forums, I found out about GarminCure3 and Updater. Again, I jumped my gun, and went directly to Firmware 3.0, instead of step-by-step downgrade. I did enter the device into PREBOOT state, and the Updater showed that it copied the file 100%.

Ok, the problem could have started right there, forcing a downgrade to such a low version in one step. Please confirm if you did that downgrade by using Cure3 fw V3 with V7.8 original onboard which is what i think has happened.

3. And then – everything went wrong. The Alpha 100 is now constantly in “Connect Mode” and does not enter the User Interface at all (except for the time that I forced it into Preboot Mode). The Updater intermittently recognizes it, but then drops the link. Sometimes, the “Connect Mode” forces itself over the “Preboot Mode”, but even without it, Updater wouldn’t work anymore.

Persistence is paramount when a device is not sticking on the logo screen but either 'bootlooping' or turning off spontaneously. In your case it's entering preboot as evidenced by the fact it's being recognized by Update.exe but because a flash isn't initiated quickly enough it's then exiting preboot and attempting to boot normally. To explain, when Updater detects the device in preboot (it only detects devices in preboot, or 'boot-block' as Garmin sometimes calls it for outdoor devices), if a flash isn't started in a short set period then the device exits preboot. For some modern devices that's a matter of mere seconds, many older devices had lots of preboot idle time like 30 seconds. However once a flash is initiated the device will remain in preboot provided the connection isn't broken or the flash's transmission of data packets interrupted.

4. The PC recognizes the device, and I can see the contents of its drive. There is a lot of “trash” piled up during time.

So you still see it in Mass Storage Mode which is a good thing, regardless of whether it's been enabled by cure fw or not. See my final question below, no "trash" should be there after a complete successful reformat.

5. Mistakenly updated via Garmin Express, and then mistakenly tried downgrading directly to Firmware 3.0 via Updater. When none of that worked, I formatted the unit using RMPrepUSB and then tried Updater again (after having GarminCure create ORIGINAL firmware). This is what I get – now, the Updater manages to connect to the device, but fails to read it.

Well, i'm unsure if you mean you used V3 only initially and then 7.8 as asked above. It's important we know what it's running as it changes how we proceed whether it's got cure V3 or V7.8 or indeed even original of either version. Also it's contradictory to say "Updater manages to connect to the device, but fails to read it" because when it connects it is "reading it" by checking the device's ID info evidenced by displaying the info in the window next to 'USB Device'.

6. Garmin Drivers are up to date and functioning on other devices

Updater.exe uses Garmin USB Drivers to see devices in preboot so definitely no problem there.

7. HWID: 006-B1562-00 (GarminDevice.xml accessible freely through Windows File Explorer)

What isn't clear to me is whether you have Mass Storage Mode (MSM) available because of Cure3 fw though.

8. Tried GarminCure3, bricked the device

I think not directly, however at some point the attempts to manipulate fw thru abrupt downgrade has caused problems. I suspect that you still have cure fw onboard which indeed intentionally 'bricks' the device because it's purpose is to stall the boot process from loading faulty files and allow MSM to be re-enabled so those files can be deleted or a re-format done. Perhaps you didn't need to load cure fw at all though because your problem is solely with firmware, not due to faulty or corrupt files at all.

9. Yes, Preboot Mode is possible, but the Memory can be accessed through Windows File Explorer also
This is the content of the Garmin Drive, from the backup (see image below)

Spoiler: pic

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.........

So again, i'm not sure of the timeline here. Is this still the state of the internal memory right now? You said that you re-formatted using RMPrepUSB however the dates of folders and files raise questions. GarminDevice.xml shows as 29/5/2020 for instance.

I'm surmising that the device has serious firmware corruption but provided it's limited to the device's rgn14 [where fw_all.bin is flashed] then it should be recoverable. If there's problems resulting from a very low version of boot.bin used which in turn has poisoned either rgn5 or 43 or both it might not be so easy. As i said, how we now proceed depends on the answers to my questions above so please give a precise timeline as well as the actual occurrences.

Hi Butters, first of all, thank you very much for your reply. Being a sort of novice with the device, I beg your patience, even though I might sound silly.

