System Error 00000010 on Gigabeat F60

[Plerg]

My Gigabeat F60 was running fine, but one day it gave me a "System Error 00000010" message. I turned the battery off and then on again, but the same thing happened. I left the battery off overnight, and the next day it worked fine for about 30 minutes, then the same error appeared.

Now all I'm getting is the error. I've updated Rockbox, ran chkdsk, tried the recovery procedure and even formatted it, but I'm getting the same error. My Gigabeat is currently formatted with nothing on the drive (no GBSYSTEM or any other file) and I'm still getting the same error, so I'm not sure what the problem is. It also looks like a Gigabeat error message, not a Rockbox error message.

I've searched for the problem but found very little information. It seems that everyone else with this problem can't access the drive on their computer, but I can. The player displayed "ATA ERROR -11" on the screen when I removed it from the computer for quite some time before I had any problems with it, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Sorry for the long post, but does anyone have an idea to get it working again?

[ej0rge]

You need the GBSYSTEM directory, and it has to contain certain files.

I recommend downloading and unpacking the 'minimal' gbsystem files linked in the wiki for speeding up the boot time. And then reinstalling the rockbox bootloader.

You say you formatted it, and that is some cause for concern - it needs to be fat32 or nothing will work. So, I've gotta ask, what tool did you use to format it?

(I ask because i once bought a broken F40 that would have been working just fine if the previous owner hadn't reformatted it NTFS)

[Plerg]

Thanks for the reply.

I've tried restoring the original firmware, and I've downloaded the minimal version from the wiki, but both give the "00000010" error. I just found it strange that the same error is given both with and without any firmware on the player.

I've formatted it using both the Toshiba tool, and FAT32format.

Rockbox isn't loading it all. When I turn it on, it goes from the Gigabeat loading screen to the error. I also get the error for a second when I plug the Gigabeat into my computer, before it changes to the Gigabeat USB icon.

[GodEater]

So what is the contents of your GBSYSTEM folder at the moment ?

[Plerg]

It currently has the GBSYSTEM folder from the wiki ( http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GigabeatFXPort#Improved_Boot_Time_Optional ) with FWIMG01.DAT from the bootloader (http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/gigabeat/ )

[GodEater]

Yeah, you're missing the other files that need to be there too.

You'll need to get them from the original CD that came with the player.

[AlexP]

The dummy files from the wiki + the bootloader should be enough - I don't have the original CD and when I changed the disk in my F40 they were all that I needed.

I'm pretty sure about this, but it was long enough ago that I'd not bet my house on it

[ej0rge]

fat32format + the minimal files from the wiki + fwimg01.dat has worked for me many times.

One thing you have to look out for is the way that some archivers will create a GBSYSTEM folder with another GBSYSTEM folder inside it. So, check that.

It's theoretically possible that the partition table or mbr is corrupt enough to confuse the flash bootloader but not corrupt enough to confuse windows, etc. Sometimes it's not too extreme to erase the first 10k or so of the harddrive with a tool like 'dd' on linux - but if you're exclusively on windows, I don't know how to suggest dealing with it.

You can get this working again - there's just some piece out of place that you haven't noticed yet.

[Plerg]

I've restored the firmware from the CD, but still the same message, both with and without rockbox. There's also only one GBSYSTEM folder.

Would this actually be an error with the firmware? Wouldn't an error with the firmware be giving me the "No system found on HDD" message?

I've used linux, but it's mostly been xubuntu. If you can point me to a guide of what I should be doing, I'd definately give it a go, or is this something that could be done with a tool like GParted?

I've also noticed that as soon as the error appears, the drive spins down instantly. When the Gigabeat is plugged into the computer, the drive will spin up, hit the error message, spin down, and then spin up again once the USB logo appears.

[ej0rge]

So once it's hooked up to the computer, it behaves normally as a usb storage device and there are no excessive spin-downs?

[Plerg]

Yeah, it works fine as a storage device.

[ej0rge]

So, lets be clear.

The drive must be partitioned into 1 (one) and only 1 partition - which should be a fat32 partition. If you somehow formatted the whole drive w/o a partition (which is valid for usb sticks, ipods, etc, but not the gigabeat) that would be a problem. and it should contain the GBSYSTEM folder + the rockbox bootloader at a minimum.

I believe that the restore feature on the cd will probably load the gbsystem folder without checking that the requirements above have been satisfied.

Here's what i think you should do. Assuming your music is already backed up, etc, and there is nothing of value on the gigabeat drive.

Follow these instructions for using fat32format:

http://www.ridgecrop.demon.co.uk/fat32format.htm

run diskmgmt.msc and delete the partition on the gigabeat drive.

Then create a new partition.

Then format it the way the fat32format instructions say to.

Then unzip this file to the root of that partition:

http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/pub/Main/GigabeatFXPort/GBSYSTEM.zip

Check it and make sure that you don't have a gbsystem folder with another gbsystem folder inside it.

Then take this firmware file:

http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/gigabeat/FWIMG01.DAT

and put it in the FWIMG folder which is inside the gbsystem folder.

This should probably work. Depending on the version of flash bootloader you have, I guess it's possible that you might need genuine gbsystem files. In which case, send me a PM - I've got a couple versions. If you were at 3.00 before you rockboxed, it really should work because it works for me.

[Plerg]

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it.

I've tried what you posted, using both the GBSYSTEM you linked, and the ones from the Gigabeat CD, but I'm still getting the 00000010 error.

I was using the version 3 Gigabeat firmware before Rockbox. It was the Japanese update trick if that makes a difference.

[ej0rge]

I don't know what the japanese update trick is.

I'm running out of ideas because i've never been unable to solve the problem you have on the 7 or 8 F's I've fixed. Aside from the one time when the drive was totally dead, but then it didn't work at all as a usb drive either.

The only thing i typically do different in these situations is that i usually wipe the mbr and partition table on the drive before i start.

To do that, I plug it into a linux box, identify which sd device it is, and then run "sudo dd bs=1k count=10 if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdN" where N is whichever device the gigabeat got when i plugged it in.

This completely removes the boot record and partition table from the drive and IS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS because if you accidentally point it at the wrong drive, IT WILL ERASE ALL OF YOUR DATA.

[Plerg]

When the new Gigabeat firmware was released, it was originally only available for Japanese players, so you had to replace a file on the player (FWIMG01.DAT possibly) with a Japanese version of the same file, to make the update program think you have a Japanese player.

I'll try wiping the now and see if that works. I'll use a live CD so I can unplug all my other drives.

Update:

I've tried it and it's still giving the same error. I'm starting to lose hope for it.

Is there some kind of bootloader or BIOS or something on the player I could try rewriting to?