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Thursday, December 31, 2009
Where to Go for More Help
Sometimes you've got a tougher problem than can be solved on this website. In that situation, here are some blogs, messageboards, and stores you can go to for help from even more knowledgeable folks.
Apple's iPod Support Site
This is Apple's main page for support for all iPod models. A great place to seek more help.Apple's iPod Discussion Boards
Apple's very active user forums are a great resource. Many of the people active here are iPod experts and are happy to help people who post questions.Apple's iTunes Discussion Boards
When you're having trouble with iTunes, try these experts as both a library of discussions and a place to ask questions.Find an Apple Genius Bar
When you've got an especially tough problem, you need a genius. An Apple genius. Each Apple Retail Store is staffed with a genius bar of top-level experts who can help you in person. These folks know it all.iTunes problems
Sometimes you'll run into problems with iTunes - missing files, songs that you buy but don't download, etc. Here's what to do in those situations.
Why Is There a Delay in iTunes Store Billing
As anyone who has ever bought or downloaded something free from the iTunes Store has probably noticed, Apple doesn't bill you for your purchases immediately after your transaction is complete. A store not actually taking your money at the time it gives you your purchase is a little bit unusual. So what gives: why the delay in iTunes Store billing?When I Import a CD to iTunes, the Songs Have No Names. Why?
When you import a CD to iTunes, you normally get an exact copy of the CD’s song and title information in iTunes, including all the songs' names, the album name, the artist name and other information. Sometimes, though, you’ll find that you’ve just a got a list of songs called “Song 1” and “Song 2” on an album by the ever-popular “Unknown Artist.Help! My hard drive was erased or my computer stolen!
Whenever a hard drive is lost — whether it’s to a crash, accidental deletion, or theft — it’s a big problem. You lose things that you’ve bought as downloads, such as music purchased from the iTunes Store. If you’ve lost the contents of your hard drive, what can you do about getting your iTunes Store purchases back?Are iTunes Movie Rentals Interruptible?
Sometimes Internet connections get lost during the download of purchased content, such as a movie rented from the iTunes Store. When it comes to iTunes Movie Rentals, just because your download didn’t complete properly doesn't mean you're stuck.Can I Redownload an iTunes Store Purchase?
Help! I accidentally deleted a file I bought at the iTunes Store. How do I get it back without buying it again?Paid For iTunes Store Item, But Download Never Happened
Problems with purchases at the iTunes Store can take some funny turns. Sometimes you’ll make a purchase, get billed, and receive your confirmation via email, but the thing you bought will just never download. If this has happened to you, are you stuck? Have you paid for something you’ll never get?My iTunes Store Purchase Didn’t Download Completely
When buying from the iTunes Store, your purchase can be interrupted if you lose your connection to the Internet during the transaction. Since the billing part of the purchase happens so quickly, your Internet connection going out usually means that you won’t get to full download the item you purchased.My iTunes Store Purchase Won’t Play
Sometimes, things you buy from the iTunes Store just won’t play. Whether it’s a song, a movie, or an audiobook, problems with iTunes prevent you from enjoying your purchase.When You Can’t Report an iTunes Store Problem
Sometimes, problems with making purchases from the iTunes Store are so tricky or weird that you can’t follow the standard report a problem process for getting iTunes support.Getting iTunes Support for Purchases by Reporting a Problem
Most of the time, buying songs, movies, or other content from the iTunes Store goes smoothly and you're enjoying your new content in no time at all. Sometimes, though, something goes wrong - and that's when it's helpful to know how to report a problem to Apple to get iTunes support.Songs from iTunes Store Not Downloading
If you buy a song from the iTunes Store, but it doesn't download or you lose your Internet connection during the download, check out this guide for what to do provided by Apple.Finding Lost Music
If you've bought and downloaded music, but now can't find it, check out Apple's guide to finding it.iPhone Help & Troubleshooting
Tips and tricks for fixing your iPhone when it freezes or when other problems arise.
My Headset Isn't Working. Is My iPhone Headphone Jack Broken?
When I use my iPhone headphones, people can't hear me and I can't control the phone. Is my iPhone broken?iPhone Help – All the Articles at iPod.About.com
For such a complex device, the iPhone is pretty easy to use. Still, no matter how many smart people are involved in making it, things are bound to go wrong. From the minor (programs crashing) to the major (the iPhone screen going white), there are solutions for all these problems.iPhone Manual for iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS
Because the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are so similar (the hardware is a bit different, but the software is the same), there's just a single manual for the iPhone. However, when it comes to Product and Safety Info and QuickStart Guides, there's one for each model.Fixing an iPhone White Screen
When your iPhone displays only white on its screen – not any icons, not the Apple logo, nothing else – this is clearly a problem. There are three steps you can take to try to fix it.iPhone SIM Card Is Not Recognized
Some iPhone users will occasionally find that they can’t make calls or connect to the cellular data network. There are a number of reasons why this can happen, including that the iPhone doesn’t recognize the SIM card. Usually, fixing this problem requires no more than a paper clip.Tips for iPod touch and iPhone Security
These days, iPhone security isn’t a topic too many end users are thinking a lot about. Yet. For those interested in iPhone security in these relatively safe times, here are some tips.How to Turn Off the iPhone 3GS
In most cases, iPhone 3GS users don't want to fully turn their phones off when they're not using them. Instead, most of us usually just want to put the phone to sleep to conserve battery and prevent accidental calls. However, you might want to turn your phone off when it's got very low battery.How to Reboot or Restart the iPhone 3GS
As it becoming clear the more and more features it gets, the iPhone 3GS is basically a small computer that can fit in your palm or your pocket. And though it may not look like your desktop or laptop, sometimes it needs to be restarted just like those bigger machinesWhy Won’t iPhone Battery Charge When Connected to iMac Keyboard?
When I plug my iPhone into the USB ports on my iMc’s keyboard, the battery won’t charge. Why?What Does Red iPhone Battery Icon Mean?
