Magic Lantern Forum

Using Magic Lantern => General Help Q&A => Duplicate Questions => Topic started by: t0m on June 02, 2013, 02:17:19 AM

Title: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: t0m on June 02, 2013, 02:17:19 AM
Hey there,
I've tryed the latest ML on my 5D mk III and now I wanted to disable the bootdisk flag to use my Eye-Fi Card again.
But all ways describing to disable the flag doesnt work with the 5D mk III.
When I go to the firmware update tab and run it, just the normal dialog appears, not the ML Screen where I can disable the flag.

Is there any way to disable the bootdisk flag on my 5D mk III?

Help please!
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Audionut on June 02, 2013, 03:10:20 AM
Run a Canon firmware update (on the card with ML installed) to remove the bootflag.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: a1ex on June 02, 2013, 09:05:15 AM
Nope, that won't remove the bootflag.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Audionut on June 02, 2013, 09:09:21 AM
So it would have to be done via EOScard/MacBoot?

The FAQ (http://wiki.magiclantern.fm/faq#how_do_i_uninstall_it) needs updating.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: a1ex on June 02, 2013, 09:20:43 AM
I need to prepare a special FIR. Short answer: call("DisableBootDisk")

but you really have to double-check that you are not in LiveView (and people managed to go there during first install despite all my double-checks).
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: t0m on June 02, 2013, 11:51:32 AM
So, in fact, there is nothing I can do at the moment?

Or I don't understand your advice with the LiveView... Is there anything I can do myself now? Or just wait if there is a way?
Sorry, but I'm new into this ML stuff.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: a1ex on June 02, 2013, 12:16:52 PM
Just wait.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: pumpkin on June 03, 2013, 05:12:17 PM
I also would be happy with a possibility to remove the bootflag.
But I've got another problem:
After installing ML on my 5D III for testing, I formatted my SD-card and updated to Firmware 1.2.1 because I had a shooting at the weekend.
I noticed that the camera took 2-3 seconds for starting, even if it was in standby during "auto power off" an I pressed the release button. First I thought the camera was turned off but I noticed that it was really slow at startup.
I'm not really sure if the bootflag is the problem but I think it could be possible that the camera takes some time searching for ML at SD-card.

But don't feel stressed, I can turn the "auto power off" off if necessary.

Cheers, Björn
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: scrax on June 03, 2013, 11:58:13 PM
Quote from: Audionut on June 02, 2013, 09:09:21 AM
The FAQ (http://wiki.magiclantern.fm/faq#how_do_i_uninstall_it) needs updating.
that is for 2.3, not alpha versions
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Danne on June 04, 2013, 12:33:42 AM
Now I know why my camera is mr slomo when I start it ;). Takes about two seconds, pretty similar to my first digital slr, the eos 300D ;). But what the hey. It now has rawmovie capabilities instead. 
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: hjfilmspeed on June 05, 2013, 12:35:59 AM
Hopefully there will be and option in the future to disable boot disk. As much as I love ML i would also like the option to upgrade to public or stable versions of ML when there released.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: t0m on June 19, 2013, 12:48:13 PM
Any News on that Topic?
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: jafa on June 20, 2013, 10:02:00 AM
Quote from: a1ex on June 02, 2013, 09:20:43 AM
I need to prepare a special FIR. Short answer: call("DisableBootDisk")

but you really have to double-check that you are not in LiveView (and people managed to go there during first install despite all my double-checks).

Could you expand some more on this subject , ive not as yet installed A3 on my 5d but I was close when I started to read speradic posts from people saying that they were unable to remove the bootflag on - part of the Ml install , is this due to an instalation error on their  part or is this part of the alpha which is being worked on ?

