Unbricking Guide For The Gp2x

[DJWillis]

For those who are hoping to get serial leads and PSU's I put together a guide for unbricking GP2X's should things go all Pete Tong.

This has been tested by a few people but may need a little refining over time.
Please contact me with comments.

Don't try this on non-bricked GP2X's as there is no point .

All the required files are linked off the HOWTO.

HOWTO: Unbrick 'most' bricked GP2X's.

 

[torpor]

right on, nice one DJWillis .. onwards and upwards. tomorrow's news, "build your own gp2xkernel.img" file, perhaps .. ?

 

[DJWillis]

right on, nice one DJWillis .. onwards and upwards. tomorrow's news, "build your own gp2xkernel.img" file, perhaps .. ?

​

If all goes well I don't see that being so far away. You can already do it with the MMSP2 source if you don't want SD support. Anyway, back on topic. Thanks

 

[chris_r]

Is there a guide anywhere to making a serial lead compatible with the gp2x?

 

[foft]

Unbricking now possible without serial too! Rocking!

Many thanks,

Mark

 

[EvilDragon]

Just wanted to say: It works.

I had a gp2x bricked because of a broken NAND (hehe, didn't resync before changing the NAND twice, so the menu was gone ) and now it's working again.

Took about 10 minutes

Great stuff!

 

[reallynotnick]

A. I don't have a serial cable B. I have a mac and don't know how to look at all of this info comming up on the screen, what even is it? C. is it possible to break a unit further then bricking it doing this?

I need some major help.

 

[EvilDragon]

I also don't have a serial cable, you don't NEED it to do this - it's just better to see what it is doing.

However, if the grey gp2x-Screen doesn't appear on your unit, you cannot reflash it using this tool and I'm afraid you have to send it back.

 

[The Moose]

how badly do us average (well, future user) gp2x users have to worry about bricking our gps?

 

[DJWillis]

how badly do us average (well, future user) gp2x users have to worry about bricking our gps?

​

If people resist the temptation to mess about with the area of the NAND that contains the operating system files then the chances are quite slim to be honest.

The other main cause is things like flat batteries while running a GPH update. Stuff like that.

 

[mike3k]

I bricked mine less than a day after I got it by trying to install the 1.0.1 firmware update. Unfortunately the logo screen doesn't appear so I can't reflash it using this method (I've tried and it doesn't work).

 

[reallynotnick]

I too have bricked mine by trying to install the 1.0.1 firmware and don't know what to do.
It should not even be possible to mess it up this bad.

 

[woogal]

It should not even be possible to mess it up this bad.

​

Why not? Messing around with the firmware on a device is always a risky job that should be done with caution. Just because it's easy to flash doesn't make it safe. The usual advice when flashing a device is to use mains power, or if you must use batteries then make sure they're fully charged. With the ease of upgrading on the gp2x (when it works), and the fact that new updates are being released on a regular basis, people seem to be forgetting the dangers and are too eager to try out the latest and greatest firmware as fast as possible.

 

[k1d]

future firmware releases will/should include a function to ask for the batteries to be fully charged or the unit hooked to a power supply before being able to upgrade in order to reduce the dangers of a bad flash.

 

[DJWillis]

future firmware releases will/should include a function to ask for the batteries to be fully charged or the unit hooked to a power supply before being able to upgrade in order to reduce the dangers of a bad flash.

​

Yep, that is a very key thing. Upgrading firmware with anything less then the patience of a Saint and a full power pack is asking for trouble .

 

[PSyMastR]

I upgraded the firmware using the DEFAULT BOXED IN BATTERIES! OH-MEH-GOSH!
No. Seriously, I did. No probs

 

[reallynotnick]

I tried a bunch of different SD cards just putting the firm ware update to 1.0.1 but the .img files are never deleted, so is this really bad? I need some major help.