49G Update

[Mike S]

Thank you Christoph and Ian for your responses. I have good news and bad news to report!

One reason I couldn't originally get HPComm3.0 to work was the higher than permitted COM port number I was using. After renumbering a USB port and some trial and error, I finally got a connection between 49G and PC (nice to see the 5 lines of gray 'actions taken' by the connectivity kit change, one-by-one, to green with a tick) to signal successful connection.

From the 49G 'No System' menu, 'terminal mode' was selected and after clicking the 'Talk to calc' button on the connectivity kit, the download program sent from the PC seemed to be running.
Then

Quote:4. On the 49G:

The download program sent from the PC is now running.

1.If you're running a ROM 1.19-5 or newer jump to 5
2.Press [4] to select Erase Bank. The screen will now display "0 User Bank". If not, use the up and down arrow key until Bank 0 appears.
3.Press [ENTER] to format the 64KB Bank.
4.The HP49 returns to the Download menu
5.Press [1] to select Download System. The 49G communicates with the PC Connectivity Kit and commences the upgrade.
6.When the process finishes, the 49G will display "The system may not be ....

I completed steps 1, 2 and 3 then needed to press a key (I think any key would have done) to see the Download menu, step 4. Pressing [1] in step 5 began the upgrade. So far, so good.

Unfortunately, after perhaps 2 mins, the process stopped with an error which I think said
"Error
Transfer aborted
check your cable and your PC"
Both the cable and PC, I believe, are working properly.

I tried steps 1-4 here

Quote:If it fails:

If it fails, your calculator will no longer operate properly until you re-flash the ROM. To do this, perform the following steps and then go back to 3. On the PC above:

1.Insert a paper clip into the reset hole in the back of the 49G
2.While the screen is blank, use your thumb to hold down [+] and [ENTER].
3.While holding down [+] and [ENTER], press and release [ON] to show the No System menu, and then release [+] and [ENTER].
4.Press [4] to select terminal mode. A blank screen appears. To abort at this time, hold down [ON], press [F3], and then release both keys.

without success.

This morning, I replaced the batteries (the originals were not showing the battery warning at any time and measure 1.28V still) but of course with the operating system erased, I could not connect with the connectivity kit.

Now, when the 49G is turned on, the screen is very dark and displays the 'No System' menu.
Pressing [4] selects terminal mode as previously. The connectivity kit, despite not being able to connect properly with the 49G, still (self) navigates to the .flash operating system file. Double clicking on this still produces the Download program dialogue box with its 'Talk to calc' button. Clicking this allows the same five steps mentioned above (4. On the 49g:) to be performed.
Then, after about 90secs the 'Transfer aborted ...' error occurs.
It seems as if the 49G is responding the same way to the update process both connected and unconnected to the kit!

Congratulations if you've read this far. The wordiness is to try and clearly explain what has happened.

Finally, the most important question.
Is my 49G now just a fairly ugly, overpriced paperweight or can it be salvaged?

Cheers,
Mike