Request for diags kernel + partition image

[damon12]

Hi. I soft-bricked my paperwhite3 and need the eMMC image for recovery. The update bin from amazon does not contain all files so I need a nice guy to dump the diag partition 2 and diag kernel.

Million thanks.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by damon12

Hi. I soft-bricked my paperwhite3 and need the eMMC image for recovery. The update bin from amazon does not contain all files so I need a nice guy to dump the partition 2 and diag kernel.

Million thanks.

What do you mean by "soft-bricked" ?

The update_*.bin from Amazon does require all the files you need to recover the Kindle, with the exception of the 'diags' system and kernel.
But bricking your Kindle does not involve anything which would damage the 'diags' system and kernel.

So either what you mean by "soft-bricked" is not accurate, or you don't need what you are asking for.

Plus -
The 'diags' system and kernel contains copyrighted materials which is against site policy here to redistribute without the copyright holder's permission.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by knc1

Plus -
The 'diags' system and kernel contains copyrighted materials which is against site policy here to redistribute without the copyright holder's permission.

Amazon tech support staff DID give me verbal permission to share firmware images (for debricking purposes only). However, they did NOT follow that up with written permission as I requested. They also recommended my "simple debricking" thread here to their customers (which has been replaced by kubrick, which automates my procedure). Mobileread policy allowed us to link to a list (stored elsewhere) of firmware images (also stored elsewhere), but not directly to any firmware images themselves.

That said, we must be careful to not share any partition that contains private data such as our login credentials or "idme vars" (including device serial number). Twobob discovered this the hard way when his DXG got blacklisted because others using his shared "private" partition resulted in multiple exact clones of his device.

It should be safe to PRIVATELY share (via PM) a link to a diags firmware image (and diags kernel) stored offsite. But publishing such content openly is technically a copyright violation despite amazon tech support staff verbal permission, so such things must be shared only privately (via mobileread PMs or other means) if only to avoid unwanted DMCA takedown notices.

[WT Sharpe]

Please keep in mind that we do not allow redistribution of copyrighted materials. It is suggested that the member contact Amazon directly for a copy of the firmware.

[eschwartz]

Some relevant logs from IRC (Thursday, June 23):

Spoiler:

