Atari VCS operating system won’t update. Help!

[+Neon Wraith]

2 hours ago, LevelUp said:

i fired up my VCS today ,I used it a week ago ,that update loop is back ,i fixed it a couple months ago and its stuck in a endless loop of downloading 4 and restarting over and over ,this is a real bummer ,anyone one else having this issue ?

 

2 hours ago, tuf said:

 

I have zero doubt that if I turn mine on it'll do the same thing.  Just restored the whole thing a couple of months back.

 

26 minutes ago, jeremiahjt said:

Mine did the same thing. I unplugged it to turn it off. Yesterday when I turned it off again it started the download again. I was putting my kids to bed so I did not wait, but when I went back later the system was all the way off. I hope that the update was completed.

If your VCS gets stuck in a loop and keeps rebooting, unplug it when it reaches step 2 of the process.  Wait 30 seconds and plug it back in.  It may update one more time but you will then be out of that loop.  The new OS that is coming later this summer is supposed to fix many of the issues of the current build.

[LevelUp]

1 hour ago, joeatari1 said:

 

 

If your VCS gets stuck in a loop and keeps rebooting, unplug it when it reaches step 2 of the process.  Wait 30 seconds and plug it back in.  It may update one more time but you will then be out of that loop.  The new OS that is coming later this summer is supposed to fix many of the issues of the current build.

thanks for the tip ,it worked ,unplugged at step 2 ,no problem 

[zzip]

For the people who get in the update loop,  are you using a boot manager like grub or refind or just a vanilla configuration?

 

Supposedly the EFI partition that ends in 1 is the one that triggers the updater,  but for me it seems like sometime these two partitions switch places.

 

Like for instance, mine will sometimes start doing the upgrade loop, and I go into BIOS and select the "1" partition it boots fine instead of triggering the upgrade.

 

I'm trying to understand why this happens so I could use Grub or Refind for booting properly

 

[leparfait]

Hello , I have several VCS 2018 , but one does not want to finish its update ( around 80%) and refuses to open my profile . The only OS image I found is from 2020 . Is there a link for an image of the last OS 2023?   thank you .  Kenavo .

[zzip]

1 hour ago, leparfait said:

Hello , I have several VCS 2018 , but one does not want to finish its update ( around 80%) and refuses to open my profile . The only OS image I found is from 2020 . Is there a link for an image of the last OS 2023?   thank you .  Kenavo .

Maybe start here, it's directions from Atari support.   

 

The link in the discord points for OS image points here:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/18h01VknAi8eFsCFxeEe2DiCMo1XoT6Y9/view?usp=sharing

[Kyne]

On 12/4/2022 at 3:57 PM, davpa said:

Hey, I’m sorry for your updating woes, certainly not what we want you to experience. It seems that older versions of the AtariOS is just having issues updating when it might be a large jump in version numbers to catch-up to the current build. Here is the link to the latest version of the AtariOS with the bios upgrade 24 option: Current AtariOS build and BIOS install

 

This is not update, but the latest production version for users who need to re-install. Download the file, flash it to a USB (using Etcher or Rufus), then plug in the USB to a turned off VCS. When the VCS boots the flashed USB will kick in and install a fresh copy of the OS.

 

I apologize for this extra step to have things working, but this will fix everything in most cases.

Hi,

I am in the same boat. New VCS received this week, nothing starts, update failed (after BIOS and controllers updated). I used your image to flash teh system which was successful (2021 OS) but the issues are the same.

The link to the current build you posted is no longer working. Can you repost this so that I can update to a current version?

Right now, I cannot start anything, loging goes into endless loops, the controllers only work wired, every restart all settings are forgotten... Uff..

[RadiATIon]

Here is the link to the latest version of the atari os upgrade. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ru8o6IObMlm34tAWXSHvSJVd72rUD5ps/view?usp=sharing

[davpa]

On 6/18/2023 at 4:12 AM, Kyne said:

Hi,

I am in the same boat. New VCS received this week, nothing starts, update failed (after BIOS and controllers updated). I used your image to flash teh system which was successful (2021 OS) but the issues are the same.

The link to the current build you posted is no longer working. Can you repost this so that I can update to a current version?

Right now, I cannot start anything, loging goes into endless loops, the controllers only work wired, every restart all settings are forgotten... Uff..

Sorry, I don't seem to be able to edit my original post with that link.  As @RadiATIon stated, the new update file is found https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ru8o6IObMlm34tAWXSHvSJVd72rUD5ps/view?usp=sharing =sharing

[KevinFlynn]

Hello all.  I recently purchased a VCS and am having this problem same problem for updating.  I went to the google drive link, but it's no longer up.  Does anyone know where to get the current latest OS image?

[RadiATIon]

5 hours ago, KevinFlynn said:

Hello all.  I recently purchased a VCS and am having this problem same problem for updating.  I went to the google drive link, but it's no longer up.  Does anyone know where to get the current latest OS image?

