[mogui]

It is easy to see when the display on an LCD device is broken. You don't see anything, or you see something messy. On an E-ink device, the broken display screen can show data, but fail to change.

Maybe there are some signs we can use to tell if the processor is running. I am not sure if the power switch LED is a valid indicator of processor activity. It could be simply tied into the charging circuit electrically.

If you can get a blue light by pressing the mark button, I would guess you are activating the processor. If the processor is running and the device is on, the processor should be scanning keys. Thus, if you have waited enough time for the Reader to boot and the screen remains unchanging, and you can get some behavioral change by pushing buttons, you have a broken display.

Another test would be to see if you can connect using the Connect software on your PC. If the Connect software can see the contents of your Reader, but the display fails to change, you have a broken display.