the ebay guy says to ground the parking brake and put a switch to turn of the GPS att. Popups still let you know it's a bad install. no nav this way.

I have an early model Z1 (not updated for bluetooth). Here's what I'm thinking...

1- Unlock HDD, make a backup image

2- Upgrade Bluetooth, make another image

3- Load Z2 image on HDD.

Do a file difference mapping between the three images to see what changed between 1 and 2 and again in 3. Then with either the Z1->Z2 upgrade disc (which I fully intend to purchase anyway) or the bluetooth disc, see if there is a script that can be modified to load the file of our choosing (probably from 2, sorry DB) and send out that bypass image to the masses (shouldn't be more than a few megs, I assume). Figuring out which file to replace is a major part of the battle though.

I'm willing to undertake this project, as much as I hate to rip out my unit and bench test when everything is working pretty well right now. One thing I'm going to need from the community is an unadulterated Z2 image. If a current owner could send that to me (PM me and we can work out a large file transfer), I'll get to work on this. I have a lot of free time as of late

Hyperite, I will try to make a image of the Z2 i have tomorrow. If i can get it unlocked and working i will post tomorrow.

deleted post

See if nav.exe is same file in each image (file size, check sum), if it is not same file, then I would assume that everything is encoded in nav. exe file. And don't worry about flash memory, it must contain OS only.

Just to be sure, has anybody had an issue running a restored backup image on the ORIGINAL hard drive? I know there have been problems restoring to a new drive.

And don't worry about flash memory, it must contain OS only.

Wrong answer! Wasn't it ltl2007, or ducatiboy that said a couple of days ago that you could run the unit without the hard drive??

That means that the flash memory has more than just the O.S. on it. It also has the navigation software on it. If it didn't have navigation software on it, then the unit wouldn't show your position if the hard drive was removed. It would only be able to boot the O.S.. The hard drive is for user preferences and log files, and music storage.

A few of you have some good ideas about where the problem lies, but, unfortunately, you are making a few assumptions about the system that will hinder your progress. Consider these to points, they counter the false assumptions I see being made here.

1. You can't just look at the hard drive, and not the flash memory module. The flash memory has the OS, and the Navigation application on it.

2. Don't assume that the preferences haven't changed along with the navigation software.

The Z1 hack changed with software updates. It was the flashing light method, then it was grounding some wires, etc.. Why do you think that there was a preference that has always been there that *enabled* DVD playing while driving? If you are going back to looking at what user files changed, then that is in essence what you are doing. You are assuming that in addition to the flashing lights, or the pull-up resistors, that there was also a preference or something enabling those other hardware hacks to work. I would guess is that some sort of preference that hasn't been around before needs to be *added* to a user preference file or something similar.

If you don't swap the flash memory, you will not be swapping the navigation software, and your hard drive experiments will not bear fruit because you are working on a hack for the Z1 navigation software.

And don't worry about flash memory, it must contain OS only.

 

Wrong answer! Wasn't it ltl2007, or ducatiboy that said a couple of days ago that you could run the unit without the hard drive??

 

That means that the flash memory has more than just the O.S. on it. It also has the navigation software on it. If it didn't have navigation software on it, then the unit wouldn't show your position if the hard drive was removed. It would only be able to boot the O.S.. The hard drive is for user preferences and log files, and music storage.

only the radio and back up camera work with no hard drive, if I remember correctly.

Can anyone out there unlock the Z2 hard drive and view its contents??

Someone said it has log files in there.

Looking at a log file can give clues as to how to get what we want out of the system.

Can someone start playing a DVD with the following conditions:

1 The engine running,

2 The Parking Brake on

3 The car is outside with a clear view of the sky and is calculating a position of the automobile.

Next Let out the parking brake.

Wait for 30 to 60 seconds.

Next, put the car in gear, and drive slowly down the street at less than 5mph.

Next, after doing this for 30 to 60 seconds, accelerate to normal speeds.

After a minute or two, power down the AVIC Z2.

Next, remove the hard drive, and unlock it.

Show us the log files.

I want to hopefully see a log file entry saying something like, "DVD Playing". "Parking Brake disengaged", "Speed, 2 mph", "Speed 25mph", etc.. I also want to see at what point the log file might say something like, "Conflict, vehicle in motion, lockoutOverride=false, switching to Navigation mode only."

If we can see any kind of logic from the log file, we might learn something. That logic might also give us a clue to what we need to change to make things work. For instance, if it really says something like, "lockoutOverride=false", then it might be worth trying to put a line like, "lockoutOverride=true" in the preference file.

I'm making an assumption that might not be true but I hope it is, that the software hack should be somthing that is easy to set.

