Bars of squares appearing on bootup
I recently got hold of a Prusa I3 MK2 and noticed that the printer was not recognizing that a SD card was being inserted. The SD card file explorer on the printer showed no files and there were no messages saying card inserted/taken out. I switched to usb printing and noticed that the connection was shoddy and unstable, sometimes it would work sometimes it wouldn't. I tried a bunch of things like updating drivers and trying out different usb printing softwares but nothing fixed the issue, so I updated the firmware of the printer using the PrusaSlicer. On the slicer it said that the firmware had updated properly, but when I powercycled the printer on bootup there were now 2 rows of squares and it never loaded in the main control screen. I think the firmware got messed up somehow, can someone please help get the firmware running and possibly help with the SD card and USB issues?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Are you very sure you used the correct image file for the printer?
It's very easy to mistake the 'latest' one, which is most conspicuous for their latest model, as in I3 MK3S, for the one you need, which is for a MK2.
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@jsw
I'm not too familiar with some of the terminology, what do you mean by an "image file"?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
The file you used for updating the firmware on your printer. The one you loaded with the Prusaslicer via the USB cable. Is it the correct one for your MK2 and not some other version, like MK3S?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@jsw
I am pretty sure it is the correct file. The name of the file is "1_75mm_MK2-RAMBo10a-E3Dv6full.hex" and it was located under a folder of the name "prusa3d_fw_3_2_3_MK2_MK2MMU".
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Do you have a MMU?
If all you have is a straight forward MK2 then to get the correct firmware:
- Go to https://www.prusa3d.com/drivers/
- Scroll down to Original Prusa i3 MK2
- Under Firmware 3.2.3 June 6, 2019 click on the the orange button Download 3.2.3 (1MB)
- Open the file and go into the folder MK2.
- Now you need to look at which version of the circuit board is in your printer, 1.0a or 1.3a
- Once you know that extract the appropriate hex file
- Flash it to your printer
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
I do not have a MMU. How do I know whether 1.0a or 1.3a is the correct one to upload?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
You'll need to open the electronics enclose and look at the circuit board inside. It is printed on the board near the USB port. Here is a picture of the 1.3a's label:
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
Ok I checked and I am pretty sure it is the 1.3a board, but when I went to flash the firmware it said it failed and gave this error message: avrdude-slic3r: Could not open port: COM3. Any ideas on how to fix this?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Try clicking on the rescan button in PrusaSlicer and select the correct port that the printer is connected to.
If it still won't flash, try turning the printer off, then back on again after a few seconds, disconnect the USB cable and reconnect it. If still no luck turn both your computer and printer off and back on. It can be finicky.
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
Alright thanks for the help, I'll get back to you in a few hours when I have the opportunity to try flashing it again.
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Fingers crossed for you!
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
I just tried it out and it worked, but the connection problem still persists. When I went to flash the firmware the same message popped up (could not open COM3), so I clicked the flash button a few more times and it worked on the fourth try. In between the flash tries nothing changed, I did not power cycle the printer or unplug the cable. Any ideas on why this is happening and how to fix this issue so I can reliably print over USB? Thanks for all the help.
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
I don't know to be honest, I've always felt is was one of those weird issues that plague computers. The problem is it could be a lot of things, a hardware problem with the ports on the PC or printer. The USB cable. The way Windows/Linux/Mac handles their ports. The way the computer hardware/firmware handles it's ports. The firmware in the printer, PrusaSlicer.
You could report it as an issue over on Prusa's GitHub for either/both PrusaSlicer or the MK2 firmware but I don't think they are doing much development for the MK2 anymore.
When it happens to me I just do what you did and keep refreshing and retrying.
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
That's unfortunate because the printer does not recognize the SD card. Any ideas on what the SD card issue could be?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Have you tried reformatting it (FAT32)?
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
I have not tried reformatting it, I'll let you know in a few hours if that solves it. Thanks!
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Also make sure the write protect switch isn't on, on the card:
If that or reformatting it doesn't help then you're next port of call will be to buy a new card, 8GB-16GB is usually more than enough (the maximum limit is 32GB).
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
@3delight
It did not work, I'll go ahead and buy a new SD card.
RE: Bars of squares appearing on bootup
Just remember to format it to FAT32.
If that doesn't work then I'm at a loss. The USB issue is hard to diagnose and the SD card would just leave getting a new LCD board as the slot might be damaged.