Starview Expert-**no email posting or BANNED**

although i havent got one im gettin clued up on eurovox's and dbox's. from what ive seen so far the eurovox would be the perfect replacement for the starview, its slightly more expensive but more features and just an all round better box, the dbox is even more expensive than eurovox but you can do alsorts with it including pc connectivity. im going to put this in more detail within the next few days to give everyone a clear picture on what they should go for. its a shame about the starview though, it was a good little box! shame on you whoever you are!!

 

here is a dbox2 tutorial for newbies. I would hade to see the advanced user guide. the eurovox is a lot easier


TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.

This tutorial has been written as simple as possible, to enable anyone who has never even seen a Dbox to be able to get it running on U.K cable.

Many thanks got to the guy’s on Modshack’s Dbox forum for their help, but special thanks to Spanik for his unselfish assistance in helping me get my box running.

Firstly some items that are needed before you start:
You need to have done some research on the Dbox, if you have you will / should already have some of the software listed, you should also have printed / read some of the guides available on the net. A good place to start is http://www.dietmar-h.net/ here there are tutorials / how to’s in English, there are instructions here on how to put your box into debug mode, there are also some good guides in the dbox I shall explain how I did mine, but yours may be different.

One of the most important things to know about your dbox is the BMON version, as this will determine how you put your box into debug mode.
To find out what version of software your dbox has:
Power up your dbox, it does not matter at what stage of the booting process you do this. On the front of the dbox there is a flap, pull down this flap, under here you have two card slots & three buttons, one standby button, one up button & one down button, hold down the standby button & the up button together, (this is a soft reset) the LCD screen should go blank, when this occurs release the standby button but keep the up button held down, very quickly a selection of numbers will appear on the LCD screen similar to the following..01DD10081 1611608 or similar, the one’s we are interested in are the 5th & 6th numbers from the left, if they are 10 you have BMON ver 1.0, version 1.0 are different from all others & require a slightly different way of doing things, my box was a virgin dbox 2 Nokia with two Intel chips & was version 1.0 BMON.
If your box starts up with this screen:


Then your box is already in debug mode, if you don’t get this screen then you have a virgin box & will need to put it into debug mode.
If your box is a virgin box, i.e. has never had any other image put on it, then you need to do the following:

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 2.

Remove the lid from the box; identify your Intel set-up,
(This is what I did with mine, a Nokia 2xI virgin box)
Connect the shorting wire to pin 12, & get the box into reset mode.

1. Wait until reset disappears, as soon as the first block appears short it. (Don’t let go yet!)
2. It will then freeze on 3 blocks.
3. Now press the up button on the front and at the same time remove the short.
4. The numbers will appear now on the LCD, as soon as they do let go of the button and apply the short again.
5. You will now see 5 blocks appear through the number, i.e. 0181
6. That’s it, your now ready to type in the commands in boot-manager to debug it.
7. Go-to page 5.

Equipment needed.

A pc with a network card or a laptop with a network card, you can use XP or Win 98se.
(I used a spare Toshiba p166 laptop running Win98se with a 3com 10base-t pcmcia card.)
A cat5 CROSS OVER network cable for connecting between the dbox and the pc.

A normal cat5 straight network cable if you already have a LAN (i.e. router or hub.)

A NULL MODEM cable for connecting between the dbox & the pc. (3-wire null modem cable will do. 2rx to 3tx, 3tx to 2rx & 5gnd to 5gnd.) If you need to make one you will need two 9 way female connectors, length of cable follow the diagram.
9way F 9way F
1—DCD—to pin 6 to pin 6--DCD---1
2—RxD---------------- ----------------------RxD---2
3---TxD---------------- ----------------------TxD---3
4---DTR------------------------------------------DSR---6
5---GND-----------------------------------------GND---5
6---DSR------------------------------------------DTR---4

Set your network card to 10 / half duplex (this is the recommended setting & the one I used, but some people have reported that you can use 10 Full duplex or even auto, the choice is yours.)
Set your windows COM port to: Bits per second = 57600
Data bits = 8
Parity = none
Stop bits = 1
Flow control = none

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 3.

