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Thread: ICOM Emulator USB Dongle - back up creation - how to

  1. #1
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    ICOM Emulator USB Dongle - back up creation - how to

    As most will know some of the ICOM emulator comes with an USB flash drive dongle as copyright protection. Whilst you can do an image snapshot of the ICOM VM when the emulator is running and just revert back to it without needing the dongle plugged in, there's always that fear in the back of your mind that you might lose that USB Dongle or that it might break., rendering the emulator useless. Especially so if the Vendor that sold you the emulator isn't very helpful at all.


    So I spent a little time finding a way to create a clone or duplicate of the dongle - and thought I would share the know how here.



    Basically the security is two tier based. The ICOM emulator checks for the "Volume Serial Number" (easily changed with software) and the Hardware Serial number (much harder as it requires flashing the USB chip), both of which must match the security check built into the ICOM emulator before it will start up and do the "rollback".


    Here's how you duplicate the USB dongle> I will not provide the software required, just a general knowledge of how to do this - as each USB dongle is different and has a different chip set, YOU WILL NEED to find the correct USB factory flash tool to do the necessary cloning.


    Mine was based on the SMI chip set SM3257AA


    First use a tool called ChipGenius and note the information in red below:



    The serial number shown is the Hardware Serial Number - this is the key component looked at by the ICOM emulator security check. WRITE THIS DOWN as you will need to flash your back up USB flash drive with this exact same serial number.


    The Chip Part number is VERY important, as it dictates which factory tool you need to find and download to do the flashing of the Hardware serial number.


    Next use an USB Image Tool like below that will duplicate the Volume Serial codes into your backup USB flash drive:




    Use Device Mode and create a back up image of the security dongle.

    Now plug in your spare USB flash drive and do a restore from the image created:




    Next check that the Volume serial code has been replicated between both flash drive:



    Now to the harder bit. Use the correct factory flash tool from the correct hardware "chip set manufacturer" and for the correct "chip part number"

    Run the software and press F5 to scan the USB.




    As you can see in red the Hardware serial number and the IC part number - save this as a copy just in case you screw up - so you can flash the drive back to factory.


    Next go to settings: There's usually a passcode to get into the program - this is usually either 123 or 320



    This will bring up this next screen: Load the default.ini file



    Circled in red are the parts you need to change to match the Hardware Serial in the original USB Dongle.



    After the changes:



    Click "OK" to go back to the flash screen - Click the Start (Space Key) to start flashing the changes into the back up USB flash drive.



    Let the program do its thing and you should get a big [OK] come up to show that the process was successful and complete
    Click "Scan USB" again to check that the USB flash drive has indeed been flashed with the new Hardware serial number:



    And there you have it - a backup cloned USB Dongle that is exactly like the one you were supplied with.




    Some notes:
    1. Double check that you have used the correct factory tool to do the flashing - you can render your USB drive completely useless if you don't.
    2. Double check the Chip Part number!!! MSI chips are the easiest to work with and the tools more intuitive.
    3. Avoid Phison chip sets I've damaged two USB drives trying to burn new hardware serial numbers into them - the factory tools for the Phison chip sets are just harder to crack for some reason.





    Good luck.

  2. #2
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    Amazing works~

  3. #3
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    Hello, very good job you made there. I followed the guide and i manage to have the icom dongle copy with exactly the same Volume Number and serial (Hardware) number but it seems that icom emulator does not recognize the dongle and without it the emulator appears an error (no usb dongle found). Is there something that we miss? thanks in advance..

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    Hi , i interested in EMULATOR ICOM .you can help me ??? thanks you .

  5. #5
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    Hello and thanks for pointing to a big hole in protection method. Next version will have more stronger security and ISID/ISSS VMs will have it to.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by darksys View Post
    Hello and thanks for pointing to a big hole in protection method. Next version will have more stronger security and ISID/ISSS VMs will have it to.
    Hey Darksys, can you contact me please thru here or email? supra94tt@gmail.com

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by darksys View Post
    Hello and thanks for pointing to a big hole in protection method. Next version will have more stronger security and ISID/ISSS VMs will have it to.
    Darksys you are too selfish , you probably selling the icom emulator secured by a usb dongle on ebay any way. you probably make a ton of money anyways.

    so what if bmw step up the security. A guy like me will crack that. period.

    members on the forum should get knowledge and be educated. thats whats the forums is for. i will give stuffs away free, if i know others ask me for it.

    darksys you need to shine some light so others can avoid stumbling on your dark road.
    Last edited by IcemanBHE; 03-27-2013 at 03:32 AM.

  8. #8
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    Hi all,
    I share Icom Emulator 3.0.3 for free via Pm

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gini View Post
    Hi all,
    I share Icom Emulator 3.0.3 for free via Pm
    Can't PM you, please send me a valid link!

  10. #10
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    hi Gini, i need too the icom Emulator, can you send me the link? thankyou very much!

  11. #11
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    Wow this is an interesting thread!

  12. #12
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    Please send me a valid link!

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gini View Post
    Hi all,
    I share Icom Emulator 3.0.3 for free via Pm
    sorry, but can`t send PM too...
    can you PM link for me...?
    thx!

