Mediagate MG-35 -- new firmware available

[TheKrell]

Originally Posted by icabrindus

I just created the sourceforge project and uploaded the sources there.

Was there ever a Windows binary available? And how about an MG-25 version? What I would like to do is make versions of the factory firmware (from various places and for various Mediagate models) available without the bootloader section. Then, we could fool around (e.g. cross-flashing) and in case of disaster, all we would have to do is debrick with a serial cable.

OK, since nobody answered, I moved various files onto a RHEL3 system at work, compiled mg35tool, and ran the following two commands:

[TheKrell@pack firmware]$ ./mg35tool split -t MG350HD -k clinux.krn -c oldcramfs.img mg350.upgrade

[TheKrell@pack firmware]$ ./mg35tool join -k clinux.krn -c oldcramfs.img mg350hd108-mg35.upgrade

where mg350.upgrade is the latest MG350HD firmware (version 1.0.8) from Al Tech's website, and where mg350hd108-mg35.upgrade is my cross-flashed upgrade file. Note the use of the -t switch on the split command, and the absence of the -t and -b switches on the join command.

So, what do you think my chances of success will be? I am reluctant to try this without a serial cable...

[furaisanjin]

Originally Posted by furaisanjin

I have to use mkcramfs from uClinux-2.4/scripts/cramfs.

mkcramfs wasn't the last barrier but it seems that cramfs file size is important.

MC35UL2 doesn't accept cramfs which size is 7286784 but does accept 7184384. So I removed unnecessary files like wireless LAN drivers and the file size became 7090176. At last MC35UL2 accepted my modified firmware. Now I can login in MC-35UL2.

[TheKrell]

Originally Posted by furaisanjin

MC35UL2 doesn't accept cramfs which size is 7286784 but does accept 7184384.

That being the case, there is probably no hope that the MG-35 would ever accept an MG-350HD upgrade file such as the one I described above. It's nearly twice the size of an MG-35 upgrade file.

Edit: Correct, there is no hope. Flash memory in an MG-35 is only 4MB, whereas the update file for an MG-350 is nearly twice that size.

[pbarrette]

Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive and have moved into my new place in Huntsville, AL. We're going through some major conversions here at work, so I've been extremely swamped.

I also don't know how much more I can contribute at this point. I'm not really a programmer and don't know enough about C, linux and audio/video hardware development to be of much help at this stage.

pb

[ihateu3]

hey pbarrette welcome back! I was begining to wonder if you where still even alive. Not much development going on anymore, so hopefully you can put a little steam back into the project

[supraeon]

Erm... you know that Mediagate have put up 1.4.6

http://www.airlinktek.com/

"[MG-35] v1.4.5 Firmware

The improvement of v.1.4.5 firmware is as follows.

1. Added "Screen Saver" function
2. Improved ".m3u" function"

-Another Ian (who still hasn't got his MG-35 back yet!)

[TheKrell]

Originally Posted by supraeon

Erm... you know that Mediagate have put up 1.4.6

Aha! Unfortunately, it doesn't fix our problem (no sound on mpeg-2 program streams when it's AC3 or LPCM@48kHz). At least they're still doing something.

[teddystacker]

Originally Posted by supraeon

Erm... you know that Mediagate have put up 1.4.6

@supraeon

Many thanks for reporting this - Hopefully this release will "liven things up a bit" on the development side..

Could someone please check:-

1)The Loader is the the Same on this version ,as in previous Versions , the reason I ask this is because,*IF* the loader has been changed , anyone that tries this version and then reverts back to the New GUI version , MAY have problems..

If one of the development guys would like to inject the New GUI schemes into this New release , I know many of us would be VERY grateful indeed.. - Thanks...

[TheKrell]

Originally Posted by teddystacker

*IF* the loader has been changed , anyone that tries this version and then reverts back to the New GUI version , MAY have problems...

I just ran the mg35tool to split out the bootloader, kernel, and cramfs parts of the Al Tech 1.4.4 and 1.4.6 firmware releases. Running diff is useless since it doesn't say how much they are different. But it does report them different. The new one is 208 bytes bigger than the old one.

This may not cause a problem, though. I already threw caution to the winds and upgraded from the Freecom 1.4.5 to Al Tech's 1.4.6 and the upgrade went fine. I didn't check anything (including the new screen saver), and I haven't yet tried to flash it back.

