After reading about the many people having troubles with the X2lite programmer, I decided to write a detailed tutorial on using it, as the information I found was sketchy at best. This was written from a standpoint of using XP as the OS, but should apply to 98/ME etc.
(DISCLAIMER:
I take no responsibility for anything that goes wrong with anything by using this tutorial! Period. Use this tutorial at your own risk)
Requirements:
1) X2lite Chip
2) X2lite programmer
3) PC with DB-25 printer port
4) DB-25 parallel cable male to female (shorter is better), or using my simple no cable mod. (See Fig.D)
5) Knowing how to create directories, unzip files and copy files basic stuff
6) A 1MB BIOS called bios.bin that you wish to flash the X2lite with. (I do not cover how to create the BIOS)
7) 9v 500mA DC power supply, or 9v alkaline battery, or open USB port on your PC
Software for the X2lite programmer (x2cable.zip).
Get it here. or
hereThe first step is to make the connections of the various components as follows:
1) Connect the ground wire (Fig.A step 1) from the programmer to the X2lite chip. It has a little plastic connector and should fit into the slot on the X2lite chip. Do not force it, as it has a grooved connector that should fit only one way.
2) Connect the X2lite to the programmer (Fig.A step 2 and Fig.B ). There is a female socket on the X2lite, and a male header pin on the programmer. Flip the X2lite upside down and gently push the X2lite onto the header. Be careful not to yank the ground wire off of the programmer.
3) Remove the flash protection jumper (Fig.A step 3 and Fig.B )
4) Connect the parallel cable to the programmer (Fig.A step 4 ), or do the no cable mod (Fig.D ) and connect to the parallel port on your PC. (Note: if you are doing the no-cable mod and are using a 9v battery, you may want to insert it now because it will be more difficult to insert the battery when the programmer is attached to the PC)
Fig.A(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figa.jpg)
Picture of the parallel cableFig.B(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figb.jpg)
Picture of the 9v power adapter5) Set the power switch according to the power source you are using. (Fig.C) If don't have a 9v power adapter, then just use a 9v battery by placing it in the battery cradle on the programmer. You can also use the supplied USB connection to plug into an open USB port on your PC. Just make sure to set the power switch according to your power source (Fig.C)
Fig.C(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figc.jpg)
The no cable Mod If you dont have a parallel cable, you can connect the programmer directly to your PCs parallel port by slightly modifying the connector plate that is screwed on to the X2lite programmer. The port on my computer had connector standoffs, and the programmer also has them, thus not allowing me to connect it directly to the PCs parallel port.
a) Use some needle nose pliers to remove (un-skrew) the two standoffs on the X2lite programmer connector plate. (Fig.D)
b ) Remove the connector plate. (Fig.D)
c) Apply two small dabs of superglue to two inside corners of the connector plate. (Fig.D) (
Test the fitting BEFORE you apply the superglue so that you can get a feel for seating it correctly back in place)
d) Seat the connector plate back on the face and let set for a minute.
e) Done!
Fig.D(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figd.jpg)
6) Connect the other end of the parallel cable to your PC. (Fig.E step 5)
Fig.E(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/fige.jpg)
7) Connect the power to the programmer. (Fig.F step 7)
Fig.F(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figf.jpg)
Connections finished.
The next steps are to set up the x2cable software and program your X2lite.
1) Create a directory on your C:\ drive called x2
2) Unzip/extract the x2cable.zip to the folder you created in the previous step
3) Copy your bios.bin file into the x2 folder that also contains the extracted files from the previous step
4) Now open a DOS command prompt by selecting: Start>Programs>Accessories>Command Prompt (See Fig.G)
Fig.G(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figg.jpg)
5) In the command prompt you just opened, type:
cd C:\x2 (See Fig.H)
Fig.H(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figh.jpg)
Then type:
dir and it will list all the files. (This should match Fig.H)
6) Now test the programmer by reading the BIOS first before writing (Fig.J). (if your X2lite came pre-flashed with Cromwell 1.
Type the following:
x2cable r crom19.bin (This will take approx. a minute and a half to complete)
Fig.J(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figj.jpg)
If you are getting SYNC=
variable here, then there is a power or connection problem, or the parallel cable is too long.
7) Now it is time to flash the new BIOS onto the X2lite (Fig.I). Type the following:
x2cable w bios.bin (It will then erase and begin writing the BIOS to your X2lite. This process will take approx. eleven minutes, and will then verify the write for another minute and a half.)
Fig.I(IMG:
http://webpages.charter.net/aragon/images/figi.jpg)
Done!~Lerxst
EDIT: I have more pictures, but I'm at the limit.
EDIT: Picture sizes smaller, typos
This post has been edited by Lerxst: Jun 9 2003, 04:55 PM
Author
Topic: Using The X2lite Programmer (x2cable/xp Method) (Read 9395 times)