Bootloader consistently fails on iPod 5.5g

[Kluge]

This problem essentially bricks my iPod for a couple days until I'm mysteriously able to access the disk. I've reinstalled (as in, completely erased everything on iPod, then reinstalled iTunes firmware, then full automated install from rockbox) repeatedly and this is very frustrating. It works the first time after installation, but then fails. What's strange is how random the errors seem -- the iPod passed diagnostics fwiw.

There are a few possible outcomes of rebooting the iPod 5.5g I've discovered:
*Hangs with non-backlit Apple icon for about an hour, then shows sad face
*Hands with non-backlit Apple icon (forever?) until battery dies
*Shows non-backlit Apple icon for a few seconds, then sad face or "restore iPod with iTunes" message.
*Shows "very low battery" screen (even though battery is full) - this generally occurs if I try to access diagnostics from sad face
*Very rarely, will go into disk mode. It seems I get better odds if I go into diagnostics mode and then try going into disk mode with "action" & "play" but I am often unable to enter diagnostics mode either, so....


There is no bootloader screen on the iPod ever when booting. At first it just tries going into Rockbox automatically and then never runs again.

I am able to run iTunes firmware fine when I have not installed the bootloader/Rockbox.

My iPod is bricked again, so whenever I'm able to use it again, I will try to install an older version to see if it corrects. I'm surprised to be the first person reporting this, so maybe I'm missing something obvious.

Cheers.

[Llorean]

Diagnostics and Disk Mode happen *before* the Rockbox bootloader in the startup process. If you can't get to them consistently, there's something wrong with the hardware or Apple firmware on your iPod.

[Kluge]

That isn't what I wanted to hear   

Rockbox really contributes a lot to the use of the iPod and I'll be very sad to have to return to using the stock firmware. It's kind of like going from FiOS for 2 years to dial-up. It has been dropped on a hard surface more than a few times and was purchased about the time it was released, so it has a bit of age. Hopefully I will still be able to use the iPod for a few more months at least using the stock firmware.

Thank you for your answer, however. 

Edit: Finally got to disk access. It still runs fine with only Apple firmware and there are no longer any problems booting. Against my better judgment, I will eventually try manually installing an older version of bootloader/rockbox to see if the problem recurs.