ZipIt Serial Flash

You can upload new firmware via a serial port connection to the Zipit's flash memory from a Windows PC or Linux box. First you have to modify your Zipit to add a serial port. See Zipit Serial Mod

To begin, perform the following instructions.

//If someone would like to add instructions for Linux in addition to Windows, it would be greatly appreciated.

What you need:
 * Windows PC
 * DB-9 Serial port or equivalent (such as a USB to Serial adapter)
 * Zipit with serial mod performed (preferably 5-wire mod); Zipit Serial Mod
 * Zipit Software Tools; http://www.aibohack.com/zipit/zipit_tool_extras.zip

1.) Extract the Zipit software tools to a convenient location.

2.) Connect your modded Zipit to your computer through the serial port. Make sure that the debug pin (DBG) is grounded.

3.) In your extracted folder, open the folder named SERIAL_5.

4.) Run the file named up.bat. You should see the following below:

Transferring bootstrap program Transfer complete Switch to 57.6kbps Echo + upload commands Decide what to upload 'A' - allrom.bin upload (2MB) 'a' - loader.bin upload (8K max) 'k' - zimage.dat upload (581K max) 'u' - ramdisk.gz upload (1.5MB max) Follow changes with 'WYes' to write Other commands 'R' - grab ROM ZP< .02 - 57.6Kbps new cmds Loader addresses: 00002000 00090000 OK >

5.) Now you need to type a lowercase "a". You should see the text below.

OK > a //Uploading 8032 bytes from loader.bin // done upload OK >

6.) Type in a lowercase "k". This step may take a few minutes.

OK > k //Uploading 573300 bytes from zimage.dat // done upload OK >

7.) Type in a lowercase "u". This step may take quite a while, SO LET IT WORK!  In my own personal experiences, it has taken 7 to 12 minutes.

OK > u //Uploading 1372343 bytes from ramdisk.gz // done upload OK >

8.) Then, you need to type a capital "W". Wait a few moments until 'PWD' shows up, then type 'Yes', with the capital Y.

OK > [type W, wait for PWD, then type Yes] E+W PWD?ERASING,ERASED,WRITTEN! OK >

9.) Finally, type a question mark.

OK > ? GPIO: 80 FF 28 02 UNIQID: 902FDA7F RANDID: 007C1C60D37FEA1F59606150902FDA7F FLASHROM: 1EFDE9D2 BURN_SRC: 1EFDE9D2 OK >''

Congratulations, your Zipit now runs Linux! Exit out of the command prompt, turn off your Zipit, and unplug your Zipit. When you turn your Zipit back on, you should see the "Hacked by ZipItPet" logo.