is my jetbook defective or my files?

bookeater · 02-09-2010, 07:19 PM

My newly purchased jetbook is choking on pdf files.
These are public domain books from books.google.com.
Some start, some won't. Some display a page with just a column of large letters on the right side, even though earlier pages are ok, and the page in question displays ok in acrobat reader..
I've used a pdf editor and deleted all the non essential pages, but the problem persists.

I purchased jetbook primarily to read these files.

Is there some way to find out if my unit is up to date?
Can I download a newer version some place?
Is this just an inherent problem with pdf?

These are scanned books, not text files, so I am having difficulty trying to convert them to some other format.

Any and all suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks.

gr8npwrfl · 02-09-2010, 08:22 PM

From the main page goto "settings"

goto "System Settings"

goto "Firmware Versions" and a popup shows the version and patch level

How many directories deep are your files on the card ?

Try moving one of the PDF files to the root directory of the SD card and then make a test.

Always have the JB or JBL powered on when removing or installing the SD card so the JB sees the change in directories.

bookeater · 02-09-2010, 11:58 PM

Thanks for the reply.

Following your excellent instructions provided the following:
Software v0.33g
Patch v13

Is that current?

The files are in the root directory of an SD card. The card itself is a Kingston 1GB.

Please pass on any other thoughts you might have.

GhostHawk · 02-10-2010, 08:45 AM

In some cases I suspect those same files are available at project Gutenburg or similar site (manybooks, etc) Many of those sites allow you to choose your format.

Personally I've never really liked the options for pdf files, as by the time its big enough to read, I have to scroll for each page. And that gets to be a big pain after 50 pages or so.

Again I can only speak for myself, but I have been quite happy converting pdf's with a free PDF converter. (Zilla) Or getting them from a site where I can control the format.

If you wanted to post one of your pdf's your having issues with I'd be glad to see if I can convert it.

gr8npwrfl · 02-10-2010, 12:53 PM

OK, here is an answer to your questions in short form

Yes and No

Yes it is the current version on the Jetbook website that you can download

No there is a newer version out that can be obtained from the Ectaco website.

No at this point except for some very very minor changes the newer 34b version does not gain you anything.

There is a 34c version that I have, but the only way to install it is to upgrade to the 34b version and then upgrade to the 34c version.

No I can not see any difference between the 34b and 34c versions at all. They were only released to put technical people on the development path is all I can tell. When they release the latest version the people that have 34b and 34c may have to flash back to 33g to do the upgrade so I don't think it makes any sense for most people to go newer than what you have.

By all means please post one of your PDF files you are having problems with here or you can email it to me at gr8npwrfloz@gmail.com and I will try it out on one of my JB and see if I have any problems with it.

bookeater · 02-10-2010, 04:56 PM

GhostHawk

Thanks for the offer to process a file through zilla. Unfortunately, I'm not savvy enough on this site to upload a file.

Nertheless, I took your advice and chased down a copy of zilla. As a free copy it would only render one page, but, since that page had no content, I don't thinnk this program will work. Stanza did not work either.

It is probably because these are scanned pages and not real text.

Good idea though, thanks for the response.

GhostHawk · 02-11-2010, 08:22 AM

hmmmm ok, can you send me a link to where you got the pdf file from google?

Maybe I can repeat the process and figure out whats happening.

bookeater · 02-11-2010, 02:05 PM

Hi GhostHawk,

OK, here is one of the books that will not go through the converter Zilla.

This is an interesting early book by the author who later created Charlie Chan.

http://books.google.com/books?id=A0I...age&q=&f=false

Please let me know how it works for you. I get the text from the Google intro page, but that's all.

GhostHawk · 02-11-2010, 03:06 PM

Ok, you are quite correct, Zilla only successfully converted the forward.

The scan of the book itself was not included.

Wait, all is not yet lost.

I want you to look again at the page you sent me.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/att...1&d=1265918443

In the right corner, where the "hand" is, you have page images, link for PDF, and another link for Epub.

Next time try clicking the epub link, should open save menu, save to your computer. Then load to your jetbook either directly with the USB cable or via SD card and reader/adapter.

Including the epub as an attachment.
Please let me know if that doesn't work for any reason.

bookeater · 02-12-2010, 02:04 AM

Thanks for pointing out that epub offering. I've been downloading from this site for a while now and have about 300 books, all PDF. Just lately they have been offering ePub. I tried it on a different book and that one didn't display so I gave up on the idea.

However, when you pointed it out on this book I thought I'd try it again.
Surprise, this ePub displays just fine!

