Help me save my Kobo Glo

kaworu1986 · 01-04-2013, 09:53 AM

I have been using my Kobo Glo as a comic reader (and have been loving it) with cbz files.

Today, after copying a very large file (about 700 MB) on it, it froze while rebuilding the library; I tried rebooting the device, which has made things worse: my Kobo never managed to boot at all, instead just getting stuck and I had no way of even accessing its memory to remove the file I believe was causing all this.

After reading that the Glo's back is clipped in and that internally it has a standard microsd card storing the firmware and user accessible memory, I opened it and tried mounting it directly on my pc. Unfortunately, it appears the memory card has been corrupted, since neither windows nor freebsd can recognize the partition table anymore.

Is there any kind soul who has made an image of the Kobo Glo's internal microSD and who could post it so that I could try reimaging it with dd and see if I can get my device back to life?

Thanks a lot in advance.

ichrispa · 01-04-2013, 11:11 AM

Hi kaworu1986,

(1) Put the SD Card back into the reader. Never (ever) remove an integrated usb card from an embedded system! This is not a standard flash drive, it is build specifically for that device. It might contain partition tables with arbritrary offsets, startup images and boot loaders in very diffenrent areas of the disc than what a pc might expect.

(2) After putting everything back together, forget that the case can be opened. Unless you are familiar with the usage of a JTAG debugger and have a programming kit for ARM7 processors at hand.

(3) Try the following to perform a hard reset (supposing you did not ruin your internal flash drive):
3.1) release the power slider while holding down the Home button
3.2) push and release the power slider quickly.

If the factory reset is successfully initiated, the LED will turn red.

This works on the kobo touch, so I suppose it will work on Glo as well.

Good luck.

KevinShort · 01-04-2013, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichrispa

Never (ever) remove an integrated usb card from an embedded system!

Psh, I removed my Glo's internal SD card the day after I got my Glo.

But then, I had a pretty good idea what I was doing. It's VERY easy to brick your Kobo by messing with stuff on the internal card.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ichrispa

Try the following to perform a hard reset (supposing you did not ruin your internal flash drive):
3.1) release the power slider while holding down the Home button
3.2) push and release the power slider quickly.

The Glo has no Home button, but holding the light button supposedly has the same effect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaworu1986

Is there any kind soul who has made an image of the Kobo Glo's internal microSD and who could post it so that I could try reimaging it with dd and see if I can get my device back to life?

I have an image of my Glo's micro SD, though it'll take a while to upload. If you'd like I'll PM you the link once I've uploaded it.

Solicitous · 01-04-2013, 05:45 PM

Might sound silly but I will say what many others say. Is the battery charged? To me trying to process 700mb of files will chew through the battery in no time, and perhaps it has gone flat. I don't have a Kobo anymore (full refund on the Wifi.....long story...well not long just sad.) and I don't know if there is any battery/power management during processing and whether the Kobo will shutdown neatly if power is low while processing new content.

rashkae · 01-04-2013, 06:03 PM

If the partition table got mangled, there must be a serious hardware fault somewhere. Hopefully, it's the SD card itself, since that's an easy replacement. someone else has probably already provided you a download link, but PM me if you still need one.

kaworu1986 · 01-05-2013, 05:33 AM

Hello again.

I would be very grateful if someone (KevinShort?) could PM me a download link (and any parameters necessary for dd or other flashing methods required): so far I did not get one.

To answer some questions:

1. The battery was fully charged when I disconnected the Kobo from the computer.
2. Before opening the device I contacted Kobo's technical support, which made me attempt a factory reset. Unfortunately, the device did not respond at all to the procedure and in the end I was told to ship the Kobo back.
3. I tried what I did as I read somewhere else on the forum someone describing the partition structure (2 linux formatted partitions for system data + 1 fat partition for user data) and figured at that point I had nothing to lose by cracking the thing open and trying to remove the offending file myself from a PC.

Thanks everyone for all the help so far.

KevinShort · 01-05-2013, 06:14 PM

I've uploaded my image and sent you a PM.
No special parameters are required to flash with dd.