1:08:53 PM - damon12: hi. I may have broken eMMC in my Kindle Paperwhite 3, just curious if anyone has Kindle Paperwhite 3 partition dump for share
1:09:23 PM - damon12: million thanks
1:09:59 PM - staphoent: i have a pw3, wouldnt have a clue how to share that though
1:11:07 PM - Glorfindel is now known as Glorfindel-gone.
1:12:32 PM - damon12: If it is jail-broken and has usbnet installed, you may access it by SSH, dump the partition by dd and save to /mnt/us, then use scp to copy
1:14:05 PM - damon12: If it is not jail-broken but you have TTL, you may boot into DIAGS mode, use dd to dump to mnt/us, then boot back to main mode and copy by usb cable
1:14:26 PM - staphoent: lol it is jail-broken, has usb net installed, dont know how to access by ssh, dont know how to dump by dd or use scp
1:16:02 PM - damon12: let me write a quick tutorial
1:16:16 PM - staphoent: go ahead
1:17:43 PM - damon12: forgot it is already written here
1:17:43 PM - damon12: https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kind...USB_Networking
1:18:00 PM - damon12: are you using Linux or Mac or Windows?
1:18:23 PM - staphoent: mac
1:18:38 PM - staphoent: i already have usb networking up and running
1:19:39 PM - damon12: does "ssh root@192.168.15.244" in terminal show something?
1:20:51 PM - damon12: password is either blank or "mario" (without quotes)
1:21:30 PM - staphoent: i have it set up to this stage= [root@kindle /]#
1:21:50 PM - damon12: then please type this
1:22:01 PM - damon12: dd /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/us/p1.img
1:22:09 PM - damon12: it may takes a while
1:22:47 PM - staphoent: just gives me a list of options
1:23:38 PM - staphoent: [root@kindle /]# dd /dev/mmcblk0p1 /mnt/us/p1.img BusyBox v1.17.1 (2016-04-17 11:24:55 PDT) multi-call binary. Usage: dd [if=FILE] [of=FILE] [bs=N] [count=N] [skip=N] [seek=N] Copy a file with converting and formatting Options: if=FILE Read from FILE instead of stdin of=FILE Write to FILE instead of stdout bs=N Read and write N bytes at a time count=N Co
1:24:29 PM - damon12: sorry, my bad
1:24:40 PM - damon12: should be this
1:24:40 PM - damon12: dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=/mnt/us/p1.img
1:25:10 PM - damon12: after this one is finished, then please run these two also
1:25:14 PM - damon12: dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p2 of=/mnt/us/p2.img
1:25:17 PM - damon12: dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p3 of=/mnt/us/p3.img
1:26:08 PM - damon12: One remindar, I assume you have at least 700M free space.
1:26:28 PM - damon12: For new Kindle, it should be around 2G free
1:28:41 PM - damon12: After all commands have been finished, please enter "exit" to quit ssh
1:29:23 PM - staphoent: how can i check my space through usb networking
1:29:30 PM - staphoent: as i do have a lot of files on there
1:30:22 PM - damon12: you may "cd /mnt/us", then "df -h ."
1:31:04 PM - damon12: It should show you how many space left (hopefully my memory is correct)
1:34:04 PM - staphoent: i guess im looking at mnt/base-us?
1:35:30 PM - damon12: would you copy what you see when running "mount"
1:35:56 PM - damon12: sorry, my PW3 is broken and I can't confirm if it should be "mnt/base-us" or "mnt/us"
1:36:11 PM - damon12: "mount" should give me some hints
1:36:32 PM - staphoent: [root@kindle /]# cd /mnt/us [root@kindle us]# df -h Filesystem Size Used Available Use% Mounted on /dev/root 437.4M 314.8M 100.6M 76% / tmpfs 251.4M 100.0K 251.3M 0% /dev tmpfs 251.4M 0 251.4M 0% /dev/shm tmpfs 32.0M 1.8M 30.2M 6% /var /dev/loop/2 2.5M 2.5M 0 100% /usr/share/X11
1:38:58 PM - damon12: does "df -h ." work?
1:39:04 PM - damon12: (there is a dot at the end)
1:40:33 PM - staphoent: it says use 31%
1:40:36 PM - staphoent: should be fine then
1:41:17 PM - staphoent: want me to run those commands u sent me?
1:41:40 PM - damon12: yes, please
1:42:14 PM - staphoent: ran first one but nothing happening atm
1:42:49 PM - damon12: so it finished in a few seconds?
1:42:58 PM - staphoent: no jsut displayed a blank line
1:43:47 PM - damon12: does it show the prompt "[root@kindle us]" under the command you type?
1:43:54 PM - staphoent: no
1:44:02 PM - staphoent: not responding to anything with that
1:44:03 PM - damon12: then it is running, be patient
1:44:31 PM - staphoent: [root@kindle /]# dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=/mnt/us/p1.img
1:44:38 PM - staphoent: then two blank lines
1:45:24 PM - damon12: the first file will be around 500M, so it takes some times
1:45:41 PM - damon12: the second and third will be much smaller
1:45:44 PM - staphoent: how did you break your emmc?
1:46:44 PM - damon12: not sure, I SSHed my kindle and install some programs, change boot logo and try to add custom language. Then after restart, it can't open any books
1:47:01 PM - staphoent: lol
1:47:14 PM - staphoent: are you tempted by the oasis?
1:47:53 PM - damon12: and usbnet never start again, so I use TTL to "fix" it
1:48:08 PM - staphoent: 921600+0 records in 921600+0 records out 471859200 bytes (450.0MB) copied, 351.452832 seconds, 1.3MB/s
1:48:38 PM - damon12: after some trials, it stucks at bootloader and said cannot access the flash chip
1:48:45 PM - staphoent: thats annoying
1:48:49 PM - staphoent: run the second ?
1:49:04 PM - damon12: yes please
1:49:21 PM - damon12: and my PW3 cannot enter fast boot mode too
1:49:35 PM - staphoent: ahh right, and these image files will fix that?
1:49:58 PM - staphoent: [root@kindle /]# dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p2 of=/mnt/us/p2.img 131072+0 records in 131072+0 records out 67108864 bytes (64.0MB) copied, 38.205392 seconds, 1.7MB/s [root@kindle /]#
1:50:20 PM - damon12: the file should be able to fix it if my flash chip is just corrupted.
1:50:28 PM - staphoent: ok
1:50:40 PM - damon12: but if it is physically damaged (e.g. electrostatic shock), I will need a new chip
1:50:41 PM - staphoent: do you know much about how the pw3 system works?
1:50:47 PM - damon12: but I need the files anyway
1:50:50 PM - staphoent: ok
1:50:57 PM - damon12: I am quite new to linux
1:51:03 PM - staphoent: ahh right
1:51:16 PM - damon12: only know it depends strongly on webkit and pillow
1:51:33 PM - staphoent: im trying desperately to disable the flash to black/update function on my pw3
1:51:37 PM - staphoent: but having a nightmare
1:51:43 PM - staphoent: all three have finished
1:52:08 PM - damon12: then please enter "exit"
1:52:17 PM - damon12: finally, these three
1:52:20 PM - damon12: scp root@192.168.15.244:/mnt/p1.img $HOME/Desktop/p1.img
