30. Backups and flashing safely

Backups And Flashing Safely

Always make a full dump before flashing.

The normal VCU flash size is:

131072 bytes

Recommended Order

1. Choose the correct connection mode.
2. Run a full 128 KB dump.
3. Save a copy of the backup somewhere safe.
4. Load the .bin file.
5. Flash only after dumping works.
6. Wait for verify to complete.

Why Backups Matter

A backup is both a safety copy and a connection test.

If dumping fails, flashing is not safe yet.

File Validation

x3utils validators reject unsafe or suspicious files. Normal flashing requires:

• a real file path;
• .bin extension;
• exactly 131072 bytes;
• content that is not a single repeated byte.

Windows also rejects some path characters that are unsafe for the current OpenOCD command flow.