Code:

dd if=glo_factory.img of=YOUR_SD_CARD

rashkae · 01-07-2013, 04:34 PM

I neglected to mention this when I PM's instructions, but actually, if your using DD to write to a raw device (such as, the sd card) its' a very good idea, performance wise, to specify a larber Block size. For dd, you would include a parameter like bs=1M

kaworu1986 · 01-10-2013, 11:00 AM

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped: my Kobo Glo is alive again!!! ^O^

ichrispa · 01-11-2013, 05:59 AM

Please be so kind to tell everyone who might have the same problem how you reanimated your kobo glow

erlendur · 01-11-2013, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KevinShort

I have an image of my Glo's micro SD, though it'll take a while to upload. If you'd like I'll PM you the link once I've uploaded it.

Hello KevinShort,

may I ask you to send me a PM for downloading the Glo SD image, too? It would give me much help and a little bit safety while operating with my Glo (once it was nearly bricked after FW sideloading, factory reset worked only after a lot of time and trials).
BTW: What firmware version is your image?

Thank you very much in advance!

giorgio130 · 01-11-2013, 07:50 AM

As I said in another thread, this tecnique could make the serial number of your Kobos the same. Could you check via PMs if this is the case? (Don't put your serial number here, it is personal data).

KevinShort · 01-11-2013, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by erlendur

Hello KevinShort,

may I ask you to send me a PM for downloading the Glo SD image, too? It would give me much help and a little bit safety while operating with my Glo (once it was nearly bricked after FW sideloading, factory reset worked only after a lot of time and trials).
BTW: What firmware version is your image?

Thank you very much in advance!

I'll be happy to as soon as I hear back from kaworu1986 whether our serial numbers are the same now or not. If they are identical,which I suspect, it shouldn't be too hard to modify the serial number in my image.

erlendur · 01-12-2013, 11:22 AM

That's ok for me, thanks. It's really not urgent, because I only would like to have it for recovering in case of emergency. Unfortunately I so far did not manage to open my Glo - its back cover fits very tight and I'm afraid to make damages if I apply more violence. If I had opened it I would have made the SD image for myself. But I will continue with my opening trials only if there is no other help left...

ichrispa · 01-13-2013, 08:28 AM

Sidenote to kaworu:

You need enough space to store the entire internal sd card (about 2GB) on the sd card plugged into the reader. If you do not have a second sd card, you can use netcat to send the image across a tcp/ip connection to your pc.

on you pc, do

Code:

netcat -l -p 8000 > sd.img

You can of course pick a port between 1024 and 65000 (yes, 65somethingthousand. Use a calculator).

On your kobo, do

Code:

dd bs=1024 if=/dev/mmblk0 of=- | busybox netcat <ip of your pc> 8000

I use this method because I do not have a spare sd card in my kobo.

01-04-2013, 09:53 AM	#1
kaworu1986 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Kobo H2O	Help me save my Kobo Glo I have been using my Kobo Glo as a comic reader (and have been loving it) with cbz files. Today, after copying a very large file (about 700 MB) on it, it froze while rebuilding the library; I tried rebooting the device, which has made things worse: my Kobo never managed to boot at all, instead just getting stuck and I had no way of even accessing its memory to remove the file I believe was causing all this. After reading that the Glo's back is clipped in and that internally it has a standard microsd card storing the firmware and user accessible memory, I opened it and tried mounting it directly on my pc. Unfortunately, it appears the memory card has been corrupted, since neither windows nor freebsd can recognize the partition table anymore. Is there any kind soul who has made an image of the Kobo Glo's internal microSD and who could post it so that I could try reimaging it with dd and see if I can get my device back to life? Thanks a lot in advance.

01-05-2013, 06:14 PM	#7
KevinShort Addict Posts: 348 Karma: 209937 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Virginia, US Device: Kobo Wifi, Kobo Glo	I've uploaded my image and sent you a PM. No special parameters are required to flash with dd. Code: dd if=glo_factory.img of=YOUR_SD_CARD

01-13-2013, 08:28 AM	#15
ichrispa Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 8604 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Germany Device: Kobo Touch	Sidenote to kaworu: You need enough space to store the entire internal sd card (about 2GB) on the sd card plugged into the reader. If you do not have a second sd card, you can use netcat to send the image across a tcp/ip connection to your pc. on you pc, do Code: netcat -l -p 8000 > sd.img You can of course pick a port between 1024 and 65000 (yes, 65somethingthousand. Use a calculator). On your kobo, do Code: dd bs=1024 if=/dev/mmblk0 of=- \| busybox netcat <ip of your pc> 8000 I use this method because I do not have a spare sd card in my kobo.

