Question about Archos AV 500 Digital Media Player

Format Hard Drive Error

I am experiencing great difficulty with the Archos Av500 model. Almost as soon as I turn it on, it displays an error message reading "Read access error - Can't read from hard drive". The only option available is to format the hard drive, so I attempt to do this and it begins to format the hard drive, but then it stops and returns to the original error message of "Read access error - Can't read from hard drive". It fails to be read by either of my computers so I can't format the hard drive that way either. Any help whatsoever would be much appreciated because the device is unusable in its present state.

2 more comments
laura callan Aug 20, 2007

where can i get new batteries? i live in australia
udai2912 Nov 11, 2007

sir.,even i had the same problem...i tried chkdsk...as you told...no use same problem...if i try formatting directly...it stops after sometime...i changed with another hard drive 40gb...but still same problem...but what i found to be strange is when i insert another hard drive...i dont get format/menu options..i tried the original HDD in usb casing...then WINDOWS XP is unable to read the drive...pl try and help me
Kevin Flynn May 22, 2008

Cannot format hard drive Cannot format hard drive
mclrenf14 Jul 13, 2008

error reading hard drive error reading hard drive

2 Answers

Inky Fingers

Level 3:

An expert who has achieved level 3 by getting 1000 points

All-Star:

An expert that got 10 achievements.

MVP:

An expert that got 5 achievements.

Vice President:

An expert whose answer got voted for 100 times.
Master
705 Answers

If the unit detects any form of Hard Drive Error it asks you to format the drive. Connect the unit to your PC and run ScanDisk or DOS Chkdsk on the drive. Will help to rectify any issues with the FAT. Windows XP & 2000 Running Check Disk Utility (ChkDsk) ? HARD DRIVE mode only If you still have problems with the file system on your AV 500 you can try to fix it using the DOS utility, check disk (chkdsk). Do the following; ? Make sure external AC adapter is powering the AV 500. ? Quit all running applications. ? Properly connect the AV 500 to your computer ? Wait patiently (up to 5 minutes) for Windows XP to show the local drive as mounted. ? Open a DOS window. Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt. ? At the prompt, type chkdsk e: /f . Use e: or f: or whatever drive letter is representing your AV 500. The /f argument tells the program to automatically fix errors. ? Be patient, this may take a while. ? When finished, exit the DOS Window and properly disconnect the AV 500 from your computer. Now try using the device. DO NOT try to defrag the drive. Let us know how you get on.

Posted on Jul 26, 2007

Anonymous

Here's what i did to solve the 'read access error': I mounted new batteries and tried to boot several times.... then i charged the batteries again for half an hour mounted inside archos. Started and shaking the archos a little while booting up and it could suddenly read harddisk again. Working! :-)

Posted on Aug 19, 2007

Add Your Answer

Upload

Upload an image from your computer

Uploading: 0%

my-video-file.mp4

Complete. Click "Add" to insert your video. Add

Loading...

Include an image. It's worth a thousand words.

prev next

Related Questions:

2 Answers

It shows-recovery error-102 & error-104

Hi
i had same issue. nothing worked until i saw a guy who fixed his by dropping it on floor?
i dropped my archos in the protective case from 2 feet off floor. the bloody thing when came back to life, 100% good. i think the hard drive was stuck and the fall fixed it!! it cannot hurt as yours is broken still i guess. hope it works for you to