Edit: I just flashed back to Al Tech 1.4.4 and forward again to 1.4.6 with no problem.

[teddystacker]

Originally Posted by TheKrell

Edit: I just flashed back to Al Tech 1.4.4 and forward again to 1.4.6 with no problem.

When you say 1.4.4 , do you mean the new GUI version of 1.4.4? , as they have the bootloader missing - using official versions will always be ok , as the upgrade is "complete".As I see it, there might be a problem going from Official 1.4.6 back to "New Gui 1.4.4" , as you would then be using the 1.4.6 loader on a 1.4.4 firmware.. - This is of cource if the Boot loader are diferent in a way that would make a difference...

just a thought...

[TheKrell]

Originally Posted by teddystacker

When you say 1.4.4 , do you mean the new GUI version of 1.4.4?

No, I tested with the Al Tech version w/bootloader still there.

using official versions will always be ok , as the upgrade is "complete".

Well, then, I didn't prove anything. I thought you were worried about the factory version.

As I see it, there might be a problem going from Official 1.4.6 back to "New Gui 1.4.4" , as you would then be using the 1.4.6 loader on a 1.4.4 firmware

OK, well, we can always go back to factory 1.4.4 as an intermediate step. I have gone directly from factory 1.4.5 to 1.4.4Alpha8 without any noticeable problem (other than Alpha8 likes to freeze on me). But... I didn't do a "diff" on 1.4.5 compared to 1.4.4, so perhaps they're identical.

[TheKrell]

I played around with this a bit more this evening. You have a new icon in the Setup menu to turn on the screen saver while playing music. You can set it to come on after 30 seconds, or several other longer intervals. The screen saver itself is rudimentary; it shows the filename in white on black, and moves the title around periodically. What no color-organ?

Recall that the background music feature while playing photos was broken in 1.4.5 in that it would just quit after playing a few (or even one) song. Well, now it plays music indefinitely. But after a playing for awhile, louder passages stutter horribly. Frankly I prefer the abrupt silence of 1.4.5.

I did not try the m3u capability.

My biggest gripe with all MG-35 firmware is that it will not play Dolby Digital sound tracks in mpeg-2 program streams. This still has not been addressed in 1.4.6. At least Al Tech is listening to those that demanded a screen saver and m3u capability.

[TheKrell]

I didn't do a "diff" on 1.4.5 compared to 1.4.4, so perhaps they're identical.

No, they're not! I have subsequently downloaded and split 1.4.5 to compare it's bootloader to that of 1.4.4 and 1.4.6. They're all different. The bootloader for 1.4.4 is 66592 bytes; for 1.4.5 it is 32 bytes bigger; for 1.4.6 it is 176 bytes bigger still.

[aljimenez]

I have loaded 1.4.6 over one of the latest firmware from this group. Upgrade was fine. Except for my missing the nice GUI, the latest upgrade is pretty good.

The screen-saver is fine, and the m3u playlists are pretty good. When you select Playlist from the main menu, files with extension m3u are visible. Music files have to be in correct format for unix, that is, case sensitive and no backslashes for directories. Also any reference to drive letters, like D: must be removed from the playlist. Once you have the playlist files properly done, the files in the playlist are added to the MG-35 Playlist, they just don't start playing until you go to the List menu and play them.

I haven't tested beyond this, but this release appears to be pretty good.

Al

[teddystacker]

Originally Posted by aljimenez

I haven't tested beyond this, but this release appears to be pretty good.

Al

@aljimenez

Thanks for your testing , I think that being as Krell found the loaders are different , there may be problems if you now go back to one of the "new GUI" firmwares , as then you will be using the 1.4.6 loader on a firmware that should have a different one..

Then I fear,if the machine is trashed and Al Tech have changed the bootlaoder password , you may not be able to recover using a serial lead , I guess we will not know for sure until someone like Ian or PB takes a look at the loaders..

[aljimenez]

Originally Posted by teddystacker

@aljimenez

Thanks for your testing , I think that being as Krell found the loaders are different , there may be problems if you now go back to one of the "new GUI" firmwares , as then you will be using the 1.4.6 loader on a firmware that should have a different one..

