First of all, we're talking about the firmware for the C-Media USB interface chip - and NOT the main system firmware for the unit.
The first batch of XDA-2 Gen1 units built had a version of the USB interface chip firmware installed which was later found to be flawed - and occasionally caused some odd screeching noises..
We changed the firmware installed on future production units, and offered users who had purchased one of the units with the bad firmware, and who had experienced the problem, the option of updating the firmware themselves.
The firmware was clearly marked, indicating that it should only be installed by users who experienced the problems associated with the flawed version, and who had verified that their XDA-2 unit currently had the bad firmware installed.
On occasion, if Tech Support suspects that your XDA-2 Gen1 has corrupted USB firmware, we may recommend installing the update to see if reinstalling the firmware corrects the problem.
HOWEVER, we never recommended that working units should be upgraded.
THERE IS NO BENEFIT TO INSTALLING THIS UPDATE ON A WORKING UNIT.
There are two steps to the update process.
In the first step the current firmware installed on the USB chip is erased.
In the second step the new firmware is installed.
The updater program included with the update worked correctly on MOST Windows 7 and Windows 10.
However.....
- the Erase step always works; the step that installs the new version sometimes does not (and you may or may not get an error message)
- it is much more likely to be successful if you use a good quality, SHORT, USB 2.0 rated USB cable
- it is known NOT to work with Windows XP
- it has NOT been exhaustively tested on all versions of Windows 10
- it has NOT been tested on Windows 8.0 or Windows 8.1
- some computers, and some individual USB ports, simply do not work with the updater program (if that happens, then try another one)
- it almost certainly will NOT work on Apple computers running Boot Camp or Parallels
One of the most common symptoms of trying to run the update unsuccessfully is that you end up with no working USB firmware on your XDA-2.
Trying to run the update program on versions of Windows it doesn't work with often results in a successful Erase but an unsuccessful re-flash of the firmware.
If this happens, no permanent harm is done; simply run the installer on a different computer, running a compatible version of Windows, and it should work as intended.
If the USB input on your XDA-2 Gen1 was working correctly before the attempted update, just try it again with a different cable or computer, and you should be OK.
If the USB input on your XDA-2 Gen1, or the DAC itself, was NOT working properly before the update, then you may have some other problem (other problems could cause the update to fail).
If it was working before the update, try it again, on a computer running Windows 7 if possible, and you should be OK.
If you still can't get it to work - call in - and ask for Keith.
