Some Safety Tips re. Hacking

[Stephanie]

I was going to add this to another thread, but after thinking it over, I figured that this deserves it's own spot, so hopefully more people will see it. I'm sure that experienced programmers/hackers will already be familiar with these, but for those who are just getting started, these are good rules to live/code/hack by.

 

The following are a list of tips and cautions, that can save a lot of grief and stress when it comes to modifying your navi.

 

#1 - Make A Backup!

Most of the hacks/mods revolve around the data.zip file. Make a backup to leave on your head unit (rename it data.bak or data-1.zip or whatever). Also, keep a pristine, untouched, original copy of it on your computer somewhere too. When it comes to backups, you can never have too many. Any other files you might be modifying (sys.txt, the colour scheme.zip files, etc) you should keep backed up. If you have the time, use a 2+ GB SD card and back up the whole nav unit, if you want to be extra safe.

 

#2 - Back Up Your Work!

Every time you edit or change a file, at the very minimum keep a copy of the last good working copy. In other words if you've eliminated the blue boxes already, but now you're editing data.zip to try and add a button or change a graphic etc, always keep a copy of the last version you were using. This way if things get messed up and your new project doesn't pan out you at least have a copy of the last known-good data.zip so you can restore to that.

 

#3 - One Thing At A Time!

I know it's a PITA to test every step, especially if you're working on a desktop then have to go out to the car, boot to testmode, copy the file, boot again, etc etc. It is very tempting to save time by doing several changes at once. The problem is that if you've made a mistake, you won't know which change has the problem. You will spend more time trying to figure out which thing blew up, than you would have by going one step at a time. The navi's error messages do not tell you which file have the error, and aren't even very good about telling you what the error was. "Expected " was the error I got once for omitting a " in one of the files.

 

#4 - Do Not Rush - Especially working in Testmode

The touch screen is very, well, touchy. It is not accurate. Even after several calibrations, it is not accurate. It is very easy, even navigating with the stylus, to slip or make a mistake. Try tapping on "APL2" and accidentally dropping it into "APL" and see what happens when you reboot. I'm kidding. Seriously do not try doing this.

 

#5 - Don't leave something half finished.

If you're a busy person, trying to squeeze in some Avic hacking between a bunch of other distractions, it's easy to forget what you're doing, or forget that you have not completed some minor step in a project. Coupled with the PITA of running out to the car to do each test, it is tempting (for me at least) to sometimes do some work on the files, copy them to the SD card, then set it aside till the end of the day or the next morning, before testing it. Now if it doesn't work, try and remember just what the hell did I change / was I testing? Couple that with trying to do 2 or 3 things at once, and it's another recipe for trouble.

 

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I've come up with these 5 tips because basically I've broken all of them except #1 at one time or another, and each one has come back to bite me in the behind at least once.

 

Other than #1, if you ignore just one of these tips, it probably won't spell disaster. Particularily if you follow #2 - that way when things go wrong, you can always revert to the last good version.

 

Ignore a few of these tips, and sooner or later you will find yourself with a navi that doesn't boot, constantly reboots, or runs but pitches errors all the time, while you aren't sure what you've done or where to start looking for the fix.

 

For me, it's usually after days and days of problem-free hacking, when I think I'm "almost done" and I just want to make "one last change" that I get sloppy, and I get careless. Then I make some silly little mistake, compounded with not bothering to keep my last 'good' file (after all, I never needed to revert for the last 6 changes) and then Pow! Something goes wrong and I get that sinking feeling.

 

Anyhow, hopefully others will learn from my experiences, and avoid their own sinking feelings.

 

Cheers!

[teksimian]

Cheers to this post

 

I'm not all too familiar with the CE platform, but if someone can find or recommend a CE backup solution (Something other than simply trying to copy the files over to the flash drive.), it would be very helpful, and far safer.

[chris0055]

I'm totally new to Pioneer Units.

 

Just put on X910 on my car and I'm about to start doing some simple mods.

This is exactly what I'm looking for. A nice helpful post that would keep

my units turning into a problematic unit.

 

Thanks