Problem connecting Dreambox 500 thru Serial

[brockie]

Im having a bit of trouble with a box im trying to flash. I foolishly tried to update the flash by renaming the dk_v1.1.img to update.cramfs copying to tmp and restaring the box. It now turns on but nothing appears on screen then after a few seconds power cycles. Ive got a Null modem cable and dreamup but it wont detect the box at all. I dunno if its the box, the cable or my serial port. Is there any different settings for parity or bps using dreamup?
Any help would be appreciated.

[Devilfish]

Have you followed the guide here...

http://www.digital-kaos.co.uk/forums/f34/guide-flashing-dreambox-dreamup-33/

Have you successfully used the cable to flash a box before? If not, it's probably not a null modem cable, rather a serial or rs232 cable, they look the same but the pin connections inside the connectors are different. It needs to be a null modem cable (?2 on ebay).

Just make sure your com port on the PC is com1 and it says com1 on dreamup. If you are using a usb-serial adapter, it probably isn't set to com1.

[wabbit]

i only done mine the night before last for the first time. was getting the same problem. try pressing connect while the box is unplugged. then when u plug it in, it should see it.

[brockie]

Cheers for the reply, I've just tested the cable on a box i flashed no problem 2 days ago and it aint detecting that one either. The cable I used the other day I took back to maplins and got a refund thinking i wouldnt need it again, bought this one from same maplins today and Im pretty sure its the cable thats either straight serial wrongly boxed as Null modem or knackered. I aint got a multimeter to tone the pinouts so I'll have to swap it tommorow. I tried having hyperterminal running with the cable attached while booting the good box and got no debug text from it, I changed the serial open setting in expert setup too. I'm pretty convinced its the cable, shouldnt have been a greedy bastard taking the one I had the other day back!

[brockie]

Never mind, maplins gave us a straight cable. I put it back in the pack and realised it says straight serial. Should've checked really but I sent a mate to get it and he did'nt know the difference. Thanks for the help and hopefully I'll have better luck tommorrow when I get a proper cable, cheers maplins you bunch of useless twats!