Hardware flashing

Progskeet wired to NANDs of a COK-002 board (photo:idone)

Typical NOR flashing requires 16 Data wires, 23 Address wires and 3-4 control wires to the NOR pads (photo:defyboy)

Both early launch consoles which feature NAND flash memory (block devices, that interleave their data unlike NOR flash) and later consoles which feature NOR flash memory are able to be flashed. Currently the preferred method of flashing the dual-NAND consoles is by using an infectus modchip or similar (e.g. Progskeet).

Marcan has made a NOR flasher / address sniffer for his PS3 slim by re-purposing a FPGA board (Xilinx Spartan3E XC3S500E) made for Wii hacking. noralizer is a git repo that contains the HDL (verilog) and associated host computer tools for flashing/sniffing. There are ~50 signals to solder.

Work has been underway to brink a low cost AVR (Atmel 90USB1286) based NOR flasher that is capable of reading and writing on all consoles by defyboy. Other people havent been sitting idle either: uf6667 and Icekiller have developed Progskeet, based on a Actel A3P125 MCU for NAND ánd NOR based consoles (not only PS3, but also useable for Wii and Xbox360).

"No_One" has developed PNM - The PS3 NOR Manager is a custom board based on a FPGA (Altera Cyclone3 EP3C25) and 2 flash sockets. PNM is capable to handle the basic features like read/dump/update/copy but also to swap (hot swap or cold swap) the NOR used. It also enbles features to sniff bus activities, emulate NOR flash etc.

Generic Warning

Generic Warning

Make sure you have several proper dumps of your flash before even trying writing to it! Use unpacking tools (e.g. Norunpack, Flowrebuilder, Norpatch etc.) and hexeditors (e.g. HxD) and use Flash page as reference. CRC/MD5 is not a method to check your flash (if it is bad, you are only comparing if the other file is equally bad). You cannot recover from bad flash without proper dumps (e.g. bricking the console beyond repair).

NAND Wiring

Flashers for NAND based consoles (CECHA/COK-001, CECHB/COK-001, CECHC/COK-002, CECHD/unreleased, CECHE/COK-002W, CECHF/unreleased, CECHG/SEM-001) are generaly wired directly to the pins of the NAND, plus ground and Vcc. For NAND pinouts see: Flash (Hardware) #NAND

There are 2 nands interleaved at the 512byte sectors level, giving a 1024 byte "interleaved sector". pages are 2kb on each nand.

