New firmware

[Logseman]

There is something you must pay heed to. If you extract the Zip file, the result is another compressed file, this time in .7z format. I guess it was a mistake by the programmers. If you've extracted it directly, you'll have the image still compressed. I've already installed the new firmware and it gave no problems.

For those who don't use .7z-unzippers, here you have the files in a normal ZIP package. I recommend you to get 7Zip or IZArc though. They're very great programs which understand practically every format, including .7z and they are very functional too.

[IndecisiveMe]

Originally Posted by Logseman

There is something you must pay heed to. If you extract the Zip file, the result is another compressed file, this time in .7z format. I guess it was a mistake by the programmers. If you've extracted it directly, you'll have the image still compressed. I've already installed the new firmware and it gave no problems.

For those who don't use .7z-unzippers, here you have the files in a normal ZIP package. I recommend you to get 7Zip or IZArc though. They're very great programs which understand practically every format, including .7z and they are very functional too.

Thanks Logseman, I'll grab 7Zip now and give it a go. I'd rather try anything that throw my PB360 out the window, which I'm very close to doing.

[IndecisiveMe]

That didn't work either. Holding down the upper wing button and the ok button and pressing (or holding, I've tried both) only result in turning the reader on.

I've installed firmware twice before, so I'm not sure what the heck is going on and I'm getting more and more frustrated by the second.

It should NOT be this hard to update firmware. What happens if the upper wing button is really faulty, is there another way you can update the firmware? I wish there was a one touch firmware update button. Seriously.

Excuse my rant, I'm a woman losing her ever loving mind.

I give up.

[IndecisiveMe]

Sorry to continue on in this thread that I know everyone is watching impatiently for news of the new firmware, but I thought it was important to note that I have tried to downgrade to 14.2 tonight and I can't even get that to work.

Trying to install any of the firmware files on on my SD card by holding the ok, upper wing and power button just results in the reader turning on.

I'm stumped. Any ideas?

[Logseman]

There is no need to use the power button save for switching on the device. Just turn on the reader and when the starting logo appears, that's when you press and hold the center and upper button.

[IndecisiveMe]

Originally Posted by Logseman

There is no need to use the power button save for switching on the device. Just turn on the reader and when the starting logo appears, that's when you press and hold the center and upper button.

Holy cow that actually worked! The instructions in this thread state to do it the way I was doing it.

Sadly, now that's it's run through the update process, it's still telling me that I'm using W101.15.2. So I have no idea what's going on with it at this stage.

And yes, I've hit the reset button near the battery.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by IndecisiveMe

I'm having HUGE difficulty installing this new firmware update.

I am starting to suspect you might have hardware problem with your PocketBook.
Do you hear, or did you hear rattling sound when you shake your device?

I have installed 15.3 without any problem.
Just unpack the swupdate_02Sep2010_360_ru_15_3b.zip file. You get the swupdate_02Sep2010_360_ru_15_3b.7Z file, and you need to unpack that AGAIN with a program called 7zip http://www.7-zip.org/

I think they did this double packing on purpose. Only users that are able to unpack the file are computer savvy enough to provide meaningful feedback ;-)

So. After double unpacking you get SWUPDATE.BIN file. Load this file on card or into memory and proceed with flashing.
There is also FREEZE01.DAT file. Disregard that for the moment. I *think* this file is a dump generated by PocketBook when it crashes, so programmers can see what happened.

Even with the buggiest firmware I have rarely experienced more than one crash per day (several hours of using the device).
I have been using the last 15.2 for many days without a crash. Especially when I just read books - as opposed to trying to do interesting stuff with configuration of device or testing non-public version of FBReader 0.9.3

[IndecisiveMe]

Originally Posted by kacir

I am starting to suspect you might have hardware problem with your PocketBook.
Do you hear, or did you hear rattling sound when you shake your device?

I have never heard a rattling sound coming from my device. I've read threads where other people have heard it and I've checked my device each time. Never heard anything.

I have installed 15.3 without any problem.
Just unpack the swupdate_02Sep2010_360_ru_15_3b.zip file. You get the swupdate_02Sep2010_360_ru_15_3b.7Z file, and you need to unpack that AGAIN with a program called 7zip http://www.7-zip.org/

I think they did this double packing on purpose. Only users that are able to unpack the file are computer savvy enough to provide meaningful feedback ;-)

I'm usually pretty computer savvy, which is why I'm so frustrated. I use WinRAR, which opens 7zip as far as I know, I'm pretty sure it's opened them before.

