Merlin309 Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 I have a C4 HC250 controller as well as ComposerHE ver 1.10.5, and am a mid-level geek having built my own computers for the past 20 years. The HC250 comes with a relatively small 1GB system flash drive - but it is Linux formatted and is not recognized by my Win-10 system. Unfortunately I am Not versed in Linux or any Linux variants. Current HC250 OS version = 2.10.5.554707-res - My C4 system is now 6 years old - and I am very worried about the integrity of the HC250 system flash drive. I would like to CLONE this drive to a new 2 - 4 GB flash drive and replace the old one. How can I do that on my Win-10 PC ?? IF the HC250 won't recognize a huge system drive - please let me know the largest it can accommodate and how to proceed. - I suspect I'll need a Win-10 SSD Bitcopy/imaging program than can copy an SSD, then restore it to a new SSD while at the same time facilitating expansion of the partition boundaries. Anyone with any ideas Please Post ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 The 1GB SD cards fail over time so its a good idea to upgrade them to at least a 2GB one. DD the SD card and expand the file system and you'll be good. c44me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Also worth noting is that you can rescue these controllers if they fail as the controllers have built in redunancy to flash the OS back to the factory state. As such having a backup of the project is the most important thing to do at a minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 Hi - - Alan Thanks for your reply. Please let me know what steps to take to DD the SD card and expand the file system. I don't have a Linux computer system anywhere, but have LOTS of SD cards and hope there is a way to do this with Win-10. I thought the back-up was also stored on the HC250 system drive which is currently only 1GB and so would need an external drive for the backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanchow Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Honestly if you want to make a 1:1 image then Win32DiskImager will work https://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/ It won't expand the filesystem should you use a bigger SD card. Note you'll need to open up your HC-250 to access the SD Card. By doing so you do so at your own risk and any damage is on you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 Thanks Alan - - I've already been inside. That's how I know what's in there. I was amazed to find only a 1GB Flash Drive as the sole memory device. I'm pretty careful - electrostatic precautions and all - after reassembly everything still works just fine. The entire system has been purchased by me - so yes - the risks are all mine. But copying and replacing the system drive at 6 years, before failure, is worth the risk. Unless otherwise recommended, I'll probably go with a very reliable Samsung (or other) 2 or 4 GB flash disk as replacement. My Win-10 PC only has a 9TB accessible RAID-5 data drive - so saving 1GB to storage shouldn't be a problem. - If my current flash disk is only 1 GB, and I replace it writing the the system to a 2 or 4GB flash drive - will diskimager (or the C4 OS) expand the partition to use the entire disk, or will I need to use some Linux commands to expand the file system partition to allow it to use the entire disk ? Thanks again for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcovach Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Control4 recommends an 8 or 16GB micro sd. AFAIK, it's not necessary to clone the original. The controller will format the new one and prepare it for use. Once complete, you should be able to connect to the controller with Composer HE and load your previous project. Test it out and keep the old one just in case. * You really need to have the same version of Composer HE as your controller OS version. msgreenf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 DC: Thanks for the suggestion - I do have an older model controller (HC-250) so hope it will behave as you suggest by simply installing a higher capacity SD card. My system has a slot for a standard SD card rather than a MicroSD, and of course I miss-spoke regarding my ComposerHE software: it is 2.10.5 matching the OS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Honestly, found it easier to back-up the project, replace the drive, let controller reflash and load project....'course as a dealer I have Pro (unsure if you can load backup in HE and re-register Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
South Africa C4 user Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 40 minutes ago, Cyknight said: Honestly, found it easier to back-up the project, replace the drive, let controller reflash and load project....'course as a dealer I have Pro (unsure if you can load backup in HE and re-register Unfortunately, you ( @Merlin309 ) will need a dealer to re-register. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 17 hours ago, Merlin309 said: I have a C4 HC250 controller as well as ComposerHE ver 1.10.5, and am a mid-level geek having built my own computers for the past 20 years. ...... I don't have a Linux computer system anywhere, but have LOTS of SD cards and hope there is a way to do this with Win-10. To achieve the next level of geekdom you will need a Linux computer Get a Raspberry Pi or take an old Windows PC and install Ubuntu on it. Windows 10 is becoming increasingly Linux friendly - you can install Windows subsystem for Linux and have pretty much a full Linux install running on Windows. You can install it from the Windows Store. See below for the full instructions: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/03/the-windows-subsystem-for-linux-conference-was-a-virtual-success/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 