iRiver h120 - can the flash memory get corrupted ?

[Cheese_Us]

Hi, this is a continuation from a thread I posted here:

http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=7565.0

As I probably have to deal with different issues now and couldn't get any help from the old thread I thought I'd start a new one:

In short:
Accidently disconnected the h120 while writing in Rockbox USB mode, after this it didn't boot up proberly. Always changes between connected/disconnected and the HD never stops spinning if I boot to iRiver firmware. When I boot to Rockbox I get a "Panic Sata -32 error".
First I thought, I destroyed the File Allocation Table or so, so I bought an adapter to connect the HD to my PC. Luckily so I could at least make a backup of my data.  The HD is working fine on my PC.

Following the thread about completely removing all traces from Rockbox and starting new from scratch (found here: http://forums.rockbox.org/index.php?topic=6807.0)
I used a low level disk wipe tool (KillDisk) and even used the Unix "dd" command to completely clear the disk.
Now the strange thing:
When I put the wiped disk back into my iRiver and turn on I still get a "Panic Sata -32 error".  So there must be still traces left of Rockbox somewhere I guess. When I put the iRiver original firmware hex in the root directory and try to boot up to it I still get the same result described above.
So I assume the whole thing could be a matter of a corrupted flash/eeprom or something like this.

Any advice what I could do on this?

[Llorean]

Putting the original iRiver firmware hex in the root directory doesn't do anything. Assuming you just want to clear off Rockbox, have you actually booted into the iRiver firmware and flashed it back to a non-bootloader version?

[Cheese_Us]

Problem is, as I've written, I cannot boot up properly to original iRiver firmware nor Rockbox.
If I switch on the h120 holding the record-button pressed it starts showing the iRiver boot-up logo but then does weird things like switching back and forth between "USB disconnected" and "connected" and the HD never stops.

Currently I've connected the HD to my PC via an IDE adapter, have run various disk-check tool, low-level formatted it but the problem remains.
On the PC the HD is running fine though.

[Llorean]

If the problem was occurring in the iRiver firmware, and seemed to relate to your USB hardware, I'm not sure why you followed the series of steps you did. It sounds like you've somehow damaged your USB port.

[Cheese_Us]

Because the first thing that came to my mind was that I've corrupted the File Allocation Table or the Rockbox settings somehow, which, as I've read in another thread, ar stored on a hidden sector on the HD and the only way to get rid of them would be a low level format. And no, the problem was occuring having the iHP 120 connected in Rockbox USB mode.

Do you mean I've damaged the USB port on my computer or the iRiver?
On the computer couldn't be, because I've checked on various other machines, same behaviour.

[Llorean]

On the iRiver. Seriously, if the problem occurs on your iRiver when it's not connected to the computer, how could I possibly think it's the computer's port damaged?

Your iRiver seems to think the USB cable is constantly being plugged and unplugged in the iRiver firmware. It may not be the USB port (actually, that panic sata error is one I'm not familiar with) but it does sound to me like you've damaged the device somehow.

[Cheese_Us]

First, thanks for the support, which seems to be going almost realtime atm. Nice.  

On the iRiver. Seriously, if the problem occurs on your iRiver when it's not connected to the computer, how could I possibly think it's the computer's port damaged?

Doh, you are right. Sorry bout that.
Yes, although I have no idea how I could have done it, you could probably be right by saying, I could've damaged the USB port.
But that leads me back to my original question:
As I have really carefully done this low-level-format thing how could I get the "sata -32" error again, when putting the HD back into the iHP 120?
This is definately a Rockbox error message, meaning that there are still Rockbox traces left somewhere.
So I am thinking that it could have also something to do with a corrupted Flash memory. Have any ideas about this?

[Llorean]

The Rockbox bootloader is still present, because you never uninstalled it. Notice the code you see, that you have to hold the Record button during to get it to load the original firmware?

[Cheese_Us]

Not sure if I got your last sentence right (English is not my native language)
Yes I know that I have to hold the Rec button, because I only get this "USB connected" "disconnected" thing only if I'm booting to original firmware.

Booting to Rockbox (meaning turning on without pressing anything I get the Sata -32 error).

[Llorean]

The bootloader is in the same place as the iRiver firmware. It is NOT on the HD. Which is why it's still there.

[Cheese_Us]

Ok, got that.
And you think there's no way, that  they could have gotten corrupted somehow by pulling the USB cable while writing data to the HD?

If that's not possible, yes, as you said, it must be an hardware-related issue.

[Llorean]

Either way, corrupting the flash chip would qualify as a hardware related issue. It's not something you can fix without special tools, but it's fairly unlikely that a corrupted flash would act in this way.

[Cheese_Us]

So I guess I have to send it to iRiver for fixing.  

Thanks for your help. Very appreciated.

[Llorean]

Since it still shows signs of the iRiver bootloader, it's likely they'll complain about your modifying of the device and blame that.

[Cheese_Us]

Possibly.
But since there is no warranty anymore (too old) anyways I don't see any other solution. I have no more skills than what I have already done to get it fixed and I have no more ideas either.

love my rockboxed iRiver and must get it back working.