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gini View Post
    Hi all,
    I share Icom Emulator 3.0.3 for free via Pm
    sorry, but can`t send PM too...
    can you send link for me...?
    thanks!

  15. #15
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    Hi Gini, could you send the link I try to PM.

  16. #16
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    I can't seem to get SMI Mass Production Tool to read my USB, am I doing something wrong?

    - - - Updated - - -

    I will get you all working links by the way, just let me get back to my computer. Today or tomorrow I'll get to it.

  17. #17
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    Hi Gini,

    I also can't send u a PM.
    I dont know how to do this.
    If you know please send me a PM with the details,
    Thank you
    Last edited by ritzcarltn; 06-07-2013 at 12:39 AM.

  18. #18
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    Just to clarify something. I need to find the Chip's Part number from the security dongle so i can find the appropriate tool to flash the spare usb flash (no matter what chip's is in the spare usb)? Am i correct? Or i have to find the appropriate tool to flash the chip part number from the spare usb flash. I am a bit confused as a newbie Thanks in advance

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gini View Post
    Hi all,
    I share Icom Emulator 3.0.3 for free via Pm
    Hello Gini,

    Your stored private messages quota is maxed out(need to clear some previous messages to make room for new ones).

    I am curious about the ICOM Emulator. I currently have the following hardware:

    1. Car: 2007 E90 320i
    2. Computer: Macbook Air (Intel i5 CPU, 4GB RAM), running Windows 7(or OSX Lion)
    3. Interface Cable: OBDII(D-CAN)

    < Question >
    If I download/install the ISTA software posted by member ‘Seb530DA’ in the thread:
    BMW ISID 3.1 + ISSS 3.1 avec ISTA-D 2.35 (English / German) et ISTA-P 2.48.3
    And install your ‘ICOM Emulator’, does it mean that I could just use the hardware I have without purchasing any further hardware such as the ‘USB security dongle’(?) I’ve heard so much about? Or would I still need to get one of these USB dongles?

    In any case, I would be grateful if you would send(PM) me regarding the ICOM Emulator and any crucial notes/instructions.

    Thank you!
    Last edited by tinkerman; 06-30-2013 at 02:27 PM.

  20. #20
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    Hi I have USB icom one I want copy like same serial can u help me to do it thanks

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by mo328i View Post
    Hello, very good job you made there. I followed the guide and i manage to have the icom dongle copy with exactly the same Volume Number and serial (Hardware) number but it seems that icom emulator does not recognize the dongle and without it the emulator appears an error (no usb dongle found). Is there something that we miss? thanks in advance..
    Hi I have the write flash key software which u can easy recognize ur USB dongle but my problem is I can't change the serial number so we can help each other thanks

  22. #22
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    Hello,
    Any help would be appreciated from any one. I am trying to make a duplicate copy of my dongle following this tutorial, but I do not see the chip number. The only info that I see is "Chip Part-Number: Unknown"
    How can I find out the chip number please, any idea?
    Thank you
    Last edited by ardi; 07-10-2013 at 09:33 PM.

  23. #23
    Join Date
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    Hi NZM3CSL,

    I got an HP v220w 8GB USB stick, same as that of another member, who has successfully cloned his dongle with it.
    I had no trouble restoring the image onto my stick, but I keep getting a ‘big [FAIL]’ instead of a ‘big [OK]’ when I try to flash my stick(to update the hardware serial number).
    FAIL image.jpg
    I have been using your settings and the other member's settings exactly, so I’m not sure what to do.

    I did notice some small differences and anomalies:
    1. In the Dialog window’s mid section, in another member's same model stick indicated
    ‘Total MU 6’ and ‘Bad Block 0’,
    whereas my stick indicates
    ‘Total MU 8’ and ‘Bad Block 6’
    (I wonder if this 'Bad Block 6' could cause this?)

    2. After the flash fail, I noticed that the Setting INI window’s ‘Begin Serial’ gets changed to “899000000001B4”. This keeps happening despite my entering “899000000000B4” before initiating the flash. I realize this may be a built-in automatic feature of the flash tool for mass production purposes, but wanted to check if this has anything to do with my issue.

    What do you think I’m doing wrong?
    Are there some other settings(not mentioned in your guide/post) that I should check?

    Thanks.
    Last edited by tinkerman; 07-27-2013 at 06:02 AM.

  24. #24
    Join Date
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    Initial Param Fail (0F) (FlashID not found in Database) - Solution

    I stumbled upon the solution as usual. Basically, the version of the SMI MPTool that I was using was an earlier version than that which was used during the mass production of my USB stick.

    According to the Dialog window, the 'Tester Version' was V2.3.85, whereas the version of SMI MPTool I was using(provided by another member) was V2.3.58.

    I downloaded a later version (V2.3.92 - specifically indicated as being associated with 'IC Version: SM3257ENAA' which is the IC used on my stick), and used it for flashing the new hardware serial number, and succeeded.

    I did disable Firewall and anti-virus but think the real solution was using a version of SMI MPTool that matches or in my case a later version than the version used to produce the stick.

  25. #25
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    Has anyone got the dongle working with the 3.1 emulator?

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