Agilent Technologies
PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant
Frequently Asked Questions

All help topics are embedded in the software. Place the mouse cursor on any control to view related help topics. Please refer to this Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document for more information. Pressing F1 anywhere on the software will display this FAQ document.

2. What connection type should I use when upgrading firmware: RS-232, GPIB, or LAN?

Use GPIB or LAN on Agilent E82x7C PSG Signal Generators
Use GPIB or LAN on Agilent E824xA/5xA PSG Signal Generators
Use GPIB or LAN on Agilent E4438C ESG Vector Signal Generators
Use RS-232 or GPIB on Agilent E44xxB ESG Signal Generators
(models E4400B, E4420B - E4426B, E4430B - E4437B)

When upgrading Agilent E44xxB ESG signal generators from firmware versions eariler than B.03.20, the firmware must be upgraded in two steps:

a. Upgrade from earlier firmware versions to B.03.20 using RS-232.

b. Upgrade from B.03.20 to any newer version (> B.03.20) using RS-232 or GPIB only.

3. I installed the PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant and clicked the Next button. The software displays "Invalid Release File". How do I proceed?

This error means that the selected release file is invalid. If you have just installed the PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant, the installed directory is shown by default. Use the Browse button to locate and select a valid firmware release file.

4. Why am I being asked for an upgrade password?

The upgrade password is required if your signal generator is a secured instrument. Please use the password provided by Agilent Technologies. Contact Agilent Technologies Customer Support if you need more information.

5. Can I run more than one instance of PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant software?

Yes! If you would like to upgrade more than one instrument using LAN, this feature will be very useful. However, please be advised that you can not use the GPIB connection type to simultaneously download main firmware on to more than one signal generator. You can use RS-232 to download main firmware on to one instrument while using GPIB for another instrument. LAN is recommended if you want to upgrade multiple instruments simultaneously.

6. Is it advisable to upgrade a signal generator while multiple signal generators are turned on?

No! When upgrading main firmware using GPIB, it is not recommended to power up another instrument whose GPIB address is 19 because it will interfere with the upgrade process.

7. How do I abort an upgrade?

If you are sure you want to abort the upgrade, you can use the "Start/Programs/Agilent/Shut Down Upgrade Assistant" utility to shut down the PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant.

In general, it is not advisable to abort an upgrade because it can corrupt the firmware and the instrument may not function properly. If you did abort an upgrade, please do the following:

a. Power -cycle the signal generator.

b. Perform a new upgrade before attempting to use the signal generator.

c. Contact Agilent Technologies Customer Support if you need more information.

8. When can I use the "Recover Failed Upgrade" option?

Use this option if you have tried to update the signal generator and the firmware upgrade was interrupted.

This option is very useful if:

The last line of text on the instrument screen reads "Downloading via HPIB", "Ready for TFTP, GPIB or RS232 upload" or "SIMON>"
The signal generator does not power up completely. Contact Agilent Technologies Customer Support for more information.

This behavior is by design. Only main firmware can be upgraded during firmware recovery operation. Now that your main firmware is recovered, restart the Upgrade Assistant program and try the upgrade again.

10. How do I proceed?'>The upgrade was interrupted! The last line of text on the instrument screen reads "SIMON>". How do I proceed?

a. Press and hold the 'Recall' key.

b. Power-cycle the signal generator.

c. Release the 'Recall' key only when the last line of text on the instrument screen reads "Ready for TFTP, GPIB or RS232 upload”. At this point, the last line should read, "Ready for TFTP, GPIB or RS232 upload”.

d. Check the "Recover Failed Upgrade" checkbox and try again.

11. During the upgrade, the instrument's display goes blank! Is this expected?

This is not expected, but is possible under certain circumstances. The PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant attempts to detect and address this case but, it might not detect all such cases. Please contact Agilent Technologies Customer Support if you believe the upgrade was not successful.

12. During the upgrade, I see a few errors on the instrument. Are they expected?

These errors appear because there is a version mismatch between the new main firmware and the existing DSPs. User can ignore all such errors (including "-313, cal memory lost") that appear on the instrument. The final power cycle on the instrument should remove all errors. Please contact Agilent Technologies Customer Support if you see errors after the final power cycle.

13. After a successful upgrade, I see a few errors on the signal generator. Are they expected?

No, they are not expected! Try power cycling the instrument. If the errors are still present, please contact Agilent Technologies Customer Support.

