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Old 01-11-2013, 08:28 AM   #46
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I think that my issue with the dictionary arises only when I try to change the dictionary.

So, if I reboot my Reader, open the dictionary, change the dictionary, press the home button, open book, use dictionary. Everything works fine.

Now since changing the dictionary is one of the parameters in the "Settings" app, the issue might be related to the latter app.

The issue if getting problems after waking the Reader from sleep might also be related to the Settings app, since there's a setting related to sleep mode (Cover of last book/ Selected pictures, show message).

Where are these settings stored? On the data partition? If this is so, what would happen if I format the data partition clean? Will the unit be "factory initialised"?
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Old 01-14-2013, 06:41 AM   #47
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Have you ever tried one of the following procedures?

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/PRST...le_Permissions

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/PRST...mission_errors

This way, I got my dictionary fixed several times... But I suspect it fill break again sooner or later....

I also made my T1 run fixpermission.sh automatically on device boot via install_recovery.sh which made my rooted T1 much more stable.

You also might have to fsck your data partition - it easily gets corrupted on inproper device shutdown and there is no auto repair on boot. you can fix it on recovery console with e2fsck static binaries. Just download the binaries from here: http://packages.debian.org/squeeze/a...tatic/download

As you cannot run binaries from reader partition or external sd card, so you'll have to put them somewhere else. As you may want to fsck the data and system partition, I suggest you to put the e2fsck binary onto the preload partition (just free some space there by deleting foreign language books you don't wanna read). You'll have to make it executable via chmod +x of course.



Settings are stored in /data/data subfolders BTW.


And yes - if you format the data partition, it is like a factory init which should fix most problems. It might also be necessary to delete some settings stuff from the reader partition as well - or just wipe it completely.



One thing you should never mess with is the first 26MB of the internal flash device. There is a bunch of raw data hidden in it that cannot easily be restored and there are some folks on the forum that already bricked their devices (irreversibly!!).

All you should have to deal with is the reader, data, system partitions.


Here are some additional sources of information:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=163137
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=166723
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=189735
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Old 01-14-2013, 05:35 PM   #48
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Thank you for your reply, uboot. Actually at the moment, my Reader is not rooted so fixing permissions and all the rest is not a real option.

Actually I tried rooting it again and the rooting failed. It never got out of recovery mode after a much longer time that usual and a manual reset blocked my Reader. So I reflashed the restore set. I got a working reader again even though the "script" file contained gibberish.

In one of your links I read about a Ramdisk. From what I know, this is a temporary disk created in RAM to store the kernel, right? In which partition is the kernel installed? Is there a way to check for it's integrity?
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Old 01-15-2013, 05:38 AM   #49
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in one of my links you'll find an address table of the raw data partition including the offsets for the kernel.

but i doubt that your kernel got corrupted by itself. kernel, initrd and friends are read-only and I see no reason for you to deal with these things.

the kernel might become an issue by mixing non-matching firmware updates / restore sets.

the restore set does not touch the kernel. but firmware updates may do. if you apply the wrong restore set, the kernel might not be compatible.

but i guess your dictionary problems are not related to the kernel. it is more likely a permissions or file system integrity issue.

and last but not least - the stock reader software including the dictionary have bugs...

and last but not least - the dictionary is buggy
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Old 01-16-2013, 04:39 AM   #50
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Thank you for your answer.

So if my problem is with the file system, do you have a recommendation for a possible solution? I tried flashing restore set, factory reset and the problem remains, so this makes me think the problem is not with the system or data partitions which these two operations should replace completely. So, which other partitions could contain the culprit of this problem?

I might probably get hold of another, non-rooted PRS-T1. Assuming both have the same firmware version, which partitions are safe to copy from one to the other without risking to brick the old one?
And on linux should I backup using the
Code:
dd if=/dev/sdbX of=sdbX_backup.bin bs=512
command (where X is the partition to backup)? I read the man page but didn't quite understand the meaning of the bs option. What is the best value for this option?

I agree with what was said earlier that the problem seems to be related to waking from sleep. If I turn off and on again and try using the dictionary and the reader, I notice the bugs related to the Reader and Dictionary app (sometimes the definition box at the bottom doesn't appear at all, other times is appears only for a second when clicking somewhere else on the page) but the unit doesn't become unresponsive and I can change the dictionary without the unit becoming unresponsive.

What if it is a fault RAM problem? This would explain corrupted data being written but would it explain why the unit works reasonably well before sleep and have the tendency to crash after waking up?