Sometimes when I try to turn on my iPhone, it’s unresponsive. All I see on the screen is a flashing red iPhone battery icon. What does that mean?How to Erase or Reset iPhone Data and Settings
There comes a time in the life of many iPhones in which you may want or need to erase the data on the phone or reset all of its settings and data to the factory settings. It’s a drastic step, of course, because it means a full deletion of all your data and settings and – unless you backed it up – you won’t get it back.How to Restore iPhone From Backup - Intro
While losing your iPhone’s data is never a pleasant experience, restoring iPhone data from a backup is a fairly simple task that can have you up and running again in no time.My iPhone Icons are Shaking – What’s Happening?
From time to time, you may notice that you if you’ve been pressing on the iPhone’s screen, the icons will begin to shake or wiggle. And while wiggling iPhone icons may look a little silly, they’re actually perfectly normal.My iPhone Email Won't Download
My iPhone running firmware 2.0 (and higher) isn’t downloading email, but I can access the Internet with Safari and other applications. What’s up, and how do I fix it?Troubleshooting Remote on the iPhone or iPod touch
Connecting your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer or AppleTV using Remote is usually pretty easy. However, sometimes - even when you follow the proper connection steps - you can’t establish the connection. In that case, try these troubleshooting steps.How to Reset the iPhone 3G
Sometimes, the iPhone 3G gets so frozen that the standard force quit process for programs doesn't work. In that case, you'll need to reset the iPhone.How to Quit a Frozen Program on the iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G is essentially a small computer and just like on larger computers, sometimes programs freeze and keep you from using the phone for anything else. In this situation, it's easy to quit that program.How to Turn Off an iPhone 3G
The iPhone 3G goes to sleep by default after it's been inactive for a certain period of time. That's just putting it to sleep, though. In some circumstances – like a very low battery – you may want to actually turn the iPhone off.I’m Missing Calls Because My iPhone Isn’t Ringing
It can be a puzzling situation: you’re getting voicemails and missing calls, but your iPhone doesn’t ring. It may seem mysterious, or like your iPhone is broken, but it’s probably not. The missing sound of your phone ringing probably is caused by mis-assigned ringtones.iPhone Battery Icon Isn’t Changing
The solution to the problem of an iPhone whose battery has run close to zero not having its battery icon change during a recharge.Dealing with iPhone Browser Crashes
One of the most common complaints about the iPhone’s software is the tendency of the Safari web browser to crash. If you’re having frequent browser crashes on the iPhone, there are a couple of steps you can take to try to repair the problem.Fixing iPhone Program Crashes and Stability Issues
The iPhone’s programs can crash just like those on your desktop or laptop computer. And, just like on your regular computer, this can be pretty frustrating. If you’re running into frequent iPhone program crashes, here are some tips for getting better stability from your iPhone.How to Reset or Reboot iPhone
When the iPhone locks up or crashes, sometimes a standard restart won't work and you need to reset it. Here's how to reset or reboot the iPhone.How To Turn Off or Restart an iPhone
The iPhone goes to sleep by default after it’s been inactive for a certain period of time. But what if you want to actually turn off the iPhone, not just let it sleep?Checking for the Latest iPhone Firmware
Given that the release of new firmware for the iPhone is usually a bit of an event and widely discussed in many places, you’re not likely to be surprised by its release. However, if you’re not sure whether you have the newest iPhone firmware, the process of checking (and installing the update, if one is available) is quick.How to Quit iPhone Programs
When iPhone programs lock up, sometimes they need to be quit or force quit. Here's how to quit iPhone programs.General Maintenance
Learn how to care for, clean, and preserve your iPod.
How Do You Avoid iPod Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is a potentially serious problem for any regular iPod or iPhone user. While there are some tips on how to avoid it in the linked article, there are many other techniques. What do you do to prevent damaging your hearing with your iPod?Tips to Avoid iPod Hearing Loss
It’s ironic: the very thing that drives us to get an iPod – music – could prevent our ability to enjoy it. Listening to the iPod too much or too loud can lead to hearing loss. And even though most of us don’t think too much about it, iPod hearing loss is a serious risk for many iPod usersHow to Update iPod software
Periodically, Apple releases iPod software updates that add features and fix bugs in the operating system that runs the iPod. The tool to update iPod software is built into iTunes.Update iPod software
Periodically, Apple releases iPod software updates that add features and fix bugs in the operating system that runs the iPod. The tool to update iPod software is built into iTunes. Here's how to use it.How Do You Fix a Wet iPod? - Fixing a Submerged iPod
The tips listed above are just a few ways to fix a wet iPod or iPhone. If your iPod or iPhone has gotten wet, what's worked for you in fixing it? What didn't work? Share your experiences and help others save their devices.Can You Jailbreak an iPod touch?
Since the iPod touch has often been called an iPhone without the phone, does that mean it’s possible to jailbreak an iPod touch?How Do You Fix a Wet iPod?
In the course of using them, iPods get wet. It’s just a fact of life. Whether we spill drinks on them, accidentally drop them in the tub, have kids who soak them in the sink, or any number of other watery mishaps, they iPods get wet. But a wet iPod doesn’t necessarily mean a dead iPod.Is It Safe to Listen to an iPod While Shoveling Snow?
Is It Safe to Listen to an iPod While Shoveling Snow? It’s going to be safe for you, of course, unless you get in the way of a snow plow that you don’t hear because your music is up so loud. For your iPod, though, it can sometimes be another matter.Cleaning Your iPod
Our sister site, Macs.About.com, provides a good guide to cleaning your iPod without damaging it.Wednesday, December 30, 2009
What Happens When an iPod Battery Totally Runs Out?
Question: What Happens When an iPod Battery Totally Runs Out?
Many iPod users have likely seen the red battery icon on the iPods that tells them they’re running low on juice and need a charge soon. Fewer, though, have let their iPod batteries run all the way down. But how big a deal is that? What happens when an iPod battery totally runs out?
Answer: How big a deal it is depends on how much time you have and whether you’ve synced content recently.
When an iPod battery totally runs out, all content – music, movies, podcasts, photos, etc. – gets deleted from the iPod and the iPod goes into a non-functional mode.
