From bgvocals@yahoo.com Fri Nov 18 03:27:40 2005
Subject:Re: CX-3 version upgrade danger???

Hi Bruce,

I would differ with you just a bit. If the firmware can get messed up to the point a component has to be replaced, there IS a deficiency in the design (of the CX-3). I write firmware for a living and I know full well the problems you describe. Most (probably almost ALL) of them in the case of re-programming the CX-3 are the fault of something on the PC side of things, or at least external to the CX-3. But the CX-3 should be able to protect itself.

The process the re-programming uses is a form of boot-loading. A small program called the bootstrap loader (a.k.a. boot-loader) is used to load instructions into a different area of memory where the normal program runs. If the firmware is correctly written, the boot-loader program is hardware protected and can NEVER be damaged. If that is true, which it apparently is not in the case of the CX-3, the bootloading process is permanently protected and can never be damaged; the unit can always be re-programmed. In the CX-3, I suspect the boot-loader program area is not protected and can be over-written. If that happens, you can no longer boot-load and the unit is toast.

So, although the problem child is the PC program (or pulling the plug out, or whatever), the end-of-the-line protection should always reside in the firmware of the keyboard.
Boy, I wish you lived somewhere near the SE Michigan (Detroit, Ann Arbor) area. I am thinking of getting a CX-3 and I just found out it is a Version 1. I would take you up on your re-programming offer. Anybody like Bruce live anywhere near me?

Lou
The real problem isn't the upgrade software, or the CX-3 -- it's the endless variety of Windows-based PCs, each with different installed software, OS version, and MIDI interface. Most of them work; a few do not. This is true of every keyboard OS upgrade program that I've ever seen -- the difference is the lack of an emergency restart method.

[snip]

If anyone is interested in upgrading their CX-3 v1, and lives near Central MA: I have the software, know how to use it, and have the necessary hardware, including a UPS to make sure the power stays live. Contact me offline for details.



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