Gigabeat F40 hangs at Rockbox screen/inaccessible via USB

[woodensoul]

Updated to the the current build this morning while the player was in the dock.  Update went fine.  Turned player off and plug icon appeared since it was still plugged in to the AC power.  Just tried to turn on the player and it just hangs at the Rockbox boot screen, Rockbox never loads.  Plugging into USB does nothing and it doesn't show up in Windows.  I had to switch off the battery in order to try again.  Same results.  Any suggestions?

[elborak]

You don't mention how recent your previous (working) build was, but my best guess is that you installed a new build without updating to the new (April 21) bootloader.

[woodensoul]

I just got it on Wednesday (the 18th) and installed the current bootloader at that time.  I had no idea that there was a new bootloader released yesterday.  Wish that was made more clear.  What should I do now?

[woodensoul]

I have solved the problem with the help of the guys on IRC.  In case anyone else has the same problem, here is what I did to fix it.  Hold VOLUME UP while turning the player on.  The kernal will then be restored.  Turn the battery switch to OFF and then to ON.  Now turn the player on and the OF will load giving you access to USB once again.  Before copying the new bootloader remember to rename the FWIMG01.DAT to FWIMG01.DAT.ORIG as per the installation instructions so it can be restored if ever needed.  Now copy the new bootloader to the device and Rockbox should load once again after you power off, flip the battery switch to off then on, and power on.

[MaD_MaX]

What should do the ones who deleted the original bootloader FWIMG01.DAT ??  Would there be a way to bypass this problem by plugging the hd directly in a computer ??

[Phalangees]

What should do the ones who deleted the original bootloader FWIMG01.DAT ??  Would there be a way to bypass this problem by plugging the hd directly in a computer ??

The hard drive is much smaller than the regular computer hard drive cables can handle so it's not so easy. You would have to buy an adapter.

You can still access your gigabeat hard drive by doing the "hot swap" if you delete your FWIMG01.DAT. Step by step instructions are given in the GigabeatInfo wiki.

[MaD_MaX]

woodensoul, you made my day !!!

The hot swap thing worked.  I can enjoy my music again