Subject changed because people misunderstood it

[TheLongshot]

Man, I'm frustrated with Rockbox. I have the latest build (r21127) and the database still doesn't work. File navigation is useless, since the interface doesn't seem to react well and it doesn't show the music directory. That leaves the playlist, which it occasionally doesn't recognize the one that's on there.

Now the latest problem is that Media Center can't seem to recognize the music that is already on the device

Right now, I don't know how anyone can look at Rockbox and declare it usable.

[ballincolin]

I understand what you mean. I had Rockbox on my e200, and it was terrible, so I took it off. Then I realized how terrible the original firmware is, so I put it back on. They fixed many glitches, and I was a happy guy. The database needs to be refreshed, kind of. You have to hold select on it until it gives you a menu, and you click "Initialize Now" Then it will give you a message that says "Updating in Background." Then you have to reboot your Sansa and it will show all the songs. The purpose of having to manually refresh is faster boot times. Playlists I have never been able to figure out. If you mean Windows Media Player won't recognize the music, it never has for me.

[dfkt]

TheLongshot, are you mixing MSC and MTP transfer modes?

[ranger67]

In regards to not seeing the "music" directory, I understand your frustration. In my experience the best solution is to create an alternate directory. I created a directory called audio on mine. The nicest aspect to this setup is that both Rockbox and the OF can see/utilize the new directory structure.

The issue you are running into is that the OF always makes the music directory and all of it's other directories as hidden. Unfortunately, if the OF is called at anytime, it will always reset the permissions on the directories. Thus, changing the permissions on the original directories is only a short term solution.

This issue is not Rockbox's problem. Rockbox is a highly customizable and configurable application with many benefits, but the downside is that quite often the initial setup does not perform like some people expect. I'd suggest you try to configure/adjust the application before judging it.

Personally, I'm thankful that Rockbox was designed in such a way that I can make it perform in the method that I prefer. The alternative is having someone/"some company" deciding how the hardware should work not only based on capabilities, but on what is easiest to support. As an example, you might note that Rockbox supports 25+ codecs, where most companies support less than a half dozen at best. :->

Enjoy!

[saratoga]

Originally Posted by TheLongshot

File navigation is useless, since the interface doesn't seem to react well and it doesn't show the music directory.

Either move your music out of the music folder, or mark the folder as non-hidden in Windows (and then do not use the OF anymore so it doesn't get rehidden).

[TheLongshot]

Yeah, the hidden folder thing might be the problem, since the main change is Rockbox's USB connection. Now that I think about it, I've never seen the folder when I do files. I'll see if that solves some of the other problems, tho I think it is strange that it would otherwise play under those circumstances.

Another problem that is unrelated to all of this is the file navigation, which seems to respond poorly to controls. I'll select a folder and nothing will happen most of the time. Sometimes I can get into a folder, but a lot of times I can't. It is very frustrating.

[epithetless]

Originally Posted by TheLongshot

Another problem that is unrelated to all of this is the file navigation, which seems to respond poorly to controls. I'll select a folder and nothing will happen most of the time. Sometimes I can get into a folder, but a lot of times I can't. It is very frustrating.

That's not common among all Rockboxed e200s, or I doubt you'd be the first to mention it. My player's navigation is quite smooth and accurate. You don't have any responsiveness issues in the original firmware?

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by epithetless

That's not common among all Rockboxed e200s, or I doubt you'd be the first to mention it. My player's navigation is quite smooth and accurate. You don't have any responsiveness issues in the original firmware?

No, and the only responsiveness issue I have in Rockbox is the Files section. Everything else works perfectly smooth.

[saratoga]

Try turning on the directory cache? Still having slow downs on the file browser is very odd. Have you checked your disk for errors?

[cBc]

I would also suggest reading thru the manual again as there are lots of setting & adjustments that may not come to mind when just using the player.
I thought I knew everything I needed to know to use RB effectively, but of course I was el-wrongo.

[dfkt]

Changing the thread title would also be a good idea, since insulting the efforts of the Rockbox developers is not the best way to get one's personal problems with a player fixed...

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by dfkt

Changing the thread title would also be a good idea, since insulting the efforts of the Rockbox developers is not the best way to get one's personal problems with a player fixed...

I'm sorry you feel like I'm insulting the developers when I haven't even mentioned any of them. That's not something I'd ever do, being a software developer myself.

Rockbox performs poorly in many ways and out of frustration I'm asking for help, that's all.

[Llorean]

Declaring that it "sucks" is kinda insulting to ALL of them, rather than just specific ones.

Especially since so far at least a portion of the problems you've had can easily be described as "user error."

Would you feel insulted if I suggested we changed the name to "How can I stop sucking at using Rockbox?" If the answer to that would be "yes" then I'm sure you can see how people might feel the thread is insulting to the Rockbox devs.

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by Llorean

Declaring that it "sucks" is kinda insulting to ALL of them, rather than just specific ones.

Especially since so far at least a portion of the problems you've had can easily be described as "user error."

Would you feel insulted if I suggested we changed the name to "How can I stop sucking at using Rockbox?" If the answer to that would be "yes" then I'm sure you can see how people might feel the thread is insulting to the Rockbox devs.

It probably would be just as accurate. When I posted, Rockbox did indeed suck on my Sansa. I wanted to know what I could do to get it not to suck. I don't know why people think it was a personal shot at the developers.

Anyways, back at the subject at hand. Changing the directory has solved a lot of the problems, and switching on directory cache solved the other. (Never would have figured that out without asking). Thanks for the help.

I have one more issue unrelated to these problems, but I'll post that in a new thread.

Jason

[TBOL3]

One thing that always worked for me when Rockbox was slow to do something or other, is to get a different current build. Each of them (for me anyway) seem to have their own sets of bugs. Or you could get the current stable, which is stable, even if it is lacking features.