IPOD (ALL MODELS) iFlash Adapter Issues [SOLVED]

[rockbox_dev123]

So your speeds look rather typical to me for a USB 2.0 device with a typical less-than-stellar caching implementation.

Just to be pedantic, they're using an iPod 5.5, which has a regular parallel ATA interface that (IIRC) maxes out at UDMA66 burst speeds. Then there's the iFlash PATA/CF<->SD adapter which is its own bottleneck (and I don't think goes over UDMA/33). 

Yeah, those transfer speeds actually better than I'd have expected to see.

Thanks both, for your responses.

I just did another quick test using dd on an iFlash mSATA modded ipod6g and got 29.51 MB/s write and 25.14 MB/s read (rockbox build from this month).

I feel like I have reached the max bus speed of USB2 at 40 MB/s in the past on this iPod, but I don't have the data to back that up.

I'm very happy with how well rockbox works with SDXC cards now. The stability of the recent releases, extra battery life and reduced heat is great.

(In my experience the absolute best storage for these devices is CF - however to my knowledge Lexar is the only manufacturer who has ever made a card above 256 GB)

[dragonaut]

Hi,

I just came across this forum, as I have a problem with my iPod classic and Rockbox. I have an iflash quad with approx. 1.9TB SD installed and the ipod is running on either the daily or the dev build, both give me the same error. Sometimes it works completely fine, but sometimes I get the following error message 10 times in a row and then I just completely abandon it for a few hours:

*PANIC*
dc_writeback_callback () - Could not write sector 49
9677626 (error -2147483641)
pc:0806fb64
sp: 081306b8

I already formatted the ipod but the error keeps coming after some time.
Do have any idea how to fix this? I tried to find an answer in this forum but I was not sucessfull (or I didn't see it at all). If you need more information, I'll be glad to assist!

Thanks in advance!

[Frankenpod]

I'm only making a wild guess, but maybe there's a bad sector on one of the cards?  And perhaps the error only comes up when the device tries to write something to that particular part of that particular card?  (It's unknown to me how the iflash decides which card to write things to, but maybe much of the time it's not picking that particular sector of that particular card?)

Or, the other thought I have, is that large negative error number feels vaguely familiar, I'm sure I've encountered that, but can't remember when or how I got round it.

Edit, funnily-enough just had exactly that error, in rebuilding an ipod, and the issue seemed to be that the cable had come out of the iflash connector while closing the case.  Maybe you have the error intermittently because that connection is flaky?  Try cleaning or replacing the drive cable, maybe?  Sometimes it helps to secure it in place with insulating tape.

[dragonaut]

I'm only making a wild guess, but maybe there's a bad sector on one of the cards?  And perhaps the error only comes up when the device tries to write something to that particular part of that particular card?  (It's unknown to me how the iflash decides which card to write things to, but maybe much of the time it's not picking that particular sector of that particular card?)

Or, the other thought I have, is that large negative error number feels vaguely familiar, I'm sure I've encountered that, but can't remember when or how I got round it.

Edit, funnily-enough just had exactly that error, in rebuilding an ipod, and the issue seemed to be that the cable had come out of the iflash connector while closing the case.  Maybe you have the error intermittently because that connection is flaky?  Try cleaning or replacing the drive cable, maybe?  Sometimes it helps to secure it in place with insulating tape.

Thanks, I will check the connector (and hope, that my battery connector stays safe, haha). Maybe it is just that simple. I also tried CHKDSK /f /r, but after 12 hours at 34% it simply restarted and I had to cancel that. I will test your suggestion in the next days and report!

[Frankenpod]

Are you using one of the oversized batteries?  I've found that sometimes, if in a slim case, they can put pressure on the iFlash in a way that seems to make it lose the connection to the drive cable intermittently.

[dragonaut]

Okay, so I cleaned the connectors with a dry cloth and checked the SD cards, everything looked fine to me. Still got an error message:

*PANIC*
dc_writeback_callback () - Could not write sector 17
1372 (error -2147483641)  [the errorcode is the same, the sector is different]
pc: 0806fcb0
sp: 08130ab0
bt end

No, I have a regular sized battery installed. I'm thinking about checking each SD one after another, maybe CHKDSK will work with that. Maybe even use another iflash quad. Any other ideas?

[Frankenpod]

Yeah, all I can think of is to check each card - individually via a card-reader (not checking them while they are in the ipod, not sure that works - I think the ipod doesn't present the storage in a direct way to the PC, not that I really understand what goes on there, especially with an iflash).  Are the cards all the same brand/type?  Changing the order of them might help, but best to first establish if any are actually faulty.

