RNS-510 HDD replacement/SSD swap DIY

[Deadly_headmen]

Are the H versions still using Pata/IDE or have VW finally realised its 2012 and moved to SATA?

[kamold]

As far as I am aware they are still using 40gb pata drives. They are not laptops, they don't use the latest and greatest. They are now an old generation automotive electronics device.
They could use a low cost sata to pata bridge but why add cost when you don't need to?

Sent using electrickery

[Ozsko]

Since Kamold installed my 128gig drive I have found that I use it for more than music. I have installed talking books, podcasts and audio documentaries on it besides the music and find that it makes a nice change listening to this sort of stuff instead of music all the time. I haven't gotten anywhere near filling it but then I never expected to so that does not worry me. The only thing I have doubt about is these drives having TRIM support as I can't find it stated that they do. I wish that the RNS had a comm port to load and manage the files but some things we have to put up with I guess.

[ian.perry]

Hi guys,

Done the swap and not had much luck unfortunately

I got the 64GB SSD in and used the 4020 firmware file from the other thread on the forum, but the firmware installation keeps failing on the HDD section at 6%. I used the recovery image so I could have a look, and the SSD is reporting size/model/serial correctly which means I didn't get the pins wrong, and I've successfully used the same firmware CD on that unit with the HDD... any ideas?

I've put the original 40GB back in for now which is working fine. It's such a cinch to swap the drives thanks to the wonderful guide!

[kamold]

You'll need to test the SSD using some low level disk utilities.
If you aren't familiar with something like Hiren's boot CD and its tools maybe ask someone who is. If you are test the drive and maybe do a wipe of the drive prior to trying to use it again.
The RNS510 should be able to destroy any existing partition info on the drive however its only fairly basic so if the drive has any media errors it may not handle them very well. Disk scan utilities should be able to force the SSD controller to reassign any bad 'blocks' (which are in fact MLC cells) so that the RNS can write to the drive.

[ian.perry]

Thanks kamold. I grabbed an old laptop and a couple low-level HDD tools. The SSD was wiped but had a Windows boot sector loaded, so I zeroed out the whole thing and did a bad block scan. I installed the 4020 firmware again and it failed - but the 3970 firmware from the custom POI thread worked!

Looks like the 4020 disc just can't create the partition tables (which explained why when I installed it on the 40GB it stayed as 50/25/25). Now that 3970 is installed I'm doing the upgrade; hopefully with the 90/5/5 partition table in place it will upgrade smoothly.

Thought it would be a good idea to add this here, since I got my RNS510 from carsystems.pl with 4020 installed so was reluctant to downgrade. Hopefully someone else benefits from my experience!

[Ryan_R]

About to install 4020 on my C unit (currently running 38xx with 90/5/5) and while I think the partition sizes will be kept it's always nice to have additional confirmation.

[ian.perry]

Well now that all the software installation is done, I can confirm - 4020 preserves the existing partition scheme, and even seems to preserve the data (maps/media files).

Now I have a nice big 54GB media partition. Thanks guys

[tmiw]

You can replace the drive in any model, so yes, but you need to use the right type of drive. I don't know of any 120GB drives, only 128GB. Check the first page for HDD specifications.

And no, it won't make the processor any faster, but it will improve the speed of the scrolling through the music menus. The speed of the unit is limited by the units processor, not the HDD.

Hope that helps!

Since the maps are on the hard drive as well, would this help with the navigation performance? I have a US spec RNS-510 (revision F, firmware version 3690) and it seems to take a minute or two for the unit to fully start. The radio portion starts relatively quickly but if I push the Nav button I see a "loading" screen with a progress bar for the rest of the load time. There's also no compass or radio information on the MFD until the unit finishes loading.

(If not, then I may have to start considering switching back to the stock RNS-315, even though I like the added features of the 510. )

[Ryan_R]

Sometimes if I'm concious of those delays I'll start the car before I sit in it, plus let the engine warm up a tad more. That said, I've never got lost within the first 30 seconds of a trip though

'A minute or two' sounds like an exaggeration, and I have a slower version C unit.