Porting Rockbox to YP-R0 (FAQ in the 1st post)

[lebellium]

INFO
I'm back in Berlin and I have 3 special cables for the Recovery Tool for sale. I already sold 2 cables in France last week.
If there are some German users around here, don't miss this opportunity.

Indeed, the special cable with the 300Kohm resistor is necessary in case of brick but is also useful to install and test any firmware, it's safer and faster (no "firmware checking" and "firmware upgrading" step on the player).

If you don't live in Germany or France, you can directly contact VanniX who makes these cables. He lives in Italy but will ship the cables anywhere in the world. Just bear in mind that international shipping costs may be expensive.

[Appick]

Oh if I had known! I gave up on GénérationMP3 for a while because I kept getting a virus alert. I've just seen that it's been fixed and that I will get hit on the head if I ask for a cable - so I'll put my helmet on and go over there to ask for one but I can wait 'til December! What's the price (including postage)?

[lebellium]

5 + 2,5€ = 7,5€.... if my brother in France is willing to do the job for me

Actually I knew that would happen (not only Italy is a clowns country, France too ) so before coming back to Berlin, I prepared a Lettre Max 50gr with the USB cable inside ready for shipping in my bedroom in France.

[VanniX]

Price for italy is 5€ (cable) + 1.40€ (shipping) + 40 (package). Total price is 7€.
For foreign country the cable price is the same (5€), and the shipping cost can change for type of shipping and destination coutry. I can ship in all country except for France and Germany.
For other info i suggest you to visit the "poste italiane" site.

[oko21]

Originally Posted by VanniX

Price for italy is 5€ (cable) + 1.40€ (shipping) + 40 (package). Total price is 7€.
For foreign country the cable price is the same (5€), and the shipping cost can change for type of shipping and destination coutry. I can ship in all country except for France and Germany.
For other info i suggest you to visit the "poste italiane" site.

I send You a email to your contact info box.I'm very interested in buying this "magic cable"
Big THANKs for the opportunity and the "will" to help poor samsung users.

[VanniX]

I reply to your PM, keep me informed ;-)

[lebellium]

Important Announcement



VanniX, Lorenzo and lebellium are pleased to present you the new modded firmware v2.51.
It's a dualboot firmware like the v2.30 so you still can boot either Rockbox or the Samsung app.
Many visible and user-invisible improvements have been made as you can see in the changelog below. For sure the most visible new feature is the nice bootloader screen with customizable settings making the boot selection easier and more user-friendly than in firmware v2.30. You will also notice immediately the faster boot time.



Changelog from v.2.30:
* Add bootloader screen to choose which firmware/application to start up
* Add Auto-Setup (all needed files will be auto-generated)
* New faster and more optimized kernel
* Native support for Rockbox (all modules and libs are included in ROM)
* Improve scripts
* Faster boot time
* Dual mount system (RFS for Modfirm, VFAT for rockbox)
* New CPU management (by kernel)
* Remove old and useless scripts and applications
* Add e-service manual
* More battery life

Installation Instructions
Not only this firmware 2.51 is better than the previous v2.30, but it is also easier to install. Indeed, now you just need to copy the usual ROM file to the root of the player. All necessary additional files will be auto-generated at first startup!

0) If you were using the firmware 2.30 until now, delete the rockbox_loader.sh and si4709.ko files from the root.
1) Download the modded firmware 2.51 here (alternative dl link). Extract the archive on your computer (you may need a freeware like 7-Zip for that). Put the R0.ROM file at the root of the player.
2) Download the latest Rockbox build here (this link is auto-updated at every commit). Extract the archive and put the .rockbox folder at the root of the device.
3) Disconnect the R0 from the computer and power it on. Wait a few seconds, an "initializing firmware" screen shows up. It actually auto-generates the necessary files like the Rockbox loader for example.
4) Reboot the R0, let Rockbox start automatically or select the Samsung app or Safe Mode with the right and down arrow keys and enjoy!

