MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Kubrick: Live CD to debrick Kindle 3, 4, and Touch

kindleheadache · 07-26-2016, 09:35 PM

OK so after reading this entire thread I am going to give some tips that might help Kindle Keyboard(K3) owners debrick successfully. I have been working on one for about a week now and learned a couple things. I haven't had a full success yet but I have seen it come back to life briefly before refreezing. The kindle was in the classic freeze and when connected in windows would connect and disconnect every 90 seconds or so in a loop and show as SE blank RINGO. One thing to note is that when in this mode the battery will not charge no matter how long you leave it on the charger. You need a donor kindle keyboard to keep a full battery ready for you to do the debricking process. At least that was true in my case.

When using kubrick in the main mode with instructions and clicking next I found something out. You can not rely on the prompts when putting into USB download mode. Any type of reset or timeout will give you the "Device is ready" and allow you to hit "Next". These false positives then give you the quick responses on the kernel and then the main partition with out actually doing anything. The best option here to guarantee you are in USB download mode is to go to a shell by pressing Alt+F2. Login in to that and run k3flasher manually for part of the debricking process.

Once logged in to the shell type:
cd /media/cdrom/kubrick - This command will put you in the directory to run k3flasher

Then type this after you have connected your K3:
./k3flasher resources/ramkernel/mx35to2_mmc.bin info

The output will either say that no usb device was found or your serial number and wifi mac address. If no usb device is found then hold the power button on your kindle till the orange light goes out. Rerun the command (if you hit the arrow up on your keyboard it will autofill). Keep holding the power button over. k3flasher will now show that it is waiting for a device. Now continue with the steps to get it into USB downloader mode. Sometimes I would have to repeat the process several times till I actually got it just right and the serial number and mac address would display. Once those are displayed you are in the right mode and ready to flash.

Once you do see that it is connected, quickly press Alt+F1 to get back to the main kubrick and try and get through the process. if it fails to complete then I would go back to the shell and start over with getting it back into USB downloader. This was the only way I could be positive I had the kindle ready for the flashing of the kernel and main partition.

To test if the kernel was flashing correctly I also have done it in the shell by manually running k3flasher. I would type the command in and then hit ctrl+c to cancel the command just so it was in the command log so I could just arrow up till the command I needed autofilled. This was important for me because it is alot to type.

Once I knew it was in the correct mode I would use the following command to manually flash the kernel:
./k3flasher resources/ramkernel/mx35to2_mmc.bin program kernel resources/devices/k3/main_kernel

You can then watch the output and see that it is actually flashing.

I never figured out a way to invoke a manually flash of the main partition because it is controlled by a script and the main partition is in a compressed file. So after a successful kernel flash I would go back to Alt+F1 and flash the main partition using kubrick.

There may be other hardware issues with the kindle I am working on but these things helped me get it going long enough to deregister it and do a factory reset before it froze up again. I have flashed it about 5 times getting a little closer each time. I am hoping since I was able to get it back to a clean slate that this last flash will do the trick.

Once you complete a flash and hold the power for the 30+ seconds to hard reset connect it back up to kubrick and go to the shell (Alt+F2) and type lsusb. This will list usb devices attached. When I look after a good flash and reset I usually don't see anything listed here with the kindle connected. I think it is because it is rebuilding the OS internally and so nothing shows up. I don't know for sure but when this happens for me I plug it into a wall charger and just let it set till it reboots and yes it can take a long while to do that.

Hopefully some part of this helps someone and if I discover anything more that might be helpful I will post it.

07-26-2016, 09:35 PM	#966
kindleheadache Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2016 Device: none	OK so after reading this entire thread I am going to give some tips that might help Kindle Keyboard(K3) owners debrick successfully. I have been working on one for about a week now and learned a couple things. I haven't had a full success yet but I have seen it come back to life briefly before refreezing. The kindle was in the classic freeze and when connected in windows would connect and disconnect every 90 seconds or so in a loop and show as SE blank RINGO. One thing to note is that when in this mode the battery will not charge no matter how long you leave it on the charger. You need a donor kindle keyboard to keep a full battery ready for you to do the debricking process. At least that was true in my case. When using kubrick in the main mode with instructions and clicking next I found something out. You can not rely on the prompts when putting into USB download mode. Any type of reset or timeout will give you the "Device is ready" and allow you to hit "Next". These false positives then give you the quick responses on the kernel and then the main partition with out actually doing anything. The best option here to guarantee you are in USB download mode is to go to a shell by pressing Alt+F2. Login in to that and run k3flasher manually for part of the debricking process. Once logged in to the shell type: cd /media/cdrom/kubrick - This command will put you in the directory to run k3flasher Then type this after you have connected your K3: ./k3flasher resources/ramkernel/mx35to2_mmc.bin info The output will either say that no usb device was found or your serial number and wifi mac address. If no usb device is found then hold the power button on your kindle till the orange light goes out. Rerun the command (if you hit the arrow up on your keyboard it will autofill). Keep holding the power button over. k3flasher will now show that it is waiting for a device. Now continue with the steps to get it into USB downloader mode. Sometimes I would have to repeat the process several times till I actually got it just right and the serial number and mac address would display. Once those are displayed you are in the right mode and ready to flash. Once you do see that it is connected, quickly press Alt+F1 to get back to the main kubrick and try and get through the process. if it fails to complete then I would go back to the shell and start over with getting it back into USB downloader. This was the only way I could be positive I had the kindle ready for the flashing of the kernel and main partition. To test if the kernel was flashing correctly I also have done it in the shell by manually running k3flasher. I would type the command in and then hit ctrl+c to cancel the command just so it was in the command log so I could just arrow up till the command I needed autofilled. This was important for me because it is alot to type. Once I knew it was in the correct mode I would use the following command to manually flash the kernel: ./k3flasher resources/ramkernel/mx35to2_mmc.bin program kernel resources/devices/k3/main_kernel You can then watch the output and see that it is actually flashing. I never figured out a way to invoke a manually flash of the main partition because it is controlled by a script and the main partition is in a compressed file. So after a successful kernel flash I would go back to Alt+F1 and flash the main partition using kubrick. There may be other hardware issues with the kindle I am working on but these things helped me get it going long enough to deregister it and do a factory reset before it froze up again. I have flashed it about 5 times getting a little closer each time. I am hoping since I was able to get it back to a clean slate that this last flash will do the trick. Once you complete a flash and hold the power for the 30+ seconds to hard reset connect it back up to kubrick and go to the shell (Alt+F2) and type lsusb. This will list usb devices attached. When I look after a good flash and reset I usually don't see anything listed here with the kindle connected. I think it is because it is rebuilding the OS internally and so nothing shows up. I don't know for sure but when this happens for me I plug it into a wall charger and just let it set till it reboots and yes it can take a long while to do that. Hopefully some part of this helps someone and if I discover anything more that might be helpful I will post it.