Thanks a million for your help.
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Old 01-18-2013, 07:03 AM   #51
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I tested mine and the dictionary problem only happens after sleep also. Perhaps sleep fills a part of FLASH RAM with a STATIC RAM image as happens with windows. After restoring that image, maybe it leaves that image in FLASH RAM in an area that is used for storing a "dictionary history".

It looks like a memory leak too me. It first started happening after I tried installing "Modified Reader by morkl".

I concede that I am no expert in this area and hope that these ideas aren't too boneheaded. Good Luck.
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Old 01-18-2013, 10:08 AM   #52
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Actually what I'm doing at the moment is to turn it off while not in use instead of putting on sleep and I'm not experiencing problems. It is annoying to have to wait for the Reader to turn each time however.
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Old 01-21-2013, 03:28 PM   #53
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I tested my unit by not letting it go to sleep but turn it off when I finish reading. On turning it on again, I was able to read, use the dictionary, change the dictionary without problems.

The issue seems definitely related to going to sleep or waking from sleep.

I'm not convinced it is a Ram issue, because if that was the case, I would have had problems while using it the way I was doing these last days.

I suspect that while my unit was rooted, a malicious app that I might have installed could have modified something not in the system or data partitions because if the problem was there, then the restore set, combined with a factory reset would have solved the issue.

So by exclusion I suspect that that the presumed malicious code lies elsewhere. The question is, in which partition? And therefore, is it possible to copy this partition from another PRS-T1?

Any help is mostly appreciated.
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Old 01-22-2013, 05:39 AM   #54
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Did you ever apply a restore set that did not match the firmware version?

Also - there is a handy thing build into Android (and any other Linux based system): LOGFILES!

You can use ADB or the logcat app or even the preinstalled testmode app to watch the system log for errors.

Here is an explanation on how to enter test mode on unrooted readers: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/PRST...ering_Testmode

Within test mode, there is a log dump feature which dumps the system log to sdcard.

Regarding sleep mode - there is no swapping between RAM and flash. RAM is powered all the time and only the cpu will go to a low power state during sleep.



I definitely to not believe that other partitions than system or data have been corrupted. The only thing I can imagine is that the kernel image does not match the system partition because you flashed a restore set that did not match the firmware version....

Last edited by uboot; 01-22-2013 at 05:45 AM.
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Old 01-22-2013, 08:15 AM   #55
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I did use an sd rescue for 1.03 when I had 1.04 firmware installed because the 1.04 sd rescue did not work properly. But now I have the 1.05 firmware. I guess that the latest Sony firmware update did not update the kernel.

Is the kernel in the Diag partition? Is it safe to copy this partition from another Reader having the 1.05 firmware?

Last edited by entodoays; 01-23-2013 at 06:14 PM.
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Old 01-22-2013, 09:12 AM   #56
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Thanks uboot. I entered Testmode and extracted log files.

Here's a log file extract. It seems strange to me that on an unrooted device there is reference to GMAIL and google calendar.

In test mode how do I check which kernel version is installed? Can I do it through adb? Which command should I use "uname -r" like on Linux?

I noticed in particular these error messages:
Code:
2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 W dalvikvm (2308:2308) [log_main    ] ERROR: Unable to find decl for native Lcom/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier;.getProductName ()Ljava/lang/String;

2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 W dalvikvm (2308:2308) [log_main    ] ERROR: Unable to find decl for native Lcom/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier;.getSkuName ()Ljava/lang/String;

2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 W dalvikvm (2308:2308) [log_main    ] ERROR: Unable to find decl for native Lcom/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier;.getSerialNumber ()Ljava/lang/String;

2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 W dalvikvm (2308:2308) [log_main    ] ERROR: Unable to find decl for native Lcom/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier;.getServiceId ()Ljava/lang/String;

2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 W dalvikvm (2308:2308) [log_main    ] ERROR: Unable to find decl for native Lcom/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier;.getMacAddress ()Ljava/lang/String;

2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 W dalvikvm (2308:2308) [log_main    ] ERROR: Unable to find decl for native Lcom/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier;.getPsn ()Ljava/lang/String;

2013-01-22 17:15:06.391 E JNIHelp (2308:2308) [log_main    ] RegisterNatives failed for 'com/sony/drbd/ebook/system/Identifier'
Attached Files
File Type: txt Log_file_extract.txt (14.4 KB, 855 views)

Last edited by entodoays; 01-22-2013 at 11:49 AM. Reason: Added more info
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Old 01-23-2013, 05:11 PM   #57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by entodoays View Post
I did use an sd rescue for 1.03 when I had 1.04 firmware installed because the 1.04 kernel did not work properly. But now I have the 1.05 kernel. I guess that the latest Sony firmware update did not update the kernel.

