I got my unit yesterday and just plugged it in. Windows 2000 handles it fine, emplode sees it, everything was great. So I took the 60 directories (4.08 gigs) of music CDs I've encoded onto my computer and dragged them onto emplode. It started doing it's thing, "preparing up upload" came up and then it said "waiting for response from player". It then timed out and the rio "syncronizing" screen stopped moving. I tried all the buttons but nothing worked so I unplugged it and plugged it back in. Now it hangs on the blue "Rio" screen. I was using ethernet to transfer the files. I'm trying to boot up with both ethernet in and not and usb in and not. any ideas?

Here is what the unit says at bootup (after hyperterminaling in):


empeg-car bootstrap v1.02 20001106 (hugo@empeg.com)
If there is anyone present who wants to upgrade the flash, let them speak now,
or forever hold their peace...it seems not. Let fly the Penguins of Linux!

e000 v1.03
Copying kernel...
Calling linux kernel...
Uncompressing Linux.................................... done, booting the kernel
.
Linux version 2.2.14-rmk5-np17-empeg41 (mac@aphex.internal.empeg.com) (gcc versi
on 2.95.2 19991024 (release)) #132 Wed Jan 10 13:49:24 GMT 2001
Processor: Intel StrongARM-1100 revision 11
NetWinder Floating Point Emulator V0.94.1 (c) 1998 Corel Computer Corp.
empeg-car player (hardware revision 9, serial number 40103941)
Command line: mem=16m temp=49
Calibrating delay loop... 207.67 BogoMIPS
Memory: 15048k/16M available (972k code, 20k reserved, 336k data, 8k init)
Dentry hash table entries: 2048 (order 2, 16k)
Buffer cache hash table entries: 16384 (order 4, 64k)
Page cache hash table entries: 4096 (order 2, 16k)
POSIX conformance testing by UNIFIX
Linux NET4.0 for Linux 2.2
Based upon Swansea University Computer Society NET3.039
NET4: Linux TCP/IP 1.0 for NET4.0
IP Protocols: ICMP, UDP, TCP
TCP: Hash tables configured (ehash 16384 bhash 16384)
IrDA (tm) Protocols for Linux-2.2 (Dag Brattli)
Linux-IrDA: IrCOMM protocol ( revision:Tue May 18 03:11:39 1999 )
ircomm_tty: virtual tty driver for IrCOMM ( revision:Wed May 26 00:49:11 1999 )
Starting kswapd v 1.5
SA1100 serial driver version 4.27 with no serial options enabled
ttyS00 at 0xf8010000 (irq = 15) is a SA1100 UART
ttyS01 at 0xf8050000 (irq = 17) is a SA1100 UART
ttyS02 at 0xf8030000 (irq = 16) is a SA1100 UART
Signature is 206f6972 'rio '
Logo type is 1
empeg display initialised.
empeg dspaudio driver initialized
empeg audio-in initialised, CS4231A revision a0
empeg infra-red support initialised.
empeg usb initialised, PDIUSBD12 id 1012
empeg state support initialised 0089/88c1 (save to d0004700).
empeg power-pic driver initialised (first boot)
RAM disk driver initialized: 16 RAM disks of 4096K size
empeg single channel IDE
Probing primary interface...
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, ATA DISK drive
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, ATA DISK drive
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, ATA DISK drive
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, ATA DISK drive
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, ATA DISK drive
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, ATA DISK drive
ide0: unexpected interrupt, status=0xff, count=1
ide0 at 0x000-0x007,0x038 on irq 6
hdb: FUJITSU MHL2300AT, 28615MB w/2048kB Cache, CHS=58140/16/63
empeg-flash driver initialized
smc chip id/revision 0x3349
smc9194.c:v0.12 03/06/96 by Erik Stahlman (erik@vt.edu)

SMC9194: SMC91C94(r:9) at 0x4008000 IRQ:7 INTF:TP MEM:6144b MAC 00:02:d7:28:0f:6
5
Partition check:
hdb: hdb1 < hdb5 hdb6 > hdb2 hdb3 hdb4
RAMDISK: ext2 filesystem found at block 0
RAMDISK: Loading 320 blocks [1 disk] into ram disk... done.
VFS: Mounted root (ext2 filesystem).
empeg-pump v0.03 (19980601)
Press Ctrl-A to enter pump...VFS: Cannot open root device 03:05
Kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 03:05

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

Congratulations on your new player! Sorry it stopped working. Fortunately, it's likely to be a simple problem. Please read this FAQ entry.

