Dead H140 - maybe hard disk.

[DennyL]

I *think* the hard drive of my H140 may be dead. When I try to start the H140 the hard disk light does not come on, and the H140 won't boot. I just see the Rockbox boot logo briefly.

I did a bit of searching here but couldn't find much about getting a H140 repaired or tackling replacing the hard disk myself. Can anyone get me up to speed with this, please? I'm in the UK and would be interested to know the ID of the hard disk and a possible source. I might just send it to iRiver for repair, although I would expect that to be expensive.

[Dunno]

There you go

http://www.misticriver.net/wiki/inde...mize_Your_H1xx

[DennyL]

Thank you, Dunno.

[jumbuck]

Have you tried booting to iriver firmware? You should get a check hdd connection or 0000 folders 0000 files of which you'll be able to find numerous threads about.
You may also want to try a external hard drive enclosure http://cgi.ebay.com/1-8-Toshiba-ipod...QQcmdZViewItem to check you harddrive is the problem (not your player).

[DennyL]

Originally Posted by jumbuck

Have you tried booting to iriver firmware? You should get a check hdd connection or 0000 folders 0000 files of which you'll be able to find numerous threads about.
You may also want to try a external hard drive enclosure http://cgi.ebay.com/1-8-Toshiba-ipod...QQcmdZViewItem to check you harddrive is the problem (not your player).

Thank you for your suggestion, Jumbuck. When I try to boot the H140 I see "Rockbox boot loader version 6" for about two seconds then the screen goes off.. If I try to boot to iRiver firmware (hold Rec button), I get the same result. There is no hard disk light activity.

I definitely don't want to let the H140 die; I'm just hesitating between tackling it myself with the chance of fitting a 60Gb disk but knowing that my diagnosis might be wrong, ore getting it repaired by iRiver with the certainty of high cost.

[jumbuck]

It should boot on the iriver firmware as it is stored as flash memory on the motherboard and therefore doesn't rely on the hard drive to boot (at least to the check hard drive connection screen).
It nearly sounds like a power supply problem. Try connecting the charging adaptor to your player , making sure that the green light is on , leave it charge for a half an hour and then try booting your player.
the next thing I would try is removing the battery , the player should boot with the battery and/or hard drive removed and charging adaptor connected.
There are directions in the link that Dunno gave you.
Best of luck with it and let us know how you get on.

[DennyL]

Originally Posted by jumbuck

It should boot on the iriver firmware as it is stored as flash memory on the motherboard and therefore doesn't rely on the hard drive to boot (at least to the check hard drive connection screen).
It nearly sounds like a power supply problem. Try connecting the charging adaptor to your player , making sure that the green light is on , leave it charge for a half an hour and then try booting your player.
the next thing I would try is removing the battery , the player should boot with the battery and/or hard drive removed and charging adaptor connected.
There are directions in the link that Dunno gave you.
Best of luck with it and let us know how you get on.

Thank your for your continued help, Jumbuck.

Well, today I received a 1.8" hard disk carrier so that I can play with the hard disk, and I have ordered a Torx screwdriver.

I also have a h120 which works fine and is not Rockboxed. From memory when I start it there is a lot of hard disk light activity early on, which is what made me think that a dead HD would give the symptoms I see. I have charged the battery and I have tried booting my H140 while connected to the power supply, and I've also tried connecting it to my PC to see whether it will go into 'Connected' mode. All negative.

My big idea since I last posted here is to put the HD from the H120 into the H140 or maybe vice versa as a diagnostic method. What do you think?

When I've received my Torx screwdriver I shall try removing the battery as you recommend.

Thanks again for moral support.

[jumbuck]

Originally Posted by DennyL

I have charged the battery and I have tried booting my H140 while connected to the power supply, and I've also tried connecting it to my PC to see whether it will go into 'Connected' mode. All negative.

Yoy could also try booting in the Rockbox bootloader mode by connecting your player to the P.C and then turn on the player.

