9X TX not able to read SD card but PC is able to read while in Bootloader mode

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:02 pm

Hey guys, just received my 9Xtreme board and successfully installed it.

- Realized i'm not getting any voice option.
- Voice files installed as per viewtopic.php?f=7&t=7715
- Reseated the speaker connection but still failed
- Latest Firmware installed: 08-Dec-2015 12:00
- I do not see the Sound mode option in Radio Setup -> AudioHaptic
- I can see that option when connected via eePskye and but changing it there did not help.
- Do I have a faulty speaker? I checked the solder points are good.

Many thanks in advance.

Edited Subject for better understanding

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:17 pm

Ok, do you get beeps?
Do you have "voice" folder on your sd card?
If so what is inside the voice folder? If possible take a screenshot and post it here..

João

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 4:43 pm

jhsa wrote:Ok, do you get beeps?
Do you have "voice" folder on your sd card?
If so what is inside the voice folder? If possible take a screenshot and post it here..

João

Hi,
- Please see screenshot for voice folder content
- When I put the speaker close to my ear, I can hear hissing so I guess the speaker is working or some sort, not totally dead.
- I just read the manual and realize the Sound mode option: MegaSound is missing, see 2nd photo in attachment.

- Maybe you can tell me what format the SD card should be and how to copy the voice folder(I just did drag and drop), I will redo it again.

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 5:02 pm

Your sd card voice folder seems ok, but you seem to be using eepe instead of eepskye which is the right program for the 9xtreme board. It is also an older version of eepe as far as I can see. The 9xtreme doesn't use those sound mode options you are talking about.. Please go to http://www.er9x.com and download the eepe and eepskye file for the 9Xtreme. You want the file at the bottom on the right hand side. then install it on your computer.. navigate to the installation folder and find a file called eepskye.exe. create a shortcut for it on your desktop. start eepskye, go to File/preferences and set the version to download to
"9Xtreme". Then go to the Burn/configure menu and make sure the "Use SAM-BA" box is NOT checked..

João

EDIT: Now go to the radio Radio Setup/AudioHaptic, make sure "Volume is set other than zero, and set Beeper to "Short" for example.. Does the radio beep when you press the keys or move the trims?

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 5:12 pm

jhsa wrote:Your sd card voice folder seems ok, but you seem to be using eepe instead of eepskye which is the right program for the 9xtreme board. It is also an older version of eepe as far as I can see. The 9xtreme doesn't use those sound mode options you are talking about.. Please go to http://www.er9x.com and download the eepe and eepskye file for the 9Xtreme. You want the file at the bottom on the right hand side. then install it on your computer.. navigate to the installation folder and find a file called eepskye.exe. create a shortcut for it on your desktop. start eepskye, go to File/preferences and set the version to download to
"9Xtreme". Then go to the Burn/configure menu and make sure the "Use SAM-BA" box is NOT checked..

João

I'm very sure I'm using eePskye and not eepe and have done all those prior to my post here.

Regardless, I do not have the Sound mode option in my TX, so I decided to check the options in eePskye.
- Tried to reflash to different latest version of firmwares but no help.
- bootloader update is also not possible in maintenance mode despite having the firmware folder in root of SD card(with the firmware file inside). Says "No Files"

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 5:20 pm

Funny, what version of eepskye are you running? because i have the latest, I think (Version 419) and as you can see in the picture I don't have sound mode.. That doesn't make sense because it doesn't exist in the firmware.

João

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 5:24 pm

asriznet wrote: - bootloader update is also not possible in maintenance mode despite having the firmware folder in root of SD card(with the firmware file inside). Says "No Files"

OK, make sure the SD Card is correctly inserted. If so and you still don't have audio, nor can you see the firmware file in bootloader mode, please try another SD Card.. It looks like your radio is not seeing it..

João

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:06 pm

jhsa wrote:
asriznet wrote: - bootloader update is also not possible in maintenance mode despite having the firmware folder in root of SD card(with the firmware file inside). Says "No Files"
OK, make sure the SD Card is correctly inserted. If so and you still don't have audio, nor can you see the firmware file in bootloader mode, please try another SD Card.. It looks like your radio is not seeing it..

João

- I plugged in another SD card in my laptop, without formatting(was used on my gopro), just add voice folder in root of SD card.
- once finished copying, plug into the 9xtreme board
- heard welcome message
- went to bootloader mode
- connect to PC and added firmware
- restarted to maintenance mode, same thing "no files"
- restarted to manual mode, no speech again

- this is weird, pc is able to read data off SD card when in bootloader mode but transmitter is not able to read data off my sd card?
- what else am i missing?