Dual NAND connection to Progskeet diagram, see http://progskeet.com/

Dual NAND connection to Infectus diagram

NAND 360Clip pinout

Chip/PIN	Description	Progskeet	Infectus	360clip	Description
NAND 0
0/1-6	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
0/7	R/B	3 / gp13	A9	FRB1	Read/Busy Output
0/8	RE	98 / gp15	A15	RE	Read Enable
0/9	CE	7 / gp9	A14	FCE1	Chip Enable
0/10+11	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
0/12	Vcc	+3.3	not used / not connected	Vcc	Vcc (min 2.7V-max 3.6V / typ 3.3V)
0/13	Vss	GND	not used / not connected	GND	VSS - Ground
0/14+15	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
0/16	CLE	4 / gp12	A13	CLE	Command Latch Enable
0/17	ALE	5 / gp11	A12	ALE	Address Latch Enable
0/18	WE	2 / gp14	A11	WE	Write Enable
0/19	WP	6 / gp10	A10	WP	Write Protect
0/20-28	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
0/29	I/O-0	90 / dq8	A0	I/O0
0/30	I/O-1	91 / dq9	A1	I/O1
0/31	I/O-2	92 / dq10	A2	I/O2
0/32	I/O-3	93 / dq11	A3	I/O3
0/33-35	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
0/36	Vss	GND	not used / not connected	GND	VSS - Ground
0/37	Vcc	+3.3	not used / not connected	Vcc	Vcc (min 2.7V-max 3.6V / typ 3.3V)
0/38-40	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
0/41	I/O-4	94 / dq12	A4	I/O4
0/42	I/O-5	95 / dq13	A5	I/O5
0/43	I/O-6	96 / dq14	A6	I/O6
0/44	I/O-7	97 / dq15	A7	I/O7
0/45-48	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
Chip/PIN	Description	Progskeet	Infectus	Description
NAND 1
1/1-6	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
1/7	R/B	64 / rdy	U	FRB1	Read/Busy Output
1/8	RE	69 / oe	M	RE	Read Enable
1/9	CE	60 / gp3	N	FCE1	Chip Enable
1/10+11	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
1/12	Vcc	+3.3	not used / not connected	Vcc	Vcc (min 2.7V-max 3.6V / typ 3.3V)
1/13	Vss	GND	not used / not connected	GND	VSS - Ground
1/14+15	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
1/16	CLE	63 / gp0	O	CLE	Command Latch Enable
1/17	ALE	62 / gp1	P	ALE	Address Latch Enable
1/18	WE	65 / we	Q	WE	Write Enable
1/19	WP	61 / gp2	T	WP	Write Protect
1/20-28	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
1/29	I/O-0	79 / dq0	D0	I/O0
1/30	I/O-1	80 / dq1	D1	I/O1
1/31	I/O-2	81 / dq2	D2	I/O2
1/32	I/O-3	82 / dq3	D3	I/O3
1/33-35	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
1/36	Vss	GND	not used / not connected	GND	VSS - Ground
1/37	Vcc	+3.3	not used / not connected	Vcc	Vcc (min 2.7V-max 3.6V / typ 3.3V)
1/38-40	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
1/41	I/O-4	83 / dq4	D4	I/O4
1/42	I/O-5	84 / dq5	D5	I/O5
1/43	I/O-6	85 / dq6	D6	I/O6
1/44	I/O-7	86 / dq7	D7	I/O7
1/45-48	NC	NC	NC	NC	No Connection
Board trace
GND	Vss	not used / not connected	GND	not used / not connected	VSS - Ground
+5VDC	Vcc	not used / not connected	5V	not used / not connected	Vcc from TH3401 (CECHA+CECHB/COK-001) Vcc from TH3401 (CECHC+CECHE/COK-002) Vcc from TH3280 (CECHG/SEM-001)

Remarks:

• Progskeet is feeded from NAND 3.3V
• Infectus is feeded from +5V board trace.
• NAND's are feeded in both cases by the console itself.

Progskeet Note: Some modification is needed for Progskeet to unbrick:

• desolder R8 from the Progskeet PCB (to disable the connection from pad R8 to left pad R7)
• left pin of toggle switch to left lead of R7, middle pin of toggle switch to right lead of R7
• Vcc to +3.3 // put toggle switch in "OFF" (right) postion, power on the ps3, put the toggle switch in the "ON"/left position, it will be recognized by the PC, NAND is always on now, do everything as usual.

Using NAND flashers

Progskeet

put switch in "OFF" (R7 is open) position so that progskeet is not powered.
power on the ps3 and wait for 20-25 seconds,
put the switch in the "ON" (R7 closed) position, so progskeet is powered and will be recognized by the PC.
NAND is always on now, do everything as usual
    
select Big Block
select Raw
Pages per block: 64
blocks: 1024
    
That will give you 132MB (138,412,032 bytes) per NAND (dump time ~ 00:02:40 per NAND)

For normal console operation (e.g. after you dumped, flashed/downgraded it):
you need switch to "on" (R7 closed) and progskeet USB disconnected.

downloads

All current downloads are available here

• diagrams - for PS3: see above, but others are available here: diagrams_110805.rar (backup/mirror: diagrams_110805.rar (10.4 MB))
• drivers - drivers_110812.rar (backup/mirror: drivers_a110812.rar (267.61 KB)) / drivers_110726.rar (235.62 KB)
• flasher software - ProgSkeet_110819.rar (backup/mirror: ProgSkeet_110819.rar (32.27 KB)

Infectus

For Infectus don't use 3.9.9.0, as it removes dual NAND PS3 support :S If your board already came with this version or higher, use this: prepare_infectus_for_ps3.rar (5.53 MB) If it is done, it will show up as "2 NAND Programmer" in the bottom left. Dual NAND PS3 compatible version: Infectus_programmer_3.8_Beta_2.zip (4.02 MB)

Power the Infectus, it crashes the PS3 and leaves the NANDs in powered mode. Use the console to power the NANDs: power it up until the PS3 crashes and halts with red flashing LED, press power again to stop the flashing, but keeps the console powered on. The NANDs are not accessed by the PS3 in this way, so it doesn't matter if the NAND content is already messed up. After that, you can read/write the NANDs.

