ipod Classic 160GB 7th Generation Battery Issue

[zombie_breeder]

Hello Everyone,

I have searched the forums and found discussion of battery issues and battery life and all that, but I have some questions:

I recently (this past week) acquired a 160GB ipod Classic (7th generation).  I did not want the Apple firmware so I immediately installed Rockbox--did not test battery life with the Apple firmware.  I installed emcore and then Rockbox.  I followed the instructions exactly.  I really liked the Rockbox firmware but I had immediate issues with battery life. Is this normal?  I have reverted back to the ipod firmware and I am in the process of testing the battery with that installed.  I did test the battery with Rockbox installed and with the volume up quite high it came in at just less than 20 hours playback of mp3 album encoded at 320.  I do not remember how quickly the battery life was dropping right before the test--I was not paying much attention to that part to be honest.   Once I started paying more careful attention, I noticed that every time I changed albums or did anything which involved the screen being on (even for a very short period of time) my battery percentage indicator would drop by 3%-4%.  I was using the retroTape theme.  Is it possible something happened when I installed Rockbox and it did not install correctly leading to battery issues?  I really do not like the apple firmware but I do not want something causing my battery to drain like that.  So far my ipod seems to be doing much better battery-wise with the apple firmware.

I should probably add that this was purchased used from a reliable friend.  He  bought it new about 2 years ago.  He was not having any issues.

I am very new to this.  Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.

-Scott

[[Saint]]

I noticed that every time I changed albums or did anything which involved the screen being on (even for a very short period of time) my battery percentage indicator would drop by 3%-4%.

This likely relates to the HDD spinning up, rather than the LCD.

Is it possible something happened when I installed Rockbox and it did not install correctly leading to battery issues?

No, but it is possible for you to configure it to be particularly inefficient.

So far my ipod seems to be doing much better battery-wise with the apple firmware.
<snip>
I should probably add that this was purchased used from a reliable friend.  He  bought it new about 2 years ago.  He was not having any issues.

Apple has the luxury of hardware documentation, Rockbox doesn't. Because of this, they are able to use the hardware more efficiently.

I should also note that Rockbox for this device is currently classed as "unusable"*, and that things of this nature in young ports are to be expected.


[Saint]

*Think about how you installed it, where did the bootloader come from? etc.

[zombie_breeder]

[Saint],

Thank you for responding I appreciate you taking the time to do so.

I could not handle the Apple firmware.  It is well...terrible.     I re-installed Rockbox yesterday.  I just ran a battery test with Rockbox and it went for nearly 28 hours at -30db playing an album encoded at 192.  Much better results.

Regarding the points you made:

Please pardon my ignorance, but is there a way to stop the HDD from spinning like this and causing the drain? 

What would be the best way for me to configure the firmware to run as efficiently as possible?  I imagine I am missing something in the settings.

I got you with regard to the hardware and efficiency.  It does amaze me that they have the ability to make the device sound sooooo much better than it does right out of the box-- but they do not do so.  Rockbox sounds so much louder, more clear and crisp.  Seems so stupid to me that they choose not to optimize--but imagine I am "preaching to the choir".     I do not expect perfection by any means and I am very happy with Rockbox, I just want to make sure that I have everything set up so the firmware can work to its full potential.

Sorry for all the questions.  As I said I am new to this and I keep looking up information on settings configurations and I find so much different information out there it is honestly a bit overwhelming and difficult to figure out what is best for my machine etc...

Thanks again for your response and any advice you may have.

-Scott

[saratoga]

You want to avoid reading from the hard disk?  I suggest not playing music.

[zombie_breeder]

Saratoga,

Thank you for response.  My question related more to minimizing the hard disk spinning up---to the point that it is not using 3%-4% battery power every time the screen come on.  It was clearly playing music when I was running my battery test and the battery did just fine without these percentage drops.  

-Scott