Configuration: ER0140/002 v 2.10.2

I have not been able to get the shell access to work. Here's what I've done so far:

I have configured the first page of "iLiad Settings" according to the user and password I previously set up for myIrex.

I setup a wireless profile. I press the connect to IDS button and apparently successfully connected to IDS since when I visit http://myirex.irexnet.com/user.php/developer the MAC address for the iLiad is available in the drop-down list.

I then press the "send developer package" button and arrive at http://myirex.irexnet.com/user.php. I then again press the IDS button on the iLiad and the iLiad shows "connecting to server" and then rather quickly shows "--download complete--". The iLiad then displays the "Download History" screen with the single entry being the "Release Notes v2.10.pdf".

The iLiad doesn't restart as the web page at http://myirex.irexnet.com/user.php/developer says it should but having read various and sundry threads I restart the iLiad both by just turning it off and then on and also by pressing the reset button.

In any event I have put the unzipped mrxvt on both a CF card and on the internal memory of the iLiad. I've also tried gnuchess, the x48 calculator and the gpe applications. In all cases nothing much happens when I tap on the folder containing mrxvt and so on. The green status light may flash once or not at all when I tap on the item in the contentlister.

The folders show up with the png icon appropriate to the contents and the title is the application title and there is a subtitle "Command Shell". All of this would seem to me to indicate that some code is detecting the presence of the png and the run.sh. From the directions I have read in various threads I was expecting the folder to simply open so that I could tap on the run.sh entry; however, the folder doesn't open. It appears as though there is some attempt to treat the entire folder with contents as an executable object but the launch is failing somewhere along the way.

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions as to what I have overlooked or am otherwise doing incorrectly.

Thanks

Forgive the obvious question, but are you double-tapping the folder to open it? It should indeed open and you'll see the files inside it.

You should only have to select it once from the contentlister. In the contentlister, if it has an icon and description, you shouldn't have to open that folder to select the script. The Manifest should already point to it.

Perhaps iRex's request website isn't working correctly, or maybe they've pulled the hack in anticipation of 2.11. It sounds like you're doing everything correctly on your end.

In the contentlister, if it has an icon and description, you shouldn't have to open that folder to select the script. The Manifest should already point to it.
You can't open such prepared folders. The selection of the entry starts the script. The png file, run.sh etc are invisible in Contentlister.

As Adam B. said, maybe Shell Package Server is down or so.

I have tried double tapping to no avail. The green status light (upper left corner) may come on for around a second or sometimes for a considerably shorter time. It looks like an access is being made to something and then a failure occurs. It has a feel like launching an application in Windows or Mac and having it check the environment and then quickly terminate for some reason.

I take it that from the information that I've given, you would say that the shell access was downloaded? It seemed likely to me but then I didn't try installing the applications until I had already tried to download the shell access so I didn't have a before and after to compare with.

Thanks,
Chris

Thanks Adam. You and Yokos replied while I was making my reply to Harry T. Perhaps my query at the iRex forums will be answered by someone from iRex regarding the availability of the shell access.

I take it that from the information that I've given, you would say that the shell access was downloaded? It seemed likely to me but then I didn't try installing the applications until I had already tried to download the shell access so I didn't have a before and after to compare with.

If your iLiad did not automatically reboot after requesting and downloading the package, then it most likely isn't installed.

A post on the iRex forums may be your best bet.

You don't happen to have a Chinese iLiad do you? I read that the shell package isn't available to those.

Adam: the iLiad is a western iLiad purchased in the US from ereaderoutfitters.com.

I had a problem like this that turned out to be CF card corruption. You might want to backup and reformat your card.

I've also just tried to set up for shell access, without success. The download server thinks it has downloaded the package succesfully, though the "Recent Downloads" folder is now empty (but I've got all the previous update PDFs under docs). What should I look for (and where) to know that the download has worked?

Or even better, since this is almost certainly down do an incredibly stupid mistake, is there a good "HowTo" or FAQ I should consult?