You will also need some software:

An ftp package, the recommended one is Flashfxp (the one I used) but I am told that ALL ftp software will work. Available on the net.)

Dboxmanager software. Available from the dbox section on Modshack, or available from the net. (Do not use long file names when installing this programme or it wont work)
A file called minflash.zip or .rar, this file is very hard to find, if you have trouble finding it please ask on the Modshack forum.

A file called ppcboot (this file has no extension)

Software for the Dbox.
Profile (no extension)
English.locale (no extension)
autoroll.key (for your provider)
bouquets.xml
cables.xml
services.xml
Folder called clock (this contains the font files required)
A Dbox image for your box. (I used Zgore17072004)

If using Win XP you will need a file called xp.reg. Win XP uses media sensing & will report cable not connected when rebooting your box, this will affect the dbox software, if in any doubt run xp.reg & you should not have any problem. (This applies to NT4, Win2000, and Win XP Home & Win2003.)

If you have more than one network card in your pc, then you will need to disable all but the one you intend using with the dbox, this includes any DVB-C cards you may have. (You don’t have to disable all other cards, you could just select the correct one in Dboxmanager, but it is best too, as will eliminate any conflicts.)
Test to see if you can ping other devices on your network (from your pc)?

Setting up your network.
The network card you intend to use, you will need to give it a static IP, I used an IP of 192.168.0.6 (you don’t have to use this, but it worked for me.)
Install the Dbox2 Boot-Manager software. (This is German software!)
Unzip or Unrar the file minflash to your root directory C:\
Place the file ppcboot in the root directory C:\
Connect the Null Modem cable to your pc & the other end into the Dbox.


TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 4.

If the IP of the dbox is not known (i.e. The dbox is in debug mode but still has original betanova software installed) any IP can be entered in Dbox2 Boot Manager in the Dbox2 IP field, ARP will be used to get the MAC address of the Dbox2

Connect one end of your crossover network cable into your pc’s network card & the other end into the Dbox.

Dbox 2 Boot-Manager.
Assuming that you have already installed the software, start it & on start up you should see a settings screen:
Setting Screen:


Dbox 2 IP: Use a different IP than that you set your pc card to i.e. 192.168.0.7

Bootfile fur Dbox:
Providing you placed the file in the root directory C:\ it should read C:\ppcboot, you can use the magnifying glass icon in order to find it. Or just type it in.

Root-Verzeichnis:
If you placed ppcboot in the root c:\ then it should read C:\


TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 5.

Ethernet-interface:
Providing you only have one network card or you have disabled all but one, this should show your card, if yours is not the one shown in the box, then use the drop down arrow & check it is displayed as an option, then select it.

BootP / TFTP-Server Starten:
Should be ticked.

RARP-Server starten:
Should be ticked.

NFS-server:
Should be ticked.

COM-port:
Should be ticked & you should select the port you are using, also the speed should be 9600 baud.

Konfigurationen:
Leave empty.

Once all the above are correct, make sure your box is switched off press the Start! button, the screen should automatically jump to the COM-Terminal window on the boot-manager. If you get an error while starting, please recheck you have applied the XP.reg file for WinXp, or check the settings are correct.

If you are in the COM-Terminal window, switch on the dbox, you should get some data on the screen, but you need to look at the LCD screen on the box, the screen should look like it is about to load & you should be getting about 4-5 filled square boxes along the bottom of the LCD, after this you should get “Reset…” “Reset” continuously forever, if this does not happen power off & then on, sometimes it may take several attempts before it goes into reset.

If you are now in COM-Terminal window, I then did the following:
In the COMM-Terminal window type:
icache [Enter].

Answer should be: icache is on

Type:
chorus 800000 [Enter].
You should see lots of stuff..

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 6.

Type:
cp 10000000 01000000 1000 [ ENTER ]

Type:
Nm 01000944 [ ENTER ]

The address to 0 set:
When you see this:
01000944: ffffffff?
Type:
00000000 [ ENTER ]

To leave Editing mode, when you see:
01000944: 00000000?
Press:
[ ESC ] [ ENTER ]

To turn off the Protection of the Flash Sectors:
prot off 1:0 [ ENTER ]

Changed RAM into the first sector copy:
cp 01000000 10000000 1000 [ ENTER ]

Now you can reset the box by typing
go 10000100 [Enter ] .


