DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Dead Player Recovery Guide.

If you have tried to upgrade your player with the wrong firmware and you find it no longer turns on or is not recognised by your computer this guide may help you to restore your player. I suggest you read the whole guide before starting so that you understand what you are about to do and have everything you need. It is not fool proof there are no guarantees. If you have backed up your players firmware you have a much greater chance of succeeding if not then you will have to search for a firmware version that is compatible with your player. Look for versions that have the same features as yours and similar layouts and menu pictures. If you know the version number then look for that version. If you do not then get a few versions


First arrange a space near your PC where you can work. Make sure that your player is switched off and disconnected from your PC. You will need a fine screwdriver and a pair of metal tweezers. If you do not have any tweezers a second fine screwdriver or a bent paperclip even will do. I suggest that those without a firmware backup download a selection before starting.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/01.jpg

Remove the 4 screws 2 on either side of your player.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/02.jpg

Gently remove the stainless steel backing taking care not to lose the switch from the top of the player

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/03.jpg

Now connect your player to your PC and turn it on.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/04.jpg

Using the tweezers or other metal item gently make a connection between the pins on one side of the chip. I have found this can be quite random you may also have to do it a few times.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/05.jpg

If you are having problems resetting the player as an ADFU Device you can try this method. Place the tweezers across the chip conecting the first pin on both sides then drag the tweezers down all pins.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/06.jpg

Your PC should now detect your player as a ADFU Server and install the drivers. If this happened you can skip the next section and continue after the red text.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/07.jpg

If your player is detected as a USB device then you will have to follow the next steps in Red. Windows will try to install a driver for your USB device and fail. Right click on My Computer icon and select properties, then go to the Hardware tab and select device manger. Here you will find your USB Device.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/08.jpg

Right click on the device and select properties. When the properties dialogue opens select update driver

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/09.jpg


Then select “Install from a specific location” and “Don’t search. I will choose a driver to install” then press next.
http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/10.jpg

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/11.jpg

When the next window opens choose “Show All Devices” then next. In the next window select “Have Disk” then “Browse”. Now you will see you are looking for AdufUpdate.inf which you will find in the Windows Folder.
http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/12.jpg

Once selected you will be asked to select the driver and it will be installed

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/13.jpg

Now the player is in a state where you can upload firmware so open the MP3 Upgrade Tool and you will be presented with this dialogue.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/14.jpg

Note: If you have a backup of your firmware at this stage it is no good to you as it is not a complete firmware file and will give you an error message when you try to install it. You need to find a full version firmware. It may not have to be the same version as your original. My original was 3.5.35 and I used 3.5.37 to recover, you can download it here:

http://www.mympxplayer.org/dload.php...le&file_id=182

UPDATE 28/06/06 Here is another firmware that also worked for me, it is a 3.5.35 version and it restored my test player with one flash instead of two. It is also fully themed. DOWNLOAD

Updated 06/07/06 "wolfport2001" has kindly uploaded a Full Version 3.2.16 HERE

Updated: 20/01/08 - You can search for a firmware that is compatible with your player from this site here: Search Downloads.

Updated: 20/01/08 - You can also search for firmwares from the largest search engine of MP3/MP4 player firmwares: en.s1mp3.net.

Once installed your player should show signs of life and you will be able to see it in explorer. It still will not be usable but is ready for the final step.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/15.jpg

Turn the player off and then back on. Wait about 30 seconds till it boots now open the MP3 Upgrade Tool again. If it indicates that there is no device connected see if you can access your player through Explorer. If you can not you may need to format it with Windows. I have found that both FAT and FAT32 work on newer models but suggest you use FAT to avoid any problems. Once formatted the MP3 Upgrade Tool should have no problems. Now you can upload your backup dump.bin. Your player should now reboot and be fully recovered.

http://www.mympxplayer.org/images/in...y_Guide/16.jpg

If you do not have a backup dump.bin you are going to have to try the firmware you downloaded until you find one that restores your player. Be aware that doing this could kill your player again in which case you need to start from the beginning and do the whole process again.

As I said at the start, this is not foolproof and there are no guarantees that the firmware I have used will recover your player but now you know the process and it is only a matter of finding the correct firmware. I believe that unless the player or its components are damaged that every player can be revived.

If you have a backup dump.bin please upload it to the firmware section along with a description of your players size, screen size, what feature it has, even a picture if possible, what ever information might help someone else identify it and recover their player.

If you recover your player you owe me a beer. :)

How Do u Open this Kind of mp3 player http://i1.ebayimg.com/03/i/07/49/8e/16_1_b.JPG??????????????

