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HP Prime Firmware Update Problems
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Kim DeVaughn
Dec 12, 2013, 1:42:40 AM12/12/13
to
I just tried to update my HP Prime to the new firmware release (2013.11.25).
The updates for the Emulator and the Connectivity Kit seemed to go OK, but
when I tried to update the Prime itself (using the instructions and command
in the Connectivity Kit), it failed almost immediately.
I thought I'd just created a nice paperweight, as the Prime would only show
the "x^2 + y^2 = 1" splash screen. Other than that, it was dead. And it
could not be seen at all by the Connectivity Kit.
Fortunately, after some searching, I found a link to a firmware file called
"HP-Prime_Firmware.7z" that someone else was wondering if it was newer than
the version that came installed in the Prime, and should they use it. The
response from TW was "no and no", IIRC. I believe he also said that one
should use the Connectivity Kit to update the calc ... :-( ...
Since it was the ConnKit that had already turned my calc into a paperweight,
I figured "wye knott", and used the "usbtool.exe" and associated instructions
that were included in the .7z archive to see what would happen.
Miracle-of-miracles, it worked like a charm !! My Prime was resurrected with
a firmware rev of "2013 8 13 (5106)", the same as that which came with the
calc. Same CAS version also, but the "Native OS Version" is SDKV0.30 instead
of the original V0.025.5106. I dunno if that is good, or bad.
Anyway ... having unbricked the Prime, I tried updating to the new 2013.11.25
version again. I deleted the firmware the ConnKit had previously downloaded,
which forced it to re-download the firmware. Alas, no joy. The update using
the ConnKit failed again in exactly the same way:
Connectivity Kit popped-up a "Firmware update" error window that said:
Update failed (104)
While on the Prime's display, I got:
HP Prime recovery mode V13.
Error! unknown command: 20.
So I again used the usbtool and .7z file to restore the Prime to some level
of functionality.
I would try using the "usbtool" to update to the newest firmware, but I
don't know if I'd need an updated "usbtool.ini" file for the manual update
process to work. Also, the new 2013.11.25 firmware .zip file does not
include an "armfir.elf" file nor a "BXCBOOT0.BIN" file. I don't know if
either of those are needed for the manual update process.
I've seen others reporting problems with the update in various places, but
I haven't seen anything definitive from HP as to a fix. I would really like
to get the update installed ... any suggestions ...?
For the record, I am running the Connectivity Kit on a Dell Studio XPS 1645
laptop with a Core i7 Q820 cpu @ 1.73 GHz with 8 GB of ram. It's running
Win7 Ultimate (64-bit), fully patched. There have been no problems with any
of the usb ports, nor any device attached to them (iPhone, thumbdrive, rf
mouse, cameras, etc).
Any help would be greatly appreciated ...!
/kim
========================================================================
"Some days you eat the bear ... some days the bear eats you." --Unknown
The updates for the Emulator and the Connectivity Kit seemed to go OK, but
when I tried to update the Prime itself (using the instructions and command
in the Connectivity Kit), it failed almost immediately.
I thought I'd just created a nice paperweight, as the Prime would only show
the "x^2 + y^2 = 1" splash screen. Other than that, it was dead. And it
could not be seen at all by the Connectivity Kit.
Fortunately, after some searching, I found a link to a firmware file called
"HP-Prime_Firmware.7z" that someone else was wondering if it was newer than
the version that came installed in the Prime, and should they use it. The
response from TW was "no and no", IIRC. I believe he also said that one
should use the Connectivity Kit to update the calc ... :-( ...
Since it was the ConnKit that had already turned my calc into a paperweight,
I figured "wye knott", and used the "usbtool.exe" and associated instructions
that were included in the .7z archive to see what would happen.
Miracle-of-miracles, it worked like a charm !! My Prime was resurrected with
a firmware rev of "2013 8 13 (5106)", the same as that which came with the
calc. Same CAS version also, but the "Native OS Version" is SDKV0.30 instead
of the original V0.025.5106. I dunno if that is good, or bad.
Anyway ... having unbricked the Prime, I tried updating to the new 2013.11.25
version again. I deleted the firmware the ConnKit had previously downloaded,
which forced it to re-download the firmware. Alas, no joy. The update using
the ConnKit failed again in exactly the same way:
Connectivity Kit popped-up a "Firmware update" error window that said:
Update failed (104)
While on the Prime's display, I got:
HP Prime recovery mode V13.
Error! unknown command: 20.
So I again used the usbtool and .7z file to restore the Prime to some level
of functionality.
I would try using the "usbtool" to update to the newest firmware, but I
don't know if I'd need an updated "usbtool.ini" file for the manual update
process to work. Also, the new 2013.11.25 firmware .zip file does not
include an "armfir.elf" file nor a "BXCBOOT0.BIN" file. I don't know if
either of those are needed for the manual update process.
I've seen others reporting problems with the update in various places, but
I haven't seen anything definitive from HP as to a fix. I would really like
to get the update installed ... any suggestions ...?
For the record, I am running the Connectivity Kit on a Dell Studio XPS 1645
laptop with a Core i7 Q820 cpu @ 1.73 GHz with 8 GB of ram. It's running
Win7 Ultimate (64-bit), fully patched. There have been no problems with any
of the usb ports, nor any device attached to them (iPhone, thumbdrive, rf
mouse, cameras, etc).
Any help would be greatly appreciated ...!
/kim
========================================================================
"Some days you eat the bear ... some days the bear eats you." --Unknown
TW
Dec 12, 2013, 11:33:50 AM12/12/13
to
> I would try using the "usbtool" to update to the newest firmware, but I
> don't know if I'd need an updated "usbtool.ini" file for the manual update
> process to work.
