Upgrading firmware with Windows 7

[splitzjc]

Hi,

I received my Retrode 2 not too long ago. It works great for the most, and I appreciate the work that's went into this product. I would like to upgrade the firmware (in part so I can dump Sonic 3 and Knuckles together), but Windows 7 doesn't seem to let me put in a different driver.

With thanks,
Jimmy

[Matthias_H]

Do you have admin access on your Windows installation?

[splitzjc]

Yes

[Matthias_H]

Yes

Then please provide more information about (1) what you're doing, and (2) how exactly Windows complains about it. Maybe I can see where the trouble is.

Thanks,
Matthias

[splitzjc]

I can't follow the part of the instructions where you select a driver when Windows asks for one, because when I held the hw button (and then pressed the reset button), Windows 7 would just automatically reinstall the driver it used before. I couldn't change the driver either, and Windows told me that the best driver was being used. 

However, I just recently tried the button combo to reset the driver, and as Windows was trying to install the driver, it complained that no driver was found.

Sorry about the lack of information in my previous posts.

With thanks,
Jimmy

[Matthias_H]

How does the device show up in the device manager when it's in HWB mode? (there should be Jungo and/or AT90USB devices) Also, have you tried a different USB port?

[splitzjc]

When the retrode is plugged in as usual, the driver files listed are
C:\windows\system32\DRIVERS\disk.sys
C:\windows\System32\drivers\partmgr.sys

This is even after holding down the HWB button and letting go (I'm not sure what HWB mode is). The same thing happens when I use another USB port (I've used both of them previously). I could just try to update using a computer with Windows XP.

[Matthias_H]

To get to hardware bootloader mode (needed to install firmware), you have to hold down HWB, then press RESET, release RESET,  wait a second, then release HWB. All while the device is connected to the computer. In your Windows Device Manager (please consult the internet on where to find that), you should see something like the Jungo/Atmel devices mentioned above. Can you confirm this? If so, there should also be a possibility to re-install the driver from a new source.

[emuDrache]

You could also try cleaning up your usb device cache.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/device_manager_view.html  << what it does
  http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/devmanview.zip                  << direct link for 32 bit
  http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/devmanview-x64.zip           << direct link for 64 bit

(my virus scan shows its clean and i have not had any side effects since I used it
when i had to clean up a ton of FTDI entries from various hardware that I use)

find any instances of 'Retrode USB Device' under `Device Name`
AND
any instances of 'Atmel USB Devices' under `Device Type Code`
and
remove them by highlighting/selecting them and then
go to
file->uninstall selected devices, then answer 'yes' to the popup

plug the retrode back in, and it should be redetected on any usb port.

i would have done a full VID/PID cleanup but I am not sure what VID/PID
Matthias is using, and frankly, `This Worked for Me` (TM)

do_not_uninstall_anything_else_unless_you_know_what_it_is

Regards,
Felix

[splitzjc]

In Device Manager, under disk drives, Retrode shows up but there's nothing that shows up underneath it. This is without putting it into HWB mode.

[Matthias_H]

Of course the Retrode shows up in regular operation. Again, it needs to be in HWB mode; how does it show up then?

[emuDrache]

To clarify, on the retrode itself, you did in fact press/hold the top button, press/release the bottom button, then release the top button?

[splitzjc]

Okay, I had the Retrode showing up in the device manager in normal operating mode. I then hit the appropriate button combination. After I did that, the Retrode disappeared from disk drives and apparently shifted to the unknown device category. I tried to update the driver software by selecting the atmel usb x86 directory and an error message popped up (which isn't too surprising). 

Thanks again,
Jimmy

[Matthias_H]

So what is the error message? Also, what "atmel usb x86" directory did you select? Are you using a 32-bit version of Windows, or 64-bit? Again, please try to provide as much information as you can, or at least try to answer all of my questions this time. I'd really love to find out what's wrong, but I'm really terrible at guessing.

Anyway, here's a blind shot: the most brutal (and therefore reliable) way to reset a screwed USB device installation under Windows is to run regedit.exe as administrator, search for the VID:PID string (here "vid_03eb&pid_2ff9", not case sensitive) and delete all registry keys and values that point to this device. Then cycle the connection, go to HWB mode, install correct driver.

The path to the driver should be "usb" in your FLIP installation directory.  I am not aware of any permanent trouble with either 32 or 64-bit version.

Cheers,
Matthias

[splitzjc]

I actually just used a Windows XP computer that I had access to, and I was able to easily follow the instructions, upgrade the firmware, and backup Sonic 3 & Knuckles. If there are any future firmware updates, do you want me to try to look into the problem that I was having with Windows 7 some more?

Thanks for you time,
Jimmy