Sandisk ClipZip - Problems with USB/internal storage

[KastenKopf]

Hi,

I have rockbox 3.13 installed on a Sandisk ClipZip
Looks since I tried modifying the cabbiev2 theme I got problems with USB connection in rockbox.
When I connect USB with SD card inserted, rockbox shows an image of a USB-cable and then freezes. No  devices get mounted on my PC.
When I connect USB without SD card, empty SD card slot is recognized and then rockbox freezes. Still internal storage not accessible.
When I start the original firmware, I can access the internal storage. fsck.vfat says 1st and 2nd fat as well as bootsectors differ. Fixing this doesn't seem to help though.
When I format the internal storage and copy a backup of my rockbox folder to internal storage, USB seems to work just one time. When I unmount the devices, disconnect and then connect the player again - freeze.
Apart from that everything seems to work fine.

Any suggestions? It's a bit inconvenient to boot to the original firmware each time I want to access the player from PC.

Sry if this is the wrong forum. Since I don't have the time to actively contribute in development I'm not sure where to post such questions.

[__builtin]

I have rockbox 3.13 installed on a Sandisk ClipZip
Looks since I tried modifying the cabbiev2 theme I got problems with USB connection in rockbox.
When I connect USB with SD card inserted, rockbox shows an image of a USB-cable and then freezes. No  devices get mounted on my PC.

Modifying the theme shouldn't affect USB connectivity.
If you are on Linux (it seems you are: fsck.vfat), volumes might not automount. You'll need to mount the drive manually if it doesn't mount.
Also, 3.13 is pretty old, so maybe a the latest dev build might help (with 2048! ).

[Astrogoth]

The answer to your problem is to turn off Auto Update in Settings -> General -> Database.

[[Saint]]

The answer to your problem is to turn off Auto Update in Settings -> General -> Database.

No...no it is not.


[Saint]

[KastenKopf]

Thanks for your replies so far.

@theunamedguy:
Yes, I'm on Linux and no: Usually USB devices do automount without problems. So did rockbox. And I can't mount it manually either. With freezing I mean: It really does nothing. No reaction when I pull the plug, nor to any key inputs (except hard reset), no answere on /dev/sd* whatsoever (any access on the device runs into timeout).
Dev build might be worth a try. Just thought, "unstable" means actually not quite usable.
Also I could not find a clear change log...?

Don't know about the theme modifying affecting USB or not. It's the only thing I remember doing that turned even a new rockbox installation into an unstable wreck.
A new installation fixes the problems of course, BTW. I can even copy my old config.cfg and modified theme back into the new installation through the original firmware and everything stays normal. The problems seem to arise when I modify e.g. the wps file while it's loaded... but just notices and guesses. I accidentally wrecked just 2 installations so far. Hope it stays at this if I keep my fingers away from any files in the .rockbox folder while in rockbox.

[[Saint]]

Dev build might be worth a try. Just thought, "unstable" means actually not quite usable.

This is a source of confusion for many users.

Realistically, the build classifications are largely irrelevant and don't bare much resemblance to their English definitions whatsoever.
Stable doesn't imply stability, unstable doesn't imply instability, and unusable...well, you get the picture.

The classifications are explained on the main page:
Stable: Rockbox runs well on these players, has a complete manual and is supported by the installer
Unstable: Rockbox runs on these players, but is incomplete, less usable or has problems that limit it to advanced users
Unusable: Work has begun on porting Rockbox to these players, but much remains before they are usable

The first two are fairly accurate, the latter, not so much (it would be accurate if one were to replace "usable" with "{un}stable")

Also I could not find a clear change log...?

Also available via the main page, but not immediately obvious, commits since last release.

Don't know about the theme modifying affecting USB or not.

This most certainly should not be possible, but the past has shown us that this can be the case. The fact that you are using a release build makes this a distinct possibility. A lot of bugs have been fixed in the past 18 months, including the one known and reproducible instance of a specific theme causing USB instability.

Updating is highly advised.


[Saint]

[KastenKopf]

Saint - Thank you very much for clearing things up. I'll install the latest dev build then.

[[Saint]]

Not a problem.

Do let us know how you get on.


[Saint]

[Astrogoth]

The answer to your problem is to turn off Auto Update in Settings -> General -> Database.

Just try it.

[schlieph]

I'm running on Windows XP SP3 but otherwise, my experience with USB storage & freezing is exactly the same as the OP.  I'm not sure what build is currently installed but I've tried them all .. release, dev, and old trying to solve the problem. 

Because the problem didn't always exist, I had hope that reverting to an older build would solve the problem but no dice.  Perhaps it's a combination of things with firmware version being one of them.  Not being technical, I don't know about these things.

All of that said, I've not specifically tested the 'Auto Update = Off' theory and will do so later today.  I'm fairly certain that my auto update setting has always been off but it's worth a try.

:. schlieph