It seems that we don't have enough information yet as to where this hack needs to be.

The hack can be in one of two places:

1. In the navigation software on the flash memory

2. On the hard drive in a user preference file.

If it is in the Navigation software, then that is going to be a very difficult thing to patch.

I'm assuming and hoping it is in a preference file on the hard drive.

To do that, I would like to see someone post one of those preference files on from the hard drive to this board.

There is no need at this point to be swapping images and file between the Z1 and Z2. We don't have enough visibility yet as to what the solution is.

If someone can post some of what is on the Z2 hard drive, that would be very useful!

only the radio and back up camera work with no hard drive, if I remember correctly.

This is what ltl2007 had to say about this on page 8.

nateair, [...] You can take the HDD out and push down the sensor switch for it and the Z1 or Z2 will still boot up.

Did you push down the sensor switch as described by ltl2007??

Hey guys ive been reading all your post. Yes it was me that said it will still boot without the HDD in. I was doing that on my test bench, not a car. I havent yet done it in my car. Maybe later today i can give it a try. anywho, the unit does still bootup. so we know, like some of you guys have agreed, we cant overlook the flash memory. im going to try to unlock the Z2 HD in my car today as well.

o ya, and if u dont push down the switch the screen wont even come on

Ok i tried the Z2 in car with no HD. there is actually 2 switches that need to be pushed. there is one under the HD that needs to be pushed down, and the other one is pushed back by the HD cover that screws in. I taped both down to simulate a HD in place. Whatever source the Z2 was on before I took out the HD, it stayed on. A screen appeared and said "HDD is Unusable". i could hear whatever source i was on in the background. The rearview cam didnt work. I could change tracks on a cd, or radio station, or xm, but the screen stayed the same. My 2.5" HDD to 3.5" adapter isnt working today, so im going to get a new one tomorrow and get the HD in my Z2 unlocked and imaged. Thanks for all your input and if you have any particualr questions or things you want me to try, let me know.

Maybe we are going about this wrong, we are looking for a code that will basically say

If MPH is > 5 then lockout x. (x being the POI or dvd or whatever)

Instead of trying to hack the drive and change that MPH limit to 200, in that same area of code there should be something along the lines of

Else Rx3 = unlock x. (Rx3 would be the equivilant to flashing your headlights 3 times or whatever the bypass will be this time)

Again, just a thought, Im thinking about this whenever i get a chance, and trying to come up with something new. Thanks for tuning in.

At this point would it not be easier to get a potentiometer with a huge amount of turns and reset after say a quarter turn instead of swapping out resistors?

 

Yes, but not everyone has those lying around... most shops would have a pack of resistors or so. Someone also brought up a decade box, but those are a bit more scarce.

 

Either way works.

I have a "PAC" POI-AVIC Demo Module box here at work and it reads a .018vdc (GREEN to GROUND wire) at the green wire if this helps. Connections on the box is:

RED: 12vdc

BLACK: grnd

BLUE/WHITE: remote+

GREEN: park brake input to deck

At this point would it not be easier to get a potentiometer with a huge amount of turns and reset after say a quarter turn instead of swapping out resistors?

 

Yes, but not everyone has those lying around... most shops would have a pack of resistors or so. Someone also brought up a decade box, but those are a bit more scarce.

 

Either way works.

 

I have a "PAC" POI-AVIC Demo Module box here at work and it reads a .018vdc (GREEN to GROUND wire) at the green wire if this helps. Connections on the box is:

 

RED: 12vdc

BLACK: grnd

BLUE/WHITE: remote+

GREEN: park brake input to deck

That module isn't really going to do any good. All it does is apply a ground to the parking brake wire a couple seconds after the unit loads.

I have a "PAC" POI-AVIC Demo Module box here at work and it reads a .018vdc (GREEN to GROUND wire) at the green wire if this helps.

That's something I haven't heard of. What is this device, I poked around on Pac's site and found nothing. Do you have any more information on it? I would want to see what they claim it does before I see anything else. It sounds like the parking brake is grounded, which if that's all that it is, won't work. If it's for another Avic, wasn't there ones that needed the parking brake grounded a few seconds after it was powered up?

It was for display boards. Its basically a parking brake simulator for ground on-off-on. Pioneer had them made by PAC and gave them out to dealers so that the D and N series could be used in demo boards. To use demo mode, watch movies in the boards, make adjustments, ect. it needed to see the parking brake go on-off-on.

