H-120 not booting in Rockbox or iRiver firmware

[blindhippie]

My H-120 has been working beautifully for about two years now, so i haven't been around (I only show up when I have a problem). This is because I am technically retarded and can't really help others much. bear this in mind as i describe the problem.

I was trying to listen to a large .wav file (a recorded show), and was FF through it and the file froze up. no problem, i'll just reset. But when I turned it back on, it hangs up at the page that says:
 
Rockbox bootloader
Version 6
Batt: 3.33V
Loading firmware
Result: -1

I can hear the disc click a couple of times, a little louder than i recall in the past. I don't like that sound. I have to reset to get it to turn off.
I tried to boot to the original firmware with a similar result. The screen just says loading orignal firmware, but nothin happens.

I realize this is a very old version and i have not kept up with new developments. i barely remember how I got everything on there in the first place, so if you can help me, be gentle and take it step by step, cuz the few posts i read here sound like Chinese to me.  if the sucker is really fried, is there anyway to get that show off the disc? i hate to lose that SBD of Patterson Hood, it was sweet.  :'(

[zajacattack]

Have you taken a look at the iriver FAQ at http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/IriverFAQ
?

[Llorean]

Try turning it on (or resetting it) with a USB cable in. You should then be able to get into Bootloader USB mode (this is in  flash, so disk errors shouldn't stop you so far). then perhaps you can chkdisk to see if your disk is okay.

[blindhippie]

what do i need to do to get into bootloader usb mode? do i need to use the bootloader on my computer? I have changed computers, so I don't have the .hex file or the fwpatcher.

[Llorean]

You do exactly what I said, and you'll be in bootloader USB mode... it's just a different screen where you can connect it to your computer, one that you can get to before it has to load anything from the disk.

[blindhippie]

Then how do i check the disc? My computer recognizes the device and I can open it and see the files, but the controls on the unit don't work. it just says "Bootloader USB mode." How do I proceed? Should I just dump the root files and reload the latest version of Rockbox?

I told you I was retarded.

[Llorean]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chkdsk

[blindhippie]

It checks out ok. i didn't check "scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors." Should I do that? There is also a defrag disc and clean up disc option? should i run those? the disc is fairly full (2.75 gigs free).

[Llorean]

You should try using the chkdsk from the command line. Reports at least suggest that this is actually a more effective version of the tool.

[blindhippie]

um, yeah, i don't know how to do that. i am gui guy. i also have vista. the link you posted doesn't mention chkdsc as a command line function for Vista (although I am sure it is there somewhere). i don't even see the "run" command on the start menu.

OK, at least i was able to salvage my recording. so should i try to recover bad sectors or defrag before I just try to reboot again?

[Llorean]

You should spend some more time trying to figure out what's wrong, otherwise you might *actually* end up losing data. You can get to the command prompt by typing "cmd.exe" without the quotes in the "Start Search" bar at the bottom of the vista start menu. Some info for how to use it (still relevant in vista) is here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265

Until it's known what's actually wrong, it's really more or less impossible to say what the best next step is.

[blindhippie]

i managed to run the chkdsk using the /r command to repair after a reboot of my computer. it ran and fixed at least one cross-indexed item, but then my computer went into hibernate and when i started it back up it had finished and loaded the OS so I couldn't see the full results. bottom line: i disconnected from the USB and the iRiver booted! Yea!

Thanks so much for your help and patience, Llorean!