Release versus Current Build

[shayguitarra]

This is most likely an incredibly dumb question and I apologise in advance.

I've check the FAQ, the latest manual (5.5G 80GB Ipod Video) and tried a few different searches but I cannot seem to find a clear answer.

The background to my question is this:

I hadn't visited the forums for a few days when last Saturday 26th Sept I saw that version 3.4 had been released on Thursday 24th. As I normally update to a current build every week or two, and given that 3.4 had been released for about two days I assumed that the current build would be a build based on 3.4 so I downloaded it.

I had previously been using the native firmware to connect to my pc but I decided to start using the rockbox usb to see how it was in this version, thinking it was 3.4. It was fine, in that it didn't drain the battery, but it didn't seem to be charging it either.

So on my way to finding out why I discovered these threads http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=22740.0, http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=21004.msg147179#msg147179 and this one, http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=20903.msg146615#msg146615 where I originally found out about usb support.

So I decided to install the stable 3.4 to see if there were any significant differences and lo, when I connect to my pc (running Ubuntu) the usb symbol briefly appears on my main screen before the ipod reboots into the black and white "do not disconnect" mode (i.e. the symbol is black rather than the fancy red one in the Apple firmware) and seems to charge quite happily. (This is marvellous by the way, as I was having increasing problems rebooting from the Apple firmware back into rockbox after charging, transferring etc. It was taking numerous attempts for menu+select to actually work.)

So, what exactly is the status of the current build compared to the release version? Is this usb support disabled in the current build? If so, I am probably better off sticking with the stable release until this changes.

Thanks for any clarification and sorry if the answer is obvious to everyone except me. 

[AlexP]

3.4 is based on a specific current build with a few tweaks, not the other way round.  Rockbox USB is disabled in the release for ipods, as ipods do not charge correctly over USB and therefore could possibly run out of battery when transferring large amounts of data over Rockbox USB.

The current build is now more current than the release, as there are multiple current builds per day (it is the build based on the most recent source code, and is updated everytime anyone changes anything).  If you want to use Rockbox USB, update to a current build.

[shayguitarra]

Thanks for that Alex P.

That was what I thought. But my recent experience seemed to contradict that, i.e. not charging under *current build* but charging perfectly under *stable release*.

Anyway I won't waste time on whys and what ifs, there are possibly other reasons outside the remit of this forum for what I've observed. I've installed the latest current build and I'll let my battery run down and see if what I observed last time is reproducible.

[torne]

Most of the ipods, including yours, do not charge properly under rockbox - they charge slowly or not at all, or even discharge. This is the case for *all* versions of rockbox; it has never worked in any build.

The release version has Rockbox's USB code disabled. When you plug the cable in, it reboots to Apple's emergency disk mode, which is in the ipod's internal flash. This is the mode with the black and white "do not disconnect" screen (you can also access this by holding down select+play to power on). In this mode Rockbox is not running at all; only Apple's code is. Charging thus works fine, since Apple's code handles it correctly. This is one of the reasons why the Rockbox usb mode is disabled in the releases - it solves the charging problem!

Try holding down menu as you plug the cable in; this tells rockbox not to go into USB mode, and to just use the USB connecton for power; if you do this (on any build, release or current) you will discover that it charges slowly or not at all depending on what you're doing with the player.

By the way, you shouldn't have problems rebooting from the OF back to rockbox.. if you follow the directions (flip hold on and off, then hold menu+select for a long time) it should work every time. It doesn't always take the same amount of time, though; sometimes you have to hold it down for 20+ seconds.

[shayguitarra]

Ah, thanks Torne.

I didn't actually realise that screen was Apple's emergency disk mode. I never saw it before switching to rockbox (no slight to rockbox intended!) and just assumed it was a rockbox equivalent to the Apple dnc screen.

[torne]

The Rockbox usb mode just leaves the USB plug icon displayed (with the rockbox status bar across the top) until you unplug the cable. It doesn't have to reboot afterwards, either