It's doing this with AC power on my desk

It's doing this with AC power on my desk

I don't understand why you said this? The FAQ entry I linked doesn't mention AC or DC power. The drive cable problem will manifest itself intermittently regardless of which power supply it's running off of.

What FAQ entry did you get when you clicked on my link? You should have gotten a link describing, in detail, the problems that some players have with their internal IDE disk drive cables.

Weird, one time I clicked on it I got the "Why doesn't my Rio Car work in my Mark 2 docking sled?" FAQ entry, another time I got the one about the fauly IDE cable, another time I got the "Why doesn't my Rio Car work in my Mark 2 docking sled?" again....

Thanks though, I sent an email off to the empeg support unit. What's weird is it will intermitently work. I checked the connections into the drives and they seem solid... they are glued on and everything. I had to check it by unscrewing the screen and moving it out of the way though, I couldn't get the side screws for the shock plate unscrewed.

Yeah the cable wont be loose itll just quit working. Youll need to get those cradle screws out though to replace the drive cable

Yeah, you shouldn't be unscrewing the display board.

In order to undo the side screws holding the drive cradle in place, you need a screwdriver of the correct size, but it also needs to have a pretty decent amount of force to back it up. Sometimes I have to use a pair of pliers around the shaft of a small jewler's screwdriver to apply the correct amount of non-slipping torque.

What Tony says.

I've had better luck with a large screwdriver with exchangeable bits though (and the proper size bit is surprisingly large, butI don't recall exactly what size it was), just make sure that the bit is nice and sharp and not rounded. The larger handle IMO gives better control than a jewelers screwdriver. Keep the pressure up when loosening the screw - slipping can round both the bit and screw...

/Michael

Oh, I agree completely, a large driver with exchangeable bits is better. I've just been stuck in situations where the only available tool was a Jewler's screwdriver, and I've had to do this sometimes.

Ok so I got really angry and managed to get the screws out, even without stripping the heads! So I got the shock tray out, pushed on all the connections, they all didn't budge. I plug in the unit and it comes on. So I try it a few more times and the unit powers up. Then I slide the shock tray back in and it still works. I load up emplode and deleted everything off the drive and am currently trasfering 573 megs over USB. I also have hyperterminal up over COM1 and I'm getting the following errors as the songs transfer:

hda: no DRQ after issuing WRITE
ide0: reset: success
hda: set_geometry_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: set_geometry_intr: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, CHS=257/1/1, sector=113
6176
hda: recal_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: recal_intr: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, LBAsect=16843009, sector=11361
76
hda: recal_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: recal_intr: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, LBAsect=16843009, sector=11361
76
hda: status error: status=0x59 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest Error }
hda: status error: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, LBAsect=18079713, sector=113
6176
hda: no DRQ after issuing WRITE
ide0: reset: success
hda: set_geometry_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: set_geometry_intr: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, CHS=16383/15/63, sector
=1136176
end_request: I/O error, dev 03:04 (hda), sector 1136176
hda: recal_intr: status=0x51 { DriveReady SeekComplete Error }
hda: recal_intr: error=0x00 { }
hda: write_intr error1: nr_sectors=31, stat=0x59
hda: write_intr: status=0x59 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest Error }
hda: write_intr: error=0x00 { }
ide0: reset: success
hda: write_intr error1: nr_sectors=53, stat=0x59
hda: write_intr: status=0x59 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest Error }
hda: write_intr: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, LBAsect=18162469, sector=12189
31
ide0: reset: success
hda: write_intr error1: nr_sectors=101, stat=0x59
hda: write_intr: status=0x59 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest Error }
hda: write_intr: error=0x00 { }
ide0: reset: success
hda: write_intr error1: nr_sectors=86, stat=0x59
hda: write_intr: status=0x59 { DriveReady SeekComplete DataRequest Error }
hda: write_intr: error=0x01 { AddrMarkNotFound }, LBAsect=18175307, sector=12315
14
ide0: reset: success

there are quite a few more but they are generally like that. Does it still look like a bad cable or could it be a hard drive(s)?

