Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
I recently acquired a second Mini+ with only a few days use.
The previous owner had put on a beta firmware to play around with a WiFi card. The firmware seemed to work OK for him.
I wanted to put an older stable firmware on like my other Mini+ uses, 4.3.4 with the 1.1.0 bootloader.
The printer accepted the firmware but still has bootloader 2.0.2.
The problem I am having is with the first layer calibration, when it mesh levels it only reads 4 points across the front of the bed then starts the calibration. I can get the layer height close but then when the extruder moves to the other side of the bed it raises up again.
I tried a factory reset, reinstalling the firmware, putting the firmware on the USB with both a Mac and a Windows PC.
I was hoping maybe if I got the older bootloader on the problem would go away.
Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
I do not think this is due to the bootloader. I can't imagine how that would interfere with printing. You might want to have a conversation with the chat on the shop.
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Chuck H
3D Printer Review Blog
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
As unlikely as it seems, I would still like to try.
It is the only thing different than my other mini, afaik.
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
A bootloaders job is purely to load an application. It has nothing to do with the application once it is running. Talk to support as CW suggests.
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
Generally you need some sort of external device to program (or indeed reprogram) a device with a builtin processor.
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
That statement is only partially correct. You need an external device to install a bootloader. Its the bootloaders job on powerup to check the comms ports available (usually USB now days) to see if there is a new application to be installed and if not within a certain timeout then to load the application into memory to be run.
That's it. More modern bootloaders can actually replace themselves too with new versions. Its when doing that process that you hope it doesn't mess up.
If we didn't have the bootloader then yes, you would need an external programming device to install firmware updates every time. Boards without bootloaders installed are not that common in todays market. I still have several programmers at home for the times when the cheap Chinese suppliers have forgotten to put one on before shipping out.
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
I did a couple more factory resets and flashed the firmware a few more times, it seems to have resolved itself
RE: Is there a way to put older bootloader on?
More modern bootloaders can actually replace themselves too with new versions.
Fascinating. Curious to know how that works. Perhaps the bootloader could move an image of itself out of bootloader space, then execute that code to load the new bootloader?