Documentation/Maemo 5 Developer Guide/Development Environment/Maemo Flasher-3.5

Revision as of 10:29, 31 March 2010

1 Maemo Flasher-3.5 Tool

Maemo Flasher-3.5 Tool

The Maemo Flasher-3.5 tool is used to flash data to the Maemo device internal 256MB of NAND, which is where the bootloader, kernel, and rootfs (all of which make up the operating system) are stored. Flasher-3.5 can be used to upgrade the firmware, wipe the Maemo device and start from scratch, flash certain specific components, or change a number of hardware flags.

Maemo Flasher-3.5 Tools can be downloaded from the Maemo Development Environment Downloads page.

Release details

Version: 2.5.2 - Final
Date: October 23, 2009
Hardware supported: Nokia N800, N810 and N810 WiMAX with Diablo 4.1.x and N900 with Fremantle 5.x

Supported operating systems

Linuxes (Debian installation package available for Debian based Linuxes and tar ball for others)
Windows XP with SP3, Vista with SP2 and Windows 7 (but not 64 bit, see Troubleshooting)
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard and 10.6 Snow Leopard

Linux and Windows versions of Flasher-3.5 Tool support x86/32-bit host PC architectures. Mac OS X versions support x86/32-bit and PPC/32-bit architectures.

Files included in the delivery packages

flasher-3.5: flasher binary file (flasher-3.5.exe for Windows)
libusb: USB library (only for Windows and Mac OS X installations)
COPYING_LGPL.txt: license text for libusb (only for Windows and Mac OS X installations)
License_Agreement.txt: license and disclaimer text for flasher binary
Help.txt: short command line help
Readme_Maemo_Flasher-3.5.txt: Flasher-3.5 readme file

Downloads and documentation

Flasher-3.5 download: Maemo Development Environment Downloads

Flasher-3.5 documentation: This document and documentation are delivered as part of installation packages (readme and help files)

Sources for libusb library (LGPL v2) installed as part of Flasher-3.5 for Windows and Mac OS X:

Libusb (Mac): libusb-0.1.12.tar.gz
Libusb-win32 (Win): libusb-win32-src-0.1.12.1.tar.gz

Original libusb sources are available from SourceForge.net:

Libusb (Mac): libusb
Libusb-win32 (Win): libusb-win32

Installation

The Maemo Flasher-3.5 tool should be installed from the installation package provided for Debian based Linuxes, Windows and Mac OS X. For Linux distributions other than Debian-based ones, a compressed tar file is also provided.

Installation of Maemo Flasher-3.5 requires administration rights in all supported operating systems.

Usage

The Maemo Flasher-3.5 Tool is a command line utility that supports N900 device with Fremantle 5.x platform releases and N800, N810 and N810 WiMAX devices with Maemo Diablo 4.1.x platform releases.

Older Maemo devices (like Nokia 770) and older Maemo platform releases may require a specific Flasher Tool from Maemo Flasher Tool archive.

Flasher-3.5 Tool is run from a Linux, Windows or Mac host computer as a command line tool, and it sends data and commands to the connected Maemo device via USB.

Among other purposes, Flasher-3.5 Tool can be used to:

flash a Maemo device with a Diablo or Fremantle FIASCO image
flash a Maemo device (N900 only) internal memory card with an eMMC image
unpack a FIASCO image into separate parts like kernel and rootfs images
flash unpacked kernel or rootfs images to the Maemo device separately
change a Maemo device to R&D mode and back to normal mode
set and clear R&D flags for a Maemo device when in R&D mode
boot a Maemo device with additional kernel startup parameters

All command line parameters supported by Flasher-3.5 Tool together with some basic usage examples are documented in the Help.txt file available as part of the tool installation package. Flasher-3.5 Tool binary gives command line help if it is run without any parameter or with "--set-rd-flags" or "--clear-rd-flags" parameters.

Flash always the FIASCO image first and after that immediately without booting device the latest available eMMC image, if needed. The eMMC image does not need to be flashed every time when a new FIASCO image is flashed. Flashing the eMMC image also overwrites all data from the internal memory card.