PS: I'm using version 419 of eePskye too

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:18 pm

Ok, turn your radio ON, then pres UP long. then 4 times the left key until you see the SD Card Stat screen. It should display "Ready"..

My eepskye is newer than yours.. it is from November the 1st.. Yours is still from October..
So, follow my instructions above and download the newer One..

João

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:36 pm

jhsa wrote:Ok, turn your radio ON, then pres UP long. then 4 times the left key until you see the SD Card Stat screen. It should display "Ready"..

My eepskye is newer than yours.. it is from November the 1st.. Yours is still from October..
So, follow my instructions above and download the newer One..

João

Like I said, I downloaded eePskye from er9x.com even before posting for help here.
I did it again because you told me to but still see the same version and date, checked for updates: no updates

Are you even using windows? can you post a screenshot of this november build you were talking about?
Anyways, I think outdated eePskye has nothing to do with the problem here. It still allows me to read my settings and flash firmware to my TX.

Situation:
- Transmitter is not able to read SD card content but PC is able to while connecting in Bootloader mode

How do I reset and start from scratch? Can i just delete the 2 files in EEPROM? Flashing of firmware does not erase or reset data.

Post by **MikeB** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:53 pm

If you haven't done so, please go here: viewtopic.php?f=126&t=7751#p103194 and download "ersky9x9XT_romBT.zip" from 08-Dec, then extract the .bin file from it.
Now start in bootloader mode, and connect to your PC.
Explore the SD card, and make sure you have a directory called "FIRMWARE" in the root of the SD card, create one if you don't have one.
Now copy the .bin file you downloaded above into the FIRMWARE directory on the SD card.
Next, unplug the USB cable. The bootloader screen should now show the file you downloaded. If it does, then the radio is reading the SD card OK.

Mike.

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 6:55 pm

asriznet wrote: Like I said, I downloaded eePskye from er9x.com even before posting for help here.
I did it again because you told me to but still see the same version and date, checked for updates: no updates

Hmmm, Ok, it seems I have a test eepskye version that was built to test some features but wasn't yet released

Are you even using windows?

Yes, I use windows unfortunately..

Situation:
- Transmitter is not able to read SD card content but PC is able to while connecting in Bootloader mode

How do you know?
Please go to the SD Card Stat menu as I asked above and let us know if it says "Ready"

How do I reset and start from scratch? Can i just delete the 2 files in EEPROM? Flashing of firmware does not erase or reset data.

No, you can't delete those files, and even if you could, you wouldn't want to do that

I'm trying to help you, please do what I ask. Another question, when you insert the SD Card in the 9xreme's card holder, does it click into place?

João

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:00 pm

asriznet wrote: - bootloader update is also not possible in maintenance mode despite having the firmware folder in root of SD card(with the firmware file inside). Says "No Files"

Mike, according to his post here it seems that the radio can't find files. That makes me believe that is not reading the card. Either something is broken or the card is not well inserted. That is what I was trying to find out..

João

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:14 pm

jhsa wrote:
asriznet wrote: - bootloader update is also not possible in maintenance mode despite having the firmware folder in root of SD card(with the firmware file inside). Says "No Files"
Mike, according to his post here it seems that the radio can't find files. That makes me believe that is not reading the card. Either something is broken or the card is not well inserted. That is what I was trying to find out..

João

Can you explain how I can read the SD card files on my PC while the SD card is inserted in the 9Xtreme board while in bootloader mode?

MikeB wrote:If you haven't done so, please go here: viewtopic.php?f=126&t=7751#p103194 and download "ersky9x9XT_romBT.zip" from 08-Dec, then extract the .bin file from it.
Now start in bootloader mode, and connect to your PC.
Explore the SD card, and make sure you have a directory called "FIRMWARE" in the root of the SD card, create one if you don't have one.
Now copy the .bin file you downloaded above into the FIRMWARE directory on the SD card.
Next, unplug the USB cable. The bootloader screen should now show the file you downloaded. If it does, then the radio is reading the SD card OK.

Mike.

I did that before, did it again as you told me to, the only difference is the folder is renamed from "firmware" to "FIRMWARE"

Didn't work as expected.

Boot Loader V1.7Ready

No Firmware

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:25 pm

Please do this..

Turn your radio ON, then press UP long. then 4 times the left key until you see the SD Card Stat screen. It should display "Ready"..

I already asked 3 times

asriznet wrote:
Can you explain how I can read the SD card files on my PC while the SD card is inserted in the 9Xtreme board while in bootloader mode?