Many thanks

EDIT: URK. Me being usual fool with the MMC cards. I've got mrxvt running on the iLiad, so I assume it is all okay. Now to try and get access from putty, and get a web browser on the device (recommendations?...)...

Hello all, I thought I'd make my first post ever by resurrecting this thread :)

I just received my iRex 2nd ed (v2.12) this past Friday and have been trying like mad to get shell access to work. My initial attempts to download the developer package were somewhat similar to xristy, the original poster, however it just stayed on the IDS page and froze with the "--download complete--" message. The iLiad didn't restart by itself, it just hung on the IDS page. I let it sit for 10mins with that status screen. I had to manually reset. These attempts were done via WiFi.

Next set of attempts were made with a wired ethernet connection. After downloading the developer package, it went to the "Download History" page and then rebooted (by itself) yay! On to installing some applications. First off was the ubiquitous mrxvt and shell-test. Like xristy, the folders show up with the icon and description in the contentlister. Single tapping and double tapping would make the status led blink, then the loading status bar on the bottom appear for 1 second (8 boxes on each side of the page selector, 16 total). Nothing would happen. I then tried installing fbreader and and ipdf_installers_2.12. Same deal.

I then went to check to see if I could reflash via CF. This is only possible with shell access right? After reflashing, all of my settings appear to be defaulted to factory settings, the network profiles I created were gone.

I then proceeded to re-request and install and developer package. It installed some updates as well as the Release Notes v2.12 document, rebooted itself and went back to IDS by itself. It then downloaded the developer package and rebooted itself. I tried executing mrxvt and shell-test...same deal LED blinks and status bar on bottom flashes for a a couple of seconds. And after that nothing happens.

After that I tried different CF cards and also tried reformatting them as well. No luck, I'm stuck. Any ideas folks? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

No help, I'm afraid, just to say I have the same problem and have raised a ticket with iRex about it.

There seems to be a problem with shell access at the moment. If you don't have it yet you'll have to wait until iRex fixes the download.

Thanks for the replies godidog and daudi. So I guess I only got subpar-shell (partial) access then. Hehe bad joke, I know. At least I know how to CF reflash my iLiad. Man what a bummer, I'm leaving for a trip to China tomorrow and was hoping to have some goodies installed for the long flight. Oh well.

Do keep me posted godigog when iRex replies to your ticket. Hopefully the fix will be soon! And thanks for the inside scoop daudi. Cheers!

If it helps folks in troubleshooting, I downloaded the developers kit a week ago today...and shell access works fine on my iLiad (v1, v2.12)

-Jeff

I just thought - is it possible that iRex company has restricted the contentlister functionality to prevent script-based third-party soft starting?

It's a strange fact - if the latest firmware hasn't been changed since release date - why we could run scripts before and couldn't now? :chinscratch:

"Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence." - Napoleon Bonaparte

At least to start with...

If it helps folks in troubleshooting, I downloaded the developers kit a week ago today...and shell access works fine on my iLiad (v1, v2.12)

-Jeff

It works fine for me too on 2.12, but I downloaded the developers kit right after 2.12 came out. I wonder if iRex updated the developers kit recently, and something they changed is causing new downloads to fail?

daudi, you seem to be thinking the same thing. Did you get any information from iRex, or are you just making the same guess?

I'm just guessing based on the fact that I had it working fine and it was not fine after downloading shell access again. I think there are enough people who suddenly started seeing this problem for it to be pretty strong evidence that something must have changed. I don't think there's anything any of us can do about it, we'll have to wait for irex to sort this out.

But does Irex support this ? I mean...in previous versions Shell Access was implemented, now it was taken out of the equation..

Do Irex really care about this issues..I mean are they aware of this issues??

At iRex forums I havn't seen any of irex employees saying anything about this...

Regards,

Kinetic.

But does Irex support this ? I mean...in previous versions Shell Access was implemented, now it was taken out of the equation..

Do Irex really care about this issues..I mean are they aware of this issues??

At iRex forums I havn't seen any of irex employees saying anything about this...

