Help on problem with my iRiver iHP120

[Makerfield]

Dear all
I am a new member and wonder if someone can help on my replacement iRiver iHP120 player which I recently bought from ebay in France, after my existing one was fried by my good wife when she used a Nokia charger!!!!

In my replacement H120, there are two problems as described below (I should have read these in the ebay description but the text was in French and I could not translate before the auction ended);

Problem 1.
When turning on, the dreaded message saying check hdd is displayed. After playing around, I discovered that the player turns on with all files displayed, but only when I gently apply pressure by squeezing the player just below the navi button. Does this mean that the hard disc needs re-seating?

Problem 2.
When playing a track, the buffer fills up as I can see the red light flashing rapidly. This light stops and the music track keep playing until the buffer empties and the player then stops! It looks as though the buffer is not filling up again. The only way to resume is to use the navi button to select another track and the whole operation repeats by the buffer filling up and playing some 3 or 4 tracks before  the player stops.

I have upgraded the iRiver firmware to version 1.66 (Korean) but this has had no effect. I am tempted to use Rockbox firmware but could do with with some comments from forum members before I do this. I love the HP120 and perhaps one cure would be to replace the hard drive as I could use the one in the unit that was fried. Or could it be the battery?

Any help will be much appreciated.

[AlexP]

Problem 1.
When turning on, the dreaded message saying check hdd is displayed. After playing around, I discovered that the player turns on with all files displayed, but only when I gently apply pressure by squeezing the player just below the navi button. Does this mean that the hard disc needs re-seating?

You can probably find it by searching the forum, but I seem to remember a weak point of the H100 design is that the solder joints on a daughter board can weaken with time, leading to intermittent disk problems as you are seeing.  Squeezing the case is pushing the contacts back together.

Problem 2.
When playing a track, the buffer fills up as I can see the red light flashing rapidly. This light stops and the music track keep playing until the buffer empties and the player then stops! It looks as though the buffer is not filling up again. The only way to resume is to use the navi button to select another track and the whole operation repeats by the buffer filling up and playing some 3 or 4 tracks before  the player stops.

Questions about the iriver firmware are off-topic, these boards are for Rockbox technical support.  However, I imagine the problem is a result of the disk problem you describe.

I have upgraded the iRiver firmware to version 1.66 (Korean) but this has had no effect. I am tempted to use Rockbox firmware but could do with with some comments from forum members before I do this.

I'm obviously going to recommend Rockbox - I had it on my H140 before sound worked and it makes it a *much* better player.  The hardware has so much potential that Rockbox frees.  Just make sure to have a look at the manual, and be careful that you are on mains power when installing the bootloader - the only remotely risky step.

I would however probably have a look at fixing the existing problem first.

[Makerfield]

Dear BigBambi

Just saw your message and thanks for that.

I take it that the business of re-soldering the daughter board to the motherboard is a complex one and not a DIY job for a novice like me - can you (or anyone) suggest a company here in the UK that could fix this problem?

Could this also be the problem why the hard disc does not respond when the buffer empties?  Or is it better for me to remove and reinstall the disc in case there is a poor connection issue?

[AlexP]

You can certainly try reseating the disk, it would be an easier fix than resoldering

I've never personally had to resolder it myself, LinusN is the expert - see his posts in these threads:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=5035.0
http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=7294.0

I'm afraid I wouldn't know where to get it done, but I guess if you found someone with soldering skills it'd be fairly easy for them - you could show them which contacts it is based on what LinusN says in especially the first thread I linked.

[koala007]

You will find the solution in:
http://www.misticriver.net/forums

Easy fix no soldering needed !

Sorry but I can't remember the right link.

[Makerfield]

Thanks for that message koala007

It would be useful if you could find the link you refer to.

[koala007]

Misticriver Forum:
http://www.misticriver.net/forums/iriver-h1xx-series/45641-temp-fix-always-connected-hdd-check-error-pics.html

[Davide-NYC]

If in fact there is a broken (or cracked) solder joint you are *WAY* better off resoldering and then maybe (as a preventative measure) adding material inside the case to increase pressure (slightly) between the two components in my opinion. THen again, nobody asked me for my opinion. :-)

[koala007]

Davide-NYC I fully agree with you, but it's very hard to find this bad solder joint that gives so much trouble to some of these H120 units. I have spent hours and days without any luck.