ASI120MM Mini died after firmware update

westling

I installed firmware\USB3.0\ASI120MM Mini.img, got a message that the camera could be restarted, now it's not recognized by ether Windows 10 or MacOS 12.5. (Yes, I read the "It is not recommended to update" warning too late.)

Any suggestions?

Tech@ZWO

westling
Try different cables and ports first.
Does the FW update tool recognize the camera? maybe the name is wrong.
You can also check the device manager to see if there is a new device appear when you connect the camera to PC

msillingworth

westling

I've had a similar issue with the ASI120MM mini... out of the box camera is recognised on macOS 12.5+ but not on Windows 11 (run as a VM on the same Apple machine!). Your experience with the FW update makes me very reluctant to try this route. I also don't understand the rationale of a cable being the source of the issue - when the same cable works on one OS and not on the other!

Unfortunately, this issue of the camera not being recognised on Windows operating systems appears to been persistent for some time. See ...

https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/14277-problems-connecting-to-asi120mc-with-windows-11
https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/14122-driver-failing-to-install-windows-11-on-m1-mac-parallels
https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/13554-asi-drivers-for-windows-on-arm-ie-mac-m1-silicon
https://bbs.astronomy-imaging-camera.com/d/14242-asi290-win11-problem

My contact with ZWO tech suggested that a Windows update (KB5012592) may have affected the camera and to roll back this update. Naturally, I declined their recommendation to 'roll back' the security update. I've seen other posts suggesting all sorts of theories on why the problem persists including not having ARM64 driver implemented, not fully implementing USB2.0 etc.

Come on ZWO! Either support your product or withdraw it from sale!

westling

@Tech@ZWO#58376 Thanks foe the quick reply, tried all of that:

I used different cables (two different USB-A to USB-C cables on a PC, and a USB-C to USB-C on the Mac)
I tried different USB ports on the PC and the Mac
The FW update tool doesn't see the ASI120MM camera (It does see a different ASI camera, though.)
Device manager on the PC doesn't show any change when I plug in the ASI120MM; system info on the Mac also doesn't show any change. (Ran "Scan for hardware changes" to be safe.)
The PC does recognize a Starlight Xpress camera on the same USB ports that I tried with the ASI120MM.

Tech@ZWO

westling Sorry to tell you that your camera needs to be shipped back for repair.
Where did you purchase the camera? you can contact the seller for after-sales service.

westling

@Tech@ZWO#58423 I'm afraid that the retailer's return period for the camera (30 days) has passed. Is it possible for me to return it directly to ZWO for an exchange? The hardware is in perfect condition and it was, after all, the firmware on the ZWO site that apparently killed it. It doesn't seem like this problem is my fault since I followed firmware update instructions exactly (though if ZWO finds a problem with the hardware, I'll gladly take responsibility).

Tech@ZWO

westling Hi Westling,
FW update won't cause the camera can't be recognized completely.
Did you check other paths in the device manager such as other devices?

westling

@Tech@ZWO#58470 Yes, I checked all possible places in the device manager where I thought it might show up. As a test, I also plugged/unplugged a Starlight Xpress Lodestar X2C camera; I could see it appear and then disappear in the device manager for both the PC and in the System Report in the Mac. After plugging in the ASI120MM, I also did a "Scan for hardware changes" on both the PC and the Mac, just to be safe, but there was no change.
The problem occurred after running FW Update using a Windows PC. I didn't disconnect or otherwise interrupt the update while it was running. I do remember seeing a message saying something like "you can reset the camera now". (Not sure exactly what it was.)

Tech@ZWO

westling
Better send it back to the agent for inspection.

westling

I contacted the reseller, who said that after 30 days, I need to send it back to ZWO for repair. How do I do this? The web site says to look for "warranty and repair", but I can't find this info on the site.

Tech@ZWO

westling You can ship it to the dealer, and the dealer will ship it back to us for reapir.

Tech@ZWO

msillingworth
Thanks for your feedback, but they are different problems.
ASI cameras don't support windows on ARM currently.
Regarding the problem on win11, our team is working on it, if there are any updates we will tell you.