Cheers
Jafa
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Kent on June 21, 2013, 09:35:52 PM
Maybe I'm totally out in the blue now. But A1ex and all the other guys are developing ML in their spare time, this means that they are doing this for fun and are dedicated to make something better with their own Canon equipment.
There is a lot of people that installs ML on their expensive cameras without reading the documentation that explains the risks. Why should the ML developers spend their spare time on people that are to lazy to read the documentation.
And I Believe that A1ex is giving a clue with his statement: Short answer: call("DisableBootDisk")
This call is to a function in the Canon firmware not to ML code, if you are scared, you can allways go to a Canon service center to reset the bootflag.
If you are a developer put this call into your own build of ML and you will reset the bootflag.
I have done it and it's works fine.
And remember, in the documentation it says in "RED" that you should be a Developer to run this version of ML and if you're not,, stay away.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: nanomad on June 21, 2013, 09:46:52 PM
The thing is, we know what happens if you somehow manage to bypass the enable boot flag safety checks and corrupt the boot flag area. You'll have to re-flash canon stock firmware to go back to normality.

What we don't know is: what happens if the DisableBootDisk call fails on the 5D3?...Will a firmware upgrade fix it? Will it make the camera non-operational?

In the end, it's better safe than sorry.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Kent on June 21, 2013, 10:03:56 PM
Totally agree with nanomad, if you dont want to take a risk, please be patient and wait for a official ML release or go to your Canon service center to reset the bootflag , but remember your Camera's original functionality is not depending on the ML developers.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: t0m on June 24, 2013, 10:16:53 AM
I can only talk for me, but it wasn't my intension to blame anyone!

It's only that I wan't to disable the bootflag and as there is obviously a function doing this (like in all other versions of ML over the time) I thought I can handle this. I failed, I learned. But I'm not able to call or implement that function on my own and I don't have the chance to easily go to a canon service.

It seams to be no big deal for a developer to disable the bootflag again as I read it here... that's what makes me asking... but i totally understand if it isn't risk free to implement or provide it.
If I have to be patient, no problem. It was my fault, that's fair.
I just wanted to ask if there is a soloution in near reach...
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: jkells on July 11, 2013, 11:50:02 PM
I'm in Tom's boat - I know I know, I'm sorry for being born. If anyone in here forgives me, I'll paypal them $20/hour to talk me through any of this over the phone.

Specifically, I had successfully installed the first version of the ML firmware that allows RAW video on my Mark III. I installed it correctly, and it was working well (most of the time). After a while, recording routinely jammed up after 30 frames and stopped. So I figured I'd try the latest version (yes the one that warned me a thousand times of the risks).

Stupidly, I trashed all files on the SD cards on which I had originally installed the first version of the firmware. I trashed them from my card reader/laptop, I reformatted them on the camera, probably did everything I'm not supposed to do. Somehow I managed to get to a point where all my SD cards, when inserted, cause the camera to remain dead when I switch the camera on. Only when I remove the SD card, turn on the camera, pop battery out and back in, do I get any juice. This is just to get the camera turned on, without an SD card in it. Shutting it back off, inserting an SD card, and turning it back on brings me back to a dead camera, and then I have to remove the SD again and repeat process - just to get it powered up.

Is there any way for me to get past this problem and to where I'm able to install and use the latest version of the ML RAW feature? Again, I'm a moron, I know, and I apologize for taking up space in this world. If anyone out here sympathizes or is even just willing to counsel me on this for $20/hour (or just name your price), I will be eternally grateful, give you my sister, kiss your feet, like your facebook fan page, whatever you want.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Danne on July 12, 2013, 12:09:23 AM
Try to format your cards on a computer. To Fat32. Should erase the bootflag on the cards and get everything to normal. Don,t think the bootflag on your camera will get disabled though.
Then do the same old procedure as before. Boot a card and put magic lantern on it. As always, at your own risk.
//D
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: jkells on July 12, 2013, 03:06:08 AM
This great guy from Youtube named Charlie helped me out. The issue has a lot to do with 32GB SD cards being too large for the firmware. I went out and purchased an 8GB SD card and lo and behold the install worked and the firmware is functioning properly. What a relief. Camera is turning on normally now, everything seems to be fine. Thanks for listening to me cry, everyone.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: gybra on August 25, 2013, 11:44:40 AM
QuoteThis great guy from Youtube named Charlie helped me out. The issue has a lot to do with 32GB SD cards being too large for the firmware. I went out and purchased an 8GB SD card and lo and behold the install worked and the firmware is functioning properly. What a relief. Camera is turning on normally now, everything seems to be fine.

