hi there,

i am having a bit of trouble with a recently acquired empeg unit (mk1, blue faceplate, two 10gig drives.)

upon my taking custody, the player had ancient software, and supposedly had experienced a problem with one of the disks which had (again supposedly) been replaced but not properly configured.

i downloaded all the newest software (both the 1.02 beta and the 1.03 release candidate of both the emplode windows client and empeg unit image.)

i also got the most recent disk builder image.

i chose the consumer versions of all the software.

i began by installing the emplode software on my windows 2000 laptop (IBM T21) and hooked up the empeg via serial cable. i then seemingly successfully ran the builder program, but the unit displayed a message at the end to the effect that the 'drive(s)' were already properly built or some such. i am not sure if this is a good or bad message.

after that i (seemingly) successfully updated the software on the empeg unit itself to the 1.02 release build.

i then connected to the empeg player with the emplode app (via usb this time) to attempt synchronization.

i noticed that there were a couple of playlists (containing music) on the unit in addition to the default (fwiw, before i ran the build/update sequence, the player had been functioning and had lots of music on it from the previous owner, etc. - of course i expected to wipe this, but the seemingly persistent files and playlists seemed strange.)

i tried both adding new songs/playlists and also deleting some of the random ones that were left (both separately and together.)

each time i tried to sync, it successfully went through a few steps (including a little spinning synchronizing graphic on the player display), and then threw up this distressing error message:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The synchronisation process failed during stage 2:
Player error 0xfffffff8
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a google search does show a reference to this, but the context is super obscure and related to some hacking detail i didn't understand.)

i also tried updating to the newest 1.03RC software (both windows client and empeg unit sides) and connecting with each configuration through both the serial and usb ports just to try and rule out hardware.

the player seems able to play the few songs it has on it (though why they are there after now multiple attempts at reinstalling both the empeg software and running the builder software is a bit of a mystery to me.)

so my questions:
1. any idea what i am doing wrong in terms of synchronizing.

2. how can i ascertain the state of the 2 disks (should the builder program be rewiping them even though they may be 'built' already?)

3. is there some trouble shooting tool or mode that i am missing?

i read the articles on the bbs on upgrading to a second disk, etc but i cnanot really see what i am doing incorrectly.

tia.

::jory

Did you connect both disks 1 at a time and rebuild them seperately?

Sean

Congrats on your new toy. What serial number was it, and how much did you pay for it? We like to keep track.

You should definitely wipe the disks and run the stress testing loop on them. Now's the best time to do it, before you've had a chance to create any complicated playlists.

To wipe the disks, plug them in one at a time into the primary controller on the Mk1. Make sure to read the entire FAQ on disk replacement regarding how to open the unit and remove the drive cradle.

Opening the unit to plug/unplug the drives will give you a chance to make sure the shock mounts are in good shape, too. Also check the IDE cables to make sure they're OK-- mine was getting clobbered by a jumper on the motherboard until I repaired it.

Also, make sure the tape insulation on the drive cradle isn't pressing against the bottom of the drives. I re-did the insulation on mine with fresh tape, making sure that each strip barely touched instead of overlapping.

Then, for each disk (each one plugged in by itself):

- Run the builder image .upgrade file.

- Have Hypterterminal ready (check the FAQ on getting hyperterminal to work) and connect to the player the instant it's done applying that builder upgrade.

- It should prompt you in hypterterminal. You're right, it says something about how the disk is already built. That's OK, press the Enter key (I think that's what you press) and it should start wiping the disk anyway.

- When the disk is done wiping, let it run the stress test for a while.

- When the stress test has satisfied your curiosity about the state of the disk, exit hyperterminal, unplug the power from the empeg, double-click on one of the consumer .upgrade files, then plug in the empeg power when prompted by the upgrader. This will remove the builder image from that disk.

- Repeat this procedure, especially that last step, for the second disk drive as well.

Then put it all back together. If you're still getting synch errors after that, come back and let us know.

___________
Tony Fabris

both the 1.02 beta and the 1.03 release candidate

You should not be using the Beta 1.02, which had a few problems; you should have the full release 1.02. 1.03 would not give you much in the way of benefits for a Mk 1 anyway, since it is mainly just 1.02 with the new tuner features added. There's a link at the top of the BBS to 1.02.

Can you remeber which version of the software was on the machine? This could be important, as around Beta 0.8 there was a change in the partition structure of the disks. This may have caused problems, as only 0.8 had the mechanism in place to change the partitions around. I seem to recall you had to apply 0.8 before any later version, but I may be mistaken here.

installing the emplode software on my windows 2000 laptop

When you install emplode, you need to have certain other service packs and upgrades in place for emplode to work properly on your PC. The required software is shown in an information window as you install emplode, and it is important to get one particular upgrade to Internet Exploder. Check this out and see that your machine has what you need installed.

of course i expected to wipe this, but the seemingly persistent files and playlists seemed strange

The music is stored on disk, and the player application and OS is stored in Flash memory along with a boot loader. When you upgrade the player software, you are changing only the OS (infrequent) and the Player application. The player expects a certain partition layout on the disk, as does emplode when it connects to the player to do a download of music. The partitions, and their contents, are unaffected by an upgrade. It is quite reasonable that the music is still there. Have you got licensed copies of the music that is on the disk?

The synchronisation process failed during stage 2:
Player error 0xfffffff8

This is a good diagnostic, but I can't remember what it means. Because it is early on in the sequence (stage 2) then it is probably something pretty drastic. Only the lads at empeg can really answer what it is.

