Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Toshiba Gigabeat "NO SYSTEM FOUND IN HDD" error

This is an alternate solution to the infamous Toshiba Gigabeat "NO SYSTEM FOUND IN HDD" error
This error happens due to various reasons I am not aware of. But mostly if you have formatted the Gigabeat using anything other than the Gigabeat Room software, this error will show up when you start the Gigabeat
Gigabeat Room is a crappy software and transferring songs to and fro it is a real pain. Instead it's recommended to use Rockbox.
This tutorial mentions the steps to get rid of the "NO SYSTEM FOUND IN HDD" error by installing Rockbox, and in the process get a much better and easier to use Gigabeat.
This was done on a Toshiba Gigabeat MEG-F40, but it should work on other models as well.

Note: Your Gigabeat should show up in your computer as a disk drive when you connect it via USB, otherwise you have to troubleshoot that before you begin.

Steps:
  1. Connect the Gigabeat in switched off state directly to the computer using USB (not via dock).
  2. Switch on the Gigabeat. Gigabeat drive should show up in My Computer or Windows Explorer.
  3. Download "Fat32 Format" GUI from here.
  4. Run "Fat32 Format".
  5. Select the drive of Gigabeat. Leave "Allocation unit size" to its default value. Type a name under "Volume label". I used the name "GIGABEAT". Leave "Quick Format" checked.
  6. Click Start button.
  7. You should now get a nicely formatted Gigabeat with nothing in it.
  8. Download dummy GBSYSTEM files from here.
  9. Unzip the files to the root of Gigabeat. Do not create any folders and unzip the files to it.
  10. Download FWIMG01.DAT file from here.
  11. Unzip only FWIMG01.DAT to FWIMG folder in Gigabeat. The path to FWIMG folder is F:\GBSYSTEM\FWIMG (where F: drive is the Gigabeat drive).
  12. Download Rockbox installation files from here.
  13. Unzip the files to the root of Gigabeat. Do not create any folders and unzip the files to it.
  14. Close all open Gigabeat folders.
  15. Eject Gigabeat using "Safely Remove Hardware" from the Windows taskbar.
  16. Unplug the USB cable from the computer.
You should now see the Rockbox menu in Gigabeat. If not yet, then switch off and switch on the Gigabeat. Enjoy a fully running Gigabeat. You can now just drag and drop or copy/cut paste audio files to and fro it, just like an external hard drive.

24 comments:

  1. it worked! thanks heaps for this post.

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  2. I too had the "no system found on HDD" error and tried a lot of fixes outlined on other sites. This proceedure fixed my Gigabeat f40, now I have a working player! Thank you for the information.

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  3. I too had the "no system found on HDD" error and tried a lot of fixes outlined on other sites. This proceedure fixed my Gigabeat f40, now I have a working player! Thank you for the information.

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  4. thanks so much from venezuela greetings

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  5. It works!!
    I can't believe that I finally could fix my Gigabeat F10.
    Thanks a lot from Colombia

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  6. It works!!!
    In fact,it's better now
    Thank you so much for the information
    Greetings from Venezuela :)

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  7. Thank you very very much from New Zealand.
    I decided on doing a clean install the night before a road trip, not the smartest idea because it's kinda essential to have good tunes and it wasn't working until I found your web page :(
    Many thanks :)

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  8. tengo une problema ise todo lo q dijo en los pasos pero cada ves q prendo el gigabeat se queda congelado en 50%

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  9. Gracias me sirvio mucho ya estubo la instalacion del dispositivo ahora a ver como meto la musica para q la reproduzca pero lo importante de levantarlo ya estubo.

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  10. excelente ayuda de verdad Agradecido.... ya funciona....

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  11. Mil gracias, me funciono, Thanks it works!!! in my gigabeat f10

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  12. I figured after all these years, I'd never find a fix with working links. Thanks for sharing!

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  13. I tried to do it with my GIGABEAT F10 which does show as a disk drive in my computer but on step #6 i keep on getting the following message which i can't fix:
    Failed to open device
    GetLastError()=32
    The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.
    Could you please help?

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    Replies
    1. Need to make sure gigabeat room and windows doesn't have folders open from the device

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  14. i still cant fix my f20 gigabeat as it gives me error c011ae70

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  15. Excelente, gracias por el aporte!

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  16. Amigos tengo el ERRROR C00F74E4 en mi tochiban f40 y no se que hacer alquien me ayuda ya que no me reconoce la computadora el dispositivo como disco duro

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  17. Excellent mate had just bought a new sealed F40 and messed up initial Rockbox install(had it in pc mode when using Utility)ended up formatting and getting system error now thanks to you it is now up and running and playing tunes.
    Nice one!!

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  18. thank you very much, after 5 years my megf20 back to the field

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  19. This is the best blog, Your blog is really very informative and useful for me.
    Toshiba Laptop Camera Error

    ReplyDelete
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  21. excelente funciono con mi F20 MUCHAS GRACIAS

    ReplyDelete