Originally Posted by Butters

Ok, the problem could have started right there, forcing a downgrade to such a low version in one step. Please confirm if you did that downgrade by using Cure3 fw V3 with V7.8 original onboard which is what i think has happened.

Yes, that is right.

Originally Posted by Butters

Persistence is paramount when a device is not sticking on the logo screen but either 'bootlooping' or turning off spontaneously. In your case it's entering preboot as evidenced by the fact it's being recognized by Update.exe but because a flash isn't initiated quickly enough it's then exiting preboot and attempting to boot normally. To explain, when Updater detects the device in preboot (it only detects devices in preboot, or 'boot-block' as Garmin sometimes calls it for outdoor devices), if a flash isn't started in a short set period then the device exits preboot. For some modern devices that's a matter of mere seconds, many older devices had lots of preboot idle time like 30 seconds. However once a flash is initiated the device will remain in preboot provided the connection isn't broken or the flash's transmission of data packets interrupted.

The device now, does remain in preboot, until I release the button. But, the Updater stucks as in the picture I sent in the original post.

Originally Posted by Butters

So you still see it in Mass Storage Mode which is a good thing, regardless of whether it's been enabled by cure fw or not. See my final question below, no "trash" should be there after a complete successful reformat.

I have formatted the drive with the RMPrepUSB, and then copied the files from the backup again. Now, I did reformat the drive again. The device also has a flash drive (SD Card). After the formatting, I removed the SD Card, and pressed the start button - the device started, and even without the USB cable, it comes to the same (see picture below).
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Originally Posted by Butters

Well, i'm unsure if you mean you used V3 only initially and then 7.8 as asked above. It's important we know what it's running as it changes how we proceed whether it's got cure V3 or V7.8 or indeed even original of either version. Also it's contradictory to say "Updater manages to connect to the device, but fails to read it" because when it connects it is "reading it" by checking the device's ID info evidenced by displaying the info in the window next to 'USB Device'.

Sorry. What I meant is that it Updater stucks as in the picture from the original post.
I now, don't know what was the original fw version of the device, as I didn't pay attention, when I connected the device to Garmin Express. The first thing that happened was the update to v7.8 (for no reason except that I was careless). When it updated, the device still DID work - it showed the maps and everything, but, couldn't connect to collars, because the Radio Function was off.
Then, I went with GarminCure3 and Updater. And although it appeared that the process went all the way, the changes were negative - the device "bricked".

Originally Posted by Butters

What isn't clear to me is whether you have Mass Storage Mode (MSM) available because of Cure3 fw though.

As I said, the device does have an SD Card. At this point, nothing works, so, I don't know if the SD Card initiates or not. Anyway, it DOES show on Windows Explorer, so, I can see its contents, and it is even recognized by RMPrepUSB.

Originally Posted by Butters

So again, i'm not sure of the timeline here. Is this still the state of the internal memory right now? You said that you re-formatted using RMPrepUSB however the dates of folders and files raise questions. GarminDevice.xml shows as 29/5/2020 for instance.

The picture of the Garmin Folder, was what I re-copied to drive after reformating. Today, I did another wipe with RMPrepUSB, so, now, the drive is empty. The device remains in "Connect" mode (as in the picture above), and it turns off after only few seconds when not connect with USB cable.
But, I do have the backup, although, it is made AFTER the fw was updated to 7.8 - so, even if I do copy it back on the drive, it does NOT work, and the device does NOT initiate, which probably means that I screwed up badly.

Below is a screenshot of the RMPrepUSB window and related values

Spoiler: image

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Originally Posted by jupigarmin

Hi Butters, first of all, thank you very much for your reply. Being a sort of novice with the device, I beg your patience, even though I might sound silly.

It's ok, i'm patient by nature and enjoy solving problems and anyway you do not sound silly..... however, i do think you've quite compounded the original problem by trying to solve one that didn't exist so we need to unwind a little and get things back to where the Alpha at least boots.

So here's what i think has happened in order:

• You had an unknown version of older fw onboard ( V3.x?) which doesn't disable US frequencies in EU.
• Using GarminExpress, you accidentally updated to V7.8 and disabled US frequencies.
• You then tried to solve the problem the wrong way by using Cure fw to downgrade to V3.
• The device then stuck during startup and you thought it was bricked. (*see below)
• So now unfortunately the device is not accepting ORIGINAL V3 fw via Updater.exe.