So. After double unpacking you get SWUPDATE.BIN file. Load this file on card or into memory and proceed with flashing.
There is also FREEZE01.DAT file. Disregard that for the moment. I *think* this file is a dump generated by PocketBook when it crashes, so programmers can see what happened.

I tried the install without the .DAT file first and then I tried it with it, just in case. Nothing happened either time. When I followed Logseman's instructions of waiting until the boot logo appeared before holding the buttons down, it seemed to install, said it was installing, said it was successful but still displays that I'm using 15.2.

Even with the buggiest firmware I have rarely experienced more than one crash per day (several hours of using the device).
I have been using the last 15.2 for many days without a crash. Especially when I just read books - as opposed to trying to do interesting stuff with configuration of device or testing non-public version of FBReader 0.9.3

I use my reader for at least a couple of hours a day. I had 14.2 for about three weeks (I think) and it froze and needed to be reset at least twice. I never tried 15.1 because all reports were that it was horribly buggy. I did tried 15.2 and am still using it, because initial reports were that it was really good and that it brought a lot of new features to the device. I do love the new features. I do not like how often if reboots on me (every 10-20 pages or so) and that when it does reboot it doesn't remember my last bookmark. I've taken to turning my device off every 10 or so pages if I remember, so I can at least have that last page set as a bookmark.

I'm extremely hesitant to send it back to the US for repair (I live in Australia). I'd need to be pretty sure it was hardware for me to do that.

When you installed 15.3 did it recognise it as that in the About Device screen?

[Logseman]

When you installed 15.3 did it recognise it as that in the About Device screen?

In my case, it did.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by IndecisiveMe

When you installed 15.3 did it recognise it as that in the About Device screen?

Yes, the About Device screen says it is 15.3.

Try to check if the 15.3 firmware update file is the only update file left on device. You might have one on card and another in main memory.
Have a good look during the update process, it says in the screen that it is using the 15.3b firmware.

Have you tried to reset the device using the reset button under battery door?

[IndecisiveMe]

Originally Posted by kacir

Yes, the About Device screen says it is 15.3.

Try to check if the 15.3 firmware update file is the only update file left on device. You might have one on card and another in main memory.
Have a good look during the update process, it says in the screen that it is using the 15.3b firmware.

Have you tried to reset the device using the reset button under battery door?

15.3 was the only one on the device and the SD card, I checked before I transferred the update file. When I couldn't get it working the first 50 times I tried, I deleted the whole lot, downloaded it again, and transferred it again.

I didn't pay much attention once it actually started to install because I was so surprised that it was actually working after two hours. As soon as it installed, I got my trusty paperclip and hit the reset button, then I checked the About Device screen, which still says 15.2.

I'm going to give up for tonight and try again tomorrow. If I can't get 15.3 working, I'll try going back to 14.2, although I couldn't even get that working earlier tonight. I'm guessing the 15.2 firmware update changed the way we now install firmware options. I wish each update came with a readme file with current install instructions.

Thanks so much for your help, and you too Logseman

[mdmorrissey]

I hope the PB people are reading this. All we want, dammit, is a reader that will display the text and turn the pages. (RELIABLY!!!) That is not too much to ask for the prices they demand. They can take their touchscreens and other crap and stick it. Give me an ereader that will do for me what a cheap paperback will do, that's all I ask!!!

[IndecisiveMe]

I am very happy to report back that right before I went to bed last night, I decided to give the firmware install one last go. I deleted everything (again), downloaded the firmware (again), and installed it the way Logseman suggest previously in this thread. I watched carefully as the update installed and it finally said it was 15.3b and that it had installed successfully.

I am even more happy to report that I read over a hundred pages last night and nearly the same this morning without one single reboot. No freezes. Nothing out of the ordinary at all.

Good job, guys!

I have no idea what was going on last night, because everything I did that last time was exactly the same thing I did all 50 previous times.

[Logseman]

I'm very happy that it's working well for you! Particularly because this means that you can do what the device was made for: read and read until your eyes bleed!

[IndecisiveMe]

Originally Posted by Logseman

I'm very happy that it's working well for you! Particularly because this means that you can do what the device was made for: read and read until your eyes bleed!

Exactly It was getting so bad last night that my husband was looking up prices of other readers. That's definitely a last resort, I love my PB360, I can only imagine I'm going to love it even more now that I won't get so frustrated with it.

My eyes don't bleed, but they do get awfully fuzzy by the time I put it down