Then I fear,if the machine is trashed and Al Tech have changed the bootlaoder password , you may not be able to recover using a serial lead , I guess we will not know for sure until someone like Ian or PB takes a look at the loaders..

Thanks for the concern and warning. How about if someone wants to go back to one of the GUI versions to do the following: First, go back to an official Al Tech release, say 1.4.4; then go to the new GUI. This would insure that the old boot loader will be re-installed and thus be the same loader as the new GUI's are using.

As you say, this may be unnecessary, but worth being safe. By the way, I am quite sure I lodaded 1.4.5 and one of the new GUI versions from that. From reports, this boot loader is different than the 1.4.4 loader used by the new GUI releases, isn't it?
Al

[J. L.]

Originally Posted by aljimenez

I have loaded 1.4.6 over one of the latest firmware from this group. Upgrade was fine. Except for my missing the nice GUI, the latest upgrade is pretty good.

The screen-saver is fine, and the m3u playlists are pretty good. When you select Playlist from the main menu, files with extension m3u are visible. Music files have to be in correct format for unix, that is, case sensitive and no backslashes for directories. Also any reference to drive letters, like D: must be removed from the playlist. Once you have the playlist files properly done, the files in the playlist are added to the MG-35 Playlist, they just don't start playing until you go to the List menu and play them.

I haven't tested beyond this, but this release appears to be pretty good.

Al

Does the screen saver kick in when in modes other than "music??"

I would love it to also take effect if sitting at the main Local/Network screen for any length of time.

Joe L.

[aljimenez]

Originally Posted by J. L.

Does the screen saver kick in when in modes other than "music??"

I would love it to also take effect if sitting at the main Local/Network screen for any length of time.

Joe L.

The screen saver kicked in when left in menu mode. I don't know if it kicks in while playing a movie and then pressing pause and leaving it there... Al

[icabrindus]

Originally Posted by teddystacker

Then I fear,if the machine is trashed and Al Tech have changed the bootlaoder password , you may not be able to recover using a serial lead , I guess we will not know for sure until someone like Ian or PB takes a look at the loaders..

You can compare them yourself, using VisualBinDiff

[teddystacker]

Originally Posted by icabrindus

You can compare them yourself, using VisualBinDiff

I actually meant to compare them to see if the different sizes (already confirmed my Krell) would effect cross-flashing with loader-less firmware , not just file sizes,I like many others, have no programming skills , so looking at lines of code would sadly, mean nothing to me..

[icabrindus]

Originally Posted by teddystacker

I actually meant to compare them to see if the different sizes (already confirmed my Krell) would effect cross-flashing with loader-less firmware , not just file sizes,I like many others, have no programming skills , so looking at lines of code would sadly, mean nothing to me..

Don't be afraid, you will not see lines of code but some hex codes.

But if it's easier for you, you can just run "strings bootloader1" on any Linux machine, and try to find the user and password. Then try the same with the second bootloader. Or, if it's easier for you, just upload here the bootloaders and I'll compare them for you.

[supraeon]

skymatrix -
Good news, your MG35 is operational.
It was actually choking on a bad MAC.
Went to boot console, did this:
boot> config net
Protocol : (0) None (1) Static IP (2) BOOTP (3) DHCP : (1)
MAC Address : (ef:fe:ff:ff:ff:ff) 00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx [entered proper MAC here]
IP Address : (192.168.1.2)
Netmask : (255.255.255.0)
Gateway : (0.0.0.0)
DNS : (0.0.0.0)
Server : (192.168.0.4)
Writing : 0x00020430
.

...and its away.
Will ship it back to you tomorrow.

-Another Ian
[Edit: removed poorly memorized bad MAC]

[skymatrix]

Originally Posted by supraeon

skymatrix -
Good news, your MG35 is operational.
It was actually choking on a bad MAC.
Went to boot console, did this:
boot> config net
Protocol : (0) None (1) Static IP (2) BOOTP (3) DHCP : (1)
MAC Address : (ef:fe:ff:ff:ff:ff) 00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx [entered proper MAC here]
IP Address : (192.168.1.2)
Netmask : (255.255.255.0)
Gateway : (0.0.0.0)
DNS : (0.0.0.0)
Server : (192.168.0.4)
Writing : 0x00020430
.

...and its away.
Will ship it back to you tomorrow.

