GigaBlue UHD 4K - Unable to flash newer image using image manager

[Arcy]

Also, if you are flashing from a USB stick, then you must press the power button on the receiver - not the remote (if your Gigablue is similar to my old GB Quad Plus). Also front USB, if fitted, is preferred. The number on the screen is normal at initial boot for my GB Quad also.

Yes, I've been mainly using the front USB socket and the power button on the receiver's front panel, with all other USB devices disconnected.

I am indeed on the old bootloader, but the download link page of the new ones on openvix.co.uk is accompanied by such a blood-curdling health warning that I have not dared try them. Is it too late for that now?

I've now tried several USB sticks of various makes, all formatted FAT32, in all possible sockets, with the gigablue folder placed in the root directory, following the procedure in the VIX Team flashing guide. I switch the receiver on, the GigaBlue screen appears, followed by the prompt to press the power button, with the LED flickering rapidly between red and purple. I press the powervbutton when prompted and the LED turns purple for a few seconds while the led in the USB stick (if fitted) flickers briefly, indicating data traffic. Then the screen goes black and the receiver's LED turns red. Nothing further appears to happen.

 

[twol]

Unplug everything except hdmi cable and stick usb in rear slot (I have never used front for recovery usb) … make sure no other usb attached. Use oldest smallest usb stick.
Try to flash!
it takes this box several minutes to boot after you see the 1846 screen

 

[Arcy]

Unplug everything except hdmi cable and stick usb in rear slot (I have never used front for recovery usb) … make sure no other usb attached. Use oldest smallest usb stick.
Try to flash!
it takes this box several minutes to boot after you see the 1846 screen

Thank you for this advice! I have a large collection of old USB sticks, most of them small, and have been ploughing through them. The only one which has worked so far had an OpenSpa image 7.5.003 on it, dated October 2021: I put this in the back of the box and it installed straight away without a hitch. Since then I've tried many other sticks with OpenVIX 6.019, and I've also tried an older OpenVIX image (6.017) and even an OpenPLI image, but none of them has co-operated. However, the start-up splash screen now shows Openspa instead of GigaBlue. I shall keep trying.

 

[twol]

So if you can install openspa (which I hve never tried) then we should be able to flash an openvix image from it.
So just confirm you have Openspa and then we can take it from there

 

[Arcy]

I'm wondering whether my new Windows 11 peecee may be to blame. When I download the .py file to my desktop, it gets filetyped automatically as a Web document (with the same icon as a saved web page). Then, when it arrives in /usr/lib/enigma2/python/Plugins/SystemPlugins/ViX
it shows up as ImageManager.py.url -- which I imagine might be enough to stop it being processed as intended.

So if you can install openspa (which I hve never tried) then we should be able to flash an openvix image from it.
So just confirm you have Openspa and then we can take it from there

I can't see any easy way of changing it to something more neutral. But perhaps I should try it again in the morning, using a different computer.

Thank you, twol. I have openSPA 7.5.003 (Linux 4.1.20-1.9) running right now. So far it has resisted all my efforts to dislodge it ;-)

 

[twol]

So not sure if its same in all versions of openspa (basically a modified openatv image ) so hopefully blue button should give you a list with software as one of the elements containing flashimage….(or as on my version across the bottom is a list of menu items in which case its system/software/flashimage.)
anyway copy the latest vix image zip to your hdd and then go to flashimage…under downloaded imges you should find it….then just flash to a DIFFERENT slot!

 

[Arcy]

So not sure if its same in all versions of openspa (basically a modified openatv image ) so hopefully blue button should give you a list with software as one of the elements containing flashimage….(or as on my version across the bottom is a list of menu items in which case its system/software/flashimage.)
anyway copy the latest vix image zip to your hdd and then go to flashimage…under downloaded imges you should find it….then just flash to a DIFFERENT slot!

Many thanks for that! So, just to be clear (because I'm getting brain fog after many hours of this), I must copy the OpenVix zip archive to some location on the receiver's hdd -- and openSPA should be able to install the new OpenVIX image direct from there?

Incidentally, I've tried dozens of old USB drives today for reinstating OpenVIX, and the only one that did anything at all was the first or second one this morning, which had that old openSPA image from four years ago. Very puzzling.

 

[kegnkiwi]

I have a gigablue quad 4k pro, using openspa, if you select customize from the menu system and then receiver set up, then software management. then flash online, then select yellow distribution then openvix is one of the options. 6.7 release is in the menu and then green button to expand. Within that there are lots of versions of vix upto 6.7.019. Maybe this could help

 

[twol]

Many thanks for that! So, just to be clear (because I'm getting brain fog after many hours of this), I must copy the OpenVix zip archive to some location on the receiver's hdd -- and openSPA should be able to install the new OpenVIX image direct from there?