The next time you connect the iPod to your computer, you’ll have to set the iPod up again as if it was brand new. As long as all the content from your iPod was backed up on your computer, this is annoying, but not serious. You’ll need to recreate all your settings and then wait for your content to sync to your iPod again.
If you had things on your iPod (maybe apps on an iPod touch or video on the 5th generation iPod nano) that weren’t yet synced to your computer and let the battery run all the way down, they’ll be deleted.
That’s a good reason to keep your battery charged, I’d say.
When an iPod battery totally runs out, all content – music, movies, podcasts, photos, etc. – gets deleted from the iPod and the iPod goes into a non-functional mode.
The next time you connect the iPod to your computer, you’ll have to set the iPod up again as if it was brand new. As long as all the content from your iPod was backed up on your computer, this is annoying, but not serious. You’ll need to recreate all your settings and then wait for your content to sync to your iPod again.
If you had things on your iPod (maybe apps on an iPod touch or video on the 5th generation iPod nano) that weren’t yet synced to your computer and let the battery run all the way down, they’ll be deleted.
That’s a good reason to keep your battery charged, I’d say.
iPod Battery and iPhone Battery Basics, Tips, and Tricks
For a pretty wonderful line of products, iPod battery life can be a sore spot. The situation is even worse with the iPhone, where a recharge every day or so is common.
The problem, though, is that unlike other consumer electronics, iPhone and iPod batteries can’t be replaced by users. This is the result of a calculated trade-off by Apple: to get the high-end, smooth-lined industrial design that have helped the iPod and iPhone be so successful, batteries have to be locked inside the device’s case.
This can mean, in some cases, that an otherwise perfectly good iPod can be done in by a failing battery – which can be a frustrating situation. This site offers a number of articles to help you get the longest battery life out of your iPod or iPhone and to understand your options when batteries fail.
The problem, though, is that unlike other consumer electronics, iPhone and iPod batteries can’t be replaced by users. This is the result of a calculated trade-off by Apple: to get the high-end, smooth-lined industrial design that have helped the iPod and iPhone be so successful, batteries have to be locked inside the device’s case.
This can mean, in some cases, that an otherwise perfectly good iPod can be done in by a failing battery – which can be a frustrating situation. This site offers a number of articles to help you get the longest battery life out of your iPod or iPhone and to understand your options when batteries fail.
How Long Do iPod Batteries Last?
Question: How Long Do iPod Batteries Last?
Apple doesn't provide a project lifespan in months or years for the batteries in iPods. This is because the lifespan of a battery is influenced by how the battery is used and charged.
Answer: Apple says that iPod batteries will maintain up to 80% of their capacity through 400 charge/discharge cycles. A charge/discharge cycle is just what it sounds like - using the iPod until its battery is substantially run down and then recharging it. How long that translates to depends on how often you need to full recharge your iPod. Light users could get three or four years of use out of a battery, while heavy users might only get 18 months.
Apple recommends that you perform at least one charge/discharge cycle a month, as iPod batteries benefit from this and retain their ability hold juice longer that way.
If you've come to the end of your iPod's battery lifespan, you've got options, including replacing the battery or buying a new iPod.
Apple recommends that you perform at least one charge/discharge cycle a month, as iPod batteries benefit from this and retain their ability hold juice longer that way.
If you've come to the end of your iPod's battery lifespan, you've got options, including replacing the battery or buying a new iPod.
iPod Battery Replacement
A well-cared-for iPod can last many years, but there’s a downside to that longevity: sooner or later, you’re going to face the need for iPod battery replacement.
An iPod used and charged regularly can start to show decreased battery life after 18-24 months (though some last much longer) and, if you’ve still got the iPod after two or three years, you’ll likely notice that the battery holds less juice, making the iPod less useful. If you’re still satisfied with everything else about the iPod, though, you may not want to buy a whole new iPod when all you need is a replacement battery.
But, the iPod’s battery is not (easily) replaceable by users because it is sealed into the device’s case, which has no doors, hinges, or screws. So what are your options?
Repair Shops – Many websites offer iPod battery replacement services. Google “ipod battery replacement” and you’ll likely find a decent selection. Send your iPod to these companies and, for a fee, they’ll install a new battery. Make sure to sync your iPod before you send it, though, so all your data is safely backed up on your computer.
Do It Yourself – If you’re handy, or tinkerer, you can replace your iPod’s battery yourself. This is a little trickier, though, but Google will supply with you many companies willing to sell you the tools and battery you need to do this. Make sure you’ve synced your iPod before you start and know what you’re doing. Otherwise, you could end up with a dead iPod.
As of May 2009, Apple charges US$49-$79 for its services, while repair shops will charge $15-$50 for their services or a kit for you to do it yourself.
While those prices are fairly affordable, before you lay out the money, decide whether putting $50 to the purchase of a new iPod makes more sense. It may not – your current iPod may be all you need – but for just $100 or $200 more than that $50, you can get a brand new iPod with more capacity and features than your old one.
An iPod used and charged regularly can start to show decreased battery life after 18-24 months (though some last much longer) and, if you’ve still got the iPod after two or three years, you’ll likely notice that the battery holds less juice, making the iPod less useful. If you’re still satisfied with everything else about the iPod, though, you may not want to buy a whole new iPod when all you need is a replacement battery.
But, the iPod’s battery is not (easily) replaceable by users because it is sealed into the device’s case, which has no doors, hinges, or screws. So what are your options?
iPod Battery Replacement Options
Apple – Apple offers an iPod battery replacement program for out-of-warranty models through its retail stores and its website. There are conditions on the program, but many older models should qualify.Repair Shops – Many websites offer iPod battery replacement services. Google “ipod battery replacement” and you’ll likely find a decent selection. Send your iPod to these companies and, for a fee, they’ll install a new battery. Make sure to sync your iPod before you send it, though, so all your data is safely backed up on your computer.
Do It Yourself – If you’re handy, or tinkerer, you can replace your iPod’s battery yourself. This is a little trickier, though, but Google will supply with you many companies willing to sell you the tools and battery you need to do this. Make sure you’ve synced your iPod before you start and know what you’re doing. Otherwise, you could end up with a dead iPod.
