bricked gigabeat S60...YAY

[highvolt]

I bought a Toshiba Gigabeat S60 on newegg.com like 2 years ago. Every few months I would check the status of the rockbox port for the S series. Once progress began to speed, I began checking about once a month. Finally, last month, I was pleased to see that the build had a good level of functionality. (Now it is even better than then)

I was in Linux at the time but it was late and I didn't feel like compiling any of the tools even though it isn't much of a bother, so I rebooted to windows xp. I my internet connection was down after I rebooted, but luckily I had all the files I needed and I had written down the steps I needed to use to flash the firmware.

I accidentally used sendfirm to send the unmodified nkbin instead of the merged file. I unplug the gigabeat from the usb connector, and it resets. I realize my error. It just shows a Toshiba splash screen that doesn't go away.

I hooked it up and Windows wouldn't recognize it since its firmware was replaced.
I rebooted into one of my Linux installations, tried lsusb, and the device wasn't listed, so I knew I was kind of screwed.

I've kept the gigabeat out of my sight since then until today. I'm not sure how I can possibly flash it without having usb access. And I tried pressing win button+ left direction pad to go into recovery mode, but that doesn't appear to work without the original firmware.

I know there is the serial interface on the bottom of the player, but If i recall correctly it wont help you any. I read somewhere (i think on here) that someone took a dock from an F-series gigabeat and it worked with their S if they dremeled the sides off. Is there anyway I can get access to re-flash with either rockbox or the original firmware in the state my gigabeat is in?

And note to self, never try flashing firmware at like 3 am.

Thanks for any insights any of you may have.

[CrowdAds]

[roebeet]

I've also made the mistake of using the sendfirm utility to upload the unmodded nk.bin, to my player. However, I never had my player get stuck at the Gigabeat logo - the worst I had was that the player would go into firmware restore mode.

Have you tried to take the player apart? Maybe you need to unplug the hard drive and try that to get it into restore mode? Or, maybe the drive needs to be wiped (not using your player, but possibly a ZIF drive enclosure). I was reasonably sure that the .bin gets loaded from the hard drive so, conceivably, wiping the drive should get you back to square one.

[highvolt]

Thanks for the suggestion. I was considering taking the drive out, but I knew it was best to ask on here before I did anything retarded. I need to find a screwdriver small enough to open my gigabeat first, and I'll try your idea of unhooking the drive. Then I'll try getting a ZIF enclosure if that doesn't work.

Plus if I do that, then I should be able to install rockbox alot more easily, too.

[roebeet]

Getting to the drive is somewhat easy - 5 screws (the four you can see, and then one hidden where the lanyard hole is, on the back cover).

Once opened, you need to remove one cable connecting to the back cover. There's a small latch at the bottom that you can flip up with a small regular screwdriver to get it loose (don't force it out - I made that mistake). As for the ZIF drive - if you've never seen one, there's a small black latch where the cable connects to the drive - you need to flip that up to get the cable loose. I use my thumbnail, or I suppose a small screwdriver would work. Again, don't force it out. And, of course, make a note of where all the connectors were when you reassemble (again, I made that mistake the first time). :-)

[sparkxxx]

have you tried forcing bootloader?
switch the battery switch to off position
in the + button hold the left button and the menu button, then plug in the power cable. it will tell you it will need (repair/restore) download the software from toshiba's site and reflash the origional software.

good luck, (it worked for me)