Unbrick LG LD, LH series TV sets

If you made a bad firmware upgrade for some LG TV series, you could recover the TV with a few steps…from a  RS232 – serial console!

What you will need:

• Hyperterminal. If you have Windows XP, you probably already have this. However, the trial version will do;

• A serial port on your computer.

• A Null modem cable. If you don’t have one laying around, you could make one.

So, here is what you will need:

-Two DB9 female connectors;
-A disposable USB cable with reasonable length (I found a 2 meters long one); Also, any 3 wired cable will do;
-A soldering iron for making connections;
-A steady hand.

Here is how you must wire the whole thing:

You will also need a good firmware version. You can download a good firmware for your LG Tv model, from the LG site.
Optional: A good UPS, to avoid any data loss.
Now, if you have all of that, do EXACTLY this way:

1. Turn OFF your TV;
2. Connect the cable on PC and on your TV;
3. Start Hyperterminal;
4. On the „New connection name” window just enter LG. You can use any name here, it is not important at all;
5. On the „Connect To” window select the port you are using (I use COM1) then click on „Configure”;
6. In the „Configure” window select:

Bit rate per second: 115200;
Data bits: 8;
Parity: none;
Stop bits: 1;
Flow Control: none.

7. Hit „Apply” then „Ok” twice.
Right now, „Hyperterminal” will wait for incoming connections. So… Let’s connect the TV!
1. Turn ON the TV and press ESC key several times. If everything goes fine, you will see „Mstar #” prompt after 5-10 seconds;
If you are lucky enough to see that prompt, type swuz then hit Enter key (you will see some HEX numbers);
2. Go to Transfer->Send file menu;
3. On „Filename” box select the correct firmware and on „Protocol” box select „Zmodem” (not „Zmodem with Crash Recovery”);
4. Hit „SEND” button and wait without touching ANYTHING else. Basically, just leave your computer for 30 min or so!

You need to wait for about 30 minutes or so for the file to be transferred. If everything goes fine, you will see a very fast-scrolling screen with EPROM informations. You don’t need to know those, but after few seconds you will see the prompt again.

Don’t do anything else than turn off your TV, unplug the serial cable, turn it back on, and all should be working with no problem!

PS:You may have to try several times to succeed the transfer. I noticed that the transfer is stuck when the monitor goes to sleep, so you better disable monitor standby. Also, don’t do anything else on your computer. If you also get stuck with transfer, just turn off your TV and carefully re-do all steps above.

 

Good Luck!

#32ld320, #ld-series, #lg, #lh-series, #service, #tv, #unbrick

HP Laptop/Desktop motherboard programing (after replacement)

If you recently replaced a HP motherboard, whilst the new motherboard worked correctly, every time the machine was started an error would appear during POST, and it could not be removed by clearing the CMOS or updating the BIOS. The error stated:

System Board OOA Product Information Not Valid
Product Name
Configuration
Serial number
Product Number
For help go to HP.com/go/techcenter/startup

To resolve the issue, do the folowing:

PART 1: Create a bootable USB memory stick.

1.Download Rufus 2.3 from http://rufus.akeo.ie/.
2.Insert a USB memory stick (make sure it does not contain required data as it will be cleared) and run Rufus.
3.Make sure the correct memory stick is selected under the Device heading
4.Make sure Quick Format and Create a bootable disk using: are ticked and select MS-DOS from the drop down menu to the right.
5.Click on Start, acknowledge the warning and click on OK.
6.Close Rufus by clicking the cross in the top right corner of the window.

PART 2: Download and extract the utility for reprogramming the system information in HP laptops.

1.Download the file NbDmiFit_207.7z

2.Extract the file using 7zip. If this software is not yet installed it can be downloaded from http://www.7-zip.org/. To extract the file, right click on NbDmiFit_207.7z and then click on Extract to \NbDmiFit_207

3.Double click on the NbDmiFit_207 folder and if necessary double click on it again. A list of files and folders should appear.

PART 3: Copy the files to the memory stick

1.Use the CTRL + A key combination to highlight all the files in the NbDmiFit-2.07 folder.

2.Right click on any of the files, point to Send To and click on the icon for the memory stick (in my case this was drive G).

3.Remove the memory stick and shut down the HP laptop if it is currently running.

PART 4: Update the information on the laptop and clear the error.

1.Remove the battery from the laptop and record all the information to be found. This includes all product names, numbers and other codes. These will be required when updating the information using the utility on the memory stick.

2.Reinsert the battery and insert the memory stick into the laptop before switching it on.

3.A black DOS screen should appear. If Windows starts the load as normal, the boot order needs to be changed to allow the laptop to start from the memory stick. At startup , press F9, and select USB device as boot

4.Once at the DOS prompt, type in nbdmifit.bat and press enter.

5.Fill in all the information as prompted.

Basic Menu
Serial Number = Obviosly your S/N on the back of your laptop
Notebook Model= Mine was Compaq Presario Cq61 NoteBook PC…….Don’t think this really matters
Guid Number= random
UUID Number= Select 1 to generate UUID
SKU Number= It’s the Product Number on the bottom Mine was WA985UA#ABA
CTO Localization Code = ABA
MAC Address = Again Random….you can judge or use and get past hitting Enter everytime!
PCID = Ok under the battery cover there is a Sticker….it might also be on the Motherboard.
System Board CT # = it’s a sticker on the motherboard if you want to fill it in.

After saving and rebooting, the error should now be cleared.

Extra notes:

If you are programing a 2012 or later model, you should use wndmifit utility (from the flash drive that you created)

If you are getting MDM (manufacture programing mode) locked, the do the folowing:

1. Shut down notebook

2. Press WIN+UP+DOWN and the power button, HOLDING IT FOR at least 2 seconds

3. When the laptop starts, you should see a message with red color , that you are in programin g mode.

4. Use wndmifit utility from your operating system (Windows) to program the motherboard

#hp, #mdmlock, #nbdmifit, #os, #service, #windows, #wndmifit