Never flash/reflash the eMMC content after you bootup the N900 device with new FIASCO image because all the optified content that gets automatically moved from rootfs to eMMC during first device bootup will be lost.

Setting Maemo device to flashing mode

Before flashing a Maemo device with a FIASCO image, it is recommended to firstly set the Maemo device into flashing mode. When you attempt to flash the device, it tries to enable flashing mode on the fly, in which case setting the device to flashing mode explicitly is not required, but there have been reports that with some clients this does not work.

For Nokia N800 and N810 with a Diablo image, flashing mode can be enabled by following these steps:

Switch off the Maemo device (and do not use a charger)
Attach a USB cable to the Maemo device and computer
Switch on the Maemo device while holding down the Home (N800) or Swap (N810) hardware button

For Nokia N900 with a Fremantle image, flashing mode can be enabled by following these steps:

Switch off the Maemo device
Press and hold down the 'u' key
Connect a USB cable between the Maemo device and host PC while holding down the 'u' key
When the USB cable is connected, it powers the Maemo device and sets it to flashing mode
When the USB icon appears in the upper right-hand corner, the Maemo device is in flashing mode
Release the 'u' key

If performed correctly, the USB image is visible in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

The Maemo device waits indefinitely for Flasher-3.5 input when it is in flashing mode. If flashing is tried without first setting the Maemo device to flashing mode, image flashing may fail because the Maemo device may not be able to change to the flashing mode automatically.

Make sure that the device battery is fully charged before doing any sort of flashing operation because flashing fails if the battery runs out of power during the image flashing operation, and the device may not be able to charge an empty battery after a failure in flashing.

Command line options

SYNOPSIS

Usage: flasher-3.5 [OPTIONS]

OPTIONS
-F, --fiasco=ARG: Location of a FIASCO image
-k, --kernel=ARG: Location of kernel image
-n, --initfs=ARG: Location of initfs image
-r, --rootfs=ARG: Location of root JFFS2 image
--cmt-2nd=ARG: Location of CMT FIASCO 2nd image
--cmt-algo=ARG: Location of CMT FIASCO algorithm image
--cmt-mcusw=ARG: Location of CMT FIASCO MCUSW image
--cmt-no-verify: Disable verification of CMT programming
-x, --xloader=ARG: Location of X-Loader image
-s, --secondary=ARG: Location of NOLO secondary bootloader image
-2, --2nd=ARG: Location of NOLO cold flasher ("2nd") image
-u, --unpack[=ARG]: Unpack a FIASCO image
-f, --flash: Load and flash all supplied images
-l, --load: Only load all supplied images
-b, --boot[=ARG]: Boot the kernel with optional cmdline
-R, --reboot: Reboot the board (e.g. after flashing NOLO)
-i, --read-device-id: Print out the device type
-S, --serial-port=ARG: Serial port used for cold flashing or "usb"
-I, --init-port: Only initialize the serial port
-c, --cold-flash: "Cold flash" the device
-h, --hw-revision=ARG: Specify product code and HW revision
--enable-rd-mode: Enable R&D mode on the device
--disable-rd-mode: Disable R&D mode on the device
--set-rd-flags[=ARG]: Set R&D mode flags on the device
--clear-rd-flags[=ARG]: Clear R&D mode flags on the device
--query-rd-mode: Query the device R&D mode status and flags
--set-hw-revision[=ARG]: Set HW revision override on device
--flash-only=ARG: Flash only certain components
-U, --usb-device=ARG: Specify USB device to use (bus:device address)

Valid --flash-only options

nolo, kernel, initfs, rootfs

Valid --set-rd-flags and --clear-rd-flags options

no-omap-wd, no-ext-wd, no-lifeguard-reset, serial-console, no-usb-timeout, sti-console, no-charging, force-power-key

Flasher-3.5 usage examples

To get a list of supported command line options, run

      $ flasher-3.5
      $ flasher-3.5 --set-rd-flags

If you wish to perform commands other than image flashing, then omit the -R option as rebooting the Maemo device may reset the given configuration change back to normal.