What I would suggest is the following:

1) Do NOT "wipe" or reformat your disks yet. This is a weapon of last resort.
2) Upgrade the player to 1.02, developer image.
3) Start emplode and connect.
4) Turn on logging in emplode; unforch, I haven't got it handy here but I think it is under "Player Properties"
5) Try to synch, say one or two tracks to the player and record any errors.
6) Send the log file to support and ask for assistance.
7) Connect to the serial port with the serial cable, using something like Hyperterm
8) Repeat the synch and have a look at the output, and post it here for us to look at.
9) DON'T WIPE YOUR DISKS YET.




One of the few remaining Mk1 owners... #00015

The synchronisation process failed during stage 2:
Player error 0xfffffff8

See my page here.


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

9) DON'T WIPE YOUR DISKS YET.

Why not?

I have the following reasons for suggesting that he DO wipe his disks at this time:

- Gives him an excuse to look inside the player to verify the shock mounts and cables are in good shape. (Assuming he's careful, reads the FAQ, and doesn't break any capacitors.)

- Makes sure they are partitioned correctly. The previous owner may have hand-partitioned them and got it wrong. Or it may have been partitioned from an earlier beta like you said.

- Erases the music that doesn't belong to him anyway.

- Solves the problem of the "leftover music" he complained about.

- Gives him a chance to run the stress tests to make sure the disks are in good working order.

- If he's going to do it, now's the time, before he starts filling it with music of his own.

___________
Tony Fabris

WHEN DID YOU PUT THIS PAGE UP?!?!?!?!?!?

Why didn't we know about it?

Can I link that as a FAQ entry? Can I copy its contents in to a FAQ?!

___________
Tony Fabris

Yep, great page, and very handy information !

- --
Rod, UK Mk2 64gig Red S/No.341 2xDell RioReceiver

About 3 minutes ago.

Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

Oh, cool, OK. I thought it had been sitting there all along and I didn't know about it. Thanks for this information, it's really useful.

The link to that page... Do you expect that to hang around for a long time, or should I copy the text contents of the page into a FAQ entry?

___________
Tony Fabris

Nah, link to it -- it'll be there for a while.

Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

#define EHASHCOLLISION 125 /* ReiserFS too many hash collisions */

Does this mean the empeg is going to use RiserFS? Or is this from another project?

It's a straight copy of /usr/src/linux/include/asm-arm/errno.h -- there are a lot of error numbers that you'll never see on the empeg.

So, no, the empeg does not (and will not, for the forseeable future) use ReiserFS.


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

well, i managed to rebuild both disks, upgrade to 1.03rc and successfully synchronize.

the specific problems it turned out i needed to overcome were:

1. rebuild/upgrade one disk at a time.

2. needed to use a terminal program to watch the rebuild kernal boot and hit the return key to rebuild the one that was sort of already built (worth it just to see the phrase '...let fly the penguins of linux.')

3. realized (thanks to http://www.dmoore.com/empeghdd.htm) that i needed to use a terminal program other the hyperterminal (which seemed to simply ignore my input -- i am sure i am missing some cryptic setting, but i just went ahead and used another terminal program.)

thanks for all the excellent assistance/guidance!

for those who asked, i have unit 000127 which was given/lent to me by a friend. what are they worth these days? now my girlfriend wants one. :) is there a preferred marketplace for used mk1 empegs? or are they simply unobtanium?

finally, am i to understand that there is no radio tuner in the mk1? i get tuner-like ui, but haven't actually hooked it to an antenna and from some of the comments i read, it sounded like only newest mk2 units have a tuner. can someone educate me on the whole tuner technohistory or point me in the right direction. thanks again.

::jory

ps: i incorrectly stated in my question that i had alternated between a 1.02beta and a 1.03rc. i had intended to write 1.02 release. sorry for any confusion.

am i to understand that there is no radio tuner in the mk1?

The mk1 has an FM tuner internally.

The mk2 doesn't have a tuner internally -- it uses an external tuner module, which should be available mid-July (IIRC).




Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

what are they worth these days? now my girlfriend wants one. :) is there a preferred marketplace for used mk1 empegs? or are they simply unobtanium? From what I've seen there are still one or two Mk1s around that people would like to sell. For example I still have my MK1 and would like to sell it. Other Mk1s have been offered for sale either on this BBS or on ebay. You could put a message under the "For Sale" forum to see if anyone else has a unit for sale (although I would love you to buy mine )

(list 6284, Mk1 S/N 00299 4GB blue [for sale]. Mk2 S/N 080000094 6GB blue)

i needed to use a terminal program other the hyperterminal (which seemed to simply ignore my input -- i am sure i am missing some cryptic setting, but i just went ahead and used another terminal program.) Hyperterminal works fine with the following settings: 115k, 8-N-1, Xon/Xoff handshaking This is under the Win2000 version - YMMV.

--
David
// I'm probably not speaking on behalf of empeg/SONICblue here...

Ooooh, did the flow control setting change with the latest software version (1.03 final)???

Edwin de Vaan
mk2 rev.7 Trillian # 080000263 6Gb blue/red

No. The correct setting is "no flow control".


Roger - not necessarily speaking for empeg

//Goes and tries....

He's right y'know.

//Wonders where idea of using Xon/Xoff came from...

--
David
// I'm probably not speaking on behalf of empeg/SONICblue here...