If you don´t know the difference between "boot sector" and "boot mode", this note may help...

Boot mode refers to the way the CPU initializes for a software download. It can be thought of as manual initialization because it must be set at the fixture. When set to boot mode, the fixture is prepared to accept new software and it remains in this mode until the software download is completed and verified, at which point the fixture reboots in its normal DMX (or, for you old-timers, Martin) operating mode.

If the fixture has working software, boot mode can be selected from the control panel (when there is one) and is usually called "upload mode" in the user manual. If, for some reason, the software is totally corrupted, then boot mode can be enabled by moving the boot jumper on the main PCB.

Boot mode is normally not used because there is way, known as "DMX mode", to initiate a software update remotely. In DMX mode, the fixture automatically responds to a special DMX start-code sent by the upload device that tells the fixture to prepare for new software.

The "boot sector" is a physical area of the CPU´s memory that holds start-up instructions that rarely need to be updated. In most Martin fixtures, the boot sector is write-protected by a jumper on the main PCB. On such fixtures, the jumper must be moved to perform a boot sector update. In addition to write-enabling the boot sector, moving the boot jumper also puts the fixture in boot mode.

Note that selecting boot (or upload) mode from the control panel does not effect the boot sector because it is write-protected by the jumper on most Martin PCBs.

We use a different technique, however, in the MiniMAC Maestro, Alien 02, and the Imager. In these fixtures, the boot sector is not write protected and the CPU´s boot sector is updated with the rest of the code when you install a new version of the fixture software, regardless of upload mode. If the control panel works, then a boot sector update (if recommended in the software update notes) can be accomplished by selecting upload mode from the control panel.