Yes, it still looks like cable trouble.

That's good to hear... I guess... better than a bad hard drive at least Do you know a telephone # where I can reach someone to send me a new cable?

carsupport@sonicblue.com

Rob

I had the same thing happen to mine, I though tit didn't survive the trip to Aus from the UK via US...

I thought I would open it and fix myself (costs me too much to send it back) and I pushed the wires, etc, and it sort of came good.

Then I realised there is like silicon/hot glue put on the connectors, take this all off first then undo the cables from the drive(s) and then I used electrical contact cleaner and sprayed them, then re-sat them.

After that it came good, I seated the cabling nicely with some zip ties to keep it secure but easy to remove if I ever need to in the future.

Good luck with your unit, sounds very similar to what I had to do this afternoon.

Des.

Note that the common problem with hard disk cables on recent players relates to the crimping of the connectors - not the connection between the cable and the drive.

Rob

Actually, very true, one thing I did leave out was that I did "squeeze" the connectors in a bit more on the IDE connectors on the cable, there was a little gap where I could see the silver things that cut into the right cable.

I do that by habit anyway with each new pc I build, so I did leave that out of what I had just written.

Good point though Rob, hopefully that will help a few others.

How did you remove the hot glue stuff from the connector? I just don't want to break anything

I carefully pick it off with my fingers. Painstaking work.

It usually peels off very easily, in one or two pieces.

Rob

Must be that English air . The couple of times I've done it, it comes off in one or two dozen pieces, and not completely. I just get enough off to allow for comfortable plugging and unplugging without putting stress on the cable crimp.

Great, now the cable just needs to get here.... the suspense is killing me!

when I was waiting on mine I did what other people have suggested by just making sure it was crimped tight, I got it to work for a while, but it would go out every once in a while...
then i got the cable and had no problems since

How long did it take for the cable to get to you?

I'm in Michigan...
I think just about a week I think...
don't remember exactly been having too much fun since then :-)

Yeah so I get an email today and the guy is like "we don't have any cables, we'll have them maybe this week or next week, I'll send one when we get them"... that's a bunch of crap... considering this is a known problem and has been for sometime, they should have them available to please their already failed customers...... GRRRRR

sorry to hear that man...
but give them a little break, they do a really good job with support of an EOL'd product. Most companys don't do that at all. Maybe with the sudden growth of owners they weren't able to keep up the supply with the demand.
in the mean time...I re-read the thread and you said you did open you case and asked about the hot glue...Did you try making sure it was crimped tight? That kept mine running till I got the new cable. And mine didn't stop wroking again with the bad cable until I was transfering it between home and work...when i didn't move it much it was fine.

Yeah, I understand your frustration. My guess is they got caught by surprise by the number of people suddenly experiencing this problem. If the board here is any indication, a lot of people got hit by this recently, me included.

I got the same email too, did you try his suggestion to switch which connector your drive is plugged into?

Amthar, they did get a bunch of cables to replace the defective ones, and did have them ready. Unfortunately, the people responsible for support (the team in England) was not adequately warned when the people responsible for sales (the US division) decided to drop the price of the player to "absolute steal" levels. As a result, the sudden surge of player sales caused a sudden and unexpected need for more cables than originally planned. You can't blame them for briefly running out.

The support for this player is essentially being handled by one guy, and he's doing a fantastic job, considering. When David says he will get you a cable as soon as possible, he means it, and he will live up to his promise.

If your player is a single-drive player, there is a published work-around for the cable problem here (moving the drive to the other spot). If you can't wait for the replacement cable, you can do that instead.

First, my unit is a 2 drive unit, so the workaround is not possible.

Second, I don't really care what the excuses are, they should have cables ready for their customers. I work in the IT services field and I know that excuses are just that, excuses, and the bottom line is to be ready to meet your customer's needs. What's really bad about the whole thing is as I said before, it's not like this is a surprise problem. Now they have failed their customers TWICE. I feel bad for David, I truely do, it's a sucky situation to be in, but that is completely seperate from being pleased as a customer. So now for possibly 2 weeks my unit is an expensive piece of metal collecting dust.