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iriver H10 20GC with CF card: boot after USB disconnecting from UMS mode

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inrobert:
I have modified iriver H10 20 GB version by replacing dead original HDD with Kingston Ultimate 266x 32GB CF card (using CF/ZIF adapter). Also I have replaced dead original battery with li-pol 1950 mAh battery for iPod 1G / iPod 2G but I think this modification is not related to my issue.

CF card is FAT32 formatted. I have used iriver Firmware Updater v2.7.0.0 (is it the latest version?) recovery feature to format the device and install iriver original firmware (v.2.51 PFD). Next I have installed the latest Rockbox release (version 3.12) using Rockbox Utility Rockbox Utility 1.3.1. In the \System folder I have H10_20GC.mi4 (Rockbox bootloader I guess), OF.mi4 (original firmware that can be used by Rockbox bootloader) and H10_20GC_image.mi4 (the same size as original firmware, what's that – is it necessary?).

CF card was recognized by Rockbox' Disk Info as ULTIMATE CF CARD, size 30959 MB, cluster size 16384 bytes, sector size 512, PIO modes: 0 1 2 3 4 (BTW: shouldn't there be also DMA modes mentioned, if CF card is UDMA capable?). Both original firmware and Rockbox are booting and working with one exception mentioned below.

Here is what I have observed:
When I use the device in UMS mode (using UMS trick), it's recognized by Windows XP as disk drive "iriver iriver H10 20GC USB Device" (it's set for "Optimize for performance" in device manager).
I use an icon in system tray to safely remove hardware, it has "OK to Disconnect" message on the screen. So I disconnect, the iriver bootloader is starting automatically but it is not able to load Rockbox bootloader – it says "System Files Missing / To restore the system files, connect H10 to recovery tool". Then, after I turn the device off with the Power button, and then turn it on, everything starts normally.

So the problem is only occurring if iriver bootloader is supposed to automatically load Rockbox bootloader after disconnecting USB cable from device which was in UMS mode right before.

There is no problem, when:
1) starting Rockbox after normally turning the player on (from fully powered off state);
2) starting original firmware using Cancel button while turning on the player (from fully powered off state);
3) starting Rockbox or original firmware after unplugging device from USB, when it was only charging from USB, not running in UMS mode;
4) using device as CF card USB device, which is new possibility I discovered after installing CF card in the player, which I describe below.

When I connect the device to USB port while running Rockbox, the device goes into USB Keypad Mode, but also it's recognized by Windows XP as disk drive "ULTIMATE CF CARD USB Device" (it's set for "Optimize for performance" in device manager). The same applies to starting Rockbox, while the device is connected to USB port already.
This removable drive has under Windows XP the same name (h10) and the same drive letter as in UMS mode.
After connecting the device to USB port, it takes a few seconds before I can browse this drive, not like in UMS mode, when it's ready almost instantaneously. It looks like normal removable drive.
I use an icon in system tray to safely remove hardware. Obviously there is no "OK to Disconnect" message on the device screen. Device stays operational in USB Keypad Mode. After disconnecting from USB port, it goes back to Rockbox without restarting, so the problem is not occurring here.


To sum up:
I wonder why the problem I have described occurs, especially why only in this one particular situation.
I'd like to know if using the device as CF card USB device (instead of in UMS mode) is safe. I could use it this way, despite long waiting time for it to be ready and lack of "OK to Disconnect" message on the device screen (not a big deal).


Every answer, every explanation is much appreciated. I love this player for a long time and want to love it even longer after resurrecting it, that's why I'd like to be sure what exactly I'm doing with it :)

inrobert:
After further investigation I suspect this is iriver bootloader problem, because without Rockbox installed the original firmware also is not booting after disconnecting USB cable from device which was in UMS mode right before. So it looks like only in this one particular situation iriver bootloader has a problem with the CF card.
I have discovered a workaround – when I use Hold button before disconnecting USB cable, the player just goes off instead of trying to load Rockbox bootloader (which takes long time before eventually failing). After this I can start Rockbox normally.

Additionally updating Rockbox to version 3.13 has changed some CF card recognized features. Now, besides PIO modes, Rockbox shows "MDMA modes: 0 1 2" and "UDMA modes: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6" and detects "DMA mode: UDMA 2". I wonder why it doesn't enable higher mode.

torne:
Higher DMA transfer modes require that the CPU be clocked higher to use them stably, reducing battery life without significantly improving read speed. UDMA mode 2 can read at 33.3MB/s which is enough to fill your player's ram in under a second already.

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