Always the same link : 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ru8o6IObMlm34tAWXSHvSJVd72rUD5ps/view?usp=drivesdk 

[KevinFlynn]

Ah ok.  Looks like there is another link further above that doesn't work.  Thanks @RadiATIon I appreciate it. 

[mikro]

Just to share my experience: the update loop (the "soft" one: unable to update but I could use the system with the annoying "Something went wrong" popups) was on my OS from 2021 present as well. With some googling I found the Discord group, downloaded the image, put on USB (simple 'dd' in Linux does its job, too btw) and booted the VCS. No need to do or press anything, no need for keyboard, after a while it starts the first menu entry by itself (i.e. the OS update).

 

After that, no issues.

 

I find the google drive link solution quite unfortunate, while looking for solutions I found (and downloaded...) two other images; and since there is no date/time information even in the filename, it was hard to judge which one to use. Fortunately I was smart enough to boot the one from Discord in the end, i.e. the latest one (May 2023).

[E. King]

Atari for a very long time has been knowingly selling bricked VCS systems to new customers.

 

Many new VCS units arrive DOA due to a broken update process.

 

Even though Atari knows there is a major known issue that has been going on for a very long time, they do nothing to warn new VCS buyers and just ship out defective VCS units like it's business as usual. 

 

These customers are left with a shitty piss poor first impression about the VCS and the "new" Atari company.

 

It is not normal to have to perform a manual flash to unbrick the unit on a brand new game system out of the box.

 

Shameful unethical business practices going on at Atari.

[Mockduck]

I agree it sucks, but I fear the solution would be more likely to be stopping selling the VCS over paying someone to fix every console in stock then reprinting and repackaging existing units (assuming that they couldn't/wouldn't reuse existing boxes since they'd look opened.)

[+swlovinist]

I wonder how many units they are sitting on.   I hope that this can be resolved and agree that it needs to improve out of the box.  Having the software on their end be improved hopefully will happen.   

[+sfish]

I recently bought a full VCS package with the controllers and the woodgrain front and was frustrated by the upgrade process. My experiences with hardware fiddling and regularly performing these kinds of upgrades came in really handy, so I was ultimately satisfied, but could see how other users would be significantly disappointed or even thwarted by the process. I would hope Atari can fix this so when the old units call in to try and perform their initial upgrade, they get an intermediary package that then pushes over to the full upgrade making it significantly easier for new users. 

[stirrell]

4 hours ago, Mockduck said:

I agree it sucks, but I fear the solution would be more likely to be stopping selling the VCS over paying someone to fix every console in stock then reprinting and repackaging existing units (assuming that they couldn't/wouldn't reuse existing boxes since they'd look opened.)

Could they include a sheet of instructions and a USB stick with the BIOS on it with each VCS they ship out? They wouldn't need to put it into the box itself or reprint anything, I wouldn't think. I certainly think that adding a little addendum with the needed files would go a long way to make the process more pleasant for new owners.

[Mockduck]

19 hours ago, stirrell said:

Could they include a sheet of instructions and a USB stick with the BIOS on it with each VCS they ship out? They wouldn't need to put it into the box itself or reprint anything, I wouldn't think. I certainly think that adding a little addendum with the needed files would go a long way to make the process more pleasant for new owners.

Yeah that seems like the least they could do, make sure to let people know what to expect and how to fix it. That said flashing a BIOS is scary stuff to a lot of people (I'll count myself in that group), and not something I ever really want to do, even if the process ends up being fairly easy. 

[scifidude79]

This thread title is misleading, likely intentionally so. Something that is "bricked" is totally dead and completely unusable. The VCS units aren't dead and are usable, there's just a pain in the butt update process. They can also be used without ever booting into the Atari OS because they're small computers.

 

Having said that, I do believe that the least Atari could do is include a set of instructions as to how to update your system. From what I've seen, people are left having to source this information themselves and it's not even super easy to find. Note to Atari: Your Discord is a mess and it's not easy to find anything on there. A sheet of instructions with a web address where one can obtain the needed firmware for a manual update would go a long way to helping people enjoy your product. Including the files on a drive in the box would be going above and beyond, but that would make people appreciate you even more. As a retail manager, I can say that sometimes we hurt our bottom line just to help a customer leave the store with a better experience. A customer who has a good experience is that much more likely to do business with you again.

Edited June 21 by scifidude79

[E. King]

18 minutes ago, scifidude79 said:

This thread title is misleading, likely intentionally so. Something that is "bricked" is totally dead and completely unusable.

No intentions of being misleading. If it arrives in a non-functioning state with a broken update process then in my opinion it is a brick. Can it be unbricked? Yes, but like you said, it is a pain in the ass and people should not be put in that situation when they could have been easily warned by the seller before purchasing a potentially non-working product.