Dumping of single NAND should take about 15 minutes, 30 minutes for both.

Needed NAND tools

In case the flasher program doesnt understand dual NAND de/interleaving you'll need  : FlowRebuilder v.4.2.0.1.rar (379.34 KB)

Flowrebuilder options

• (NAND only) Unscramble then interleave flashes into one unified dump : Makes a single dump.bin from 2 seperate NAND flash dumps.
• (NAND only) Re-scramble modified dump then de-interleave it into two new flashes : Splits the single dump.bin into 2 seperate NAND flash dumps.
• Byte reverse and extract a NOR dump file : First byte reverse the single dump.bin then extract NOR content.
• Extract a Byte reversed NOR dump or an interleaved and unscrambled NAND dump : Extract the single dump.bin

Dump NAND from GameOS

dump_flash.pkg // backup/mirror: dump_flash.pkg (70.48 KB)
Make sure USB stick is FAT32 with enough free space (256MB per dump)

Dumping NAND from Linux

dd if=/dev/ps3flash of=NAND.BIN bs=1024

or

dd if=/dev/ps3vflasha of=NAND.BIN bs=1024

(needs unmasking first, see below)

Difference between hardware dumps and software dumps

ps3vflasha

hardware dumps

256 MB (268,435,456 bytes) bootldr is at 0x000000 on NAND (0xFC0000 on NOR)

software dumps

dump size = 239 MB (251,396,096 bytes)
bootldr not at 0x000000 on NAND :

00000000   00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00   ................
00000010   00 00 00 00 0F AC E0 FF  00 00 00 00 DE AD BE EF   .....¬à ÿ....Þ­¾ï

reason:

addi    %r12, %r4, 0x200 # r4 = start sector

256MB NAND consoles have a hidden section of size 0x40000 (0x200 * 512 byte sector = 0x40000) hidden by the hv. The hv hides it at address 002786E8

Original code : 0x39840200f8010090
Change to : 0x39840000f8010090

Too dangerous to patch unless you peek/poke because obviously it messes with all the offsets

'NOR' Interface Testpoints on NAND consoles

Simular as on the NOR based consoles testpoints can be found on the back of the PCB. It seems these are from the bus between the South Bridge and the Starship2. Attempts have been made to document/trace these. Addresslines 0-17 and Datalines 0-15 as well as some controllines are documented but so far these could not be used to read/flash the console in a NOR fashion.

NOR Interface Testpoints

Probably to aid in factory programming, Sony provides NOR testpoints on the bottomside of the motherboard. There are 16 data lines (Word access) and generally 23 Address lines. You will also need to control Chip Enable (#CE), Write Enable (#WE), Tristate (SB_DISABLE) and for some boards Write Protect (#WP)

Tristate

Tristate, or as it is referred to in the service manuals SB_DISABLE exists solely for the purpose of placing the South Bridge pins into high-impedance (the third state) so that we can access the flash without the South Bridge interfering.

Because the tristate pin is not connected to the NOR flash TSOP package, but to the South Bridge BGA package, this makes tracing the pin quite difficult. One should be able to locate it by having the running you could ground out the unknown pins whilst checking the continuity of a known address or data line against ground. These should enter high-impedance or no-continuity when you ground out SB_DISABLE.