Regards,

Kinetic.

I don't think that the problem with shell access not functioning was intentional. Likely, the package on their server was corrupted or changed and they are unaware that it is broken. I've emailed one of the developers to notify him of the problem, but haven't heard a response.

I'm sure that once they know what the problem is, that they'll resolve it.

I've opened a ticket with iRex support and called them this morning. They are aware of the problem, it's been escalated to their engineering department, I've been told.

So the fix is coming, sooner or later. Knowing iRex,
more likely later :)

I setup SSH to start on boot, restored my registry to a clean version, requested the developer package, and I believe I've found the problem.

Below is the shell entry in the registry after downloading:


<application type="SHELL">
<appCategory>viewer</appCategory>
<argMask>&lt;FILENAME&gt;</argMask>
<execute>/bin/sh</execute>
<supportFormat>
<extName>sh</extName>
</supportFormat>
<xResourceName>sh</xResourceName>
<ipcChannel>14</ipcChannel>
<appIconPath/>
</application>

Notice the argument mask. On the previous (working) version of the registry it is setup as:

<application type="SHELL">
<appCategory>viewer</appCategory>
<xResourceName>sh</xResourceName>
<ipcChannel>14</ipcChannel>
<argMask>_FILENAME_</argMask>
<execute>/bin/sh</execute>
<supportFormat>
<extName>sh</extName>
</supportFormat>
<appIconPath/>
</application>

It's likely an error in the new installation script.

I've forwarded this information along to the iRex developers. I'm sure they'll get it resolved as soon as they can.

After talking with one of the iRex developers, the problem appears to be fixed.

Can those who weren't able to get shell access to work download the package again?

After talking with one of the iRex developers, the problem appears to be fixed.

Can those who weren't able to get shell access to work download the package again?

So... Do I need to reformat my iLliad? Cause it's still not working for me. Same behavior... Blah. Maybe I'll try again a little later...

So... Do I need to reformat my iLliad? Cause it's still not working for me. Same behavior... Blah. Maybe I'll try again a little later...

You probably will need to reflash with "format" in the config.txt to get it to work... The old (broken) entry is in the registry preventing the working one from being created.

Make sure you back up everything on the internal storage, as a format will erase everything!

Just downloaded the DP again, none of the scripts work. I'll try to reformat tonight....

Yes, it is working.

Had my 2.10.2 iLiad away for 2(!) days joining the battery replacement program.

Came back with 2.12, no shell access (tried mrxvt).

Requested the development package and... voilà! It works.

Product Type: ER0100
PCBA Rev: 3
Software Version: 2.12 build 21201
Kernel: 2.4.19-rmk7-pxa2-irex1 #21100

I'm a happy camper again! :2thumbsup

Dirk :cool:

Yes, it is working.

Had my 2.10.2 iLiad away for 2(!) days joining the battery replacement program.

Came back with 2.12, no shell access (tried mrxvt).

...

Dirk :cool:

@DigiDirk: Man you're lucky! It works for you most likely because you never downloaded the broken DP. My iLiad came with 2.12 preloaded as well. But like Adam B. said the good package doesn't install properly over the broken one!

I'll see if iRex comes up with a workaround. If not, I'll have to reformat my iLiad.

Yes, things worked out fine.

I was quite nervous having delayed firmware upgrade for a while,
sending away a perfect working iLiad... just to read shell access got broken!

Thanks to Adam B. that got fixed while it was away! :thumbsup:

And - sorry - but I'm convinced you have to reformat your iLiad
because the registry won't get replaced any other way! :(

Hope you're back with shell access soon!

Dirk :cool:

Sorry for my ignorance guys, but even though I've been reading this forum since January I still can't get any concrete info on how to reset my Iliad. Could someone please tell me how to do it?
I downloaded the corrupt DP and installed it on my 2.12 Iliadyesterday, so now I need to reformat my device to try with the new DP.

Thanks in advance,

Mario.

See here: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17343

...and you also need this information (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=131777&postcount=13)!

