MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - newb bricked his kindle paperwhite

kindlecrasher · 06-22-2014, 04:21 AM

well,

here's an update on my situation - basically, got nowhere and my pw1 is going into the spare parts bin.
=========================

SETUP:

here is the inexpensive usb to uart ttl adapter that i got:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/331216510147...84.m1497.l2649

i got it at just less than $5 with free shipping.

FYI, it took 16 days to get from hong kong to california, usa. and it was an excruciating wait where i was researching every possible aspect on how i might tackle it.

but i have no idea if it works or not!

i found and installed the driver without a problem here:

http://prolificusa.com/portfolio/pl2...ge-controller/

and when i plug in the device, both an xp and win 8.1 system recognizes the device for what it's supposed to be. there's also a test app that comes in the driver package and it lets you sniff the com ports (0-15) to see if the assigned port is indeed your device.

both computers assigned the device to com3 and when i check com 3, the device checker says it's working.

================================

CONNECTING:

i KNEW that trying to tape the wires to the TINY ASS headers on the pw1 would be hard... i was not mistaken. just incredibly difficult. hell, it would be difficult to solder the wires on without shorting out the connections! if you've seen pictures, the headers look just like that... but TINY!!! definitely less than 1cm from nodule to nodule (and there are 3 nodules - Rx, Tx and GND... the GND especially is really tiny).

so what i ended up doing, just to see if i could get a signal at all is start up PuTTY with the right settings and then just held the GND and Rx onto the proper nodes.

then you have to reset the kindle which involves holding down the power switch (which, without the cover on is extremely shallow and you need your fingernail to do it) for 15 seconds. now imagine doing that while desperately trying to hold TINY wires to TINY nodes.... it's FUCKING HARD!

but in the putty console, i never got a text stream.... i got maybe 10 characters over 3 minutes of trying but i have a feeling that was just some noise that i was creating as the wires jiggled on and off the contacts.

i also tried (with a power button reset each time) GND + Rx + Tx (VERY difficult), GND + Rx, GND + Tx, Rx + Tx and then GND + Tx on the Rx nodule and then GND + Rx nodule (to see if the contacts were flipped)....

but bupkus... no text stream.

==============================================

CONCLUSIONS:

- the USB UART TTL device plugs into the USB and is recognized as the proper device by its driver.
- that's it.

i don't know if the headers on the PW are just not functional OR if the TTL device i got won't interface with it for some reason.

NOTE: the PL2303TA USB To TTL RS232 Converter Serial Adapter Cable that i got is listed as support 5v (with a red wire connected which did not come into play in this case) and 3.3v ~ 1.8v ... everyone says that the kindle serial header is 1.8v. and i'm not sure that 3.3v ~ 1.8v is entirely up to spec and maybe it wasn't connecting at the right voltage? but if you want something that's specced specifically for 1.8v and nothing else, without any other language there that blurs that line, you have to go with something like this:

http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSea...90032995282645

which is $25. with shipping, you're looking at $30. screw that.

for me, i only started playing with my pw1 again when i heard about hacking it to get terminals and frotz and stuff onto it and wasn't really using it before so it's not a great loss for me.

but the thing that really makes it sting is that i HAD IT HACKED and WORKING!!! got Kterminal on it, got Frotz working, got KUAL on there... everything was working!

but the Kterm package came with a bunch of utilities and this is where i shot myself in the foot.

=============================================

WARNING:

- i wanted to put the kterm utilities (stuff like vim and stuff) into proper folders... somewhere where i could just type "vim" into kterm and have it run... basically somewhere in the root directory.

- i wanted to put the programs in /usr/bin ... that seemed like an appropriate place. but on the kindle, even hacked, even when using KTERM, the root directories are locked. you need to get root privelege. i asked someone how to do that, they answered (definitely not their fault).

- i started copying the programs into /usr/bin and that's when the kindle's behavior started going screwy... i figured i'd reboot... and that was all she wrote... in the background, behind the boy and the tree screen, it must be in some kind of boot loop....

- i figured that the worst that could happen was that i'd have to undo what i did and delete the additions. i did NOT expect that copying stuff to the root directory would BRICK the device!

- SO LET THIS BE A WARNING: - DO NOT write things to the root directory. you CAN gain the priveleges to do that. DON'T!!! i have not seen this warning anywhere... actually that's not true - people have said that you "may" brick it if you write to the root directory... i'll put it in stronger terms - YOU WILL BRICK IT IF YOU WRITE TO ROOT DIRECTORY. VERBOTEN. DON'T DO IT!

- i am sure that there must be a TOLERANCE... that you could copy ... i dunno... say, 2mb into there and still be fine... but i don't know what the tolerance is. NOBODY ELSE knows what that tolerance is. so definitely take heed - do NOT copy anything to the root directory! don't even acquire write permission. just don't.

- all the terminal programs like vim COULD have been run from their safe locations in the user drive space where i put all the other hack stuff... but i wanted to be "extra clean" and put everything in its right place.

pretty dispiriting... but lessons learned.

when de-bricking requires tweezers and industrial level soldering skills, that is way beyond my skill level. once i bricked it, i was finished. at least i only spent $5 to find that out.

anyhoo, that's it for me. be very very careful with your hacks. think twice before doing anything that COULD brick it... especially with the PWs. there's just not a lot of info out there and if you get to the point i ended up in, you're in for a world of microscopic pain involving tweezers and solder and jeweler's glasses and needing 5 arms. not worth it.