Connecting NOR pads to flasher

Teensy 2.0 ++ connection diagram for PS3 NOR pads))

Progskeet NAND/NOR flasher board, based on Actel MCU, see http://progskeet.com/)

PNM, based on Altera FPGA and 2x NOR sockets

PAD	Progskeet	Teensy2.0++ NORway	PNM	Remark
A0	adr0	F0	A0
A1	adr1	F1	A1
A2	adr2	F2	A2
A3	adr3	F3	A3
A4	adr4	F4	A4
A5	adr5	F5	A5
A6	adr6	F6	A6
A7	adr7	F7	A7
A8	adr8	PA0	A8
A9	adr9	PA1	A9
A10	adr10	PA2	A10
A11	adr11	PA3	A11
A12	adr12	PA4	A12
A13	adr13	PA5	A13
A14	adr14	PA6	A14
A15	adr15	PA7	A15
A16	adr16	B0	A16
A17	adr17	B1	A17
A18	adr18	B2	A18
A19	adr19	B3	A19
A20	adr20	B4	A20
A21	adr21	B5	A21
A22	adr22	B6	A22
DQ0	dq0	D0	DQ0
DQ1	dq1	D1	DQ1
DQ2	dq2	D2	DQ2
DQ3	dq3	D3	DQ3
DQ4	dq4	D4	DQ4
DQ5	dq5	D5	DQ5
DQ6	dq6	D6	DQ6
DQ7	dq7	D7	DQ7
DQ8	dq8	C0	DQ8
DQ9	dq9	C1	DQ9
DQ10	dq10	C2	DQ10
DQ11	dq11	C3	DQ11
DQ12	dq12	C4	DQ12
DQ13	dq13	C5	DQ13
DQ14	dq14	C6	DQ14
DQ15	dq15	C7	DQ15
#WE	we	E5	NWE
CE#	gp0	E0	NCE
RESET	gp1	E4	NRESET
TRISTATE	gp2	E7	GPIO0
WP#	gp3	Not Used	NWPACC	Is tied to Vcc by mobo
BYTE#	Not Used	Not used	Not used	Is tied to Vcc by mobo
OE#	oe	E1	NOE
RY/BY#	rdy (ánd gp4 for old bitstream)	E6	RYNBY	JTAG updated progskeet can do without the progskeet:gp4 to progskeet:rdy bridge and use the PS3:RY/BY# to progskeet:rdy alone.
VSS	GND	GND	GND

Progskeet Note: Some modification is needed for Progskeet to unbrick:

• desolder R8 from the Progskeet PCB
• left pin of switch to left lead of R7, middle pin of switch to right lead of R7
• Vcc to +3.3 // put switch in "OFF" (right) postion, power on the ps3, put the switch in the "ON"/left position, it will be recognized by the PC, NOR is always on now, do everything as usual.

PNM Notes:

• PNM requires a +5V_EVER from the PS3 motherboard in "PS3 mode"
• PNM requires a +5V from a USB port in "standalone mode". It then provides a +3.3V to the embedded NOR.

Notes: The Teensy requires a 3.3V voltage regulator! 5V trace has to be cut and 3V pads have to be shorted! Please refer to https://www.pjrc.com/teensy/3volt.html

Speed comparison NOR flashers

Speed comparison NOR flashers
	Teensy (NORway 0.1)		Teensy (NORway 0.3)		Progskeet		PNM (X-Modem - 460800 baud)
	time (h:mm:ss)	speed (KB/sec)	time (h:mm:ss)	speed (KB/sec)	time (h:mm:ss)	speed (KB/sec)	time (h:mm:ss)	speed (KB/sec)
Full dump/read (16 MB)	0:05:11	52,68 KB/s	0:00:45	364,08 KB/s	0:00:16	1024 KB/s	0:45:43	6,1 KB/s
Per sector write(128 KB)	0:01:35	1,35 KB/s	0:00:05.351	23,92 KB/s	0:00:00.365	350,69 KB/s	0:00:16.12	7,90 KB/s
Full dump/write (16 MB)	2:08:19	2,12 KB/s	0:08:19	32,83 KB/s	0:00:46.811	350,00 KB/s	0:34:56	7,90 KB/s
Full CRC32 (16 MB)							0:01:30	182,04 KB/s
Full copy NOR-NOR (16 MB)							0:04:59	54,61 KB/s

Using NOR flashers

Progskeet

1. Unplug the PS3 powercable from the back
2. Set the R7 switch to "off"
3. Plug the PS3 powercable back in and Power on the PS3
5. Wait 10 seconds and set the R7 switch to "on" to power progskeet
  
dump:
- Spansion S29GL128N90TFIR2 : 128KB sector, 128 sectors
- Spansion S29GL128P90TFIR2 : 128KB sector, 128 sectors
- Samsung K8Q2815UQB-PI4B : 4KB sector, 4096 sectors
- Samsung K8P2716UZC-QI4D : 128KB sector, 128 sectors
- Macronix MX29GL128ELT2I-90G : 128KB sector, 128 sectors

For normal console operation (e.g. after you dumped, flashed/downgraded it):
you need switch to "on" (R7 closed) and progskeet USB disconnected.

