Killing 6HCs with repeated firmware upgrade?
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Hi,
similar to my question on a defect 6HC Board, my colleagues have killed 2 more 6HC boards. Duet3D 6HC not starting
There is no visible damage on both boards. In contrast to the mentioned board the 3.3V LED is on. Still, the status LED is hardly glowing.
Both boards do not show up as devices in the Windows device manager. No COM port, no Bossa or else.
All proposed recovery procedures failed.Of course, I inquired as on the actions preceding the defect.
I was told the defect happened when trying to align the firmware of the 6HC and daughterboard.
So, an M997 S0 was sent with a proper firmware on SD, which worked fine the first time.
But doing the same again with the identical SD card on the board, renders the board dead.Can it be, that when re-installing the same firmware, the software deletes the firmware, then detects that the firmware is identical to the formerly existing one and does not write the firmware, leaving the board with no firmware?
Is there another way of updating the firmware?
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@Johalu said in Killing 6HCs with repeated firmware upgrade?:
Can it be, that when re-installing the same firmware, the software deletes the firmware, then detects that the firmware is identical to the formerly existing one and does not write the firmware, leaving the board with no firmware?
Actually you can even downgrade to an older version of RRF. So it's highly unlikely that the board refuses to flash the same FW.
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@Johalu try using a powered USB hub and see if the 6HC appears on the PC that way. It may be drawing more power than the USB port can provide
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@Johalu For info, I had one of the very first 6HCs which was actually a prototype. It's had every stable firmware and most of the Betas in between, as well as quite a few binaries that never got as far as Beta. Never managed to "brick" a board yet.
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@Johalu said in Killing 6HCs with repeated firmware upgrade?:
Can it be, that when re-installing the same firmware, the software deletes the firmware, then detects that the firmware is identical to the formerly existing one and does not write the firmware, leaving the board with no firmware?
No, it doesn't do that. However, I am aware that occasionally when the 6HC firmware is upgraded via DWC, writing the firmware fails and the board is left without firmware on it. This is on my list to investigate.
If the processor is OK then if the Erase jumper is used, the Status/Diag LED should light up dimly. That indicates that the processor is not running firmware. The Bossa port should show up on a PC if the conditions are right.
The processor on the 6HC switches to high speed mode when booting, and that makes the cabling and the USB port on the PC more critical than usual. Typically it won't work if you use a USB extender cable, or a cable that is longer than the USB spec allows. So I suggest you try using different cables, and different USB ports on the PC.
Like @deckingman I have an early 6HC board which has had firmware installed on it numerous times, many times for every release we have done.
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@deckingman Thx for your reply. It is indeed noteworthy that the USB cable must be of specific quality. I had to try 5 different cables before I had a COM port visible. (Whereas the power consumption is not relevant. Its like 0.09mA which is very much within the limits and I tried it on an old not powered USB Hub with no issue.)
So, I was able to revive ONE of the two defect bords.
The second, although displaying exactly the same status as the first one, does not produce the COM port. (Of course, with the identical cable and setup working well with the first board)Any idea?
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@Johalu said in Killing 6HCs with repeated firmware upgrade?:
power consumption is not relevant. Its like 0.09mA
Just to put that right: you mean 0.09 Ampere e.g. 90 mA? That would be more plausible.
I tried it on an old not powered USB Hub with no issue
With a power consumption of 0.09 A (or a bit more, depending on the Duet board), passive USB hubs may run out of steam.
Any idea?
Did you try to reboot your PC before you connected your second board? Sometimes, a cold boot can help …
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