Confused about flashing?

[Piranha]

It is evident that some people, especially newbies, get confused about types and methods of flashing, so here's a quick rundown:

Flashing
1. Does not require one to wear a long raincoat in public places!

2. Is the process of writing a new image into your box, overwriting the one currently installed.

Couch Flash
1. Carried out by using the Image Manager within ViX without even getting off your backside! All done using your remote control from the comfort of your favourite parking position. Menu/Setup/ViX/Image Manager will show the images available from your storage media and Yellow button will show you the downloads available.

USB Flash
1. Carried out by using a USB stick to transfer a downloaded image file from a PC to your box.

2. The stick must be formatted (FAT32) and contain no other files.

3. The downloaded image 'zip' file must be unzipped and the resulting 'update' folder copied to the USB stick.

4. Unfortunately, one has to get off the couch to shove the USB stick into the box, but only until the flash process has completed and you are instructed to remove the stick and power off/on - then you can get back on the couch again!

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHETHER YOU COUCH FLASH OR USB FLASH - the end result is exactly the same!

Software Update
1. Using Menu/Setup/Software Update is NOT a 'flash' at all, as only some of the image 'packages' are updated.

2. This method is very quick and convenient, keeping all of your settings and plugins.

3. The ViX team will occasionally recommend a fresh flash, either WITH or WITHOUT settings restore, in order to accommodate major changes in the image, new drivers from your box manufacturer etc.

Flash WITH settings restore
1. Using couch or USB flash method, then following the on-screen prompts from the Initial Setup Wizard and saying 'Yes' to restoring your settings and additional plugins. New image installed, everything back as it was, all within a few minutes! Painless!

Flash WITHOUT settings restore
1. Seems to make grown men, especially newbies, incontinent at the mere thought!

2. This is where one has to say 'No' to the Initial Setup Wizard's kind offer and proceed with a setup from scratch!

3. You can save yourself a lot of time and frustration by copying certain files/folders from your existing image prior to carrying out the new flash.

4. Which items you can safely copy and then squirt back into the new image will depend on what the changes in the new image are, as it may be that some of the saved data will be incompatible.

5. Knowing what you can FTP out and back into your box only comes with experience (this isn't meant as a full-blown tutorial). I would normally save my CAMs and Config files, Bouquets, Timers, Autotimers, Settings etc. I always have a copy of my plugins on PC too, but tend to re-install from the new image feeds. The Settings file will generally require editing prior to sending it back to the box, as deleted plugins do not remove their footsteps.

6. Remember to 'kill' Enigma 2 with a 'init4' Telnet command before grabbing 'live' files. If you don't understand this statement, then you need to do some reading before attempting it!

I hope that this helps a few newbies to understand some of the jargon we habitually use when it comes to 'flashing' and remember - IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL IF YOU ONLY DO IT IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN HOME!

BTW - I am not part of the ViX team, just someone who has been around satellite stuff since the 1980s. If you think doing a flash without restore is a hardship, I can tell you that it is a damned sight quicker than 'burning' EPROMs and getting the soldering iron out when updating some of the old D2MAC boxes I had!