flashing modem firmware

geosman · 09-16-2007, 06:05 AM

Learned that I could flash a zoom 2949L to a 3049L which would be acceptable to XP.
Problem is that the driver part number at the Zoom site is not the same as the one which I have for the 2949L. I questioned their support which replied that yes I could upgrade to it but if mine is working don't bother. They were not aware that I intend to push the envelope and make my 2949L into a 3049L. I have only seen one source for this flashing change so am wondering if I should upgrade before flashing it to the 3049L or go directly to the 3049L?

**Cellus** · 09-16-2007, 02:52 PM

As a rule of thumb, if the firmware on a piece of hardware - any hardware - is running without issues (bugs, vulnerabilities, etc), you should not flash it. As Zoom's technical support recommends, you should not flash it as it can break what was already working. Unlike updating a piece of software on your PC, resetting a piece of hardware back to factory defaults because new firmware flunked out can be difficult due to a whole myriad of reasons.

geosman · 09-16-2007, 11:29 PM

Thanks for that suggestion. I am rather interested in knowing what unpleasant problems I can expect when flashing. Note the intent is to flash the 2949 to a 3049 (both use identical Lucent chips) since XP is refusing to accept the 2949L driver. I see that the 3049L is approved for XP by reading the HCL from M$.

Since I am lead to believe that both use the identical chipset and others have performed this upgrade, I gather that should not be a problem. However, I have read that if for example one has a power failure during flashing that flashing back to the original 2949L is not possible. This puzzles me as I thought that flashing overwrote the chip. Could you highlight some aspects or point me to a quick read web site?

09-16-2007, 06:05 AM	#1 (permalink)
geosman Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 54 OS: *nix	flashing modem firmware Learned that I could flash a zoom 2949L to a 3049L which would be acceptable to XP. Problem is that the driver part number at the Zoom site is not the same as the one which I have for the 2949L. I questioned their support which replied that yes I could upgrade to it but if mine is working don't bother. They were not aware that I intend to push the envelope and make my 2949L into a 3049L. I have only seen one source for this flashing change so am wondering if I should upgrade before flashing it to the 3049L or go directly to the 3049L?

09-16-2007, 02:52 PM	#2 (permalink)
Cellus Moderator Networking Team Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 2,664 OS: Windows Vista Business SP1, Windows XP Professional SP3 My System	Re: flashing modem firmware As a rule of thumb, if the firmware on a piece of hardware - any hardware - is running without issues (bugs, vulnerabilities, etc), you should not flash it. As Zoom's technical support recommends, you should not flash it as it can break what was already working. Unlike updating a piece of software on your PC, resetting a piece of hardware back to factory defaults because new firmware flunked out can be difficult due to a whole myriad of reasons. __________________ TSF Networking Team Virus/Trojan/Spyware Removal Help Donate!

09-16-2007, 11:29 PM	#3 (permalink)
geosman Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 54 OS: *nix	Re: flashing modem firmware Thanks for that suggestion. I am rather interested in knowing what unpleasant problems I can expect when flashing. Note the intent is to flash the 2949 to a 3049 (both use identical Lucent chips) since XP is refusing to accept the 2949L driver. I see that the 3049L is approved for XP by reading the HCL from M$. Since I am lead to believe that both use the identical chipset and others have performed this upgrade, I gather that should not be a problem. However, I have read that if for example one has a power failure during flashing that flashing back to the original 2949L is not possible. This puzzles me as I thought that flashing overwrote the chip. Could you highlight some aspects or point me to a quick read web site?