I JUST got my Kindle 2.0 and was very happy until I tried to connect it to my PC and nothing happened. The battery icon doesn't have a lightning bolt on it (it's about 90% charged right now so it SHOULD be charging when I hooked it up, shouldn't it?) but the yellow light at the bottom of the Kindle is lit. The Kindle's screen doesn't change to the USB screen that the How To guide said it should and my computer doesn't show an extra drive plugged into it or any other message. I tried plugging my Kindle into 3 different USB ports on my computer so it wasn't the USB port's fault. I'm hoping to bring this baby to work (to brag/show off with) and was really hoping to load it with some goodies tonight. Thanks!!

PS: I have wireless off at them moment. I don't think that would change anything, but just in case...

I've read many who had the same complaint, Amazon is sending them new units

Darn. I was hoping I just missed turning on the "Magically everything works now" button or something. I just sent out an e-mail to Amazon. I guess here comes another week or so of constantly watching the 'Track My Packages' page :(

Ervserver: Thanks for the quick reply!!!!!!

mine did the same thing, and all i needed to do was hold down the power buttin for the prescribed 15 seconds to reset it and all was well. Give it a shot, your mileage may vary.

adfleisher: I just tried that and no go (and yes, I saw the 'boot-up' screen when it was turning on). My kindle hates me :(

15 seconds reboot worked for my brand spankin new kindle 2. Out of the box I got no connection when I plugged the USB into my mac - but now things are running smoothly thanks for the help!

I can't get mine to charge either and I did the reboot twice. I don't want to give it up already

Okay, this was really stupid of me, but all I had to do was restart my PC (I don't do that very often b/c it takes forever to reboot and then it took me, like, 3 more restarts before I got my PC normal stuff all working...).

FYI, every time my computer froze and I had to restart before I was able to unplug my Kindle properly, I had to do that hard reset thing on my Kindle.

First, I want to thank folks in this forum & in others I read for helping me troubleshoot the same problem I experienced with my husband's new Kindle 2 (I'm a tech writer, so he lets me solve all his toys' tech problems). We experienced this problem (of the computer not recognizing the Kindle via the USB connection) on both of our Macs & on my office's PC (Windows XP). Per other places on the web, I've seen it has happened to Vista users as well.

Using the reset button was -- for us -- the solution. I did have to reset it more than once, so for those of you who may not yet have had success, be sure to fiddle a bit. Assuming you have the USB hooked up to both your Kindle & computer while you hold the reset button (try counting slowly to 20), on your Kindle, you should see an image of the USB cable when the Kindle is in the correct state of "resettedness." Shortly after that, I saw the Kindle appear in the Finder window. Happy day!

My question/beef is: what's up with Kindle support? & what's up with Kindle documentation? I emailed Amazon a query about this issue before I did the online research & the reply I got from them was that I had to call them personally. Huh? This is clearly a common problem & (for most people) one with a simple, easy-to-describe-solution. Per the online fora, this was a problem for Kindle 1, also. So why doesn't the documentation contain a little troubleshooting tip to this effect & why aren't the support people aware of this simple trick to resolve a seemingly pervasive & common problem? Since it seems to be an intermittent problem also (per what I've read, if you "solve" it once, it may recur but the solution will work again), I recognize that it may be difficult to fix on the Kindle itself, but fixing the documentation & training the support team is comparatively cheap.

This isn't something Amazon can or should hide because they want to pretend the Kindle is problem-free -- iPods have a similar issue & Apple takes the lead in informing users about the "the 5 R's." I hope Amazon fixes its response to this issue since Bezos is betting the store -- so to speak -- on Kindle's success.

Ervserver,
I wish! Actually I made the mistake of telling Amazon that a friend's laptop recognized it so they said problem solved even though it doesn't work on MY computer! And since then have consistently ignored my pleas for help. :(

Ervserver,
I wish! Actually I made the mistake of telling Amazon that a friend's laptop recognized it so they said problem solved even though it doesn't work on MY computer! And since then have consistently ignored my pleas for help. :(

Did your computer act as though it was installing new driver software when you first connected it?

