Rockbox Technical Forums

Installation / Removal => Manual Installation => Toshiba - Installation/Removal => Topic started by: joblo on October 27, 2007, 03:44:23 PM

Title: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 27, 2007, 03:44:23 PM
I have a gigabeat F20 and I had the half boot problem where it would load 1/2 way and freeze like that. The computer would not recognize it so I did the "surgery" where I opened it up and then I finally got it so the computer would recognize it. I tried to do everything, even formatted it and all that but when I would try to start it up again, same thing happened. I formated it 20 times more and now it won't even show anything on the screen. I know it's turned ON because I can hear the harddrive spinning and making noise. Now the HD is 100% clean with nothing on it. Please tell me what I need to copy on it (firmware etc???) to make it turn on.

PS. I don't have the original CD, but I downloaded it, with gigabeat room 3 and it has a GBSYSTEM thing on there, and I tried to copy it 50 times but it still won't work. If someone would be so kind to copy all their startup files (with all the hidden files and all) and upload them to a filehosting site it would be great.

Any help would be very very much appreciated. I don't want to throw this thing in the trash.
Title: Re: Please Please Help!!!!!!!
Post by: Febs on October 27, 2007, 05:07:04 PM
Please rename your thread with a title that complies with our posting guidelines.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 27, 2007, 09:14:07 PM
The problem is that your hard drive has nothing on it. You need to get a copy of the firmware. It's the GBSYSTEM folder. If you have all the required files for it then you can boot into the original firmware. On one of the gigabeat wiki pages it will have a gbsystem.zip able for download at the bottom of the page. You need to get that on your gigabeat if you want rockbox. Then you need the bootloader and the .rockbox folder and you should be fine.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 27, 2007, 09:30:13 PM
I can't find the right one anywhere. There's one here: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GigabeatFXPort
But that one is 1.6KB in size. If anyone can zip up all the necessary files and send them over so I can get this thing working, that would help.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 28, 2007, 11:12:08 AM
for rockbox, those are the necessary files. If you want to go back the original firmware then you need more but right now all you need are those files, the FWIMG01.DAT rockbox bootloader, and the .rockbox folder.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 28, 2007, 07:08:22 PM
Ok cool, can you please download all those, zip them up and post them on a filehosting site and paste the link? I don't know how to set up the folders otherwise i'd do it myself. Thanks a ton.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 28, 2007, 08:01:42 PM
No, but I'll give you step by step instructions.

First, go to this page and scroll all the way down: http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/GigabeatFXPort  There is a GBSYSTEM.zip you need to download. After getting that download this file by doing right click -> save http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/gigabeat/FWIMG01.DAT
Finally go here http://build.rockbox.org/ and click on the picture of the gigabeat and you've got everything you need.

Now you've got all the files necessary to run rockbox. First, unzip the GBSYSTEM.zip. You should see a folder called GBSYSTEM and a readme.txt. Copy the GBSYSTEM folder to your gigabeat. Next, take the file you downloaded second called FWIMG01.DAT and put it on your gigabeat under GBSYSTEM->FWIMG. Finally, unzip the rockbox.zip to your gigabeat and then you should be able to boot as long as you safely eject.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 28, 2007, 10:50:30 PM
OK, now it turns on and everything, buttons turn blue and I hear the HD spinning, but the screen is black. Now the PC even recognizes it when I plug it in. I don't think I have the right images, because I read somewhere that in the GBSYSTEM folder there needs to be an Image folder but I don't have one.