Is iPod Battery Replacement Worth It?
Replacing the dead or dying battery in your iPod may seem like a good idea, but is it always worth it?As of May 2009, Apple charges US$49-$79 for its services, while repair shops will charge $15-$50 for their services or a kit for you to do it yourself.
While those prices are fairly affordable, before you lay out the money, decide whether putting $50 to the purchase of a new iPod makes more sense. It may not – your current iPod may be all you need – but for just $100 or $200 more than that $50, you can get a brand new iPod with more capacity and features than your old one.
iPod Touch Review
The iPod touch is widely referred to as the iPhone without the phone. That’s because the iPod touch has almost all of the iPhone’s features except for the connection to AT&T’s EDGE network, meaning that it doesn’t offer nationwide connections to the Internet. Still, with its big screen, WiFi connection, and 16GB and 32GB storage capacities, if you like the features of the iPhone, but don’t want to pay its price tag or two-year mobile phone commitment, give the iPod touch a look.
The iPod touch may be an indication of where Apple is taking the iPod line: instead of a small device focused on music playback with some video features added to it, the iPod touch may signal that Apple is envisioning the iPod growing into a full portable media player. These devices tend to include large storage capacities, big screens, and WiFi to connect to networks.
The iPod touch has all of these things, though its storage could stand an upgrade. The key difference here is that the touch uses flash memory, which is lig
hter and thinner than the hard drives used in most portable media players. The touch comes in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models currently.
Apple rates the iPod touch as offering 22 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video.
The touch features the biggest screen in the iPod line up at 2.5 inches. Like the iPhone, it plays video horizontally and allows you to scroll through your music library in both standard and CoverFlow modes.
Though the touch has a WiFi connection to allow users to download content and take advantage of services like Google maps, Safari, and YouTube, there is one key difference between the touch, the iPhone, and other iPods: Apple charges for software updates to the touch. While new features are rare on the iPod, and freely and regularly released on the iPhone, touch users must pay a small fee to add software updates that offer substantial new features. The fees have run around US$20 recently, but that extra fee for features that are included on the iPhone may put off some users.
The iPod touch has all of these things, though its storage could stand an upgrade. The key difference here is that the touch uses flash memory, which is lig
hter and thinner than the hard drives used in most portable media players. The touch comes in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB models currently.Apple rates the iPod touch as offering 22 hours of audio playback and 5 hours of video.
The touch features the biggest screen in the iPod line up at 2.5 inches. Like the iPhone, it plays video horizontally and allows you to scroll through your music library in both standard and CoverFlow modes.
Though the touch has a WiFi connection to allow users to download content and take advantage of services like Google maps, Safari, and YouTube, there is one key difference between the touch, the iPhone, and other iPods: Apple charges for software updates to the touch. While new features are rare on the iPod, and freely and regularly released on the iPhone, touch users must pay a small fee to add software updates that offer substantial new features. The fees have run around US$20 recently, but that extra fee for features that are included on the iPhone may put off some users.
Rockbox 3.0 Released. Quietly.
Three years after its last major release, Rockbox 3.0 is now available. This popular app is a great open source solution for replacing the firmwear on many types of portable media players including Sansa, iRiver, Archos, and iPod.
Rockbox's developers say that the most important changes to the software won't be particularly obvious to the average user. "The first players supported by Rockbox decoded MP3 files using a chip specifically for this purpose. This made things a lot simpler for Rockbox, but also limited the amount of formats supported to variants of MPEG audio. Newer players don't use this approach, and as such, it was needed to expand Rockbox to do sound decoding in software on these players. This opens up the possibility of supporting a lot of different file formats, which is of course exactly what we did! "
Other changes include a new installation tool and support for SWCODEC targets.
In addition to an all around great app, developers have also had a hand in making the features of the Archos Jukebox MP3 player accessible to visually impaired and blind users.
Surprisingly, hype surrounding this release is relatively minimal for such a useful alternative to simply tossing out old MP3 players. As LWN's Jon Corbet points out, "Now would seem like the time for the project to begin its hype campaign with lots of screenshot-heavy articles on all of the features this major release will bring. Evidently the Rockbox developers have some strange ideas about actually working on the code, though; they haven't gotten around to the promotional side of things yet."
Rockbox ipod... wikipedia
Rockbox is a free software replacement for the firmware held on various forms of digital audio players (DAPs). Rockbox offers an alternative to the host device's operating system firmware (in many cases without removing the original firmware) which provides a plug-in architecture for adding various enhancements and functionality to DAPs which are not present in the original OS. Enhancements include PDA functionality, applications, utilities, and games. Rockbox can also retrofit video playback functionality onto DAPs first released in mid-2000. Rockbox also includes a voice-driven user-interface suitable for operation by blind and visually impaired users.
Rockbox runs on a wide variety of portable audio devices with very different hardware abilities: from early Archos players with 1-bit character cell-based displays to modern players with high resolution color displays, digital optical audio hardware and advanced recording capabilities.
Rockbox is free software released under the GNU General Public License.
Rockbox runs on a wide variety of portable audio devices with very different hardware abilities: from early Archos players with 1-bit character cell-based displays to modern players with high resolution color displays, digital optical audio hardware and advanced recording capabilities.
Rockbox is free software released under the GNU General Public License.
Rockbox... wikipedia
Development
The Rockbox project began in late 2001 and was first implemented on the early Archos series of hard-disk based MP3 players and player/recorders, including the flash-only model Ondio, because of owner frustration with severe limitations in the manufacturer-supplied user interface and device operations. These devices have relatively weak main CPUs and instead offload music playback to dedicated hardware MP3 decoding chips (called the MAS). Rockbox, therefore, was unable to significantly alter playback capabilities. Instead, it offered a greatly improved user interface and added plugin functionality not present in the factory firmware. Rockbox is capable of being permanently flashed into flash memory on the Archos devices, making it a literal firmware replacement.Versions of Rockbox have since been produced for more sophisticated devices. These perform audio decoding in software, allowing Rockbox to potentially support many more music formats than the original firmware as well as bringing the extensibility and increased functionality already present in the Archos ports. Rockbox is run from the hard disk on these devices, after being started with a custom bootloader, so to upgrade Rockbox users need only copy the files onto the player's drive and restart the device. Reflashing is only necessary when changing the bootloader, and on some platforms, is not required at all.