Did your computer act as though it was installing new driver software when you first connected it?

No, it didn't respond whatsoever--it acted as if nothing had been plugged into it. Any ideas?
Thank you.

No, it didn't respond whatsoever--it acted as if nothing had been plugged into it. Any ideas?
Thank you.

What OS are you using?

No, it didn't respond whatsoever--it acted as if nothing had been plugged into it. Any ideas?
Thank you.

Do other USB devices work, like for example, a thumb drive?

Make sure you try the USB ports on the "back" of your computer in addition to those in the front.

BOb

back ports usually have more power.. also, it could be your anti-virus/spyware software holding it up.. turn it off and try it. if it works, then mark it as safe so it works with the software turned on.

I got it to work by plugging my Kindle 2 into a
spare USB socket on my monitor.
It instantly opened an explorer window named "Kindle".

Prior to that I was trying to plug it into a USB socket
on the front of my computer, and explorer would just
hang, every time. I'm running Vista 64 bit.

I had the same problem when I connected to a multiport USB extender. When I connect directly to a USB port on my computer itself, there is no connectivity problem. Try this

I got it to work by plugging my Kindle 2 into a
spare USB socket on my monitor.
It instantly opened an explorer window named "Kindle".

Prior to that I was trying to plug it into a USB socket
on the front of my computer, and explorer would just
hang, every time. I'm running Vista 64 bit.

This is the exact same issue I'm having. Explorer just hangs, but everything goes back to normal the second I unplug the Kindle. This is on a Vista Ultimate 64-bit machine. But I have second computer that is Vista Home Premium 64-bit and plugging the Kindle into the front USB port works just fine. The first machine has an ASUS motherboard and the second a Gigabyte... not sure if that has anything to do with this issue, just FYI.

Everyone--thank you for all the great suggestions. I will try them out. Ironically before I could try some of this I was put in the hospital. However, the Kindle 2 certainly came in handy there! My son said he did get it to work on my home computer briefly before he brought it to me in the hospital, so I'm going to see what he did and try all the things you guys suggested now that I'm home. I'll let you know--thanks so much for all the help!

Everyone--thank you for all the great suggestions. I will try them out. Ironically before I could try some of this I was put in the hospital. However, the Kindle 2 certainly came in handy there! My son said he did get it to work on my home computer briefly before he brought it to me in the hospital, so I'm going to see what he did and try all the things you guys suggested now that I'm home. I'll let you know--thanks so much for all the help!

I wondered what happened to you. I'm sorry you've been in the hospital but glad to read you're back home. :) Let us know how things work out. Welcome back!

Maybe somebody has already mentioned this and I overlooked it while I was going through all the responses - when I first got my Kindle2 my computer wouldn't recognize it either. I did call customer service and the tech I talked to worked with me for over an hour trying to get the problem solved but to no avail. He gathered all the information off my Kindle and promised to have somebody call back within a couple of days.

To make a long story short before anybody had a chance to call me back I was faced with a situation where I had to do a complete "Recovery" on my computer and reload the OS. Believe it or not this solved all my problems with the Kindle.

Everyone--thank you for all the great suggestions. I will try them out. Ironically before I could try some of this I was put in the hospital. However, the Kindle 2 certainly came in handy there! My son said he did get it to work on my home computer briefly before he brought it to me in the hospital, so I'm going to see what he did and try all the things you guys suggested now that I'm home. I'll let you know--thanks so much for all the help!

Well, I tried all the suggestions and one time even got my "Removable disk N" to say Kindle and saw the files from my Kindle 2, yet other than that one time, it simply doesn't work with my computer. I don't think it's even charging it. I wondered if they sent me a bad cable, yet I guess that doesn't make sense since often when I plug my Kindle 2 into my usb on my computer it shows the usb symbol on Kindle screen. Oh, and the only way it even does that is if I put it in the usb port for the printer ONLY. Very strange, I'm so frustrated and confused, and Amazon has not gotten back to me at all. I read someone re-installed the OS but I have so much on my computer that I am avoiding that if at all possible.