[of course, checking them each for faults is an unbearably time-consuming and tedious process, but if the drive cable isn't the problem I don't have any other ideas...I really would have suspected the connection 'twixt the drive cable and the iFlash, though, pretty sure that's what's been the issue when I had that error.]

[kmccmk9]

Hi all,

I've been really banging my head against the wall getting my iPod with iFlash to work. I know there's some instability with the adapter boards but I've seen that a lot of it has been resolved if you're using SD cards. I ended up using a different iFlash boards and I can't get it to work at all. Is this an issue with something I've done or is it just not well supported yet? I'm using the iFlash sata v10 and I've tried stable, Dev, and latest vers8ons, all with a similar result. Majority of the time it doesn't load up and corrupts itself and the firmware has to be reinstalled. Sometimes I get it to load but listing files causing a kernel panic and subsequent corruption. If I get get it working, applying a theme causes the crash and corruption. Premaking the database doesn't seem to impact anything.

[dragonaut]

Yeah, all I can think of is to check each card - individually via a card-reader (not checking them while they are in the ipod, not sure that works - I think the ipod doesn't present the storage in a direct way to the PC, not that I really understand what goes on there, especially with an iflash).  Are the cards all the same brand/type?  Changing the order of them might help, but best to first establish if any are actually faulty.

[of course, checking them each for faults is an unbearably time-consuming and tedious process, but if the drive cable isn't the problem I don't have any other ideas...I really would have suspected the connection 'twixt the drive cable and the iFlash, though, pretty sure that's what's been the issue when I had that error.]

So I did some testing, changed the cards and the iflash and still the same error. Then I changed the connector to a different one and that seems to have been the trick. Most of the time it works fine now. Occasionaly it crashes (freezes or I get the same panic message), but in my week of testing I got definitly better results than before, so thank you for your hint! I'll keep testing and may report back in a few weeks!

[komarto]

Hi,

First-time poster, Long time lurker 

I have read so many posts and encountered so much contradictive information I am lost.

I have a 7 gen classic (MC293LL) with a mSata flash (zif ide -> msata &  msata -> sd )mod that after many trials and errors understood it does not work,
I get error -2147483605 on boot. I gave up on that adapter.

Now I want to buy the iFlash SOLO I read this thread and others but could not find recent evidence this combo works.

Is there anyone here with a 7th gen (160gb) and iFlash solo that managed to load rockbox?

Thanks in advance.

[Frankenpod]

Hi,

First-time poster, Long time lurker 

I have read so many posts and encountered so much contradictive information I am lost.

I have a 7 gen classic (MC293LL) with a mSata flash (zif ide -> msata &  msata -> sd )mod that after many trials and errors understood it does not work,
I get error -2147483605 on boot. I gave up on that adapter.

Now I want to buy the iFlash SOLO I read this thread and others but could not find recent evidence this combo works.

Is there anyone here with a 7th gen (160gb) and iFlash solo that managed to load rockbox?

Thanks in advance.

Yeah, built loads of them - mostly the quad adaptor though, but a few solo ones also.

  It's not always plain-sailing, quite a few 'just worked' first time with no issues at all, others required repeated reformatting and restoring and trying again (and rebooting the PC and killing and restarting iTunes, etc), and I really don't know why.  The restoring-with-iTunes and installing-RB process can go wrong in a vast variety of different ways (those infernal uninformative iTunes error codes, or 'cannot be restored an unknown error has occured', or the never-ending restored/'needs restoring' loop, or it restoring but coming out with a weird capacity that doesn't match the actual card, etc...), and I've never gotten to the bottom of what the underlying cause was in each case.

  (With the quad and dual ones I've found sometimes it seems that certain cards just refuse to work together in the same ipod but work perfectly well once separated and used in different devices, again, no idea what's going on there).

Once working they seem pretty reliable. Though, dropping modded ipods can cause problems - the drive cable or the battery cable can fracture or come out of the socket.  Plus those third-party batteries sometimes die on you.

[komarto]

Thank you, Just ordered the iFlash SOLO. I will update here once I get it.

[Frankenpod]

You do mean the _slim_ 160gb model, I hope?  i.e. firmware 2.0.4 or 2.0.5?
(The fat 160gb model is 6th gen and I wouldn't recommend using that model)

[Anthiron]

I have a 7th Gen with a 256gb MSATA SSD fitted.

Is there any Rockbox build solution for this combination?
I bought the iPod already built to run FLAC music files in RB but can't seem to get it running.
I can run the installer with the daily build however get an ATA error on start up.

The more I research, the more it seems like there may be no options for a 7th gen with MSATA. Please someone tell me I'm wrong......