Awww Heck !! I was hoping to be able to avoid Linux in my lifetime. I realize DOS is still alive and well hiding under Win-10. I can write a few simple commands in a BAT file, but really didn't wanna have to learn Linux. This may be a foregone conclusion. I do have old x-86 computers built in the '90's and 2000 that I could convert (one even has Win-10 loaded as a sequential update from that HORRIBLE Win-Vista) - - UBUNTU vs Red Hat, or any of the other comprehensive Linux systems that would have to include windoze emulators. I may have to slowly go there. I do have a C4 dealer who is willing to do some things remotely - I guess the real question is whether I'll be able to do a system restore using ComposerHE if I replace the SD card with a larger one. The controller is on a static IP address within my home network, and I'd hope the controller ID is either buried in static RAM somewhere within the controller OR would be restored to the larger SD card once cloned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceanDad Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 You do realise that HC-250's sell for about $20 on eBay, right ? Not much more than the cost of an SD card. msgreenf and c44me 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 21, 2020 Author Share Posted April 21, 2020 24 minutes ago, OceanDad said: You do realize that HC-250's sell for about $20 on eBay, right ? Not much more than the cost of an SD card. Yeah - - how technology marches on. I have also reviewed my images files and discovered that in truth, my system memory is on a 4GB SanDisk MicroSD card. But - - if it ain't broke, don't fix it ?? I'd prefer NOT to wait until it's broke. I think I'll pick up both a 4GB and a 16 GB MicroSD card, try cloning to both (I've not yet discovered the command to copy from external using DiskImager as recommended by Alan Chow above. Someone suggested updating the controller to a newer version - but it's unlikely the system copies I've stored with ComposerHE would work right with new hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c44me Posted April 21, 2020 Share Posted April 21, 2020 Have similar situation with HC-300 that failed. Currently at a repair shop (figured was just the typical power supply failure) but so far he has not been able to revive it. Wish had made a cloned unit (have project backed up). Highly suggest you just procure a second unit and clone it as a hot swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 53 minutes ago, c44me said: Have similar situation with HC-300 that failed. Highly suggest you just procure a second unit and clone it as a hot swap. Hmmm - - Probably a very good idea. Searching E-Bay now. Just bought 'gently used' HC250 - Vendor with 99% favorable rating: $15 + $7 S&H. Cheap Insurance. Also got a 4 and a 16 GB SanDisk MicroSD card from Amazon to play with the Cloning Idea. If the HC250 doesn't recognize the 16GB card - will try again with the original sized 4GB card from the OEM manufacturer. I expect the HC250 from E-Bay will also have a 4GB MicroSD card in it that can be cloned - - BUT - as this would be new system hardware, might need a vendor to re-authorize it if disaster strikes. Hopefully this can be done remotely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyknight Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 19 hours ago, Merlin309 said: I was hoping to be able to avoid Linux in my lifetime. But...you have a C4 system - it's as deeply included in your life as it can possibly be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 9 minutes ago, Cyknight said: But...you have a C4 system - it's as deeply included in your life as it can possibly be And you probably have a bunch of similar devices - routers, WAPs, TV streaming devices, etc, that run a similar forum of Linux. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c44me Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 28 minutes ago, zaphod said: And you probably have a bunch of similar devices - routers, WAPs, TV streaming devices, etc, that run a similar forum of Linux. WAPS and tv's do not run forums thankfully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 There is a Unifi forum and my WAPs are Unifi. Knowing your way around a Linux CLI is handy at times when things go wrong with a WAP. That is probably more essential than using the CLI on a C4 controller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 Dunno if this old dog can learn any new programming tricks. I cut my eye teeth on ANSI-Standard Fortran-66. Object oriented languages are my Bane - just NOT happy if I can't write spaghetti code - I need to call what I want when I want and jump anywhere I please. <Sigh>. Yeah - I know C4 runs on Linux or similar, as does my 12TB QNAP NAS, however I've not looked 'under the hood' on either unit. I'm thinking of playing with either a Raspberry Pi or an Arduino based platform - I'd likely have to get into Linux then - - - - PS: I have downloaded DiskImager. I see that it will WRITE to a flash drive, but couldn't easily find how to READ a flash drive to an image file. I'll take another look - - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zaphod Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 4 hours ago, Merlin309 said: Dunno if this old dog can learn any new programming tricks. I cut my eye teeth on ANSI-Standard Fortran-66. You must be old as I cut my teeth in the 80s on Fortran 77. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin309 Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Older <LOL> : In 1976 I was compiling GPS software on a 16-bit HP-21MX using a paper-tape bootstrap loader followed by the OS and software on Mag Tape Neo1738, c44me and zaphod 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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