Service Forum

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

Hello I have an X41 TP and I have totally dissembled the motherboard. I thought I connected everything right but I when I run itester it shows some 1s on the Out but 0 on the SDAin. I do not know know electronics. With the resistors and diodes does it matter how the wires are connected? I mean is one end of the resistor should be connected to the ground and the other to the eeprom wire?

Update:
I searched the internet and found that the diodes have a positive and negative polarity. So I changed them around.

Also, the motherboard has no power going to it. I am using the SIPROG. Do i need to have some kind of power going to the eeprom or is the serial port sending power to the eeprom? Hmmm I only have the SDA, SCL, and GND wires running to the eeprom.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

I posted photos:

[/img]

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

It is a bit hard for me to give you some advices here, you're a total newbie (no ofense, are just facts) and supposely you should ask someone for help, at least to build the circuit.
Believe me, if you didn't know that a diode has polarity do not try this your self...

[Edit]

So you posted some pictures.
1. Do not conect the wires directly to the eeprom!. Use 3 wires from interface and 3 from eeprom, just connect them to each other, after the laptop will be powered on. BTW the laptop is powering the eeprom, see?

2. Is hard to figure out the whole setup, could you post one with the whole circuit?

[EDIT 2]

3. Those wires on the chip must have a good insulation right to the pins, be carefull. And you have to assemble the laptop partialy to be able to turn it on.

4. You have to use itester to check the interface. Do not connect the wires to eeprom while executing the itester! In fact, don't try anything until you are sure the circuit is doing well.

Open up the itester.exe which came with the software kit, insert this device of yours on the COM1 port (do not attach the SCL and SDA to the locked laptop) and click <Connect>. You should see SDAin and SDA/SCL outs switching together after a while and having the same values. When SDA/SCL out are 1, the SDAin must be 1, and so forth. Meanwhile if you check the voltage on the SCL and SCL wires you should have"

SDA (1) = 4.0V - 5.1V
SDA (0) = -0.6V

SCL (1) = 5.1V
SCL (0) = -0.6V
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

I will try to find someone that will make me a board. Will the SIPROG work for the TP x41? I connected my Digital Meter to the Zeners while running iTester. I noticed that on one the reading was 4.68 and then went to -4.68 but on the other one it stays 9.96. Not sure what isn't connected right but obviously I screwed up somewhere.

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

Or the diodes ain't zeners...
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

they are zeners but I have one one connected both of them together. Could that be the problem? The wire is connected to the negative end of the zeners.

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

www.allservice.ro/forum/images/pcb2.jpg

Compare with your design, see the diodes polarity. The black strip on diode is marking the cathode. BTW, at the COM DB9 female your wires seems to be ok.
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

Victor,

I am getting 10.01 and -9.65 from both SDA and SCL. One of my zeners is dead. I bought: 2 - 1W Zener Diodes from Radio Shack. Catalog # 276-565.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

Everything that I have hooked up looks fine. I just don't understand why I am getting so such high reading from my Serial Cable?

And I don't know anyone that builds boards. This looks so damn simple. I hate the fact that I don't know how to do it. I just hope I haven't screwed up the TP.

You guys sell programmers right? Do you have a distributor in the U.S. so I won't have to wait so long for it?

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

You have to check the voltage at the SCL and SDA pins, after the resistors not before them. The voltages are in fact sugesting that either you messured directly on the COM port pins or the diodes are not well connected or..they are interrupted.

You could damage the laptop motherboard instantly! My advice, ask someone who knows a bit of electronics to help you with the interface, is the best advice I could give you. Rolling Eyes

_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

Yes, we have. The driven programmer is $55+delivery, I will ask them if they have in stock and inform you.

[Edit]
Yes, they have. Contact us via email at support-at-allservice.ro
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

okay after the resistor it reads 2.25 and -.33

victor · S.F. Boss Joined: 07 Mar 2004 Posts: 2581 Location: Staff

Nope, not good
_________________
Victor Voinea
ALLservice HQ, Romania.

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

okay Victor I will just order one from you. I hope I haven't screwed up my brother's laptop. Sad

DJisFree · Nou Venit Joined: 14 Jun 2007 Posts: 9

Victor thanks for all your assistance. I was able to locate a guy in Chicago that is a member of this site and he was nice enough to crack the BIOS password. But unfortunately the HDD had a password too and the password wasn't the same as the one in the BIOS. So I ordered a new HDD off of Ebay that cost me $78 w/ Shipping for 30 Gigs. The one that is locked is a 60 GIG HDD.

David