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Rockbox mail archiveSubject: Re: GMini 120 disassemblyRe: GMini 120 disassembly
From: Laurent Giroud <laurent.giroud_at_libertysurf.fr>
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 19:06:55 +0100 Oh, I had searched within the mail archive but obviously missed your email. I'll be looking at your work before unsoldering the gmini then. Thanks ! Laurent > I had already taken apart the Gmini, but did not go further then listing all the > chips, etc. You can check it out in the archives. This was about 2 months > ago. > > -eric > > > Hi, > > > > given the low number of answers, I decided to disassemble the GMini > > yesterday. So, here's what I found so far. > > > > I made a few pictures, they haven't been sorted or appropriately scaled yet > > so they are quite crappy but it's better than nothing for those who may be > > interested : http://lgiroud.chez.tiscali.fr/photos/ > > > > Note that many of them look the same, it's raw material and not a > > presentation/documentation of any kind :) > > > > The Gmini is quite hard to disassemble without any insight and I broke a > > screw "support" and bent three pins during the process so take care if you > > are willing to try it too. > > > > A tork screwdriver size 6 is needed to remove the two screws on the cover, > > after this, the back cover must be removed first, it can be acheived by > > inserting a flat screwdriver in the separation between the two covers and > > gently pulling one cover up while pushing the other down (I'll take > > photographs, it's not easy to get it textually ;). > > After that, a copper plate must be removed (easy) and then the hard drive can > > be pulled off after "squeezing" one of the two rubbers on the sides and using > > a flat screwdriver to separate it from its plug. > > > > Here's what the inside looks like after the hard drive is removed : > > > > http://lgiroud.chez.tiscali.fr/photos/IMG_0182.JPG > > > > The writings on the only visible chip of the board can be read on this > > picture. > > -> the chip is a USB97C202, ie an "USB 2.0 ATA/ATAPI Controller" which data > > sheet can be found here : > > http://www.smsc.com/main/catalog/usb97c202.html > > > > I have no idea if it's better than the ISD 200/300 chips on the other archos > > models. > > > > The grey rectangle on the above picture seems to be the battery, it's > > soldered on the mother board on at least two points and I had to stop the > > disassembly there since I haven't got my soldering iron with me now. I hope > > to have one within two days at most. > > > > I guess the CPU lies under the battery, but there are screws maintaining the > > front cover stuck to the mother board and those screws are lying under the > > battery. So the CPU cannot be seen without removing the battery and thus > > unsoldering at least two points. So I can't go much further for the moment on > > the hardware side. > > > > Until I have a soldering iron again, I'm going to have a look at the firmware > > files now and try to descramble/disassemble them. I will start with the > > hypothesis that the CPU is the same than on the original archos since I > > haven't been able to get that information yet but I don't think I will get > > anything interesting without knowing the CPU type. Once again, if anyone has > > more information it will be much faster. If you fear legal assault from > > Archos, then I can bear all responsability for this "work", all this is > > perfectly legal in France and probably even under the DMCA if I understand it > > well. > > > > Also, please tell me if I'm off topic and should not post here, I don't want > > to bother you with this if this is not the place ;) > > > > Regards, > > Laurent > > > > Received on 2003-12-24 Page template was last modified "Tue Sep 7 00:00:02 2021" The Rockbox Crew -- Privacy Policy |