Otherwise the iLiad's registry won't get overwritten, I suppose?!

Dirk :cool:

...and you also need this information (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showpost.php?p=131777&postcount=13)!

Otherwise the iLiad's registry won't get overwritten, I suppose?!

Dirk :cool:

Thanks for pointing that out. I've added a section to that tutorial explaining how to format.

Thanks a lot guys !! I'm going to start working on it right now and see what happens.

Regards,
Mario

Well Adam B., that was impressive! And thanks a million.

It works for me now as well, except I went the long route (ignorance), and reflashed with 'cf-card-contents.zip'. This unfortunately contains 2.10 and thus had to first get the 2.12 upgrade from iDS. But the Developer Package downloaded, and installed after that, with mrxvt 0.4 working fine.

Wonder why iRex did not update the 'cf-card-contents.zip' to the latest version!?

Cheers.

Yes, things worked out fine.

I was quite nervous having delayed firmware upgrade for a while,
sending away a perfect working iLiad... just to read shell access got broken!

Thanks to Adam B. that got fixed while it was away! :thumbsup:

And - sorry - but I'm convinced you have to reformat your iLiad
because the registry won't get replaced any other way! :(

Hope you're back with shell access soon!

Dirk :cool:
That's definitely the problem and solution. Reflash using format option to 2.10. Download 2.12 again and request developer access and download that package.
Checked the mrxvt and it's all working again.
Thanks guys.

Well Adam B., that was impressive! And thanks a million.

Seconded !

Wonder why iRex did not update the 'cf-card-contents.zip' to the latest version!?

Wonder why iRex hand zip, nada, nothing to say about this problem. Until Adam solved it, that is.

Disappointing service to their community, IMHO.

Thanks to AdamB and Irex for releasing the new DP I also have shell access from my 2.12 Iliad.

AdamB you rule and really know your business. If it wasn't for you I guess we all should be waiting for Mat come from China to solve this..

Anyway why doesn't Irex contract you ??

It puzzles me !

Regards,

Kinetic.

Thanks to AdamB and Irex for releasing the new DP I also have shell access from my 2.12 Iliad.

AdamB you rule and really know your business. If it wasn't for you I guess we all should be waiting for Mat come from China to solve this..

Anyway why doesn't Irex contract you ??

It puzzles me !

Regards,

Kinetic.

Hi!

I had the same problem with the v 2.12.
I did reformat but now when I connect to IDS it stop the download with an error : Te downloaded file is corrupt: fs.gz

I tried many times...
Any ideas?

Thanks

Hi!

I had the same problem with the v 2.12.
I did reformat but now when I connect to IDS it stop the download with an error : Te downloaded file is corrupt: fs.gz

I tried many times...
Any ideas?

Thanks

First, I wanted to thank Adam for his help on this one. I reformatted and life is good again, I even got the developer kit, and was able to use mxrvt. It's been a crazy day, so I haven't had any time to try anything else, but I at least know that that much is working.

Ender. I had the same problem at first, too. I... Actually solved it by using a wired connection to do my updates... At least, that's what worked for me.

I have to thanks Adam as well, thanks to him now i can use the Iliad to the fullest and everything is ok.

I too think Irex should employ you.

Regards,

Jose

Wonder why iRex hand zip, nada, nothing to say about this problem. Until Adam solved it, that is.

Disappointing service to their community, IMHO.

iRex's lead developer is out of town, and did not have access to debug this. He was notified by tech support of the problem. Since I was able to find out what the problem was, he could easily fix it on their server. I guess that's one of the perils of being a small company...

I don't do enough quality work for the iLiad to be employed by them, that and I'm not a very good programmer. :) I'm just happy to help the community wherever I can.

iRex's lead developer is out of town, and did not have access to debug this. He was notified by tech support of the problem. Since I was able to find out what the problem was, he could easily fix it on their server. I guess that's one of the perils of being a small company....

