Toshiba Gigabeat S30

[GodEater]

For those people not following the recent commits to the Rockbox source tree :

mcuelenaere today commited a working version of "sendfirm" for windows - bringing this port one step closer to "supported".

All that really remains now is for power management to make it into the build, which will mean that keeping a version of the Original Firmware around to let you charge the battery will no longer be necessary.

This really is the last stumbling block, since we can't distribute the OF to allow this. Once this necessary feature has made it into the code, there will be no need for this unnecessary step to get Rockbox running on your Gigabeast, and we can offer it as a proper target.

[ptw419]

Hello all,

Its been a long time since I've posted or been active towards the port. I'd like to congratulate all the dev's working on this port on the great progress. It's definitely come a long way from what it began as. I was wondering iff the current build was still using the OF
framebuffer setup and so forth. If it hasn't been done already, I've reverse engineered the part of the OF that sets this up, and this may be of help to the current dev's if they are interested. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, even possibly about any other topics. I might have info that might not have been shared previously.

[nls]

Yes, that info might be useful so it would be nice to have it easily accessible like in the wiki *hint*

[ptw419]

I'll definately update the wiki. I would have this done sooner, but after looking through my old work, it looks like I may have deleted my previous disassembly. So I'm having to go back and reverse engineer this again. I'll have it done asap.

Anyone interested might want to have a look at the function at 0x8805F3DC in eboot.bin->nk.exe.
This is where the IPU is configured it seems...

Also I do have the ROM dump that I made previously. I gave it to aliask before but I don't know if it was ever used, or is of any use now. It seems that the S jumps from 0x0 to 0xA0000000(flash mem)which then jumps to (0xA0001000) which looks like the beggining of eboot.bin in flash.

Update: I've posted some preliminary info of the graphics setup for the S in the wiki. By the end of the week I should have it done, if not before if I get more time to work on it.

[l0gic]

I have a working Dual-Boot setup.

Using the method mentioned in the install page, I created a 'modified' nk.bin that seems to be working fine for dual booting.

I haven't seen the modified nk.bin posted here, so I'm not sure if I can post it or not. If I can, will someone please message me and let me know. I'll edit this to suit and post a link.

For anyone that has had trouble with the dual-booting.. Once you've made the nk.bin you can connect your Gigabeat to your PC, open up the first partition. You should see a 'nk.bin' there already. Rename this to 'nk.old' and copy your modified 'nk.bin' over.

Eject/remove your Gigabeat.. And it's a good idea to plug in the AC adapter. Then shutdown RockBox by holding the power button. Hit the power button again and quickly slide the 'hold' toggle over whilst the unit is booting. - Once booted you should be looking at the original firmware.

To boot back into RockBox, make sure hold is off. And turn the battery switch off and on again.

NOTE: If you're not plugged into AC power, the unit often powers off during the boot into the original firmware. I wouldn't worry about this too much, you can plug in and turn back on. And hey, I'm pretty dead keen on getting the power management working ASAP!

Progress by the way in the charging front. While one of my units was flat I decided to pull it apart and have a closer look at the 'dock' on the bottom. I may be wrong, but I believe there may even be a pure hardware way of charging the battery. - I cannot find any cables or docks that will work with the Gigabeat S though. But I do have access to the tools to make something pretty decent if this is the case!

[arisgardelis]

Hello,
 I have no coding or programming capabilities, but using the instructions on how to create the modified nk.bin, i had dual boot from the start without any problem and also the battery works and charges perfect in rockbox. The only problem with the battery is not to let it discharge the battery, because the rockbox drops the battery voltage at very low levels, with danger to destroy the battery. I am working rockbox since you released the rockbox bootloader and i must say i am very pleased.

[GodEater]

I can assure you charging does NOT currently work under Rockbox.

[johnson4]

The WIKI might be a better place for this info, but I thought I would run it by here first.
This is another method of updating the nk.bin file that is way simpler and don't require any command line.
With Zunepest's recovery software the nk.bin file can be replaced with the RB equivalent and it is used in the recovery process.
It worked for my anyway even when the other windows method didn't work for me.
any thought?

[AlexP]

That is a hacked gigabeat V updater that we cannot possibly distribute.  Besides, the Windows version of sendfirm was not all that long ago greatly improved and by all accounts works perfectly.

[GodEater]

I can confirm the windows version of sendfirm is both easy to use, and 100% effective

[mcuelenaere]

Part of the reason why I compiled the Windows version of MTP support for the Gigabeat S as a DLL was so it could be easily integrated into the (Windows version) of RBUtil; perhaps this is a solution for the 'problem' for people not familiar with CLI utilities..

[isanggon]

I think software bass/treble control in sound menu is not working.
It only changes volume level. I checked with RMAA program to confirm it.

[Davide-NYC]

All that really remains now is for power management to make it into the build, which will mean that keeping a version of the Original Firmware around to let you charge the battery will no longer be necessary.

Is there anything that we (the non-developer Rockbox fans) can do to help get the power management  functionality closer to completion? Hardware donation? Testing? Anything?

The Gigabeat S is an awesome target in my opinion.

[LambdaCalculus]

Testing is the best thing to do now, dude. Check out Flyspray for the power management patch.

jhMikeS is about the only guy that was doing anything at this point right now, but he's been rather busy lately with other things.

[AlexP]

Other than it being nice for confirmation, testing it isn't much use as it works well already and is pretty much complete   As far as I am aware, it hasn't gone into SVN as there is talk of a big power management rewrite, and as LambdaCalculus said, jhMikeS hasn't been around much recently.