firmware extraction using computer applications - Firmware Dumping - CHDK Forum

firmware extraction using computer applications

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firmware extraction using computer applications
« on: 13 / June / 2008, 14:54:08 »
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hey guys i noticed some people have talked about asking canon for their firmware data/source code...does anyone know if there is a program out there like iPod Wizard which can extract the firmware and allow u to edit the hex code, etc....i googled it but i didnt find much...or maybe a program like bitpim, which grants u access to the file system on cell phones...i think that if u were able to get a program like this running, that would be very beneficial. ill look into it some more....

Thanks,
           Josh

P.S. Im kinda new to this scene so if this sounds completely retarded, im sorry =]
« Last Edit: 13 / June / 2008, 14:57:30 by acmilancrazy »

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Offline jetzt

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Re: firmware extraction using computer applications
« Reply #1 on: 13 / June / 2008, 15:42:09 »
So you want to change the original canon-firmware int the flash-rom of the camera?
I think that is a main feature of CHDK - no changes to the firmware, but control over key functions.

However it think you only have to dump firmware / download a already dumped, modify it and load it with some SD-Card-Code to the Rom.

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Offline dzsemx

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Re: firmware extraction using computer applications
« Reply #2 on: 14 / June / 2008, 01:13:18 »
I think it's more safe to use chdk than patching original firmware
I've reflashed/patched my Sonyericcson K800 many times(forums.se-nse.net), but many people simply killed their phones by using accidentally wrong files, or they were just noobs...
i won't be happy to see topics like this: "help i killed my camera"

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Re: firmware extraction using computer applications
« Reply #3 on: 14 / June / 2008, 08:02:52 »
Right, that's why my post doesn't give the real procedure, only the necessary steps, if someone really wants to do that he has to read much more, so when it comes to flashing he knows what he is doing.
And you're right, loading own code from sd is much cooler.

Re: firmware extraction using computer applications
« Reply #4 on: 14 / June / 2008, 19:17:19 »
ya i see what you are saying here, but i guess i wasnt very clear...with iPod wizard, you can extract the binary and make it into a file. and then you can edit, and then u redownload (as in, ur not directly editing the binary, and risking the chance of ruining the firmware) the binary firmware thingy BACK onto the iPod, and you can always restore  the firmware if you make a backup of it. so, u could, theoretically, take the binary code and turn it into a sd card boot file like chdk does. but umm...yaaaaa thats about all i have to say...

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Offline DataGhost

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Re: firmware extraction using computer applications
« Reply #5 on: 15 / June / 2008, 06:44:51 »
Only thing is that the iPod firmware you're referring to is stored on the harddrive and is called from the flash firmware inside a chip. You never modify the chip when changing the iPod firmware. What you're now saying is that we take the firmware from the chip (cameras are not iPods), modify it and flash it back onto the chip. This is just as dangerous as directly editing it, because if it breaks the boot or firmware update routines, the camera will be effectively dead or unflashable. On an iPod you can do whatever you want because it runs the firmware off the harddrive (camera: SD). This is fine in an iPod because you can't swap the harddrive but you can swap the cards in a camera and even boot without one, so everything is stored in the flashrom.

Another thing is (your post is not entirely clear and open for multiple (at least two) interpretations) that we need to store the code we're running somewhere, so we can't just load the entire camera firmware somewhere. Not only will this increase boot times dramatically, it'll also eat a good 8MB off the 32-64MB generally available in cameras. Even if we manage to find free space that large, we still have to tell the OS not to use that part of the memory as cache/buffers, limiting the camera's functionality. Also, there are a lot of hard references to addresses in the flashrom so we'd have to modify them all, which is nearly impossible without FULLY disassembling the code, which is very hard because of the code/calling style used in the firmware.

 

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