Bantam BA1000 Undocumented info

[Unit 1]

Hello All,
This message is intended to start a thread for Bantam BA1000 MP3
owners to (Read/Post) all UNDOCUMENTED info about these units.

I have found out a few things about my unit in the short time I have
had it and would like to share this with the community.

Mine is a 2Gig unit purchased from Fry's Electronics.
The firmware is:
Firmware: PP5002DF-04.20-BN01
Firmware Version: build 211
FW Release Date: 2003:30:09

Here is a list of repeatable bugs I've found so far:
1)Incorrect Song ID3 title information is likely to be displayed when
returning to the Track info screen after moving thru some menus.

2)Incorrect FM station number is likely to be displayed when returning
to the station screen after moving thru some menus.

3)Incorrect time is likely to be displayed after connecting to the USB
port for file transfers.

4)The unit will switch its powered state (on/off ) when the headphones
are either removed or inserted. This occurs about 50% of the time.

5)The equalizer setting will not function after a USB connection/file
transfer if the HOLD button is not enabled before connecting to USB.

6)FM RECORDing for long periods (2+ hours) divides the recording into
separate files of various lengths with numeric file names and no clear
way of knowing what is the first file or what is the last (if you have
recorded several different sessions).

Misc. info:
After doing lots of recording and then deleting of these files, it
seemed that the menus where getting slower. I attributed this to
possibly be due to disk fragmentation.
I found that it was possible to use Norton Disk Doctor and Norton
Speed Disk successfully on the BA1000 over the USB 2.0 connection.
However… to my shock, after defragging the hard drive, my unit would
no longer function!!! I tried many courses of action to resolve this,
including reformatting the drive. (Fat32 is the appropriate type)

Note1: The key to getting it working again after a format or defrag is
to place the file "Pripage.pge" as the first file on drive. Using
Norton SpeedDisk it's possible to specify which files to place 1st on
the drive and this is what brought my unit back to life.

Note2: From within the Digital Multimedia Manager there is a function
called "Recover PJB HDD" that is intended to restore necessary system
files to the hard drive. However, in my trials it will not do so on
an empty formatted drive. You must place some other files on it
first. I am not certain of the exact requirement but try placing
"Pripage.pge" first.

I hope this helps other BA1000 owners and please add to this if you
have something new.

Regards,
Herman

[scott]

Post by Unit 1
Hello All,
This message is intended to start a thread for Bantam BA1000 MP3
owners to (Read/Post) all UNDOCUMENTED info about these units.
I have found out a few things about my unit in the short time I have
had it and would like to share this with the community.
Mine is a 2Gig unit purchased from Fry's Electronics.
Firmware: PP5002DF-04.20-BN01
Firmware Version: build 211
FW Release Date: 2003:30:09
1)Incorrect Song ID3 title information is likely to be displayed when
returning to the Track info screen after moving thru some menus.
2)Incorrect FM station number is likely to be displayed when returning
to the station screen after moving thru some menus.
3)Incorrect time is likely to be displayed after connecting to the USB
port for file transfers.
4)The unit will switch its powered state (on/off ) when the headphones
are either removed or inserted. This occurs about 50% of the time.
5)The equalizer setting will not function after a USB connection/file
transfer if the HOLD button is not enabled before connecting to USB.
6)FM RECORDing for long periods (2+ hours) divides the recording into
separate files of various lengths with numeric file names and no clear
way of knowing what is the first file or what is the last (if you have
recorded several different sessions).
After doing lots of recording and then deleting of these files, it
seemed that the menus where getting slower. I attributed this to
possibly be due to disk fragmentation.
I found that it was possible to use Norton Disk Doctor and Norton
Speed Disk successfully on the BA1000 over the USB 2.0 connection.
However? to my shock, after defragging the hard drive, my unit would
no longer function!!! I tried many courses of action to resolve this,
including reformatting the drive. (Fat32 is the appropriate type)
Note1: The key to getting it working again after a format or defrag is
to place the file "Pripage.pge" as the first file on drive. Using
Norton SpeedDisk it's possible to specify which files to place 1st on
the drive and this is what brought my unit back to life.
Note2: From within the Digital Multimedia Manager there is a function
called "Recover PJB HDD" that is intended to restore necessary system
files to the hard drive. However, in my trials it will not do so on
an empty formatted drive. You must place some other files on it
first. I am not certain of the exact requirement but try placing
"Pripage.pge" first.
I hope this helps other BA1000 owners and please add to this if you
have something new.
Regards,
Herman

I'm going through the same thing with the 5 gigabyte BA1000. The fact
that they have been selling this product without proper documentation
makes me wonder what other bugs exist in the product itself that they
were to lazy to deal with.
I need the .IMG file in order to perform a disk image restore, but no
such file exists and no information is available on their website. I'm
currently running recovery software on the drive, but I don't hold
much hope in that succeeding.


I'll be getting a refund tomorrow if I'm unable to get an image on
this disk soon. Dealing with this half-assed product wasn't worth the
money saved.