I will investigate what is going on here because supposedly the code is identical between them except the connkit will not touch your bootloader area. That is definitely not expected by me.
TW
Kim DeVaughn
Dec 12, 2013, 5:35:04 PM12/12/13
to
TW <timwe...@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> I would try using the "usbtool" to update to the newest firmware, but I
>> don't know if I'd need an updated "usbtool.ini" file for the manual update
>> process to work.
>
> It should not. IIRC that only specifies the locations to place things.
So I guess I should put both the "usbtool.exe" and "usbtool.ini" files
>
>> I would try using the "usbtool" to update to the newest firmware, but I
>> don't know if I'd need an updated "usbtool.ini" file for the manual update
>> process to work.
>
> It should not. IIRC that only specifies the locations to place things.
from the SDK-firmware kit in with the 2013.11.25 files. Correct?
And what about the "armfir.elf" and "BXCBOOT0.BIN" files that are in
the SDK-firmware kit, but NOT in the 2013.11.25 update kit? Needed or
not?
> I will investigate what is going on here because supposedly the code is identical between them except the connkit will not touch your bootloader area. That is definitely not expected by me.
in fixing this problem ... any idea what the root cause of it is ...?
Cheers,
/kim
--
============================================================================
"Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind."
--Marston Bates
TW
Dec 12, 2013, 6:37:18 PM12/12/13
to
> So I guess I should put both the "usbtool.exe" and "usbtool.ini" files
> from the SDK-firmware kit in with the 2013.11.25 files. Correct?
I believe that is all that you'd need to do. The others are not used.
> from the SDK-firmware kit in with the 2013.11.25 files. Correct?
TW
Kim DeVaughn
Dec 13, 2013, 3:45:19 AM12/13/13
to
usbtool xfers to the calc. I had to go thru the entire process several
times, from Symb+Reset on before I was successful. I got various error
msgs from usbtool, but it eventually said the update was successful.
The calc now says I'm running:
Software version 2013 11 25 (5447)
CAS version 1.1.0-27
so I guess it's OK. Hasn't creshed yet anyway ... :-) ...!
I sure hope HP can get this problem fixed before there's another update,
as the update process is not really ready for PrimeTime [pun intended].
Cheers ...!
/kim
--
============================================================================
"Basic research is what I am doing when I don't know what I am doing."
--Wernher von Braun
Kim DeVaughn
Dec 13, 2013, 3:47:59 AM12/13/13
to
TW <timwe...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> Please send, at gmail.com or hp.com, a message to my email address. Append timwessman@ to the from of either of those. Thanks!
Done!
>
> Please send, at gmail.com or hp.com, a message to my email address. Append timwessman@ to the from of either of those. Thanks!
/kim
--
===========================
"We are all Kosh." --Kosh
rol...@yahoo.com
Jan 31, 2014, 12:30:41 AM1/31/14
to
I was able to update my HP Prime without a hitch using the HP Connectivity Kit.
Here is how I did it:
Connect your HP Prime calculator via the supplied USB cable
Start the HP Connectivity Kit
Click the Calculator tab
Right-click the name of the HP Prime you wish to update (it would be the one you connected before starting this procedure)
Make a note of the version number and then click the OK button
Click on the Help Menu and select Check for update
Check for update pop-up box, check version number that it is newer than the one you wish to update.
Then click download button
That's it, you'll see on the screen of your calculator the update being loaded and installed. Don't click to fast to get out of the HP Connectivity Kit, wait a minute or so.
Also, there is a step in the Connectivity Kit where it is advised to back-up the version you had before you run the procedure, just in case. That way you have a way to re-cover.
Hope that helps you and maybe some other readers.
Rolf.
peter...@gmail.com
Mar 7, 2014, 12:21:05 AM3/7/14
to
I just ran into identical difficulties. I have an interesting, yet somewhat inconclusive observation. Here's a quick rundown of my experience.
Attempted to update my brand new Prime to the latest FW using my Asus laptop. Same result as you from Connectivity kit (104). Had to resort to using Updater.exe in conjunction with the Reset-Symb trick to get into Recovery Mode. Still no joy - Updater.exe attempted to transfer files over to the Prime but in mid stream lost the USB connection and gave up after 4th retry.
I decided to try my luck with my rock stable desktop PC, also running Win7-64bit. After rebooting, reconnecting, reinstalling, retrying until the early morning hours I still had a brick on my hands. My desktop produced the same garbage USB connection as my Asus laptop. I finally decided to give the infamous usbtool.exe a try and quite predictably managed to nuke my bootloader.
Truly a paperweight now.
I ordered another HP Prime and it arrived today. After charging and verifying that I could at least use the connectivity kit to make a backup I was encouraged enough to try a FW upgrade with the new Prime. SAME RESULT! Except this time I didn't use usbtool.exe to at least maintain my bootlaoder.
Having nothing to lose, I dug out my cheapo Lenovo laptop and tried Updater.exe one more time. First of all, there were no long strings of "Error: unrecognized command xx (a1, etc.)" visible on the Prime and the FW update proceeded immediately and quickly. One HP Prime saved from oblivion.
Now, both my Asus laptop and my Acer high-end desktop have no problems at all with USB connectivity and all are USB2 systems. None have USB hubs connected. All three systems are running Win7-64bit with the latest patches. There is something about the HP code USB SW/HW that is incompatible with certain systems, that much is certain. Judging by the horror stories I read on various forums, our experiences are not isolated incidents.
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