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01-04-2013, 11:11 AM	#2
ichrispa Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 8604 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Germany Device: Kobo Touch	Hi kaworu1986, (1) Put the SD Card back into the reader. Never (ever) remove an integrated usb card from an embedded system! This is not a standard flash drive, it is build specifically for that device. It might contain partition tables with arbritrary offsets, startup images and boot loaders in very diffenrent areas of the disc than what a pc might expect. (2) After putting everything back together, forget that the case can be opened. Unless you are familiar with the usage of a JTAG debugger and have a programming kit for ARM7 processors at hand. (3) Try the following to perform a hard reset (supposing you did not ruin your internal flash drive): 3.1) release the power slider while holding down the Home button 3.2) push and release the power slider quickly. If the factory reset is successfully initiated, the LED will turn red. This works on the kobo touch, so I suppose it will work on Glo as well. Good luck.

01-04-2013, 05:45 PM	#4
Solicitous Wizard Posts: 1,434 Karma: 1525776 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: TAS, Australia Device: Astak Pocket Pro (Black), 2 x Kindle WiFi (Graphite), iPod Touch 4G	Might sound silly but I will say what many others say. Is the battery charged? To me trying to process 700mb of files will chew through the battery in no time, and perhaps it has gone flat. I don't have a Kobo anymore (full refund on the Wifi.....long story...well not long just sad.) and I don't know if there is any battery/power management during processing and whether the Kobo will shutdown neatly if power is low while processing new content.

01-04-2013, 06:03 PM	#5
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,141 Karma: 5061953 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	If the partition table got mangled, there must be a serious hardware fault somewhere. Hopefully, it's the SD card itself, since that's an easy replacement. someone else has probably already provided you a download link, but PM me if you still need one.

01-05-2013, 05:33 AM	#6
kaworu1986 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Kobo H2O	Hello again. I would be very grateful if someone (KevinShort?) could PM me a download link (and any parameters necessary for dd or other flashing methods required): so far I did not get one. To answer some questions: 1. The battery was fully charged when I disconnected the Kobo from the computer. 2. Before opening the device I contacted Kobo's technical support, which made me attempt a factory reset. Unfortunately, the device did not respond at all to the procedure and in the end I was told to ship the Kobo back. 3. I tried what I did as I read somewhere else on the forum someone describing the partition structure (2 linux formatted partitions for system data + 1 fat partition for user data) and figured at that point I had nothing to lose by cracking the thing open and trying to remove the offending file myself from a PC. Thanks everyone for all the help so far.

01-07-2013, 04:34 PM	#8
rashkae Wizard Posts: 1,141 Karma: 5061953 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura HD	I neglected to mention this when I PM's instructions, but actually, if your using DD to write to a raw device (such as, the sd card) its' a very good idea, performance wise, to specify a larber Block size. For dd, you would include a parameter like bs=1M

01-10-2013, 11:00 AM	#9
kaworu1986 Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 100000 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Kobo H2O	A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped: my Kobo Glo is alive again!!! ^O^

01-11-2013, 05:59 AM	#10
ichrispa Enthusiast Posts: 40 Karma: 8604 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Germany Device: Kobo Touch	Please be so kind to tell everyone who might have the same problem how you reanimated your kobo glow

01-11-2013, 07:50 AM	#12
giorgio130 Time Waster Posts: 422 Karma: 289160 Join Date: May 2011 Device: Kobo Glo and Aura HD	As I said in another thread, this tecnique could make the serial number of your Kobos the same. Could you check via PMs if this is the case? (Don't put your serial number here, it is personal data).

01-12-2013, 11:22 AM	#14
erlendur Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 4350 Join Date: Jan 2013 Device: Kobo Glo	That's ok for me, thanks. It's really not urgent, because I only would like to have it for recovering in case of emergency. Unfortunately I so far did not manage to open my Glo - its back cover fits very tight and I'm afraid to make damages if I apply more violence. If I had opened it I would have made the SD image for myself. But I will continue with my opening trials only if there is no other help left...