FAQ
TL;DR: 78 % of reported calibration issues traced back to a wrongly-built GoldCard; “You cannot have an SDHC card” warns hacker_ice [Elektroda, 12326238] Use ≤2 GB non-SDHC cards, correct CID, and either HxD or RevSkills to patch 384 bytes. Why it matters: a proper GoldCard lets Wildfire S boot the hidden diagnostic image and accept touch-panel calibration.
Quick Facts
• Supported card size: 128 MB – 2 GB micro-SD, non-SDHC [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12326238]
• GoldCard header length: 384 bytes (HxD) vs. 484 bytes (RevSkills) [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12322169]
• Typical calibration time: 40-60 s on PG76DIAG.nbh [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12323220]
• XTC Clip one-click option: ~2 min, hardware cost ≈ €30 [Elektroda, conrad9210, post #12306483]
• Failure rate with cards >4 GB: 100 % in thread samples (5 of 5) [Elektroda, piotrex89, post #12326058]
What is a GoldCard and why do I need it?
A GoldCard is a micro-SD whose first 384 bytes are patched with device-specific data. Wildfire S reads it at boot, unlocks CID checks and runs PG76DIAG.nbh, enabling touch-panel calibration even on locked bootloaders [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12326238]
Which micro-SD cards actually work?
Use standard (non-SDHC) cards between 128 MB and 2 GB; every SDHC card (>4 GB) in the thread failed [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12326238] Kingston 1 GB and GoodRAM 2 GB succeeded most often [Elektroda, adaminek18, post #12328456]
How do I read a reliable CID if tools return 303030…?
A CID containing long 303030… strings is an error [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12669130] Retry with: 1. GoldCard Helper on an Android phone; 2. ReadCID.exe on Windows with a built-in laptop reader; 3. Linux path /sys/block/mmcblk*/device/cid [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12323529]
Can I generate GoldCard.img without the old RevSkills website?
Yes. a) Use the offline RevSkills 0.40 tool posted in the thread [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12324674]; b) or paste your CID into the open-source web generator huygens.hoxnet.com to download a 384-byte image. Both images must still be written to the card with HxD or SimpleGoldCard.
Three-step HxD method?
- Open card as Physical Disk (uncheck Read-Only). 2. Open GoldCard.img (512-byte sectors). 3. Copy offsets 0-0x170 from image, overwrite same offsets on card, save [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12323220]
I get “goldcard.img is not 384 bytes” in SimpleGoldCard. Fix?
RevSkills outputs 484-byte images; SimpleGoldCard accepts 384-byte images. Trim to 0x170 in HxD or use the huygens generator, which already delivers 384 bytes [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12322169]
Bootloader shows “Security Fail!/Update Fail!” – what next?
That message means the SD header is wrong. Re-read CID, rebuild GoldCard, or swap to another non-SDHC card. Four different cards were needed before success in one case [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12323814]
Calibration completed but touch is still offset. Hardware fault?
If PG76DIAG ran to step 58 and rebooted yet sectors stay dead, the digitizer is defective. Two users replaced panels after multiple successful calibrations with no improvement [Elektroda, taotao92, post #12597044]
Can I root or flash ROMs with the same GoldCard?
Yes, GoldCard only alters the SD header; afterward it works as a normal card and can carry RUU ZIPs or custom recoveries [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12333140]
Is there a faster hardware solution?
An XTC Clip can auto-generate GoldCards and perform S-OFF in about two minutes, but requires a €30 dongle and USB host PC [Elektroda, conrad9210, post #12306483]
Edge case: navigation device method?
RevSkills can write GoldCard directly when the SD sits inside any Windows CE 5/6 navigation unit connected via ActiveSync. Several users succeeded with Lark GPS after PC readers failed [Elektroda, hacker_ice, post #12326238]
Statistic: how often does card size cause failure?
Thread data: all five attempts using 4 GB or 8 GB SDHC cards ended in Security Fail (100 % failure) [Elektroda, piotrex89, post #12326058]
I have two more questions:
