Unoffical empeg BBS

Quick Links: Empeg FAQ | RioCar.Org | Hijack | BigDisk Builder | jEmplode | emphatic
Repairs: Repairs

Topic Options
#250589 - 28/02/2005 22:00 Upgraded hard drive design woes
hussein
stranger

Registered: 30/11/2000
Posts: 72
I upgraded my unit and I have a question. I get a lot of W's showing up in the upper right hand corner, as well as a hard drive with a solid grey box through it. When I go over bumpy roads, my Empeg complains and freezes, and if I pull it ouf of the dock and put it back in, it sometimes says hard drive not found - system error.

I'm guessing I did something wrong with the installation. Hopefully nothing permanent.

Unit seems to work fine when it's plugged into the wall and on a table, but I do still see W's, which I never saw with one drive.

Guessing this is a HD error or installation errof of some kind. Any ideas on how to deduce?

Top
#250590 - 28/02/2005 22:17 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: hussein]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
Yes. Here explains what the W means (it's not something to be panicked about), but here explains what all the possible causes for hard disk failure can be and how to fix them.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

Top
#250591 - 01/03/2005 07:43 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: tfabris]
StigOE
addict

Registered: 27/10/2002
Posts: 568
I have also started to see quite a lot of W, but I think it started when I upgraded to 2.01 final. I upgraded the memory a while before I got 2.01, but I didn't notice any W before 2.01. Could it be that 2.01 got a new problem/bug when they made it aware of the extra memory?

Stig

Top
#250592 - 01/03/2005 09:27 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: StigOE]
pgrzelak
carpal tunnel

Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Yes. This is a known problem. Not a bug, really, but more an issue involving the cache fill cycle.
_________________________
Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs

Top
#250593 - 01/03/2005 14:21 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: pgrzelak]
hussein
stranger

Registered: 30/11/2000
Posts: 72
Where is everyone getting 2.01 from? I only have 2.00 (from empeg.com).

I have a semi-large DB (45GB) with VBR's. But I never increased the memory of my unit. Not sure if setting ReserveCache to 180 may fix my problem. I think my IBM hd (the new one) is struggling in the car. It's funny, when I opened up my unit last night and pulled out the drive I could hear the head. Turn the drive upside the down, the head makes a clicking/clanking sound, like it fell. Same with if you turned it over. The catch is when the unit is on my desk, and when I upload music to it (uploaded 5GB last night), the drive has no discernable errors.

Top
#250594 - 01/03/2005 14:59 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: hussein]
pgrzelak
carpal tunnel

Registered: 15/08/2000
Posts: 4859
Loc: New Jersey, USA
Greetings!

Oh. I read in flat mode - I was actually responding to Stig's problem, which is similar to what I had.

In your case, I suspect the hard drive cable connections or some other hard drive error. Tony's links to the hard drive diagnostic section of the FAQ are more likely to help you. It is possible that the temperature differences between the car and the desk are enough that it will work in one place but not the other. You might want to doublecheck your drive cable to see if it is loose and visually inspect (with a magnifier) the IDE header on the mainboard to see if there is any sign of the header pulling away from the solder / pads (dry solder connection).
_________________________
Paul Grzelak
200GB with 48MB RAM, Illuminated Buttons and Digital Outputs

Top
#250595 - 03/03/2005 12:32 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: hussein]
JBjorgen
carpal tunnel

Registered: 19/01/2002
Posts: 3583
Loc: Columbus, OH
Quote:

Where is everyone getting 2.01 from? I only have 2.00

http://www.empeg.com/v3alpha/car-v2.01/

* Notes

Users of v2.00 should not upgrade unless the single new feature -- support for RAM upgrades -- is required.
_________________________
~ John

Top
#250596 - 03/03/2005 15:44 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: JBjorgen]
tfabris
carpal tunnel

Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31578
Loc: Seattle, WA
To emphasize what Meatball Man just said:

Do not use 2.01.

Use 2.0.

The only difference is support for those with expanded RAM, and you don't have that feature. I don't think that 2.01 even works properly on non-expanded players.
_________________________
Tony Fabris

Top
#250597 - 03/03/2005 18:26 Re: Upgraded hard drive design woes [Re: tfabris]
mlord
carpal tunnel

Registered: 29/08/2000
Posts: 14484
Loc: Canada
v2.01 works perfectly well on any player, not just the upgraded ones.

The caveat about it being "only" for upgraded players is just the standard "if it ain't broken, then don't fix it" advice. But there is really no difference between 2.01 and 2.00 for non-upgraded players. Either will work just fine.

Cheers

Top