KOA2 KOReader on KOA2: Possible yet?

downeaster59 · 06-05-2018, 03:54 PM

My apologies if this should be in the KOReader forum!

I have installed KOReader on my KOA2. It seems to be correctly installed, but when I tap "KUAL", then "KOReader", then "Start the filemanager", the display blinks but that's it.

How did I install everything?

Following these instructions, I installed the MR package installer on my KOA2. Then, I added coplate's patched version of the Update_KUALBooklet_v*_install.bin file to the mrpackages folder.

I ran ;log mrpi and everything seemed to install as expected.

I downloaded the latest KOReader nightly. (I also tried the newest stable version, with the same results.) I see KOReader as a menu item in KUAL, so I assume it is installed correctly.

I tap "start the filemanager", as I said previously, and just get one blink on the display.

Did I miss any crucial steps? Will KOReader even run yet on the KOA2? If anyone has succeeded in this, I'd appreciate your help.

NiLuJe · 06-05-2018, 08:51 PM

@downeaster59: No, we need quite a few more bits and pieces to handle the KOA2.

Whith a bigger/annoyinger bit than usual being the screen, because the eInk driver was *significantly* updated. It's both annoying to update, and may require some severe refactoring of bits of KOReader I just spent over a week tweaking >_<".

It's non-trivial, and it requires a bit of digging from someone with a device for the "usual" HW bits (battery, light, etc.). And, ideally, a dev with the device for the screen handling, because that's going to be fuuuun.

downeaster59 · 06-05-2018, 09:04 PM

@ NiLuJe: Thanks for the info. At least, I know that it wasn't some goof on my part!

I understand that the KOA2 presents some unique challenges. No problem. In the meantime, there's always calibre!

NiLuJe · 06-18-2018, 10:07 AM

There may be some basic support coming to a nightly soon, since the screen handling hurdle turned out to be slightly less annoying to deal with than I initially thought.

I'll give you a shout when the code lands in an actual nightly

.

(FWIW, Here's the base PR, and there'll be a matching KO PR once this one lands).

downeaster59 · 06-18-2018, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

There may be some basic support coming to a nightly soon, since the screen handling hurdle turned out to be slightly less annoying to deal with than I initially thought.

I'll give you a shout when the code lands in an actual nightly

.

(FWIW, Here's the base PR, and there'll be a matching KO PR once this one lands).

Thanks so much! From your previous post, it sounded like doing this for the KOA2 would be a serious PITA. Maybe not quite so serious after all - or maybe you (and others) just enjoy a challenge. Thanks for keeping me informed as well.

NiLuJe · 06-18-2018, 12:16 PM

When I initially looked into it, back in November, I didn't have much time, and it had been quite a while since I'd touched the relevant KOReader code.

I was in a hurry, and I mistakenly remembered the code as not modular enough.

Fast-forward to now, after I spent two weeks reworking that code for unrelated reasons, so I'm now once again quite familiar with it, and, yeah, not as bad as I initially thought

. Working on FBInk in the meantime, as well as seeing how Kobo handled the hardware update also helped

.

NiLuJe · 06-24-2018, 11:56 AM

@downeaster59: It should have landed in OTA >= 1745

.

Took a bit longer than I thought, hit a weird snag along the way because my OCD compelled me to try to "fix" something, and that led down a rabbit hole of weird-ass stuff to actually fix... ^^

downeaster59 · 06-24-2018, 06:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

@downeaster59: It should have landed in OTA >= 1745

.

Took a bit longer than I thought, hit a weird snag along the way because my OCD compelled me to try to "fix" something, and that led down a rabbit hole of weird-ass stuff to actually fix... ^^

Thanks!

I see several options @1745. Which one should I use with the KOA2?

Edit: I think I found the answer. PW2, right?

downeaster59 · 06-24-2018, 06:51 PM

I have installed the PW2 version.

