Firstly I think this is a better example of a half-bricked bootloader:
http://i40.tinypic.com/kd1z5f.jpg
Second, Ive got a problem. My one is like the picture above, half-bricked and can still go USB host mode, although Model ID is completely screwed up. I havent done sending cabs to it because from what I understand the update has to match the value of the phone (I think these are codes depending on region) and the most popular one (for the trophy) is 401, but mine is 162, so there is no point sending the cab over as it may or may not fix my problem. I can still do goldcard only whenever it loads the file it gets stuck at "Checking..." and then theres a word "serial" in a white bar and nothing happens anymore.
Help would be appreciated, and also donated.
EDIT
Yes, the card reader does need more power, but in this example, he used a USB wall charger which pumps at least 12v, whereas on PC it is estimated as 5v. The phone pumps 5v to read/write mass storage and so does old USBs with slower read/write. So if youre using a new USB stick with readyboost technology (yes you can also use a USB stick as goldcard), or a USB hub, you need more power, otherwise it will be underpowered and wont work at all.