To enable R&D mode for Maemo device, run

      $ flasher-3.5 –-enable-rd-mode

To warm flash an image to the Maemo device, run

      $ flasher-3.5 -F <FIASCO image> -f -R

Replace <FIASCO image> with the the firmware image you downloaded from Nokia. This flashes a FIASCO image to your Maemo device and reboots the device after it is completed (at which point you can unplug the USB). The procedure is the same for all other image flashing components (for example, separate kernel, rootfs and eMMC images), see the option list for details.

To print out Maemo device product code and product HW revision, run

     $ flasher-3.5 -i

To cold flash (needed usually when the bootloader has been changed), run

      $ flasher-3.5 -c -h RX-51:<hw_id> -F <FIASCO image> -f -R

The code "RX-51" used in the example is the product code for the N900 device. The <hw_id> is the product HW revision, which is a 4-digit code. Both product code and HW revision can be found from the type label of the device to be flashed. The type label is on the back of the device, underneath the battery.

To flash a kernel with separate kernel image, run

      $ flasher-3.5 -k <kernel image> -f -R

To flash just a part of the whole FIASCO image (for example, only rootfs) run

      $ flasher-3.5 -F <FIASCO image> --flash-only=rootfs -f -R

This flashes only the rootfs from the <FIASCO image> and reboot the device.

To access to the individual parts of the FIASCO image, run

      $ flasher-3.5 -F <FIASCO image> -u

which expands <FIASCO image> to your current directory.

Tips & troubleshooting

It appears that Windows 7 64 bit doesn't handle USB in the same manner, and this causes problems (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=489976&postcount=4). Workaround by using another PC, or creating a virtual machine of the appropriate type (http://talk.maemo.org/showpost.php?p=490152&postcount=5).

If you get a "Permission denied" error, then make sure you have execution rights to the Flasher-3.5 binary executable.

You need to have administrator rights or run command with sudo in Linux if you get errors like this: Error claiming USB interface: Operation not permitted

It may help to connect the USB cable directly to the computer USB ports, avoiding the use of a hub. Using the USB ports in the back of a computer can also work better than using those in the front.

Flash always the FIASCO image first and after that immediately the latest available eMMC image, if needed. Never flash/reflash the eMMC content after you bootup the device. Reason: All the optified content that is moved from rootfs to eMMC will be lost. The eMMC image does not need to be flashed every time when a new FIASCO image is flashed. Flashing the eMMC image also overwrites all data from the internal memory card.

If warm flashing fails, try to switch off the power from the Maemo device, remove the USB cable and try again from the beginning.

If cold flashing fails, try to warm flash the Maemo device first using the same FIASCO image. After that try cold flashing again.

If Flasher-3.5 is not supported on your operating system you can try to install Maemo SDK Virtual Image from Maemo Development Environment Downloads page and flash Maemo device from Virtual Image (which includes Ubuntu). This may or may not work for you depending on how well virtualization technology you use supports USB on your HW.

Known issues

This is a list of known issues found from Flasher-3.5 final release.

Flasher-3.5 does not work with Mandriva 2010 distro because Flasher-3.5 is not able to locate the correct USB address and timeouts
- no known workaround

On Windows host PC if Nokia PC Suite has been installed to the environment once Windows has started also PC Suite starts running. If Nokia PC Suite is running when N900 is plugged in to the PC with USB cable and with the u key held down, Nokia PC Suite gives an error message and Flasher-3.5 does not see the device.
- workaround is to exit Nokia PC Suite before plugging in N900 with USB cable and starting Flasher-3.5

Retrieved from "http://bugs.maemo.org/Documentation/Maemo_5_Developer_Guide/Development_Environment/Maemo_Flasher-3.5"

Category: Development

@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 # Attach a USB cable to the Maemo device and computer
 # Switch on the Maemo device while holding down the Home (N800) or Swap (N810) hardware button
 For Nokia N900 with a Fremantle image, flashing mode can be enabled by following these steps:

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