Well, I tried all the suggestions and one time even got my "Removable disk N" to say Kindle and saw the files from my Kindle 2, yet other than that one time, it simply doesn't work with my computer. I don't think it's even charging it. I wondered if they sent me a bad cable, yet I guess that doesn't make sense since often when I plug my Kindle 2 into my usb on my computer it shows the usb symbol on Kindle screen. Oh, and the only way it even does that is if I put it in the usb port for the printer ONLY. Very strange, I'm so frustrated and confused, and Amazon has not gotten back to me at all. I read someone re-installed the OS but I have so much on my computer that I am avoiding that if at all possible.

I don't know if you saw this thread (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42890&highlight=kudos+anemicoak) but a reset of the Kindle solved the problem which sounds a little similar to yours. Maybe it will for you as well.

I don't know if you saw this thread (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42890&highlight=kudos+anemicoak) but a reset of the Kindle solved the problem which sounds a little similar to yours. Maybe it will for you as well.

Daffy4U, Thanks for trying to help! I tried the reset and now my computer just gives this message "One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and windows doesn't recognize it" And now there's no USB symbol that pops on the Kindle at all. SO strange huh?

Daffy4U, Thanks for trying to help! I tried the reset and now my computer just gives this message "One of the USB devices attached to this computer has malfunctioned, and windows doesn't recognize it" And now there's no USB symbol that pops on the Kindle at all. SO strange huh?

The only other things I can think of are:

-Re-boot your computer and try again.
-Try a different computer (I know you tried this before), if the Kindle is recognized, there is an issue with your OS, you may have to re-install some drivers
-If the Kindle doesn't work when connected to another computer, call amazon and have them replace it.

I'm sorry this is such a pain. :(

back ports usually have more power.. also, it could be your anti-virus/spyware software holding it up.. turn it off and try it. if it works, then mark it as safe so it works with the software turned on.

Yes, I tried all of these things and tried a bunch of things Amazon suggested. You guys seemed much more helpful :) But nothing worked--and they continued to act as if it was a problem with my computer. Finally at the end of last week a Kindle 2 support guy named Nick called, and walked me through a bunch of stuff, and when it still didn't work, he said forget it we'll send you a replacement. I was upset thinking would be a long time and be without a Kindle, but he arranged for one to be sent and all I had to do was print a label to send the old one back once I got the new one. I received the new one, plugged it in and it worked perfectly!!! Same computer, same usb, same os, same EVERYTHING, so obviously it was their Kindle 2 not my computer this whole time. Anyway, it's wonderful having a working Kindle 2--thanks for everyone's suggestions!!

Holding the power button for 20 seconds fixed problem of: USB device not Recognized on my laptop running Vista 64.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents.... after being frustrated & having spoken with Amazon Tech support, and after getting a replacement kindle......still not working. WE NOW HAVE HAVE SUCCESS. Thank you others for your suggestions.

Here is my solution. We have Vista 32. I was trying to use the usb ports on the front of the computer. Didn't work. So I plugged into one on the back of the computer.

Then down at the lower left, there is an icon that says "Safely Remove hardware". Click that and remove the kindle or F drive or which ever your computer lists.

Reset Kindle... slide top button for the count of 20, let go and let it re-start.

Then plug in your Kindle to the computer with the usb cord to the back of the computer.

Now ...... Right click on your start button, and select open. And navigate to the Kindle which should be showing now in the folder view.

When you are finished........ click off of the kindle folder to any other folder. Then hover over the kindle folder and right click, select eject.

And the usb connect picture on the Kindle will disappear and go back to your menu.

Hope this helps others.........
Barbara :2thumbsup