Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Adjusting BENQ Blur Reduction and DyAc (Dynamic Acceleration) including Blur Busters Strobe Utility. Supports most BenQ/Zowie Z-Series monitors (XL2411, XL2420, XL2720, XL2735, XL2540, XL2546)
Falkentyne
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Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Falkentyne » 27 Dec 2016, 09:00

Hi,
That looks like a winbond flash chip. I believe when I flashed my Asus VG248QE with the Mstar ISP device, the Mstar ISP also identified the Asus with that same flash chip. That's really strange.

I wonder what the RT809F and Mstar ISP device (I own them both) would identify your XL2720Z as. They both identify mine as MX25L1606E.

kiazoe
Posts: 4
Joined: 01 Dec 2014, 12:06

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by kiazoe » 25 Jan 2017, 10:00

I just successfully upgraded firmware to V4 for my secondary XL2411Z, using my main desktop with GTX970, DVI-DL cables (no laptop, VGA available, and couldn't be bothered with SSH).
Primary monitor (again a XL2411Z) did not show in i2c functions. I'll probably switch the cables around and re-run to do the other one.

The reason I'm posting is simply to advise that I had to update one of the steps as I was unable to connect to svn://flashrom.org, so if you're reading this and having issues with step it might help you too.

Code: Select all

#svn co svn://flashrom.org/flashrom/trunk@1846 flashrom
# updated to ->
svn co https://code.coreboot.org/svn/flashrom/trunk@1846 flashrom

Falkentyne
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Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Falkentyne » 25 Jan 2017, 11:53

Thank you

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Chief Blur Buster
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Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 29 Jan 2017, 16:58

It would be lovely if it's possible to create an ISO image (thumbdrive compatible) that automatically boots up Linux & launches into a menu to automatically flash the monitor with minimum steps. Automatically boot, automatically detect, and then display a menu (confirm before flashing).

-- Easy to read select-an-option full screen menu with no technobabble.
-- Including backing up, and selecting between multiple ROMs (V2, V3, V4) to flash new firmware.
-- The ISO should contain ALL BENQ firmwares in existence *and* ability to add new firmwares (query a folder/directory full of firmwares).
-- Can upgrade any firmware-upgradeable BENQ monitor with appropriate firmware upgrade
-- Safeguards against bricking a monitor (will refuse to firmware-upgrade wrong monitor)
-- Including a HELP screen (e.g. help.txt)
.......e.g. display tips such as cable swaps, using correct cable, etc.
-- Including a diagnostics menu
.......e.g. recommending cable swaps, retest, reprobe, display output of monitor probes
.......In the background, every output should be logged to a file. Diagnostics menu should be able to display contents of log (using a page by page viewer such as 'more' or 'less')
- All the above should be easy to later customize by a programmer for future firmwares & possibly other Linux-upgradeable monitors.
- Add a neat Blur Busters cameo of some kind (ASCII UFO, etc).

A good bash script programmer should be able to do it :)
Then users can just can burn the ISO, and then boot into it to (mostly) automatically flash a BENQ monitor.

The menu should be usable to non-Linux users, of a lesser computer experience, so that it's mostly burn-an-ISO operation.

REWARD: USD $75 Amazon gift certificate from Chief Blur Buster, for an ISO to the first person that posts a link to a safe, trusted, verified ISO that does all the above /safely/ and /automatically/ with just one keypress (without bricking a monitor from a wrong keypress). Please also post a secure hash for the file (e.g. SHA-2) for safety purposes.
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Herz3h
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Joined: 11 Feb 2017, 14:38

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Herz3h » 11 Feb 2017, 14:44

I have the zowie XL2411 with V006 firmware, i could try to upload it here if someone is interested. (Need instructions to dump it though, got a debian VM running)

Falkentyne
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Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Falkentyne » 11 Feb 2017, 15:02

Try this from here:

http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic ... &start=200

These instructions should still work with Ubuntu.

BTW if anyone has XL2720 V6 or newer (if it exists; Zowie rebrand) please post.

Herz3h
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Joined: 11 Feb 2017, 14:38

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Herz3h » 11 Feb 2017, 16:15

The i2cdetect asks me to scan bus 0, but then doesn't find anything. This is with debian jessie...i'll download ubuntu 14.04 and see what happens (doing this because i read that proprietary amd drivers do not expose i2c bus)

Falkentyne
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Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Falkentyne » 11 Feb 2017, 17:39

If using Ubuntu and my instructions, it will work perfectly. You may have to check from buses 1-6, depending on how many ports your video card has.

RoSenpai
Posts: 4
Joined: 01 Mar 2017, 12:25

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by RoSenpai » 01 Mar 2017, 13:00

Hi!

I'm upgrading my V3 XL2720Z to V5.

I followed all the steps posted on this forum, but I'm stuck at the moment.
This is my problem:

Code: Select all

ubuntu@ubuntu:~/flashrom$ sudo ./flashrom -p mstarddc_spi:dev=/dev/i2c-1:49 -c "MX25L1605A/MX25L1606E" -w firmware.bin
flashrom v0.9.7-r1846 on Linux 4.4.0-31-generic (x86_64)
flashrom is free software, get the source code at http://www.flashrom.org

Calibrating delay loop... OK.
Info: Will try to use device /dev/i2c-1 and address 0x49.
Info: WILL reset the device at the end.
Found Macronix flash chip "MX25L1605A/MX25L1606E" (2048 kB, SPI) on mstarddc_spi.
Reading old flash chip contents... done.
Erasing and writing flash chip... Error sending write command: errno 6.
spi_nbyte_program failed during command execution at address 0x0
Reading current flash chip contents... 
Thanks in advance.

Falkentyne
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Joined: 26 Mar 2014, 07:23

Re: Firmware upgrade using Linux tool, requires no hardware

Post by Falkentyne » 01 Mar 2017, 16:22

I don't remember anymore but I think that error is caused by needing to use a different laptop, different VGA (or DVI port) or a typo somewhere in one of the instructions. Doublecheck the instructions. Also check for the updated links and make sure your instructions are correct here:

http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic ... &start=220

I'm not a Linux expert so I can't help with problems you would be able to probably find yourself. I never even saw or used Linux in my life until using Bishi's original instructions.

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