Introduction This release is based on the 2.5 general release of Rockbox.
This is not an official release of Rockbox by the developers, and will not be supported by them. It is being made available for download here as some people have expressed interest in using it.
I and many others have been using this version of Rockbox for over a year without problems. If you encounter any problems, post a message to this thread on this forum. In the unlikely event of a serious problem, you can always revert to the official version 2.5 or earlier.
Original ChangesThis release has the following major enhancements:-
- The improved charging algorithm patch has been retro-fitted. This only affects the Recorder V1.
- Enhancements have been made to the Bookmarking feature, including voicing the directory and file name when appropriate.
- The quick menus have been reorganised for better readability, and are now voiced when appropriate.
- Button de-bouncing has been improved to reduce the possibility of false button reads being detected.
Changes 5th Jan 2007 - Rapid exit from the Menus is provided by holding the F1 key.
- Battery level display accuracy is improved during the first minute after booting.
- The Off key can be used to exit from the Quick Menus.
- The Status Bar layout has been improved.
- Fade on Stop/Pause has less dead time, is more snappy.
- The source for the 2.5.1.changes is provided. The publication of this is a requirement of the Rockbox GPL licence.
For a complete list of changes, see the v2.5.1_ReadMe.txt file, below.
Installation 1 Download "v2.5.1_ReadMe.txt" and the appropriate "Rockbox-2.5.1-.....zip" file for your Archos, below.
2 Read the contents of the "v2.5.1_ReadMe.txt" file.
3 The "Rockbox-2.5.1-.....zip" file is a complete installation of Rockbox, so you should save your configuration settings in a .cfg file.
4 Unzip all the files to the root or top level directory of your Archos, preserving the directory structure in the zip file.
5 Follow the normal procedure for flashing, if required. (See the Flashing Guide, below, for more details).
6 Restore your configuration settings from the .cfg file you created, above.
7 People using VoiceBox .talk files can download and use the contents of "VoiceBox2.5.1.zip" to create your .talk files. This has coded in, the modified Lame parameters mentioned in the "V2.5.1_ReadMe.txt" file. You should regenerate your .talk files with this version to allow smooth voicing from the Bookmark screen. See the file "V2.5.1_ReadMe.txt", and the "Read_Me_Please.txt" file within "VoiceBox2.5.1.zip" for more details.
8 For completeness I have included MakeVoices.2.5.1.zip for people who wish to generate their own voice files for speaking the menus. These files will also be compatible with version 2.5 of Rockbox. Replace the included "english.lang" file with your own amended file if necessary.
Files The files for this release are available from
«here».
Thanks to Rasher for kindly offering to host the files.
WPS Syntax (added 28th July 08)
The WPS (While Playing Screen) documentation and syntax for this release can be found
«here».
Short Guide to Flashing Your Archos (added 4th Nov 07, last updated 9th Nov 07)
Warning: Flashing Rockbox is optional. It is not required for using Rockbox on your Archos Recorder or Player, however Rockbox will load much faster when it has been flashed. Please read the whole section thoroughly before flashing.
Before you start, you need to check that your Archos can be flashed. Press F1/Menu -> Info -> Debug -> View HW Info. Look for the line starting with "Flash". If this is shown as "Flash: M=?? D=??", you're out of luck (The "??"s mean that your unit is not flashable). If something other than question marks is shown, your unit is flashable and you can carry on with this section.
There are two procedures to follow to flash your Archos. If you haven't flashed your Archos before or you are not sure that your Archos is flashed with "Bootbox", follow both the Initial and Update procedures, Otherwise you can just do the Update Procedure.
Initial ProcedureTo see if you need to perform this procedure, with the Archos powered off, press and hold F1 (- on Player) then press On. If you see "Bootbox Rescue Boot" appear briefly then you don't need to perform this procedure and can skip down to the Update Procedure.
1 Power on your Archos normally. Install the version of Rockbox you intend to use by unzipping it to the root or top level directory of your Archos, preserving the directory structure in the zip file.
2 On the Archos set the File View option to "All" by pressing F1/Menu -> General Settings -> File View -> Show Files -> "All".
3 Back up the current firmware, using the first option of the debug menu (Info -> Debug -> Dump ROM Contents). This creates 2 files in the root directory, which you may not immediately see in the Rockbox browser. The 256kB-sized internal_rom_2000000-203FFFF.bin one is your present firmware. Back both up to your PC. You will need them if you want to restore the flash contents.
4 On the web, go to the bottom of
«this page» and download the appropriate zip file for your Archos. Unzip it to the root or top level directory of your Archos.
5 Connect the charger and make sure your batteries are in good shape. That's just for security reasons, it's not that flashing needs more power.
6 Using the File Browser on the Archos, "play" the ajbrec.ajz file (archos.mod file for the Player). This will load the current version of Rockbox which is necessary for the next step.
7 From the menu screen -> Browse Plugins -> Firmware_Flash. Follow the prompts. (For the Recorder, F1 - check, F2 - "are you sure?", F3 - do it. For the Player the keys are Minus, On, and Plus.) In the unlikely event that something goes wrong, do not switch off your Archos, but follow the procedure below to restore the original firmware.
8 On the Archos delete the *.bin files you installed in step 4.
9 You also need to carry on with the Update Procedure, below, to complete the initial updating of your Archos.
Update Procedure1 If you haven't done so already, install the version of Rockbox you intend to use by unzipping it to the root or top level directory of your Archos, preserving the directory structure in the zip file.
2 On the Archos set the File View option to "All" by pressing F1/Menu -> General Settings -> File View -> Show Files -> "All".
3 Connect the charger and make sure your batteries are in good shape. That's just for security reasons, it's not that flashing needs more power.
4 Using the File Browser on the Archos, "play" the ajbrec.ajz file (archos.mod file for the Player). This will load the current version of Rockbox which is necessary for the next step.
5 Using the File Browser on the Archos, enter the .rockbox directory and "play" the rombox.ucl file. Follow the prompts. (For the Recorder, F1 - check, F2 - do it. For the Player the keys are Minus and On.) If the rombox.ucl file is not available, play the rockbox.ucl file.
6 Disconnect the charger, and switch off, then switch on your Archos to load Rockbox from flash. If Rockbox loads up correctlly, then you have successfully flashed your Archos.
7 The ajbrec.ajz file (archos.mod file for the Player) is no longer needed on the Archos, and can be safely deleted.
Restoring The Original FirmwareIf you'd like to revert to the original firmware, you can do like you did when you flashed Rockbox for the first time. You simply use the backup files you saved when flashing Rockbox for the first time and rename "internal_rom_2000000-203FFFF.bin" to "firmware_*.bin" (name varies per model, use the filename which "firmware_flash.rock" asks for) and put it in the root.