Friendly & Dutch with dead K3

[FriendlyDutch]

I found this forum while desperately searching for how to revive my dead K3. I can't get it to turn on any more. Or actually, I can turn it off and it reboots but never gets to the home page - all I see is the mona-lisa like smile of Emily Dickinson (maybe I should read something she has written). I loved by K3 (nice and light, easy to read) but Kindle support says it's beyond hope. So I'll either have to fix it brute force or replace it.

[Valmore Daniels]

Welcome to the boards

[Fluribus]

I'll skip my normal history lesson about how the Dutch invented wooden shoes to facilitate their beloved practice of tiptoeing through the tulips. The Dutch folk I've known tend to get testy whenever I bring it up.

Assuming that your Kindle is out of warranty and Amazon won't replace it...

You might try popping the thing open (which would void warranty) and removing the battery. If you can, test the battery (if it's bad, replace it). Let it sit for a bit. Put the battery back in. Let it charge. Turn it on.

If that doesn't work (probably won't). There must be someone you're mad at. Take dead Kindle and bash the bastard over the head with it (unless he is me).

[poohbear_nc]

You might want to post your dilemma in the Kindle Developer's Corner Forum above - they might have a way to "flash" your dead Kindle using a PC and the USB port ... lots of smart folk hang out there ...

[pidgeon92]

It actually reboots? It goes through with the little progress bar below the boy under the tree?

Did you install any hacks?

[geekmaster]

Kindle necromancy is commonly called "debricking". There is a sticky thread, with recent K3 discussions. Currently, using the serial port is the only sure way, but we may get a USB-only debricking method working for the K3 if this discussion turns into new code. EDIT: You can now debrick a K3 with only USB! See my post below.

For the serial port method, check out seaniko7's youtube video linked in the "simple debricking" sticky in the dev corner forum (where most of the technical assistance gets done).

[FriendlyDutch]

@Valmore Dennis: thank you for your welcome - unfortunately, the notification emails got lost in the large heap of emails but thanks anyway.

@Fluribus: yes, it is out of warranty; Kindle support did offer me a not-so-great price on a refurb'ed kindle. I did pop the thing open after exhausting all support avenues. And yes, the Dutch may well get testy when asked to stick their finger in a dike(!); wooden shoes however, are great for stepping on other folks' toes - beware!

@poohbear_nc: your suggestion is good, much appreciated.

@pigeon92: thank you for your questions: no, it doesn't reboot. It initially didn't want to shutdown but still gave me connection to USB hd but no all I can enjoy is Jane Ayre's picture. No, I had not installed any hacks nor rooted the device (yet), so either the drop from night stand in its led-cover caused some internal damage or shorted the connectors (serial port/led power switch).

Thank you BareMetalBitBasher Geekmaster - I'll tiptoe over to the developers forum in my wooden shoes and hope I have not crushed any tulips while here.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by FriendlyDutch

Thank you BareMetalBitBasher Geekmaster - I'll tiptoe over to the developers forum in my wooden shoes and hope I have not crushed any tulips while here.

There was not room in the avatar subtitle for "Bare Metal Bit Basher and Pixel Pusher", so I had to shorten it. I have been "geekmaster" since I modified a famous logo back in 1994. Since then, a lot of "pretenders" have popped up on the net.

Now, back on topic: There have been numerous success reports from people who debricked their kindles using only the USB port. You can find links to those report and more details in the "simple debricking" sticky thread in the Dev Corner forum. There is even a "noobs guide" for K3 USB debricking that you can download as a PDF file.

Enjoy!