1:52:29 PM - damon12: scp root@192.168.15.244:/mnt/p2.img $HOME/Desktop/p2.img
1:52:31 PM - damon12: scp root@192.168.15.244:/mnt/p3.img $HOME/Desktop/p3.img
1:52:52 PM - damon12: After all finished, you should see three files appear in your Deskop
1:53:01 PM - staphoent: port 22 conection refused
1:53:31 PM - damon12: are you under Terminal? (not ssh)
1:53:43 PM - staphoent: Users-Mac-mini:~ user$
1:55:40 PM - damon12: you are in the right place. but not sure why it shows error
1:55:49 PM - damon12: give me a few minutes
1:55:55 PM - staphoent: k
1:57:40 PM - damon12: just curious if you can connect the Kindle in "USB Mass Storage Mode"?
1:58:05 PM - damon12: (i.e. It appears as a flash drive in your Mac)
1:58:29 PM - staphoent: i can connect it as i normally do i.e to load pdfs through usb
1:58:36 PM - staphoent: but will that display the img files?
1:59:05 PM - damon12: yes, it should show that 3 files you just created
1:59:58 PM - staphoent: ok got them
2:00:58 PM - damon12: then please zip all of them in one file, and upload to any free file hosting site, and send me the link. Thank you for your help
2:01:11 PM - damon12: Btw, you may keep those files just in case your friends need them
2:01:59 PM - staphoent: can i use that dd thing to download the rest of the system files from my kindle?
2:02:07 PM - damon12: The img file will NOT contain any of your personal information (e.g. S/N etc), so it is safe to share it.
2:02:08 PM - staphoent: i really want to look at some of the configuration files
2:02:35 PM - damon12: p1.img and p2.img contains the system files
2:02:42 PM - damon12: you may play with it, but with care
2:02:57 PM - staphoent: as in configurations for the waveforms of the screen?
2:03:55 PM - damon12: p3.img is the file for rescue mode. I don't recommend touching it.
2:04:19 PM - damon12: yes, should be in p1 or p2
2:04:39 PM - staphoent: ok
2:04:49 PM - staphoent: its not letting me take p1 from thek indle
2:04:57 PM - staphoent: it says error 36 cannot be read
2:05:31 PM - damon12: oh....
2:06:04 PM - staphoent: how do i open/look inside these files
2:06:11 PM - damon12: what is the file size?
2:06:48 PM - damon12: you may mount it under Linux, I guess MacOSX should work too
2:06:59 PM - staphoent: 471.9
2:07:17 PM - damon12: Would you try copying again?
2:07:34 PM - staphoent: yeah i can try
2:07:41 PM - staphoent: its not letting memoun them in mac
2:08:05 PM - damon12: so all three files failed?
2:08:23 PM - staphoent: what i mean is, in kterm in my kindle i can find lots of configureation files under /mnt-us/proc
2:08:30 PM - staphoent: id like to look at them on my comp
2:08:30 PM - staphoent: no
2:08:34 PM - staphoent: just the first one
2:08:37 PM - staphoent: the other two i can copy
2:10:29 PM - damon12: sorry then we may need to create the first file again
2:10:32 PM - damon12: ssh root@192.168.15.244
2:10:36 PM - damon12: dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=/mnt/us/p1.img
2:10:48 PM - staphoent: it says [root@kindle kvncviewer]# dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=/mnt/us/p1.img dd: writing '/mnt/us/p1.img': Read-only file system 1+0 records in 0+0 records out 0 bytes (0B) copied, 0.118817 seconds, 0B/s [root@kindle kvncviewer]# dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=/mnt/us/p1.img dd: can't open '/mnt/us/p1.img': Stale file handle [root@kindle kvncviewer]#
2:11:10 PM - damon12: dd if=/dev/mmcblk0p1 of=/mnt/us/p1a.img
2:11:19 PM - damon12: this time let's call the file "p1a.img"
2:11:34 PM - damon12: probably MacOSX locked the file p1.img up
2:11:49 PM - staphoent: can you delete the last one from here, because i may not have enough space now
2:11:57 PM - damon12: ohh, yes
2:12:07 PM - damon12: you can delete p1.img, p2.img and p3.img
2:12:16 PM - damon12: since p1.img is broken, p2 and p3 already copied
2:12:23 PM - staphoent: well then i have to go back to usb storage mode
2:12:30 PM - staphoent: is there anyway to delete it through shh
2:12:36 PM - damon12: yes
2:12:49 PM - damon12: rm -rf /mnt/us/p1.img
2:13:05 PM - staphoent: rm: can't stat '/mnt/us/p1.img': Stale file handle
2:13:46 PM - staphoent: you know u can downlaod the whole firmware form amazons website
2:15:06 PM - damon12: it seems the p1.img has been deleted but Linux does not know
2:15:10 PM - damon12: It should be safe to proceed
2:15:29 PM - damon12: I guess those firmware from amazon contains updates only. Not complete image
2:15:46 PM - damon12: would you advise the link so I can have a look?
2:16:06 PM - staphoent: dd: can't open '/mnt/us/p1a.img': Stale file handle
2:16:31 PM - damon12: then you may need to run fsck under MacOSX
2:16:50 PM - damon12: to fix the possible filesystem problem
2:16:50 PM - staphoent: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custom...deId=200203720
2:16:52 PM - staphoent: a few pages down
2:16:58 PM - staphoent: filesystem problem?
2:17:30 PM - damon12: yes, FAT partition is easily corrupted
2:17:48 PM - damon12: yes, FAT partition can be easily corrupted
2:18:48 PM - damon12: Sorry that it is 2:18am now, I have to go bed and wish to see you soon.
2:19:24 PM - staphoent: is that a problem with my kindle?
2:19:31 PM - staphoent: or just the files u put on there
3:34:31 PM - eschwartz: damon12: The firmware update images contain the whole rootfs for the main system, but they don't contain the diags partition or the bootloader code.
3:35:08 PM - eschwartz: I see you found MadMAXXX's "Unbrick a PW3 (Fastboot)" thread.
3:35:46 PM - staphoent: i think hes sleeping lol
3:41:12 PM - eschwartz: So he will be able to catch up when he reconnects, no big deal.
3:41:46 PM - eschwartz: damon12 has a working uboot, according to the MobileRead thread.
3:41:56 PM - staphoent: ah cool
3:42:09 PM - eschwartz: So all he needs (I think) is a diags kernel + image
3:42:21 PM - staphoent: how do you stay logged when ur computers off?
3:42:35 PM - eschwartz: Then he can boot to that and flash the main rootfs.img extracted from a standard Amazon update.
3:42:46 PM - eschwartz: You don't have to turn your computer off.
3:42:57 PM - staphoent: are those the image files he was getting me to obtain?
3:42:58 PM - eschwartz: Or you can use a bouncer to keep you connected.
3:43:01 PM - staphoent: ahhh ok
3:43:09 PM - staphoent: got you
3:43:23 PM - eschwartz: mmcblk0p1 is rootfs.img so you can skip that, actually.
3:43:31 PM - staphoent: ok
3:43:36 PM - staphoent: ive got the other two
3:43:42 PM - staphoent: if he still needs them
3:44:03 PM - eschwartz: mmcblk0p2 should be the diags partition.

