[Jonathan]

santi-sc, I did not know that! Thanks.

Raul, please try santi_sc’s suggestion. Failing that, well I’m not sure what instructions I left on this thread and unfortunately I don’t have time to check. However, I did eventually produce an automated fixer for this that added support for more tablet versions. I think the latest version that I produced is here: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B2v02XT2BFHdb25tWVp0NHBqRFU

You extract the package to a Windows 7/8/10 PC then run the batch file and follow the instructions.

[Jonathan]

No problem about the response time, I was after all early in getting back to you 🙂

It should work acceptably on a Windows 7 machine, one message won’t display correctly but that doesn’t really matter.

The bat file will install the drivers needed to talk to your tablet and has adb/fastboot included in the package. By the way when you install one of the drivers it will ask you connect/disconnect a device, I’ve never had to do that for it to work.

When you run the bat file it takes you through what to do, step by step, including when to put the tablet into DNX mode and when to connect it. Obviously, you do that using the micro USB connector on the tablet.

The bat file will ask you put a micro SD card into the tablet, you may skip that step if you like.

You’re not especially ignorant from what I can tell, you’ve asked good questions and seem to have a pretty good grasp on things. I’m not irritated in the slightest 🙂

[Jonathan]

Ok, I’ve checked out the currently available BIOS for the Vi10 and packaged this system that as far as I can test works with all of them.

I can’t guarantee anything but I think you’ll be safe with this version.

[Jonathan]

The official Android packages for the Vi10 are here:

http://forum.chuwi.com/thread-169-1-1.html

There’s a tutorial at the bottom of the first post.

It should be possible to make the data partition of Android fill the area where Windows is, or was, by changing the partitioning file in the Android package.

You can also use GParted Live on a USB stick to resize the Android EXT4 data partition as you see fit. Takes ages, longer than the other approach, but it has the advantage of leaving all your Android system partitions alone and doesn’t wipe the existing Android data.

[Jonathan]

Partho, I did package a fix for this a long time ago, however, it seems that there have been two additional versions of the BIOS made available since then.

If you haven’t changed the BIOS you should be OK, but I can’t guarantee it (worst case is you have to open the tablet and program the flash chip directly, which is a pain in the neck). If you want to play it safe I could do some additional checks to see if the fix is compatible, but I won’t have time to do this for a day or so. Do you still have Windows booting?

If you’re in the mood to risk it then the fix package is here. You need to extract it to a Windows 8.x/10 system, to which you will attach your Vi10 (using the micro USB connector on the tablet), then run “run_me.bat”. It’ll take you through what to do step by step. You can skip the micro SD card if you like.

[Jonathan]

You don’t need Gparted to just delete the Windows partitions, even a Windows installation USB drive will let you do that. DO NOT change any USB settings in BIOS setup though!

If you post your serial number then someone might provided the drivers for you. Failing that the official Windows installation can be found here. Use the Dropbox client to download, the web download will break randomly. A free account worked for me the last time I tried.
You can apply these images to your tablet and, if you want the drivers for a fresh instal, grab them with Double Driver.
The drivers on the Vi10 are a nightmare to install there’s a list of steps here.

[Jonathan]

If you post your serial number then someone might point you to the drivers.
Failing that Windows etc. for the Vi10/Vi10 Pro are here. Use the Dropbox client, the web downloads break randomly (a free account worked for me the last time I tried).
You can apply these images to your tablet and, if you want the drivers for a fresh instal, grab them with Double Driver.
The drivers on the Vi10 are a nightmare to install there’s a list of steps here.

You don’t need Gparted to just delete the Windows partitions, even a Windows installation USB drive will let you do that. DO NOT change any USB settings in BIOS setup though!

[Jonathan]

Chinese manufacturers usually don’t customise the BIOS properly, a while back a number of them didn’t change the ID that they should have and Windows Update delivered the wrong BIOS to some devices and bricked them. I know the Chuwi Hi12 was affected and I believe some Teclast devices bit the dust too. Some of us had to re-program the BIOS chip directly to get things back to working order.

