GW Micro - Support - Knowledge Base - GWKB1091

GWKB1091 : Updating the Braille Sense or Voice Sense Firmware Using the Offline Method

When a new firmware for the Braille Sense Plus, Voice Sense, or Braille Sense Original is released, there are two ways to upgrade it; online and offline. This guide will provide instructions on upgrading the Sense notetaker using the offline method. Please refer to KB1028 for instructions on upgrading the Sense notetaker using the online method.

Upgrading the firmware using the offline method requires that you first download the firmware zip file from a PC or from the Sense notetaker. Once the zip file has been downloaded, you need to extract the contents to the root of a memory device such as a USB stick (thumb drive), SD card (secure digital card), or CF card (compact flash card). Please note: The original Braille Sense does not support SD cards.

Downloading the firmware files from a personal computer

To download the firmware update from a PC, follow these steps.

1. Point your web browser to http://www.gwmicro.com/Support/Downloads/
2. Depending on which Sense notetaker you want to update, choose either the "Voice Sense" or the "Braille Sense" files category from the list.
3. The firmware will be packed in a zip file. Choose the appropriate version and press ENTER on the download link to begin the download of the file.
4. Once the zip file has been downloaded to the PC, navigate to the location of the file and press SHIFT-F10 on it.
5. Up or down arrow to the menu item called "Extract All". Then press ENTER to open it.
6. A dialog box will open. Press ENTER on the "Next" button.
7. An edit box will prompt you for the location where the files should be extracted to. Type the drive letter of your CF memory card, SD memory card, or USB memory stick followed by a colon and a backslash. Example: "E:\".
8. If you don't know the drive letter of your removable media, you may press TAB to select the "Browse" button. Then you can select the drive using the "Select a Destination" dialog box. It is important to save these files directly to the root of the removable disk and not inside a folder.
9. Once the path has been selected, tab to the "Next" button and press ENTER.

At this point the PC will begin extracting all of the files to the root of the memory disk. This may take several minutes as the files are relatively large. Once the files have been extracted, navigate to the "Finish" button and press ENTER. Remove the memory card or USB flash drive, and insert it into the Sense notetaker.

Downloading the firmware files using the Sense notetaker

To download the firmware update from the Sense notetaker, follow these steps.

1. Press F1 to focus the main program menu.
2. Press SPACE-W (DOTS-2-4-5-6) and type in the address: http://www.gwmicro.com/Support/Downloads/, then press ENTER.
3. Depending on which Sense notetaker you want to update, tab to either the "Voice Sense" or the "Braille Sense" files category from the list.
4. The firmware will be packed in a zip file. Choose the appropriate version. Then press ENTER on the download link.

The Sense notetaker will prompt you for the file name and the location. By default it will save the file to the /flashdisk/downloads folder. Simply press ENTER to begin the download process. Once the zip file has finished downloading, you need to insert or connect a memory device to the Sense notetaker so you can extract the files and copy them to the memory device by performing the following steps.

1. Press F1 to open the main program menu.
2. Press F (DOTS-1-2-4) to open the file manager.
3. Navigate to the location of the firmware zip file. (The file will be in the /flashdisk/downloads folder by default.)
4. Press ENTER to open the zip file. You will be prompted for the location to extract the files into. (A folder of the same name as the file you are extracting will be the default.)
5. Press the BACKSPACE key repeatedly to erase the folder name.
6. Type /sd if extracting to a secure digital card, /cfd if extracting to a compact flash card, or /smd if extracting to a USB memory stick. Once the correct drive has been entered, press ENTER. Please note: To type the slash symbol, use DOTS-3-4. Example: To extract to the root of the sd card, the following would be used. DOTS-3-4 DOTS-2-3-4 DOTS-1-4-5 ENTER.

At this point the Sense notetaker will begin extracting all of the files to the root of the memory disk. This may take several minutes as the files are relatively large. Once the files have been extracted, you will be returned to the file manager.

Things to do before upgrading the firmware

Now that you have downloaded and extracted the firmware files, you are ready to perform the offline upgrade. Before upgrading the firmware, you should do the following:

1. Connect to AC power. The Sense notetaker needs to be connected to AC power in order for the upgrade to be possible.
2. Save files in active memory. Before proceeding with the upgrade, make sure that any files stored in active memory are saved to the flashdisk as they will be erased during the upgrade. These files include the data from the Address Manager and the Schedule Manager. Simply open each of these programs and press ENTER-U (DOTS-1-3-6). Answer yes to the prompt and the data in active memory will be written to the flashdisk. If neither of these programs is used, this step can be skipped.
3. Backup your settings. If you have made changes to customize the behavior of the Sense notetaker, you might want to backup these changes so you can restore them after the firmware upgrade. This could save time in customizing the notetaker once it is using the new firmware. Please refer to KB1090 for instructions on backing up and restoring the settings.
4. Backup your files. Although upgrading the firmware does not destroy the data in the flashdisk, it is important to keep a backup of your files in case any unexpected problems arise. Please refer to KB1090 for instructions on backing up and restoring the files.

Upgrade instructions

Once the Sense notetaker has been connected to AC power and the firmware files have been unzipped to the root of the memory device, follow these steps to perform the offline upgrade.

1. Press F1 to focus the main Program menu.
2. Press U (DOTS-1-3-6) twice. The Sense notetaker will display, "Upgrade: Online."
3. Press SPACE-DOT-4 to choose "Offline."
4. Press ENTER to check for a new firmware. The Sense notetaker will search for the firmware files in the root of the memory device. If it finds a newer one, it will ask if you are sure you want to upgrade. The default is "Yes."
5. Press ENTER to begin the upgrade process.

The Sense notetaker will copy in the new firmware files and the upgrade process will begin. The percentage of the upgrade progress will be displayed in Braille, and tones will also be heard. It is vitally important that you do not press any buttons or power off the Sense notetaker during this process. When the upgrade is complete, the Sense notetaker will reboot itself. Once "File Manager (f)" is displayed, press SPACE-V (DOTS-1-2-3-6) to verify that it is using the new firmware.

Final notes

Once the new firmware has been installed, all options in the Sense notetaker will be set to their factory defaults. This includes the time zone, File Manager settings, Word Processor settings, Bluetooth device pair information, Media Player playback and recording settings, General option settings, and others. If you have scheduled appointments, you will need to make sure and set your time zone correctly before launching the Schedule Manager. Failing to set the correct time zone will result the scheduled appointments being off. Please refer to KB1090 for instructions on backing up and restoring the Sense notetaker data. The wireless LAN profile information will need to be loaded into active memory. Automatic wireless connections will not happen until this has been done. To load the wireless LAN connection information into active memory, open the Internet Setup utility and choose wireless LAN. Once this has been done, the Sense notetaker will automatically connect to any configured wireless networks in range.

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