Iriver H10 (UMS, Japan) - OF no longer available, device no longer functions

[AndyO]

I installed the ROCKbox bootloader and firware using the ROCKbox Utility; there was an error (can't remeber exactly what), but installation did finish.

On power up, the system returned similar to:"cannot find rockbox.mi4 or rockbox.H10"; and then turned off. The Iriver firmware would not load when prompted and stated that it could not find the file System/OF.mi4.
On investigation I found that the .rockbox folder contained no files, so I manually installed them.
The ROCKbox firmware would then load.
I also downloaded another H10.mi4 file and changed the one in the 'System' folder to OF.mi4 as per a manual install.
This gave a new message when I attempted to load the Iriver firmware, but still failed to load.

ROCKbox is also now corrupted, possibly by pulling out the USB at the wrong time.

I have tried reinstalling firmware, and even a full format of the device; however, some remnant of ROCKbox still remains, as it will not allow Iriver to have control: it cannot find files, then turns off.

Has the Installer possibly corrupted some EEprom by loading the bootloader somewhere where it cannot be removed?

I am at a loss for what to do now after a whole day; the device is now non-operational.
Any help would be very much appreciated, thankyou.

[Llorean]

Rockbox isn't installed to, and doesn't write to, an eeprom or flash on your device.

It would help if you could tell us what error message it's giving. Also, what "h10.mi4" did you download and put in your system folder?

[AndyO]

Using current build firmware for H10.
Bootloader from http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/iriver/
File: H10.mi4; 20-Mar-2007 22:27   50K
Method: Rename original file as OF.mi4; paste in new file.

Note: I have used '*' to indicate character/s which are not visible on the LCD.

/*On trying to load iriver firmware **Cancel button held, screen continually refreshes and prints***/
Rockbox boot loader
Version: r12862:12866*
iriver H10 5/6GB
ST650211 FX
partition 0: 0x0B 476*
Loading original firmware
Trying /System/OF.mi4
mi4 size: C800
CRC32: 17676185
Model id: h105
Binary type: RBBL
Calculated CRC32: 176*
//**Cancel button released** RockBox firmware loads


The reason I suggested ram or eeprom is because though I reformatted the harddisk and reinstalled the iriver firmware, some remnant of RockBox was obviously still on the device, it gave these messages before turning off:

//On turning on
Version: r12862:12866*
iriver H10 5/6GB
ST650211 FX
partition 0: 0x0B 476*
Loading Rockbox...
Can't load rockbox.mi4
File not found
Can't load rockbox.H10
File not found

//On realising RockBox was still around and trying to load iriver firmware
Rockbox boot loader
Version: r12862:12866*
iriver H10 5/6GB
ST650211 FX
partition 0: 0x0B 476*
Loading original firmware
Trying /System/OF.mi4
Can't load /System/OF*
File not found
Trying /System/OF.bin
Can't load /System/OF*
File not found

Thanks for your reply :-)

[AndyO]

I've fixed where the RockBox firmware had been corrupted - by reformatting; it was due to pulling out the USB at a bad time - it had previously locked up when I plugged into the running RockBox firmware. I've found that turning on the H10 after the USB has been inserted is a good option for transferring files - this displays the "Connected" Iriver screen rather than a RockBox one.

The RockBox firmware is far superior to Iriver's original firmware, making proper use of the H10's actual capabilities.

Though I don't really miss the original firmware anymore, it is still a bit sad that the dual boot does not work and that my device has undergone an irreversible change.
If a reformat will not remove RockBox then what will? There must be some memory somewhere which has been changed and is inaccessible.

Though it is no longer crucial that I remove RockBox or get the dual boot working, I really would still like to be able to do both if needed;

Any ideas, let me know :-); I hope all this might help at least comfort someone who is in the throes of believing his H10 is no more.

[karashata]

Uninstalling Rockbox should be as simple as deleting the .rockbox directory from the root of the device and deleting the H10.mi4 from the System directory, and renaming the OF.mi4 to H10.mi4.  However, if you don't have the original firmware files on the device or backed up elsewhere, you'll have to use the iriver plus software to reinstall the OF.

[AndyO]

All these things I have tried previously, though I am still thankful for your advice.
My suspicion is that the RockBox Utility (automatic installer) may have corrupted some memory that cannot be accessed ordinarily - the installation process finished, but by no means was it installed properly. The .rockbock folder contained no information, and there was no additional H10.mi4 file or renamed OF file. This is when my problems began. I did a manual install which got RockBox firmware operational, but the dual boot did not work. Even after reformatting and reinstalling from Iriver plus, RockBox still tried to load: EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T THERE ON THE DISK; spooky eh?
I'll try reformatting again, but am not hopeful.

Whether this would have occurred had I performed only a manual install cannot be answered, but in light of this experience, it may be safer at the moment to go the tried and true manual install. The irony is: I thought, don't try the manual install, you're most likely to stuff it up!
As for rom (possibly reprogrammable), there must be something in the H10 to make it boot up; or possibly harddrive space that is not accessable.
Terribly sorry for all the writing, better to be thorough than vague.
Thanks for you reply

[AlexP]

As I understand it, rbutil for the H10 just copies the files, nothing else.

I don't understand what has happened, but am not sure how it could be rbutil.  Perhaps on the the rbutil devs can confirm or otherwise what I say.

[Llorean]

RBUtil does just copy the files, exactly like the manual install. And it just deletes and renames, exactly like the manual uninstall. All this hypothesizing about it corrupting a normally inaccessible part of the disk or a writable ROM is silly: It doesn't access one.

[Chronon]

It sounds to me like the user does not have a copy of the original firmware at present.  Is it possible that Iriver Plus is loading another copy of the Rockbox bootloader instead of a fresh copy of the Iriver firmware?  (I have no familiarity with Iriver Plus.)

[karashata]

It's very unlikely that iriver Plus would be loading another copy of the Rockbox bootloader to the device.  It accesses iriver's servers and grabs the appropriate files for the device it's upgrading, it doesn't go anywhere near Rockbox at all.

What I'd recommend is to visit the iriveramerica support page for the H10 5/6GB and download the MTP firmware updater, then copy any files (like music and such) you need to save off your H10, then format the device (make sure the format uses the device defaults), connect the device in UMS mode, then run the mtp firmware updater.  if it asks where you bought your H10, answer appropriately, and it will proceed with the firmware update procedure.  Hopefully that fixes things with the OF not seeming to be present, then you can proceed to install rockbox again and put your music and whatever else back onto the device.