The first of these ports, beginning in late 2004, was for the ColdFire-powered devices manufactured by iriver, focusing on the H1xx series of hard drive players (H110/H120/H140). Approximately one year later a port for the H3xx series became functional, offering similar functionality.
In late 2005, work began on a port of Rockbox to Apple iPod portable players. Throughout 2006, Rockbox ports were made available for a variety of iPod models (iPod photo, iPod nano, iPod 4g, iPod mini, and iPod Video), as well as the Cowon iAUDIO X5 series. As of February 2007, usable ports are also available for the iriver H10 and Toshiba Gigabeat F & X series. As of March 5th, 2007, a new port for the Cowon iAUDIO M5 became functional. On March 11th, 2007, the SanDisk Sansa e200 series became the next addition to the Rockbox lineup. On May 23rd, 2007, support for the iPod video 80 GB model was added, completing the iPod video lineup. On July 27, 2007, initial support was added for the iPod 1G and 2G. On September 23, 2007, the Sansa c200 series was welcomed into the lineup. On March 18th, 2008, the Olympus m:robe 100 became the first new port of 2008, and the iAUDIO M3 joined the lineup days later. Rockbox now includes video-support for MPEG playback through the included work-in-progress mpegplayer plugin.[1]
To date, all Rockbox ports have been accomplished by reverse engineering with little or no manufacturer assistance. However, as free software, many Rockbox developers and supporters hope to eventually see official manufacturer support for new ports, or at least unofficial assistance in porting Rockbox to new devices. To date, only a few companies have expressed interest in Rockbox, and none have officially contributed code to the project or included it with their hardware. The Sansa port is the first to be started at the request of the hardware manufacturer who gave the Rockbox team samples of their devices.
Rockbox is continuously developed, with new SVN builds being released after every source change, and stable releases every 4 months for targets deemed sufficiently mature. Additionally builds are often available to developers of unsupported targets, which while somewhat functional are typically not ready for general users due to incomplete features or poor stability.
[edit] Customization
Subject to the limitations of each particular platform, the appearance of Rockbox can be customised in various ways. Fonts and foreground and background colours can be added and selected, while a simple markup language can be used to create themes for the menu and while-playing screens. These themes can include background and other images (such as icons), plus various formats for filenames, ID3 tags, Album art, file progress, time and system information.Rockbox has been essentially a file-tree based player, to which folders could be dragged and dropped, then navigated by folder structure. More recent versions, however, have included a database feature which allows the player to compile information from the files' ID3 tags. The user can then navigate the files using this database regardless of file structure.
[edit] Features
[edit] Codecs
Rockbox on software decoding platforms (non-Archos) supports playback (depending on how you count them) of ten lossy codecs, five lossless, two uncompressed and six miscellaneous formats. This makes a conservative total of 23 supported audio formats, although a few of them do not operate in realtime on all platforms.MPEG audio layers I-III (MP3/MP2/MP1), Ogg Vorbis, MPEG-4 AAC (in MP4 or RM containers), Musepack, AC3, WMA, Speex, Cook, ATRAC3 and the lossy portion of WavPack hybrid files are supported lossy formats. Lossless formats include FLAC, WavPack, Shorten, Apple Lossless and Monkey's Audio. Rockbox plays Intel-style WAV and Apple AIFF uncompressed audio. In addition, there are playback of game audio types ADX, SID, NSF, SAP and SPC. The MOD tracker format is also now supported.[2]
Note that some profiles in Monkey's Audio are not real time on all targets due to extremely high CPU requirements. Also note that any file with DRM scheme will not play in Rockbox.
[edit] Rockbox features
Beside the ability of playing and recording audio files, Rockbox offers many playback enhancements that other firmware packages may not have implemented yet. Listed below are a handful of these features.- Gapless playback
- Crossfading
- Replay Gain[3]
- 5 band fully parametric equalizer[3]
- Variable speed decoding with pitch correction
- Crossfeed[3]
- OTF ("on the fly") playlists
- True random shuffle (fresh randomly shuffled list every time)
- Custom UI themes
- Dynamic Playlists (queue files to play next, or in other parts of a dynamic playlist)
- Stereo recording to WAV/AIFF/WavPack (lossless) and MP3[4] (supporting devices)
- FM radio, including FM recording (supporting devices)
- Remote control (supporting devices)
- Digital SPDIF input/output (supporting devices)
- Last.fm support (even on players lacking RTC)
- Cue sheet support
- Changeable selector bar
- Album art[5]
- Sleep timer
[edit] Plug-ins
Rockbox developers can create plug-ins, which provide the user with other enhancements that may not be available on various firmware modules.Available plug-ins include:
- JPEG viewer (16 bit color/129 shade greyscale)[6]
- Rockboy Game Boy emulator (port of Gnuboy)[7]
- ZXBox ZX Spectrum emulator (port of Spectemu)[8]
- Doom (port of the PrBoom engine)
- WAV to MP3 encoder
- WAV to WavPack encoder
- MPEG video player[1]
- PictureFlow, an album art viewer similar to Apple's Cover Flow
- Various games including sudoku, solitaire, minesweeper, pong and many others (see http://www.rockbox.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/PluginIndex for an official list of plugins)
- MIDI player, realtime on some targets. Requires external instrument set, available on Rockbox page.
