Hacking a problematic Phatbox

[andycole]

Hi all, first post here.  I hope you can help me.

I have a Audi/VW phatbox with the original 20gm DMS in it.  I have a spare 60gb drive which I want to use to replace the 20gb one, so I understand that I need to hack the phatbox to allow this.
I checked the thread which includes the software download and also read the documentation, all seems pretty straightforward.

My concern is that my phatbox doesn't always boot up properly, I'll turn the headunit (a VW gamma) on and more often than not it will say NO CHANGER and I'll have to turn it off and on again several times before the phatbox will play.  According to the hacking manual, the box will need to reboot 11 times in order to hack it, and I'll need to select CD mode on the head unit that many times in order to activate it.  As I can't select my phatbox at the best of times, will this be a problem for me, or is it safe for me to just leave the phatbox to do it's own thing for an hour or something?

While I'm on the subject, does anyone know what might cause this problem?  When it does work, it also forgets it's current play position and will always start from the welcome playlist each time.

Cheers in advance

Andy Cole.

[VorTechS]

I don't remember putting anything in the manual that says it'll reboot 11 times...so I'll make sure this is addressed the next time I release the tools (a way off yet).  Maybe I put something there as an ass-covering thing.  Who knows?

I think it only reboots once, so I don't think you have much to worry about.

As for your original problem, you could try repairing your PHTSYS partition - perhaps there's a bit of file corruption going on.
You might also have a problemmatic cable between the PhatBox and your head unit, resulting in un-reliable communication between the two?  Have you checked the wiring?

If you can, I think you should apply the hack first and then worry about resolving your reliability issue afterwards.

[andycole]

Thanks for the reply.
Here's what the manual says:
=======================
During the hack process, your PhatBox will reboot itself several times.  The general rule of thumb would be that it’s possible the PhatBox will reboot once for every hack it applies.  There are currently 11 hacks that the hack process runs on your box, so expect it to reboot 11 times!
Each time a reboot occurs, and your headunit switches to a different source, please switch back to the PhatBox so that it can run the next hack.
When the hack is complete announcement, or you have waited a ridiculous time with no announcement, turn off your stereo and remove the DMS from the Phatbox.
=======================
If it reboots just the once, then I think I'll risk it.  I'm about to embark on a 7 hour drive to France with 2 kids in the back, so I'll wait until I get back 

About the booting problem, yes it could very well be the cable.  I bought a replacement cable from ebay as the phatbox was originally in an Audi A3 which was pre-wired.  It's now in a Bora which was not, so I had to buy a 5m cable.  I had to assemble the end myself so there's a good chance there's a dodgy connection!

I also read that to fix a booting problem, you should disconnect the phatbox cable and re-connect it to cause the HU and box to re-handshake.  I tried this and there's no difference.  Another site mentioned that the cable should be earthed or you will get booting problems.  There is an earth break out cable on the cable I bought from ebay but I've yet to find an unpainted earth point to connect that, so that could also be it.

If anyone has got any other theories, please chuck them in the pot!

Thanks
Andy

[VorTechS]

Just to put your mind at ease, even if it does reboot... the hack will continue to run indefinately until it's removed (through the validation process).
This is a positive thing, and the hack itself can't cause any damage to the box.

There are 11 steps to the hack, each one validates whether or not it needs to be run IIRC.  So, you won't run into any problems other than perhaps the usual ramdisk problem if it really comes to that.

Enjoy France....

[sbingner]

And once the ramdisk step has completed successfully it can never actually cause a problem again.

[andycole]

Hi all, back from holiday now and back to hacking business!
I successfully performed the hack, no problems with rebooting or anything, it took about a minute. 
The log files confirmed everything was OK, so I put my new drive in the DMS but now I can't run the 'new DMS' option.
I insert my new DMS, it appears as a drive on the DMS tools.
I click 'DMS tools mode' but the 'Create new DMS' is greyed out.

Any ideas?

Just in case this is relevant, I previously tried to partition this new drive and copy system files on there (in a previous attempt to get it to work on my unhacked phatbox) so this drive contains some phatnoise files and partititons already.  (It didn't work before, by the way!)

edit:  I removed the previously created partitions so now it's a blank disk, but I still don't get the option to 'create new dms'.  In fact, now, no drive letter comes up in the drop-down box.  Do I need to create partitions first?

Thanks
Andy.

[VorTechS]

Can you do the following:

Clear the folder: My documents\PhatHack Media Manager\Logs
Run the DMS tools, select DMS Tools Mode
Close the tools
Mail me a copy of any log files generated.

I'll see if I can work out what's up...

[Carlos Ruben]

I don't remember putting anything in the manual that says it'll reboot 11 times...so I'll make sure this is addressed the next time I release the tools (a way off yet).  Maybe I put something there as an ass-covering thing.  Who knows?

I think it only reboots once, so I don't think you have much to worry about.

As for your original problem, you could try repairing your PHTSYS partition - perhaps there's a bit of file corruption going on.
You might also have a problemmatic cable between the PhatBox and your head unit, resulting in un-reliable communication between the two?  Have you checked the wiring?

If you can, I think you should apply the hack first and then worry about resolving your reliability issue afterwards.

How do I know if the wiring is damaged?

[VorTechS]

Look at it and physically check it's not been pinched with bare wires exposed.  However, that's not your particular problem.  You let Windows near your DMS is your problem, so you probably wiped the signature off your DMS.  However, you mentioned other problems. 

Please send me a copy of any log files in My documents\PhatHack Media Manager\Logs...