Eurovox Max V pre firmware update advice please.

[aliciac]

Hi everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but have been reading numerous threads the last few days since my Eurovox Max V stopped working two days ago. To clarify, I purchased this box from eBay and I live in the Leicester area (ex NTL). Having followed the advice on these forum, I have managed to figure out how to use the BigMAQ toolbar to enter the two Keys into my Eurovox box. For others still wanting to get to this point, I would recommend Ronster's post which is also a Sticky (I would post a link here but am lacking the necessary 10 posts yet).

No doubt many of you have already followed this and any other methods to the letter, but still aren't able to get your boxes to work, hence the incredible number of posts the last few days I guess. I sympathise and I hope the experts here are able to help, or at least wait for the new firmware.

I'm looking to the future and planning on updating my box. With this in mind, I have dug out my RS232 cable. I am relying on downloading the new firmware from the BigMAQ toolbar, using the 'Updates/Fixes' menu when the new firmware is released. Someone please tell me if this is the wrong thing to do. I have seen other posts requesting details of where the firmware can be downloaded from, when available, but most have unhelpfully been told to search for this information for themselves. I agree with this advice in principple, but the experts on this forum must appreciate that there are a lot of novices here who may need a direct link to a thread where they can find the answer to their question because there is a lot of advice on this forum, and some of it conflicting.

One issue which I'm not sure about is whether I will need my box plugged into the signal cable whilst updating. Because my computer and TV are in separate rooms, I was planning on moving my box to the computer, and taking only the box's power lead with me. Will this work? Or will I have to need my whole computer closer to the TV and box?

Another issue is whether I can use a USB to female RS232 cable. The reason I ask is because if the answer to my former question is 'no', then I have a laptop which I could use, but it does not have a Serial port. I have searched this forum for the answer to this question, and found a post which suggested that some of these USB cables work, and some don't. Is there a way to tell which ones do - for example can someone recommend a brand or retailer?

Lastly, this is the method I plan to use to update my box. Please someone tell me if what I am planning to do is wrong. I found this information on this forum.

1. Connect the box without power to the PC.
2. Double click to open the firmware update.
3. Click on 'Download'.
4. Click on 'Start'.
5. Click on 'OK'.
6. Connect the power lead to the box when the PC says it is waiting for a response from the receiver.
7. The firmware update will now begin.
8. When the firmware update is complete, plug in the signal cable and restart the box.
9. Complete a Power Scan.

I appreciate that this is a long post, but I wanted to be very clear what information I was looking for, in hope that I won't just get told to search this forum for myself (which as I mentioned, have already done and just want to clarify a few issues). Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks to all that reply.

Alicia. x

[pierrot]

nice post Alicia.

[funkinlesson]

The firmware update for the Max V should be available here pretty much straight away when it comes out. You can move your box into the computer room to update it - it'll have to be plugged into the mains obviously. The USB cable works for me. I've updated 3 or 4 times with it now, with no issues. I'm using Windows XP Pro though, I have heard people running Vista say that it doesn't work for them.

As for updating, it's easier than you think. Use the firmware updater to take a backup of your current channels, then update. If the firmware update has deleted your channels, restore them from the backup. That should be all you need to do, although as the firmware update isn't out yet, I can't say that with 100% accuracy. That's the way it's worked with previous updates though. It saves you having to do a power scan, delete unwanted channels, rearrange them etc.

[aliciac]

Thanks pierrot.

funkinlesson, thank you so much for a refreshing helpful and straight to the point post, much appreciated. Could you just clarify how I should go about saving my channel list to prevent a Power Scan?

Cheers!

Alicia. x

[funkinlesson]

Originally Posted by aliciac

Could you just clarify how I should go about saving my channel list to prevent a Power Scan?

Sure. If the firmware updater is like the previous few, it has a big "Download" button that you press to update the firmware. Underneath that is a Channel Data section with 4 more buttons. Press the "Upload" button and you'll be able to save a backup of the channels to your computer. Update the firmware, and if your channels have been deleted or whatever, fire up the updater again and hit the "Browse" button and select the channel backup file that you created earlier, then hit the "Download" button - not the big one, the one in the Channel Data section. That will restore your channels to exactly how they were before the update.

Of course, all of that is based on the forthcoming firmware update using the same process as before. It might be completely different. If so, there's still a way to get a channel backup using a program called Voxer, which you can get from the downloads section on this very site.

[IceUK]

When using the Unified Firmware Loader Application, you will see an upload option, click that and save the file to a place on your hard drive.

Then, click the main download button (AT THE TOP) to load firmware onto your box.

To place the channel list back onto you box, click the download button (AT THE BOTTOM) and select the file you saved earlier.

Hope this helps.

[aliciac]

Thank you funkinlesson. In plain simple English - fantastic! Can't wait to get going!

Cheers!

Alicia. x

[funkinlesson]

No problem. I've just done the update myself and I can confirm that the process is exactly the same as before. The firmware update didn't affect my channels this time, but make a channel backup anyway, just in case.

[cpb353]

AWSOME! This worked Perfectly first time. Thanks to you all for the guide, and HUGE THANKS to the team who got this update out so quickly.

Come on VM, bring it on!

[swgh125]

I have Just updated my box it appears to have worked although it said it failed on my lapotp. I definatley have new menus etc but foolishly I forgot to backup my channels before starting is there anyway I can recover them