PRS-505 Unusable Reader - have tried all I can do...

[Tim D]

Hi folks

My wife and I have each got a PRS-505, bought last February. We mainly use them when we travel, so sometimes they go for a month or so without use, so we usually shut them down.

I went to use them the other week, and one will not start up correctly. It stops at the "Starting up" screen. I suspect that it might not have been shut down properly...

Initially I suspected a problem due to fully discharged battery. I bought a genuine 2amp 5.2v Reader charger, but that did not fix it.

I have read many many posts on here, so have learned how to do soft resets, have tried hard reset (pressing the relevant buttons immediately "Starting Up" appears), but have got no-where.

As I have two readers, and I was still suspecting that there may be a battery problem, I have swapped the batteries between the two, and that has not resolved the problem - they are both definitely fully charged.

My guess is that the base software on the machine is corrupt and needs to be reinstalled. I see discussions about people doing this, but I think it is a step too far technically for me. (a) I am not clear what bit of software that you use to send the new software, and (b) I have not found it all that easy to find the standard UK software anywhere.

I was going to send it to Sony for repair, but that would cost £175. I went back to the Sony shop that I bought it from 13 months ago, and they eont help, and they appealed to Sony, who also said they were not prepared to do anything. (That's what you get for spending the thick end of £500 on two Sony devices - nice!)

So, my question is - are there any other places that might be able to attempt a repair? I don't want any bells and whistles or non-standard software - just to get it working again!

Thanks

Tim

[ShellShock]

You could try flashing the reader with PRSCustomizer; I'm pretty sure it comes with the UK firmware. It is very easy to use, you just need an SD Card. You could use PRSCustomizer with selecting any of the enhancements it makes, although they are worth checking out too. This will flash the reader with the UK firmware.

If necessary I can email you the UK firmware (send me a PM with your email address).

[porkupan]

If your Reader is stuck because of some bad content or screwed up files in internal memory, you should try the simple unbricking method:
1) Reset Reader (paper clip)
2) Turn it on (switch)
3) As soon as the screen flashes, plug in the USB.
4) If the Reader boots into the "USB connected" state, it should be visible on the PC. Reformat the internal memory (with Quick Format option).

If that doesn't help, your firmware may be corrupted (very improbable if you didn't flash new firmware). Then you should try the 10 reset method:

0) Unplug from USB
1) Reset Reader (paper clip)
2) Turn it on (switch)
3) As soon as the screen flashes and "Starting up" appears, Reset Reader (go to step 1).
4) Repeat this reset sequence 10 or more times.
5) The Reader should go into "Firmware Update didn't complete successfully" state.
6) Flash Reader with stock firmware updater (you may not be able to find the U.K. version, but the U.S. version will work just fine for you).

[Zipr]

After the hard reset do you get the Erase All screen? If not, then you might not be doing the hard reset properly.

If all else fails, you can reset the device and then immediately connect it to your PC. It should show up as a USB device. Then, reformat the device using FAT. I've had to do that once when my database folder became corrupt. After that, it should start up normally.

Edit: sorry for the duplicate advise. It appears that porkupan and I were typing at the same time!

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Tim D

I have read many many posts on here, so have learned how to do soft resets, have tried hard reset (pressing the relevant buttons immediately "Starting Up" appears), but have got no-where.

Did you try some of the troubleshooting stuff on the Wiki like the reset 5 times trick?

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/PRS5...uble_Shooting:

I don't see the 5.times reset trick. I think igor came up with that one.

BOb

[Tim D]

Thanks everyone for your help.

As per my preference I did not want to put non-standard firmware on the machine, so took the suggestion of formatting the storage.

Not sure exactly what I was meant to do, but having connected the USB cable shortly after a soft reset, I formatted the data drive that Windows told me I had just connected. This meant that the Reader got past the "starting up" screen but I still had problems copying books over. I then tried the "Format Internal Memory" option on the reader, that also created a couple of folders on the relevant drive when viewed in Windows. And now it seems to all be sorted - so thank you all for your help.

One of the main things that I hadn't really appreciated the significance of was the difference between the internal memory (that you can easily format) that just stores stuff like books (and perhaps tunes and pictures) and the system memory that stores the operating system for the Reader. In retrospect I should have done the "format" earlier, but did not realise that this was NOT going to affect the operating system of the device.

My long reply here is just to hopefully help others in the same situation!

Once again - big thanks