Is the kernel in the Diag partition? Is it safe to copy this partition from another Reader having the 1.05 firmware?
The problem is: the restore packages do not change/restore the kernel because during rooting, the kernel is not touched. (I am speaking of the normal kernel, not the recovery kernel)

Now, if you apply a Sony firmware update, it _may_ change the kernel. Not all firmware updates do overwrite the kernel, some only flash the system partition and leave the kernel like it was.

So, if the firmware update did change the kernel and you then apply a root or a restore package that does not match the firmware version, you may run into trouble.

As far as I remember, the 1.04 firmware update _does_ change the kernel.

What I do not understand is - how can you have a 1.05 kernel installed and simultaneously claim that 1.05 firmware did not change the kernel?


The only solution is: apply a restore set that matches the installed firmware version. This should restore the reader to a sane state.

Then do a factory reset, just in case.
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Old 01-23-2013, 06:12 PM   #58
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First of all I wrote 1.05 kernel when I wanted to write 1.05 firmware. Sorry for the confusion.

I already applied the 1.05 restore set which matches the firmware version. I did a factory reset after that as well, but without any luck.

I have access to a second PRS-T1 in a clean, unrooted state with 1.05 firmware. What if I copied the partitions one by one to the faulty one? Is the unique information (serial number, etc) only in the 26Mb "unpartitioned space" at the beginning of the drive? If this is so, copying the rest might solve the issue, right?

Do you know what the error messages I posted mean?
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Old 01-24-2013, 07:49 AM   #59
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The error messages indicate some mismatch between system files or app files.

For instance, an app is seperated into the apk file, runtime libraries, odex files and dalvik cache. If one of these files does not match the others -> trouble.

Also, there are depencendies of apks on the underlying Android framework and within the Android framework files, there are also dependencies.

So, to me it looks like some file got replaced and now does not meet file dependencies.

But all of this is related to data and system partition only! No need to hassle with other partitions...

The problem with some restore sets is, that they do not flash a clean data partition. This may lead to problems, so to be save, I recommend a full factory reset after applying a restore set, such that data and reader partition get formated and on next boot get re-initialized.


But you can - indeed - copy the partitions one by one and as long as you do not touch the raw boot area (first 24MB), it should be relatively save...


In your case I would do the following:
1.) Make a new backup of the partitions of your faulty reader.
2.) Make a backup of the partitions of the good reader.
3.) Do a binary comparison of the backup images! This way you'll know for sure if one of the partitions other than data/system/reader is corrupted... And finally you will only have to restore the bad partitions.


Here is a descriptive list of all partitions:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...3&postcount=37

Last edited by uboot; 01-24-2013 at 04:13 PM.
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Old 01-24-2013, 06:05 PM   #60
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So I tried flashing the restore set followed by a factory reset, without allowing my reader to go to sleep in between. The problem, as anticipated was not solved.

Then I backed up the good Reader, in full first, then partition by partition.

I ran a 'diff' comparison between faulty and good PRS-T1s and all partitions differed except fonts.

I restored the preload, system, data and dictionaries partitions from the new to the faulty one using the "dd if=sdb1.bin of=/dev/sdb1" command, etc. Tested it out. Put on sleep and after waking up it seemed to work fine, until I used the browser. The latter applications seemed to hang. At this point, using the dictionary made the Reader unresponsive for around 30 s or more. I tried turning off and on again. No luck. Same situation.

At this point I tried restoring the Diag partition. dd gave me an input/output error. The same I got when trying to do a second full backup of the faulty Reader. Tried modifying some dd parameters (adding "conv=notrunc,noerror", modifying the "bs=" value). No luck. It would stick at 2.5 Mb.

I tried to restore the old Diag backup from the faulty reader. Got stuck at 2.5 Mb as well. Do not know how to fix this. Any clues?

Haven't touched the Recovery and SETTING partitions yet. I might try to see if anything changes.

Tried a factory reset again. Tested dictionary, change dictionary before and after wake up from sleep - worked OK. Set up wifi and opened browser. Browser hanged.

I attached an extract of the logs showing problems with sleep mode. It seems a kernel problem.
Attached Files
File Type: txt log_extract.txt (3.9 KB, 720 views)

Last edited by entodoays; 01-24-2013 at 06:14 PM. Reason: Adding log files
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