e250r bricked [SOLVED]

[NorthboundTrain]

OS: Ubuntu 9.10
Player: Sansa e250r (v1)

I tried to upgrade Rockbox on my e250r from 3.3 to the latest using the Rockbox Utility.  When it rebooted the bootloader crashed, and it auto-restarted into the native Sansa software, so I tried to re-install the bootloader, too, but the e250r kept giving a "read-only" error (even though /etc/mtab showed it as rw), so after some digging I tried running Rockbox Utility as root.  No changes.  I tried using the sansapatcher tool to unload the bootloader but with no changes.

Code: [Select]

</tmp> $ sudo ./sansapatcher 
sansapatcher v0.8 with v6.0 bootloaders - (C) Dave Chapman 2006-2007
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

[INFO] Scanning disk devices...
[INFO] e200 found - /dev/sdb
[INFO] Reading partition table from /dev/sdb
[INFO] Sector size is 512 bytes
[INFO] Part    Start Sector    End Sector   Size (MB)   Type
[INFO]    0             515       3885055      1896.7   W95 FAT32 (0x0b)
[INFO]    1         3885056       3926015        20.0   OS/2 hidden C: drive (0x84)
Enter i to install the Rockbox bootloader, u to uninstall
 or c to cancel and do nothing (i/u/c) :u
[INFO] Bootloader removed.
Press ENTER to exit sansapatcher :

I did something with the -rf option without understanding it (never, never, never do this!) and now I have a brick

Code: [Select]

</tmp> $ sudo ./sansapatcher -rf /dev/sdb
sansapatcher v0.8 with v6.0 bootloaders - (C) Dave Chapman 2006-2007
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

[INFO] Scanning disk devices...
[INFO] e200 found - /dev/sdb
[INFO] Reading partition table from /dev/sdb
[INFO] Sector size is 512 bytes
[INFO] Part    Start Sector    End Sector   Size (MB)   Type
[INFO]    0             515       3885055      1896.7   W95 FAT32 (0x0b)
[INFO]    1         3885056       3926015        20.0   OS/2 hidden C: drive (0x84)
[INFO] Firmware read to file /dev/sdb.

I've tried going into Recovery Mode and Manufacturing Mode, but Ubuntu never sees the device (it never mounts in /dev/media or /dev/sdb).  Running 'lsusb' gives me:

Code: [Select]

</opt/product/Rockbox> $ ./sansapatcher -l
sansapatcher v0.8 with v6.0 bootloaders - (C) Dave Chapman 2006-2007
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.  There is NO
warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

[INFO] Scanning disk devices...
[ERR]  No E200s or C200s found, aborting
[ERR]  Please connect your sansa and ensure it is in UMS mode
[ERR]  You may also need to run sansapatcher as root.
[ERR]  Please refer to the Rockbox manual if you continue to have problems.

</opt/product/Rockbox> $ lsusb | grep Sansa
Bus 004 Device 008: ID 0781:0720 SanDisk Corp. Sansa C200 series in recovery mode

Which is *way* odd, because I don't have a C200, I have an e250r.  I've downloaded e200tool, the .btl and .mi4 files and what not, but I'm afraid to proceed since it's being recognized as the wrong player.  Any ideas?  Thanks!

[Chronon]

Can you mount it manually?

[NorthboundTrain]

Nope, it's not showing up in mtab:

Code: [Select]

</mnt> $ sudo mkdir foo

</mnt> $ sudo mount /dev/sdb /mnt/foo
mount: special device /dev/sdb does not exist

</mnt> $ sudo mount /dev/sdb
mount: can't find /dev/sdb in /etc/fstab or /etc/mtab

[gevaerts]

Can you give lsusb and dmesg outputs?

[NorthboundTrain]

Can you give lsusb and dmesg outputs?

