[Not technically possible] Firmware extraction

Discussions related to the firmware code development
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NR5ON
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:17 pm

[Not technically possible] Firmware extraction

Post by NR5ON » Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:42 pm

Looking for help to extract the factory firmware from a radio to allow restoring it if desired. For most this is not an issue because the factory firmware is available for download. However, this is not always the case. The dealer also was unable to provide the factory firmware. If this is a difficult task, then it is not worthwhile, but would be good to have.
Thanks,
NR5ON

VK3KYY
Posts: 7475
Joined: Sat Nov 16, 2019 3:25 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: [Not technically possible] Firmware extraction

Post by VK3KYY » Tue Apr 06, 2021 1:41 am

NR5ON wrote:
Mon Apr 05, 2021 9:42 pm
Looking for help to extract the factory firmware from a radio to allow restoring it if desired. For most this is not an issue because the factory firmware is available for download. However, this is not always the case. The dealer also was unable to provide the factory firmware. If this is a difficult task, then it is not worthwhile, but would be good to have.
Thanks,
NR5ON
I've never heard of a radio which had a feature to allow the firmware to be extracted.

For all the Ham radios where alternative firmware can be loaded, including the MD380 etc, the original firmware was never extracted directly from the radio.

The encrypted firmware update files were cracked, to remove the encrtion and access the raw machine code of the firmware, rather than it being extracted.

In the case of the MD-380 there was a bug in the firmware bootloader, which allowed part of the bootloader to be read out of the radio, but I don't think that it allowed the entire firmware to be read.

But this loophole was closed by the radio manufacturers many years ago, and in the GD-77 etc, it was never posible to read either the firmware bootloader or the main firmware.

The feature to read the MCU ROM in the OpenGD77CPS, requires the radio to already have the OpenGD77 firmware installed, thus erasing the official firmware.
The reason for the MCU ROM backup feature in the OpenGD77CPS / OpenGD77 firmware is to retrieve the bootloader and also the hardware lock bytes used by the official firmware in a useless attempt to prevent the firmware being copied.
Its not a way to extract the official firmware from the GD-77 or any other radio.

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