[edit] Unimplemented features
Rockbox development is always ongoing. However, either due to the lack of support from external companies or platform drawbacks, Rockbox has a few features which are not yet implemented.- Firewire
- Digital rights management (or Digital Restrictions Management) (intentionally unimplemented)
- USB host capability ("USB On-The-Go")
[edit] Architecture
Rockbox uses a simple kernel,[9] with a flat memory model (allowing it to run on platforms without a memory management unit) and single process. Thin threads run cooperatively, returning control to a scheduler that prioritizes the audio thread; the only form of preemption is through interrupts. The operating system and plugins are written in C, with assembler used for device- and platform-specific code, in addition to performance sensitive code. The simple and lightweight architecture allows Rockbox to run on a variety of targets, with memory ranging from 1 to 64 MB, and CPU speeds ranging 12 to 532 MHz. Rockbox also provides limited support for multicore and asymmetric multiprocessor systems based on ARM, Coldfire, MIPS and SH.[edit] Supported devices
[edit] Archos
- Archos Jukebox series:
- FM Recorder
- Recorder v2
- Ondio FM
- Ondio SP
[edit] iRiver
- H10 series (H10 5, 6, and 20 GB)
- H100 series (H100/H110/H115/H120/H140, aka iHP-100/110/115/120/140)
- H300 series (H320/H340)
[edit] Cowon
[edit] Apple
- iPod 1st generation
- iPod 2nd generation
- iPod 3rd generation
- iPod 4th generation (grayscale)
- iPod 4th generation (color/photo)
- iPod 5th and 5.5 generation (video)
- iPod mini 1st generation
- iPod mini 2nd generation
- iPod nano 1st generation
- iPod nano 2ndgeneration (basic can play music and supports plugins)
[edit] Toshiba
- Gigabeat F series (F10/F11/F20/F21/F30/F31/F40/F41/F60)
- Gigabeat X series
- Gigabeat S series (Standard build works, requires a couple of external steps.)
[edit] SanDisk
- Sansa e200 series
- Sansa e200r series
- Sansa e200 v2 series (unstable)
- Sansa c200 series
- Sansa Fuze—V1 support only (unstable)
The current versions of the Sansa ("v2" or "AMS"), including the c200v2, m200v4 and Clip are not yet supported and are under development. However, as of July 2009 a test build of the Rockbox firmware has been known to successfully run on the Sansa Fuze.
Doom on ur ipod
Introduction
The Doom plugin is NOT a viewer. It is run from the plugins list, similar to Jewels and the others.Rockdoom is a modified version of PrBoom version 2.2.6. PrBoom is a source port of the Doom engine that adds many new features to the original game. Most of these features are only noticeable in addon WADs, but some are visible immediately for example translucent sprites (fireballs, plasma, etc..). An explanation of PrBoom's history is also available.
Getting Started
To play Doom you need at least the base WAD calledrockdoom.wad plus one or more game WADs. Install rockdoom.wad
Create a directory called/.rockbox/doom/ on your player (i.e. F:\.rockbox\doom\ for Windows users - where F: is the drive letter for your DAP) and save the following file in that directory: Install the Game WADs
Copy the Doom WADs you wish to play into that directory and start Doom. The files which Doom looks for are:- doom1.wad: Doom (Shareware)
- doom.wad: Doom
- doomu.wad: Doom
- doom2.wad: Doom 2 - Hell on Earth
- doom2f.wad: Doom 2 French
- plutonia.wad: Doom 2 - Plutonia Experiment
- tnt.wad: Doom 2 - TNT - Evilution
.rockbox\doom directory. The Heretic and Hexen WADs are not supported by Rockdoom.
Disable Voice Options
All settings in General Settings -> Voice must be disabled. See Bugs/Known issues (bottom of this page).(Optional) Addon WADs
To play addon WADs place the files in this directory:.rockbox\doom\addons. Here is a good link for addons: - Top 100 wads: Note: Addons that work with PrBoom 2.2.6 will work in Rockdoom.
(Optional) Demos
To play demos create the "demos" directory within/.rockbox/doom. Place the LMP files in this directory. Here is a good link for demos: Menu & Key Descriptions
Please refer to your player's manual.Screenshots
Doom running on the X5(TNT.wad)
Bugs/Known issues
There are still outstanding bugs in Doom. Please either post them on the tracker or here so that they can be looked at.Music
- Ingame music is not currently supported.
Addons
- WADs from GP32 wads - These WADs have modified, non-standard graphics that cause buffer overruns in doom. Rockdoom does/will not support these WADs exiting immediately.
- A good way to test WADs on the computer to see if they should work is to run PrBoom 2.2.6 with the software renderer. The OpenGL renderer will not work as a check. If the addon runs on PrBoom 2.2.6 with the software renderer a bug report should be filed.
- These WADs can be fixed using a WAD editor like Deutex to change all the graphics that are oversize or out of range to follow the Doom standards.
Doom Engine
- Occasionally the game will stall when flipping a switch. This happens because the caching code does not load all of the switch animations. The game resumes after a second or so.
- All options under General Settings -> Voice must be disabled.
("Voice Menus" is on by default, but the voice file needs to be present for this to take effect). Otherwise the engine will crash on plugin menu or game startup with "Undefined Instruction at (Address)" or similar, requiring a hard reboot. The rockdoom plugin code should be corrected to automatically disable voice during use.
Installation rockbox
2 Installation
Installing Rockbox is generally a quick and easy procedure. However before beginning there are a few things it is important to know.
2.1 Before Starting
2.2 Installing Rockbox
2.2.1 Automated Installation
2.2.2 Manual Installation
2.2.3 Finishing the install
2.2.4 Enabling Speech Support (optional)
2.3 Running Rockbox
2.4 Updating Rockbox
2.5 Uninstalling Rockbox
2.5.1 Automatic Uninstallation
2.5.2 Manual Uninstallation
2.6 Troubleshooting
2.2 Installing Rockbox
2.2.1 Automated Installation
2.2.2 Manual Installation
2.2.3 Finishing the install
2.2.4 Enabling Speech Support (optional)
2.3 Running Rockbox
2.4 Updating Rockbox
2.5 Uninstalling Rockbox
2.5.1 Automatic Uninstallation
2.5.2 Manual Uninstallation
2.6 Troubleshooting
2.1 Before Starting
- Supported hardware versions.