To counter this it should be sufficient to stop Windows Update delivering driver updates, number 5 on my list here. If your manufacturer doesn’t provide BIOS downloads it’s also a good idea to make your own copy using the relevant BIOS update utility just in case you need it.

Stopping Windows Updates entirely is not a good idea IMHO.

[Jonathan]

Ricardo, since your last post I’ve dug out the exact same chip you have and managed to verify that the programmer will work when using the GD25Q64 setting. I do also know how to interface with the chip and programmer directly using my own code so it should be sortable one way or another, even if I end up writing a programming utility myself that provides more information on what’s going wrong in your case.

First things first though, are you sure the clip is making contact with the chip and that you have the adaptors correctly connected? It isn’t enough to clip onto the chip sideways you have to mush it down onto the chip gently but firmly (being careful not to apply too much pressure). Ideally you should check the connections are good using a continuity tester if this is possible.

Have you removed all devices (SD card, USB devices etc.) from the laptop and disconnected the battery?

When connected properly you should be able to identify the chip with the programmer (Operate menu->Detect Chip). Can you get this far?

 

[Jonathan]

I’m not all that clued up on Windows 8.x/10 activation, if you went to the My Digital Life forums you could find experts on the subject. However:

As with any device, I would suggest running through the steps here.

If you get a Windows key returned from the command “wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey” it means there is a Windows key in the BIOS and you should be legit. Also if RW Everything shows a MSDM ACPI table with a Windows key this is a good sign.

Check in Control Panel to see if SmartScreen is enabled (Control Panel\System and Security\Security and Maintenance), there’s at least one activator that will disable this.

Where there is a MSDM key, and the drive is large enough, I like to use Disk Management to shrink the main Windows partition enough to put another clean installation on the device to ensure that the key works. This is however, just paranoia on my part.

I haven’t used it much but there is also a utility called ShowKeyPlus that will tell you the key type.  Save the key to a text file then copy the installed key and paste it into the Check Product Key tab. If it identifies the key as GVLK this would be suspicious.

By the way, I believe that the update trouble shooter doesn’t break activation that has been attained using the most popular activator.

With regard to Windows Update not working:

Do you have your Internet connection set as metered?

Is the Background intelligent Transfer Service is set to run automatically?

Do you have enough free space on your main drive?

[Jonathan]

Have you tried this?
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/instantanswers/512a5183-ffab-40c5-8a68-021e32467565/windows-update-troubleshooter

[Jonathan]

On the System screen it should say if Windows is activated, if so you should get updates if there is no technical issue.
Check your update history to see if the updates are failing.

[Jonathan]

You could try GParted Live, but don’t be tempted to disable any USB settings in BIOS setup.
If you have the Android package for your tablet for use with Intel’s Manufacturing Flash Tool there’s also the possibility of changing the partitions file before flashing it.

[Jonathan]

The blanking isn’t an issue, the chips sometimes have protected areas that won’t erase.

Writing will be very slow and uneven in speed because the programmer software will only program areas that have to be programmed, i.e. it will skip areas of the bin file that are 0xFF. The skipped bytes are fast the programmed bytes are slow.

I’ve compared the datasheets, there are differences but I don’t think they should be show stoppers. (Security register access will likely not be compatible, but shouldn’t be needed; writing times are slower on the LQ variant but the programmer should be polling a status bit to check for completion; there’s a high performance setting on the Q variant that might cause issues if the programmer is using high speed modes, but it should be doing that; there’s a driver strength setting on the Q variant that could be an issue though).

Before giving up I would double check the programming boards are connected correctly and try again, giving it plenty of time.
The communication protocol is pretty dumb, there are no inbuilt checks to make sure commands are received correctly or data is read out correctly etc. so the stalling is odd.
The connection to the chip can be flaky, it needs to be on a desk or sturdy surface and you might need a few attempts.

[Jonathan]

Did you actually try communicating with the chip? The programmer you have doesn’t support 1.8V, that’s why you use the adaptor. The Q version is 2.7-3.6V whereas the LQ version is 1.8V. This might explain its absence from the list.

I’ll compare the datasheets…

[Author]

Posts