NOTE: Like after any firmware upgrade, we recommend you to set the R0 in MSC mode again: start the Samsung app, go to settings>system>PC connection and select MSC/UMS instead of MTP.
IMPORTANT: After using the Samsung app you may notice that at the next startup the Samsung app immediately loads again because of the standby mode. Rockbox or Safe Mode can only load if the device is fully off and not in standby mode. To turn it fully off, just press and hold the power button for 5 seconds or press the reset hole.


With the default configuration, Rockbox automatically boots at startup after showing the bootscreen for about 3 seconds. If you want to change the various boot settings (default app Samsung, Hide bootscreen etc) you need a microSD card.
Indeed, for technical reasons the boot settings are not user-editable on the internal memory. When you insert a microSD card and turn on the device, a bootl.cfg file is auto-generated on the root of the microSD card. On your computer open this file with your Notepad and replace the values you want then save the changes.
Description of the boot settings:
RSTMOD - Shorten shutdown time from 10 to 5 sec when pressing and hold the power button
AUTEXS - Auto execute scripts located in /mnt/mmc/autoexec at startup
AUTUSB - Auto enter in SafeMode, Modfirm (for battery charging and file transfer) or start normally when a USB cable is connected while the R0 is off
LOGOBL - Show/Hide bootloader screen
TIMEBL - Number of cycles before starting the default app, 15 cycles are about 1 sec.
DFLAPP - Default application loaded when the TIMEBL expires. You can choose between "RockBox" (launch Rockbox), "Samsung App" (launch Modfirm 2.51), or "Do not Start automatically" (Does not launch anything automatically until the user selects an application with the left/right/down keys. TIMEBL has no effect here).


Moreover, the Safe Mode has been updated!
This firmware introduces the SafeMode250. It's easier to use and more stable than the previous versions. To enter in Safe Mode you have to select "Safe Mode" from the bootloader screen and then follow the on-screen instructions.
If the player is already connected to your computer it automatically enters in data transfer mode, otherwise a screen saying "Connect now your R0 to pc" shows up on the R0. In this case, just plug the USB cable and the Safe Mode will start up.
IMPORTANT: The auto-shutdown feature introduced in v2.30 has been removed in this v2.51 due to high instability during data transfers. Thus, when you want to disconnect the R0 from the PC you should first unmount (safely remove) the device, unplug the USB cable and then power it off manually (press the power button for 5 seconds).
However the Safe Mode in this firmware is not so important for a normal use. Indeed when you connect the device to the PC while it is still off, it auto-enters in charging and data transfer mode through the Samsung app, and you can transfer all your songs and other files onto the player as with the official Samsung firmware.

Problems?
Are you experiencing any issue with our modded firmware v2.51? No problem, it includes all needed tools to unbrick the player. You just need to read the modfirm service manual auto-generated at the root explaining usage and features of the tools developed for this ROM.
NOTE: You may need a microSD card for some operations.

Anyway you can always get help and answers to your questions at:
http://anythingbutipod.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=255

[Mikah]

Hi ho.
I installed the latest modded Firmware v2.50. I followed the instruction but the player hangs and does nothing. After the samsung logo the screen flashes and a nice penguin in the top-left corner appears nothing more. Also there are no files created on the micro sd card and my notebook doesn't recognize the player anymore.
What I did so far: formatted the sd card with fat32, I tried the reset button several times, hold some buttons while booting and tried the drk but nothing seems to work. My os is ubuntu.
What else could I do? Any tips or suggestions?

[lebellium]

Sh**t, that just happened to me too
Got the same issue when trying to upgrade my 16GB R0 while I experienced no issue with the other R0 during the beta tests.

@VanniX: Conditions: Upgrade from firmware 2.30 with modded sysdata in media1. Enough space on media0 for NEO-GHOST backup so I don't understand why the Auto-setup won't work. No microSD inserted at first startup.

@VanniX and Mikah: Solution found: insert a microSD card with the following file (download here) at the root of the microSD card. The R0 now starts up normally. Wait a few seconds, the "Initializing firmware" screen shows up. Wait until it's done (that may take some time). Reboot the R0, it now works
VanniX, there is a strange issue however, I'm obliged to let the microSD card inserted to get it work. If I remove the microSD card, it gets stuck on the linux pinguin at startup although the auto-setup worked this time
I guess we need a v2.51 to fix this issue... I freeze the 2.50 download links for the moment

PS: I moved your post/thread here, please reply to this thread, don't open a new thread.