NORway

Usage: %s serialport [command] [filename] [address]
    
serialport  Name of serial port to open (eg. COM1, COM2, /dev/ttyACM0, etc)
command     dump       Reads entire NOR to [filename]
            erase      Erases one sector (128KB) at [address]
            write      Flashes (read-erase-modify-write-verify) [filename]
                       at [address] to NOR
            writeimg   Same as write, but prepend a 16-byte length header
                       [address] is required
            program    Flashes (erase-write-verify) [filename]
                       at [address] to NOR
            release    Releases NOR interface, so the PS3 can boot
filename    Filename for [dump|write|writeimg|program]
address     Address for [erase|write|writeimg|program]
            Default is 0x0, address must be aligned (multiple of 0x20000)

PNM

serialport  (COM1, COM2, etc) - 460800 baud - 8N1
X-Modem protocol for file transfers
 
            copy_memory             Copies entire NOR to another NOR
            read_memory             Reads 0x80 bytes from a specified offset
            dump_memory             Reads entire NOR to a file (byte swap "on the fly")
            update_memory           Flashes entire NOR from a file (byte swap "on the fly")
            display_memory_crc      Displays NOR CRC32
            display_memory_details  Displays NOR details (size, firmware version, etc) 
 
PNM uses the Common Flash Interface standard (almost all current flash can be dumped/updated)

Needed NOR tools

• norunpack (usage: norunpack dump.b directory) git: http://git.dashhacks.com/ps3free/ps3tools
• FlowRebuilder v.4.2.0.1.rar (379.34 KB)

If your dump starts like this: http://pastebin.com/sS69Vhvf you'll need to use the option "¨Byte reverse and extract a NOR dump file" of Flowrebuilder, which will output a inputfile.REV file

Dump NOR from GameOS

dump_flash.pkg // backup/mirror: dump_flash.pkg (70.48 KB)
Make sure USB stick is FAT32 with enough free space (16MB per dump)

Dumping NOR from Linux

dd if=/dev/ps3nflasha of=NOR.BIN bs=1024

Board Revisions

COK-001, COK-002, SEM-001

These are the earliest revisions of the PS3 motherboard (CECHA, CECHB, CECHC, CECHE, CECHG) and contain 2 x Samsung K9F1G08U0A-PIB0 128MB NAND Chips for a total of 256MB. These chips are interleaved which is controlled by a proprietary controller chip codenamed "Starship2" or SS2. This chip handles the interleaving and presents the NAND Chips to the South Bridge as a single large coherent NOR Chip.

DIA-001, DIA-002

These boards were the first to get the NOR flash memory from the middle revisions of the PS3 (CECHH, CECHJ, CECHK). Only a single Spansion S29GL128N90TFIR2 16MB NOR flash chip is used and the Starship2 chip has been completely removed. The 128N is JEDEC CFI compliant and organized as 8,388,608 words or 16,777,216 bytes, addressable as 16-bit words (PS3 modus operandi) and 8-bit / 1 byte when the BYTE# signal is logic zero.

DIA-002: the pinout is same as DIA-001, the only difference is that DIA-002 doesnt have a WP# testpoint but since it's connected to VCC its not needed.

VER-001

Used in the last revisions of the fatter model PS3 (CECHL, CECHM, CECHP, CECHQ), again with the single Spansion S29GL128N90TFIR2 16MB NOR flash with the exception of some CECHL which used a Samsung K8Q2815UQB-P14B 16MB NOR flash.

JTP-001

Used in CECH-210., This pinout works with the documented one from JSD-001. Most slims carry this norpad arrangement.