So were you able to remove ML fully? Will we be able to upgrade to a stable version once released? Thankyou for everything, love you guys!
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: rwh on September 03, 2013, 03:33:23 PM
Kicking myself for not noticing that the bootflag is not disablable, I guess I just got too excited by the prospect of ML on my 5d3.  Serves me right for using Charlie Locke and Dave Dugdale on YouTube as my documentation source as they didn't mention it.  Anyway, ML is awesome for video, I particularly wanted focus peaking because I find focusing a real pain. It's already looking amazingly polished on the 5d3.

The only problem this causes me is an increase in the restore-from-sleep time from .1s to 1s, which is a pain (as I'm mainly a stills shooter) but can be lived with (in the hopes that one day we'll be able to disable the boot flag).  That day has not yet come though, as far as I can tell.  The fact that you can enable/disable the boot flag on other cameras gives me hope. ;)
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Steven on September 05, 2013, 02:58:31 PM
There definitely should be a warning in the threads for 5D3 that the camera boot up time changes if ML is installed!
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: ronl on September 05, 2013, 04:55:32 PM
From what I have read, currently, there is no way to disable the BootDisk flag on the 5Dmk3.  I am not sure if its currently under investigation either.  This delay at startup or restarting from sleep mode may not affect every 5Dmk3 user but I suspect it affects action shooters.  If you are shooting an event, and need to switch cards, you need to aware that the camera won't be responsive for at least 2 seconds after the card switch or if the camera went into sleep mode.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: RenatoPhoto on September 05, 2013, 07:52:14 PM
Just dont use an SD card and the camera will be up very quickly without ML.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: ronl on September 05, 2013, 09:31:18 PM
Hi Renato:

Thanks for the reply.  Would you happen to know how long the startup time is now assuming you have no SD card inserted and the CF card is not bootable?
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: RenatoPhoto on September 06, 2013, 12:23:05 AM
I dont know how to measure this time accurately but from my camera 5D3 test I guess is more than 1 second and less than 2 seconds.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: rwh on September 06, 2013, 05:29:37 PM
I just did some tests just using a stopwatch, so accuracy is probably plus or minus 200ms or so.  As far as I can tell the resume from sleep and switching the camera on using the on/off switch take the same amount of time.  I'm measuring from shutter press or turn-on to when the AF points appear in the viewfinder.  The penalty for having the boot flag enabled in both cases seems to be just over 1 full second.  So as far as I can tell, the breakdown of approx load time is:
So the lion's share of the time penalty seems to be in simply having the boot flag enabled.

Here are the actual trials I did:

with card sleep
1.74
with card switch
1.74
no card sleep
1.31
no card switch
1.22
1.20
1.29
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Trent on September 13, 2013, 01:40:36 AM
Hi,

I know this thread has been going for a while, but I wanted to verify something and see if perhaps any progress had been made.

I'm running a recent build of Magic Lantern with Raw recording on my 5D Mark III.  Since loading it, I cannot use Eye-Fi cards in my camera (either 8 or 16 gig cards).

The behavior is just what people here have described when trying to use SD cards- once the SD card is inserted, the camera freezes and won't operate until the card is removed and the battery is removed and re-inserted.

My understanding is that this is because of the boot flag issue.  I know a1ex has said that he has to write something to deal with the boot flag issue and that we're waiting on that.  But I wanted to know if anyone had found either a work around or a way to re-install the 5dm3 firmware to remove the boot flag.

I actually contacted my Cannon dealer and asked them to flash my camera and they declined.  I think I'm going to have to do more to get them to look at the camera.

My real questions is the following:  until this boot flag issue is resolved, are Eye Fi cards unusable in the 5dm3?  Or might someone have found a workaround?

