How do you update the system software without using the web interface?

In almost all situations, updating the system software can be quickly and easily accomplished using the controller’s web interface (Utilities > System Upgrade). However, in rare instances, the controller’s system software may become corrupted and it may be necessary to update the system software without the use of the web interface.

There are three ways to update the system software other than by using the web interface.

Use FTP and Telnet to write system software to the controller flash.

This method requires that GPL is active on the controller and that you have a working Ethernet connection. If the GPL Ethernet interface is operational, but the web interface is not available, perform the following procedure:

Using an FTP client, copy the GPL system software file to the controller’s ROM disk. For example, if you are using Internet Explorer, your controller is at IP address 192.168.0.1 and your software file is new_file.bin, open a window to: ftp://192.168.0.1/ROMDISK/bin and drag the file into the window.
Use a Telnet client to connect to 192.168.0.1.
Write the GPL system to flash by issuing the following console commands via Telnet:
pc 907 = "/ROMDISK/bin/new_file.bin"
pc 906 = 2                      ' To write a GPL system file.
       or
pc 906 = 1                      ' To write a FPGA program file.
Wait until the flash update is complete. Issue the command "pd 910" and wait until the returned value is 0.

Use the controller’s debugger to write system software to the flash via a serial line

This method requires a RS-232 serial port connection to the controller. You do not need an Ethernet connection to the controller or a GPL system running. You must obtain a system software file in S-record format from Precise customer support. These files are not normally distributed and typically have a “.mot” file extension instead of “.bin” (for the files that are loaded via the web interface).

Connect to the controller's primary RS-232 serial port. Use a terminal emulation program such as HyperTerminal on your PC.
Reboot the controller. If you have a valid serial connection, you should see the dBUG startup message when you power up the controller. The message looks something like:
dBUG MPC5200 MIDS2 4MB Version 1.36, Oct 17 2006 12:24:12
Copyright 1995-2003 Motorola, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
...
MBIST: ok
To prevent GPL from starting automatically, press the Esc key on your keyboard several times during this startup message. Then you should see the message:
LOADER: System start aborted
Enter 'help' for help.
...
dBUG>
Begin the download by using the command:
dBUG> dl
Escape to local host and send S-records now...
Use your terminal connection program to send the S-record file on the serial port. In HyperTerminal, use the pull-down Transfer / Send TextFile. The sending can take quite a long time. dBUG types dots " . . . " to indicate transfer progress. It might take a minute or two before the first dot is displayed and 1 hour or more to load all of the software. At the end you should see:
S-record download successful!
Store the downloaded image to flash.
dBUG> store system
Power off and reboot your controller.

Use the controller’s debugger to write system software to the flash via Ethernet

This method requires a working RS-232 serial port connection to the controller, an Ethernet connection and a TFTP server on a remote host that can access the system software file. You do not need to have a GPL system running. You must obtain a system software file in S-record format from Precise customer support. These files are not normally distributed and typically have a “.mot” file extension instead of “.bin” (for the files that are loaded via the web interface).

Connect to the controller's primary RS-232 serial port. Use a terminal emulation program such as HyperTerminal on your PC.
Reboot the controller. If you have a valid serial connection, you should see the dBUG startup message when you power up the controller. The message looks something like:
dBUG MPC5200 MIDS2 4MB Version 1.36, Oct 17 2006 12:24:12
Copyright 1995-2003 Motorola, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
...
MBIST: ok
To prevent GPL from starting automatically, press the Esc key on your keyboard several times during this startup message. Then you should see the message:
LOADER: System start aborted
Enter 'help' for help.
...
dBUG>
Verify and optionally change the Ethernet IP addresses. Type the dBUG command:
dBUG> show
You will see output something like:
base: 16
baud: 115200
flow: off
port: PSC1
mac: 00:14:FF:00:00:EF
sn: 239
server: 192.168.53.98
client: 192.168.53.77
gateway: 192.168.53.1
netmask: 255.255.255.0
flags: 7
fpga: 0
partition: 256:1024:19072:12288:128
shift: 2
The server field is the IP address of the host PC running TFTP. The client field is the IP address of the local controller. If these values are not correct, you can change them using the commands:
dBUG> set server new_ip_address
dBUG> set client new_ip_address
dBUG> set gateway new_ip_address
dBUG> set netmask new_ip_mask
If you want these changes to be made permanently to your controller, use:
dBUG> store
Download from TFTP using the command:
dBUG> dn new_file.mot
Store the downloaded image to flash.
dBUG> store system
Power off and reboot your controller.