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iRiver H140/H320 - HDD-swap (PATA-CE/ZIF-mSATA and PATA-CF-mSD) not working
linux4all:
Hi everyone!
I'm using rockbox for quite some time on my trusted SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip (great work btw!) but recently wanted to upgrade to something more powerful which is why I bought two iRiver-devices (H140 and H320).
Installing Rockbox was straight-forward and it worked flawlessly.
Next I wanted to upgrade the drives but unfortunately I wasn't successful with that.
My first approach was as follows:
1. using a 50pin-1.8" IDE (PATA) to ZIF converter (like the one shown [here](https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0014ZUA28))
2. using a CE/ZIF to mSATA converter (like the one [here](https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07XJ27F93))
3. using an mSATA SSD (like the one [here](https://transcend-info.com/product/internal-ssd/msa230s))
My second approach was the following:
1. using a 1.8" 50pin-IDE to CF adapter (like the one [here](https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00S6AK592))
2. using a CF- to SD-card adapter (like the one mentioned [here](https://www.amazon.de/dp/B09GG2959L))
3. using any microSD-card
Since I wanted to use the new drive in my devices, I formatted the new drive (SSD/mSD-card) the same way as it was the case with the old HDD.
The information from the old drives looked as follows (output from `parted`):
```
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 32.3kB 40.0GB 40.0GB primary fat32 lba
```
(note: this is the output of drive of the H140 when being read on my PC; the output from the H320-drive is similar but with a size of only 20GB)
In both cases I formatted the new mSATA-SSD or microSD-card using the tool `parted` as follows:
- the disk label was `MSDOS` (using the `mklabel` command within `parted`).
- there was only a single `primary partition` containing all the space (from `0%` to `100%`; using the `mkpart` command within `parted`).
- the partition was created using the `fat32`-file system (using the command `sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 -n DEVICENAME /dev/DEVICELOCATION`).
In both cases I wasn't successful in booting rockbox, I always got the error "check HDD".
When reinserting the old 40GB/20GB-disk, everything worked fine.
I'm not quite sure why it is not working, according to [other links](https://shred.zone/cilla/page/450/restauring-an-old-iriver-ihp-120-part-2.html) what I'd like to do should be possible.
Any ideas?
Thanks a lot!
---
Some additional clarification: after formatting the drive to FAT32, I copied the folder `.rockbox` and the file `ihp_120.hex` from the old HDD-drive to the root of the mSATA-SSD/mSD-card and then inserted it to the iRiver-device (but wasn't able to boot successfully).
speachy:
Only the absolute latest iriver bootloader binaries will handle SSDs of any sort, and the OF will _not_ work.
So you didn't explicitly mention which bootloader you flashed, I'd double-check that first.
linux4all:
@speachy: thanks for the fast reply and for the explanation, that makes sense.
Concerning your question: I used the firmware firmware-files `H120(EU)-v166.zip` and `H300(EU)-v129.zip` for the H140 and H320, respectively (the file `H300_V130(eu).zip` didn't work for me).
Generally I followed [this guide](https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IriverBoot) and used the firmware files from [here](http://rasher.dk/rockbox/iriver-firmwares/).
It has been some weeks, so I'm not 100% sure how I did it. I think I used [the bootloader-files at the very end of the iRiverBoot-site](https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IriverBoot.html#TODO_list_for_the_upcoming_bootloader_revision) in the step mentioned [in the manual](https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-iriverh300/rockbox-buildch2.html#x4-90002.2.1), but probably the binaries and not the ones in the zip folder.
But maybe I didn't supply any files, since (maybe?) I don't need to download the bootloader manually since the Rockbox utility should manage that automatically (at least that's what I understood while reading [this](https://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,48249.0.html) forum post)? Or is this information incorrect?
I'll try again with the new files inside the zip directory and use them instead. But which file should I use, the `bootloader.iriver` or `bootloader.bin` (there are two files in there)? If it is the `bootloader.bin`-file (since the name ending is similar to the non-zipped files): what is the other file for?
Concerning the tools/descramble-mkboot-scramble-thing when doing the [manual install](https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-iriverh300/rockbox-buildch2.html#x4-110002.2.2): how can I use those commands when not having access to a Windows-system? Is there a Linux-alternative for that?
linux4all:
I just rechecked and the bootloader is V8 (build 2020 according to the RockboxUtility when having my player attached). Is that a "sufficiently new" version?
If not: how can I upgrade the bootloader? Is this written somewhere in the manual and I overlooked it?
Thanks in advance.
Talleyrand:
--- Quote from: linux4all on January 02, 2024, 07:55:18 PM ---I just rechecked and the bootloader is V8 (build 2020 according to the RockboxUtility when having my player attached). Is that a "sufficiently new" version?
If not: how can I upgrade the bootloader? Is this written somewhere in the manual and I overlooked it?
Thanks in advance.
--- End quote ---
I just set up a H140 with CF-IDE/CF/SD and its working like my old H120.
You need the Bootloader 7pre4 and install it manually, i also flashed Rockbox to RAM and ROM overwritting the OEM Firmware.
So you are now on Bootloader 8 and Rockbox 3.15 installed via RB Utility?
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