14. I selected RS-232 as the connection type. The COM Port list box displays "0" which is not a correct COM Port number. What does it mean?

The COM Port list box displays all available COM ports on your PC. However, only "0" is displayed if all COM ports are being used other application(s) such as HyperTerminal and Visa Assistant. Please close all other applications before using the PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant.

15. I selected RS-232 as the connection type and pressed “Next”. The software connected to the signal generator and displayed the second dialog. I pressed “Next” again. An error message, "Unable to connect to the signal generator", popped up! Why?

The behavior can occur if you rapidly press Next buttons on sequential dialog boxes while in RS-232 connection mode. The RS-232 connection type is the slowest of all available connection types. It takes much longer than GPIB to respond to commands. The error message can be eliminated by restarting the signal generator, restarting the Upgrade Assistant program, and pressing Next buttons slowly.

16. I have selected GPIB address 19 to upgrade my signal generator. The software complains that it cannot connect to the instrument. Why?

The GPIB address of the signal generator is set to 19 by default. To upgrade a main firmware via GPIB, you have to turn off all other signal generators whose GPIB address is 19.

17. The Confirm Upgrade dialog does not display all installed cards. How do I see all of them?

Given the space constraints, not all installed cards and firmware components might be displayed in the Confirm Upgrade dialog. Place the mouse cursor on top of a control to see all its values.

18. The PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant appears to have hung while connecting to the signal generator using LAN. What is happening?

This means that either you have specified an incorrect name or IP address of the target instrument or the instrument is not connected to the PC using LAN. Make sure that the LAN parameters are correct and the instrument is connected to the PC using LAN. The Upgrade Assistant program will wait for 60 seconds before timing out.

19. I started the upgrade using LAN. PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant states that it is upgrading the Main Firmware. However, the instrument reports "Expected block XXXX but got YYYY". Is this expected?

This is not expected, but is probable when there is high LAN traffic. It is recommended to power cycle the instrument and try the upgrade again. If the problem still persists, please try again with a cross-over LAN cable.

20. Using a cross-over LAN cable, the PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant can locate an instrument by IP address, but not by name. Why?

This is the default behavior of a cross-over LAN connection. Instrument names can be resolved using a standard LAN connection but not using a cross-over LAN cable.

21. How do I configure my PC LAN settings to upgrade using a cross-over LAN cable?

a. Write down the IP address of the signal generator.

b. If using Windows NT, disconnect from the network.

c. Configure the IP address (select one of the following procedures: Using Windows XP, 2000, or NT 4).

d. Reboot the PC to ensure the changes to take effect.

e. If you change the IP address in the signal generator, you must power cycle the instrument for the change to take effect.

f. Connect the two units with a crossover LAN cable and they should communicate.

Using Windows XP

1. Click Start.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Control Panel.

4. Double click Network Connections.

5. Double click Local Area Connection.

6. Click Properties.

7. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

8. Click Properties.

9. Write down the current IP settings as a backup.

10. Click the radio button to specify an IP address.

11. Set the IP address to 1 digit different than the IP address of the signal generator. For instance, xxx.xxx.xx.xx1 would become xxx.xxx.xx.xx2 in the PC.

12. Set the subnet mask to 255.255.0.0

Using Windows 2000

1. Click Start.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Control Panel.

4. Double click Network & Dialup Connections.

5. Double click Local Area Connection.

6. Click Properties.

7. Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).

8. Click Properties.

9. Write down the current IP settings as a backup.

10. Click the radio button to specify an IP address.

11. Set the IP address to 1 digit different than the IP address of the signal generator. For instance, xxx.xxx.xx.xx1 would become xxx.xxx.xx.xx2 in the PC.

12. Set the subnet mask to 255.255.0.0

Using Windows NT 4

1. Click Start.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Control Panel.

4. Double click Network.

5. Click Protocols.

6. Select TCP/IP Protocol.

7. Click Properties.

8. Write down the current IP settings as a backup.

9. Click the radio button to specify an IP address.

10. Set the IP address to 1 digit different than the IP address of the signal generator. For instance, xxx.xxx.xx.xx1 would become xxx.xxx.xx.xx2 in the PC.

11. Set the subnet mask to 255.255.0.0

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Agilent Technologies PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant Frequently Asked Questions

Using Windows XP

Using Windows 2000

Using Windows NT 4

Agilent Technologies
PSG/ESG Upgrade Assistant
Frequently Asked Questions