 

This has been going on for years and the situation has gotten worse over the past year and Atari has done nothing about it as far as making the customer aware of the situation before or even after purchase. 

 

I am sure they have tried to fix it and are still working on correcting the situation but that does not excuse their piss poor attitude toward customers going on for so long.

 

When a company is fully aware of something like this for so long and they still choose to provide zero customer awareness about their faulty product but just keep selling it business as usual,  how can it  mean anything other than, them not really caring all that much about the customer.  

[scifidude79]

2 hours ago, E. King said:

When a company is fully aware of something like this for so long and they still choose to provide zero customer awareness about their faulty product but just keep selling it business as usual,  how can it  mean anything other than, them not really caring all that much about the customer.  

Indeed. And, unfortunately, it's not just Atari that does this. I hooked my XBOX Series S back up a month or so ago and was greeted by an update and incredibly slow WIFI. I have over 500 Mbps internet and I was getting under 100 Mbps. That's not how the WIFI was on the unit the last time I used it. Obviously, games on the Series S can get into the dozens of Gigabytes, some well over 100. Downloading at that slow of a speed was excruciating. My computer and PS5 were (and still are) hitting over 500, but the XBOX remained slow. Even my XBOX One S was downloading faster, and I bought that in 2018. I found all kinds of attempts to be helpful on the web, but no solution. Then I found a thread from one of Microsoft's help forums saying that they acknowledge the issue. That was from December. Last time I checked was a couple weeks ago, I even tried a factory reset and I'm still getting incredibly slow WIFI. I'm frustrated with the thing, it's not even hooked up, and Microsoft's "we're aware of the issue" wasn't a comfort at all. Obviously, they created this issue with an update and they need to release and update to fix it.

 

I can equate the level of frustration that I'm having with the Series S to the issues that people are having with new VCS units. There's no real answer from the company and no sign that it will be addressed, much less fixed.

Edited June 21 by scifidude79

[Gamemoose]

I'd say it's potentially "hosed" rather than "bricked" (or the elder term "toast", because you can't un-toast toast).  When I got mine, it came up working but needed to get the updates.  Thanks to the forums here, I was prepared and was able to get my VCS updated and working without too much hassle.  Good instructions in a plastic sleeve taped on the box would be a great way to start.  Or a QR code going to a website with a Youtube video and instructions on what to do before you use the system.  From an essentially small company, that would be a great step in the right direction.  A level headed customer, once explained the situation, might (and I use that lightly) be more understanding.

 

With Microsoft and the Xbox....yeah they are a HUGE company with tons of people working on updates....that should be fixed toot-sweet.  I wonder if it's a driver-like issue (as the versions of the system probably have different hardware per release generation)?

[scifidude79]

Yeah, the small VS big thing definitely applies. However, when you factor in the huge company, how many people in the XBOX division has Microsoft laid off in the past several months? Anyone who follows tech news knows where their priorities are. Giving people "A.I." features that most consumers aren't asking for.

 

Anyway, moving back to Atari. Atari is a small company, and it's obvious that a simple fix might take a long time if it comes at all. I found back in January that Asteroids Recharged on Steam was installing the wrong files on a Linux computer to run the game. I submitted a support ticket. It took about 5 months to get a response (not the only one I got, mind you) saying it was fixed, but it's not. It still installs the wrong files on my computers. I have to use the Windows version on a Linux computer. I understand an issue like that might take a while to track down for a small company. (it's not like Asteroids Rechaged is the only borked Linux game on Steam) However, there is this. Atari is selling the VCS for $200 with no controllers and $300 for the all-in bundle in their web store. To my knowledge, this is the only place to buy a new VCS. I bought my VCS in late 2022, and I think this issue started not long after I got mine and was able to update it normally. In over a year, Atari hasn't once bothered to have someone update their store page with a warning about this issue and a link to instructions to deal with it. How hard is that to do, even for a small company? They add items to the store frequently, I think the same person who does that should be able to put something on the store pages for the systems about this issue. Yet, there's no mention of this by Atari and some people are going into this situation blind. Not everyone knows of this forum or the Atari Discord that will help them. There's no even a link to AtariAge or the Discord on Atari's main site.

[82-T/A]

I wondered that too... but I'm willing to accept that maybe the updates will still work in some situations. My first VCS worked fine, and I've had no problems. The second VCS I purchase (for a different room) ran into the issue where I had to manually update via USB key. It made me wonder why Atari didn't manually update each of the VCS systems while they are still in inventory. For the record, I bought both direct from Atari. I can understand if I purchase from Amazon (not via-Atari's store on there).

 

Maybe it does work some of the time?

[famicommander]

Like 50% of the posts on this site anymore are people making excuses for why we can't reasonably expect Atari to ship products that work. There's no accountability so there's no reason to expect Atari to change.