Unknown Device e280

[datacreek]

Love RB... this is the second e200 I've put it on.

This is driving me nuts and may take a RB/sansa guru to help. I've searched everywhere.

No matter what I do my Sansa e280 shows as an unknown device. This is true in all modes.
In manufacture mode the blue lighted ring lights... still unknown device
It will boot to recovery mode... still unknown device

Rockbox works just as it should. Original OS (01.02.18A) works just as it should.

Luckily I have a ton of (6GB) songs on the unit and can add via the sd card but I can't get to the main drive (MSC) no matter what I do.

I'm stumped as what to do if there is no way I can access it.

The only weird thing I've noticed that may help is when I look Partition Info under Debug Mode it shows.
P0: S:250
   T:B 7649 MB
P1: S:EF1000
   T:84 20MB
P2: S:0
   T:0 0MB
P3:
   T:0 0MB
   
Seems like there are two additional unneeded partitions??

I'm on XP and away from home for a month or so and do not have access to a Linux box although I installed RB on this XP laptop.

The only thing I did that may have screwed this up was when I first got the unit it was shown as an unknown device prior to installing RB. In manufacture or recovery mode (I can't remember) I updated driver from unknown device by pointing to e200 tools.
Instructions were to load 0781-0720.inf but windows only allows selecting a folder and maybe 0666-E200.inf was loaded.
Anyway after I did this it worked. I installed RB and it continued to work for some time, at least a few weeks. XP saw it and all was well.
Then one day I plugged it in and it came up as an Unkown Device. I've tried deleting "unknown device" updating driver (windows cannot find a better driver...).

Like I said everything on the unit works RB and original OS. I just cannot access it. Have tried all USB ports as well as another XP computer and it is the same.
I guess I could just continue to use forever as is but I will not be able to update RB or add/delete songs from the main drive.

I have not seen a similar problem so any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[zajacattack]

If the drivers are messed up, do the following:
1) Connect your Sansa in MSC mode.
2) In Hardware Manager, UNISTALL the unknown device.
3) Then, right-click "Universal Serial Bus controllers" and select "Scan for hardware changes". Windows will re-install its default driver.

[AlexP]

1)  The second partition is the firmware partition, kind of essential.

2)  I am sure you are (but need to check) trying to access it from the Sansa firmware, as Rockbox for the e200 does not yet have a USB mode?

3)  Please read the posting in this forum stickies before posting.  This has nothing to do with installation/uninstallation.

[datacreek]

Sorry about posting to wrong forum... since this was specific to Sansa I thought that was a better area. Should have read... sorry.

If the drivers are messed up, do the following:...

I've tried that on two separate XP SP2 boxes. Comes back "unknown device".

I am trying to access from Sansa firmware. As I've said, this is my second RB device. Used on a e250 for months before getting the e280.

I understand needing two partitions. It just looked like there were four. Two with 0 bytes.

Any other ideas?

Thanks so much.

[bluebrother]

I understand needing two partitions. It just looked like there were four. Two with 0 bytes.

There are two.

The MBR of a drive can hold up to four (primary) partitions. The space for saving the information about those four partitions is reserved, so it has data in any case. The "view partitions" entry in Rockbox' debug menu will always show the information for all four possibly partitions. In your case, the last two partitions are unused and therefore have a start sector of 0 with a size of 0.
(and as the MBR always starts at sector 0 the first partition won't start at sector 0 but something bigger).

[datacreek]

That makes perfect sense bluebrother... thanks for the info.

I'm still left with these problem. There seems to be no way I can access this e280 via usb.

I searched and searched and read dozens of pages and finally posted and watch as this gets pushed further back with no suggestions... oh well  

Thanks

[datacreek]

 
Still bricked, well kinda

Everything works but I cannot add any files.
Still "Unknown Device"
It doesn't make any difference what mode I'm in.

I'll be glad to try anything.
I've been using computers since the 80's and have updated firmware on numerous devices. One of the appealing things about this hack is it appeared you could always get back if you screwed something up. Well, I can't.
I'm really upset. I'm out of town (no Linux box) and will be for quite awhile, of course this is when I like to use the Sansa the most. The point is I'm on a windows machine and I wonder if something could be screwed up there... I don't think so. I use many other usb devices, phone, usb card reader, usb 160 and 300 GB drives.
Just not my sansa...

Can anyone help???

Thanks if you can.

[Chronon]

How frustrating.  You might want to exclude the possibility of a bad cable.

[datacreek]

That's the one thing I haven't tried.
It still charges so I guess that's why I haven't thought about the cable although just because it charges doesn't mean other pins are working so I guess I'll order a cable and see.

I'll be amazed and delighted if this turns out to be the problem.

Any additional ideas are extremely welcome.

Thanks

[datacreek]

 

I'm amazed and delighted... it was the cable.

Thanks so much Chronon. Because it was charging I wouldn't have thought of that unless maybe someone in the room had a sansa with a cable I could have tried.
I ordered a cable and ....
Anyway, all is well and I really appriciate the "last resort" reply.

Thanks again!

[Chronon]

That's great to hear! 

I have had issues with bad cables with iPods in the past.  I'm glad to have helped.