JSD-001

This is the pinout originally supplied by Marcan for a CECH-2504A, Points match those taken from a CECH-2504B slim console. Most slims carry this norpad arrangement.

Pinout Gallery

• 

  Starship2 NOR/EBUS Testpoints (NAND board)

• 

  COK-001 NOR Testpoints (NAND board - only overlay)

• 

  COK-001 NOR Testpoints (NAND board)

• 

  SEM-001 boardtraces (NAND board)

• 

  DIA-001 NOR Testpoints

• 

  VER-001 NOR Testpoints

• 

  DYN-001 NOR Testpoints

• 

  DYN-001 NOR Testpoints with progskeet labeling

• 

  JSD-001, JTP-001, KTE-001 NOR Testpoints with progskeet labeling

• 

  JSD-001 NOR Testpoints

• 

  JSD-001 Testpoints (orig. marcan/noraliser)

• JTP-001 - 1-882-481-21-testpoints.jpg

  JTP-001 NOR Testpoints (not mapped)

• 

  JTP-001 NOR Testpoints (not mapped)

• 

  SUR-001 Nor Testpoints (not mapped yet)

• 

  NOR Flash general pinout + 50pin ZIF pinout (Progskeet))

• 

  VER-001 NOR Testpoints (trisaster.de, missing TRISTATE)

• 

  NAND Tsop clip (note: no need to connect R/B2 on ps3's)

Missing / requested :

• COK-002 (NAND)
• COK-002W (NAND)
• DIA-002 (NOR)
• SUR-001 (NOR) some difference in components of JSD-001 but the testpoints are the same as JSD-001
• JTP-001 (NOR) visually the same as JSD-001, confirmed working with JSD-001 layout
• KTE-001 (NOR)

Generic reference

Soldering Guide(s)

• http://www.circuitrework.com/guides/7-1-1.shtml
• http://store.curiousinventor.com/guides/Surface_Mount_Soldering/101

Soldering Irons/Stations

• Soldering Iron
  • http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WM120-120v-Pencil-Soldering/dp/B0000WT586/ (good quality/brand)
  • http://www.amazon.com/Coopertools-SP12-Mini-Lightweight-Solder/dp/B00002N7S9/ (low budget variant)
• Classic Station
  • http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WES51-Analog-Soldering-Station/dp/B000BRC2XU (good quality/brand)
  • http://www.amazon.com/Stahl-Tools-Variable-Temperature-Soldering/dp/B0029N70WM/ (lowest budget variant)
• Hot Air Station
  • http://www.amazon.com/Soldering-Station-Iron-Rework-Solder/dp/B004IQLUFG
  • http://www.amazon.com/REWORK-SOLDERING-IRON-STATION-852D/dp/B004ZB9D4O

Soldering tips

• Don't use >40W iron (we are not soldering copper pipes!)
• Don't use leadfree solder
• Don't use silverbased solder
• Don't use high tin alloy (e.g. 90/10: 300'C @ 97Sn 3Pb and 250'C @ 65Sn 35Pb)
• Use 60/40 (374'F / 190'C) or 63/37 (364'F / 183'C) both have nice low melting point for PCBs

Wire reference

Wire thickness AWG/mm :

   18 AWG - 0.0403" / 1.024mm
   19 AWG - 0.0359" / 0.912mm
   20 AWG - 0.0320" / 0.812mm
   21 AWG - 0.0285" / 0.723mm
   22 AWG - 0.0253" / 0.644mm
   23 AWG - 0.0226" / 0.573mm
   24 AWG - 0.0201" / 0.511mm
   25 AWG - 0.0179" / 0.455mm
   26 AWG - 0.0159" / 0.405mm
   27 AWG - 0.0142" / 0.361mm
   28 AWG - 0.0126" / 0.321mm
   29 AWG - 0.0113" / 0.286mm
   30 AWG - 0.0100" / 0.255mm
   31 AWG - 0.00893" / 0.227mm
   32 AWG - 0.00795" / 0.202mm
   33 AWG - 0.00708" / 0.180mm
   34 AWG - 0.00631" / 0.160mm
   35 AWG - 0.00562" / 0.143mm
   36 AWG - 0.00500" / 0.127mm
   37 AWG - 0.00445" / 0.113mm
   38 AWG - 0.00397" / 0.101mm7
   39 AWG - 0.00353" / 0.0897mm
   40 AWG - 0.00314" / 0.0799mm
  