RedXbox500, Sorry I am not familiar with that player. You could look in the gallery and see if anyone else has the same player and send them a personal message they may be able to help.

tadad1

That is one fantastic guide!
I will make it a Knowledge Base soon.

To EVERYONE who has successfully recovered their player from a 'dead' state - is there anything else you can add to tadad's guide? The more input we have, the better it is and I'll make it a Knowledge Base for everyone to share.

I have located the chip, and have tried to re-set it with wires and with tweezers . NO WAY :(
once or twice i have got "USB Found" message for a second and cannot repeat the situation with it.
I have spend 50 minutes with tweezers.

XamleTT, Try connecting to another USB port. If Windows has connected the device before on the same port it will remember and install the driver automatically so although you are not getting the driver install message it may be installing anyway.
Also check the device manager and if there is an entry for the device right click on it and uninstall it then choose Action>Scan for New Hardware.

Thank you for the promt.
The problem is I have three dead mp4 players. They are different. And I do not have dumps from them. I hope I can get the same live models soon and suck out original dumps. I will upload them here with photo of players.
I doubt that another USB port will help. Maybe better to de-install this driver ?
How to do it ?

When I shorted pins with tweezers I often heard Bee-bee and Boo-boo standard USB connect-disconnect sound from PC speakers, but XP did not see any new device. :(

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

[solved] When I get to the step were you find the adfuupdate.inf in the windows folder and click open then try to install the driver I get a it hasnt passed the windows logo testing error and it will not continue from there so I'm stuck. Also do I have to have the software disc that came with the player in my computer when I do all this?. If so I havent got the disc anymore. What happened was I tried to update the player with newer firmware without doing a back up first and resulted in a dead player. It only comes on when connected to electricity and then it's only a blank blue screen. But I did right down what it said in the player UNDER FIRMWARE VERSION before I messed it up and it's as follows.

SC85024B
2005/12/08
ACT_V3.2.16


Also when it did work and I opened the firmware updater in the mp3 utilities I remember it saying Wilson s16 or something like that.


It worked before I tried updating so it should be fixable I'm just an amateur at this computer tech stuff. Please help me!. Thank you in advance.

Pocket_Nano, try right clicking on My Computer and selecting Properties then the Hardware Tab. You should find an entry for driver signing and set to Ignore then you should be able to install the driver. Let me know how you go.

Followed recovery guide to point of reinstalling firmware.
Icon told me devicewas connected but could not see it in explorer.
Tried to re-install firmware but even though recovery software recognises player it tells me original firmware is invalid.
player constantly displays hourglass

deanathome, If you are in recovery mode you need to upload a full firmware version not your backup dump.bin because it does not contain all neccessary files. If you have installed a full firmware and are now installing your backup and getting this message you may not have run repair.bat when you extracted your dump.bin.

Could you advise me on how to get a full firmware version

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

deanathome, this is the only one I have,

HERE

it may not fully recover your player but after you install it it should allow you to then upload your original firmware.

If you have any problems with the installation refer to the DEAD PLAYER RECOVER GUIDE HERE

no still didn't help thanks anyway

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

First I would like to say thank you for the help tadad1 you are a life saver. This morning I started to do what you said. I ignored the windows logo error but then after setting properties to ignore the windows logo error windows automatically installed the driver I didnt have to do any steps in the guide. But now when I get to the last step to load the new firmware it sometimes says device not detected when opening the mp3 utilities so I turn off the player and turn it back on again and open the update utilities again then it says - device switching failed, reconnect device please!-. But now there is life as I get the blank blue screen while its plugged to the computer which it was not doing that before. So we are getting there I think. Thanks!

Oh and also when it says device not detectd I check windows explorer and it is in there showing up as f drive now like its supposed to.

Thankss GOD!!! I'have done it...one week later I get success...but I have to merge 3.5.37 and my dump.bin with a code then download this firmware file with Product_Toolsv2.8 not with standart tool.before merge operation you have to rename the 3.5.37.fw to full.bin

here is the code copy and paste this code and save as merge.bat and copy this to s1fwx folder.Then copy dump.bin (you have extracted from your player or find it from firmware archieve by reading firmwares s1res_v16 program you can find suitable dump file from your logos if you remember them) and 3.5.37.fw to same folder and rename it to full.bin then click merge.bat you will see a new file merged.bin.. here is the code

@echo off

::try to repair dump if needed
s1fwx r dump.bin

::make script from full.bin to recompile from
s1fwx s full.bin > merge.script

::extract files from the full.bin
s1fwx x full.bin

::extract files from dump.bin overwriting files extracted from full.bin
s1fwx x dump.bin