After the RESET the box should present you with the debug screen on the LCD.


If you get this far then you can stop the boot-manager, because we need to set it up for flashing the new software.





TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 7.


There are other ways of doing this, but this was the only way that worked for me.
If you switch off the box & plug in a scart lead to your TV, (there is no RF output on the Dbox, so you must use a scart lead)
When you turn the dbox on, you have some German on the TV? Mine said something “welcomen”.

Others like this:



You may get displayed on the LCD after a short time...

Das Betriebssystem
Konnte Nicht Korrekt
geladen werden.

Mit "ok" Aktualisie-ren
Sie jetzt das Betriebssystem.
This means: The operating system could not be loaded correct. With "ok" Update the operating system now.

Start dbox manager?

Select correct COM port, also 9600

Do not tick RARP or BootP or NFS

Leave Konfiguration empty

And make sure that the correct NIC is showing in Ethernet Interface (if you have more than one NIC in your laptop) it should be greyed out.






TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 8.




Untick BootP / TFTP-Server Starten.
Use the magnifying glass icon to find the file ppcboot_writeflash.

Untick NFS-Server starten.

In Root-Verzeichnis.
Find the root of where ppcboot_writeflash is.

Konfigurationen:
Leave empty.

Select Utilities.





TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 9.

Image flashen

Select the image you intend to use. i.e. I used Zgore17072004, inside this is an 8meg file called *.img (check to make sure the size is 8meg) I also had to put this file in the root C:\ or I got an error, also if you take too long over this then you may get an error as well, just re-boot the box.


Once you have the ok box, click ok and power the dbox off then back on.
Watch the COM terminal output once it has finished outputting loads on the screen
You should get to something like this:


If you get lots of T’s, then the flash may fail, providing you only get a few it should be ok, but really you shouldn’t get any timeouts.
The display should say like: erase flash from 0x10020000 to 0x10etc, then says erased 63 sectors...copy to flash

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 10.


You may then get something like in German...flashen abgeschlossen
Dbox manager...
Press ok, turn dbox off and back on watch the LCD and TV, the dbox-manager should go back to setting’s menu.

If using the same image I did, on the LCD it should say neutrino right across it. This should be there all during the flash.

Neutrino on the LCD means the box has successfully flashed (some part at least)
Then on the TV it should say dbox 2 boot manager is working your flash
At this point reboot the dbox (disconnect serial lead first) the crossover cable can be left.
Connect the cable feed.
On re-boot you should see bmon screen on the (LCD)
If at this point nothing more happens then there could be 3 reasons:

1) Try disconnecting the serial and networking cable and rebooting to see if it fixes it.
2) Your flash is still protected (i.e. during the debug method, you disabled/enabled write protect, did you remove it after?)
3) The most likely one:
You are flashing your 1xI box with a 2xI image or vice versa.

The LCD should come up with dbox II Neutrino& then get a channel, i.e. I got tele5.
Ok that's great, your box is now flashed with the neutrino GUI edited by zg0re. The things to do now (not in any order really other than changing the language really):
In this image there is no english.locale, so everything is in German until you ftp the file into the box.

1) Now we need to change / check the network settings on the box.
2) Press dbox on the remote.
3) Select Netzwerk.
From top to bottom the options are:
1.back.
2. Set-up network on start-up.
3. Test network.
4. Show current settings.
5. And set-up network

Below this you should have the current i.p. mask, gateway and dns servers.

If you plug the network cable, can you ping it from your laptop / pc?

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 11.