Here's what I got from here ( http://www.cdrinfo.com/forum/printable.asp?m=93691&mpage=5 )
/
├ Gbsystem
│ ├ Fonts (font?
│ │ └ Fntja.dat
│ ├ Fwimg (background image? Book room?
│ │ ├ Fwimg01.dat
│ │ ├ Fwimg02.dat
│ │ └ Fwimg03.dat
│ ├ Image (jacket picture. File size fixing)
│ │ └ *.GBP
│ └ Music (those which tag information the to list are converted?
│ ├ Datadtl.dat
│ ├ Datalst.dat
│ └ Dnode.dat
│
├ gigabeat.conf (simply text file) for LAN
│
â”” MyMusice
├ For all .SAT files
t only appear when you are using the gigabeat room to transfer the music onto the unit.
If you are using the MS Media Player then you will not have these sub-folder created.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: GodEater on October 29, 2007, 08:31:09 AM
I don't think I have the right images, because I read somewhere that in the GBSYSTEM folder there needs to be an Image folder but I don't have one.

The "Image" folder is the FWIMG folder which is shown in your listing. So yes, you do have it.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 29, 2007, 05:46:29 PM
ok, so then why does it show a blank black screen when I try to turn it on? that's what I can't figure out.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 29, 2007, 06:03:06 PM
The images aren't stored on the hd. They are in the actual bios of the gigabeat. Did you flip the battery switch off and back on?
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 29, 2007, 06:10:35 PM
Yeah, i tried the battery switch thing. I still see nothing on the screen. It used to show image while booting with the bar and everything, but after I formatted it, it stopped showing anything. I think if I hadn't formatted it, it would work now but I messed it up. I feel like crap now, I think I ruined it.


Here is a zip of everything that is on my gigabeat (inside "drive F")

http://www.datafilehost.com/download.php?file=8d139499

If there is anything wrong with the files there and you know how to fix it, please do. Just update all the crap, zip them up again and upload them. Thanks.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 29, 2007, 08:15:37 PM
Looks perfectly fine. I'm not sure what is going on. Maybe your screen is broke or something like that. If the buttons are lighting up and everything, that means it's booting. It could be just the backlight. Get a bright light and turn on the gigabeat while shining the light on the screen to see if there is something on the screen you just can't see. After that, all I can think of is opening it back up, make sure the hard drive and everything is fully connected and that everything else looks like it's fully connected.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 29, 2007, 08:47:03 PM
OH DUDE, IT IS THE BACKLIGHT!!!! YAY!
It's REALLY REALLY dark, I put a 40w light on it and could barely read. Ok, so can I do anything now? to fix the backlight? It might have messed it up when pluggin/unpluggin it.

EDIT: The fonts are also REALLY small. I don't know if that's normal, but oh well.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 29, 2007, 09:15:28 PM
Well, with your first build, the default theme has really small fonts. I would just open it up and make sure all the wires look like they are connected.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 29, 2007, 09:28:28 PM
Everything looks normal. Do you have any site that explains how to fix the blacklight?
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Phalangees on October 29, 2007, 09:37:54 PM
I have no experience with backlights. Hopefully someone will read this and be able to help you out.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: AlexP on October 30, 2007, 05:29:55 AM
This may sound a silly question, but have you tried resetting settings just in case the backlight is set to off?

The manual tells you how.

Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: scharkalvin on October 30, 2007, 08:07:19 AM
Even if he had the backlight set to OFF in rockbox it would still light briefly during bootup when the gigabeat splash screen displays.  It would also light up when the unit is turned off and the charger is plugged in.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: AlexP on October 30, 2007, 11:34:03 AM
Good point.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Chronon on October 30, 2007, 12:41:51 PM
He posted a topic in the Hardware forum reporting that there's a tear in the flexible printed cable that connects the LCD to the board.  I think this is no longer an installation related issue.
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: joblo on October 30, 2007, 06:04:35 PM
Yep.

The rockbox is awesome though, I love it.
It doubles the value of the player. Thanks guys!
Title: Re: Gigabeat blank screen, blank HD. Fixable?
Post by: Bextable on November 17, 2007, 10:27:50 PM
Thanks a lot Phalangees, I was struggling with the same HD error and your instructions made it easy for me to fix it!!! Yay.

Thanks again