help with downloading program

[jonc316]

ya im using a 18 round dish nwith lifetime receiver not ultra


but someone told me that i should redownload the program from fortec
or else i wouldnt get any signal no matter what

now ihave the uploader BUT IT WONT LOAD!!keeps on telling me can;t open serial port . im using a 9 pin with a mini gender changer to have the f/f.

it works on com4 but it says flash failed


any ideas???

[mikrodoctor]

Originally Posted by jonc316

ya im using a 18 round dish nwith lifetime receiver not ultra


but someone told me that i should redownload the program from fortec
or else i wouldnt get any signal no matter what

now ihave the uploader BUT IT WONT LOAD!!keeps on telling me can;t open serial port . im using a 9 pin with a mini gender changer to have the f/f.

it works on com4 but it says flash failed


any ideas???

Make sure the cable is a straight threw meaning pin 2 go to 2,3 goes to 3, and 5 goes to 5. Turn your receiver off at the back. Make sure you have the right Fortec file ready in your loader program. Turn on your receiver ( you turned off the back switch). When you see the first light on your receiver click the download button on the loader program. You may have to try a couple of times if you don't get the timing right.

You need to remember that uploading goes from receiver to pc. Downloading goes from pc to receiver.

Hope this helps

[jonc316]

thanks


is it important to have a rs 232 >>>

i have a regular 9pin with gender changer, why not a null modem??

the fortec downloading program tells me cannit open serial port

i tried every 4 of em


thanks

[mikrodoctor]

It has to be a straight threw cable. You should be able to get one at any good computer store. If you live in Canada, Radio Shack does sell them.

[wejones]

Originally Posted by jonc316

thanks


is it important to have a rs 232 >>>

i have a regular 9pin with gender changer, why not a null modem??

the fortec downloading program tells me cannit open serial port

i tried every 4 of em


thanks

The advise the other poster gave is correct, unless you have a cable that isn't straight through. If by chance your cable isn't straight through, then perhaps a null modem adapter might work instead of the gender changer, but it is better to know that you have the proper cable. I'd recommend getting a VOM and checking where the pins go.
Do you really have 4 com ports? If so, that sometimes gets complicated re interrupts, but I doubt that you have that many, particularly if you don't know which port you are using. I'd really suggest trying your com port on some other software, to make sure it is working, like with an external modem or something. Or perhaps try running the Fortec channel editor for the lifetime. Running a firmware download when you don't even know if our com port is working isn't the safest thing to do.
However, the next question regards why you are doing this at all. With an 18" dish, there isn't much for you to receive, and to my knowledge, there isn't anything you can receive with the newest version of Fortec software that you can't receive with the older versions. The only reason I upgraded my receiver was to get the AC3 audio on PBS channels, but you can't get PBS channels with an 18" dish, so I'm not sure what the point is.
However, also, what version of firmware does your Lifetime have, and what version of firmware are you trying to download?
Also, OS are you using? Fortec software sometimes doesn't like to run on Win98 or older, but works fine on Win2k or WinXP. But mainly, I would suggest getting the channel editor from the fortec site, and running it. If you can get it to communicate, then the firmware uploader program should work.

[stairs]

I've been fighting this download for a couple of days on a Dell with Win XP Home. The updaters seem to connect, but there is no progress bar. After 3 or 4 minutes the program responds "Update failed".
Finally, I tried it on my laptop with XP Pro and it worked fine. Anyone else have this experience or know of any settings which may block/allow this transfer?

[stairs]

I found the answer so I'll post it and not be responsible for any misleading information. On my WinXP Home system I use a external modem on COM1 with an AB switch so I can hook up GPS, etc. GPS works fine when it is switched on and I assumed the STB would too. However, something about XP having seen the modem on COM1 caused a problem. If I reboot XP with the modem switched out of the system then the loaders work fine.