Particularly:

1:45:44 PM - staphoent: how did you break your emmc?
1:46:44 PM - damon12: not sure, I SSHed my kindle and install some programs, change boot logo and try to add custom language. Then after restart, it can't open any books
1:47:53 PM - damon12: and usbnet never start again, so I use TTL to "fix" it
1:48:38 PM - damon12: after some trials, it stucks at bootloader and said cannot access the flash chip

Not that it matters how that partition got corrupted, of course.

...

@damon12,

staphoent is still hanging out on IRC, and he says he got the necessary partition image copied for you. But you haven't revisited there after asking...

[knc1]

None of which would have effected the 'diags' system or kernel.

Get 'main' working first, then and only then, be concerned about the other system.

[eschwartz]

More background from MadMAXXX's debricking-via-fastboot thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=269099&page=5

Implies that for whatever reason and whatever motivations, the diags system just isn't working anymore.

So hopefully if he can actually get his hands on the elusive diags image, he can fix what he broke, and then finally have the opportunity to repair the main partition via Amazon's supplied rootfs.img

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Some relevant logs from IRC (Thursday, June 23): ...

...

Hmm... That sounds suspicious. If changes to an upstart script, that could be what bricked it. Even using a non-conformant "boot logo" image could do that. And by "boot logo", are we taking about the "boy under the tree" image? Changes to rootfs must be done with great care, and only changes to the WRONG rootfs should damage diags.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

More background from MadMAXXX's debricking-via-fastboot thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...=269099&page=5

Implies that for whatever reason and whatever motivations, the diags system just isn't working anymore.
- - - -

In the thread to which you linked, 'diags' wasn't working because it was erased -

And it did not stop us from recovering the Kindle.

