Dead Vibez - Hard Drive?

rxxdoc

2008-02-03, 16:55 #1

User title: Good Vibez
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Subject: Dead Vibez - Hard Drive?

My Vibez stopped working. It shows "starting player" and the hard drive just clicks. I contacted Trekstor, and now I will see what they do.

I think that the hard drives are faulty and that the hard drives will cause most of us problems.

Is there a better hard drive that I could put in myself?

Thanks

RubenNYC 2008-02-03, 20:24 #2

User title: vibez junkie
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Quote by rxxdoc:
I think that the hard drives are faulty and that the hard drives will cause most of us problems.

For the record, my vibez is pushing 11 months old, has taken a beating, and still works beautifully on its original drive.

Sean Michael Taylor #21 (1983-2007). Thank you for giving it everything you had. Rest In Peace.

Peregrine 2008-02-04, 07:26 #3

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My first one had a bad hard drive.
My second one is now 15 months old and still works great.

There are currently no other drives, although Seagate is supposed to be making one that might fit.

http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/default.aspx?EDC=1267559
(Call for availability)

[Image: http://pfalcon.org/sigs/Siggy.jpg]

ericks37 2008-02-04, 09:57 #4

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I don't think the Seagate drive linked above will fit in the Vibez... My harddrive also recently died (after 13 months; died after second drop onto my concrete driveway), so I've been looking around for a replacement. The Seagate drive above is a 35 pin ZIF connection, whereas the Cornice drive uses an 18 pin connection (see photo here: http://img184.imageshack.us/img184/8472/cfvscorniceribbonr…, courtesy of brez in this Riovolution thread: http://www.riovolution.org/thread/295).

I think the Cornice drives use the CE-ATA interface; Cornice is still listed as a member: http://www.ce-ata.org/memberslist.asp. The ce-ata.org site has some technical documents that talk more about the interface, and shows the 18 pin configuration.

There is also the voltage issue; the vibez cornice drive runs at 3 V to help extend the battery life (also discussed in other threads here), while most microdrives run at 3.3 V.

My hope is to see someone build a board in the form factor of the Cornice drive with a SDHC card slot and the CE-ATA interface (ala the Ably-Tech board for Hitachi Travelstars that use CF cards). Or just wait for the flash Vibez.

rick.hughes 2008-02-04, 14:38 #5

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In reply to post #1

Quote by rxxdoc:
My Vibez stopped working. It shows "starting player" ...

I assume you have already tried the reset switch. You might also try removing the battery for a few minutes and then replacing it, or plugging it in to your computer.

My Vibez occassionally refuses to boot and I have tried all these methods to get it to go again. So far it has always come back eventually, sometimes after many tries. I don't know if any of the things I have done have actually made any difference or not, but it does start working again so far.

rxxdoc

2008-02-07, 10:50 #6

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Updated firmware, reset, ran it until the batter was discharged, took the battery out. Hell, I would sacrafice a virgin if I could find one. ;-)

Yes, I tried everything. Maybe I just got a bad unit. My Vibez was only used when I connected it to a headphone amp. Never dropped or abused.

I think I just got a bad one. I am having a hard time RMAing it with Trekstor. I hope they honor their warranty, otherwise it's a pain to get my money back. The unit is 3 months old.

We will see how this plays out.

rxxdoc

2008-02-19, 16:47 #7

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I RMA'ed my Vibez, I hope it gets fixed soon. I bought myself a Cowon D2 to listen to until my Vibez is fixed. It's a nice player, but the sound is not quite as good (to me).

I hope the next Vibez I get lives a whole lot longer. Three months is not acceptable. Chances are the Vibez hard drives are weak and there will be many problems with these players.

rxxdoc

2008-02-27, 16:10 #8

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RMA'ed my 8GB Vibez. I was told they are out of 8GB Vibez, and it will be replaced with a 12GB Vibez (for a $15.00 charge). And they are out of 12GB Vibez, so I will get one when they are back in stock.

RubenNYC 2008-02-27, 17:52 #9

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Quote by rxxdoc:
RMA'ed my 8GB Vibez. I was told they are out of 8GB Vibez, and it will be replaced with a 12GB Vibez (for a $15.00 charge). And they are out of 12GB Vibez, so I will get one when they are back in stock.

Just for kicks, ask them how long it would take to get an 8 GB flash vibez instead. :P

Sean Michael Taylor #21 (1983-2007). Thank you for giving it everything you had. Rest In Peace.

MicSan 2008-02-28, 01:27 #10

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Quote by RubenNYC:
Quote by rxxdoc:
RMA'ed my 8GB Vibez. I was told they are out of 8GB Vibez, and it will be replaced with a 12GB Vibez (for a $15.00 charge). And they are out of 12GB Vibez, so I will get one when they are back in stock.

