LN40B640 Walkthrough


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Walkthrough of modifications for a Samsung LN40B640

I bought my 40" LB640 last December as an Xmas present for myself. Unfortunately it's taken almost a year before I had the time to start messing with the TV, but over the last week, I've gotten almost everything working that I wanted. It took me many tries to get everything just right, so I'm going to try and recount the ordeal here as clearly as I can.

NOTE: This is a work in progress, IT IS NOT COMPLETE YET!!!

DISCLAIMER I probably came very close to bricking my tv, there's no guarantee that simply by reading this page it won't brick your tv, kill your dog, or even cause your legs to fall off. Don't do any of this until you have read the entire page and understand it. I warned you!

Steps Taken

A very high-level overview of the process I took (this doesn't take into account the mistakes I made along the way)

  1. Setup the TV for hacking
  2. Write necessary scripts
  3. Download the firmware update from Samsung
  4. Modify the firmware
  5. Flash the new firmware
  6. Jump for joy!

Setting up the TV for hacking

On my particular tv, some of the instructions weren't quite right, but here's what I did to make things work.

  1. Disable the watchdog
  2. Set rs232 to debug
  3. BUILD AN EXLINK CABLE!!! (I can't stress enough how important this is!)

Write necessary scripts

I ended up doing the 'advanced' install effectively (I didn't use the auto-patcher) so I added a SamyGO.sh script that enables a boot-loop fix on the usb drive.

Download the firmware from Samsung's Website

NOTE: This firmware image is SAFE for installing on the LNxxB640 TV's as we don't have a Gallery mode in the first place, so nothing gets disabled :)

The firmware image can be obtained from this site: http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/tv-video/televisions/lcd-tv/LN40B640R3FUZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=support Click the firmware link, and download the .exe file.

  1. Unzip the image

(heading to bed for tonight, I'll update some more tomorrow)