- The Video is the 5th/5.5th generation Ipod only. Rockbox does not run on the newer, 6th/Classic generation Ipod. For information on identifying which Ipod you own, see this page on Apple’s website: http://www.info.apple.com/kbnum/n61688.
- USB connection.
- To transfer Rockbox to your player you need to connect it to your computer. For manual installation/uninstallation, or should autodetection fail during automatic installation, you need to know where to access the player. On Windows this means you need to know the drive letter associated with the player. On Linux you need to know the mount point of your player. On Mac OS X you need to know the volume name of your player. If you have Itunes installed and it is configured to open automatically when your player is attached (the default behaviour), then wait for it to open and then quit it. You also need to ensure the “Enable use as disk” option is enabled for your player in Itunes. Your player should then enter disk mode automatically when connected to a computer via USB. If your computer does not recognise your player, you may need to enter disk mode manually. Disconnect your player from the computer. Hard reset the player by pressing and holding the Menu and Select buttons simultaneously. As soon as the player resets, press and hold the Select and Play buttons simultaneously. Your player should enter disk mode and you can try reconnecting to the computer.
- Administrator/Root rights.
- Installing the bootloader portion of Rockbox requires you to have administrative (Windows) or root (Linux) rights. Consequently when doing either the automatic or manual bootloader install, please ensure that you are logged in with an administrator account or have root rights.
- File system format.
- Rockbox only works on Ipods formatted with the FAT32 filesystem (i.e. Ipods initialised by Itunes for Windows). It does not work with the HFS+ filesystem (i.e. Ipods initialised by Itunes for the Mac). More information and instructions for converting an Ipod to FAT32 can be found on the IpodConversionToFAT32 wiki page on the Rockbox website. Note that after conversion, you can still use a FAT32 Ipod with a Mac.
2.2 Installing Rockbox
There are two ways to install Rockbox: automated and manual. The automated way is the preferred method of installing Rockbox for the majority of people. Rockbox Utility is a graphical application that does almost everything for you. However, should you encounter a problem, then the manual way is still available to you.
There are three separate components, two of which need to be installed in order to run Rockbox:
- The Ipod bootloader.
- The Ipod bootloader is the program that tells your player how to load and start the original firmware. It is also responsible for any emergency, recovery, or disk modes on your player. This bootloader is stored in special flash memory in your Ipod and comes factory-installed. It is not necessary to modify this in order to install Rockbox.
- The Rockbox bootloader.
- The Rockbox bootloader is loaded from disk by the Ipod bootloader. It is responsible for loading the Rockbox firmware and for providing the dual boot function. It directly replaces the Ipod firmware in the player’s boot sequence.
- The Rockbox firmware.
- Similar to the Ipod firmware, most of the Rockbox code is contained in a “build” that resides on your player’s drive. This makes it easy to update Rockbox. The build consists of a directory called .rockbox which contains all of the Rockbox files, and is located in the root of your player’s drive.
Apart from the required parts there are some addons you might be interested in installing.
- Fonts.
- Rockbox can load custom fonts. The fonts are distributed as a separate package and thus need to be installed separately. They are not required to run Rockbox itself but a lot of themes require the fonts package to be installed.
- Themes.
- The appearance of Rockbox can be customised by themes. Depending on your taste you might want to install additional themes to change the look of Rockbox.
2.2.1 Automated Installation
To automatically install Rockbox, download the official installer and housekeeping tool Rockbox Utility. It allows you to:
- Automatically install all needed components for using Rockbox (“Minimal Installation”).
- Automatically install all suggested components (“Complete Installation”).
- Selectively install optional components.
- Install additional fonts and themes.
- Install voice files and generate talk clips.
- Uninstall all components you installed using Rockbox Utility.
When first starting Rockbox Utility run “Autodetect”, found in the configuration dialog (File → Configure). Autodetection can detect most player types. If autodetection fails or is unable to detect the mountpoint, make sure to enter the correct values. The mountpoint indicates the location of the player in your filesystem. On Windows, this is the drive letter the player gets assigned, on other systems this is a path in the filesystem.
Note: Autodetection is unable to distinguish between the Ipod 30 GB and 60 GB / 80 GB models and defaults to the 30 GB model. This will usually work but you might want to check the detected value, especially if you experience problems with Rockbox.
Choosing a Rockbox version
There are three different versions of Rockbox available from the Rockbox website: Release version, current build and archived daily build. You need to decide which one you want to install and get the appropriate version for your player. If you select either “Minimal Installation” or “Complete Installation” from the “Quick Start” tab, then Rockbox Utility will automatically install the release version of Rockbox. Using the “Installation” tab will allow you to select which version you wish to install.
- Release.
- The release version is the latest stable release, free of known critical bugs. For a manual install, the current stable release of Rockbox is available at http://www.rockbox.org/download/.
- Current Build.
- The current build is built at each source code change to the Rockbox SVN repository and represents the current state of Rockbox development. This means that the build could contain bugs but most of the time is safe to use. For a manual install, you can download the current build from http://build.rockbox.org/.
- Archived Build.
- In addition to the release version and the current build, there is also an archive of daily builds available for download. These are built once a day from the latest source code in the SVN repository. For a manual install, you can download archived builds from http://www.rockbox.org/daily.shtml.
Note: Because current and archived builds are development versions that change frequently, they may behave differently than described in this manual, or they may introduce new (and potentially annoying) bugs. Unless you wish to try the latest and greatest features at the price of possibly greater instability, or you wish to help with development, you should stick with the release.
Please now go to section 2.2.3 to complete the installation procedure.
2.2.2 Manual Installation
The manual installation method is still available to you, should you need or desire it by following the instructions below. If you have used Rockbox Utility to install Rockbox, then you do not need to follow the next section and can skip straight to section 2.2.3
Installing the firmware
- 1.
- Download your chosen version of Rockbox from the links in the previous section. Note: There are separate versions of Rockbox for the 30GB and 60GB/80GB models. You must ensure you download the correct version for your player.
- 2.
- Connect your player to the computer via USB as described in the manual that came with your player.
- 3.
- Take the .zip file that you downloaded and use the “Extract all” command of your unzip program to extract the files onto your player.