   PATA/floppy 40-conductor cable - AWG28 (0.0126" / 0.321mm) with 0.0333" pitch +/- 0.002"
   PATA/floppy 40-conductor cable - AWG30 (0.0100" / 0.255mm) with 0.0333" pitch +/- 0.002"
  
   PATA 80-conductor cable - AWG30 (0.0100" / 0.255mm) with 0.025" pitch +/- 0.0016"
   PATA 80-conductor cable - AWG30 (0.0100" / 0.255mm) with 0.025" pitch +/- 0.002"
   PATA 80-conductor cable - AWG31 (0.00893" / 0.227mm) with 0.025" pitch +/- 0.002"
   PATA 80-conductor cable - AWG32 (0.00795" / 0.202mm) with 0.025" pitch +/- 0.002"
  
   Category 6 (ANSI/TIA-568-B.2-1) network cable: 4 twisted pairs of 22AWG (0.0253" / 0.644mm)
   Category 6 (ANSI/TIA-568-B.2-1) network cable: 4 twisted pairs of 23AWG (0.0226" / 0.573mm)
   Category 6 (ANSI/TIA-568-B.2-1) network cable: 4 twisted pairs of 24AWG (0.0201" / 0.511mm)
  
   Category 5/5e (TIA/EIA 568-5-A) network cable: 4 twisted pairs of 24AWG (0.0201" / 0.511mm)
  
   Category 5e patch (TIA/EIA 568-5-A) network cable: 4 twisted pairs of 26AWG (0.0159" / 0.405mm)
  
   SATA : solid 26 AWG - 0.0159" / 0.405mm
   SATA : solid 28 AWG - 0.0126" / 0.321mm
   SATA : solid 30 AWG - 0.0100" / 0.255mm

For wiring, use 20-26 AWG. 18 can be too stiff while 28 is too fragile. 24 AWG works fine in most cases. The Grounds and VCC wires may ofcourse be thicker than the signal wires. Keep wires short (~20cm).

For NOR wiring the solderarea is 10x larger than the solderarea used with NAND (pitch 0.5mm), so for NOR you have much more headroom to use thicker wires (for NAND you most likely want to use 26 AWG and cannot use much thicker)

Generic unresolved issues

There is a table made on the talk page to chart dump/flashing issues (and sucesses). See: Testreport_table

Progskeet QA/problem solving

Generic advice

Be up to date

Always make sure you used the latest diagrams, drivers and flasher software from progskeet.com

Archive of old versions

Diagrams:

• diagrams_110803.rar (4.76 MB))
• diagrams_110804.rar (9.73 MB))
• diagrams_110805.rar (10.4 MB))

Driver:

• drivers_110726.rar (235.62 KB)
• drivers_110812.rar (264.07 KB))
• drivers_a110812.rar (267.61 KB)

Flasher:

• ProgSkeet_110803.rar (28.37 KB)
• ProgSkeet_110807.rar (29.24 KB)
• ProgSkeet_110811-A.rar (30.02 KB)
• ProgSkeet_110811-B.rar (29.8 KB)
• ProgSkeet_110819.rar (32.27 KB)
• 111004/8:
  • WinSkeet40000_111004.zip (5.1 MB)
  • YASkeet_20111008.tar.gz (226.95 KB)
  • iSkeet_20111008.zip (497.83 KB)

No shorts

Before doing anything, make 100% sure you wired up everything correct (no address/data IO lines mixed? all controllines hooked up? power/ground in order? etc.) and no shorts are made where there should not.

Error : libusb0.dll or libusb0.sys not found

The libusb-win32 Kernel Driver needed for the the flasher to get access to the USB port was not installed. Make sure you unpacked the drivers_xxxxxx file and installed the Progskeet driver (VendorID:1988 / ProductID:0001 in case you need it).

