Spontaneous Gp2x Bricking


critical

Certified Guru
Joined
Apr 4, 2005
Messages
666
Website
www.handheldhacker.com
I've read the guide to unbricking at:
(http://www.distant-earth.com/gp2x/2005/11/howto-unbrick-most-bricked-gp2xs.html), but unfortunately I fear my unit is more bricked than can be salvaged using it.

I received my GP2X just before going on holiday last week, so only had time to put a few things on a memory card and install the sdl libs on the device itself.

I haven't updated the firmware at all. The SD card contains a few divx files, which the GP2X had been able to play quite happily during the week.

On Monday, I switched on the console, and it came up with the usual black screen with the GP2X logo on it, so the boot loader was fine at that stage. It then hanged on that screen for a minute or two, so I decided to power off and on again.

This is where things took a turn for the worse. This time, the screen showed the "updating firmware..." message. Since I had no firmware whatsoever on the SD card that was in the console, I decided the best thing to do was to switch the console off. Bad idea perhaps, although I suspect the result of leaving the thing on would have been the same...

Now, whenever I switch the GP2X on, it just fades into the rainbow lines screen (LCD test?) and nothing more happens. No boot loader. No further updating messages.

I've tried with three different sets of fully-charged batteries with the same result.

Now, AFAICS, none of my actions should have caused this bricking. I performed no operation that would have required a write to either the NAND or the SD Card. The "updating firmware" thing was in no way prompted by me - there was nothing firmware-like on the card, just a few .avi files. It appears that the bootloader has been nailed, and that there was nothing I could do to prevent it. The firmware updating code appears to be atrocious.

I purchased the console from gbax, and they haven't responded to emails at all yet. Not happy, especially with all the great work that people have been doing.
 
I purchased the console from gbax, and they haven't responded to emails at all yet. Not happy, especially with all the great work that people have been doing.

Make sure your emails don't have any attachments (some antivirus software automatically attach .txt files to emails) - GBAX's spam filter will catch any that do. They've always replied pretty promptly to my emails, but if you still have trouble, why not call them? The contact details are on their site:

http://www.gp2x.co.uk/contactx2.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
fishybawb posted on Dec 9 2005 at 12:50 PM said:
Make sure your emails don't have any attachments (some antivirus software automatically attach .txt files to emails) - GBAX's spam filter will catch any that do.
Ah, my emails did indeed have attachments. Thanks for the tip - it would have been nice to have been told that on the contact details page!

Puck2099 posted on Dec 9 2005 at 12:54 PM said:
I've seen the same problem in GP32Spain's forum :(

Bad luck...
Thanks for letting me know, Puck2099. How annoying that there appears not to be even basic sanity checking before it performs such a potentially damaging operation!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Puck2099 posted on Dec 9 2005 at 12:54 PM said:
I've seen the same problem in GP32Spain's forum :(

Bad luck...

Is this the post you read, Puck?

http://www.gp32spain.com/foros/showthread.php?t=25048

It does seem like the original poster had the same thing happen that I did (although I could be wrong, as my Spanish classes are progressing very slowly, and google only does an average job of translating).
 
Last edited by a moderator:
critical posted on Dec 9 2005 at 01:27 PM said:
Puck2099 posted on Dec 9 2005 at 12:54 PM said:
I've seen the same problem in GP32Spain's forum :(

Bad luck...

Is this the post you read, Puck?

http://www.gp32spain.com/foros/showthread.php?t=25048

It does seem like the original poster had the same thing happen that I did (although I could be wrong, as my Spanish classes are progressing very slowly, and google only does an average job of translating).

Yes, it is.

I'm going to read it until the end and I will try to explain you if they could fix it :)

Regards
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I have the same rainbow streams. Your device's bootlader is dead. Buy a new one or wait for a miracle...
 
I had the exact same problem with it magically deciding to update..... and it is still with those lines.

Gp32z says they will probaly be able to flash mine this month as soon as they get a jtag cable. So I guess you either have to wait or return it.
 
reallynotnick posted on Dec 9 2005 at 03:47 PM said:
Gp32z says they will probaly be able to flash mine this month as soon as they get a jtag cable. So I guess you either have to wait or return it.

I already thought about buying a JTAG kit myself, it's just around $50, but the shipping from Korea really kills me: $100. It would be nice to have the cable at home, you never know when the gp2x kills itself again.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
fishybawb posted on Dec 9 2005 at 01:50 PM said:
Make sure your emails don't have any attachments (some antivirus software automatically attach .txt files to emails) - GBAX's spam filter will catch any that do.

That is not the case, I have sent them a mail with pictures attached and they received them just fine. But they are very slow to answer mails :(
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vimacs posted on Dec 9 2005 at 03:49 PM said:
or just get it replaced, its in warantee...

According to GBAX problems with flashing the firmware are not covered by the guarantee.

BTW: I disagree with that, but that is an ongoing discussion between them and me...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Vimacs posted on Dec 9 2005 at 02:49 PM said:
or just get it replaced, its in warantee...
Quite. Since I was kindly told about gbax ignoring emails with attachments, I sent them an attachment-free email and received a swift reply from them apologising for not saying about the attachment thing on their website.

Thanks for your interest, everyone. It'd be good if we could track down how/why this happens... I could well be wrong, but I don't think the firmware update source is available at present, just the u-boot code.

I found another post by someone on here that had the same issue.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
joerg.stegemann posted on Dec 9 2005 at 03:22 PM said:
Vimacs posted on Dec 9 2005 at 03:49 PM said:
or just get it replaced, its in warantee...

According to GBAX problems with flashing the firmware are not covered by the guarantee.

BTW: I disagree with that, but that is an ongoing discussion between them and me...

I didn't flash the firmware. I didn't initiate the process, or screw up. It just happened due to a software defect - it's not my fault. If someone willfully chooses to flash their firmware without taking all of the precautions outlined to them, then that's their fault, as far as I'm concerned. I don't know the details of your issue, but I've told you what mine were.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's a hardware fault. Well, a software one. But it's NOT a user fault. The user (critical,canoista,me,etc..) has not tried to update the firmware. The console was trying to update itself when there wasn't any firmware on the SD. I know that because it also happened to me.

On Spain, Anarchy said the warranty covers it, but I'm still waiting for his confirmation :(
 
Call whoever you got yours from and arrange to return it. If you didn't put any firmware image on your SD card and it did this on its own, then it should be covered by warranty. If it happens to me, I will definitely be sending mine to gp32z to get a new one or for it to be unbricked. Hopefully this is fixed in future firmware upgrades....
 
do i even dare to turn mine on?

im pretty shaken up by the fact that if i turn my gp2x on and it bricks itself, i wont be able to get it replaced whatsoever or anything from GBAX.

i can imagine getting it...25th...christmas morning...turn it on...omg, updating? wtf? *BRICKED* ohwel..£200 brick and warantee doesnt cover shit...
 
Back
Top