Quattroporte/QP 2009 Bose NIT Silverbox: Suspected HDD Failure

MaseratiGent

Member
Messages
162
Keano - that is exactly what we need to get my (and others') system working again. It would help me and any other 2009-2010 QP owner with Bose systems (there are at least 3 who have PMd me with the same problem).

Once I have a working original image I have the official upgrade CDs for System Update 1 and 2 and think I can update the maps and Gracenote database (to 2019) too but need to test at home on my own car before suggesting to others.

I have sent you a PM.
 
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Swindorski

Junior Member
Messages
37
Hello All, I have an 09 Bose NIT that just displays a blue screen (with a picture of a CD and a spanner on it...) I shall watch this closely and hopefully you'll be able to sort out a viable solution for all of us with problems with this system. Thank you!!
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
Sorry to thread crash, but would one of those be good for copying the hd in my Sky box onto a new one?
If you want a lend let me know, we rarely use it. Standalone solution to dupe drives. No need to connect to a computer.
 

MaseratiGent

Member
Messages
162
As an update I am still working on this problem.

The good news is I can now fix this problem but only by using a new, mechanical Toshiba HDD. Dead Bose NITs can be brought back to life - this has not been done before. Also I can upgrade the software from v1.07 to v2.00 software and take Gracenote from 2008 data to 2009.

The bad news is I am as yet unable to do this on a SSD nor enact any of the hacks I want. Bose and Maserati have all refused to help multiple times. This has all been borne from tenacity and the kindness of Keano lending a (mostly) working drive.

To cut a 6 week/200 hour sweat, blood, toil and tears story to a nutshell: Bose used a proprietary military grade filesystem (?!?!). It was done for redundancy to ensure read-write survivability in high-end use cases and you see similar in HF trading databases. The result however is there is NO way to see/recover/fix a corrupted drive. I identified and have spoken with the Bose & filesystem lead software developers from the time. I have spent a lot of time at hex-level/raw data (which is how I discovered the filesystem type in the MBR). No software recognises the MBR or partitions because to the rest of the world they do not exist. We cannot buy/access the proprietary filesystem drivers to mount the system.

While we cannot see into a filesystem I do have a working v1.07 system. I also have the official update disks Maserati made based on UBoot images. I am hacking an official Maserati update CD to create a new ISO to inject a 2014 Gracenote database (instead of 2009) to see if we can have a v2.00 image with 2014 gracenote data. There is no visibility on the navigation data in order to inject new data.
 
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Dynozor

New Member
Messages
2
This subject interest me, and I'm searching for a A2DP system that could work in my 2008' quattroporte.
I just found this KiriNavi system on the web today and wonder if it couldn't be the graal :
https://h5.fr.aliexpress.com/item/32960717954.html
Some expensive, but if it allows to set up the watch and other car systems like the NIT BOSE : it would be the best discover I made this year ;)
Maybe somebody knows this KiriNavi?
 
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MaseratiGent

Member
Messages
162
Fixing this goes on and thanks to @Keano we have learnt more.

The HDD stores the navigation information & graphics and stored music. In the absence of a failing HDD (which will cause the system to freeze completely) you can use the NIT if you remove the HDD but only the radio and no other functions.

One thing I previously suspected (because the HDD jumper settings were odd - slave) has now been confirmed by Keano's help is that within the NIT unit and separate from the HDD is a (flashable) ROM that stores the core operating system. While we know the HDD has a unique proprietary filesystem (so no files can be accessed or amended) there may be some hacks possible to the ROM (although that would mean risking a NIT unit which I'm not sure any of us is keen to do! Maybe is we put in $200 each and buy a second hand one to try this?).

While we have a working i.e. fixed NITS with mechanical Toshiba drives the use of a flashdrive is proving harder. I have a theory on how we fix this looking at the underlying hex on the drive and will try it when I get time.
 

billydv

New Member
Messages
9
Hi MaseratiGent,
I have posted regarding this issue on the Maserati Forum at https://www.maseratilife.com/threads/bose-nit-ssd-upgrade.132120/#post-1054079
I was hoping for some insight here. How did you copy the drives? I was planning to possibly use a drive duplicator. I've just purchased a used NIT for experimentation. Being that you are in UK, I don't believe temperature gets cold enough for ssd temp range to be a problem but here in NY a regular ssd WILL be a problem.
Thanks in advance
 

rwatkins

Junior Member
Messages
44
Did anyone find a fix here. I am looking to solve the frozen maserati screen on the BOSE NIT unit. I have just had an issue after a long drive.
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,539
Did anyone find a fix here. I am looking to solve the frozen maserati screen on the BOSE NIT unit. I have just had an issue after a long drive.

Check the thread referenced above. He seems to have been successful

C
 

billydv

New Member
Messages
9
Your problem is that your hard drive is bad. I've been looking into this extensively as of late. PM me, I will try to help you out. You will need a new drive with the image already on it
 

billydv

New Member
Messages
9
Ssds won't work here BTW, the specs for an automotive grade drive in ide don't match what we need. Fortunately the original drives are still available