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GW-Instek GDM-8261A Bench Multimeter Firmware Update failed
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maralb:
I bought a used GW-Instek GDM8261A 6.5 digit bench multimeter some time ago from EBay. The instrument was in a very good condition with a crisp display and it really served me well.

I contacted GW-Instek for some questions about the instrument and if there was a Firmware Update available for it. It was running V1.02 and I got V1.03 from GW-Instek's Tech Support. Although the whole update procedure went as described by the update guide my instrument never came back to life afterwards. I asked GW-Instek for the older V1.02 firmware which I got but that resulted in the same thing. The instrument is turning its internal fan at full power but remains dead as a rock.

What followed was a disappointing experience with GW-Instek's repair service and support. They cannot or don't want to help me anymore leaving me with a bricked instrument.

I don't know why the procedure went wrong. There might be an internal hardware problem but I also don't rule out I got firmware update files for other hardware revisions. I opened the device and don't see any previous repairs or dodgy things inside. The instrument is maiden internally.

Anyone having similar experiences with this GW-Instek GDM-8261A Bench multimeter or recovered one after similar problems? Or having other Firmware images I could try on my instrument?

I included the update instructions for the GDM8261A and the 2 Motorola S-record Firmware Updates I received. Warning: I bricked my device with those!

coromonadalix:
can you share the : LM Flash Programmer software ??? requested for the FW update,   some  may poke in it to see things

appaently it come from TI ???
https://www.ti.com/tool/LMFLASHPROGRAMMER#downloads


they have an universal tool,  not sure it support he meter mcu,  check in their supported list
https://www.ti.com/tool/UNIFLASH

OK got it (lmflash programmer .... )  from GW  im registred there ...


all drivers installed and recognized in windows device manager ?   

they are .s19 files   not supposed to be like this, it sould be  .bin or.hex files ???

and here's seem to be a model A and not A  ?? on some pictures / web sites ??? weird  maybe you got the wrong ones ???

and the mistake many people do, aint broke, do nothing ..... if it was working ok   you should not have tried an update ....
maralb:
It definately is a GDM-8261A. The GW-Instek bench multimeters seem all to be based on different platforms. The main CPU is a Freescale (ex-Motorola) Coldfire MCF52258 processor surround by a few beefy Lattice CPLD's. This explains the S19 records from I also was a bit surprised.

The meter is still recognized in the device manager as a "multimeter" and still pops up in Windows as a removable disk all be it with a "scan this drive for errors" message. So some of the internal firmware is still present and doing its job. Scanning this "removable drive" results in "no errors found". I can still perform the update procedure.

Some pictures of its internals.... Its Voltage reference is a MAX6325CPA DIP8 which is also used in Siglents' SDM3055 and Hanteks' HDM3065  (in a different package).
coromonadalix:
mmm strange for the s19 files, i never consider them as a firmwares updates,  maybe you could try other GW instek branches / countries and try to explain them, the meter is now some paper weight  :-//

the 8251  could be flashed and be recovered, this one seems a mystery,  unless its rebranded ??

there must be some recovery procedures ?? or other flash tools / files ?

for this model  i find nothing of interest on their site (im registered for free) , and some other GW xxx  meters do have bin / hex  fw files / and the needed tools ... 


and you do have the cal key ???
it was discussed here,   in this usb connector  on 2 pins  its an 100 ohms resistor if i recall


and on the picture,  there is a tact switch and a some jumper pins near the coldfire mcu, i wonder what they do ?? 


you say the device show as a drive,  with the cal key inserted at the right place   
if you put back the needed file 102  or  103 versions  and reboot ?    still nothing ?   

never do a repair or scandisk on theses types of errors   windows is a @$$@%@   because sometimes you may or could have different partitions / maybe some "nux" stuff and windows is not able to handle them properly


window did messed up some embedded board in the past because of that, i had  normal partitions and some "nux" ones too  and messed up them because i did a repair  :palm:
maralb:
I do have the GDM-01 calibration key. The pushbutton seems to reset the CPU. There are also a few LED's around the CPU which are flashing in the same pattern all the time. It seems like it is restarting all the time; they stop when pushing the button and start flashing again after releasing it.

I also put a jumper cap already on the pins and repeat the flashing procedure with it installed but that shows no sign of a difference in the behaviour.
I tried to recover the device with V102 already without the desired result unfortunately.

Good call about the repair/scandisk activities by Windows. I did let it scan but the outcome in Windows was always the same: no errors found and I assume no changes made.

It is indeed a brick now which saddens me a bit because it was a nice instrument and paid good money for it. I have to take my loss I am afraid  :'(
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