buggage
Premium
join:2002-11-28
3 edits | How to recover from a dead 5100/5200 modem.
How to recover from a dead 5100/5200 modem.
This document applies to models E141 and E240, but should work for other models as well.
First of all, you will need to open your modem. There is one screw located under the label on the bottom of the unit, it is located about mid-center of the top of the label, between the Efficient logo and the word Speedstream. You can find it by applying slight pressure to the label around that location and see where the label starts to push in. Break through the label at this point to gain access to the screw. Once the screw is removed, you must unclip the top and bottom plastic housing of the modem. This can be a bit tough in some instances, but if you push in around the bottom half of the housing, while prying out the top half a bit, the housing should pop apart into two separate pieces. Try your best to work around the case from side to side until both halves are separated, and you have access to the board inside.
The second step, is to build the serial port that you will be connecting to the modem at location J5. This is the empty five hole connector you will see on the board. On both the 5100 and 5200 (models E141 and E240), J5 is located towards the back of the modem, semi-near the DSL/RJ11 port. Follow these links to see different methods of creating the serial port connector:
»Adding serial to SS 5200 or recovery alternative?
»www.compsys1.com/workbench/On_to···l#a232db
Once the serial port connector is wired to the modem, connect a serial/rs232 cable between the modem and PC. Open a terminal session of your choice (Hyperterm, Teraterm, etc.). Set the port to 115,200Bps, 8Bits, No parity, 1 stop, and No flow control. Then power up the modem. You should see the modem's POST messages appear on the screen. If not, check your serial connection to make sure it's wired properly.
At this point, the terminal screen will display one of two modes.
Mode 1) The terminal screen will display a Project X-MIPS logo and stop, prompting you to enter the modem's MAC Address. If this is the case, type in the MAC address of the modem (located on the label underneath) and press enter. Do not use dashes or colons in the address, just type all 12 characters in succession. Case does not matter. If you type a character it doesn't like, or too short of an address, you will get a parse error, and it will prompt you again. Be careful though, as you can actually give yourself a different MAC address than the one that was originally assigned to the modem.
If your modem's power light had been stuck on red, you will immediately see it change to green. The modem will run through it's boot process again, and will have loaded the modem's default configuration. This will put the modem into the state it was in when you first received it. At this point the modem is fully functional, and any firmware can be reloaded through the ethernet port as usual. You may disconnect your serial connection and screw the housing back together.
Mode 2) The The terminal screen will display a Project X-MIPS logo and reload in an endless loop. At this point, you will need to do something different. You will need to wait until you see this (or similar to):
Loader Starting...
FLASH: AMD Am29LV160B (Bottom Boot)
The display should stop at this point for a few moments, until looping through the post screens again. While the display is stopped at this point, start holding down a key until you start seeing boot> prompts. This may take a while, and the screen may loop a few times before you see this. If successful, you should see something resembling this:
boot> gotta 20
At this point, hold down the shift key and press the plus/equals key. This is important! If you do not do this step, the modem will not stop looping through the boot process. You will receive a message stating:
Whacking NVRAM...
Back at the boot> prompt, press the R key.
Follow the instructions for recovering from Mode 1 above.
Disclaimer: Efficient Networks/Siemens does not support this procedure. Please attempt this at your own risk. Be aware that if you attempt this, you will most likely void any warranty that you have on the modem. |
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs: |  Thank you for the excellent post!!
Regards,
Doctor Olds |
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DaJatt
@sympatico.ca | reply to buggage
Greetings,
Very informative! |
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starstuff
Fly By Wire
Premium
join:2001-12-05
Mcallen, TX | reply to buggage
Good post! |
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bmelee
Premium
join:2004-03-25
Birmingham, AL | reply to buggage
"get your dead modems working again"
Do I see a new FAQ in the making?
Lee |
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs: | Already in the »Efficient Networks Forum FAQ : |
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ICGabe
join:2003-09-25
Dallas, TX | reply to buggage
This is great news.
And the Doc is right, if Efficient is going to release modems with buggy firmwares they should at least give you a simple way to get back to a working state. |
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adsldude
always learning
Premium,Ex-Mod 2003-9
join:2000-11-10
Colorado |  reply to buggage
(topic move) How to recover from a dead 5100/5200 modem.
