Updating your Portsdown Software

Updating Software from the Touchscreen

You should update your Portsdown software regularly to keep the system software up-to-date and to benefit from the additional capabilities that are being developed.

You can now update from the Touchscreen. Make sure that you have a wired connection to the Internet (Wireless normally works, but there is an increased risk of something going wrong), and that you are on mains power. Then go to Menu 3 and select "Check for Update". the rest is straightforward; the Portsdown will report its progress and reboot when it has finished updating. Allow 10 minutes for the process to complete.

Updating from a PC

You can also update your Portsdown software to the latest version by entering the Console Menu, selecting "System Setup" and then selecting "Update".

The software will check the latest version available against your current version and then give you the option to update. Versions since 201804010 will automatically reboot at the end of the update; older software versions will ask you to reboot.

• Troubleshooting

A small number of users have had problems with the update process. It has some basic diagnostics built in; 4 failure modes have been reported so far:

• Unable to connect to the internet

If you get the message "Unable to connect to the internet", it means that your RPi has tried to check the latest version online and failed to get a valid response. It has then checked whether it can contact Google's servers and also failed. You should check the internet connection for the RPi. Start by confirming the connection of other computers on the same network; if they can see Google.com, check that your RPi has ONLY one network connection (wired or wireless) and that that is a connection directly to your router or internet connection device. DO NOT try to connect the RPi to the internet through another computer unless you are totally confident in your abilities. You will then need to try to diagnose the problem on the RPi from the Linux Command Line. Use commands such us "ifconfig", and "netstat -rn" to see what is happening and post the responses on the forum to get help.

• Unable to connect to GitHub to check the latest version

If you get the message "Unable to connect to GitHub to check the latest version. There is a working internet connection, but GitHub is not responding or being blocked", it means that your RPi has tried to check the latest version online, but failed to get a valid response. It has checked and succeeded with a connection to google.com. The page that it is trying to contact on GitHub is https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BritishAmateurTelevisionClub/portsdown4/master/scripts/latest_version.txt ; you should first try get to this page on another computer on the same network (the response should be the latest version number). If other computers on your network cannot see this page, the problem is with your internet connection.

If your ISP is Virgin Media (or Telstra in Australia) it may be that they are blocking access to GitHub. If (only if) you get this error with Virgin Media or Telstra, go to the Linux Command Line (from the shutdown menu) and paste the following command in, and press return.

sudo sed -i 's/^#name_servers.*/name_servers=8.8.8.8/' /etc/resolvconf.conf

Then reboot (by typing "sudo reboot now") and try an update again. The command asks your RPi to use Google's Domain Name Server (DNS), not your ISP's DNS.

If your ISP is BT, you will need to make sure that "BT Web Protect" is disabled so that you are able to download the software.

• Lost Settings on Reboot

There is an unresolved bug that causes the Portsdown software to lose the pre-configured settings (screen type, callsign, locator, symbol rate, output mode etc) occasionally. You can reset the Portsdown to Factory Settings using the "Factory Settings" option in the Advanced System Setup menu. Please post on the forum with any clues as to why this might have happened - it could help us track down the bug!

What Does the Update Do?

The "Check For Update" script downloads the latest version number and checks it against the current installed version. It then gives you the option to install the update. If you respond with y (or Y) or click the button on the touchscreen, it downloads the latest update script and runs it.

The update script:

- saves your configuration files to a safe place

- updates all the basic (3rd party) software on your RPi

- checks for and installs any new (3rd party) packages required by the update

- downloads all the components of the Portsdown software and then compiles each one

- downloads and compiles the latest DATV Express software and the button shutdown script

- makes any system changes required by the update

- copies your configuration files back into place and adds any new options required

- reboots

DGC 14 July 2018