Just for kicks, ask them how long it would take to get an 8 GB flash vibez instead. :P

I'm not sure they can deliver a 8GB with HDD.

Looking to this thread http://www.riovolution.org/post/10137, there is no production of these small disks anymore. So they live from the left ones.

FYI: Sellers in germany announce delivery of the 8GB flash for the beginning of April. There is no date for the 12GB.

Good luck!

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..." (Isaac Asimov)

forcepub 2008-02-28, 14:03 #11

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Do you know any online vendors that are expected to get the flash Vibez in April? I'm counting down the days until I can get a slightly more reliable replacement. I had a quick search, but don't know the German MP3 seller scene too well...

On a slightly stranger note, the top news story on the trekstor.de corporate site is that the company is introducing a new high fashion clothing line to complement their electronics. The headline is "Trekstor attracts youngsters". Awesome.

MicSan 2008-02-29, 04:28 #12

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I ordered at http://www.mp3-player.de in the past. Shipping costs and depending information may be displayed in english - all other is in german.

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not "Eureka!" but "That's funny..." (Isaac Asimov)

vladman 2008-03-03, 12:39 #13

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My vibez is doing the same exact thing. It gets stuck in the loading screen, and the HD makes strange clicking noises- like it's trying to start up, but then decides that it's way too hung over.

I contacted trekstor support by e-mail through their website, and here's what they told me:

______________________________________________________________________________

Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your Vibez.

Try reinstalling the firmware.

Use this link:

http://www.trekstor.us/en/service/downloads.…?produktgru…
prache=2

Download the Firmware Upgrade to your PC.

Run the Firmware Upgrade.

With your Vibez off*, hold down the Menu button and connect your Vibez to
your USB port, (hold until your PC recognizes the vibez). (*You may need to
reset your vibez first, by carefully pressing the reset button with a
pointed object)

Once your PC detects your Vibez, you can release the Menu button.

(You may need to press Refresh a few times until the firmware upgrade
program detects your Vibez)

If you have all your music files saved on your PC, you may want to check the
box Format and Reset to Factory Defaults (this will delete all your files on
your Vibez).

(If after performing only the firmware upgrade, your Vibez still is not
performing properly, run the Firmware upgrade with the Format and Reset to
Factory Defaults box checked.)

The above steps may take a few attempts.

Thank you,

support@datastation.us
___________________________________________________________________________

I'm at work now, but when I get home, I'll try and see if this works.

- Vlad.

rick.hughes 2008-03-04, 07:13 #14

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Quote by vladman:
...
With your Vibez off*, hold down the Menu button and connect your Vibez to
your USB port, (hold until your PC recognizes the vibez). (*You may need to
reset your vibez first, by carefully pressing the reset button with a
pointed object)

Once your PC detects your Vibez, you can release the Menu button.

(You may need to press Refresh a few times until the firmware upgrade
program detects your Vibez)

If you have all your music files saved on your PC, you may want to check the
box Format and Reset to Factory Defaults (this will delete all your files on
your Vibez).

(If after performing only the firmware upgrade, your Vibez still is not
performing properly, run the Firmware upgrade with the Format and Reset to
Factory Defaults box checked.)

The above steps may take a few attempts.
...

I've never seen this documented before. I will be interested to know if it works. If so, this should be added to the FAQ. I wonder if you could skip the "official" firmware and load the latest beta with this method if you wanted ?

My Vibez occasionally fails to boot and I have tried all sorts of things to get it back. Just leaving it connected seems to force it to retry until it finally comes back. It might be that a good recharging is fixing it, but the problem does not seem to occur just because of a low charge.

I may try the "hold down the Menu button and connect your Vibez to your USB port" next time I have this problem and see if it has any effect.

rick.hughes 2008-03-10, 08:35 #15

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Quote by rick.hughes on 2008-03-04, 07:13:
My Vibez occasionally fails to boot and I have tried all sorts of things to get it back. Just leaving it connected seems to force it to retry until it finally comes back. It might be that a good recharging is fixing it, but the problem does not seem to occur just because of a low charge.

I may try the "hold down the Menu button and connect your Vibez to your USB port" next time I have this problem and see if it has any effect.

OK I had an "opportunity" this weekend when my Vibez would not boot (I seem to get Boot Error 00...002 when this happens). I tried holding down the Menu button while plugging the Vibez into my car charger. It entered the "upgrade" mode. I then powered it down and then back on and it booted correctly. So, this seems like a useful fix for me even without loading the firmware.