Need help unbricking a PW1

[RoBoKoP]

I was hacking around with my PW and ended up bricking it. I am not exactly sure how this happened.
Its stuck in the Please wait a moment while your Kindle starts up.
`lsusb` shows "Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. i.MX50 SystemOnChip in RecoveryMode"
Is there anyway I can recover the device?

[RoBoKoP]

So here's what I tried so far:
- use imx_usb_loader to *try to* get the device into fastboot mode.
- use yifanlu's fastboot kindle tool which just says "waiting for device"

[knc1]

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

I was hacking around with my PW and ended up bricking it. I am not exactly sure how this happened.
Its stuck in the Please wait a moment while your Kindle starts up.
`lsusb` shows "Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. i.MX50 SystemOnChip in RecoveryMode"
Is there anyway I can recover the device?

Follow the on-screen directions.
You can translate "a moment" as a "few days".

That is the very first thing to try, and keep it on a wall charger all of that time.
There is a chance that it is trying to re-build the filesystems on a storage device with bad blocks - a slow process.

During the next several days that you are waiting for it to recover -
go over any notes or logs you may have so you can give us more details of what you where trying to do and what you actually did.

"I broke it" does not give us much to go on.

[RoBoKoP]

the kindle won't boot.
before it bricked I was playing with system_diags while the kindle is on. (I mounted mmc p2)
this caused some screen corruptions so I had to reboot.
the kindle never booted again.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

- - - -
Its stuck in the Please wait a moment while your Kindle starts up.
`lsusb` shows "Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. i.MX50 SystemOnChip in RecoveryMode"
Is there anyway I can recover the device?

Originally Posted by knc1

Follow the on-screen directions.
You can translate "a moment" as a "few days".

That is the very first thing to try, and keep it on a wall charger all of that time.
There is a chance that it is trying to re-build the filesystems on a storage device with bad blocks - a slow process.
- - - -

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

the kindle won't boot.
before it bricked I was playing with system_diags while the kindle is on. (I mounted mmc p2)
this caused some screen corruptions so I had to reboot.
the kindle never booted again.

Where did I say that it had to completely boot?

Do as I said above, leave it sit at the "Please wait..." screen while attached to a wall charger for at least a few days.

"a few days" means more than two and less than ten.

[RoBoKoP]

it's not booting ='(

[knc1]

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

it's not booting ='(

Well, phooey.
I was hoping the easy solution would be the correct solution.

All of the details of the boot process are being sent to the serial port.
We should be able to tell what is wrong from the messages, just like troubleshooting a desktop system.
Do you have a serial port connection installed?

[knc1]

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

the kindle won't boot.
before it bricked I was playing with system_diags while the kindle is on. (I mounted mmc p2)
this caused some screen corruptions so I had to reboot.
the kindle never booted again.

You had to have been running the 'main' OS, otherwise mmc p2 would have been busy and you couldn't have mounted it.

While running the 'main' OS, no changes to the alternate boot system would have corrupted the screen.

Which means probably a typo -
a change intended for the 'diags' system was done to the 'main' system.

OR

Something shared by the two systems (/var/local is shared between the two systems, but I can't think of anything there that would have corrupted the screen).

Just exactly what where you trying to change?
Any information might help.

Writing to the screen frame buffer would have made changes to the screen (but not anything that wouldn't be cleared by a re-boot).

Any chance of **two** or more changes?
One, not noticable while running, only affecting the boot process.
The second one that made changes to the display (which would not have a lasting effect).

[RoBoKoP]

I don't have a serial connection available.
The device was indeed running the main OS before I rebooted.
I mounted p2 to /tmp/m and ran `# (cd /tmp/m/opt/factory/ && ./system_diags)`
I did change stuff using the S) S) menu.
When I did, I remember seeing S/N and MAC address values being "undefined" or something like that (the actual values were gone).
That's when I rebooted.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

I don't have a serial connection available.
The device was indeed running the main OS before I rebooted.
I mounted p2 to /tmp/m and ran `# (cd /tmp/m/opt/factory/ && ./system_diags)`
I did change stuff using the S) S) menu.
When I did, I remember seeing S/N and MAC address values being "undefined" or something like that (the actual values were gone).
That's when I rebooted.

Hmm...
That is a compiled program on mine, so I can't easily see what S) S) menu is all about.
What is S) S) menu in words?
What firmware version where you running when you broke it?

= = = = =

At a rough guess based on the strings in that compiled program, it looks like something that should only have been run from the initramfs system (I.E: with most of the hardware not in use).

I need the firmware version to be sure I am looking at the same system_diags program.
Perhaps I can learn more by running it under emulation (off of my Kindle).

It does look like you are going to need serial port access.
See the sticky thread about adding serial port access (you aren't going to do the jailbreak, just the serial port access addition part).
If without soldering skills, there are several threads here about making the serial port connection without hot soldering.

[RoBoKoP]

The device has 5.6.1.1 jailbroken with rescue pack and stuff.
I am going to order a 1.8V usb-ttl meanwhile.

[RoBoKoP]

Is this adapter fine for the job?

[palbeda]

Do yourself a favor, buy this one https://www.tindie.com/products/jimp...al-breakout-1/

This one works for 100% sure, other adapters may or may not work....

[knc1]

Originally Posted by RoBoKoP

Is this adapter fine for the job?

If ordered for 1.8 volt i/o level.
But it comes fixed at that voltage, you can't change it to use it for some other project later.

Also: I can't get the web-site listed on that board to respond.
Not a good sign of a supplier you can trust.

As palbeda posted above, go with the one we recommend.
That one can also be ordered pre-set to use the external reference pin to set a 1v8 level.

Note: The recommended board is Open Source Hardware, all of the files required to build it yourself are posted and licensed for re-use.

= = = = =

Hmm...
I don't recall if we have documented where to pick-up the 1v8 reference level on a PW-1 board.
Saved by the Master Index Wiki:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kind...ex#Serial_Port

Since the advent of the 5.6.x series firmware, we have had a lot of information posted here about adding the serial port to various models.
It looks like most of that newer information hasn't been indexed yet.

Hint: **anybody** can add to the Master Index, its a Wiki.

[palbeda]

The reason I said it was that I bought a cheap level converter that should have been able to do it, but it appeared that the impedance was too low to make it work.