Incidentally, I've tried dozens of old USB drives today for reinstating OpenVIX, and the only one that did anything at all was the first or second one this morning, which had that old openSPA image from four years ago. Very puzzling.

Yes the software does a search of the hdd for image zips so should find it anywhere on the hdd.
Depending on how old that openspa version is, it may not be able to download direct, so that why I suggest to copy the zip to the hdd.
but otherwise as per @kegnkiwi

 

[twol]

I have a gigablue quad 4k pro, using openspa, if you select customize from the menu system and then receiver set up, then software management. then flash online, then select yellow distribution then openvix is one of the options. 6.7 release is in the menu and then green button to expand. Within that there are lots of versions of vix upto 6.7.019. Maybe this could help

Many thanks for your reply…

 

[Arcy]

I have a gigablue quad 4k pro, using openspa, if you select customize from the menu system and then receiver set up, then software management. then flash online, then select yellow distribution then openvix is one of the options. 6.7 release is in the menu and then green button to expand. Within that there are lots of versions of vix upto 6.7.019. Maybe this could help

Many thanks for that, kegnkiwi. Frustratingly, when I get to "Flash Online/Local", it reports "Cannot find images -- please try later" -- and that's even when I've got the latest Openvix image plugged in on a USB stick.

The MultiBoot Image Manager menu shows that I have Openvix 6.4 in slot 2, which looks hopeful -- but when I select it, I'm asked whether I want to delete it!

I've tried slotting in an unzipped Openvix USB image and then selecting Customize>Software Management/Flash Online/Local, but it reports "Cannot find images...".

I see that the Software Management>Advanced Restore menu has an option "Select upgrade source", but that leads to a list of options endings in *feed.conf, but I don't know whether there is such a one for OpenVIX.

I've also tried System>OpenSPA updates wizard/USB device>Continue/options/Continue/.../flash -- but although it sees the USB drive with my Openvix image, it ignores it.

Since openSPA can see Openvix in Slot 2, there must surely be some way of loading it. I wonder whether it would help if I updated to a new openSPA before trying again.

 

[abu baniaz]

Flash the latest openspa image using the remote please. Then try again.

 

[Arcy]

Flash the latest openspa image using the remote please. Then try again.

Thanks again, all, for your generous help. By blundering around some crazily corrupted screens in openSPA 7.5.003, I unwittingly triggered an update to the current openSPA. And after many false dawns (for example, a menu which looked as though it was for loading images from the store, but was actually going to delete them) I somehow managed then to trigger an update to the latest openSPA. And from there I got OpenVIX to load (possibly from an image I had placed on the HDD). Happily, everything seems to have come back together, and I haven't lost any of my settings. Phew.

 

[twol]

Many thanks for that, kegnkiwi. Frustratingly, when I get to "Flash Online/Local", it reports "Cannot find images -- please try later" -- and that's even when I've got the latest Openvix image plugged in on a USB stick.

The MultiBoot Image Manager menu shows that I have Openvix 6.4 in slot 2, which looks hopeful -- but when I select it, I'm asked whether I want to delete it!

I've tried slotting in an unzipped Openvix USB image and then selecting Customize>Software Management/Flash Online/Local, but it reports "Cannot find images...".

I see that the Software Management>Advanced Restore menu has an option "Select upgrade source", but that leads to a list of options endings in *feed.conf, but I don't know whether there is such a one for OpenVIX.

I've also tried System>OpenSPA updates wizard/USB device>Continue/options/Continue/.../flash -- but although it sees the USB drive with my Openvix image, it ignores it.

Since openSPA can see Openvix in Slot 2, there must surely be some way of loading it. I wonder whether it would help if I updated to a new openSPA before trying again.

great good news

 

[Arcy]

great good news

A few oddities remained after I got openVIX going again. Initially, I installed the latest version in Slot 2, where my earlier versions had been running (I didn't want to overwrite openSPA, in Slot 1, for fear of losing all access to the box if anything untoward happened). At first openVIX worked, but when I restarted the receiver, I found that my channel lists weren't showing channel names. So I then flashed openVIX into Slot 1 too, and rescanned -- and with that almost everything came back to normal. The one oddity is that the openSPA boot logo still shows for about half a minute during start-up. And it persists even though I've now switched off Boot Logo Identiification in Customize settings. Seeing it still makes me nervous!

 

[Huevos]

Don't be nervous. The graphic was just written to a location that is not overwritten by reflashes.

 

[Arcy]

Don't be nervous. The graphic was just written to a location that is not overwritten by reflashes.

So I have just discovered, when I downloaded one of the boot logo installers from the plugins library ;-)