I'd be grateful for any information anyone has on this issue.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: rwh on September 17, 2013, 12:59:12 PM
As far as I know, everything you say is correct.  My understanding is that currently the only way to disable the bootflag on a 5D3 is to have the mainboard replaced by Canon, which costs around £400.

And yes, EyeFi cards are unusable in a boot-flag enabled 5D3.

I understand that it is on a1ex's list, and I suspect that it'd be a requirement before they do a mainstream release, so I think it will be fixed eventually.  Whether that would be this year or next (or the next), I'm not sure.  From reading between the lines I think this might be because in order to test the necessary code, you're risking bricking your camera (which would mean you'd need that mainboard replacement).

I'm no expert though, I'm just interested in this the same as you. ;)
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Trent on September 17, 2013, 10:26:04 PM
Thanks very much for your response.

I confess, though, that's a rather unhappy state of affairs, as I'd previously thought that, worst case, Canon could flash the camera firmware and I'd simply start over again with the original firmware.

This is the first I've heard that a hardware solution would be required, which seems a bit strange since the ML firmware is just changed a bit of the 5dm3 firmware.  It's not as if the mainboard became damaged by the ML firmware, right?

I'd love it if someone could confirm whether having Canon flash the camera would disable the bootflag and remove this issue.

Again, I know this is my own doing as I chose to load the ML firmware, etc.. I'm just interested in a solution- if one might be out there.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: rwh on September 19, 2013, 02:55:27 PM
Quote from: Trent on September 17, 2013, 10:26:04 PM
I confess, though, that's a rather unhappy state of affairs, as I'd previously thought that, worst case, Canon could flash the camera firmware and I'd simply start over again with the original firmware.
This is the first I've heard that a hardware solution would be required, which seems a bit strange since the ML firmware is just changed a bit of the 5dm3 firmware.  It's not as if the mainboard became damaged by the ML firmware, right?
Right.  It's not damaged.  But as far as I can tell, the bootflag area is in a different location than where the camera's firmware is stored.  So simply reflashing the firmware won't restore it to its default state.

Quote from: Trent on September 17, 2013, 10:26:04 PM
I'd love it if someone could confirm whether having Canon flash the camera would disable the bootflag and remove this issue.
I don't know.  That depends on whether the factory has the ability to flash the bootflag area.  I'm sure someone on here knows.

Quote from: Trent on September 17, 2013, 10:26:04 PM
Again, I know this is my own doing as I chose to load the ML firmware, etc.. I'm just interested in a solution- if one might be out there.
The solution is for someone to develop a .FIR file that will allow disabling the bootflag.  It's not like it's impossible, it just has to be done by someone, and done in such a way that it's unlikely to brick peoples' cameras.  From what I can tell from looking at the documentation and source code, this would involve decompiling the bootloader to assembler, finding the address of the DisableBootDisk function, and then developing a .FIR that is capable of calling it.  I'm not an ML developer though, so I have no idea how easy this would be.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: rwh on September 19, 2013, 03:01:33 PM
Further to what I said above, it looks like you need to check that the camera isn't in LiveView mode before you disable the bootflag, though I'm not sure why (I assume bad stuff happens).  See a1ex's comment:
Quote from: a1ex on June 02, 2013, 09:20:43 AM
I need to prepare a special FIR. Short answer: call("DisableBootDisk")

but you really have to double-check that you are not in LiveView (and people managed to go there during first install despite all my double-checks).
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Trent on September 20, 2013, 01:50:52 AM
Thanks again for your clarification, though I wish you had better news.  Nevertheless, I've heard nothing inconsistent with what you claim, so until I hear otherwise, I'll assume that's the current state of things.

I'm familiar with the thread to which you refer above.  My takeaway( though I suspect I'm less technical than you) was that some people had tried to disable the boot flag themselves and were not only unsuccessful, but had harmed their 5dm3's.  My impression was that until A1ex writes the piece that's needed, one should just leave it alone.

It is curious though that ML can disable and re-enable boot flags for other cameras, but not for the 5d.  With other cameras I believe you can toggle the boot flag on and off by switching the dial from Manual to Aperture Priority or something like that.  The 5dm3 must be different for whatever reason.

