Hi there, No, it is not possible. It will void the product warranty. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of J.T.Laurie Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 6:29 AM To: Braillenote List Subject: Re: [Braillenote] BN acting up again!
speaking of repairs, a friend of mine said if its just a battery replacement you could take the unit in to a computer shop. anyone know anything about this? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Flint Million" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Braillenote List" <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 4:46 AM Subject: Re: [Braillenote] BN acting up again! > I'm an IT and computer specialist so this is a good one, plus I enjoy > answering questions. Sorry for those who find it OT. > > --technical lecture follows. > The braille note runs on software contained in internal memory called > flash memory. This is because the memory is on chips, and works > similarly to permanent "ROM" (read only memory) however it can also be > "flashed" back to a blank state and then reprogrammed with new > content. People encounter flash memory often in the form of a USB > flash drive (thumb drive, usb key, etc) which contains a large amount > of this flash memory and is used for storing user data. On the braille > note, the actual system software itself is contained on a flash memory > chip. > > Reflashing is the process of writing new information to flash memory. > Most often however it pertains to system software, or "firmware", of > various devices. A computer's BIOS is often contained on flash memory > allowing it to be updated by the user. In the past, you would have to > open your computer, physically remove the old memory chip, and install > the new one. Now you can simply "flash" the chip and write new > information to it. Most devices that are portable or specialized have > their system software in flash memory as well. The game system you > refer to has flash memory for all of its internal software, and > additional software is added by way of discs, cartridges, or whatever. > > Whenever you update your Braille note's Keysoft software, you are > infact "reflashing" the Braille note's memory on your own. The file > you download from the Internet or receive on a Secure Digital card > (which, by the way, is another form of flash memory) contains all of > the data that needs to go onto the flash memory chip inside your > Braille note. Your Braille Note's flash memory chip also serves as the > "Flash Disk" which is why it's always a good idea to back up > information on the flash disk before doing any sort of software > upgrade. > > When the Braille Note completely freezes (as mine has), it's > impossible however to run the software that starts the update. Flash > memory is "reflashed" by special software written expressly for this > purpose. If you can't get your Braille note to start up, you won't be > able to run any software to reflash the memory yourself. Many consumer > devices today have some sort of "last resort" backup method to allow > the end user to reflash the unit in the case of a huge catastrophe. > PC's today sometimes ship with two completely separate BIOS chips; if > you ruin one by incorrectly reflashing you can use the other to boot > up again to try reflashing the main chip again. The Braille Note > however has no such escape route. If the flash memory is reflashed > wrongly, or if it simply is a faulty chip and can't "remember" > information well, it dies, and goodbye. It's going back to HW. > > If I were asked about how to make enduser flashing possible, I'd > suggest HW introduce another chip to the Braille Note that has just > enough program on it to get the unit to where it can read an SD card > and reflash the main memory using that card's contents. For example, > if your main flash was completely messed up, you could simply get the > current Keysoft, put its file on an SD card, and reboot your Braille > Note while holding down a certain key combination or some other trick. > The Braille Note would read the SD card, and write the contents of the > file to main flash automatically. You could prhaps have some beep > feedback during this process. Afterwards your main Flash would be > restored and you could continue working. > > There's absolutely no technical reason HW can't implement such an > emergency restore feature. If there is such a feature I want to know > about it! If there is not, the only reason I can think of is QC: which > to answer the other lister's question means Quality Control. Hw wants > your unit back so they can examine it. Perhaps it is like a car > dealership even; they fix your flash but go "By the way we saw a bent > pin in the serial port. We can fix that for $xxx." I'm not trying to > suggest HW is trying to pull a fast one on its customers, but it seems > routine these days to technologically prevent customers from repairing > their own equipment. > > --end technical discussion > > well there you have it. For those who I completely lost after five > words, my apologies :-) Anyway, off for now, will post to let you all > know what happens with the unit, but I'm going to push as hard as I > can for a replacement unit, since I do depend on my Braille note for > work and being without it for me is just about as bad as a sighted > person being without their pen and paper, appointment book, watch, > address book, leisure reading, and (yep, you guessed it) their > handheld game console! > > Flint > > > On 12/13/06, Alex Parks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> I tried to do that. It took two or three times of sending my BN in >> for repair (which is why I wanted the replacement) and asking for a >> new one each time before HW finally replaced mine. I am glad they >> did, but you should be extremely insistent because it is hard, at >> least in my experience, to convince them to replace a machine. Good >> luck. >> >> Oh, a question: exactly what does reflashing do? My friend reflashed >> the BIOS on my computer, and I heard of a guy who tried to flash the >> BIOS of a gaming system. What does flashing, or reflashing, do and >> why would it be so nice to be able to do independent of a tech >> support person? >> >> Have a great day, >> Alex >> >> > ----- Original Message ----- >> >From: "Flint Million" <[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >To: "Braillenote List" <[email protected] Date sent: >> >Wed, 13 Dec 2006 00:55:25 -0600 >> >Subject: Re: [Braillenote] BN acting up again! >> >> >It was sent in for repair. My guess is they just reflashed the >> system. I >> >have to think there's a way for endusers to reflash the system >> even if it's >> >completely dead, but Humanware would rather us send it in. I >> understand the >> >whole QC thing, but being without the unit is a strain on work, >> and >> >Humanware (as do many other companies) seem to forget that... I'm >> gonna give >> >them a call tomorrow and see if I can get it straight. I'm pretty >> much going >> >to say I want a completely new replacement unit, not just the >> same unit >> >reflashed. >> >> >Flint >> >> >> >On 12/12/06, Brian Lingard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> >> Ottawa Canada >> >> >> Dear Flint: >> >> >> After your BrailleNote died last time, how did you coax it back to >> >> health? >> >> >> Sounds like you need to have a serious talk with Humanware Tech >> >> Support. >> >> >> Brian >> >> >> -- >> >> No virus found in this outgoing message. >> >> Checked by AVG Free Edition. >> >> Version: 7.5.432 / Virus Database: 268.15.16/582 - Release Date: >> >> 11/12/2006 4:32 PM >> >> >> >> >> >> ___ >> >> To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to >> >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >> To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit >> >> http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote >> >> >> >___ >> >To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to >> >[EMAIL PROTECTED] >> >To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit >> >http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote >> >> >> >> ___ >> To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to >> [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit >> http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote >> >> > ___ > To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit > http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote ___ To leave the BrailleNote list, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To view the list archives or change your preferences, visit http://list.humanware.com/mailman/listinfo/braillenote
