HARDWARE		DOWNLOADS		MISCELLANEOUS

				FLASHING

Flashing program for Nokia DCT-3 phones

"Nokia DCT3 flasher by Rolis" application

CAUTION: Trying to modify the built-in firmware of a mobile phone may render it practically unrepairable. This applies especially to phones that do not have a separate EEPROM chip for settings and calibrations (e.g. most Nokia 3xxx phones). Before trying to update the flash memory, you need to understand the functions of your flashing program and the whole flashing process, including any checksum updates required. NuukiaWorld does not give any support in flashing-related questions.

Flashing needs also special software, which may be difficult to find. It is also slightly risky to test all potential flashing problems because if they fail, they may render your phone corrupted. In case of phone without a separate EEPROM chip, invalid flashing program may damage the phone-specific calibration data and settings, too.

Obtaining the software

I have tested a program called "Nokia DCT3 flasher by Rolis ver 4.79 (build 001)". It reads and writes the flash fine at least with my Nokia 6110. The program is not available for downloading here in the NuukiaWorld. Search the Internet for it. It is included for example in a package called rolis479.zip.

The functions you need for flashing are "Read Flash", "Write Flash", "SFR", and "Update FAID". The program have also many other functions, e.g. unlocking, but I have not used them. So be careful when playing around the program. It may be fatal for your phone!

Windows NT®, 2000, and XP

Rolis' program should work on Windows® 98 and ME directly. However, I am using Windows® XP, and it is not so simple. The application does not include a kernel-mode driver for Windows NT®-based platforms — the parallel port cannot be accessed directly but direct access is required for using the Dejan's flashing cable.

The solution is to use a third-party I/O port driver which can grant the direct access to the LPT1 parallel port. There are a few such programs available. However, the well-known driver called "UserPort" seem not to work reliably (at least I could not make it to work). Instead of it, use a program called "AllowIO", which is included in a package "PortTalk" by Beyond Logic.

To use Rolis' flasher on Windows NT®, 2000, or XP, you need to start it using the AllowIO program. In the directory where you have unzipped the PortTalk package, execute command:

AllowIo.exe /a NKFlasher479b001.exe (include path if the flasher program is not in the same folder)

This command automatically installs the PortTalk kernel-mode driver and then starts the Rolis' flashing program granting it free access to all I/O ports. I suggest you to create a shortcut that executes this command to simplify starting the flashing program. You should start the flashing program always using this shortcut — if you start it directly, its flashing features not work.

Note: For the best stability of your system, you should grant free access only to the LPT1 I/O registers. However, using /a is the simplest way and anyway, I recommend you not to do these flashing things on a mission-critical workstation.

Flashing functions

As said earlier, the functions you need for flashing are "Read Flash", "Write Flash", "SFR", and "Update FAID". They are used for the following things:

You should be very sure what you are doing when using the Flash — Write... function. In some phones, e.g. Nokia 3310, 3330, 5510, 6210, 6250, 7110, 8210, 8250, 8290, 8850, and 8890, the phone settings and calibrations are stored in the same FLASH chip in area called "EEPROM". You must never overwrite the settings area, otherwise the phone may become practically unrepairable. The only exception is writing back a backup that has been read earlier from the exactly same phone.

3.1.2006 nuukiaworld@gmail.com
No email support or answers to technical questions.