Hello ! , and 1st time Red LED and "Starting" issue

Discussion in 'VuPlus Duo Hardware troubles and Repair support.' started by ssjenkins9, Mar 20, 2023.

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  1. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Hi All .

    Thanks for letting me join the forum . This looks like the place for me to solve my issue . My original 2013 bought VU+ DUO failed this morning . It was working fine yesterday . Here's what happened .

    When I woke it from st-by this morning the GUI appeared , but I had no sat signal on all channels . I switched over to my USB tuner ,and that was working fine . I then tried to reboot the box from the remote . It shut down , but didn't reboot . I disconnected all the rear cables and tried a power off/on . Red LED and Starting . No sound from the fan , or the hdd . Placed the image USB in the front port . The USB port is getting power as the internal USB led lights up , but it doesn't read the stick .

    I opened it up and checked some voltages around the main PSU . The HDD is getting its 5 and 12V , and I have voltages around the motherboard . I disconnected the HDD as well , just in case , but it's the same .

    Since Googling the error this morning I'm being pointed towards C809 , and other electrolytics as possible points of failure . Plus a possible regulator failure .
    Before I start to remove caps and check regulators , I just wanted to check my symptoms with the forum to see if they match up to any known issues . Just to recap . Red LED and Starting on power on . Front USB has power but box doesn't read from it . Fan doesn't work .

    Thanks in advance !

    Sammy
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 20, 2023
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  2. Johnny B.

    Johnny B. Technical Support Staff Member Moderator

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    The red led problem in combination with stuck on starting in the display is generally related to the bootloader, nand chip and or a bad communication / solder connection between the cpu and the nand chip.

    With the famous c807 cap replacement, the symptom is only the red led, and nothing on the display.
    But sometimes there are exceptions, so changing the cap is advisable to see if it helps.

    Another advice is to install the box with openpli to see if the box boots with it, and also connect the box with an rs232 cable and use putty in serial mode, to see where the box stops at.
     
    Johnny B., Mar 20, 2023
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  3. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Hi Johnny. Thanks for the reply. Actually, I was just about to reply. I had some free time so I replaced C807 . No change. I have 2.5 , 1.25 and 1.35V on the outputs of those 3 regulators. The bottom one might be a bit high ? , but within specs. I'm not sure how I'll be able to get a new image on it the way it is . I might have to try the serial port to see what it says. I'll post back when I have more info.

    Thx again for the help

    Sammy
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 20, 2023
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  4. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Slight delay. I don't have a 9 pin female to female for my serial cable. I used to have loads of them, but I threw a lot of stuff out last year thinking I'd never have use for it again. Wrong ! :)
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 20, 2023
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  5. Johnny B.

    Johnny B. Technical Support Staff Member Moderator

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    If the cap replacement did not help, as expected given the symptoms described.
    And it is assumed that the USB can no longer be used for re-flashing.
    then the last option remains, uploading the bootloader via the jtag method.

    You can find more about this in this topic.

    But before you consider doing this, I think it is at least advisable to check a few things, namely the inductor F808, and whether you measure the 3v on the scl/sda pins, and whether you are getting the 3v to the nand chip vcc pin.
     
    Johnny B., Mar 21, 2023
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  6. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Hi Johnny . A couple of things . Firstly I bought a working original 2nd hand Duo , so that I can still watch some TV . Only cost me €25 . I'll move my hdd over to it when it arrives . Regardless , I do still want to try and fix mine if possible .

    It's been a long time since I messed around with a jtag . Saying that I will check the inductor you mentioned and the 3V on those ICs . Where are these ICs located ? I'll need to check the other sections of the forum to see if I can see a pcb layout .

    Thx again !

    Sammy
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 21, 2023
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  7. Johnny B.

    Johnny B. Technical Support Staff Member Moderator

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    Most of your questions are already shown in the topic link I gave, but in this picture you can see the location of the inductor and jtag pins...
    [​IMG]

    And as for the nand chip U506, it's located near the front, close to the card slots.
     
    Johnny B., Mar 21, 2023
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  8. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Brilliant ! Thanks for that . I'll have a look later after work .

    Thx !
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 21, 2023
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  9. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Apologies for not reading all of that . I had about 20 pages and videos open with different information . I've looked at it now .

    Thx
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 21, 2023
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  10. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Update . I have 3.3V on P704 and I also have 3.3V on both sides of that inductor F808 .

    S.
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 21, 2023
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  11. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    I've just ordered one of those CY7C68013A developer boards from China . It'll probably take a while . In the meantime I'll track down the software . More to follow ....
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 21, 2023
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  12. Johnny B.

    Johnny B. Technical Support Staff Member Moderator

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    Now you at least know that the jtag can be used, it remains to be seen whether you can connect it to the nand chip, and whether you can upload the bootloader to it.

    If successful, the USB ports should work again and you can load the software in the normal way.

    If that doesn't work, you can consider replacing the nand chip for a new one.
    There are several videos on YouTube on how to do it.
    Search there for example, vu+ duo nand chip replacement or vu+ duo K9F1G08U0A replacement
     
    Johnny B., Mar 21, 2023
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  13. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Hi Johnny . OK . Thanks . I'm still waiting for my little RS232 gender changer to arrive so that I can Putty to the box . I'm not really too sure if there's much that can be gotten or learned from that o/p . Regardless , I'll upload it once I have it . I'll update the thread when I have more info .

    Cheers
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 22, 2023
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  14. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Sorry . Slight update to my problem . Turns out my USB stick had an issue . I still have the same basic problem . However , I get the READING USB , ERASING FLASH , PROGRAMMING and REMOVE messages . However , when I remove and reboot it still sits there at "Starting" with the red led . That being the case it might affect what we've done up until now . The flash seems to be getting written . It just doesn't seem to be booting , so does it still look like a bootloader issue ? Sorry again for the USB issue . I had 2 sticks both with the image on them , and the VU doesn't like one of them .

    S.
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 22, 2023
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  15. Johnny B.

    Johnny B. Technical Support Staff Member Moderator

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    I think, and normally the first thing I do, is to use the rs232 port method to see if the flash procedure runs normally, and does not give any write errors to the nand flash chip.
    So, I guess wait until you get the rs232 cable.
     
    Johnny B., Mar 22, 2023
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  16. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Ok. I'll do that Johnny. It'll be a while till I post back, but I will. Thx again
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 22, 2023
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  17. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Quick question. Do I need an actual null modem cable? I have a USB to 9 pin serial COM adapter on my XP laptop, but that's it. I used to have a null modem cable when we used to mess about with sat stuff back in the early 00s , but I binned all my stuff a couple of years ago.

    Sammy
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 24, 2023
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  18. Johnny B.

    Johnny B. Technical Support Staff Member Moderator

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    A usb to rs232 null modem cable may work, and when it works you should be able to receive data from the box, but sending data to it may fail.
    But that is only needed when you want to upload to the box.
     
    Johnny B., Mar 24, 2023
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  19. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Hi Johnny. Ok. Great. Let's see what the box says. I'll post back. Cheers
     
    ssjenkins9, Mar 25, 2023
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  20. ssjenkins9

    ssjenkins9 New Member

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    Hi again . OK . Got my RS232 gender changer and my jtag . However , the basic USB to RS232 COM adapter doesn't work directly with the box . I have it set up as 115200/8,n,1 , which I think is right . I'm going to have to make my own null modem cable by the looks of things . Kicking myself now as I had tonnes of 9 pin serial connectors , cable , gender changers , etc. , but threw it all out last year as part of a clean out . More to follow ....
     
    ssjenkins9, Apr 5, 2023
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