When I start the filemanager, my KOA2 display flashes once and then freezes. When I start the filemanager (no framework), I get a blank screen which is also frozen. Wrong version, or some other problem?

PS - I can take this discussion to the KOReader forum if it/s more appropriate there.

NiLuJe · 06-25-2018, 11:44 AM

@downeaster59: Well, crap

.

Can you check if there's something relevant in koreader/crash.log?

Other than that, I'm afraid it's going to be tricky to debug without access to the device... Are you familiar with USBNet?

Lepri · 06-25-2018, 12:17 PM

Here's the crash.log

I'm familiar with USBNet if you mean connect by WinSCP and putty. And I could help.
But I'm not native english speaker. Cannot speak well. But understand it fully though.

downeaster59 · 06-25-2018, 12:18 PM

@NiLuJe:

Attached is a copy of my crash.log, saved as txt.

I can understand the frustration of trying to debug without direct access to a KOA2! I hope the log helps.

I haven't worked with USBNet before, but I can find out stuff about it and see if I can do that.

Thanks again for your help!

7hir7een · 06-25-2018, 01:07 PM

I’m also happy to help you debug again if you need me. I’d love to see KOReader on there

NiLuJe · 06-25-2018, 01:35 PM

Yay, guinea pigs!

.

Jokes aside, yeah, nothing jumps out from the logs, so it's indeed not crashing, which would point to the framebuffer handling code not doing things right...

So, a couple questions for those of you who have a shell access:

* Does FBInk actually manage to print something on your screen? (And do you get an ioctl error or not when you try).

* It's strace time! Download this strace binary, run it like this, and move around a bit in the (Kindle) UI (a bit of everything would be helpful, if you can remember the order in which you did things, that's even better: something like Homescreen, Menu, Library, moving around a bit in the Library, Opening a book, moving around in the book, opening a couple menus in a book).

Code:

./strace -fitv -e trace=ioctl -p $(pidof awesome)

(Make sure you're calling this strace binary (i.e., ./), the one bundled in USBNet and in your $PATH will probably crash on the first screen update

).

^C once you're done, and send me the output

.

NiLuJe · 06-25-2018, 01:38 PM

Oops, I forgot, yes, there was one other helpful bit in the last log: the path to the FL brightness control is wrong... Because I'm stupid and I missed something minor but obvious when c/p the relevant section from the PW3.

This simple change (6 -> 7) may help (once we get the screen working ^^).

06-05-2018, 03:54 PM	#1
downeaster59 Wizard Posts: 1,215 Karma: 2957301 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Rochester, NY Device: iPad mini 6, Onyx Leaf 2, Onyx Tab Mini C, Nook Glowlight 4 Plus	KOReader on KOA2: Possible yet? My apologies if this should be in the KOReader forum! I have installed KOReader on my KOA2. It seems to be correctly installed, but when I tap "KUAL", then "KOReader", then "Start the filemanager", the display blinks but that's it. How did I install everything? Following these instructions, I installed the MR package installer on my KOA2. Then, I added coplate's patched version of the Update_KUALBooklet_v_install.bin file to the mrpackages folder. I ran ;log mrpi* and everything seemed to install as expected. I downloaded the latest KOReader nightly. (I also tried the newest stable version, with the same results.) I see KOReader as a menu item in KUAL, so I assume it is installed correctly. I tap "start the filemanager", as I said previously, and just get one blink on the display. Did I miss any crucial steps? Will KOReader even run yet on the KOA2? If anyone has succeeded in this, I'd appreciate your help.

