Question related to original firmware

[bxawesomeness]

Hello, I recently (2 days ago) improved my 5th Generation 30gb iPod with RockBox, and I'm very impressed, but i noticed a problem. My iTunes isn't able to pick up my iPod to manage my songs and videos. I connected it, opened iTunes, made sure the original firmware mode was on, and no response. I tried rebooting it several times, tried replugging it with two different cords in two different USB (2.0) ports, then uninstalled the RockBox base and the Bootloader (rockbox utility was still on), tried all of it again and then got no result so i reinstalled all of that. As the themes page are down for iPod video, i installed two themes from the player resolution theme page and several roms for iBoy, is it their fault, RockBox's, or mine? First of all if I did anything wrong, please tell me what I did. Secondly, will I be able to fix it at all, and if so how, and will it require me to uninstall RockBox? And finally, if it's unable to be fixed without uninstalling Rockbox, (or at all) is there a way around to managing my Music and Videos?


Please help me, I have a feeling that it may be from deleting the iPod's root on accident now. If so, can anybody send , me a link to somewhere I can get a new one, or instructions on how to reinstall the root?

[Chronon]

It doesn't sound like you did anything wrong.  You got Rockbox installed and running.  You were able to boot into the original firmware and establish a USB connection.  It sounds like everything is working from Rockbox's standpoint.  I don't know why iTunes does not want to see the iPod if it's mounting correctly.

Your edit makes it sound like you think you deleted the OF (I'm not sure how else to interpret "deleting the iPod's root").  Can you clarify?

[bxawesomeness]

Well I opened my iPod through my computer and browsed the files, and there was one that said "root" but it was an audio file. I tried opening it and it didn't work so I deleted it. However, I do recall a whole bunch of instructions from videos and MP3 Firmware replacement websites including Rockbox and various others, that required files to be extracted to the root. But my friend suggested that I reinstalled iTunes and now it works.

[Chronon]

In computer terminology "root" refers to the base of your file tree, such as c:\ on a DOS-like system.  I'm not sure why you had a file named "root" stored in your player.

Out of curiosity, what are these other firmware replacement sites?  I'm only aware of iPodLinux and Rockbox.

[MarcGuay]

I'm not sure why you had a file named "root" stored in your player.

Sounds to me like the root.m3u file Rockbox creates when you make an "everything" playlist.

[GodEater]

Yes, perhaps we should think of renaming that to something else, like "Everything.m3u" or something ?

[bxawesomeness]

In computer terminology "root" refers to the base of your file tree, such as c:\ on a DOS-like system.  I'm not sure why you had a file named "root" stored in your player.

Out of curiosity, what are these other firmware replacement sites?  I'm only aware of iPodLinux and Rockbox.

well Rockbox and iPodlinux are the only two firmware replacement sites i know as well. I described it wrong. Also just websites to get backgrounds for iPod, like iPod Wizard. Another place i heard these repeated were on unofficial YouTube video manuals of firmware replacement. Besides that, thank you.

[Chronon]

Yes, perhaps we should think of renaming that to something else, like "Everything.m3u" or something ?

That might be good.  I usually keep my extensions displayed and I sometimes forget that others don't do this.

A file named "root" with no extension did kind of throw me off there.

[Llorean]

The problem with "All" or really anything else is that if you have a folder named that, a playlist of that folder autogenerated by the same process will overwrite it, because playlists generated like that are stored outside the folder they're a playlist of. Probably the least common folder name someone could reasonably have would be "Root".

Not to mention, with the default theme icons give away filetypes just like extensions do.

[Chronon]

I guess I just need to keep in mind that a file named root is probably such a playlist when listening to people describe files they may have deleted.