Rockbox Freezes for 30mintues at a time!!

[Mozhoven1]

Hey Guys,

This is my first post over here (formerly Mozhoven at www.mygigabeat), and of course I have a problem.

I haven't had any problems with Rockbox at all since it was first ported for the Gigabeat. I did regular updates daily with success each time. That being said, I let about a month or so pass before attempting another update. (pre March 12th).

So, not realizing I needed the new bootloader, I updated with the most recent build.

It did not work. (obviously) I got a white screen after the initial  boot screen.

So, I downloaded the March 12 bootloader with the same results. I made sure the rockbox.gigabeat file was in the root and the .rockbox directories (and either/or) with no luck.

So, I have a WinRar'd Archive of an old installation (1/13) which I've loaded and am currently running successfully.

Now, I updated the bootloader (with success) and rebooted (with success).

I've tried updating with the most recent build only to receive the white screen again.

I repeated the process (old archived image, update bootloader) except instead of loading the recent build, I tried the one from March 13th.

Still have a white screen.

So, I am back to the 1/13 build and will stay there until someone smarter than me can figure out what I did wrong.

Thanks in advance guys, I can't wait to get this thing going properly!

 

[Llorean]

Put the most recent build and bootloader on your player.

Turn off the player.

Turn off the battery. Make sure power is not plugged in. Count to 10.

Turn on the player.

Did this work?

[GodEater]

Also note, that the official location for rockbox.gigabeat these days is actually in the .rockbox folder (although it should still pick it up from the root if you really choose to move it there).

[Mozhoven1]

I tried that several time with no luck. It lets me copy over the bootloader and reboot with no problem, but once I try the new builds - white screen.

This happens when I do it simultaneously as well.

(but for good measure, I will try it again....)

[Llorean]

Did you turn off the battery switch, like I said, when you tried before?

[Mozhoven1]

Ok, I've had partial success: But it still doesn't work....

It now boots up, but it takes forever. Actually, after the initial boot screen I still get a white screen. It stays white for several minutes and then finally shows the main menu.

Here's the kicker: I can scroll and choose menu items (like Sound, EQ, browse mp3 folders), but once I try to select a specific item (like an .mp3 or EQ preset) the thing locks up. It simply freezes. I try leaving it for a while thinking that it will eventually move on - but it doesn't. No buttons work, even the power button. I finally have to hit the battery switch.

To clarify what works and what doesn't:

I can change the time, bass/treble, and browse directories.

I can't select specific settings or files: EQ presets & .mp3's.

I'm sure there's more that works/doesn't work - but I think that's enough to get us going.
-----------------------

To aid in trouble shooting, Here's exactly what I did (this time):

-Turned on player and confirmed that the 1/13 image/build works. It did.

-I then downloaded a fresh copy of the March 12 bootloader and today's build (4-17).

-I then deleted the original bootloader file and copied the new one over in it's place.

-I extracted today's build into the root directory of my GB, overwriting all files.

-I then turned off the battery switch (with USB still plugged in to avoid the codec failures that happen immediately after unplugging the USB)

-Counted to 10 (twice). and switched on the player.

-It boots up as normal, stays on a white screen for several mintues and then finally shows the main menu. Browsing works, but it locks up when choosing specific files or settings.

-Hit battery switch to reboot.

[Llorean]

Why didn't you properly eject your device from USB? And why didn't you power down the player *before* turning off the battery switch? The drive could've still been accessing.

If unplugging the USB causes you codec failures, this strongly suggests that you're getting some sort of file corruption from doing it.

[Mozhoven1]

I did it that way because it was different than all previous attempts (at this point, different is good...)

But, I tried it again, with the proper USB disconnect with the same results. I'm able to boot up and browse, but it locks up upon selecting any specific item.

That being said, I choose "database", and allowed it to "build database". This took a while and then it asked for a reboot. After doing that, when I rebooted, it simply hung on the main Rockbox Logo screen (not bootsplash.raw, but before that...)

(FYI: no codec failures this time, but I didn't have a song playing before I updated the daily build/bootloader...)

[Mad Cow]

Have you tried reformatting with the reformat tool that comes with gigabeat room?

[Mozhoven1]

No, I haven't tried it because I can't see a need for it (also because I'd rather not copy over 40gigs of music again!)

Reformatting accomplishes the same result as simply deleting the system files and re-copying them over. (which I've done many times to no avail...)

That being said, if all else fails, I might be forced to start from scratch.

But certainly there must be a fix for this....

[elborak]

scandisk?

[Mad Cow]

A reformat will do more, It'll fix any file system errors. Sometimes the most random and pointless-seeming thing will be what fixes everything.

[elborak]

A reformat will do more, It'll fix any file system errors.

Agreed, but he seems reluctant to take that step.  Just trying to give him a less heavy weight alternative to try first.

[Mozhoven1]

It stands to reason that if I can run an older version (1/21) of Rockbox on my GB, than there are no errors on the HDD (let alone system files since they are erased with a reformat)

A reformat simply erases everything from the hard drive. It does not change any files whatsoever. There are no system files other than the FWIMG files and the Rockbox system files, and these are replaced every time with new ones.

The problem lay in there somewhere.

Either I'm missing some important build or some other update since 1/21 that's keeping any new builds from working.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but I've seen too many people settle for a reformat when the problem can be solved much more simply. (i.e. missing files, replacing corrupt files, etc)

Since I'm copying over brand-new build, and using my original System Files (FWIMG), then there problem is in there. Perhaps someone can send me their FWIMG directory that does work with the current build....

If I reformat and load back on the files I have been putting on it, logically it stands to reason that it will crop up with the same problem as before. (since nothing has really changed..)

Please let me know if any of you have the FWIMG for me...

[Llorean]

The thing is, you're making a flawed assumption.

The contents of the FWIMG directory aren't actually used by Rockbox. My FWIMG contains dummy files that aren't original Gigabeat system files at all (they're reduced size files so that the loading goes buy quicker at the start, since the original firmware loads them off the disk, expecting to need them but doesn't end up using them since Rockbox runs instead).

If you want to use the FWIMG folder from the GigabeatFXPort wiki page, you can try that. They're the dummy files I'm using.

If one version of Rockbox runs on your device, then any version should, unless you need an updated bootloader for a newer version. Since the bootloader is a single file, the rest of the FWIMG folder is irrelevant to Rockbox. It only matters to that original Toshiba screen that looks for it. If you get past that screen, you're fine.