Jan 07, 2009 | Archos 605 WiFi Digital Media Player

4 Answers

Archos Av500 startup problems

its a HDD or OS failure
ull have to ask the company for a replacement if its under the warranty period
make sure to register ur device on the Archos website to get a 'Technical Support Passcode.'call Archos to tell them ur problem and if ur lucky they wud repair it free of charge
if u want to try it urself...i found this one of the forums on the net..
1.remove all the screws, and remove the battery.
2. Remove the hard disk from the player by disconnecting the ribbon connector carefully from the mainboard.
3. Try to startup the player after putting the battery back in place. This time, instead of turning off, the player showed a "cannot read hard disk" error with the option of formatting it. Made me realise that the hard disk was the culprit. However, I had heard the hard disk noises previously, and they sounded fine, so I realised it was a software issue (file system was corrupted)
4. Try to connect it back, same problem as before... Also it is very difficult to first start the player & then connect the hard disk, as the player is designed to shut off in that situation.
5. The best option after this would be to get a drive enclosure designed specifically for 1.8 hitachi hard disks to connect the disk directly to the computer using USB and format it.
6. However since I didn't have a specialised enclosure, I did a lot of trail and error with the player itself (running off mains while connecting the hard disk after starting the player without releasing the power button etc etc etc) which Im sure wasnt too kind on the hard disk, but voila, I managed to start it up fine WITH the hard disk in place without the player turning off using some weird combination of holding down the power button and connecting the ribbon on the bootup screen)
7. After this, he was able to select "format", and the player began working fine he lost all the data on the player itself, but luckily he had backups of everything!

Thanks for using Fixya

Jul 16, 2008 | Archos AV 500 400-Hours Video Recorder

1 Answer

Archos AV500 30gb not booting up

Try updateing the firmware on the device
http://www.archos.com/products/video/av_500/download.html?country=global&lang=en

If you are unable to perform a firmware update on the player you will most likely have to send it in for service.

Jun 27, 2008 | Archos AV 500 Digital Media Player

1 Answer

My P.C is not fully recognising my Archos AV500 and is asking to format it.

The hard drive in the Archos may have become corrupted. A format will most likely fix the issue but the media on the drive will be erased.

Oct 21, 2008 | Archos Computers & Internet

1 Answer

Hard drive is broken

you need a 1.8" zif format hard drive samsung and toshiba both have models that will work for you, but you need to do a downgrade upgrade trip with the firmware in order to get the archos to use the new hard drive! her is the link to how to do the downgrade upgrade to the firmware

http://frenchyaz.com/av500.aspx

Oct 05, 2008 | Archos AV 500 Digital Media Player

1 Answer

Archos av500 hard drive replacement

Downgrade firmware from 1.5.12 to 1.3.12 and then replace the hard drive, it should work. It does not work with firmware versions superior to 1.3.12. If you have 1.5.13 you can downgrade to 1.5.12 using the normal archos update procedure (yes, from 1.5.13 to 1.5.12 you can freely donwgrade using standard offical method). You can find 1.5.12 firmware on the official archos download page. If you need the 1.3.12 version (not available at archos website) it can be retrieved there: http://www.opendrivers.com/freedownload/232939/archos-av500-portable-dvr-firmware-1.3.12-download.html

Jul 25, 2008 | Computers & Internet

2 Answers

Hdd_recovery 2

LAST HOPE !!!

ERROR CODE 102!!!
I JUST FOUND OUT THAT I HAD THAT SAME PROBLEM TOO...AND I WAS ABOUT TO THROW IT AWAY OR GIVE IT TO MY WILD CAT TO PLAY WITH !!! BUT!!! HERE IS WHAT I DID FOR MY LAST HOPE IN SOLVING THIS PROBLEM...

FIRST HERE ARE THE DETAILED PROBLEMS I HAD...
*NO RECOGNITION OF MY ARCHOS IN MY PC...
*ERROR SCREEN..."SYSTEM DAMAGE...REPAIR? NO,REPAIR,FORMAT DISK"
*SELECTED ANY OF THE OPTIONS...SAME STUFF...BACK TO THE SCREEN...NEVER ENDING STORY...

OK...THIS IS WHAT I DID...

1 DOWNLOAD THE LATEST FIRM FROM WWW.ARCHOS.COM...TO YOUR PC !!

2.AFTER DOWNLOADING THE LATEST FIRM UPDATE TO YOUR PC... PLUG IN YOUR ARCHOS TO YOUR COMPUTER...