You should be able to (hopefully).
If not you have to change the i.p. And mask of the dbox to match your subnet.
i.e. 192.168.0.* subnet 255.255.255.*
Select 'set-up network now'.
What about standard gateway & nameserver?
Gateway and Nameserver -> put the same settings as the one entered on your PC
Not really important, but usefully if you have adsl or cable router at home, then you will be to access Internet from your dbox.
No = aus dhcp, only needed when you have a static i.p. address.
Now you have to apply these settings.
beim starten netzwork setzen??
this should be set to ein (that means basically auto start network on boot up)
go to the top, select Back (or whatever it is in German)
then the top = einstellungen jetzt speichern command is the equivalent of Save Settings.
You should briefly see an info screen but maybe too quick to read, that's good network settings now saved.

Now do you flashftp on your pc? or another ftp client?
The next part assumes Flashfxp.
Start up ftp.
On start-up press F4.
New site.
Site name = dbox
i.p. add = the i.p. you entered in the dbox just 5 mins ago
username= root
password=dbox or dbox2
Leave port = 21
In Options
Click twice on Cache Directories, the box must change from greyed to ticked to empty; you want it to be empty not greyed not ticked.
Tick show hidden files
Click Apply then Connect, you should get a directory listing.
If you get a connection timed out message check the network settings are correct on the dbox go back in the network settings on the dbox.
Dbox on remote control
Einstlelung
Netwertz.

If you have a home LAN or a hub or a router with free ports, you can plug both the pc and the dbox into the same LAN using normal network cable (i.e. not X over) check if the ping working?

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 12.

It is also worth giving ftp another go too as ping does not always work
If ftp times out too, reboot the dbox again (you can press all button at the front all at once soft reset.)
On reset you should get nice logo on TV now dbox-2!!
You can change that also there is a tutorial about it, pretty easy.
You should get the folder listing on the right.
This bit is important as you are now in the box, always make sure you are in the root of the flash / by default you only go in \var.
Now go to the root by double click on Parent Directory
Once you are in /
Ok now there are a few steps to carry on, I will list them then explain them
1) Upload english.locale from your pc to the correct place on the dbox, then change language to English -> will make it easier to do the rest.
2 Upload the profile file to set correct time zone.
3) Upload clock fonts in English (that’s because it’s using German fonts by default not very good for day names like Monday).
4) Get a services.xml for your area and upload it to dbox or
5) Create a cables.xml for your area & upload it & scan for channels
6) Upload the proper keys onto dbox
7) Enjoy channels in sofa with cold beer.

So do you have the file english.local? I said you would need it!
If you haven’t got the files, then they are available on Modshack.

So you have both the english.local and the LCD clock fonts?
You extract clock.zip into a folder on your pc also rename english.locale.doc into english.locale (no extension)
Go back in flashfxp
Reconnect by pressing F4, so on one side you have your local pc, the other side the dbox, on the local pc side, go to the location where english.locale is, on the dbox side go to /share/tuxbox/neutrino/locale/ then transfer the english.locale onto the dbox. Flashfxp is the best ftp proggie, that’s why people are using it, but ANY ftp client would work it would actually work with the free ftp client under your command prompt!
Ok now you have the english.locale file in the box if you press dbox on remote, einstellung, sprache, change German to English, should be able to change it now, you don’t have to remove the German, just leave it there.
Then go back once and SAVE settings
What about permissions? Do you have to change read write etc??
No.
But the box is still saying only deusch? What if I reboot? We will reboot later.
Now we will transfer the LCD font.

TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 13.

Upload the extracted fonts into /share/tuxbox/lcdd/clock
When asked to overwrite says Yes to ALL.
Reboot dbox now.

Then when rebooted change language to English then save.

