Controller Recovery

The Pharos Recovery Tool can be used to recover a controller if its firmware becomes corrupted, or in the case of the LPC X or VLC/VLC+, if the project file or settings need wiping.

The Controller Recovery Tool is a separate application to Designer. It is located:

• On Windows: in the directory where you installed Designer (by default C:\Program Files\Pharos Controls\Designer 2)
• On MacOS: in the "Pharos Utilities" folder of the downloaded application bundle

LPC

The LPC has a built-in failsafe against firmware problems: it stores two versions of firmware. So if one copy of the firmware fails to load, or becomes corrupted due to a loss of power during a firmware reload, the other can be used instead. However, in the event that the LPC will not startup, there is a method to recover the LPC using the memory card.

Please follow these instructions carefully:

1. Remove the memory card from the LPC and insert it into your computer
2. Wipe all files on the memory card (ensure you have made any necessary backups)
3. Locate the firmware folder in the Designer installation location or app bundle (see below)
4. Copy the file lpc.app from the firmware folder to the memory card
5. Reinsert the memory card into the LPC and restart the LPC. The LPC will boot, but will take longer to boot than normal. Please be patient and wait for the Active LED to illuminate continuously
6. Connect to the LPC using Designer and reload the firmware as normal
7. Remove the memory card from the LPC and insert it into your computer again
8. Delete the lpc.app file from the memory card
9. Reinsert the memory card into the LPC and restart the LPC

Locating the controller firmware

Windows

The controller firmware is located in the firmware folder in the Designer installation location, which is in the Program Files folder by default.

OS X

To locate the firmware folder in the app bundle on Mac OS X, please follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Applications folder located on the Hard Drive, typically named Macintosh HD
2. Locate the Designer application
3. Right-click (or control-click) on it and choose Show Package Contents from the menu that appears
4. Now navigate to Contents/MacOS/firmware to find the file lpc.app

TPC

The TPC has a built-in failsafe against firmware problems: it stores two versions of firmware. So if one copy of the firmware fails to load, or becomes corrupted due to a loss of power during a firmware reload, the other can be used instead. However, in the event that the TPC will not startup, there is a method to recover the TPC using the memory card.

Please follow these instructions carefully:

1. Remove the memory card from the TPC and insert it into your computer
2. Wipe all files on the memory card (ensure you have made any necessary backups)
3. Locate the firmware folder in the Designer installation location or app bundle (see below)
4. Copy the file tpc.app from the firmware folder to the memory card
5. Reinsert the memory card into the TPC and restart the TPC. The TPC will boot, but will take longer to boot than normal. Please be patient and wait for the Active LED to illuminate continuously
6. Connect to the TPC using Designer and reload the firmware as normal
7. Remove the memory card from the TPC and insert it into your computer again
8. Delete the tpc.app file from the memory card
9. Reinsert the memory card into the TPC and restart the TPC

Locating the controller firmware

Windows

The controller firmware is located in the firmware folder in the Designer installation location, which is in the Program Files folder by default.

OS X

To locate the firmware folder in the app bundle on Mac OS X, please follow these steps:

1. Navigate to the Applications folder located on the Hard Drive, typically named Macintosh HD
2. Locate the Designer application
3. Right-click (or control-click) on it and choose Show Package Contents from the menu that appears
4. Now navigate to Contents/MacOS/firmware to find the file tpc.app

LPC X

The first thing to note with the LPC X is that there are two recovery procedures, with the correct procedure depending on the hardware revision in use. Select your hardware revision below to see the required recovery procedure.

LPC X rev1

The LPC X rev1 contains a CF Card under the right hand front panel. This will need to be removed using a 2.5mm Allen Key, and the CF Card inserted into your computer (or a connected card reader).

Once you have connected your CF Card you will be prompted to choose it from your connected devices.

Finally choosing continue will reformat your CF Card with the correct firmware version

LPC X rev2 & LPC X S3

The LPC X rev2 & LPC X S3 can be recovered using a single use bootable USB Memory stick, which is created with the rev2 option in the recovery tool.

You will need to select which of the additional optional steps that you want to perform.

You will need to insert a USB memory stick into your computer. Bear in mind that the memory stick will be reformatted and all data wiped during this process.

Once you have connected your memory stick you will be prompted to choose it from your connected devices.

Finally choosing continue will create the bootable memory stick to recover the firmware on the LPC X and perform any additional steps that you selected earlier.

Additional steps:

• Insert the recovery media into your controller and allow the controller to boot.
• Once booted, reload firmware from Designer using the usual methods from the Netowrk tab.
• After the reload is successful, power off the unit and remove the recovery media.
• The controller should now be ready to be used.

VLC

The VLC is recovered in the same way as the LPC X rev2

VLC+

The VLC is recovered in the same way as the LPC X rev2