Topic: HELP!! My Iriver has died...

[Liquid Drum]

EDIT: It seems the harddrive is fucked somewhere. It will only allow me to access around 1.2gb then it fails. Can this be fixed??

Ignore below, I got it up and running now, just that the HD seems to be fucked at a certain point.


Can't get it to start-up...

I was running CHKDSK on it and it stopped at 76%.The program said it wasn't working and to either try again or cancel, I cancelled. I then unplugged and now it won't start up...

 

Is it fucked??

Can I save it?? What can I do?? Please help, I'll be very greatful of the help.

Simon.

[cgrooves]

Did you have it connected to the AC adapter while running CHKDSK?
Have you tried powering it up with the AC adapter connected?

[Liquid Drum]

Did you have it connected to the AC adapter while running CHKDSK?
Have you tried powering it up with the AC adapter connected?

I didn't have it connected via AC while running CHKDSK, I assume the PC powers the device.

I tried reseting the Iriver and it did nothing at all.

I just this minute connected the AC and I *think* I can salvage it, I'm gonna format the HD.


So how do I run CHKDSK without messing up my Iriver (I have an h120)?? I don't wanna ruin it before I've even used it properly.

Thanks.

[Liquid Drum]

I'm having big trouble here...

Won't let me drag/drop files onto it. It just crashes...

[petur]

euhm... in what way does it crash if you drag/drop files?

It is best to use the iriver firmware to format the drive, not windows.

I do not know if the h1x0 receives power over USB, I assume it does not. So always connect AC for lengthy operations.

Your next steps would be:
- format
- chkdsk
- install rockbox again

[Liquid Drum]

euhm... in what way does it crash if you drag/drop files?

It is best to use the iriver firmware to format the drive, not windows.

I do not know if the h1x0 receives power over USB, I assume it does not. So always connect AC for lengthy operations.

Your next steps would be:
- format
- chkdsk
- install rockbox again

I've tried formatting it with iriver and it will only allow me to access 1.2gb (roughly) before it fails and won't allow me to put anymore on it. I'm guessing theres bad sectors/parts somewhere.

Can this be fixed??

[petur]

formatting fails?

either the disk went bad or (more probably) the usb daughterboard connector has bad soldering?


FYI: h1x0 series do not charge over USB (says rockbox wiki anyway)

[Liquid Drum]

formatting fails?

either the disk went bad or (more probably) the usb daughterboard connector has bad soldering?


FYI: h1x0 series do not charge over USB (says rockbox wiki anyway)

Formatting works, but when I try to drop files onto it afterwards, after about 1 gig, it stops working.

I don't think its bad USB connection, becuase it shows up fine and connects/disconnects fine.

I can only think that theres a bad sector/part on the HD... 

[cgrooves]

formatting fails?

either the disk went bad or (more probably) the usb daughterboard connector has bad soldering?


FYI: h1x0 series do not charge over USB (says rockbox wiki anyway)

Formatting works, but when I try to drop files onto it afterwards, after about 1 gig, it stops working.

I don't think its bad USB connection, becuase it shows up fine and connects/disconnects fine.

I can only think that theres a bad sector/part on the HD... 

Wow, that's a lot of bad sectors for a 20 gig drive to develop all of a sudden.  I guess stranger things have happened.  Assuming you just got it from ebay, maybe you will be able to get another sent if you can't get it going.  For future reference, always connect the AC adapter when spinning the hardrive that much (which I'm sure you would have if you didn't think that the usb was charging it at the time).

[Liquid Drum]

formatting fails?

either the disk went bad or (more probably) the usb daughterboard connector has bad soldering?


FYI: h1x0 series do not charge over USB (says rockbox wiki anyway)

Formatting works, but when I try to drop files onto it afterwards, after about 1 gig, it stops working.

I don't think its bad USB connection, becuase it shows up fine and connects/disconnects fine.

I can only think that theres a bad sector/part on the HD... 

Wow, that's a lot of bad sectors for a 20 gig drive to develop all of a sudden.  I guess stranger things have happened.  Assuming you just got it from ebay, maybe you will be able to get another sent if you can't get it going.  For future reference, always connect the AC adapter when spinning the hardrive that much (which I'm sure you would have if you didn't think that the usb was charging it at the time).

I got it in ebay like 3 months back. Was working fine. I read a post that you should check the drive using CHKDSK before recording to make sure no bad sectors and since then its been fucked... 

Is there any programs or anything I can run that *might* repair it??