I think that simply ignoring a problem one cannot immediately fix is incorrect behaviour.
Posting a simple "We are aware of a problem with Shell Access, and will fix it ASAP" would have been professional and courteous, and would have saved many people's time.


Thanks once again to Adam B for the debugging.

Their lead developer did post a message while he was out of town saying that he had been informed of the problem and would look into it as soon as he got back (from what I've seen he's the only one that works on the developer package). Once Adam gave him the specifics though, he was able to resolve the issue remotely and got it working while he was still away (on vacation?).

I don't know about you, but I would consider that pretty good support. As Adam said, they're a small company and don't have the resources to cover a situation like this. It's not like they're Microsoft or IBM and have a whole team of developers who can fix an issue right away. I think their developer getting it working while he was out of town was pretty nice of him.

Thanks Adam, my iLiad is working now! And I've learned the art of reflashing and formatting along the way.

The only sad thing is that I'm in Ireland at the moment and it's Good Friday - none of the stores sell booze today and all pubs/bars are closed midnight-to-midnight. So I can't even properly celebrate my iLiad's "resurrection" :smack: Oh well, tomorrow is soon enough....

First, I wanted to thank Adam for his help on this one. I reformatted and life is good again, I even got the developer kit, and was able to use mxrvt. It's been a crazy day, so I haven't had any time to try anything else, but I at least know that that much is working.

Ender. I had the same problem at first, too. I... Actually solved it by using a wired connection to do my updates... At least, that's what worked for me.

Hi!
You're absolutely right!
Thanks Adam, and it finally worked with a better connection.

Thanks again.
I couldn't have done this without all your help.
It is really appreciated

Their lead developer did post a message while he was out of town saying that he had been informed of the problem and would look into it as soon as he got back (from what I've seen he's the only one that works on the developer package). Once Adam gave him the specifics though, he was able to resolve the issue remotely and got it working while he was still away (on vacation?).

I don't know about you, but I would consider that pretty good support. As Adam said, they're a small company and don't have the resources to cover a situation like this. It's not like they're Microsoft or IBM and have a whole team of developers who can fix an issue right away. I think their developer getting it working while he was out of town was pretty nice of him.

I did not see any message from iRex, my support ticket went unanswered, as did other people's , I saw several posts asking why iRex said nothing after so long, and one even questioning whether it was a deliberate action or not !

Sorry if I missed the post by their developer, and thanks to him for service beyond the call of duty, but one official "There is a problem, we are working on it" would have prevented all the stress, and given a much better impression of the company - Was their "HTML specialist" also away that week ?!

I like the Iliad a lot, and want to help make it work better, thus I hope iRex management improve their developer communications so that other people who also want to help are not discouraged by week-long outages.

I'll shut up about it now and get back to development :-)

Hi, everybody, I am the new user of iliad. Somebody told me the problem of shell access has been solved, but I still can not install 3rd software at 2.12.
I have tried reflash it to 2.10 via CF, and then upgrade to 2.12 via IDS, everything is fine until now. and then request shell access, this is also ok. The iliad dowload the development package and restart automaticly. But when I try to intall all-in-one pdf or any other 3rd software, it just flash without any other response. Anyone have idea? Just confused. I have tried 3 times, make me frustrated. Thanks

By the way, I lost the capability of reading the Chinese character files/documents name after re-download 2.12. What's going on? I search the forum, know there are some ways to solve the problem like use fonts in memory card. But I just wondering what happened.......

Hi, everybody, I am the new user of iliad. Somebody told me the problem of shell access has been solved, but I still can not install 3rd software at 2.12.
I have tried reflash it to 2.10 via CF, and then upgrade to 2.12 via IDS, everything is fine until now. and then request shell access, this is also ok. The iliad dowload the development package and restart automaticly. But when I try to intall all-in-one pdf or any other 3rd software, it just flash without any other response. Anyone have idea? Just confused. I have tried 3 times, make me frustrated. Thanks

Did you following the instructions to do a full format, which erases everything? Doing a regular reflash won't work because the incorrect settings file still exists.