Turn your radio ON in bootloader mode by holding both horizontal trims inwards while turning the radio ON.
You should get 2 drives on your computer desktop. One is the eerprom and firmware drive. this is the one you can't delete the files..
The other drive is the sd card. you should see the voice files, and all that.. Are you able to see them?

I also asked you before if the sd card clicks in place when you insert it in the 9xtreme card holder, no answer from you. If you keep ignoring my questions I can't help you.

João

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:32 pm

jhsa wrote:Please do this..

Turn your radio ON, then press UP long. then 4 times the left key until you see the SD Card Stat screen. It should display "Ready"..
I already asked 3 times

asriznet wrote:
Can you explain how I can read the SD card files on my PC while the SD card is inserted in the 9Xtreme board while in bootloader mode?

Turn your radio ON in bootloader mode by holding both horizontal trims inwards while turning the radio ON.
You should get 2 drives on your computer desktop. One is the eerprom and firmware drive. this is the one you can't delete the files..
The other drive is the sd card. you should see the voice files, and all that.. Are you able to see them?

I also asked you before if the sd card clicks in place when you insert it in the 9xtreme card holder, no answer from you. If you keep ignoring my questions I can't help you.

João

yes it says ready

yes I can see 2 drives and i can add files into my sd card while in bootloader mode.(How did I add the voice folder in the first place)

now tell me how is it that my PC is able to access my sd card contents but the ersky9x is not able to read it?
is the card reader broken? if it is, how did my PC managed to read the data?

And both my SD card are in working condition, 64GB Sandisk and 4GB Toshiba

Let me ask again, is it possible to start from scratch?, I have already backed up my data and I have already deleted my model on it but the radio general settings are still on the ersky9x.

I want to blame on the hardware but it doesn't look like it only if I can reset the ersky9x and start from scratch.

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:46 pm

asriznet wrote:
now tell me how is it that my PC is able to access my sd card contents but the ersky9x is not able to read it?

I have no idea. I thought you might not be inserting it correctly or have a faulty card holder. but if the computer can read the card while inserted in the radio, that eliminates the card holder (and you) as cause of the problem..

When you turn the radio ON in bootloader mode, can you see the bootloader version that is displayed on the screen?
What version does it say?

João

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:51 pm

jhsa wrote:
asriznet wrote:
now tell me how is it that my PC is able to access my sd card contents but the ersky9x is not able to read it?
I have no idea. I thought you might not be inserting it correctly or have a faulty card holder. but if the computer can read the card while inserted in the radio, that eliminates the card holder (and you) as cause of the problem..

When you turn the radio ON in bootloader mode, can you see the bootloader version that is displayed on the screen?
What version does it say?

João

Boot Loader V1.7Ready

No Firmware

Before you ask me to update it in maintenance mode, please remember the ersky9x cannot read data off from the SD card. Unless you have other ways to do it via EEPROM or by eePskye app on PC.

Post by **jhsa** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 7:55 pm

Yes I know, I just wanted to know what bootloader version you have installed..

Well, I'm out of ideas now.. Let's wait for Mike's opinion.. If really needed to reset the radio, he is the person to explain how to do it.. I don't know how to do it on this one

João

Post by **MikeB** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 8:34 pm

Taking this one step at a time.
How are your SD cards formatted? Ersky9x needs FAT32 formatting.

Mike.

lancaster · Post by **lancaster** » Sat Dec 12, 2015 10:57 pm

Hi asriznet

I just put a new used SD card into my 9Xtreme board and I didnt format it

everything worked ok

hope this helps

regards
Hans

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 3:23 am

MikeB wrote:Taking this one step at a time.
How are your SD cards formatted? Ersky9x needs FAT32 formatting.

Mike.

Here's the various methods of formatting I tried to fix this issue.

1. Using Windows with SD Card plugged in directly to PC: ExFAT, FAT, FAT32
2. Using Windows with SD Card plugged into 9Xtreme board in Bootloader mode: ExFAT, FAT, FAT32
1. Using Mac OS with SD Card plugged in directly to Mac: ExFAT, MS-DOS (FAT)
2. Using Mac OS with SD Card plugged into 9Xtreme board in Bootloader mode: ExFAT, MS-DOS (FAT)
3. Using my GoPro device & delete all(Format)

Maybe flashing the board to a different firmware and back would help?

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 3:28 am

lancaster wrote:Hi asriznet

I just put a new used SD card into my 9Xtreme board and I didnt format it

everything worked ok

hope this helps

regards
Hans

Hi Hans,

It worked for me one time when I insert an SD card which I removed from my GoPro, then after going to bootloader mode and back, all back to square one.