Now we do the profile for the GMT time zone.
Ok make sure the file has NO extension and download this so you are left with a file called profile just remove the .rar or .zip & upload this file into /etc/ overwrite existing file once you have profile in /etc/ you should do a backup of your work so far.
Using remote press dbox, services, software update, expert functions, then select READ WHOLE PARITION when finished press ok
Then with flashfxp, go into \tmp there is a 8mb file there called flashimage.img transfer it to your pc and rename it to something like backup131004.img and keep it safe, that will save you redoing what we did in the last 2 hours or so if you ever crash your box, just use bootmanager with this image and your dbox will revert back to the current state.
So now big question do you have a services.xml for your area?
If you don’t, you will need to find one on the forum or request one, lets assume you have a services.xml.
Upload that services.xml file into /var/tuxbox/config/zapit/ overwrite if needed.
Assuming you have a bouquet, services & cable.xml.
DO NOT edit this file in any way!!
If you do in make sure you use Text Pad ONLY
NOT Notepad or any other editor.
Do you have the keys file?
Do you put bouquet, services & cable in same dir?
bouquets definitely goes in the same folder, cable doesn’t matter really, it is not needed for now.
Cables is only used if you want to do a full scan, you won't need that if you already have all channels in services.xml.
Reboot the dbox now (let's hope it will reboot ok)
Do you have an auto update file? i.e. autoroll.key (for your provider, NTL, ex C&W or TW)
Once booted up you will have channels.
auto update file should work ok; we will do that after reboot
select a free to air channel, it should clear up
Choose a channel that is free i.e. Front Row preview should be FTA
without the keys not much will show but if you have at least one channel clearing up it's good.


TUTORIAL FOR NEWBIES.
Page 14.

Ok the front row is on & clear...good, perfect do you have the correct time on the LCD?
What about EPG, is it available on the screen?
i.e. do you get channel name and programme name?
Ok check the time is good.
Is the epg good, excellent!
EPG will not work on front row channels by the way.
Ok only one thing missing now, the keys to clear up all your channels.
Until you put the keys file in, you can only view the channels that are NOT encrypted.
You need the correct keys now, upload this file in /var/keys
Ok now you need to change the EMU cam to EvoCamd.
Select Dbox on the remote.
Then EMU Management.
Or press the blue button.
Now change cam to Evocamd then save if asked.
In this menu you can change the cam in use (between camd3, evocamd, gbox...)
Then go back to a crypted channel and wait a few secs, its Auto Update keys so should update soon.
Once one channel clears they should all be clear.
First thing you should do before opening the champagne…
IS TO SAVE YOUR IMAGE AGAIN or you may be sorry…

That's pretty much the hard work done now, the rest are tweaks with plugins, streaming, recording, and other EMU cams... for that you will need to familiarize with your box and check the other tutorials.

But I guess you should be running ok now?
& If you screw up you just reload saved image....
As easy as that!!!
Do you get all your channels then?
Inc PPV?
Yep... just check on front row

Now you can sit back, great big sigh of relief & a large beer.

 

mikeygb69 i have a dbox2 running downstairs as my main box and i must say its an ugly thing but its never ever gone down , while the starview has gone off many times and the chipped boxes have also gone down

i vote so far for the nokia dbox2 as i have had mine a while and its been up and running when other have gone off

 

one can only hope that these people screwing people who have bought starview boxes are reading this forum,cut the crap and release a firmware upgrade that will work properly.otherwise they are going to be seriously out of pocket.not just like the man on the street who has paid for a box.these ars%hol&s have now lost the trust of anyone who would think about buying starview.MORE FOOLS THEM!!!

 

I would have to say one thing now that the people selling "TheBox" have tried to destroy the starview with the 260 file then ask people to send them in as part exchange i new i could smell something now i know he was fixing them putting them into "TheBox" shell and selling as the box also now that he has been found out what he was doing another file has been released the 300 who released this this is in response to his i presume and will kill off the remaining starview and the Box leaving us all to replace ourselves yet is is the punter who loses out again also people will never know wheather or not they have a clone or not it will only be when you flash after a while the box will die my advice is if your old be it 255/257/258/258 flash is working leave well enough alone we know these are safe at present old saying if its not broke dont fix it

 

My opinion now is the only safe way to watch digital channels is to pay for Sky or Cable legally and you won't get ripped off by these tossers who are just trying to rip former customers off.Personally I hope they get lumbered with thousands of Starview boxes and go out of business.Wan*ers!!!

 

which is easier to set up the dbox or euromax......im seriously thinking of gettin 1 now....off ebay perhaps or does any1 kno of a good reputable seller??? and now wi£4rd s4tellite

 

Also how come everyone seems to praise Wizard Satellite?I bought my box from them and after it went down last week sent them an e-mail for support and still waiting for a reply.If not for this and other websites would still be watching 5 terrestrial channels.
Wizard seem very keen to replace dead boxes for £69.Probably them causing all the problems.