Note: The entire contents of the .zip file should be extracted directly to the root of your player’s drive. Do not try to create a separate directory on your player for the Rockbox files! The .zip file already contains the internal structure that Rockbox needs.
If the contents of the .zip file are extracted correctly, you will have a directory called .rockbox, which contains all the files needed by Rockbox, in the main directory of your player’s drive.
Installing the bootloader
Bootloader installation from Windows
- 1.
- Download ipodpatcher.exe from http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/ipod/ipodpatcher/win32/ipodpatcher.exe and run it whilst logged in with an administrator account.
- 2.
- If all has gone well, you should see some information displayed about your player and a message asking you if you wish to install the Rockbox bootloader. Press i followed by ENTER, and ipodpatcher will now install the bootloader. After a short time you should see the message “[INFO] Bootloader installed successfully.” Press ENTER again to exit ipodpatcher.
- 3.
- Note: If ipodpatcher fails to install the bootloader for you, please be certain that you do indeed have a supported iPod model and are logged in as an administrator. If you do, run ipodpatcher once more and try again. If you don’t, then do not attempt to install again.
Bootloader installation from Mac OS X
- 1.
- Attach your player to your Mac and wait for its icon to appear in Finder.
- 2.
- Download and open ipodpatcher.dmg from http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/ipod/ipodpatcher/macosx/ipodpatcher.dmg and then double-click on the ipodpatcher icon inside. You can also drag the ipodpatcher icon to a location on your hard drive and launch it from the Terminal.
- 3.
- If all has gone well, you should see some information displayed about your player and a message asking you if you wish to install the Rockbox bootloader. Press i followed by ENTER, and ipodpatcher will now install the bootloader. After a short time you should see the message “[INFO] Bootloader installed successfully.” Press ENTER again to exit ipodpatcher and then quit the Terminal application.
- 4.
- Note: If ipodpatcher fails to install the bootloader for you, please be certain that you do indeed have a supported iPod model. If you do, run ipodpatcher once more and try again. If you don’t, then do not attempt to install again.
- 5.
- Your player will now automatically reconnect itself to your Mac. Wait for it to connect, and then eject and unplug it in the normal way. Note: You should unplug your ipod immediately after ejecting it to prevent Rockbox immediately rebooting your player into disk mode when it detects that your player is attached to a computer.
Bootloader installation from Linux
- 1.
- Download ipodpatcher from http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/ipod/ipodpatcher/linux32x86/ipodpatcher (32-bit x86 binary) or http://download.rockbox.org/bootloader/ipod/ipodpatcher/linux64amd64/ipodpatcher (64-bit amd64 binary). You can save this anywhere you wish, but the next steps will assume you have saved it in your home directory.
- 2.
- Attach your player to your computer.
- 3.
- Open up a terminal window and type the following commands: Note: You need to be the root user in order for ipodpatcher to have sufficient permission to perform raw disk access to your player.
- 4.
- If all has gone well, you should see some information displayed about your player and a message asking you if you wish to install the Rockbox bootloader. Press i followed by ENTER, and ipodpatcher will now install the bootloader. After a short time you should see the message “[INFO] Bootloader installed successfully.” Press ENTER again to exit ipodpatcher.
2.2.3 Finishing the install
Safely eject / unmount the USB drive, unplug the cable and restart.
2.2.4 Enabling Speech Support (optional)
If you wish to use speech support you will also need a voice file. Voice files allow Rockbox to speak the user interface to you. Rockbox Utility can install an English voice file, or you can download it from http://www.rockbox.org/daily.shtml and unzip it to the root of your player. Rockbox Utility can also aid you in the creation of voice files with different voices or in other languages if you have a suitable speech engine installed on your computer. Voice menus are enabled by default and will come into effect after a reboot. See section 8.8 for details on voice settings. Rockbox Utility can also aid in the production of talk files, which allow Rockbox to speak file and folder names.
2.3 Running Rockbox
Hard reset the Ipod by holding Menu+Select for a couple of seconds until the player resets. Now Rockbox should load.
Note: If you have loaded music onto your player using Itunes, you will not be able to see your music properly in the File Browser. This is because Itunes changes your files’ names and hides them in directories in the Ipod_Control directory. Files placed on your player using Itunes can be viewed by initialising and using Rockbox’s database. See section 4.2 for more information.
2.4 Updating Rockbox
Rockbox can be easily updated with Rockbox Utility. You can also update Rockbox manually - download a Rockbox build as detailed above, and unzip the build to the root directory of your player as in the manual installation stage. If your unzip program asks you whether to overwrite files, choose the “Yes to all” option. The new build will be installed over your current build.
The bootloader only changes rarely, and should not normally need to be updated.
Note: If you use Rockbox Utility be aware that it cannot detect manually installed components.
2.5 Uninstalling Rockbox
Note: The Rockbox bootloader allows you to choose between Rockbox and the original firmware. (See section 3.1.3 for more information.)
2.5.1 Automatic Uninstallation
You can uninstall Rockbox automatically by using Rockbox Utility. If you installed Rockbox manually you can still use Rockbox Utility for uninstallation but will not be able to do this selectively.
2.5.2 Manual Uninstallation
To uninstall Rockbox and go back to using just the original Ipod software, connect the player to your computer and follow the instructions to install the bootloader but, when prompted by ipodpatcher, enter u for uninstall instead of i for install.
If you wish to clean up your disk, you may also wish to delete the .rockbox directory and its contents. Turn the Ipod off. Turn the player back on and the original Ipod software will load.
2.6 Troubleshooting
- Bootloader install problems
- If you have trouble installing the bootloader, please ensure that you are either logged in as an administrator (Windows), or you have root rights (Linux)
- “File Not Found”
- If you receive a “File Not Found” from the bootloader, then the bootloader cannot find the Rockbox firmware. This is usually a result of not extracting the contents of the .zip file to the proper location, and should not happen when Rockbox has been installed with Rockbox Utility. To fix this, either install Rockbox with the Rockbox Utility which will take care of this for you, or recheck the Manual Install section to see where the files need to be located.
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