Q:Dual boot - Sansa primary - Sansapatcher

[dzr]

Is there any way of getting a dual boot with Sansa firmware primary while using (a patched?) Sansapatcher, as opposed to the old method, which was posted a while back?

Thanks

[digerati1338]

See this forum post in the builds section: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=9792.0 just download the mi4 and save it to the root of your player in msc mode.  That is all.  

There is no sansapatcher that does this, and I honestly don't see the need for one since this is so simple.

[linuxstb]

The point of sansapatcher is that it stores an unencrypted copy of the original firmware in the firmware partition which means you can enter USB mode even if your FAT32 partition is corrupted.

sansapatcher can write any bootloader to your Sansa, not just the official one which is embedded in sansapatcher itself.  Just do "sansapatcher -a bootloader.mi4"

[dzr]

It worked! Nice and simple.... Thanks!

[AutobahnSHO]

This is just to help anyone with a e200R who might run into problems-
You can also use these steps to clear Rockbox from an e200R player. Just make a backup of your OF.mi4 file onto your computer, delete the OF.mi4 file on the Sansa, then follow steps 1-4 below.

I already had Rockbox successfully installed on an e250R. I wanted to use the above reverse bootloader, so it boots into the Sansa Original Firmware first.

I downloaded the RBL on Mike's page and copied it to the root, as well as renaming it to OF.mi4 and restarted my player. (Didn't read instructions carefully enough.) Luckily I made a backup of the OF.mi4 that was on my player: which was 5Mb. The new one I overwrote it with was only 61Kb, I should have known better.
-Upon restart it tried to load rockbox but wouldn't, said it was looking for original firmware, went to a fast blinking white screen, and back to the trying to load rockbox text. I held the center button and it WOULD load Rockbox, but otherwise would NOT do anything else.

The FIX-
1- Go into "Recovery mode" by turning the Hold (next to headphone jack) ON and hold in "Record" while plugging it into the computer. The Sansa says "USB Cable connected Enter USB2.0 MSD mode" and it shows up under Windows as "16MB-FORMAT"
-------DO NOT EVER FORMAT THIS DRIVE or Change any original files or you'll be making a lot of work for yourself-------
2- In that "16MB" partition I created a folder called "Sansa.fmt" and properly disconnect the Sansa, then allow it to reboot. This tells the Sansa to format all applicable files/ folders.
3- Still got blinking whitescreen.
4- I went back into Recovery mode and copied my ORIGINAL OF.mi4 file into the 16MB partition. Disconnect, allowed it to reboot, and it came back up all original-ish. No Rockbox, no evidence of rockbox files, and no text like it does when it boots into Rockbox.

If you need the working OF.mi4 file for an e200R, feel free to email me at willdouglass at hotmail.

[Chronon]

This sort of thing really belongs in an FAQ or similar on the wiki.

[AutobahnSHO]

This sort of thing really belongs in an FAQ or similar on the wiki.

I would ant to make sure that I'm thorough before doing that-

I'm looking at a NON-Rockboxed e250 to see how it's different than my Rockboxed players.
I can't find the OF.mi4 file- is it JUST for Rockbox to use?
Does copying it in my steps above actually do anything?
(Or do I need to try it myself- I'd hate to brick a player, especially since the R's are a little more tempermental..)

[karashata]

OF.mi4 is the original firmware file saved with a different name for Rockbox to detect it for dual-booting, since it has to replace the original file with the Rockbox bootloader so the device will boot Rockbox rather than the OF all the time. If you delete the .mi4 Rockbox replaced and rename the OF.mi4 file to its proper name, you'll be booting the OF again.

I believe the above applies to all of the PortalPlayer-based devices (excluding the iPods.)

[AutobahnSHO]

OF.mi4 is the original firmware file saved with a different name for Rockbox to detect it for dual-booting, since it has to replace the original file with the Rockbox bootloader so the device will boot Rockbox rather than the OF all the time. If you delete the .mi4 Rockbox replaced and rename the OF.mi4 file to its proper name, you'll be booting the OF again.

I believe the above applies to all of the PortalPlayer-based devices (excluding the iPods.)

Maybe I'm just a klutz but I can't find ANY  .mi4 files on my non-rockboxed player.

[Llorean]

The MI4 files don't exist on the player normally. After the player reads them, they're copied to a different area in memory you can't see.

They're only around right before an update when you've just copied them on, or when you put one in another place for Rockbox to use.

[AutobahnSHO]

Aha!
So my uninstall instructions are basically correct for anyone. If someone doesn't have the OF.mi4 file they can manually download the correct Sansa firmware here http://forums.sandisk.com/sansa/board/message?board.id=e200R&thread.id=2280

I'll type my Uninstall Instructions up more coherently then they should go here, right? - http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/SansaE200R

In the manual all uninstallation instructions involve using the Rockbox utility, which in a pinch, might not be available to someone. So this could be added to the manual as well.. ?