P.S. It was also a handy piece to buy from PAC if you wanted a simple piece to bypass the AVHP5700DVD or 6800DVD or a few other models without a switch. But as PAC says, for "marine use only"

 

That's something I haven't heard of. What is this device, I poked around on Pac's site and found nothing. Do you have any more information on it? I would want to see what they claim it does before I see anything else. It sounds like the parking brake is grounded, which if that's all that it is, won't work. If it's for another Avic, wasn't there ones that needed the parking brake grounded a few seconds after it was powered up?

It was for display boards. Its basically a parking brake simulator for ground on-off-on. Pioneer had them made by PAC and gave them out to dealers so that the D and N series could be used in demo boards. To use demo mode, watch movies in the boards, make adjustments, ect. it needed to see the parking brake go on-off-on.

 

P.S. It was also a handy piece to buy from PAC if you wanted a simple piece to bypass the AVHP5700DVD or 6800DVD or a few other models without a switch. But as PAC says, for "marine use only"

 

 

 

That's something I haven't heard of. What is this device, I poked around on Pac's site and found nothing. Do you have any more information on it? I would want to see what they claim it does before I see anything else. It sounds like the parking brake is grounded, which if that's all that it is, won't work. If it's for another Avic, wasn't there ones that needed the parking brake grounded a few seconds after it was powered up?

yeah you can do the same thing with the ptr7 or tr7 . you just do the alpine bypass and do not hook up the blue wire because theres no fotbrake input on the pioneer like the alpine. but the pause in between the footbrake output is enough to make a avhp work.

Hey guys. Just some more info regarding the Z2 bypass stuff. I got a brand new Z2 in today. I read from another member that the HD's in the Z1 and Z2 arent locked until the first boot. I manually folded the screen down and removed the hard drive, and plugged it into my adapter. Unfortunately, it was locked. I have a feeling that Pioneer does either a burn in or a software upload or just a function check before they ship them out, which would count as the first boot. Anywho, that was my Z2 experience today.

I know, but these things were a twenty second install, didn't require any programming, and the best part is, they were free...As long as the Pioneer guy had some

 

yeah you can do the same thing with the ptr7 or tr7 . you just do the alpine bypass and do not hook up the blue wire because theres no fotbrake input on the pioneer like the alpine. but the pause in between the footbrake output is enough to make a avhp work.

Hey guys. Just some more info regarding the Z2 bypass stuff. I got a brand new Z2 in today. I read from another member that the HD's in the Z1 and Z2 arent locked until the first boot. I manually folded the screen down and removed the hard drive, and plugged it into my adapter. Unfortunately, it was locked. I have a feeling that Pioneer does either a burn in or a software upload or just a function check before they ship them out, which would count as the first boot. Anywho, that was my Z2 experience today.

Someone here was thinking that since pioneer put in a way to relock the hard drive when it is inserted and the unit is booted up that the drives probably come unlocked and pioneer is letting the avic lock the drive on first boot up. I did not think it was the case. Seems weird they would go through all the security procedures and when they image their drives they left out the locking part. I would assume that Pioneer has a machine that is used to clone drives and pump them out at a rapid rate, and the last step in that cloning procedure would be to lock the drives. If we unlock them and re-insert them into an avic then it re-locks.

Hey guys. Just some more info regarding the Z2 bypass stuff. I got a brand new Z2 in today. I read from another member that the HD's in the Z1 and Z2 arent locked until the first boot. I manually folded the screen down and removed the hard drive, and plugged it into my adapter. Unfortunately, it was locked. I have a feeling that Pioneer does either a burn in or a software upload or just a function check before they ship them out, which would count as the first boot. Anywho, that was my Z2 experience today.

 

Someone here was thinking that since pioneer put in a way to relock the hard drive when it is inserted and the unit is booted up that the drives probably come unlocked and pioneer is letting the avic lock the drive on first boot up. I did not think it was the case. Seems weird they would go through all the security procedures and when they image their drives they left out the locking part. I would assume that Pioneer has a machine that is used to clone drives and pump them out at a rapid rate, and the last step in that cloning procedure would be to lock the drives. If we unlock them and re-insert them into an avic then it re-locks.

I am going to play dumb here but didnt have a sticky for that? where you can "unlock" your drive and disable the sercurity on it preventing future locking? I did that as a precaution so I have a image of the drive for the bluetooth update

I am going to play dumb here but didnt have a sticky for that? where you can "unlock" your drive and disable the sercurity on it preventing future locking? I did that as a precaution so I have a image of the drive for the bluetooth update

Yes there is a sticky on how to do that. But ltl2007 thought that you might be able to pull the drive out before turning it on and it would be unlocked from the factory. The sticky is for unlocking a locked hard drive. ltl2007 found the same thing we thought a while ago, that it comes locked from the factory.

Still waiting on someone to get a Z2 image to me...