Appreciate the help!  Here's what I have:

Code: [Select]

</mnt> $ lsusb
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 0483:2016 SGS Thomson Microelectronics Fingerprint Reader
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0a5c:2110 Broadcom Corp. Bluetooth Controller
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 004: ID 0781:0720 SanDisk Corp. Sansa C200 series in recovery mode
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

</mnt> $ dmesg
......
[110602.540147] usb 4-1: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 8
[110602.707425] usb 4-1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[111516.096181] usb 4-1: USB disconnect, address 8
[115009.428104] usb 5-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 2
[115014.548145] usb 5-2: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[115019.772455] usb 5-2: device descriptor read/64, error -71
[115019.988136] usb 5-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 3
[115020.152441] usb 5-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[115203.360175] usb 5-2: USB disconnect, address 3
[118885.852148] usb 5-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
[118886.020396] usb 5-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[118885.852148] usb 5-2: new full speed USB device using uhci_hcd and address 4
[118886.020396] usb 5-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[119028.760210] usb 5-2: USB disconnect, address 4

</mnt> $

Thanks!

[gevaerts]

OK. I think your sansa is in manufacturing mode (because the partition table is gone). If so, the instructions on http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SansaE200Unbrick#Manufacturing_Mode should help.

Don't use e200tool in any other way than for "e200tool recover". Recover is safe, but some of the other options can really brick devices if not used properly.

[NorthboundTrain]

Because I've got an e250r I should use the .btl file right, not the .rom file?

(edit)

Tried it, no dice:

Code: [Select]

</opt/product/Rockbox> $ ./e200tool recover BL_SD_boardSupportSD.btl 
e200tool v0.2.3-alpha (c) by MrH 2006, 2007
Searching for device 0781:0720 ... found!
Failed to claim the interface (-1, Operation not permitted)
Searching for device 0b70:0003 ... 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 not found!

</opt/product/Rockbox> $ lsusb
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 003 Device 003: ID 0483:2016 SGS Thomson Microelectronics Fingerprint Reader
Bus 003 Device 002: ID 0a5c:2110 Broadcom Corp. Bluetooth Controller
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 005 Device 005: ID 0781:0720 SanDisk Corp. Sansa C200 series in recovery mode
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub

Thanks for the help!

[mc2739]

If you don't mind losing the "r" firmware, you can just use the standard e200 firmware.  The e200 and e200r use the same hardware.  Just follow the instructions for the e200tool using the e200 firmware.

If you want to reinstall the "r" firmware, the process becomes much more difficult.  I did this once on my e270r, but unfortunately I did not document the process when I did it.  If I remember correctly, it involved renaming the files to match the standard e200 file names while using the e200tool and then using the files with the proper "r" names when you get into the recovery mode.

[gevaerts]

e200tool uses raw USB access, and therefore needs root permissions

[NorthboundTrain]

I'm getting much closer!

The only way I can get into Recovery Mode is by running the 'sudo ./e200tool recover' mode:

Code: [Select]

</opt/product/Rockbox> $ sudo ./e200tool recover BL_SD_boardSupportSD.btl 
e200tool v0.2.3-alpha (c) by MrH 2006, 2007
Searching for device 0781:0720 ... found!
Initializing USB stub (4780 bytes) ... done!
Writing 'BL_SD_boardSupportSD.btl' to address 0x10600000
Searching for device 6666:e200 ... 9 8 found!
Write at 0x1065f958
Write done!
Running from address 0x10600000
Searching for device 6666:e200 ... found!
Execution started!

Doing the thing with holding down the 'record button' does not work.  I had to do the whole process (copy .btl file, copy .mi4 file and create the sansa.fmt file) for it to do anything when it restarts.  I got a Sansa logo (yeah!) and then the message:

Code: [Select]

Load main image failed
Switch to Recovery mode

I can now go into Recovery mode with the 'record' button!  I reloaded the .mi4 file and the same message came up when it restarted (Load main image failed).

I tried the e200 .mi4 file, and when I downloaded it I noticed that it was named PP5022.mi4 instead of pp5022.mi4 -- maybe that's why the first one didn't work?  Regardless, the second one works and I have an MP3 player again -- thanks, everyone!