If problems with installing the driver, use manual mode from Device Manager and select the folder with ProgSkeet.inf ("ProgSkeet Install Disk") : http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-working-properly

Error : side-by-side configuration is incorrect

In case of "the application has failed to start because its side-by-side configuration is incorrect" make sure Microsoft Visual C 9.0 runtime is installed and "Windows Installer" is not disabled (set to manual or automatic) in Services.msc

Error : incorrect parameter

Make sure you selected the correct values for your NOR/NAND device. E.g. :

• NOR
  • Spansion S29GL128N90TFIR2 : 128KB sector, 128 sectors
  • Spansion S29GL128P90TFIR2 : 128KB sector, 128 sectors
  • Samsung K8Q2815UQB-PI4B : 4KB sector, 4096 sectors
  • Samsung K8P2716UZC-QI4D : 128KB sector, 128 sectors
  • Macronix MX29GL128ELT2I-90G : 128KB sector, 128 sectors

• NAND: select Big Block, select Raw, Pages per block: 64, blocks: 1024

The application failed to initalize properly (0xc0000135)

You are missing either of these:

• http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=29
• http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=5582

Error/crash on Windows 7

• Disable Aero (known to crash on Win7 Ultimate)
  • set display color to 256 colors will enforce Aero to disable too
• Make sure you have enough (admin) rights
• Consider disabling UAC (or re-educate it proper)
• Try "Compatibility Mode" (e.g. Windows 2000 or Windows XP SP2)

A/B Trick

The A/B trick is a solution found by DiGiTaLAnGeL to write his Macronix NOR (but can be tried on other NORs as well 1).
Some Sectors of his flash were "slow to write" and using the normal flashing procedure was resulting in a fail or in a freeze of the ProgSkeet Flasher.

Needed tools:

• Download Progskeet Flasher v110811-A // backup/mirror: ProgSkeet_110811-A.rar (30.02 KB)
• Download Progskeet Flasher v110811-B // backup/mirror: ProgSkeet_110811-B.rar (29.79 KB)

Step by step guide:

• Shut Down your PS3 if not and be sure that the Progskeet's USB Cable is not plugged in.
• Put your R7 Switch in OFF Position.
• Power on your PS3.
• Wait 20 seconds.
• Put your R7 Switch in ON Position (now Proskeet is recognized by Windows).
• Open Flasher "A" and flash your file (remember to set up the NOR size/sectors!)
• When it reaches 100% , check C:\Proskeet.log, if you found some sectors failed to write... continue to the next step.
• Without powering off your PS3, unplug Progskeet's USB Cable and Close Flasher "A"
• Open Flasher "B" and replug your USB Cable.
• Flash your file (remember to set up the NOR size/sectors!)
• The Flasher will freeze on those "slow" sectors, just wait!
• If after 1 minute your flasher is still stuck on that sector close the flasher.
• Check again your log for sectors failed to write.

If you still have sectors that have failed to write, start again until they successfully write (Rember to check the Progskeet.log because reaching 100% doesn't mean that the sectors have successfully been written)

note: 1)

<DiGiAnGeL> if you successfully write at least one of the sectors you are having problem with, this trick work for you!
<DiGiAnGeL> (some sectors require even 5 minutes of trying before successfully writing them)

Irregular device disappering when reading/writing

<MrGBNC> I've had good dumps but sometimes when I click read progskeet disappears from the Device Manager
<eussNL> hmm, sounds like voltage drop or usb connection fail
<MrGBNC> and last week was progskeet no longer recognized by windows
<MrGBNC> unknown device
<Abkarino> you may have gnd problem
<eussNL> did you try manual removing the driver in safemode?
<Abkarino> try to remove r4 then try again
<Abkarino> i had the same problem before
<Abkarino> but uf6667 and ago told me to remove r4 and try again
<Abkarino> now ProgSkeet work fine every time i plug it to my PC
<MrGBNC> I've also talked to Ago, he said that the resistance between GND and VCC is too small for my progskeet
<Ago> well, you had voltage drops
<Ago> and a cap might be bad
<MrGBNC> that is why I try to exchange/warranty. I also couldn´t read a socket´ed NAND, only 30 in dump ;)