Tutorial  Updated

How to Update Firmware of JMicron JMS578 - USB3.0 - Sata Enclosure (Black Screen/Lock/Music Stop)

I Don't know if anyone already found this solution, but I'v decided to share it with all of you anyways.

My Previously Wii drive is dead, I'v decided to buy USB Sata Enclosures/Cases, USB 3.0 for the "Fast" transfer of the WBFS files from my PC to External HD, But I'v Found, in many forums that JMicron is a Cheap Chinese Company, and Most of his Sata Enclosures, suffer from Power Management on their Firmware, and for that reason they shut down the HDD and The Nintendo Wii doesn't bring it up again.

Even in Windows is a pain in the ass, always wait for the drive Boot up, making this cases a pain in the ass, as I already said.

Said That, Let's go to the Solution

My Cristal Sata Slim USB 3.0 Case, came with the JMicron JMS578 Chip

8f7caad2-6790-4740-9718-33a08777ce46.jpg d386df1e-9e8c-4033-9f8f-4bc8e5f94bb2.jpg e9f72a01-087b-476a-ab93-92c625158a64.jpg ec18c7b9-5a72-419e-b02a-12a33406d9c3.jpg

After Many Research I'v Found a Firmware that worked great on disabling the Spin Down (Power Management) of Crystal Slim Case

There are no way to Write, Read Firmware if there no HDD Attach to the Enclosure, And is Safe to Update FW, no harm will happen to the HDD, but it is necessary.

First, as aways, backup The Original FW of the Hdd case using the FwUpdateTool_v1_19_16_24.exe Software AND MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CASE USES JMicron JMS578

Open the "JMS578_PPE_v124.01.00.02.bin" is not the latest, bur was the one that works better on my Wii, And Ps2 etc.

After That. check the [ X ] RD Version BOX and [ X ] Including JM557 NVRAM.

Write the Firmware, safety Unplug and You are Good to Go/Test

There are plenty Others Firmwares that I'v Found, Feel Free to test it.

Maybe this tip Work with other Cases, JMS583 JMS580 JMS578 JMS576 JMS562 JMS561U, With Corresponding Firmware if they have the same problem, Just Search for PPE ( PowerPlus) FW and try to get the NVRAM configs of Spin Down.

Happy Playing Super Mario Galaxy Again. And hope this help someone.
Sorry for my Bad English, mods Feel Free to Move this Tread, and fix my speech, and layout Share it anywhere. Thanks for the many years this forums helped me.
 

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NoobletCheese

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Another way to avoid these issues is to just use a low end SSD as they appear to be equivalently priced if your game collection is not >500GB.

I presume you wouldn't need a high quality SSD as write endurance is not really an issue for playing games. In this case the SSD may even be a cheaper option. I think they would last longer too as no moving parts / heat, and I've just had a 10-year old WD Green die on me.

Also WD Blue seems too noisy for me personally (30dB according to WD spec sheet vs 20dB for WD Purple, which is more expensive).

I'm using a 500GB Crucial MX500 with the JMS578 3.5" controller and so far so good. I used the Wii U's system menu to copy all the games across (slow - 6 hours).

edit: I wonder if asset streaming might be better with SSD too.
 
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john_johnk

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Hello and thank you for sharing the firmware. It seems that you are discussing the problem of hard disk box hibernation. I found a software that can modify the hard disk sleep time. I will put the software in the link below. This software is provided by ORICO, a local (Chinese) hard disk box manufacturer, but I don't like their product because its circuit board components are poor and its power supply is also poor.The sleep mode of hard disk can be changed by changing EEPROM. If the position in the figure is filled with 0, it means that the hard disk box will not sleep.In addition, I would like to make it clear that updating EPPROM does not affect the firmware support for uasp and trim functions.As far as I know, in our country, the early firmware of jms578 chip already supported trim technology, but the early firmware of asm1153e did not support trim technology.But at this time, if you can buy a new asm1153e chip, the firmware of the hard disk box should support trim. And asm1153e and jms578 can use professional software to modify the sleep time. Finally, I want to say that jmicron is as good as asmedia. Jms578 and asm1153e are widely used in Seagate's and Western Digital's mobile hard disks. Asmedia, in particular, is a subsidiary of ASUS and has good technical strength. So please don't lose confidence in Chinese products. All of the above are about the 2.5-inch hard disk case. If you are using a 3.5-inch hard disk box, you also need to pay attention to the problem of power supply. I recommend that 8t enterprise mechanical hard disk use a 12v3a power supply to ensure sufficient starting current. There are other questions about hard disk. Please ask me. I'll try my best to reply.:)
Hi SunYeYu are you still available for helping ? I face issues with JMS56x Series
 

NoobletCheese

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If the MP tool shared by SunYeYu is compatible with JMS56x series, I think it is better to use it to modify the firmware that is already on your JMS56x, rather than reflashing new firmware.

I don't have any JMS56x firmwares to flash, and I don't know where to get them sorry.

I only know what's been mentioned in this thread so far.
 