06-25-2018, 01:35 PM	#14
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Yay, guinea pigs! . Jokes aside, yeah, nothing jumps out from the logs, so it's indeed not crashing, which would point to the framebuffer handling code not doing things right... So, a couple questions for those of you who have a shell access: * Does FBInk actually manage to print something on your screen? (And do you get an ioctl error or not when you try). * It's strace time! Download this strace binary, run it like this, and move around a bit in the (Kindle) UI (a bit of everything would be helpful, if you can remember the order in which you did things, that's even better: something like Homescreen, Menu, Library, moving around a bit in the Library, Opening a book, moving around in the book, opening a couple menus in a book). Code: ./strace -fitv -e trace=ioctl -p $(pidof awesome) (Make sure you're calling this strace binary (i.e., ./), the one bundled in USBNet and in your $PATH will probably crash on the first screen update ). ^C once you're done, and send me the output . Last edited by NiLuJe; 06-25-2018 at 01:40 PM.

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06-05-2018, 08:51 PM	#2
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@downeaster59: No, we need quite a few more bits and pieces to handle the KOA2. Whith a bigger/annoyinger bit than usual being the screen, because the eInk driver was significantly updated. It's both annoying to update, and may require some severe refactoring of bits of KOReader I just spent over a week tweaking >_<". It's non-trivial, and it requires a bit of digging from someone with a device for the "usual" HW bits (battery, light, etc.). And, ideally, a dev with the device for the screen handling, because that's going to be fuuuun.

06-05-2018, 09:04 PM	#3
downeaster59 Wizard Posts: 1,215 Karma: 2957301 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Rochester, NY Device: iPad mini 6, Onyx Leaf 2, Onyx Tab Mini C, Nook Glowlight 4 Plus	@ NiLuJe: Thanks for the info. At least, I know that it wasn't some goof on my part! I understand that the KOA2 presents some unique challenges. No problem. In the meantime, there's always calibre!

06-18-2018, 10:07 AM	#4
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	There may be some basic support coming to a nightly soon, since the screen handling hurdle turned out to be slightly less annoying to deal with than I initially thought. I'll give you a shout when the code lands in an actual nightly . (FWIW, Here's the base PR, and there'll be a matching KO PR once this one lands).

06-18-2018, 12:16 PM	#6
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	When I initially looked into it, back in November, I didn't have much time, and it had been quite a while since I'd touched the relevant KOReader code. I was in a hurry, and I mistakenly remembered the code as not modular enough. Fast-forward to now, after I spent two weeks reworking that code for unrelated reasons, so I'm now once again quite familiar with it, and, yeah, not as bad as I initially thought . Working on FBInk in the meantime, as well as seeing how Kobo handled the hardware update also helped .

06-24-2018, 11:56 AM	#7
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@downeaster59: It should have landed in OTA >= 1745 . Took a bit longer than I thought, hit a weird snag along the way because my OCD compelled me to try to "fix" something, and that led down a rabbit hole of weird-ass stuff to actually fix... ^^

06-24-2018, 06:51 PM	#9
downeaster59 Wizard Posts: 1,215 Karma: 2957301 Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Rochester, NY Device: iPad mini 6, Onyx Leaf 2, Onyx Tab Mini C, Nook Glowlight 4 Plus	I have installed the PW2 version. When I start the filemanager, my KOA2 display flashes once and then freezes. When I start the filemanager (no framework), I get a blank screen which is also frozen. Wrong version, or some other problem? PS - I can take this discussion to the KOReader forum if it/s more appropriate there.

06-25-2018, 11:44 AM	#10
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@downeaster59: Well, crap . Can you check if there's something relevant in koreader/crash.log? Other than that, I'm afraid it's going to be tricky to debug without access to the device... Are you familiar with USBNet?

06-25-2018, 01:07 PM	#13
7hir7een Reader of Books Posts: 204 Karma: 178096 Join Date: Oct 2012 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Basic (11th gen)	I’m also happy to help you debug again if you need me. I’d love to see KOReader on there

06-25-2018, 01:38 PM	#15
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,477 Karma: 26012494 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Oops, I forgot, yes, there was one other helpful bit in the last log: the path to the FL brightness control is wrong... Because I'm stupid and I missed something minor but obvious when c/p the relevant section from the PW3. This simple change (6 -> 7) may help (once we get the screen working ^^).

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