^^Correct?

*Now here's the thing: In fact it's meant to not fully boot with cure fw loaded, it's intentional that it doesn't load files so that MSM can be used to remove corrupt or incompatible files and/or reformat internal memory - but you didn't have that problem at all anyway. The sudden downgrade to V3 using either original or cure fw would also very likely caused another problem regardless of course and that may be the reason Updater.exe is now being a b*tch.

I have formatted the drive with the RMPrepUSB, and then copied the files from the backup again. Now, I did reformat the drive again. The device also has a flash drive (SD Card). After the formatting, I removed the SD Card, and pressed the start button - the device started, and even without the USB cable, it comes to the same (see picture below).
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Your pic was not successfully attached so post it again if it's important info ongoing, but if it's only a shot of the device's screen stuck mid-boot don't bother.

As I said, the device does have an SD Card. At this point, nothing works, so, I don't know if the SD Card initiates or not. Anyway, it DOES show on Windows Explorer, so, I can see its contents, and it is even recognized by RMPrepUSB.

Another point, please remove the card from the device for the time being. We might have to use it later on to try something else if Updater.exe still doesn't work in the usual way to flash V3 original fw, but it's better it's not in the device while attempting recovery with Updater.

The picture of the Garmin Folder, was what I re-copied to drive after reformating. Today, I did another wipe with RMPrepUSB, so, now, the drive is empty. The device remains in "Connect" mode (as in the picture above), and it turns off after only few seconds when not connect with USB cable.
But, I do have the backup, although, it is made AFTER the fw was updated to 7.8 - so, even if I do copy it back on the drive, it does NOT work, and the device does NOT initiate, which probably means that I screwed up badly.............

For the moment please don't do anything other than what i suggest. In particular, don't re-format again (it won't help and never did) and don't copy files back to the empty internal memory, we probably will need to do that later though.

So working on the assumption that it's got cure fw V3 still onboard, please continue trying to flash ORIGINAL fw. If it won't accept V3 then flash V7.8. Also try other USB cables, use a desktop PC if possible and only a REAR USB2 port without a hub (not USB3). Be persistent. Sometimes it takes dozens of attempts to complete a flash using Updater with a stubborn device. Now if it still won't complete the flash don't panic or be tempted to try other things without referring back here because we do have other things to try but it gets riskier trying other methods when we can't be sure what's causing Updater to abort the flash now.

Please continue trying to get a complete flash and meantime post a copy of the GarminDevice.xml for me to examine but first open the copy in a text editor (Notepad is fine to use for this), Look for "<Id>" near the start, you'll see <Id>1234567890</Id> and remove or disguise the 10 digits before compressing into a ZIP or RAR and attaching to your post.

The results you're getting from Updater attempts are typical of one of two things: (i) a physically damaged flash (unlikely i think); or (ii) a poisoned non-volatile region that's so corrupt it's preventing proper flashing from Updater (most likely, considering the recent history). The former is not repairable by software means and is economically not feasible to fix, the latter is likely recoverable provided we can fix the problem via SD card txt commands.

Originally Posted by jupigarmin

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This is the content of the Garmin Drive, from the backup (see image below)

Spoiler: pic

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

Originally Posted by jupigarmin

....l. Now, there is NO Garmin folder on the drive of the device, and no SD card.

I'd rather not press ahead with this without seeing the device's GarminDevice.xml as i asked for in my previous post, you'll find the older copy in the Garmin folder of the back-up you have shown in that pic quoted above but also please check again that there's no Garmin folder presently on the device. If it's disappeared that isn't the most troubling but if it's there i mostly need a copy of the XML from it too. Give me both in that case for comparison, just remember to remove the Unit ID.

With a risk of sounding redundant - I hope there's still hope.

There's more to try still and next i want to see if it can still both read commands from and write to the SD card as mentioned.... but before we try that it's ideal to know exactly what's in that XML file, the back-up one AND most importantly, the current one from the device.