::rebuild full firmware with files from dump.bin included
s1fwx a merged.bin:afi < merge.script

::delete surplus files
for %%t in (dump full merged) do ren %%t.bin *.bak
for %%t in (script ap fw bin bi$) do del *.%%t
ren *.bak *.bin


But don't forget firstly you have to download firmware 3.5.37 to be recognisied by your computer then download merged.bin, I have used Product_Toolsv2.8 to download both of these firmware.
you can find these programs www.s1mp3.org
Product_Toolsv2.8(for firmware download)
s1fwx_v30(extract-back up and merge dump bin)
s1res_v16(For reading firmware contents)

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

if you see that blue screen you need to touch the pins again with a screwdriver and you'll hear the sound, I think it is better to use Product_Toolsv2.8 to upgrade firmware.It can write the selected firmware easily to the flash even if the firmware is invalid.İndeed there is problem in original fw upgrade program so I prefer that one.Thanks all of you and sorry for my poor english :roll:

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Ok I formatted my player in the FAT. Now I dont get any errors when opening mp3 player utilities it reconizes it every time. Even when i first connect it to my computer it shows up in explorer and under my computer. When I go to download the new firmware it even says success and reboots the player and is reconized but it is still blue blank screen. So now what any more help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!.

Pocket_Nano, If you are still getting the blue screen you still have not found the right firmware for your player. You will need to try some others.

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Ok I think I just dont know what I'm doing. I have tried for 10 hours now to fix this. I have the player to where it works and when first connected to the computer it is reconized and shows up as f: drive in explorer. I can also turn the player off by holding down the play button like always so it is working. Just still have this plain blue screen and no text or anything. I think my problem is that I dont know how or where to put these firmware files after downlaoding from this site. I use firefox browser and when I click download from the site here it puts the files onto my desktop. Some files end in .rar some end in .php and alot others. I am not puter techy so I'm lost here. This is what I think will work if someone is willing to help me. I found this firmware here http://www.mympxplayer.com/dload.php...le&file_id=152 this is what I think I need. If anyone can make a guide or can just tell me how to extract and where to put these files on my computer so it would be easier for less techy people as myself to access when puting them into the firmware upgrade utilities software. Basically I can follow instructions but really dont know where to start. Thanks for all your help so far.

- Pocket_Nano -

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

PS. Most files after I download them to my desktop then when I click on them to open windows just says it cannot open this file windows needs to know what program created them. ???.

Pocket_Nano,
The file types you mentioned, RAR files are like ZIP files you need to download a program like Winrar or 7zip to open then and extract the files. PHP are image files for Adobe Photoshop, usually for themes.

To load your firmware you should extract your firmware to your desktop they will be .bin or .fw files. Connect your player to your PC then open MP3 Upgrade Tool. Click on the "Select Firmware" button and navigate to the firmware you want to upgrade. The version of the firmware you have chosen will appear on the right. then press the "Begin Upgrade" button to upload your firmware to your player.

If you get an error message you may need to repair the firmware so download a program called s1fwx from the download section and unzip to your desktop. Copy your firmware into the s1fwx folder and if you need to rename to "dump.bin" then run the repair.bat, now you should be able to upload the firmware.
You may also need to format your player.

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Tadad1 I know how to use the utilities as to clicking choose firmware and then begin upgrading and all that.. I know that when I click on download button on this website for the firmware I choosen it puts it on my desktop. Now I have downloaded the 7-zip file manager is that correct?. But what I'm saying is I dont know how to go from there. After the firmware is on my desktop I need to know the steps to open with firmware with 7zip and where to put it and how to find it for when I open the mp3 utilities to choose the firmware. I hope that makes it easier to understand what I'm asking.

Pocket_Nano, If you have installed 7zip then you should be able to right click on the file you want to open and find a 7zip entry in the context menu. When you move your mouse to the 7zip entry a menu will pop out giving you options on opening the file. If you select Extract Here it will extract the file to wherever the original file is stored. So if say, Dump.rar is on your desktop and you right click on it and choose Extract here in the 7zip menu it will be extracted to your desktop.

When you open MP3 Update Tool and use the "Select new Firmware file" button you will be presented with an Open Dialogue which is like a miny version of Explorer. If you click on the little arrow at the top of the window in the area marked "Look in" you will see a directory tree of your computer, choose Desktop and find the file you just extracted using 7zip (dump.bin or 3.5.37.fw, whatever it is called) then select it and it will load into MP3 Update Utilities. Now all you need to do is click the "Begin Upgrade" button.