I feel a bit trapped right now, though I realize it's my own doing. 
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: tobi_ml on September 24, 2013, 12:55:18 PM
Quote from: a1ex on June 02, 2013, 09:20:43 AM
I need to prepare a special FIR. Short answer: call("DisableBootDisk")

but you really have to double-check that you are not in LiveView (and people managed to go there during first install despite all my double-checks).
I have read various posts in this forum and I want to summarise the current point of developing. Am I right that...
- there is a way to disable the bootflag, but this way needs a lot of safety checks (like M-Mode & no LiveView) and if you fail the checks your camera is broken (forever)
- the developer team (especially Alex) are looking for a .fir file which does this checks automatically and minimize the danger of getting a broken camera

I know that you develop ML in your spare time and you deserve our greatest respect, but can you already say how long it will take for a first version of this "disable-fir" or any other methode to disable it? 1 week, 1 month, or longer than a year?

I buyed a 5D 3 and the answers will strongly influence my decision whether I should install the "rawmode" or not.

Thanks for answering my questions!
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: Walter Schulz on September 24, 2013, 01:07:26 PM
Quote from: tobi_ml on September 24, 2013, 12:55:18 PMcan you already say how long it will take

F.A.Q.  -> Troll Questions -> last one
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: bigmoon on September 24, 2013, 04:12:57 PM
Hi all.
First of all, Thank you all developer.

I'm thinking about this problem. And yesterday, I built magiclantern compiling system.
I modified latest source code, and made special autoexec.bin.
This modification is calling "Disalbebootdisk" at auto save toggle.
I was dumping address at before and after modification, call"Disablebootdisk"
I checked these dumping result. Offset+4 address from 0xF8000000 is changing from 0xFFFFFFFF
to 0x00000000. This is clearing boot flag. But, I found some different point at other address. woo... :'(
May be, some developer is thinking that this result is occerd a bad influence on camera function.

After disable boot flag, I updated canon firm V1.2.1.
At present, I can't find a problem.
System boot time become so fast. and Eye-fi card is enable.
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: RenatoPhoto on September 24, 2013, 05:15:48 PM
Excellent find.  Will have to be confirmed by others who are willing to risk their camera in return for a quick boot from sleep.  I am not!
Will you provide the code for analysis and confirmation?
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: bigmoon on September 24, 2013, 05:31:19 PM
This is my modification.

void
config_autosave_toggle(void* priv)
{
#if 0
    config_flag_file_setting_save(CONFIG_AUTOSAVE_FLAG_FILE, !!config_autosave);
    msleep(50);
    config_autosave = !config_flag_file_setting_load(CONFIG_AUTOSAVE_FLAG_FILE);
#endif
    bmp_printf(FONT_LARGE, 50, 50, "disable flag start");
    call( "DisableBootDisk" );

    bmp_printf(FONT_LARGE, 50, 50, "disable flag end");
}
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: isomogyi on October 01, 2013, 11:25:15 PM
Hi Bigmoon,

I want to disable the boot flag too.

Is this modification available somewhere? I mean I am not a developer, programmer, can't write code so I need the "disablebootflag.fir or the new "autoexec.bin" I am just wondering if it is available already somewhere.

Thank you for all developer for giving ML to us.
All of you guys do amazing work!
Title: Re: How do disable Bootdisk flag on a 5D Mk III
Post by: bigmoon on October 03, 2013, 05:14:17 PM
No. I doesn't commit to latest source code. I recommend waiting stable release for 5D3.
Because I don't know this modification have an bat effect on camera, and tester is only one.
There's also the possibility that some memory data area is broken.
Roughly speaking, there is two section into the system memory.
  1. source code binary data. preset data.
  2. adjustment data.
if you update CANON's firmware, 1st section is overwrite.
But 2nd section is not overwrite. This section have originaly data(cmos defects data, etc)
one by one, and it's written at assembly line.
This modification can be extremely damaging to originaly data area.