Hi guys, wondering if anyone else has got similar issues with his device.

Recently I purchased a Cybook Gen3 device and besides the bugs reported on every forum (system crashing, filesystem being corrupted, erase button not working and so on), the reset button on my device is not working and also the mobibooks I put on it get corrupted.

Here is what happens when the reset button is pressed:
1) Press reset button (green light never flashes but probably that's a "feature" :D ) and the device won't reset;
2) Press the power button and then it resets.

Basically the reset button behaves like the power button only that it leaves the screen turned on :cool: . However if the os has crashed, none of the above will work. I have to press reset, plug the usb cable (at this point the red light shines beautifully), press the power button and then the device reboots.

As for the mobibook, every such book I copy on the SD (the filesystem got corrupted the last time and I won't dare copying anything on it from now on) I can't see it in the library and when I look on the SD, it's size is cropped to something like 65KB.

Here is the versions of the software installed on the device:
boo reader ver 1.0 (build 538)
mobipocket reader ver 6.0 (build 60)

Any ideas?
Thanks

Here is what happens when the reset button is pressed:
1) Press reset button (green light never flashes but probably that's a "feature" :D ) and the device won't reset;
2) Press the power button and then it resets.


That is how it should work. The reset button seems to turn the unit off (the screen is not cleared since it is turned off directly).


Basically the reset button behaves like the power button only that it leaves the screen turned on :cool: . However if the os has crashed, none of the above will work. I have to press reset, plug the usb cable (at this point the red light shines beautifully), press the power button and then the device reboots.


It should work. Are you sure the crash is not because the battery is empty?


As for the mobibook, every such book I copy on the SD (the filesystem got corrupted the last time and I won't dare copying anything on it from now on) I can't see it in the library and when I look on the SD, it's size is cropped to something like 65KB.


Well, if the file system is corrupted you have to fix this. Remember to do umount (Linux) or safely remove hardware (Windows) before disconnecting cable.

I really don't understand why so many people are having problems with filesystem corruption. Do people really just pull out the USB cable without properly dismounting the device first?

That is how it should work. The reset button seems to turn the unit off (the screen is not cleared since it is turned off directly).


Right, my bad, I assumed it works like any other reset button. :)


It should work. Are you sure the crash is not because the battery is empty?

One time i think it was the battery (the 10% battery level bug), the other times probably it was the filesystem because after I unplugged the battery and reconnected it, everything worked fine - probably it fixed the problem when it remounted the vfat partition or when it reloaded the modules.


Well, if the file system is corrupted you have to fix this. Remember to do umount (Linux) or safely remove hardware (Windows) before disconnecting cable.

I'm not mounting its system partition just to avoid corrupting the filesystem. I only mount the sd card. Maybe I should backup whatever I find on its fs and format it.

Does anyone know if there is a way to open a console on the device?

I really don't understand why so many people are having problems with filesystem corruption. Do people really just pull out the USB cable without properly dismounting the device first?

Probably. And yet is happens even when the device is properly dismounted so... And it happens on windows too. Good luck doing an "umount" on windows.

The "Safely Remove Hardware" widget on the Windows system tray does a safe unmount. I use that religiously and have not had a single file system problem in the almost 6 months I've had my Gen3.

There do appear to be some SD cards that the Gen3 is not at all happy with. Several people here who've experienced major problems with an SD card have switched to a different card and all their problems have instantly stopped. Could be worth trying?

The "Safely Remove Hardware" widget on the Windows system tray does a safe unmount. I use that religiously and have not had a single file system problem in the almost 6 months I've had my Gen3.

There do appear to be some SD cards that the Gen3 is not at all happy with. Several people here who've experienced major problems with an SD card have switched to a different card and all their problems have instantly stopped. Could be worth trying?

Excellent suggestion about the SD card, I'll try this. Thanks. And I didn't know about the "Safely Remove Hardware" widget. Again, thanks.

Thanks guys for your help.

The "Safely Remove Hardware" widget on the Windows system tray does a safe unmount. I use that religiously and have not had a single file system problem in the almost 6 months I've had my Gen3.


I never use the "Safely Remove Hardware" button. And I never ever had any problem with data corruption on any device. But I've seen it happen with people who copy a big file to a device and pull the device imediately from the USB port without waiting for the transfer to finish. Some people seem to thing that a copy takes no time at all.

I started using it religiously after corrupting my iLiad's file system once through not doing it. I figure that, for the few seconds it takes to do, it's worth it for the "peace of mind". I do notice, for example, that with my USB memory stick, even if I wait several minutes after copying the data, when I do the "Safely Remove Hardware", the "activity" light on the USB stick often flashes madly for a couple of seconds before I get the "it's OK to move the device" indication. Clearly data is being "flushed" to the device when the dismount is done.

I never use the "Safely Remove Hardware" button. And I never ever had any problem with data corruption on any device. But I've seen it happen with people who copy a big file to a device and pull the device imediately from the USB port without waiting for the transfer to finish. Some people seem to thing that a copy takes no time at all.

That is not safe. You are right that it seems to work most of the times.

I wonder how the SD card is made to work as an USB disk in the Cybook. Maybe it is a small Linux kernel running from ROM that gives you this functionality and if so then this Linux probably buffer data. Or is it a chipset that gives this functionality?

That is not safe. You are right that it seems to work most of the times.


There is also the choice in Windows to 'optimize' a device for speed of for fast removal. I always check fast removal. That means no data is cached, ever.

I only use optimize for speed for fixed drives

There is also the choice in Windows to 'optimize' a device for speed of for fast removal. I always check fast removal. That means no data is cached, ever.


Theoretically, yes; in practice, it doesn't appear to be very reliable. I have all my USB devices (except hard disks) set to "optimise for fast removal" but, in spite of that, I've managed to corrupt my iLiad by unplugging the USB cable without a safe removal, and get definite data activity on a USB memory stick when doing a safe removal. I honestly wouldn't trust it.

There seems to be a bug in Vista related to this:

http://www.pctipsbox.com/fix-vistas-safely-remove-hardware-mechanism/#more-973

I'm using XP :).

I honestly think that, for the - what? 5 seconds? it takes to click on the "Safely Remove Hardware" widget and select the appropriate device, it's crazy not to. Why take the chance of corrupting your filestore and having all the hassle of perhaps having to reflash the ROM, restore all your books, etc?

I really don't understand why so many people are having problems with filesystem corruption. Do people really just pull out the USB cable without properly dismounting the device first?

Ummm... YES!

Let me explain. In versions 0.91-1.00 (build 468) using my 'engineering sample' Cybook, I had *NO*, *NONE*, *NOT ONE* problem doing that.

With the retail Cybook that replaced it, I'm doing the 'safely remove hardware' bit *EVERY SINGLE TIME* and I've had no problem - but I had corrupted filesystem just unplugging the cable. Go figure.

Derek