BMW MKIII and MKIV Blank screen issue
 

Hello guys. I started this thread beacuse i was doing some repairing on MKIII and MKIV modules, but i have kinda difficulty repairing them and i need some consulting and i would be trully gratefull for any help and tips i recieve here :) so lets start.
I recieved like 2-3 mk3 and mk4 modules and on all of them i have the same issue "BLANK SCREEN". I have read here that finding correct OS disc with correct software may ressurect them but for my case that doesnt help, beacuse i have downloaded that software, burned it on disc and it wont load or run disc at all. Power led does not blink at all on all of them. I managded to google up some information about EEPROM that is a bootloader and that EEPROM corrupts during OS upgrade but i wasnt able to find anymore information about that eeprom or its location or how to reprogram it. Recently i have build up NavCoder and complete navigation system on table to track I bus and to help me understand how system works. With navcoder i was able to track infromation that were sended via I Bus but the thing is, the navcoder wont see at all MK module like it doesnt exist.. I was wondering does anyone know any information about resseting this MK module (exept holding eject button for like 3 minutes or more, beacuse thath doesnt work ) so that i could insert new OS into it and does anyone have any information about that EEprom that corupts and doesnt allow MK to boot new software. Is there anyway to reprogram it? Any information would be very helpful :) i will try in my next post to upload some pictures of MK modules and whole system build up on table. Thanks in advance :)

here are some pics

http://i61.tinypic.com/2upxwcx.jpghttp://i60.tinypic.com/35lhqbt.jpg

Once the ROM is corrupted then AFAIK the only way to "reset" it is to use the serial interface (on the main board) and the correct software to force a reload.

I do not have this software.

I do not know how to access the serial interface.

If a known good OS does not fix the problem then it is most likely either corrupted rom or one of the screen driver chips.

As these units are becoming older this type of problem is getting more and more common.

Other than the good OS disc or teh force reload (hold for 3minutes), then I dont know what else to try.

Cracking the OS9 operating system would help to use the serial interface and be able to access it, but as yet, no one has managed to do this.

i have a similar issue right now. tried to upgrade working MKIV to V32 and it crashed. so i re-burned a better copy of V32 and try to install it again. no change. screen remained blank. ejected CD. waited for the navi to boot down. unplugged the battery for about 20-25 min.

tried to install V23_CloneCD. no change, but now CD won't eject. I can hear it spinning and I can hear the lazer running, but that's about it.
(V23_CloneCD was downloaded. Unzipped it. Burned on CD-R via x1 /MODE1/2048 using ImgBurn).

Any help would be great.

thanks.

Problem solved. I ended up disconnecting the battery for about 20-25 min, then as soon as I reconnect it, before navi started to load, I hit the eject button 5 times and cd came out.
I re-burned v32 again. (I think I was burning the software wrong the first 10 times......LOL). Put it in the navi, and was able to bring the unit back to live and now running v32 software.
I guess I had to screw up 10 times, before getting right.

What did you do differently?

I'm having the same issues, and even ordered a known to work v32 CD. Did you have to install an older version first before upgrading to v32 or did it finally work when you made the CD correctly?

Before you take my instructions, please NOTE; I have never ever done software upgrade on any NAVI. In addition this is my 1st MKIV and I've had since May 9th. (yes I managed to kill it and bring it back to life with in the 1st 48 hours of owning it). So please understand, I'm by far no pro, but I learn pretty quick and I'm not afraid to screw things up during learning process. ;)

So, I did not downgrade. I burned downloaded V32 on CD-R without unzipping the file. I think my mistake is that I would unzip the file before burning it, which may have changed software directory, so NAVI was not able to read it.

Assuming you are using window, download V32 software in to a folder. download & install ImgBurn, but do not open the program. go the folder where V32 software is saved. right click on V32. go to "Open With", select "Choose Program", double click on ImgBurn and then burn the CD-R. Make sure your the file has ".iso" ending and your burn setting are set to x1.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck

How were you able to burn without extracting the folder? It comes in a zip file but without unzipping it, you can't burn it.. or am I missing something?

Also when you were installing the disc that finally worked, was the procedure done without pressing any buttons? That is, after you put in the correct CD, the screen came back on after how long?

That was my thought too, as I thought that file had to be unzipped. I'm even sure that I read somewhere that file had to be unzipped prior burning, but unzipped file simply did not work for me. I tried V32, V29, etc. Not one worked if unzipped prior burning. For some reason, unzipped file would create a sub-folder or in some cases multiple sub-folders, which may have prevented NAVI reading actual software.
However if you upload unzipped file in to ImgBurn, it seems that it would unzipped via ImgBurn during burning process.
BMW MKIV Navigation Custom OS & 2012 DVD Map with Speed Cameras

Once correct CD was installed, right away NAVI Screen came to life with message RE; software being installed and then a running progress bar. I think the entire process took less than 2 min.
Just like in this video: BMW V32 MKIII MKIV Software Update, How-To - YouTube

If you want, I can burn you V32 or older software.

Hey guys, so I am having the same issue. I bought the v32 upgrade disc from the dealer so I don't think I need to re burn it.

My issue is that when it was downloading, my girlfriend shut my car off (I was inside) when I came out my door was closed and lock, turned on the car to a blank screen. I turned on the car, everything worked but the screen is blank....any suggestions? Why are people holding eject for 3 min?

Thanks