3 YOU WILL NOTICE THE ARCHOS IS NOT DETECTED AND YOU ARE IN YOUR SCREEN ERROR STILL...OK...TURN YOUR ARCHOS OFF BY CLICKING ON THE POWER BUTTON FOR ABOUT 5 SECONDS OR UNTIL IT TURNS OFF...(NOTHING ON THE SCREEN BUT BLACK...)

4. THEN...WE ARE ABOUT TO TURN IT ON AGAIN...BUT BEFORE THAT... LEAVE ONE FINGER ON YOUR TV/LCD BUTTON PRESSED !!! HERE IS THE SECRET...THEN TURN IT ON !! BUT...DO NOT LET THE TV/LCD BUTTON RELEASED !! IS LIKE YOUR ARE GOING TO PRESS BOTH OF THEM AT THE SAME TIME...AND WAIT FOR FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS...

5. THEN ANOTHER SCREEN WILL APPEAR..SORT OF LIKE...HDD RECOVERY 2...YOU MIGHT WANT TO UNFORTUNATELY FORMAT YOUR DISK...

6. ONCE IT TELLS YOU DONE ! DO NOT PRESS ANY BUTTON... THE PC WOULD NOW RECOGNIZE YOUR ARCHOS...AS A HARD DRIVE..ETC...

7. ONCE IS DETECTED BY YOUR PC...REMEMBER THE FILE YOU DOWNLOAD IT... DRAG IT DOWN TO YOUR ARCHOS..IN THE ROOT SECTION... THAT MEANS...IN NO FOLDERS INSIDE THE ARCHOS...BUT BY ITSELF...JUST LIKE ANY OTHER FILE IN A FLASHDRIVE IF YOU MAY...

8. THEN IT MIGHT ASK YOU AGAIN YOUR PC...YOU WANT TO FORMAT THIS DRIVE...JUST SAY YES....OK...WHATEVER... AND LET IT FORMAT...

9. FINALLY AFTER THE FORMAT SITUATION HAPPENS...YOUR ARCHOS WILL ACCEPT THE FILE...AND IT WILL BE DOWNLOADED AUTOMITICALLY...THEN REOPEN IT TO MAKE SURE IS THERE ALREADY...

10. FOR THE LAST STEP... ENJOY ! MY ARCHOS IS BACK TO NORMAL..IT REBOOT AND EVERYTHING IS FACTORY MADE...HOPE THIS WORK GUYS...AS FOR ME IT DID...
PS. PLEASE BE PATIENT ON THAT OPTION OF THE TV/LCD FOR IT MIGHT NOT WORK RIGHT AWAY...I TRY IT LIKE TWO TIMES BEFORE IT LET ME FORMAT EVERYTHING...BECAUSE YOU MIGHT GET ERROR MESSAGES LIKE..."MEDIA FAILED" ETC... JUST KEEP ON TRYING UNTIL IT ACCEPTS IT.. LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENED...

Jul 16, 2008 | Archos 605 WiFi Digital Media Player

2 Answers

Archos AV500 / USB harddive

AV500 will not install on XP PRO

Jan 28, 2008 | Archos AV 500 Digital Media Player

6 Answers

Archos AV500 HD Replacement

I have found someone who can replace the hard drive al they will need is the serial# from the HD it also depends on the size of memory you have. They will program the HD and send it to you with the instructions ob how to install. I will post here as soon as I receive the new HD back. So Archos lied saying you cannot replace the HD yourself.I will never buy another Archos product again. I have two the AV500 and the 605 wifi which is a joke with all of the Accessories they want you to purchase.I believe they design the products to fail so you would have to purchase their new products and all of the crazt accessories to get it to do what is supposed to do in the first place.Horrible company

Jan 08, 2008 | Archos AV 500 400-Hours Video Recorder

1 Answer

Playing Videos on my Archos AV500

If you have windows, you can sync your videos through windows media player, when you do this it should convert the videos into wmv format, which will then play on the Archos.
Jo :-)

Jan 01, 2008 | Televison & Video