iLiad How to totally clean out and start from scratch?

haven · 02-05-2009, 06:37 PM

Odd problem here: I can no longer run shell scripts, third party apps, etc. even though my Iliad seems perfectly normal as far as browsing around on the Content Lister and reading books.

I have Developer access, and have been using SSH. All was working fine, but I tried to install Abiword and (don't ask!) wound up trying to reinstall Adam's old registry hack for FBRead. (This was a mistake. I already had the later version of FBRead installed. )

It became clear that I needed to Go To Jail - Do Not Pass Go, i.e. start with a clean sheet. After a full reformatting of my Iliad and a couple of reflashes (whatever the distinction is), I still can't run anything except built-in apps. What gives? I would have thought that reformatting the firmware would clean out everything, but something is different. The first thing I try doing after reformatting is running mrxvt. Nada.

Any ideas on what might be happening or how to fix it?

1. How can I force mrxvt to run? I have it copied onto the root of my CF card. (Oh, and the latest version .5 one with the X shell around it doesn't work either. I can browse into the directory, but neither the "run standalone" option nor the install option do anything.)

2. Does something like a registry (Windows paranoia sets in!) retain settings even through a reformat? Is so, how can I get rid of these artifacts?

3. Worst case: can anyone help me understand which images I should copy onto a CF card if I want to try to format an ext2 CF card, boot from it, and chroot (I'm thinking of this as kinda like a USB rescue drive)

cbell · 02-05-2009, 07:07 PM

Did you know that after a reflash, you have to request, then download and install developer access again?

Adam B. · 02-05-2009, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cbell

Did you know that after a reflash, you have to request, then download and install developer access again?

+1

Also, did you reflash with the "format" option? That'll return you to factory specs and delete any customizations done to the device.

haven · 02-05-2009, 08:18 PM

Thanks for both replies ... Adam, if the "format" option means editing config.txt so that its contents are replaced by the word 'format', yes, that is what I did. logfile.txt showed that formatting had taken place successfully.

Or is there additionally some --format switch or such?

cbell ... no, I didn't realize that I needed to download another copy of cf-card-contents.zip ... odd! I'll give that a try now. (Does Irex use the download process to modify some file that is not overwritten by the reflashing? This whole process is pretty arcane compared to burning an EPROM or such ... it's amazing you guys sleuthed out all the details. I guess that's true of any reverse engineering project.)

Wish me luck! I'm off to re-request Developer Access.

cbell · 02-05-2009, 08:26 PM

Hi haven, you don't need to download another copy of cf-card-contents.zip, that's what you used for your manual reflashing.

Just request the developer package from the iRex website at https://myirex.irexnet.com/user.php/developer and when that's done, connect your iLiad to iDS and your iLiad will do the rest, like the first time.

And... good luck!

haven · 02-05-2009, 09:22 PM

It worked! Thanks again. I'll have to start answering questions from stumped folks on these forums to pay down some of the karmic debt I'm accumulating :-)

cbell · 02-05-2009, 10:31 PM

Yay! Its great that you let us know you were successful.

I think 1 karma point from a newbie is just as valuable as 100 or more points from a long-time MR member.

Have fun with your 3rd party programs!

02-05-2009, 06:37 PM	#1
haven Member Posts: 10 Karma: 34 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle 3, iPad, Iliad Irex	How to totally clean out and start from scratch? Odd problem here: I can no longer run shell scripts, third party apps, etc. even though my Iliad seems perfectly normal as far as browsing around on the Content Lister and reading books. I have Developer access, and have been using SSH. All was working fine, but I tried to install Abiword and (don't ask!) wound up trying to reinstall Adam's old registry hack for FBRead. (This was a mistake. I already had the later version of FBRead installed. ) It became clear that I needed to Go To Jail - Do Not Pass Go, i.e. start with a clean sheet. After a full reformatting of my Iliad and a couple of reflashes (whatever the distinction is), I still can't run anything except built-in apps. What gives? I would have thought that reformatting the firmware would clean out everything, but something is different. The first thing I try doing after reformatting is running mrxvt. Nada. Any ideas on what might be happening or how to fix it? 1. How can I force mrxvt to run? I have it copied onto the root of my CF card. (Oh, and the latest version .5 one with the X shell around it doesn't work either. I can browse into the directory, but neither the "run standalone" option nor the install option do anything.) 2. Does something like a registry (Windows paranoia sets in!) retain settings even through a reformat? Is so, how can I get rid of these artifacts? 3. Worst case: can anyone help me understand which images I should copy onto a CF card if I want to try to format an ext2 CF card, boot from it, and chroot (I'm thinking of this as kinda like a USB rescue drive)

02-05-2009, 08:26 PM	#5
cbell Frenetic Posts: 590 Karma: 8181 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Device: iLiad V2	Hi haven, you don't need to download another copy of cf-card-contents.zip, that's what you used for your manual reflashing. Just request the developer package from the iRex website at https://myirex.irexnet.com/user.php/developer and when that's done, connect your iLiad to iDS and your iLiad will do the rest, like the first time. And... good luck! Last edited by cbell; 02-05-2009 at 08:29 PM. Reason: added good luck :)

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02-05-2009, 07:07 PM	#2
cbell Frenetic Posts: 590 Karma: 8181 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Device: iLiad V2	Did you know that after a reflash, you have to request, then download and install developer access again?

02-05-2009, 08:18 PM	#4
haven Member Posts: 10 Karma: 34 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle 3, iPad, Iliad Irex	Thanks for both replies ... Adam, if the "format" option means editing config.txt so that its contents are replaced by the word 'format', yes, that is what I did. logfile.txt showed that formatting had taken place successfully. Or is there additionally some --format switch or such? cbell ... no, I didn't realize that I needed to download another copy of cf-card-contents.zip ... odd! I'll give that a try now. (Does Irex use the download process to modify some file that is not overwritten by the reflashing? This whole process is pretty arcane compared to burning an EPROM or such ... it's amazing you guys sleuthed out all the details. I guess that's true of any reverse engineering project.) Wish me luck! I'm off to re-request Developer Access.

02-05-2009, 09:22 PM	#6
haven Member Posts: 10 Karma: 34 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle 3, iPad, Iliad Irex	It worked! Thanks again. I'll have to start answering questions from stumped folks on these forums to pay down some of the karmic debt I'm accumulating :-)

02-05-2009, 10:31 PM	#7
cbell Frenetic Posts: 590 Karma: 8181 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Device: iLiad V2	Yay! Its great that you let us know you were successful. I think 1 karma point from a newbie is just as valuable as 100 or more points from a long-time MR member. Have fun with your 3rd party programs!

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