Fastboot
Fastboot is an emCORE application, that runs Rockbox as soon as the device is powered on. It is preferred by many users, and it is not so hard to install.
Nano 2G users: If you mainly use Apple's firmware and would like to "fastboot" into it, please ask on IRC for a modified fastboot build that boots OF[1] instead.
Usage
- To boot Rockbox with fastboot installed, just power your iPod on.
- To launch the boot menu instead, hold any key while your iPod is turning on until you see the menu.
Installation
WARNING: Always use the same version of emCORE and fastboot! Mixing up versions may lead to a condition where your iPod won't boot, and would require recovering with an additional set of tools!
Installing fastboot is actually done by copying fastboot.emcoreapp under the name init.emcoreapp to a folder named .boot in the root folder of your iPod's flash memory/hard drive. Here are some instructions how to do that on different OSes[2].
Windows
It is not possible to create such folder using Windows's GUI[3].
- Connect your iPod in OF[1], Rockbox or Disk mode so it appears in My computer as a storage device. Note the drive letter (for example, F:).
- Open Command prompt (Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> Command prompt).
- Enter the drive letter from step 1 with the colon at the end and press Enter.
- Enter the following commands:
cd / mkdir .boot
Next, download the fastboot application that matches your emCORE version to the newly created .boot folder in your iPod. Don't forget to rename it to init.emcoreapp or it won't be loaded at all.
Linux
Since files starting with dot are hidden on Linux by default, you need to either show them (in your favourite file manager's options) or use the command line.
An example to copy the file using the command line would be:
mkdir -p /media/<your iPod's name>/.boot cp ~/Downloads/fastboot.emcoreapp /media/<your iPod's name>/.boot/init.emcoreapp
Mac OS X
Files starting with dot are hidden by default, so you need to either use the Terminal application, or change a system preference in order to show them
An example to copy the file using the Terminal would be:
mkdir -p /Volumes/<your iPod's name>/.boot cp ~/Downloads/fastboot.emcoreapp /Volumes/<your iPod's name>/.boot/init.emcoreapp