 

I would like to say there are some genuine people who are out there not to rip the people off but other people get greedy and see an easy way of making quick money and copy the product and us we buy it why because its cheep yes we are a nation who dont want to pay the full price and end up with a dud so really we are to blame if we did not buy the cheap product they would not be able to sell them then again they probably sell at top price i bought 4 boxes of e/bay and when they went down i tried to contact him he could not be contacted i wonder why

 

Wizard Satellite after sales is rubish
thats from experiance

grabs your cash then see ya later your on your own

 

anybody kno or has the dox2 or the euormax and can u compare it 2 starview, cos i think i mite get 1 but i dont know where from.......any tell me how they r and where 2 get 1 from

cheers

 

Yes he is very keen to replace the box because he has a way of getting them to work again then you buy another box off him probably someone else starview in a nice new "TheBox" wrapper he makes more money than before

 

lol this makes perfect sense. i bet the guy who has a geocities webpage claiming to fix these so-called dead boxes for £20 is this wizzard! well I hope v-media catches up with him ha ha

 

haha niw it makes sense! he is eager to allow u to send ur starview, mmmm now i really dont think he is a good person. Ripping people off like that that is harsh!!

so now i guess wizard is out of the question who do i go 4 a dbox or euromax box? and are they worth buying??

(cos ma starview thanks 2 an update probably cos of wizard himself has jus been bricked)

cheers 4 the replies

 

Please help,

I'm new at this and am not tech minded, so I apologise if I sound stupid. Our starview box went down at the weekend. My neighbour told us about this site and we've been trying the codes. Their box has re-booted but our's aint.

We don't have a computer at home and I've been reading about downloading software and using cables etc - which all sounds really confusing.

Firstly, can we get this box up and running without all of that, if not, I have a computer at work can I download onto that (although don't know much about cards either). Where can we get the software and if all else fails - are we just f****d and should buy something different with less hassle?

A step by step reply for the stupid would be appreciated.

Thanks

Livi

 

press menu
press 1570. this takes you into secret menu
Hit ok on nagravision
and change both keys 0, and key 1

Make sure your cable provider is listed at top N** or t******t ect
To change between the 2 keys
highlight key number press right and left

When key changed hit ok (To store) after each one..
(YOU MUST SAVE EACH KEY INDIVIDUALLY - I.E. AFTER CHANGING KEY 00 MAKE SURE YOU STORE BEFORE CHANGING KEY 01 (TO STORE PRESS OK)

telewest
00 = 4A 56 C3 4E 55 FC CB 14
01 = 0B 0D FC 37 7E BF FE 13


EX cable&wireless
00 = 1F EE 87 F9 E3 FA 2A AB
01 = EC 05 9C B0 3B 95 A2 A7


ntl
00 = D5 68 00 5A 29 36 51 D1
01 = E4 87 54 Df 4D 01 EC BA


NTL Ireland keys
KEY 0 = 3B D5 B1 4A 53 E0 71 6C
KEY 1 = CB C9 BB A1 1F 39 FF 86


If done full factory reset/scan dont forget to turn on EMU
>> DO NOT PRESS SET DEFAULT KEY OR WILL RESET KEY CHANGE ABOVE <<
Now exit and all channels ok

On the starview remote:

Pause button = Letter A
Audio button(next to pause!) = B
Red(sub) button = C
Green(next to Red!) = D
Yellow = E
Blue = F

To enter numbers use the numbers on the remote 0-9.
To move left or right use the navigation buttons left and right.
To confirm press ok.

 

Thanks for the reply, but we've done that loads of times and it's still not working.

What next???

Livi

 

i dont know any other way apart from flashing your starview from a pc.

 

OK,

What do I need to flash, where do I get them and how do I do it, it's driving me mad!!!!!!

Livi

 

you need a null modem cable.
you need the gtrom loader v4.00 and a firmware file.