have to eject memory card for RB to boot

[JdGordon]

use an official bootloader

[lewislink]

I have the firmware located and downloadeds. I don't have the utility yet because i don't know where it is. It suppoed to install the firmware automatically. The way I installed RB on my c250 was by unzipping the firmware file directly to the c250. However, I cannot do that with this e250 because it doesn't show up in the directory in either USB mode. It shows up in the PC but not when trying to select a place to unzip to. So manual installation apparently can't be done.

[lewislink]

I just finished with the Utility install and unless I must install something else, the boot up doesn't work. I'll try to take a picture of the screen so what is said can be seen but the bottom line says "File Not Found"

Update -
Okay, I was almost not going to be able to use my e250 because it wouldn't boot into RB and wouldn't boot into OEM but I remembered reading someone saying to hold the left arrow while pressing the start button and this got me into OEM firmware. When it loaded up and I connected to my PC, the Sansa Updater showed an updated firmware available. I went ahead and updated the OEM firmware and am now trying to re-install the Rockbox installation utility...the Housekeeping tool or whatever it was called.

Hopefully this will get the system up and running. If not, what would the likey cause be for it not working?

Second update -

I'd appreciate it someone would reply. The second automatic install...a "Complete Install"...finished and I opened up the root of the drive on my PC but didn't see any Rockbox files other than the Uninstall file leftover from the unofficial RB. I don't know what the install process is extracting the firmware to but it isn't being put on my e250. It doesn't show up in "System" on the drive root nor anywhere else.

[lewislink]

Okay, the second automatic install doesn't work either. It gives the same message when attempting to boot, "File Not Found". I did a manual install and still no good.

[MarcGuay]

I don't know if you uninstalled the old bootloader or not.  Does it still say ReverseBL when you boot up?  If so, that needs to go, ask the people you got it from.  If it's been replaced with the official Rockbox bootloader, try running the Rockbox Utility, make sure your player is the selected device, click the Installation tab, and click Install Rockbox.  Leave the selection as Current Build and choose Install.  If anything goes wrong, please report the exact error message.  After this is done you should find a folder called ".rockbox" in the root of your player.

[lewislink]

I did that. I used Sansapatcher to uninstall the older bootloader and tried to install the official, "Current build" through the Rockbox Utility in the automatic and manual mode. Everything processes like it is installing and even shows the file extraction scxreen to completion but when the installation finishes, I look at the root of my device and there is nothing Rockbox related.

The black screen that comes up on my device when I try to boot RB doesn't have the bootloader info but does say "File Not Found".

[MarcGuay]

But you didn't install the bootloader with Sansapatcher... It would have made more sense to uninstall it via the method described by the people who gave you the installer...

Is "File Not Found" all it says?  

If you extract files manually to the root of your player they should be there.  When you say "manual mode" what do you mean?

[lewislink]

The Rockbox I installed has an Uninstallion file I used to uninstall the other Rockbox. The manual mode of extracting directly to the Sansa can't work because the Sansa doesn't show up on the location selection screen of the unzipper. The Sansa does show up in My Computer and I can access it with no troubles but it doesn't show up in the file extraction process. The manual mode I used was the "Install" feature of the Rockbox Utlity that is beside the Automatic instaltion feature. I used both methods but neither one will put files on the Sansa even though the installation progresses as though it is putting files there.

As far as what else the screen says when attempting to boot Rockbox, the "File Not Found" line is repeated a few times but there is other info that I can't get to. It disappears in about 2 seconds or so. I've reinstalled the unofficial Rockbox and am asking around in the Sandisk forum, where I got the RB, for help in resolving the memory card issue and don't desire to try to reinstall the official RB untill I can get some info as to why it won't actually install. When I install the official RB, through the Rockbox Utility, it doesn't put anything visible on the drive root of my Sansa e250. There isn't any bootloader intalled and, in fact, while having the unofficial RB installed, I tried to install the official Bootloader but it won't install because the RB installed is an old version. But when I install the official RB, the official Bottloader installs just fine and shows so in the installation progress screen during Automatic install.

[MarcGuay]

1)  What's the entire error message?

2) Rockbox Utility doesn't have anything called "manual mode" (unless you mean the manual tab where you can read/download the instruction manual?) or "automatical installation".  Could you be very specific?  Have you tried exactly what I described 4 posts ago?  

3) What does Windows call your Sansa in My Computer?

[JdGordon]

try uninstalling the bootloader with sansapatcher and dont do anything else untill you get back to having it only boot into the OF.

once your back to a vanilla e200 use rbutil to install the bootloader AND current build (you need to do both, iirc rbutil doesnt do them in 1 step)

[lewislink]

This is what I meant by "manual install". Sorry for the confusion:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x51/lewislink2/RBinstall.jpg

This is what I meant by Automatic install:
http://i186.photobucket.com/albums/x51/lewislink2/RBinstall2.jpg





I did all that was mention about uninstalling the bootloader and such but nothing worked. The only thing I haven't yet done is format the Sansa.

[MarcGuay]

One more time:

What's the exact error message when your turn on the player?

[lewislink]

I can't give that information because I didn't take a picture of it and I've gotten my *music* player up and running with the old RB for now. I'll see if i can get more info before i attempt to cease my music playing by trying to install the official RB.

Sorry. But the main part of the message is File Not Found. The files aren't being put on the Sansa root even though the unzip per is saying it is extracting to the Sansa.

[lewislink]

Is there a reason I can't extract the Rockbox file to my desktop or some other location and then drag and drop the file onto my Sansa? That's all that needs to take place is for the file to get onto the drive root.

[Febs]

lewislink, could you answer this question?

3) What does Windows call your Sansa in My Computer?

Also, what unzip program are you using?