I'm running CHKDSK right now with AC power and its een on 4% for nearly 40 mins now which seems strange.

If worst comes to worst, can I get a new HDD?? where from??

Thanks,
Simon.

[deadhoarse]

Why were you running chkdsk?  If you need to recover files, there are better tools which are safer.

Chkdsk is for more than just recovering files, it can tell you if you have bad sectors on the disk.  Running Chkdsk shouldn't screw up your HD, but you really should be running it with the AC connected.

[whatboutbob]

If you've got bad sectors you can temporarily fix them, but it will continue to deteriorate.  Save yourself some headaches / lost recordings and buy a new disk.

[Liquid Drum]

I did some more searching and found 'SwissKnife'. I've created 3 partitions.

:F (which is 4.08gb)
:G (which is 6.52gb)
:H (which is 7.98gb)

I did CHKDSK : /r on all 3 partitions and found the following:

:F (wouldn't get past 5%)
:G (verified as fine)
:H (had bad sectors, but windows fixed it)

Now, :F is basically of no use so that'll stay empty. If I dropped all the rockbox and firmware on part :G, when I record it'll record on that drive??

I need my iriver to record on that partition only.

A question: :H had bad sectors, but was fixed, I don't really wanna risk recording on that, but I'll use it for my other files, music, etc...

One last thing: Did I do the test right?? When testing is says 'windows is verifying free space' and then a percentage goes up until it finishes and shows a small report.

Correct?

Hopefully, this'll be ok now (I have 6gb to record with, which is enough for me at this time)??

Thanks for help,
Simon.

[whatboutbob]

Not sure how to get it to record to the specific drive, but to re-iterate: your disk *will* continue to deteriorate.  Save yourself some headaches / lost recordings and buy a new disk.

[Liquid Drum]

Not sure how to get it to record to the specific drive, but to re-iterate: your disk *will* continue to deteriorate.  Save yourself some headaches / lost recordings and buy a new disk.

Where can I buy a new 20gb disk??

I looked around earlier and found nothing that looked trustworthy...

[whatboutbob]

ebay:

[440] Is it possible to upgrade or replace the hard drive?

Much of the following hdd replacement info has been lifted from NPSwimDude500’s FAQ over at misticriver (http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.php?p=330700#post330700)

Yes.

Hx20: uses a single platter 1.8" 20 gigabyte hard drive manufactured by Toshiba. The model name on these drives may read MK2004GAL or MK2006GAL (the 4 and 6 designate model years, and there is no known difference other than the number). Toshiba currently manufactures two other single-platter drives with the same dimensions, the 30 gigabyte MK3006GAL drive and the 40 gigabyte MK4007GAL drive which uses new PMR technology (note: it has not been officially released yet). Hx20s can both be fitted with these drives without modification.

[Liquid Drum]

ebay:

[440] Is it possible to upgrade or replace the hard drive?

Much of the following hdd replacement info has been lifted from NPSwimDude500’s FAQ over at misticriver (http://www.misticriver.net/showthread.php?p=330700#post330700)

Yes.

Hx20: uses a single platter 1.8" 20 gigabyte hard drive manufactured by Toshiba. The model name on these drives may read MK2004GAL or MK2006GAL (the 4 and 6 designate model years, and there is no known difference other than the number). Toshiba currently manufactures two other single-platter drives with the same dimensions, the 30 gigabyte MK3006GAL drive and the 40 gigabyte MK4007GAL drive which uses new PMR technology (note: it has not been officially released yet). Hx20s can both be fitted with these drives without modification.

Many thanks for the information, +t

I've managed to get my HHD partition that has no bad sectors to boot up and record on. I'm gonna record across the whole 6gb tomorrow and see if I can get it off via USB without errors.

If that works, I'm happy to use it for the time being until I can afford a new disk (hopefully in 1-2months).

Cheers,
Simon.

[cgrooves]

I've managed to get my HHD partition that has no bad sectors to boot up and record on. I'm gonna record across the whole 6gb tomorrow and see if I can get it off via USB without errors.

If that works, I'm happy to use it for the time being until I can afford a new disk (hopefully in 1-2months).

Cheers,
Simon.

If that works, I would try to do the same thing with the partition that had fixed errors (:H).  If :H checked out fine, you could combine those 2 partitions and have approx. 14 gig worth of good sectors to use.  Just a thought.

[petur]

If that works, I would try to do the same thing with the partition that had fixed errors (:H).  If :H checked out fine, you could combine those 2 partitions and have approx. 14 gig worth of good sectors to use.  Just a thought.

