MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - PRS-505 Loads and Loads and Loads

profdreamer · 04-18-2009, 12:38 PM

Hi! I've been lurking on mobileread for close to 8 months now. Did all the research here on which reader to buy -- a Sony PRS-505 which I got last December. Found the solution to every problem I encountered right here on this forum -- didn't even need to register till today!

I have a pretty unique problem. My Reader -- after 4 months of great service -- has stopped working. It hasn't frozen like the many cases I've read about here -- it's sort of stuck on the "Loading" page. The arrows keep going round and round, while the Options behind is all gray and fuzzy, but there's no progress. It's not frozen, but just (literally) going round in circles.

OK, now for the details. I've got 100+ books loaded on it. My PC runs Ubuntu (Linux), the Reader shows up as a flash drive and I transfer files directly to the database/media/books directory. I load about a book a day and delete those I finish or hate. No additional memory cards. There was about 30 MB of the internal memory free. The problem started right after I transferred a 7 MB PDF this evening. I didn't even get to open it -- the "Loading" page (right after turning on the reader) stayed put. When I now connect it to my PC (running Ubuntu) I see the usual Sony icon, but the directories inside (database, cache, temp) are all empty. I can't transfer anything to the device -- I get a "input/output" error.

(The first time after the "Loading" problem, I was able to connect to my database/media/books directory and erase the last PDF transferred. When I tried to return to the directory, it was gone. Empty).

This is what I've done so far to try and fix it:-

1. Charged it fully via the USB chord.

2 Erased the media.xml file

3. Soft Reset. It started up and then got stuck on the "Loading" page.

4. Tried a Hard Reset (pushing the Reset Button, then turning it off, then holding down the Mark and Volume+ buttons) -- when I press option 5 to erase all content etc, the screen just sits there and does nothing (I left it like that for more than an hour).

I'm out of options now. The only things I can think of trying now are re-flashing the firmware, formatting the internal memory through my computer or buying an SD card -- if the internal memory's corrupted, is there any chance that an SD card will work in its place?

I'm scared of the formatting and re-flashing stuff. I live in Delhi, India, so if I break/brick my Reader am stuck with it. No warranty outside the US/Europe.

Nearly all the stuff I've done has been taken from advice to previous cries for help right here on mobileread, so I'm hoping some of the resident geniuses can help me out. Please! I don't have a life and the Reader was the only thing that helped me to forget that! :-)

Oh, and I can't turn it off. The "Loading " arrows are still relentlessly circling, the battery's running down, think it'll soon die.. Sorry for the huge post, but I really don't think I've read about this problem before.

04-18-2009, 12:38 PM	#1
profdreamer OCD Reader Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Delhi, India Device: PRS-505	PRS-505 Loads and Loads and Loads Hi! I've been lurking on mobileread for close to 8 months now. Did all the research here on which reader to buy -- a Sony PRS-505 which I got last December. Found the solution to every problem I encountered right here on this forum -- didn't even need to register till today! I have a pretty unique problem. My Reader -- after 4 months of great service -- has stopped working. It hasn't frozen like the many cases I've read about here -- it's sort of stuck on the "Loading" page. The arrows keep going round and round, while the Options behind is all gray and fuzzy, but there's no progress. It's not frozen, but just (literally) going round in circles. OK, now for the details. I've got 100+ books loaded on it. My PC runs Ubuntu (Linux), the Reader shows up as a flash drive and I transfer files directly to the database/media/books directory. I load about a book a day and delete those I finish or hate. No additional memory cards. There was about 30 MB of the internal memory free. The problem started right after I transferred a 7 MB PDF this evening. I didn't even get to open it -- the "Loading" page (right after turning on the reader) stayed put. When I now connect it to my PC (running Ubuntu) I see the usual Sony icon, but the directories inside (database, cache, temp) are all empty. I can't transfer anything to the device -- I get a "input/output" error. (The first time after the "Loading" problem, I was able to connect to my database/media/books directory and erase the last PDF transferred. When I tried to return to the directory, it was gone. Empty). This is what I've done so far to try and fix it:- 1. Charged it fully via the USB chord. 2 Erased the media.xml file 3. Soft Reset. It started up and then got stuck on the "Loading" page. 4. Tried a Hard Reset (pushing the Reset Button, then turning it off, then holding down the Mark and Volume+ buttons) -- when I press option 5 to erase all content etc, the screen just sits there and does nothing (I left it like that for more than an hour). I'm out of options now. The only things I can think of trying now are re-flashing the firmware, formatting the internal memory through my computer or buying an SD card -- if the internal memory's corrupted, is there any chance that an SD card will work in its place? I'm scared of the formatting and re-flashing stuff. I live in Delhi, India, so if I break/brick my Reader am stuck with it. No warranty outside the US/Europe. Nearly all the stuff I've done has been taken from advice to previous cries for help right here on mobileread, so I'm hoping some of the resident geniuses can help me out. Please! I don't have a life and the Reader was the only thing that helped me to forget that! :-) Oh, and I can't turn it off. The "Loading " arrows are still relentlessly circling, the battery's running down, think it'll soon die.. Sorry for the huge post, but I really don't think I've read about this problem before.