06-22-2014, 04:21 AM	#12
kindlecrasher Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2014 Device: kindle paperwhite	well, here's an update on my situation - basically, got nowhere and my pw1 is going into the spare parts bin. ========================= SETUP: here is the inexpensive usb to uart ttl adapter that i got: http://www.ebay.com/itm/331216510147...84.m1497.l2649 i got it at just less than $5 with free shipping. FYI, it took 16 days to get from hong kong to california, usa. and it was an excruciating wait where i was researching every possible aspect on how i might tackle it. but i have no idea if it works or not! i found and installed the driver without a problem here: http://prolificusa.com/portfolio/pl2...ge-controller/ and when i plug in the device, both an xp and win 8.1 system recognizes the device for what it's supposed to be. there's also a test app that comes in the driver package and it lets you sniff the com ports (0-15) to see if the assigned port is indeed your device. both computers assigned the device to com3 and when i check com 3, the device checker says it's working. ================================ CONNECTING: i KNEW that trying to tape the wires to the TINY ASS headers on the pw1 would be hard... i was not mistaken. just incredibly difficult. hell, it would be difficult to solder the wires on without shorting out the connections! if you've seen pictures, the headers look just like that... but TINY!!! definitely less than 1cm from nodule to nodule (and there are 3 nodules - Rx, Tx and GND... the GND especially is really tiny). so what i ended up doing, just to see if i could get a signal at all is start up PuTTY with the right settings and then just held the GND and Rx onto the proper nodes. then you have to reset the kindle which involves holding down the power switch (which, without the cover on is extremely shallow and you need your fingernail to do it) for 15 seconds. now imagine doing that while desperately trying to hold TINY wires to TINY nodes.... it's FUCKING HARD! but in the putty console, i never got a text stream.... i got maybe 10 characters over 3 minutes of trying but i have a feeling that was just some noise that i was creating as the wires jiggled on and off the contacts. i also tried (with a power button reset each time) GND + Rx + Tx (VERY difficult), GND + Rx, GND + Tx, Rx + Tx and then GND + Tx on the Rx nodule and then GND + Rx nodule (to see if the contacts were flipped).... but bupkus... no text stream. ============================================== CONCLUSIONS: - the USB UART TTL device plugs into the USB and is recognized as the proper device by its driver. - that's it. i don't know if the headers on the PW are just not functional OR if the TTL device i got won't interface with it for some reason. NOTE: the PL2303TA USB To TTL RS232 Converter Serial Adapter Cable that i got is listed as support 5v (with a red wire connected which did not come into play in this case) and 3.3v ~ 1.8v ... everyone says that the kindle serial header is 1.8v. and i'm not sure that 3.3v ~ 1.8v is entirely up to spec and maybe it wasn't connecting at the right voltage? but if you want something that's specced specifically for 1.8v and nothing else, without any other language there that blurs that line, you have to go with something like this: http://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSea...90032995282645 which is $25. with shipping, you're looking at $30. screw that. for me, i only started playing with my pw1 again when i heard about hacking it to get terminals and frotz and stuff onto it and wasn't really using it before so it's not a great loss for me. but the thing that really makes it sting is that i HAD IT HACKED and WORKING!!! got Kterminal on it, got Frotz working, got KUAL on there... everything was working! but the Kterm package came with a bunch of utilities and this is where i shot myself in the foot. ============================================= WARNING: - i wanted to put the kterm utilities (stuff like vim and stuff) into proper folders... somewhere where i could just type "vim" into kterm and have it run... basically somewhere in the root directory. - i wanted to put the programs in /usr/bin ... that seemed like an appropriate place. but on the kindle, even hacked, even when using KTERM, the root directories are locked. you need to get root privelege. i asked someone how to do that, they answered (definitely not their fault). - i started copying the programs into /usr/bin and that's when the kindle's behavior started going screwy... i figured i'd reboot... and that was all she wrote... in the background, behind the boy and the tree screen, it must be in some kind of boot loop.... - i figured that the worst that could happen was that i'd have to undo what i did and delete the additions. i did NOT expect that copying stuff to the root directory would BRICK the device! - SO LET THIS BE A WARNING: - DO NOT write things to the root directory. you CAN gain the priveleges to do that. DON'T!!! i have not seen this warning anywhere... actually that's not true - people have said that you "may" brick it if you write to the root directory... i'll put it in stronger terms - YOU WILL BRICK IT IF YOU WRITE TO ROOT DIRECTORY. VERBOTEN. DON'T DO IT! - i am sure that there must be a TOLERANCE... that you could copy ... i dunno... say, 2mb into there and still be fine... but i don't know what the tolerance is. NOBODY ELSE knows what that tolerance is. so definitely take heed - do NOT copy anything to the root directory! don't even acquire write permission. just don't. - all the terminal programs like vim COULD have been run from their safe locations in the user drive space where i put all the other hack stuff... but i wanted to be "extra clean" and put everything in its right place. pretty dispiriting... but lessons learned. when de-bricking requires tweezers and industrial level soldering skills, that is way beyond my skill level. once i bricked it, i was finished. at least i only spent $5 to find that out. anyhoo, that's it for me. be very very careful with your hacks. think twice before doing anything that COULD brick it... especially with the PWs. there's just not a lot of info out there and if you get to the point i ended up in, you're in for a world of microscopic pain involving tweezers and solder and jeweler's glasses and needing 5 arms. not worth it. Last edited by kindlecrasher; 06-22-2014 at 04:31 AM.