So I tried to pick up an SB3/classic on the cheap via ebay. The thing does power up but it runs a demo right away. As in, you plug it in and it says "Starting demo in....5..4..3..2..1" and then it launches into a product demo on the screen showing how to navigate the device, play music, listen to ip radio, etc. But it just loops the demo and never acts like a regular SB3.
At least it used to behave that way, until I plugged it into my network, it says it downloaded a new firmware from the SqueezeNetwork and now it just does the countdown and never even launches the demo, it freezes at 1.
I tried Logitech support and after a few emails they said they couldn't help me. Which I understand, I didn't buy the unit from them and apparently this unit should have never been sold, it was only supposed to be used as an in-store display. But the hardware (from the outside) looks the same as my other SB3, the optical out lights up the screen works, etc. It does not respond to any commands from my remote ('add' button, '1' button, 'brightness', etc.) If I plug it into the network it seems to pull an IP on startup and I can ping it.
I was hoping some Squeezebox gurus here would know how to manually flash the firmware (without using slimserver) to see if that would turn it into a normal functioning SB3. I saw a thread on the official Slim Devices forums indicating that they were the same hardware, but had a dedicated demo firmware that only updates itself with new demo firmware, but there was no resolution to the issue in that thread. I thought if I could tftp to it or something, that I could make it work.
Thanks for any help.
Todd
P.S.- If nothing else, be aware that these 'demo units' exist and although they power on and appear to work to an ebay reseller, they aren't good for much but spare parts, at least not right now.
Update: I just got a response on slimdevices.com from Sean Adams himself that these things have some different internal hardware that can't be retro-fitted or re-flashed back to a normal unit. So be careful on eBay and ask questions. Just because it is listed as 'working condition' doesn't mean it works as it should. The key is to ask if it says 'starting demo' on the screen when its plugged in. If so, stay away.