Originally Posted by DennyL

My big idea since I last posted here is to put the HD from the H120 into the H140 or maybe vice versa as a diagnostic method. What do you think?

Yes. That would be a great thing to try and it is the easiest as you only have to remove the end caps and rear cover to get to the hard drive. Keep us informed .

[DennyL]

I'm sorry I went quiet on this thread. Here is an update.

I opened the iRiver but didn't know how to remove the hard disk, which is what I wanted to do to try to establish whether it was faulty. I wish I had taken a phot of the inside of the H140 I saw that the HD had a sort of square blue 'gasket' to cushion it against the case, and it is located by two rubber 'jaw' strips along each end. The strips seemed slightly crumbly and I had to be very careful in how I freed the HD. My problem was that I didn't know how to free the connector end of the HD; whether I should pull a bit harder, or not.

In the end I sent it back to iRiver for repair, and was told that I would receive a quotation for the cost of the repair, and I would have the option of buying a refurbished H140 for €239. In the event my H140 was returned to me repaired at no charge, with my Rockbox installation and data intact. The delivery note stated 'hold s/w off JO'. I don't know what that means, but needless to say, I was very impressed by the service, and interested to know that refurbs are available for €239.

[HotStuff2]

Actually, that IS quite interesting. Especially considering that I just sent two H10 20gb models back to iRiver - for the 3rd time, no less! - to be repaired under warranty for the same problem. This time I included a note and asked them if there was *any* possibility of them replacing the two H10 20gb units with either H120/H140, or H320/H340 units.

Haven't heard anything from them yet, and they haven't sent the units back to me yet. Crossing my fingers that they send back an H120/H140/H320/H340 unit instead.

[jumbuck]

IT LIVES . Thats a great bit of news.

Originally Posted by DennyL

I'm sorry I went quiet on this thread. Here is an update.

I opened the iRiver but didn't know how to remove the hard disk, which is what I wanted to do to try to establish whether it was faulty.

This will be of no use to you now that you have your player going but you simpley pull off the padding and gently lift the end of the drive that is near the earphone end (top) of you player and then slide it out.

Originally Posted by DennyL

The delivery note stated 'hold s/w off JO'. I don't know what that means, but needless to say, I was very impressed by the service, and interested to know that refurbs are available for €239.

Maybe there was a problem with the hold switch??? But it comes up with the "hold switch on,power off" message wheb its turned on ......
Thanks for letting us know the outcome.

[DennyL]

Thank you for your responses and suggestions, Jumbuck, I do very much appreciate your help and encouragement. I'm sorry I flunked my project. I was slightly discouraged by the black foamy-rubber 'jaws' that hold the HD in place as they *seemed* sort of crumbly and perished when I tried to prise them open to release the HD. In addition, I didn't know how or where or how hard to pull on the HD to get it out.

Thanks again.

[BRA1NS]

What is the Toshiba thing for exactly... I have a faulty hard drive on my 140 and would like to know how that could help me? Thanks guys

[jumbuck]

Originally Posted by BRA1NS

What is the Toshiba thing for exactly... I have a faulty hard drive on my 140 and would like to know how that could help me? Thanks guys

Umm the "Toshiba thing" is the hard drive.
See here for NPswimdudes buying guide http://www.misticriver.net/forums/pl...tml#post476129 and check out Shadesbass's definitive guide post (directly below NPswimdudes).

And here for NPswimdudes directions on replacing the hard drive on the h1xx series http://www.misticriver.net/forums/player-faqs/50898-h1xx-h3xx-series-faqs-post199333.html#post 199333

[MagnusDeakin]

Hi all .
I have posted before on this subject (not this thread ) , but have had to re-register .
DennyL , my player suffers from the same symptoms that yours had . May I ask did you send it to the German repair address ? It is all packaged to go , and I'm quite confident now , having read your experience with them .
Thanks for your time , Magnus .