So what's up with the jetbook? Clearly the box says PDF and the insert says ePub. Some work, some don't. Apparently there are limitations, or maybe my machine is a bit funky.

I've emailed some files with specific problems on my jetbook to gr8npwrfl who offered in this thread to try them on his jetbook.
It will be interesting to see if they work for him.

My reader is working strangely in other ways too. For example, it is difficult to turn on. I have to do it 4 or 5 times before it actually stays on. The first few times it ends up on a page and in a second shuts down. So, unless this is common behavior, I suspect I may have an exchange coming in the near future.

It will be very disappointing if PDF files from a source like Google do not work.

Thanks for taking the time to check that file out and encourage me to once again try ePub. Frankly, I was really surprised to see it work on this title.

Slash5 · 02-13-2010, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookeater

My reader is working strangely in other ways too. For example, it is difficult to turn on. I have to do it 4 or 5 times before it actually stays on. The first few times it ends up on a page and in a second shuts down. So, unless this is common behavior, I suspect I may have an exchange coming in the near future.

You are probably pressing the power button too long.
Just press it and release it. The behavior you describe happens if you hold the button on until you see activity.

bookeater · 02-13-2010, 03:57 PM

Thanks for the excellent tip!

I thought I read somewhere to press it for 3 seconds to turn or and briefly to turn off. But no. Following your suggestion just the briefest of touch turns it on. Cool.
Thanks for the advice.

Little.Egret · 02-14-2010, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bookeater

Thanks for the excellent tip!

I thought I read somewhere to press it for 3 seconds to turn or and briefly to turn off. But no. Following your suggestion just the briefest of touch turns it on. Cool.
Thanks for the advice.

If you have changed the batteries then the 3 seconds may be needed but the brief touch is standard and seem to work in all other cases.

bookeater · 02-16-2010, 02:57 PM

For gr8npwrfl

Some days ago you wrote:

"By all means please post one of your PDF files you are having problems with here or you can email it to me at gr8npwrfloz@gmail.com and I will try it out on one of my JB and see if I have any problems with it."

Thank you for your generous offer. On Feb 10 I sent some files to this email address and recently a followup email.

I have not heard from you and I'm thinking there might be an error in the email address.

If you do see this please let me know if you received my emails. But if things have just gotten busy for you please pardon the intrusion.

02-09-2010, 07:19 PM	#1
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	is my jetbook defective or my files? My newly purchased jetbook is choking on pdf files. These are public domain books from books.google.com. Some start, some won't. Some display a page with just a column of large letters on the right side, even though earlier pages are ok, and the page in question displays ok in acrobat reader.. I've used a pdf editor and deleted all the non essential pages, but the problem persists. I purchased jetbook primarily to read these files. Is there some way to find out if my unit is up to date? Can I download a newer version some place? Is this just an inherent problem with pdf? These are scanned books, not text files, so I am having difficulty trying to convert them to some other format. Any and all suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks.

02-09-2010, 08:22 PM	#2
gr8npwrfl The Wizard of OZ Posts: 143 Karma: 434 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern California Device: Jetbook Ipod Touch Wind Netbook	Answers From the main page goto "settings" goto "System Settings" goto "Firmware Versions" and a popup shows the version and patch level How many directories deep are your files on the card ? Try moving one of the PDF files to the root directory of the SD card and then make a test. Always have the JB or JBL powered on when removing or installing the SD card so the JB sees the change in directories.

02-10-2010, 12:53 PM	#5
gr8npwrfl The Wizard of OZ Posts: 143 Karma: 434 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Southern California Device: Jetbook Ipod Touch Wind Netbook	Versions OK, here is an answer to your questions in short form Yes and No Yes it is the current version on the Jetbook website that you can download No there is a newer version out that can be obtained from the Ectaco website. No at this point except for some very very minor changes the newer 34b version does not gain you anything. There is a 34c version that I have, but the only way to install it is to upgrade to the 34b version and then upgrade to the 34c version. No I can not see any difference between the 34b and 34c versions at all. They were only released to put technical people on the development path is all I can tell. When they release the latest version the people that have 34b and 34c may have to flash back to 33g to do the upgrade so I don't think it makes any sense for most people to go newer than what you have. By all means please post one of your PDF files you are having problems with here or you can email it to me at gr8npwrfloz@gmail.com and I will try it out on one of my JB and see if I have any problems with it.