Moderator Action
The post that was here, and all followups to it, were moved to a new topic .. »5200 Dead - Need Help |
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buggage
Premium
join:2002-11-28
| reply to buggage
Re: How to recover from a dead 5100/5200 modem.
Waiting for MAC | 
Breaking into boot> | 
Whacking NVRAM |
|
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buggage
Premium
join:2002-11-28
| 
MAX3222 | 
Diagram | 
3V A232DBH | 
JP5 Wide | 
JP5 Close |
The first few pictures are using the MAX3222CDWR (part# 296-13083-1-ND) chip from Digi-Key, and how it was wired up. I don't have very steady hands, so I bent every other pin up, so I wouldn't solder any two together. Also used, were five 0.1uf Ceramic capacitors, and some very thin wire. The tape is only there so I could remember what wire went where 
The last few pictures are using the 3V version of part A232DBH from »www.compsys1.com/workbench/On_to···l#a232db Normally, this comes in a 5V version, so you need to specify the 3V when ordering. You will need to assemble the hood, and solder on 4 wires, but it's a lot easier than making the whole thing from scratch. Much cleaner as well.
Both methods work great.
The 3V A232DBH is a nice choice because it can be put together very easily, is enclosed, and is a much cleaner. Though the cost is around $20.
If your adventurous, and want to build your own circuit, that's fine too. If you have the tools, you can build it pretty cheaply. It just takes a bit of patience, but the satisfaction of putting it together yourself, and seeing it work, is a great feeling. |
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marathonmike
Beer. You can only rent it
join:2001-12-12
Princeton, NJ
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to buggage
I was able to add a console to the earlier 5260 modems by using one RS1489 receiver chip. Just wire a receiver in each direction. The only "marginal issue" is that the signal from the modem to your PC will be 0V and +5V instead of the -5V and +5V spec'd in RS232. Most (99%) of PCs will be ok with this.
--
Bush's sect'y of education (Rod Paige) called the NEA a "Terrorist Organization" He was the Texas commissioner of eduction who is now is now accused of falsifying school statistics. »www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/···76.shtml |
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lucasnishimura
@200.175.x.x
| reply to buggage
Just Built a circuit and connect to the serial port however im getting this screnn... |
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs: | Looks like you pressed "E" and then "x" so it's waiting for you to send Firmware.
Regards,
Doctor Olds |
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buggage
Premium
join:2002-11-28
| reply to lucasnishimura
May I ask why you are trying to download the .img file? It's unnecessary in the recovery of the modem, besides, the img file doesn't get corrupt, it's the modem's NVRAM. I saw in an another post that you were looking for the .img file, but it won't do anything for you. If your trying to fix your modem, just follow the steps above. They work. |
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buggage
Premium
join:2002-11-28
| Sorry, it wasn't you looking for the .img file. I apologise, that poster had a similar name.
Once you are in the boot> menu, there are some letters that, when typed, will run some commands. The X key, as you found out, will try to download the .img file. Press the H key at the prompt and you will see a short menu of options. At which point are you trying to get to? Perhaps I can help you out. |
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lucasnishimura
| before i was just curios about where to get the IMG file...
That screens apears in my terminal without pressing any key.... all the time... I dont know what to do...anymore
Some times modem just enter in a loop gotta 3e.....
Any clue? |
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buggage
Premium
join:2002-11-28
| Try following these steps once you see the boot> prompts.
When you see this:
boot> gotta
Hold down the shift key and press the plus/equals key.
You should receive a message stating:
Whacking NVRAM...
AT the next boot> prompt, press the R key.
The screen should start loading through, and you should be prompted for the MAC address. Type the MAC address of the modem (without any dashes or colons) and press Enter.
The modem should work after you do this. Let us know. |
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lucasnishimura
| reply to buggage
First Screen | 
Looping |
Btw i never saw the x-mips logo project ...i can waranty my modem is a SS 5200 e-240....
I was wondering why modem asks my self a IMG file and was thinking in somehow can it be corrupted so it asks me for a new one....so if this is the case where to find it? |
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lucasnishimura
|  Btw I found Img files "decrypted" as Enri said but the unit dind accept any of them
I dont know what to do anymore... |
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Doctor Olds
I Need A Remedy For What's Ailing Me.
Premium,VIP
join:2001-04-19
1970 442 W30
clubs: | Does anything you type show up on the input? Is it possible your serial port is not correct on the send side?
Regards,
Doctor Olds |
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