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john_johnk

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If the MP tool shared by SunYeYu is compatible with JMS56x series, I think it is better to use it to modify the firmware that is already on your JMS56x, rather than reflashing new firmware.

I don't have any JMS56x firmwares to flash, and I don't know where to get them sorry.

I only know what's been mentioned in this thread so far.
Yes yes I know you re not more familiar with that JMS56x series but I thought you perhaps understood more or less what SunYeYu said ( I did not understand really and I am afraid he will never come here anymore)
 

NoobletCheese

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@john_johnk

Even if you scroll down it's not there? Hmm ok well then maybe that tool isn't compatible with JMS56x series.

There is another tool in post#1 called FwUpdateTool_v1_19_16_24.exe which might be able to dump the firmware currently on your 56x to a .bin file (click RD version).

This might open the possibility to somehow patch the .bin file to change the power timer, then copy the firmware back.

But the only way to know which bit to modify in the .bin is to get 2 copies of the .bin , one with timer, other with no timer, everything else identical, and compare them in a hex editor. But it would be risky.

My current JMS 578 has 10 minute power down timer, but it doesn't really bother me because SSD is fast to wake up.
 
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NoobletCheese

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If it was a faulty cable/connection causing it to not show up before: get a good cable before flashing, in case the cable might lose connection during the flashing and brick it!

The fact it says USB 2.0 and not 3.0 is a red flag -- with faulty cables it usually connects in 2.0 mode.

@john_johnk
 

NoobletCheese

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Looks like the first one failed cause "firmware update" was ticked and it was trying to load JMS 578 firmware to 56x chip?

I'm not sure why the second and third one failed, but maybe its related to the other options in EEPROM Setting section (compare with SunYeYu's screenshot)

But it's still wrong that it's in USB2.0 mode, something isn't right. I think it's worth trying another cable if you have one, or another USB port until you get 3.0 mode.
 

john_johnk

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Hi @NoobletCheese ,
You 're right for the first picture, but for the second and third I think i checked the EEPROM update as SunYeYu, isn't it ?
Well i can try another cable or another usb 3.0 port ( i already tried with all my different ports) but I am quite sure the problem is more a compatibility btw Asmedia driver and the station or something like that...
 

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@john_johnk

First could you confirm your USB driver is capable of 3.0 by plugging another known 3.0 device and confirming it really is in 3.0 mode. If not, maybe you need to install USB driver on your PC. This happened on one of my PCs -- the generic Windows driver did not support 3.0 mode (and who knows, maybe there are other USB features it doesn't support which are used for firmware flashing).

Secondly try plugging in the USB cable very quickly as sometimes the 2.0 handshake finishes before all the 3.0 pins make contact and you only get 2.0 mode. This happens occasionally on both of my PCs.

If that doesn't work then I would say the tool perhaps isn't compatible with 56x chip, or maybe the current firmware on your 56x doesn't support those EEPROM features. In that case you could try flashing a different 56x driver using the tool in post #1 of the thread, but it doesn't include any 56x firmwares (only 578) so you would have to find alternate 56x firmware from somewhere else.
 

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@NoobletCheese
Again thanks for your help and patience.
I have a little victory as I managed to make the firmware to find my station in usb 3.0
375a1mc.png

For that I uninstalled the Asmedia driver given by Asus and I let Windows installing the most recent driver it found. Now the firmware is able to find my station. The Asmedia driver was responsible of all of that
 

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Hi guys! Do u know if using a 2.0 cable with 3.0 case works for Wii?

I don't have one to test, but theoretically it should work because even with the 3.0 case and 3.0 cable, the case's chipset will be operating in 2.0 mode for Wii, which means it's only using 2.0's physical pins (3.0 connectors are backwards compatible with 2.0 mode).
 

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Yeah I don't see anything wrong with the JMS578 3.5" controller. I'm using it on a Windows 7 PC, Linux STB, and Wii U, and experience no issues once I swapped the USB cable, then all my issues went away. So it was a faulty cable for me, that's all. Power supply is 12v2a, for a 1TB WD Green 3.5" drive.
Hi NoobletCheese! Thank you for this thread and sharing your experience.

So i just been searching like a madman trying to fix my sabrent docking station constantly disconnecting and i found your post. Sabrent actually provided the JMS578_PPE_v124.01.00.02.bin but I was having issues with random disconnects and some i/o issues. This was on Windows too. I tried the latest version in your guide and than a modified version of it i found online. It seems to be working, however while v124.01.00.02 the docking stations fan would work but would experience random disconnects, On the new firmware
JMS578_v173.1.0.2.bin seems to have solved my disconnects (i think). but the fan on the docking station no longer runs. Do you know if there is a way to fix it? I don't have a ton of experience and only was able to get this far with your guide and other things I found online. Really hoping you see this message and have some guidance. Thank you!

EDIT: found a new firmware version online (not sure where) but seems to work well too. Still the fan isn't working but it seems to be the latest one
 

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  • JMS578 (188.02.00.01).zip
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