'Diags' was not loaded until long after the Kindle once again had a working 'Main' system.

- - - -

I'll repeat this one more time:
Get the 'Main' system working properly, then, and only then, be concerned about the 'Diags' system.

[damon12]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Some relevant logs from IRC (Thursday, June 23):




Particularly:



Not that it matters how that partition got corrupted, of course.

...

@damon12,

staphoent is still hanging out on IRC, and he says he got the necessary partition image copied for you. But you haven't revisited there after asking...

Thanks. I will find staphoent soon.

[damon12]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Hmm... That sounds suspicious. If changes to an upstart script, that could be what bricked it. Even using a non-conformant "boot logo" image could do that. And by "boot logo", are we taking about the "boy under the tree" image? Changes to rootfs must be done with great care, and only changes to the WRONG rootfs should damage diags.

I never think this can brick my PW3. Again the output I posted from another thread

Originally Posted by damon12

Seems the bootloader is still working but not the eMMC flash

uboot > idme

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
idme_get_var ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition
serial:

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
idme_get_var ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition
mac:

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
idme_get_var ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition
sec:

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
idme_get_var ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition
pcbsn:

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
idme_get_var ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition
bootmode:

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
idme_get_var ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition
postmode:

uboot > bist

Warning: fail to get ext csd for MMC!
ERROR: couldn't switch to boot partition

[geekmaster]

That "fail to get ext csd for MMC!" warning looks suspicious, like eMMC is bad or not initialized correctly. This seems strange because it is already running uboot loaded from eMMC. Amost like WRONG uboot version (trying to read wrong eMMC device). It should not be able to flash the wrong firmware without manual intervention...

[knc1]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

That "fail to get ext csd for MMC!" warning looks suspicious, like eMMC is bad or not initialized correctly. This seems strange because it is already running uboot loaded from eMMC. Amost like WRONG uboot version (trying to read wrong eMMC device). It should not be able to flash the wrong firmware without manual intervention...

The 'little u-boot' loads from the hardware, power-on, default area of the eMMC - no setup required.

Anything else must configure the eMMC properly.

= = = =

It seems pretty clear that we are not being given the full, relevant, context of this failure.

= = = =

Try this site:
http://www.a-i.com/show_tree.asp?id=115
It can probable do as well as we can without full context.
Example:

MyBot says:
Hello Mike. Nice to meet you . That's you, isn't it?
User says:
yes
MyBot says:
Great minds think alike, they say.
User says:
my kindle is broke
MyBot says:
Your kindle is broke?
User says:
yes
MyBot says:
It's feels nice when a human can agree with me.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by knc1

The 'little u-boot' loads from the hardware, power-on, default area of the eMMC - no setup required.

Anything else must configure the eMMC properly.

That is what I tried to say. The small u-boot loaded but is failing to read the extended CSD configuration parameters from the eMMC. Flashing the wrong (small, stripped) u-boot image could cause this behavior. This conversation has gone on a long time in a bunch of threads (and irc) and we still lack important details about what caused this situation, so we can begin to understand how to fix it.

Running the wrong u-boot seems a bit deeper than "soft-bricked". The eMMC harware is not destroyed if u-boot runs as well as it does. To me, that says "wrong firmware" is likely the cause of the described problems.

Meanwhile, minutes, hours, days and weeks are burned attending to these elusive/evasive threads and posts by damon12...

Originally Posted by damon12

Thanks. I will find staphoent soon.

I hope staphoent does not get his kindle blacklisted by sharing the full firmware image as originally requested in another thread.

[damon12]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

That is what I tried to say. The small u-boot loaded but is failing to read the extended CSD configuration parameters from the eMMC. Flashing the wrong (small, stripped) u-boot image could cause this behavior. This conversation has gone on a long time in a bunch of threads (and irc) and we still lack important details about what caused this situation, so we can begin to understand how to fix it.

Running the wrong u-boot seems a bit deeper than "soft-bricked". The eMMC harware is not destroyed if u-boot runs as well as it does. To me, that says "wrong firmware" is likely the cause of the described problems.

Meanwhile, minutes, hours, days and weeks are burned attending to these elusive/evasive threads and posts by damon12...I hope staphoent does not get his kindle blacklisted by sharing the full firmware image as originally requested in another thread.

It will not happen, since I will extract the diag kernel and diag partition out only