PRS-505 Frozen - Bricked?

[wen]

Hi,

I hope someone can help please.

I've been using my beloved prs-505 every day for nearly three years. Never had a problem with it until now. It was consistantly charged via usb when it got down to two bars of power. I've read the forum thinking maybe the reader is 'bricked' and believe it was a dodgy file that did it. I was opening a new epub and bam.

Reader went off, started back up and froze in the start screen. I cannot turn the reader off (this is important because some advice says the device needs to be switched off before resetting? At the moment, that isn't an option for me. The ereader has been on for three days and counting

When I reset it starts back up but freezes on the start up screen. I've done reset a gazillion times. To no avail.

Then I took the practical advice from the forum and bought a PSP charger. Have charged overnight. The red light on the top of the reader indicates it was charging yesterday. The light goes out quickly when I plug in the PSP charger now, but red light remains if I switch to USB trying to reset. So I presume my battery is full going by the PSP charger lights/or lack of now rather. Yet, I'm still getting zilch results from resets.

I've tried the reset 10+ times. Still freezing on start up screen.

Calibre recognises the prs device but I get this error message:

ERROR: Error: Error communicating with device

[Errno 13] Permission denied: 'H:\\driveinfo.calibre'

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\device.py", line 62, in run
File "site-packages\calibre\gui2\device.py", line 278, in _get_device_information
File "site-packages\calibre\devices\usbms\driver.py", line 97, in get_device_information
File "site-packages\calibre\devices\usbms\driver.py", line 89, in _update_driveinfo_file
IOError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'H:\\driveinfo.calibre'

So, I can't even delete files off the device manually in the hope of finding the potentially corrupt epub.

I'm using a UK device so the US updates would probably mess up the reader further or would it still work? At least the special.exe can only be used on US/Canadian devices. On jamesbeat's thread Have I Bricked My 505? https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73727 he tried to use the Sony updater to reflash his firmware with the US version. (His being a UK device, I was interested in the results). It erased the old software and said it was writing the new software to the reader, but that was it - it was a continual cycle of erase and writing the new software; it got no further, essentially failing. Eventually he got it working on a Windows OS (he was originally using Linux). I've got WinXP OS so will that work as jamesbeat says or only with PRSC installed? In a nutshell, the advice is confusing my simple little mind as one source says yes, and another source says no ...

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu...d=3622&os_id=7

Filename : PRS-505 Updater 1.1.00.18040.exe

Version : 1.1.00.18040

Last Modified : 07/24/2008

What products and operating systems does this apply to?
Model: PRS-505
Operating System(s): Microsoft® Windows® XP

Note: Not all models are sold in all countries. This file is only for use with the products identified and sold in United States, Latin America, or Canada.

According to our records, these files are related to, or required for, this installation.

Required = Unless stated otherwise, this file must be installed BEFORE the Sony® Reader (PRS-505) System Update in order for it to work properly.
If more than one Required file is listed, install them in the order presented on this page. Related (optional) files should not be considered in the installation order.
Related (optional) = This file may be an add-on. Click the title and read the description to determine whether or not you want to install it.

Click a title to see more details.

Required: Reader™ Library Software Update for the Reader Device by Sony
It is necessary to update the Reader Libary (formerly eBook Library) software to the latest version in order to take advantage of all of the features added with this system software update. It does not matter which update is installed first.

It goes on to dire warnings that the Battery must be full before upgrading and installing or the reader may be damaged and need a sony repair. Not encouraging.

On wiki.mobileread there are these instructions for PRS500:

Unbricking Instructions

-- Originally posted here by diabloNL

Download the original PRS500 updater from Sony
Execute this PRS500 updater and click "ok" to proceed. The installer will unpack the installation files.
Go to the following location on your disk: C:\Documents and Settings\[YOURUSERNAME]\Local Settings\Temp\ (C:\Users\[YOURUSERNAME]\AppData\Local\Temp\ in Vista) and copy the folder WZSE0.TMP and paste it on your desktop
Now you can close the PRS500 updater.
Go to \WZSE0.TMP\eBookUpdater\assets\updaterAssets\ on your desktop and open the file PRSVersion.dat with notepad.
Change 100307170 into 100307171 and save it.
Connect your Reader to the USB and press the reset button on the back. Don't forget to switch it back on. Wait until the Reader goes in to USB mode (wait for the USB connector icon on the Reader's screen).
Now execute PRS-500 Updater.exe in \WZSE0.TMP\ on your desktop
Follow the steps of the updater and it should upgrade your Reader and unbrick it.

Has anyone used or seen similar unbricking instructions for the prs-505? Once again, I notice instructions for the ereader to be switched on again. (Oh, for the ability to switch mine off properly!)

I don't know if this means anything ... although I have SD cards, I've never needed to use them in my ereader yet. So, I've only used the internal memory - the most I've had on my reader is 180 books.

I have read about PRSC (hence I bought the SD cards in anticipation of having browsable folders as my ereader gets fuller) but am reluctant to upgrade to this until my reader has come out of its sulk and is behaving properly. A PRSC install may give me more headaches at this time??

I would like to try hamimelon's advice from the Finally unbrick my prs505! - a new method thread. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27063

Like hamimelon, I can see the three 'Removable Disks' with 0 capacity. But, I can't seem to find the imformation to format the internal memory using FAT. That said, the idea of formatting gives me the willies. I'm afraid I may do something wrong without a step-by-step guide and completely fry my ereader. But I'm slowly getting to the stage where I'll try anything. This may be a last resort?

Phew! I hope that someone can help, or at least can make some sense of the problem I've encountered.

Thanks so much in advance.

[petercreasey]

Why not call Sony support? They are usually quite helpful.

[wen]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for replying.

Unfortunately, my reader is well past its warranty date. Sony are prepared for it to be taken in to see what the problem is and repair. Just to send it back is £28 before it is even looked at. The eventual repair charges may not fall far short of buying a new device.

Hence me scouring this forum for some golden nuggets of advice. I'm sure there is a solution, but I haven't been successful yet.

Thanks for taking the time to help,

Much appreciated,
Wen

[wen]

I finally realised how to format the device. So I reckon I'll be going that route next.

Fingers crossed ...

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by wen

I finally realised how to format the device. So I reckon I'll be going that route next.

Fingers crossed ...

That's what I'd suggest. Forget Calibre, just format it using your computer/usb mount.

[wen]

Thanks kennyc,

I think I needed someone to say 'go for it' as I was dubious about the format route to start with. But, all is now well with my beloved 505.

Thanks again.