KPW: Added Custom Screensavers via SSH, But They're Not Repeating.

[Excrucibo]

Hello,

I recently added screensavers to the Kindle Paperwhite via SSH, but a strange thing is happening:

The screensavers cycle one after the other, but after the last one (bg_medium_ss18), the screen will turn off, but continue to show the main page (no screensaver, no backlight; just unresponsive).


I've had NiLuJe's screensaver hack installed in the past, but I couldn't get it to work (due to probably my messing around in SSH before that). By "messing around" I mean to say I didn't really know SSH and the hack wasn't out yet, so I learned enough (and got lucky once) to SSH and add a few custom screensavers. They showed up, and it cycled, but it also appeared to disable NiLuJe's hack. I have since uninstalled the hack and removed the linkss folder, but the above problem still persists.

Is there some script or something that I need to edit to get it to work right? I would think (if there was one), it'd just know to cycle through all screensavers located in /usr/share/blanket/screensaver/.

It's not the worst thing to have to reboot after 18 power button pushes, but I'd like to figure it out.

Just to test, I replaced my 18 custom ones with the 19 stock ones, and it cycles through and repeats! This (to me) points at something wrong with the custom images, but I can find nothing wrong with any of them. They're all 1) 758x1024, 2) Grayscale, 3) .PNGs, 4) named correctly (and in order).

Is there something I'm overlooking?

My specs:

Kindle Paperwhite WiFi + 3G (No ads version)
Firmware version: 5.3.1
JBPatch version (if it matters): 3.0.0

Computer:
Windows 7 32-bit
Using the Xerox driver to make the KPW a RNDIS USB Gadget
PuTTY version: 0.62.

I also have Ubuntu 12.10 installed if it's easier to troubleshoot.

Ah, I think that's maybe all the relevant information.

Let me know if I can provide any more info, and thanks!

[Excrucibo]

I have done some more testing. I replaced the custom screensavers with the stock ones, installed NiLuJe's hack, added the custom screensavers to the linkss/screensavers, restarted, and it displayed the custom screensavers, but still isn't repeating after the last one.
I also deleted #18 just in case it was that specific file, but #17 did the same thing and didn't repeat.

[twobob]

Hmm.. Niluje appears to be sabbatical right now.

It kind of feel like a mistake in an index value somewhere (I.e 0 based index being reffed as 1 based or something) - that is the typical cause of a "Last Resource Explodes it" issue.

However, you are the only person to report it. Plus Niluje is awesome. So I am scratching my head...

One thought:

grab 10 other images. anything. from a "THESE WORK GREAT ON MY PW!!!" thread,
put them on the device.

As you only have yourself to test the images you created, replace that part of the equation with NON-stock, "Known to work" images. and run the test again.

?

[ixtab]

As you admit to having done "uncoordinated " changes via SSH, you might simply want to start over from scratch, i.e. factory reset + reinstall of the 5.3.1 FW. This will turn it back into a factory-fresh Paperwhite. Then start over with JB, usbnet, and SS hack. The whole procedure shouldn't take more than half an hour.

[Excrucibo]

Originally Posted by ixtab

As you admit to having done "uncoordinated " changes via SSH, you might simply want to start over from scratch, i.e. factory reset + reinstall of the 5.3.1 FW. This will turn it back into a factory-fresh Paperwhite. Then start over with JB, usbnet, and SS hack. The whole procedure shouldn't take more than half an hour.

I think I might go that route.
I've reset it a few times, but I've never reinstalled the 5.3.1 FW. I'll search for instructions.

Thanks for the help!

[ixtab]

Originally Posted by Excrucibo

I think I might go that route.
I've reset it a few times, but I've never reinstalled the 5.3.1 FW. I'll search for instructions.

Thanks for the help!

There are no instructions really - it's the same as (completely) getting rid of the jailbreak. Just install Amazon's official update package again.

[Excrucibo]

After a total of three FW flashes, the problem is still there, somehow.
I first reset, and applied the 5.3.1 update, installed the jailbreak, installed the usbnet, and SSH'd in to add custom screensavers, and it did the same thing (cycled through and wouldn't repeat).

"It must be something with the SSH", I thought. So I reset, applied the update, applied the update again, didn't install the usbnet hack, but did install NiLuJe's screensaver hack, and it still wouldn't work right!

At this point, I might either live with it, go back to the stock screensavers, or see if I can exchange it.

Giving myself a gold star for this one!

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Excrucibo

After a total of three FW flashes, the problem is still there, somehow.
I first reset, and applied the 5.3.1 update, installed the jailbreak, installed the usbnet, and SSH'd in to add custom screensavers, and it did the same thing (cycled through and wouldn't repeat).

"It must be something with the SSH", I thought. So I reset, applied the update, applied the update again, didn't install the usbnet hack, but did install NiLuJe's screensaver hack, and it still wouldn't work right!

At this point, I might either live with it, go back to the stock screensavers, or see if I can exchange it.

Giving myself a gold star for this one!

Do you have a "Special Offers" kindle? If so, the screensaver hack clearly says that it is NOT for SO kindles. If you wish to remove special offers so you can enjoy the screensaver hack, you may do so by paying a small fee at your amazon account.

[Excrucibo]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Do you have a "Special Offers" kindle? If so, the screensaver hack clearly says that it is NOT for SO kindles. If you wish to remove special offers so you can enjoy the screensaver hack, you may do so by paying a small fee at your amazon account.

No, mine is a non-SO Paperwhite.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Excrucibo

No, mine is a non-SO Paperwhite.

Ahh.. I just read your previous posts. I see that it was "mostly working", which although not clearly stated as such, it does imply that you have a non-SO kindle. Sorry.

[NiLuJe]

Huh. That indeed sounds strange. The only thing I can add is that the screesavers thingy is way more fragile on FW 5.x than before:

Anything that the framework doesn't parse properly will wreak havoc, and basically 'break' the screensavers 'til the next reboot (what you're experiencing: it's showing nothing, just the last thing on screen).

So, check you files again, and make sure there's absolutely *nothing* extra in the folder (the hack should take care of that, mostly).

To really pinpoint if your files are the culprit, you could, as twobob said, try with a random set of images built by somebody else (unfortunately, that's not as common for the PW as it was in the olden times of the K3). If there's nothing fishy copyright-wise in your images, you're also welcome to attach them here, and I'll try to figure out why they might upset the Kindle framework... .