-Another Ian
[Edit: removed poorly memorized bad MAC]

Thankyou.... Thankyou... Thankyou Ian... You are fantastic... Very clever, and a true Gentleman. I am so happy now. *doing a jig*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHnDJiGhjZc

[TheKrell]

Originally Posted by icabrindus

Or, if it's easier for you, just upload here the bootloaders and I'll compare them for you.

OK, here you go:

[teddystacker]

Interesting that Ewaggle (Retail arm of Anywhereus) are now selling official IR receivers for the MG-35 - Bit expensive for what they are..

Details here:

Ebay auction no. 190046556730

(Board wont let me post the full Auction URL)

And Also a VERY nice Carry bag for the MG-35 - again nice , but VERY expensive..

[J. L.]

I did a quick check of the boot loaders by extracting the printable strings from each and then doing a "diff" command.

The diff between 1.4.4 and 1.4.5 showed this in the output...
One of the differences is the compile date/time, the other might be a version or checksum of some type.

# diff MG35boot-1.4.4.strings MG35boot-1.4.5.strings
1,2c1,2
< FINE0@-
< CONF
---
> FINEp@-
> CONF0
21c21
< Jasper Bootloader v1.0.0 (Feb 10 2006 15:34:08)
---
> Jasper Bootloader v1.0.0 (Aug 3 2006 12:16:41)

Doing the same diff between 1.4.5 and 1.4.6 shows they added two new printable messages.

# diff MG35-1.4.5.strings MG35-1.4.6.strings
1,2c1,2
< FINEp@-
< CONF0
---
> FINE0@-
> CONF
6c6
< BOOT
---
> BOOT<
21c21
< Jasper Bootloader v1.0.0 (Aug 3 2006 12:16:41)
---
> Jasper Bootloader v1.0.0 (Oct 25 2006 14:09:11)
156a157
> Image size too big, ram : 0x%08x, flash : 0x%08x
236a238
> erase failed at address 0x%08x

It is good they are using version control and now the new bootloader is version 1.0.0

Attached is a zip file containing the entire set of printable stings in each of the three bootloader versions 1.4.4, 1.4.5, and 1.4.6. By reading through them, I can see the bootloader is coded to do far more than we have used thus far. I particularly like the strings "KABOOOOM!!" and "KABOOOM again." They are apparently involved with the inflation of poorly formed compressed images.

Also interesting are a series of messages seemingly affiliated with an IDE interface...

atapi_io: default
atapi_wait timeout
IDENTIFY FAILED
IdeReadSense TIMEOUT
IdeWaitReady .....
SK :
- ASC :
- ASQ:
IdeWaitReady TIMEOUT
IdeWaitReady OK
IdeReadSectors TIMEOUT
: read sectors status
IdeEject TIMEOUT
IdeStop TIMEOUT

Joe L.

[TheKrell]

Board wont let me post the full Auction URL

How about a direct link to ewaggle?

again nice , but VERY expensive..

Are we keeping some sort of secret here? They want $29.

[TheKrell]

Image size too big, ram : 0x%08x, flash : 0x%08x 236a238

Well, I like that check... But

erase failed at address 0x%08x

What the h***? Are these error messages related? If so, it appears there is potential for a detection of a severe error conditon followed by bricking your MG-35 anyway!

[J. L.]

Originally Posted by TheKrell

Well, I like that check... But What the h***? Are these error messages related? If so, it appears there is potential for a detection of a severe error conditon followed by bricking your MG-35 anyway!

It could be an error message added during the development of the bootloader for the MG-350... or... they ran into some flash memory that wouold not erase and never had an error message if a failure occurred...

As a developer, I know I have added additional error messages when debugging and left them in place to save from pulling out my hair a second time. I'm guessing this is one of those cases.

Joe L.

[teddystacker]

Joe,

So from what you have found so far , do you think the loaders are (functionwise) the same? , or is that not possible to tell?

Also ,could you please have a look and see if the password appears to be the same - my fear was that if someone bricked their machine with the 1.4.6 loader on it,they would not be able todo a serial recovery if Al tech had changed the password..

I am getting a good few emails on it, and being as we don't have access to the developement machine at (as Ian is not around) there is no real way to test , other than one of us risking trashing our machines by going back from 1.4.6 to any of the loaderless versions..