badassgoat

haha.... well i just ordered the w204 last week p2 and MM...and i doing some thinkign bout how to get VIM.....the command and whoel MM system is run off of the HARD DRIVE.....know the way that i see this is..( i work in hoem audio and video theters etc) some of the HDDVD players and Blue Ray playes i sell have some locked features that can be unlocked with firmware upgrades....which is as simple as putting a dvd int he drive and pressing play.... know if i am correct there has to be some sort of operating system in the command....know what shoudl be needed is a firmware upgrade for the command operating system....know as i am good with electronics and computers this is out of my league.... i knwo there are soem of you guys out there....know if any body has any ideas id be happy to work with you in developing this so we can enjoy VIM....oh yeah and to all those haters for video in motion, dont read if your gonna bash my idea.... all interested feel free.....

Krytech

First, congrats on your car!

Second, It's certainly possible, but you do know that there are AM modules you can install yourself that enable this ability?

BTW, I'm sure this one guy is going to come in here and pimp his product that do this. It's just a matter of time

Savage c-300

your idea does make sense. if they were able to unlock the iphone, im sure someone can figure out how to unlock this feature using computer programing. we just need some computer science majors out there to do the work. it would be a lot easier/cheaper then buying the module.

hyukki

What's VIM?

AMGfan

Video In Motion...whatever you find out keep us posted...I just bought my wife a white C300 and VIM for my daughter would be great.

Krytech

I was thinking about this some more. I wonder if someone who works at a dealer could get us an image of a disc used for either updating the system or nav.

lx Raven xl

That might make sense. If there is such a disc. I am a programing expert but hacking a system which we do not have any knowledge of is almost impossibile. If you can get hold of such a disc which can update the MM system then yes there is a possibility to get something sorted out.

hyukki

Oh right.
I wish my G35 forum let us talk about VIM. It's forbidden.

badassgoat

k guys...sorry i was gone for a lil i wrote a few things that werent acceptable to the standards of the forum...so i apologize....but were back...wo come on guys...some one has to be able to do this.....can anyone get their hands 0on the operating system for the command???

tanktube67

when the dealer reflash a computer, it is done online

badassgoat

so wait....the ecm flash is from online?? it doesnt make sense why theyd do it that way...theres gotta be a way that we can get our hands on the program....or maybee they can do the vim mod through tthe reflash with a lil incentive

badassgoat

im goin to do an early trade in today. ill se if i can talk to my salesman

XJ9

feature changes are done using online data but the actual software updates are done using special CD's or DVD's. this is what the 204 firmware header file looks like:

And yes the HU can be reflashed to remove the VIM restriction; I know of at least one developer that is working this approach and has demonstrated the ability to reflash current model HU's with modified firmware but they are hesitant to release the updates for 2 reasons: (1) The update would be modified mercedes code and therfore subject to IP ownership issues. and (2) Any modified code released on a CD would be easily copied so there is less incentive to do the initial work if few copies would be sold.

That leaves the most likely approach as being a community effort to reverse-engineer the command firmware. New commands use a dedicated System-On--Chip (SOC) as well as a custom FPGA to handle Video decoding and run a RTOS.

Anyone out there with experience in reverse engineering embedded systems?

Stiggs

My head just exploded!

badassgoat

no i wish i did have experience in reverse engineering embedded systems... so technically i could try to get my tech at the dealership to reflash the system....well w/e im willing to do w/e i can to help.... if you can get me the program for it i can talk to my cousin and see if he can hes got a masters from MIT for video game programmin gtype of stuff....i think we should try to get as many people as we can to help in any way.... when i take care of my girlfriends nieces and nephews itll save my assto throw on a movie and let them watch

badassgoat

any one??? i been trying...no luck yet a dim nto payign another grand to get a bypass done

cbrdash

While I do a lot of application development, none has been on embedded systems. That said, it seams like it would be a lot simpler to remove the command head unit all together and replace it with a carputer (car pc). I just picked up my 04 500 clk and have not been overly impressed with the command HU. Limitations such as no Bluetooth integrations, etc... I think that you can fit a microATX mother board (with all the fixings) in the glove compartment where the cd changer is. This would give you the most flexible option with out the IP issues and problems with hacking and then supporting a new firmware. Just my 35 cents.

RLE

This all sounds like a post Super Bowl party with ten empty pitchers on the table.

micropower99

It's all talk but never any game. People always saying to modify the OS, open up the circuit boards..etc but in the end no one's going to do it. There either going to buy the VIM module which barely fits back there or will find a way to simply activate it using the STAR system.

theinmoe

Patching the OS with updated VIM value is another option. Same manufacturer MELCO head unit in other forum.
http://www.mitsubishiforum.com/m_222.../tm.htm#238477

glw

i have never done this in a car audio system, but have in other microprocessor based device like laser printers (many years ago). microprocessor based equipment has not changed much but reverse engineering tools may have.

in any case, all you need to do is take the rom chip from the head unit that has the boot code in it and put it in a reader. then capture the data from the chip and store on your pc. then just disassemble/decompile the captured data into readable source code... knowing the processor type is important during the disassemble/decompile phase. this will let you know if the operating system is on disk or on chip. then you would use similar technologies to reverse engineer the code on the disk or chip so that programs could be written to modify them...

obviously, it makes a lot of sense to write a data dump/backup utility first so that if something gets screwed up you can put it back...

as was mentioned in another post, the legality of this may be questionable...

update: if nothing else, someone could take the hard drive out of their head unit and plug it into their pc and see what's there... chances are some useful information can be had...

maddog3xx8

any other news... im digg'n this thread... im sure this can be done... we just need a few test dummies to start... lets get this party started!!

kaku

On the same note, anyone know if it's possible to upgrade the hard drive?

Would be nice to replace the standard 40gb drive witha 1.5tb one..

theinmoe

HD in COMAND is extreme temperatures drive made by Toshiba, Seagate has equvalent one with 80GB max. No 1.5TB now yet

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/pro...Series_5400.2/

kaku

How hard is it to swap the drives?

And after which, how do you transfer the firmware/software?