Why I'm leaning to a software fault is because my PC is able to access the SD card data while plugged into 9Xtreme board in bootloader mode. I wouldn't be able to do that if the card reader on the 9Xtreme or BOTH my sd cards are faulty. Then again I tested these cards on my other devices and they still worked fine.

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 8:49 am

Here's an update of this situation.

First of all, I got it fixed...

Here's the run down of my troubleshooting steps.

- I realized that i've been using the same drive name for the SD Card as the EEPROM: "9XTREME"
- I reformatted both SD cards(64GB & 4GB) and used different name for SD Card: ERSKY9X, ErSky9X still not detecting both cards
- Used different softwares to format, Minitool partition wizard, still did not help
- 1 time, while me 64GB SD card is plugged into the 9Xtreme board and connected to PC, I did another format using Windows default program. I realized the size was reduced down to 32GB which is the max Windows allows me to choose for FAT32.
- After formatting and reloading the firmware and voice folder, I checked and the 64GB card worked again.
- Bootloader loads the firmware and bootloader upgrade works in maintenance mode as well
- However I tried the same method on my 4GB card but it failed.

- then I researched on Toshiba website for resources on my SD card and they recommnded a specific SD Card Formatter software: https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/index.html
- Installed the software and I did another format, this time I select Full(Overwrite), it took a bit longer about 5minutes
- Reloaded the firmware and voice files, restarted and finally I hear the welcome message for the first time on this 4GB card.

I've spent hours figuring this out and I'm glad it's the end of this issue.

Now, I can finally start programming my radio.

To moderators, you may lock this ticket and mark as solved if needed.

Thank you!

lancaster · Post by **lancaster** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:30 am

hi asriznet

wow - you did your fair share of formatting

glad you fixed the problem finally

regards
Hans

Post by **jhsa** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 11:14 am

Good info, thanks.. That is a odd problem I gotta say. Specially when it happened to both cards

Glad you fixed it..

João

Post by **s_mack** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 3:38 pm

From his description I don't think "it" did happen to both cards. I think the issue was the larger card was not formatted as FAT32 (and once it was, it worked) while the other card is likely a non-standard card. Perhaps a very old or perhaps a wifi card or one with software (security, encryption?) pre-installed on it? I can't think of any reason why a "normal" card would need to be formatted with manufacturer-specific software.

Brings up two things to add to the wiki I'm working on: 1) no point using cards > 32 GB (really no point > 1GB, which I already have on there but I can clarify). 2) need to format as FAT32.

Daedalus66 · Post by **Daedalus66** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 4:29 pm

The cards keep getting bigger, though. Staples and Best Buy now don't carry anything smaller than 16GB.

I also notice references on other forums (Taranis, Spektrum) to avoiding cards of class higher than 4, but virtually all the ones I see now are class 10. I assume this doesn't matter for our purposes.

In writing about Ersky9x in general and 9XT in particular, would it be safe to say:

"There is no advantage in using a card larger than 1GB, but cards up to 32GB should work. Cards over 32GB will not work unless reformatted to FAT32 using Full (not Quick) formatting."

asriznet · Post by **asriznet** » Sun Dec 13, 2015 10:45 pm

The software mentioned was highly recommended by SD Association, seems like the standard set for all SD cards, not just by a single manufacturer.

https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/index.html

SD Formatter 4.0 for SD/SDHC/SDXC

This software formats all SD memory cards, SDHC memory cards and SDXC memory cards. SD Formatter provides quick and easy access to the full capabilities of your SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards.
The SD Formatter was created specifically for memory cards using the SD/SDHC/SDXC standards. It is strongly recommended to use the SD Formatter instead of formatting utilities provided with operating systems that format various types of storage media. Using generic formatting utilities may result in less than optimal performance for your memory cards.
The SD/SDHC/SDXC memory cards have a "Protected Area" on the card for the SD standard's security function. The SD Formatter does not format the "Protected Area". Please use appropriate application software or SD-compatible device that provides SD security function to format the "Protected Area" in the memory card.

Just formatting as FAT32 is not enough, a full format is probably required to use with ersky9x

Post by **s_mack** » Mon Dec 14, 2015 12:55 am

asriznet wrote:Just formatting as FAT32 is not enough, a full format is probably required to use with ersky9x

In your case, that appears to have worked for you. But I suspect most have done nothing special. I know I didn't. So it will be a recommended action if people seem to have SD issues, and thanks for shedding light on it. But I wouldn't go so far as to say it is "required".

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