Rockbox won't boot: result-5 in bootloader

[Multiplex]

If you are lucky all you need to do is download a recent build and unzip it to the now clean drive using the bootloader USB mode.

If you have an old boot loader you may have to copy the rockbox.iriver file from the .rockbox directory(folder) to the root of the drive.

[Mr Adam]

Thanks for the suggestion multiplex. I tried what you mentioned and still the same result -5 problem.

Anything else you can recommend to try?

[Multiplex]

I'm confused.
Back in November you said that it was now error -1 after a reformat, now you are saying "same result -5"

Did it work for a while then go wrong again - or have yo only just tried it.

Just to be sure what is your player and what version bootloader do you have?

[Mr Adam]

Sorry for the confusion.
Yes, you're right, after a reformat it did say result-1, however the problem was still the same, it still froze while trying to boot up.
I found something in the rockbox manual about result-1 with steps on how to repair this. I followed this and it returned to result-5.

The player is a iHP-120 and the bootloader is version 6, unless there's another way of identifying it(?).

Thanks for your response and any help would be appreciated.

[Multiplex]

That's odd.

You have the latest bootloader so you can ignore my comment about having to move the rockbox.iriver file.

While this Wiki page says iPod bootloder error codes http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodBootloaderErrorCodes I'm pretty sure they're all the same (don't have time to check the source right now but I looked back in November).

Getting -1 after a reformat makes sense as -1 means the rockbox.iriver file was not found .

Getting -5 is very bad - it basically means that the rockbox.iriver file has become corrupted somewhere between the download server and the iRiver HDD. I can only suggest you download rockbox again, make sure that whatever you are using to unpack the ZIP file is checking the CRC in the ZIP file, then once you've copied the build to the iRiver do a file compare with the file on your PC.

If that is all OK and you still get the error then I'm stumped - sorry.

[AlexP]

You are sure that you are using a H120 build and not a H100 one?

[Mr Adam]

Hi Alex P, thanks for the reply.
Excuse my lack of knowledge with this but how do I identify which build I'm using?
Everything was working fine for 18 months prior to this going wrong so is it possible this could have something to do with it even after it working ok for that long?
Thanks for your help.

[AlexP]

There are two builds available, one for the H100/H110 and the other for the H120/H140 - if you have a H120 you need to make sure you are using this build:

http://build.rockbox.org/data/rockbox-iriverh120.zip

You probably are, but it is best just to check - download the above link, unzip it to the player and see

[Multiplex]

You are sure that you are using a H120 build and not a H100 one?

It's worth checking - I'd assumed that the bootloader check for the right target in the file header would have dealt with that one (error -3) - there are different bootloaders for the H10/115 and the 120/140.

[AlexP]

Yeah, it probably isn't this, but you never know.

[Mr Adam]

Hi guys,
I've tried everything you both suggested without success 
Thanks for your help though.
The only other thing I thought of trying is replacing the hard drive. Would this allow me to start again?

[Multiplex]

Not exactly start again - the bootloader is in Flash so if you try another HDD you just have to make sure it is properly formatted then unpack Rockbox to it. Take care as many of the drives that will fit the iRiver are iPod formatted (strange partitions, etc)

Have you tried checking the disk for errors?

Does the original firmware work OK?

[Mr Adam]

Yeh, I've ran a disk check a couple of times now, and nothing has come up.
The original firmware doesn't work either. It freezes whilst trying to boot with the display reading :Starting original firmware".

Any other suggestions? I love to get this working again but it's not looking good.

[Multiplex]

This is very odd!

The original firmware comes from (or runs in - I'm not sure) Flash - it doesn't need loading from the HDD. My thought process was to ask you to try playing some files with the OF to see if the there was an issue with the CPU talking to the HDD. I think that the OF can start up to some recognisable display without any HDD connected so it not running at all is odd.

Not being able to run the OF means you have exactly the same issue as the original poster - not just the -1/-5 errors.

The good news is that the original poster posted about fitting a higher capacity battery to an iRiver after this posting - let's hope it was the same player. The bad news is that I don't see any comment explaining how the player was fixed.

[crisiscentre]

I ran into the very same error code a week ago and managed to solve the problem. I am posting the steps I took to deal with it in case somebody else encounters the same thing.

What happened :
Rockbox was running fine on my iRiver H120 for months since I upgraded to 3.3. It suddenly locked up midway within a song (which only a reset with a pin would fix). This happened  a couple of times in a row. Finally, after one such reset, it totally refused to start, giving the dreaded "result: -5" error message despite repeated reset/restart attempts. The original firmware would not boot either.

Steps I took :

• Connected to my computer via USB cable
• Ran chkdsk /f on the drive - no errors were found
• Ran HDD diagnostics tool http://www.hdtune.com on the hard drive to do a sector by sector check - no errors found, HDD presumed to be working
• Defragmented the HDD using MyDefrag http://www.mydefrag.com - took hours to run but completed in the end with no problems
• Updated to latest Rockbox firmware .... WRONGLY - dimwittedly downloaded the firmware for the H100 instead (more on this later)
• Deleted old versions of Rockbox firmware I had kept as backups - folders named .rockbox.old, .rockbox.32 etc
• Tried to start the H120, of course it still gave the same result: -5 error as I had used the wrong firmware during the upgrade
• Checked this forum and realised what I had done - reconnected with a USB cable and replaced with the correct firmware - problem solved

Just to make things clear : I originally had the problem using the correct H120 firmware (v3.3) which had been running properly for months. While trying to fix that, I upgraded to the wrong firmware (v.3.7 for H100) which compounded the problem. After changing back to the right firmware (v.3.7) my H120 worked again. So one of the steps I performed must have fixed the original firmware.

The only reasons I can think of for why my H120 went bonkers in the first place is that something must have gotten corrupted with the data in the HDD, which impacted the rockbox.iriver file or my hard drive is going (it is 6-7 years old after all). However, chkdsk /f came back clean so there was no file system corruption. The hard drive diagnostics with HD tune came back clean too. So I don't fully understand what went wrong. Still, one of those steps must have done the trick...+