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AskzYDre · 04-10-2015, 03:12 AM

The first thing I would check is the md5sum of the .rar, to see if the download went okay. From the Linux terminal, at the location of the downloaded file (substitute the correct file name):
md5sum "Kobo Touch N905C (no_serial).rar"
It should return: 8ab6e02ef8926fd948559d604f109d4b Kobo Touch N905C (no_serial).rar
Or ask the provider in a PM for the md5 hash of the provided file so you can verify the download. My output will only match yours if we used the same image file, of course.

If the md5 hash checks out, then you can try mounting the provided .img as a followup check. If it is successful, there are three mount points: KOBOeReader, recoveryfs, and root. With Linux Mint you should be able to right click the downloaded .img file and choose the option for mount.

Next, I'm assuming you put the sd card into a camera or some other such reader device, and then tried to restore the image? Since you are using Mint, I think there is an image writer that comes with it, other than 'Disks'. I would try a different image writer.

Again, after you write the image, the sd card should mount to those three mount points provided above, when outside the Kobo (such as in some kind of card reader).

Finally, if you are brave and really, really careful because you can easily overwrite the wrong disk and ruin your linux system and/or any attached devices, if you provide the wrong device at the command line -- you can try writing the image directly with 'dd'. But if you aren't pretty familiar with what I'm describing, don't do it would be my advice.

From the terminal, determine the correct device of the sd card.
sudo fdisk -l

Then, substituting for the correct path to the .img for 'if' and the correct SD device 'of'.
sudo dd if=/home/larfingiraffe/Downloads/yourimage.img of=/dev/sdx bs=1M

You didn't mention it, but one thing I did (and not sure if necessary) was to go into the .img and substitute the serial number for my device. I did this with a tool called 'GHex' in Linux. I inserted the serial number of my device into the beginning of the .img file, at the first occurrence where I saw "SN-N". Luckily, I had retrieved the serial number off my Kobo before it had bricked. It is also on the box the Kobo came in. Then I restored from that image. Again, I'm not sure if the device checks the serial number. Probably not, but @Davidfor may know whether this paragraph's step is even necessary.

It's possible that there is a problem with the sd card itself, in which case I'd try a different 2 gb sd card. I'm pretty sure your flashing light symptoms matched what I had, so my guess is that the image didn't get written correctly (instead of the problem being a failed SD card).

04-10-2015, 03:12 AM	#10
AskzYDre Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2014 Device: Kobo Touch	The first thing I would check is the md5sum of the .rar, to see if the download went okay. From the Linux terminal, at the location of the downloaded file (substitute the correct file name): md5sum "Kobo Touch N905C (no_serial).rar" It should return: 8ab6e02ef8926fd948559d604f109d4b Kobo Touch N905C (no_serial).rar Or ask the provider in a PM for the md5 hash of the provided file so you can verify the download. My output will only match yours if we used the same image file, of course. If the md5 hash checks out, then you can try mounting the provided .img as a followup check. If it is successful, there are three mount points: KOBOeReader, recoveryfs, and root. With Linux Mint you should be able to right click the downloaded .img file and choose the option for mount. Next, I'm assuming you put the sd card into a camera or some other such reader device, and then tried to restore the image? Since you are using Mint, I think there is an image writer that comes with it, other than 'Disks'. I would try a different image writer. Again, after you write the image, the sd card should mount to those three mount points provided above, when outside the Kobo (such as in some kind of card reader). Finally, if you are brave and really, really careful because you can easily overwrite the wrong disk and ruin your linux system and/or any attached devices, if you provide the wrong device at the command line -- you can try writing the image directly with 'dd'. But if you aren't pretty familiar with what I'm describing, don't do it would be my advice. From the terminal, determine the correct device of the sd card. sudo fdisk -l Then, substituting for the correct path to the .img for 'if' and the correct SD device 'of'. sudo dd if=/home/larfingiraffe/Downloads/yourimage.img of=/dev/sdx bs=1M You didn't mention it, but one thing I did (and not sure if necessary) was to go into the .img and substitute the serial number for my device. I did this with a tool called 'GHex' in Linux. I inserted the serial number of my device into the beginning of the .img file, at the first occurrence where I saw "SN-N". Luckily, I had retrieved the serial number off my Kobo before it had bricked. It is also on the box the Kobo came in. Then I restored from that image. Again, I'm not sure if the device checks the serial number. Probably not, but @Davidfor may know whether this paragraph's step is even necessary. It's possible that there is a problem with the sd card itself, in which case I'd try a different 2 gb sd card. I'm pretty sure your flashing light symptoms matched what I had, so my guess is that the image didn't get written correctly (instead of the problem being a failed SD card).