Originally Posted by Butters

I'd rather not press ahead with this without seeing the device's GarminDevice.xml as i asked for in my previous post, you'll find the older copy in the Garmin folder of the back-up you have shown in that pic quoted above but also please check again that there's no Garmin folder presently on the device. If it's disappeared that isn't the most troubling but if it's there i mostly need a copy of the XML from it too. Give me both in that case for comparison, just remember to remove the Unit ID.

There's more to try still and next i want to see if it can still both read commands from and write to the SD card as mentioned.... but before we try that it's ideal to know exactly what's in that XML file, the back-up one AND most importantly, the current one from the device.

The GarminDevice.xml file has "disappeared" when I formatted the drive with RMPrepUSB. I didn't find a way to upload the file here (it only accepts .png files), so, I am hereto sending the hyperlink from Wetransfer, so you could download the file.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ] The link is good for 24 hours

I hope the problem is "soft", because the device didn't suffer any physical damage since I got it, and also, since I can manage to read-write the drive
Thanks

Our server directly accepts files with extensions apk; bmp; cab; deb; doc; jar; jpeg; jpg; pdf; png; sis; sisx; and txt. Any other type of file or a folder must be compressed to an archive in rar or zip format as those 2 types are also accepted.

I've downloaded your XML file, the first thing of note is this:
Model>
<PartNumber>006-B1562-00</PartNumber>
<SoftwareVersion>770</SoftwareVersion>
<Description>Alpha 100</Description>
</Model>

Of course there's been a lot of flashing attempts since you made that backup, so it's unlikely V7.70 is onboard now, almost certainly it's V3.00 cure fw but i'd have liked to know for sure. What's noteworthy is that you firstly updated with GE to V7.80 and since then have flashed with V3.00 as cure fw so i do wonder why 7.70 shows on the XML from the backup. It would be better knowing 100% what's loaded now which is why i was hoping that the XML file had been recreated on a recent boot attempt however i'm going with it's V3 as a likely bet and used the boot.bin componenent of it to make Ldr.bin for this attempt.

So let's see what we can get off it now with a media card. Please read the disclaimer below before you go ahead, this isn't without risk but is normally quite safe to do. Behind a spoiler below i've attached a file for you to use, in it are text commands to dump copies of the device's various regions. Extract "Copy_To_Card.zip" directly onto a clean microSD of at least 4GB size formatted FAT32 then follow this:

• Ensure the battery is fully charged
• When charged, ensure it's FULLY OFF, even if you have to force it off by holding the power button down for a while
• Place the card in the Alpha
• Power it back on and wait
• "Loader" or "Software Loading" or a similar message should show on the screen
• Don't touch any buttons or interfere with it until it finishes, you'll know it has when it tries to re-boot but sticks on the start screen
• Turn it off again and remove the card

Spoiler:

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Connect the card to your PC and examine the contents, hopefully there'll be numerous BIN files in the root alongside the Garmin folder, many will have 0 bytes however. In Garmin\Updater\1562 folder there should be 2 new files named "last_id.bin" and "update.log". Please compress them into a RAR or ZIP and post the archive file here.

Disclaimer: All flashing carries some risk. Although a certain procedure may be quite safe in a healthy device, it can have adverse effects in some devices which are affected by previous failed or inappropriate software flashings. All possible care has been taken in compiling the flash files however all and any risk is carried by you, the end-user.

I am sorry. I carefully monitor your epic...
I wanted to ask one question about formatting.
On the screenshot, you do not have a check mark "Set partition as not bootable", but it is worth using "Use 64hd/32 sec if possible". I always formatted with reverse settings. I think this can be significant. Especially the first one.
Perhaps you need to format again?

And another one about last action.
Many alpha100s ignore the last_id.bin file and after the reboot command and reboot they start to execute the update.txt command file again. It is required to turn off the alpha in time with the button after waiting for the reboot immediately after the "Garmin" appears on the screen..
Sorry my English...

@Fa_Piter
You're right, thanks. I've checked his pic in post #167 on a larger screen, the settings in it are not optimal. I'd assumed he'd used the settings shown in the thread [Only registered and activated users can see links. ].
@jupigarmin
This is what you should use for proper formatting:

Spoiler:

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