Ferguson Ariva 250 ...Dead Box

Hi
i have a couple of ferguson Ariva boxes and they have served me well over the years , however when i got up the other morning my Ariva 250 wasnt working . i mean it was completely dead , not a dicky bird out of it , no lights , nothing . i switched it on and off at the back , no joy , checked the fuse in the plug and that was fine so i figured that there might be a small internal fuse in the box so i carefully opened the box to have a look . checked the live and nuetral wire with a multimeter to make sure i had power and i had my 230 volts , spotted a small fuse on the circuit board and checked this aswell without disturbing anything and this was fine so basically thats as much as i know about these things and as i am not an electronics genius i carefully put the cover back on and left it be so i am wondering if anybody has any idea of what could be wrong and can it be fixed or is it time to send the box to the set top box graveyard and give up on it.... any advice would be appreciated . thanks

Quote from jokosat

hello my advice is u buy new box amiko mini hd but alien dual boot 75/90£ same as amiko 8900 hd ,edison mini 79£ from sponsor them 2 box enigma 2

don't buy amiko mini hd non linux .

ok jokosat thanks for reply , i will bear it in mind ... i will try what szprot5 suggests first to see if the box can be rescued .

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Quote from szprot5

Try to upload his software by RS232 port

Thanks i have RS232 cable . i am getting nothing on the box at the moment not even the " ASH " message , no lights , nothing, it wont power up but i will give this a go ...do i upload the top file first and then the bottom file or what is the process..thanks

Quote from codar

The erom upgrade file is a flashing program, install it on a pc with an rs232 interface.
It is the program used to communicate and flash the firmware onto the ariva.
The other file is the firmware, you need to extract this out (it will end with .abs extension) and then select it when prompted by the erom upgrade tool.
When it asks you to reset target stb, just power of and on the ariva using the rear rocker switch.
It may not work for you though as normally the receiver shows "ash" error or red light if you have a corrupt firmware/bootloader etc.
If there is no signs of life what-so-ever, you may have a hardware failure (and they are not really worth paying for a repair, if it is possible at all)
If it is hardware, the edision os-mini combo receiver would be right up your alley.
It's a great receiver and guarantee you'll never look back.

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Also, make sure your rs232 cable is a null modem type (may be printed on one end of the cable plug or on the outer insulation) as there are many varieties of rs232 cables but the pin connections differ.

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Thanks Codar ,
i will give this a go , i have nothing to lose anyway..top man.. and thanks to the other guys that responded....

Quote from codar

Let me know how you get on.
I can have a go for you if your unsuccessful or haven't the right cable (still passing through your town twice a week)
P.M. me if you need assistance.

Thanks Codar but have a read of this first . The rs232 cable i used cured an "ASH " problem on an Ariva box before so i presume its ok , these are the steps i took .

i downloaded both files to my desktop and ran the erom upgrade tool 2.0.0c 2009-05-22
i left the settings alone i.e

PORT = COM1
Bits Rate = 115200
Parity = Even

Operate Mode = Upgrade

i then entered the abs file from my desktop that i downloaded i.e " A250Combo 20151012 v1.27B9 ABS " the file size was 8.00 mb into the section that says " Browse " beside it .
i ticked the box to include Bootloader . ( not sure if this was right or wrong but tried it ticked and unticked but with no success )

i then clicked " Next " and when the " synchronising STBs...Please reset target " sign came up on the next screen i powered off and on the box using the rocker switch at the back but nothing happened , the screen just stayed as it was with no kick out of the box or no information changing on the screen apart from the " synchronising STBs...Please reset target " still on the screen .

i was wondering if i have the right settings inputed as i didnt change anything from what was on the original settings , i also tried different abs files with the same result and even tried changing the PORT settings to different ones like COM2 and COM3 etc but with no success . i think the motherboard of the box could be knackered but you would have a better idea if this is the case than i would .....
i went through the process step by step so that you might spot what if anything i done wrong and it might also be a help to others as i couldnt find instructions anywhere in English as to the steps involved and what settings to be entered etc , there was german instructions alright but i couldnt find english ones anywhere , a step by step guide in English if anyone had the patience to write it out or if there is a link to it somewhere would be great in this section but in the meantime If you can see what i might have done wrong let me know or maybe i should just give up the ghost at this stage ,...thanks again .

Quote from codar

Doesn't look good for your ariva to be honest.
I'd have tried exactly what you've done.
Maybe time to open the wallet.
Or get the multimeter out

Thanks Anyway Codar

it was worth a try , i have got my moneysworth out of that box anyway . i had no luck with the Erom Upgrade Tool but here is a direct Translation using Google Translate for others who may need to use it , it may be of help...

RS2ÿ3ÿ2ÿ - ÿUPGÿRÿADÿE
Your Ferguson Ariva Receivers provides a firmware upgrade option with the RS232 null
Modem cable . Please use this option only in case of problems with the receiver .

( 1 ) Receiver and off computer
connect ( 2 ) receiver and computer with RS232 null modem cable
( 3 ) computer on and deploy downloaded from the homepage Ferguson ZIP file
( 4 ) Start the application and select ArÿivÿaÿUpÿgrÿaÿder.eÿxe appropriate COM port .
( 5 ) Select Browse to select the appropriate firmware file
( 6 ) Please check the checkbox Include bootloader
( 7) Press Next to continue
( 8 ) Turn on the receiver and wait until the firmware uploaded to the RAM
becomes.

RS2ÿ3ÿ2ÿ - ÿUPGÿRÿADÿE
( 9 ) Then press the Next button to start the upgrade .
( 8 ) When finished, the receiver will restart automatically and you will see
the computer :
( 9) Press down on Finished to exit.

Make of it what you will as the translation is a bit off but if you grasp the bigger picture from the instructions it might to be useful as a guide to someone .....BEST OF LUCK...