02-11-2010, 03:06 PM	#9
GhostHawk Data Privateer! Posts: 586 Karma: 62887 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fargo ND Device: Ectaco Jetbook& Jetbook Lite	Ok, you are quite correct, Zilla only successfully converted the forward. The scan of the book itself was not included. Wait, all is not yet lost. I want you to look again at the page you sent me. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/att...1&d=1265918443 In the right corner, where the "hand" is, you have page images, link for PDF, and another link for Epub. Next time try clicking the epub link, should open save menu, save to your computer. Then load to your jetbook either directly with the USB cable or via SD card and reader/adapter. Including the epub as an attachment. Please let me know if that doesn't work for any reason. Last edited by GhostHawk; 08-03-2010 at 09:15 AM.

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02-09-2010, 11:58 PM	#3
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	Thanks for the reply. Following your excellent instructions provided the following: Software v0.33g Patch v13 Is that current? The files are in the root directory of an SD card. The card itself is a Kingston 1GB. Please pass on any other thoughts you might have.

02-10-2010, 08:45 AM	#4
GhostHawk Data Privateer! Posts: 586 Karma: 62887 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fargo ND Device: Ectaco Jetbook& Jetbook Lite	In some cases I suspect those same files are available at project Gutenburg or similar site (manybooks, etc) Many of those sites allow you to choose your format. Personally I've never really liked the options for pdf files, as by the time its big enough to read, I have to scroll for each page. And that gets to be a big pain after 50 pages or so. Again I can only speak for myself, but I have been quite happy converting pdf's with a free PDF converter. (Zilla) Or getting them from a site where I can control the format. If you wanted to post one of your pdf's your having issues with I'd be glad to see if I can convert it.

02-10-2010, 04:56 PM	#6
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	GhostHawk Thanks for the offer to process a file through zilla. Unfortunately, I'm not savvy enough on this site to upload a file. Nertheless, I took your advice and chased down a copy of zilla. As a free copy it would only render one page, but, since that page had no content, I don't thinnk this program will work. Stanza did not work either. It is probably because these are scanned pages and not real text. Good idea though, thanks for the response.

02-11-2010, 08:22 AM	#7
GhostHawk Data Privateer! Posts: 586 Karma: 62887 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Fargo ND Device: Ectaco Jetbook& Jetbook Lite	hmmmm ok, can you send me a link to where you got the pdf file from google? Maybe I can repeat the process and figure out whats happening.

02-11-2010, 02:05 PM	#8
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	Hi GhostHawk, OK, here is one of the books that will not go through the converter Zilla. This is an interesting early book by the author who later created Charlie Chan. http://books.google.com/books?id=A0I...age&q=&f=false Please let me know how it works for you. I get the text from the Google intro page, but that's all.

02-12-2010, 02:04 AM	#10
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	Thanks for pointing out that epub offering. I've been downloading from this site for a while now and have about 300 books, all PDF. Just lately they have been offering ePub. I tried it on a different book and that one didn't display so I gave up on the idea. However, when you pointed it out on this book I thought I'd try it again. Surprise, this ePub displays just fine! So what's up with the jetbook? Clearly the box says PDF and the insert says ePub. Some work, some don't. Apparently there are limitations, or maybe my machine is a bit funky. I've emailed some files with specific problems on my jetbook to gr8npwrfl who offered in this thread to try them on his jetbook. It will be interesting to see if they work for him. My reader is working strangely in other ways too. For example, it is difficult to turn on. I have to do it 4 or 5 times before it actually stays on. The first few times it ends up on a page and in a second shuts down. So, unless this is common behavior, I suspect I may have an exchange coming in the near future. It will be very disappointing if PDF files from a source like Google do not work. Thanks for taking the time to check that file out and encourage me to once again try ePub. Frankly, I was really surprised to see it work on this title.

02-13-2010, 03:57 PM	#12
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	Thanks for the excellent tip! I thought I read somewhere to press it for 3 seconds to turn or and briefly to turn off. But no. Following your suggestion just the briefest of touch turns it on. Cool. Thanks for the advice.

02-16-2010, 02:57 PM	#14
bookeater Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: jetbook	For gr8npwrfl Some days ago you wrote: "By all means please post one of your PDF files you are having problems with here or you can email it to me at gr8npwrfloz@gmail.com and I will try it out on one of my JB and see if I have any problems with it." Thank you for your generous offer. On Feb 10 I sent some files to this email address and recently a followup email. I have not heard from you and I'm thinking there might be an error in the email address. If you do see this please let me know if you received my emails. But if things have just gotten busy for you please pardon the intrusion.

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