Rockbox only supports one partition out of the box. There are provisions for multi-volume but they are not enabled by default. So you would need to build your own version. Furthermore, this scenario has never been tested....

[Liquid Drum]

If that works, I would try to do the same thing with the partition that had fixed errors (:H).  If :H checked out fine, you could combine those 2 partitions and have approx. 14 gig worth of good sectors to use.  Just a thought.

Rockbox only supports one partition out of the box. There are provisions for multi-volume but they are not enabled by default. So you would need to build your own version. Furthermore, this scenario has never been tested....

Yea, its cool.

The 6gb is more than enough for me. I was recording today (well testing) and I have 10 hours recording time with that 6gb. I recorded 4 hours so far and still have 60% battery life which I a great thing.

1 question though: Every few mins, the HHD light would come on. I'm guessing its buffing or saving as it goes along?? I have yet to check for errors (transfer, etc), but it recorded smoothly and plays back fine.

Thanks for the help everyone, +t's all round.

Simon.

[petur]

yes, that red light is the buffer flushing to disk

[Liquid Drum]

yes, that red light is the buffer flushing to disk

Thanks for the confirmation. 

[petur]

... well to be 100% correct, the red light is disk activity, which means buffer flushing ...

[Liquid Drum]

... well to be 100% correct, the red light is disk activity, which means buffer flushing ...

Thats a good/normal thing? (I hope)....

[whatboutbob]

Thats a good/normal thing? (I hope)....

yup.

[cgrooves]

If that works, I would try to do the same thing with the partition that had fixed errors (:H).  If :H checked out fine, you could combine those 2 partitions and have approx. 14 gig worth of good sectors to use.  Just a thought.

Rockbox only supports one partition out of the box. There are provisions for multi-volume but they are not enabled by default. So you would need to build your own version. Furthermore, this scenario has never been tested....

He currently has 3 partitions, but Rockbox can only write to 1.  What I'm suggesting is combining 2 of the 3 partitions (the 2 good ones via re-partitioning) so that there becomes a total of 2, and let Rockbox write to the good one that does not have bad sectors.  Is that not feasible?

[petur]

He currently has 3 partitions, but Rockbox can only write to 1.  What I'm suggesting is combining 2 of the 3 partitions (the 2 good ones via re-partitioning) so that there becomes a total of 2, and let Rockbox write to the good one that does not have bad sectors.  Is that not feasible?

I really should have to look at the code, but iirc Rockbox will try to use the first FAT partition it encounters. And partitions are in one piece, so no gaps in the middle

[cgrooves]

He currently has 3 partitions, but Rockbox can only write to 1.  What I'm suggesting is combining 2 of the 3 partitions (the 2 good ones via re-partitioning) so that there becomes a total of 2, and let Rockbox write to the good one that does not have bad sectors.  Is that not feasible?

I really should have to look at the code, but iirc Rockbox will try to use the first FAT partition it encounters. And partitions are in one piece, so no gaps in the middle

I was assuming that if you had 2 partitions on a drive and 1 had bad sectors, you would treat the partition that you wanted to access via Rockbox as the 'root folder' and place the rockbox folder & bootloader in there.  I haven't ever tried to isolate bad sectors by partitioning though, so I don't know.

[Liquid Drum]

He currently has 3 partitions, but Rockbox can only write to 1.  What I'm suggesting is combining 2 of the 3 partitions (the 2 good ones via re-partitioning) so that there becomes a total of 2, and let Rockbox write to the good one that does not have bad sectors.  Is that not feasible?

I really should have to look at the code, but iirc Rockbox will try to use the first FAT partition it encounters. And partitions are in one piece, so no gaps in the middle

I was assuming that if you had 2 partitions on a drive and 1 had bad sectors, you would treat the partition that you wanted to access via Rockbox as the 'root folder' and place the rockbox folder & bootloader in there.  I haven't ever tried to isolate bad sectors by partitioning though, so I don't know.

Thats what I did. After partitioning into 3 parts, the drive that tested 100% I put as the ROOT and dumped all Rockbox stuff on it.

When booted up, It loaded up that partition perfectly fine. I can only access the other partitions via the PC USB, but if I wanted, I could boot it off another partition my changing the ROOT and where I dump the Rockbox files.

I could also easily combine the 2 'good' partitions to 1 and boot from that, but I'm more than happy with the 6gb and 10 hour recording time.