[Mikah]

Jep, the config file is needed on the sd card and everything works as it should. To put it on the internal memory doesn't help.
Btw: everything looks nice, the bootloader and the loading screens

[Lorenz092]

@VanniX: I have seen the code (quickly) but unfortunately I did not see anything strange on the fly...But I have a suggestion: search for a bootl.cfg in the internal memory (microSD is optional and not all the people have one...), if not load default settings. Otherwise if it finds a cfg either in the external OR in the internal, the loader loads it. First search in the card, then in the nand, then default settings. Hope the logic is clear

[Appick]

That's weird because I had no problems. It seems to work fine and has, indeed, a quicker starup.
I think on the next update I might reformat the player and the SD card to clean everything up again. I suppose we don't need autostart_RB any-more? Can you tell me what the "nvram.bin" iso file is that I have in the .rockbox folder and is it necessary? I think it is some form of settings savings file but what does it do that cfg files don't do? And the database.tcd files in the same place? I have 10 of them (database_0.tcd to 9 and database_idx.tcd.) Are they necessary too or are they created when the database is corrupted?

Lorenzo your English has improved enormously

[lebellium]

Originally Posted by Appick

That's weird because I had no problems. It seems to work fine and has, indeed, a quicker starup.

With microSD inserted right? Because if you had no problems without microSD card, either you're very lucky or you don't use the same firmware

I think on the next update I might reformat the player and the SD card to clean everything up again. I suppose we don't need autostart_RB any-more?

Indeed, you don't need that file anymore.

Can you tell me what the "nvram.bin" iso file is that I have in the .rockbox folder and is it necessary? I think it is some form of settings savings file but what does it do that cfg files don't do? And the database.tcd files in the same place? I have 10 of them (database_0.tcd to 9 and database_idx.tcd.) Are they necessary too or are they created when the database is corrupted?

I don't know for the nvram.bin file. The database_xxx.tcd files are created when initializing the database. Thus the rockbox database is composed of several files. If you delete them, rockbox will need to rebuild the database at the next startup.

Lorenzo your English has improved enormously

[Private Joke]Yeah since I explained him the difference between "I remember you" and "I remind you" he really leveled up

[Appick]

Originally Posted by lebellium

With microSD inserted right? Because if you had no problems without microSD card, either you're very lucky or you don't use the same firmware

I daren't try without the SDcard!

[VanniX]

We apologize for the inconvenience, but do not worry because now all has been solved

P.S: Lorenz092, i sent you an email.

[lebellium]

Version 2.51 has now been released and the main post above has been thus edited. Enjoy
This version fix the following bug in v2.50: the R0 won't start up without a microSD card inserted.

The upgrade from v2.30 and v2.50 with and without microSD has been successfully tested by VanniX and me.

For the 30 people (rapidshare download counter^^) who already installed the v2.50, please connect the R0 to PC in Safe Mode, delete the romboot.ok file from Neo-Ghost (media1), delete the ModFirm_2.50_UserGuide.txt file from the R0 root (media0) and put the v2.51 R0.ROM file at the same place. That's it

[rozi]

hi...
i got my R0 yesterday ( firmware ver 1.24 KR-00-JL1).

can i go back to firmware 1.24 if i install new modded firmware v2.51.

thanks.

sorry for my bad english.

[lebellium]

Yes you can but I promise you you will never want to to that

[rozi]

Originally Posted by lebellium

Yes you can but I promise you you will never want to to that

you're right...rockbox is great.

thank you/

[Mikah]

Big thanks to Lorenz092, VanniX, lebellium and the not mentioned invisible testers xD!
@rozi: not only rockbox is great, in my opinion the samsung R0 is still a great player even today.
In combination with rockbox it's a perfect audio device for me. Just searched a new mp3 player some weeks ago and nothing seems to be as good as the R0, especially the 16 GB version. Most of the players come with overall 8 GB only, no sd card slot and a crappy firmware.
Thanks again, time to "chmod" myself to read only^^