Patch the decoded OF?

[scuderiaconchiglia]

Is it possible to patch the decoded Original Firmware for the H10 5gb so that it does NOT mark the Music folder as hidden? It is a real annoyance that if you boot to the OF you then have to connect to a PC so that you can "unhide" the music folder. Or is there an app in Rockbox that would allow us to change the hidden flag?

Gary

[jacksont123]

I also hate when that happens too, but I don't know if the decoded OF file could be patched.

[Angryman_H10]

No it cant be patched or something like that.

[scuderiaconchiglia]

Originally Posted by Angryman_H10

No it cant be patched or something like that.

Having coded in assembler MANY moons ago (1976 for Z-80 and early 8080). I would think, and of course the operative word there is THINK, that all that would be required was a pretty simple change. Somewhere the bit for hidden is being turned on and then written back to the file system. Although having said that, this may be a HIGHER level call to the OS file system than that. It may literally be a call to set the "hidden" bit. But EVEN so, if it were a single call, couldn't that be NO-OP'ed out? Is there any sort of CRC check for the entire OF that would be violated by doing this via a binary editor?

Is there any sort of disassembler available for the code these puppies run? And if so does any sort of symbol table exist?

Now I am intrigued! I haven't done any machine code in years but...

Gary

[PaulPosition]

Originally Posted by scuderiaconchiglia

Is there any sort of disassembler available for the code these puppies run? And if so does any sort of symbol table exist?

Now I am intrigued! I haven't done any machine code in years but...

Gary

For all I could understand, the problem is that without proper, documented API, there's no way to make any sort of decompiler and probably not even a really functionnal disassembler. But I SERIOUSLY lack knowledge in this domain, so feel free to correct me.

As for the folder getting hidden, don't forget that you can still access it by setting file view type, in Rockbox, to 'view all' instead of 'view supported'. It's not as practical as an autoexec.bat/.profile sort of thing would be though.

[skateboard0924]

Paul, I think you misunderstood what scuderiaconchiglia was saying, unless I am. I thought he meant that when you go to boot up the OF and go to music and for example artists, nothing shows up. And in order to get to your music in the OF you have to go to the browser and then go to music. I hope i'm not the only one that has that problem and I thought he was asking how you can fix it so the music displays in the Music category in the OF.

[scuderiaconchiglia]

Originally Posted by PaulPosition

For all I could understand, the problem is that without proper, documented API, there's no way to make any sort of decompiler and probably not even a really functionnal disassembler. But I SERIOUSLY lack knowledge in this domain, so feel free to correct me.

As for the folder getting hidden, don't forget that you can still access it by setting file view type, in Rockbox, to 'view all' instead of 'view supported'. It's not as practical as an autoexec.bat/.profile sort of thing would be though.

Oh, now that's interesting. I was not aware you could set it to view all. Your reply implies that this must be done more than one time though. Does it have to be done each time we start up Rockbox? Even so, that's better than having to rush back to a PC after running the OF.

Back to the disassembler, you really would not need the documented API to create a disassembler, but to REALLY interpret the results, you ARE right a documented API would be a big help. Or a symbol table.

A side story, in 1977 I worked with a guy who LITERALLY coded machine code for a Z80 directly in hex. He could read it as well. We hacked a Basic interpreter (with no API or symbol tables) to the point that we extended the commands for the interpreter. I had lost toch with him for MANY years but recently made contact. Hmmmmm, I wonder if he is game again. <grin>

Any idea where I might go to get more info on the "innards" of this little beast?

Thanks,
Gary

[scuderiaconchiglia]

Originally Posted by skateboard0924

Paul, I think you misunderstood what scuderiaconchiglia was saying, unless I am. I thought he meant that when you go to boot up the OF and go to music and for example artists, nothing shows up. And in order to get to your music in the OF you have to go to the browser and then go to music. I hope i'm not the only one that has that problem and I thought he was asking how you can fix it so the music displays in the Music category in the OF.

Nope, that is NOT what I was getting at. To fix the problem YOU are talking about, all you need to do is run EasyH10 and have it rebuild the database.

The issue I am talking about is, once you do boot the OF, it marks the music folder (and others) as hidden in the file system. When you boot RockBox, it will not see the music folder at all, it appears that it has been erased. In reality there is a single bit set in the file system that says to hide it. If I could find the call to the routine that does this in the OF, it would be relatively easy to use a binary editor to wipe out that call (and adjusting the checksum of the OF, if one exists). The trick is finding the call though.

Gary

[skateboard0924]

Oh, ok, i'm sorry I misunderstood. But I don't really understand where you're getting at... If you hold the back button and go to view all, then all the files/folders will be viewable in rockbox. What is the reason to do a whole bunch of stuff to have it be visable when you start rockbox when instead it takes 2 seconds to hold the back button and press view all? Again, i'm sorry if i'm misunderstanding what you are trying to say.

[Yotamz]

why not:
power button > general settings > file view > show files > all
?

..this makes rockbox show the hidden music folder as well.

[PaulPosition]

Yes, it sets the same thing in the config block, it's just that the 'quickmenu' skateboard suggests is a bit faster.

And Scuderiaconchiglia, once you set the browsing view to 'all', it stays set, you don't need to do it everytime. Shows all files and folders, including hidden ones.

[scuderiaconchiglia]

Originally Posted by PaulPosition

Yes, it sets the same thing in the config block, it's just that the 'quickmenu' skateboard suggests is a bit faster.

And Scuderiaconchiglia, once you set the browsing view to 'all', it stays set, you don't need to do it everytime. Shows all files and folders, including hidden ones.

Thanks guys! I guess I should RTFM, huh? <big ol' grin>

As long as the setting is "sticky" then I agree there is no real need to hack the OF to keep it from setting the hidden bit at all. But, it WOULD have been a fun exercise.

Paul, as you might have guessed from my screenname, I too am a motorsports fan. I don't have enough "points" here yet to send a private message which I tried to do to you to inquire as to what "flavors" are your favorite.

Gary

[druidfire217]

Yeah, except most of us keep the Music folder unhidden. I personally like the supported one, since I keep some of them (like the .rockbox folder) hidden for a cleaner view. I would personally like it if this was possible, along with hopefully turning it off entirely.