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Pocket_Nano,

Best to probably open a new post with your enquiry. However, let's see if I can answer it for you.

Firstly, you need the program "7-Zip" to open .7z files. Much like .zip files but better compression and FREEWARE (no more nagging Winzip boxes all the time).

You can download 7-Zip from here.


The second part is updating the firmware on your player. There is a Knowledge Base on this too - How to: Update the firmware for your MP3/MP4 player which can be located here.

Hopefully this helps answer your questions.

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Thank you ADMIN. Tadad1 already explained all that for me in the previous post's. Sorry didnt mean to post in the wrong place. Tadad1 I would like to say thank you so much for being so kind and helping me out with all my questions and for being so patient with me as I'm an amteur at this computer stuff. But houston we have lift off! lol I recovered my dead player and owe you a beer NO I owe you a 6 pack!.

Thanks so much Tadad1!.

- Pocket_Nano -

Pocket_Nano, That is excellent news, I am glad you got your player up and running, well done. :)

Have added a link to another full version firmware, this one is a 3.5.35 version and restored my poor test player with one flash instead of two. Those that have restored there players and find that they no longer have TelBook, Text and Games may also find this fixes the issue as well.

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

hi everyone,


i am glad to say this, that i have recoverd a dead player, i followed the same instructions...... that was posted....that to short the pins and so on,
here is the link to how to go abt it
http://www.mympxplayer.com/viewtopic.php?t=567

the information is very much true, the chip is smillar to all mpx player, make sure u guys follow the exact information which is mentioned in the above link.

below is the link to download firmare v3.5.37
http://www.mympxplayer.com/dload.php...6364da93f003b1


all i did was opened the mpx player, and shorted the pins, and my comp recongized the player, and i opened the mp3 utility and it asked me that ur player is in recovery mode, i installed the firmware v3.5.37, i got my each every option...in my player......

my software is same as below with exact features......

http://www.mympxplayer.com/album_showpage.php?pic_id=4

i can now listen music, watch movie clips, fm, my loved one pics, etc., :D

thanx a lot to all of u....

thanx again to admin, tatad1, arish, bnih.....etc.....

hope all urs also will recover.......

thanx
vinod

vinod,
Good to hear you got your player working again and thankyou for letting us know.
If you get a chance please upload your firmware to the Downloads>Uploads by Members section. The more versions we have for download the better.

Cheers :)

Hi all! I m in a big trouble. I bought an mp4 player
2 weeks ago(the same that on the pictures at dead player recovery). One day the battery went dead. I connect it to the computer to charge. After a few hours i saw it has been turned off. After this I can't swith it on.
I try "dead player recovery but it isnt worked my computer isnt recognize it. PLS somebody help.

Sorry but i cant write correctly in english.

delerium69, Sorry to hear about your player it sounds more like a faulty player than a firmware issue. It could be a faulty USB cord and no charge is getting to the battery or the battery itself may be the problem. I suggest you contact your seller as it may still be under warrenty.

Thanks for ur answer. But I talked to the seller he dont know wht is the problem. So I sucked... :)

delerium69

Please create a new post for your question. We can help more from there.

I would suggest try a different USB cable, as well as a wall charger too to try to eliminate the possible problems.......

Wait to hear from you then.

thx 4 this info
i think everyone like this guide

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

I have tried the above method but I am having a total different situation here. I get this and says that this device is unknown when i attach the player through the usb.

http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/3518/018rg.jpg

I try to install the driver AdfuUpdate found in C:\Windows and I get this

http://img477.imageshack.us/img477/5954/029yc.jpg

Any other ideas of how can this be resolved ? t.y.

nevermind am throwing it away lol. thanks for the guide it looks great :)

EDIT: I was just about to throw out the player. I've tried to connect the pins again and the light came on :o. I've used one of the full firmwares here and it worked :o. So, if you are in the same boat as I am, try the guide again

EDITx2: btw you are a genius and we love your guide ;)

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

This is an excellent guide. However, I am having trouble finding a backup dump.bin file to restore my player. I have the exact replica of the player you have in your guide. I have downloaded several firmware files, but most get an invalid firmware file message in the mp3 update tool. Please help!

Re: DEAD PLAYER RECOVERY GUIDE
 

Thank you so much whit your guide i could bring back to life mi dead player
thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

if i made some mistakes is because i'm panamenian and i'm still learning english

Ciberhaguen, WOOOOO, you are one happy Panamanian and your English is great. I am glad you got your player going again :)