Kobo Start Menu

[leungleungleung]

Originally Posted by tshering

Since it is evident that you manipulated the device, it might be difficult to exchange it. If you can, that would of course be the best solution.


Yes, you would have to open it. (But then of course, it will be even more difficult to exchange the device).

I understand that you did not replace the old touch driver with the new one. I think I should state this more explicitely in my post.
In order to prevent accidents as yours, more recent versions of the Kobo Start Menu launch the original Kobo software after every second boot. Did you use an older version? Or do you have any idea why this did not work?

Here is the story:-C

I downloaded KBStartMenu_02.zip at the first post of this thread, and then follow the instrustions as follows (of coz I have completed step1 as well)

Step 2
1.connect the Kobo to the PC
2.copy KoboRoot.tgz to .kobo of the device
3.eject safely and disconnect
4.wait until the update is finished

My h20 is bricked after step 4 (wait until the update is finished), there is no chance for me to update the driver during the installation.

[tshering]

@leungleungleung

Thank you for the clarification. I think I should state explicitly in the first post that there is not yet provided a package for H20. Maybe, I should also consider removing all older versions of KSM from the thread.

[Frenzie]

Originally Posted by leungleungleung

I downloaded KBStartMenu_02.zip at the first post of this thread, and then follow the instrustions as follows (of coz I have completed step1 as well)

Unfortunately you should have installed the version from this post for FW 3.2 and higher.

[leungleungleung]

Originally Posted by tshering

@leungleungleung

Thank you for the clarification. I think I should state explicitly in the first post that there is not yet provided a package for H20. Maybe, I should also consider removing all older versions of KSM from the thread.

So do you mean the version I downloaded(KBStartMenu_02.zip) is old version or I install the KSM wrongly? If I install it wrongly, can you tell me in what step I should update the driver?

Thanks

[tshering]

Originally Posted by leungleungleung

So do you mean the version I downloaded(KBStartMenu_02.zip) is old version or I install the KSM wrongly? If I install it wrongly, can you tell me in what step I should update the driver?

Thanks

Yes, unfortunately, this is an old version that works only with older firmware versions. At the beginning of the first post, there are links to more recent versions of the KSM.
Actually, there is not yet a version for the H2O, cf. this post and this.
It is really unfortunate that this happened to you! I hope you can exchange the device.

[leungleungleung]

Originally Posted by tshering

Yes, unfortunately, this is an old version that works only with older firmware versions. At the beginning of the first post, there are links to more recent versions of the KSM.
Actually, there is not yet a version for the H2O, cf. this post and this.
It is really unfortunate that this happened to you! I hope you can exchange the device.

OK. Now I understand why I bricked my H2O, may I know when would the version of KSM which H2O being released or can you provide more detail instruction or H2O installation. Such that other people wont bricked their H2O as me.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by leungleungleung

OK. Now I understand why I bricked my H2O, may I know when would the version of KSM which H2O being released

Maybe next week.

Originally Posted by leungleungleung

or can you provide more detail instruction or H2O installation. Such that other people wont bricked their H2O as me.

Please, do not install any of the current KSM versions on H2O.

[Ebri]

Tshering: Have you taken out the part from the RcS script, which, after not booting into nickel x times asks more or less before everyting starts whether you would do a factory reset in version 02? Though I understand it was installed to different firmware version, so the scipt can miss files.

[tshering]

Originally Posted by Ebri

Tshering: Have you taken out the part from the RcS script, which, after not booting into nickel x times asks more or less before everyting starts whether you would do a factory reset in version 02? Though I understand it was installed to different firmware version, so the scipt can miss files.

Yes, I never took this part over into the KSM version of rcS.

[jlynton]

Originally Posted by tshering

Maybe next week.

Looking forward to it!

[tigran]

tshering,

Can you please explain the technical side of Kobo Start Menu, i.e. exactly how it works. For example, do you modify the boot sector or not? I am asking because fsck.vfat reports that the boot sector differs from all the backup copies and I am not sure if this is a corruption or expected behaviour as required by your program. Also, knowing what exactly is going on helps in situations with fs corruptions --- should I simply restore the backup partition to the first one and reformat the vfat partition (by using "restoring factory defaults" function in Nickel, or manually) or do I need to do some kind of "uninstall" of Kobo Start Menu first? I.e. if you modify the boot sector then I must do uninstall... Please clarify these things. Thank you very much in advance!

UPDATE: I looked at what's inside KoboRoot.tgz and got an idea of how it works. I don't see anywhere that you modify the boot sector, but still your confirmation (or otherwise) of this fact would be appreciated. Thank you.

[tshering]

No, KSM does not modify the boot sector at all. The most significant modification is of the rcS file (/mnt/etc/init.d/rcS). In the original version the script of the rcS file calls at a certain point nickel (the kobo reader GUI). The modified script branches to KSM instead. All that is needed to restore the original behaviour of the device (as far as KSM is concerned) is to replace the modified rcS by the rcS that came with the FW you are running now.
The only other system file that KSM modifies is /usr/local/Kobo/udev/usb. But this is of minor or no consequence in more recent FWs.
Future versions of KSM will also modify /usr/local/Kobo/udev/sd.
"Restoring factory defaults" will leave no trace of KSM. There is no need to uninstall KSM before doing the factory reset.

Originally Posted by tigran

tshering,

Can you please explain the technical side of Kobo Start Menu, i.e. exactly how it works. For example, do you modify the boot sector or not? I am asking because fsck.vfat reports that the boot sector differs from all the backup copies and I am not sure if this is a corruption or expected behaviour as required by your program. Also, knowing what exactly is going on helps in situations with fs corruptions --- should I simply restore the backup partition to the first one and reformat the vfat partition (by using "restoring factory defaults" function in Nickel, or manually) or do I need to do some kind of "uninstall" of Kobo Start Menu first? I.e. if you modify the boot sector then I must do uninstall... Please clarify these things. Thank you very much in advance!

UPDATE: I looked at what's inside KoboRoot.tgz and got an idea of how it works. I don't see anywhere that you modify the boot sector, but still your confirmation (or otherwise) of this fact would be appreciated. Thank you.

[tigran]

Thank you very much for the explanation.

Here is something curious you might find interesting. The number of "plug" processes grows with each USB plugin (as storage), see:

844 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
847 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
854 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1005 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1008 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1015 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1211 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1214 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1221 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1382 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1385 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1392 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1531 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1534 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1542 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1644 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
1647 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug

Now I rebooted the device and logged in again via usbnet and there are no "plug" processes.

Do you think KSM is responsible for this? It is under its control that usb storage plug in is done...

Also, an unrelated question: do you know if "factory reset" actually reformats the vfat data partition or do I need to do it manually? (i.e. if it simply removes all the files in it, then it won't be enough to clear my fs corruption).

[tshering]

Originally Posted by tigran

Thank you very much for the explanation.

Here is something curious you might find interesting. The number of "plug" processes grows with each USB plugin (as storage), see:

844 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
847 root 0:00 {plug} /bin/sh /usr/local/Kobo/udev/plug
[...]

Now I rebooted the device and logged in again via usbnet and there are no "plug" processes.

Do you think KSM is responsible for this? It is under its control that usb storage plug in is done...

Also, an unrelated question: do you know if "factory reset" actually reformats the vfat data partition or do I need to do it manually? (i.e. if it simply removes all the files in it, then it won't be enough to clear my fs corruption).

How are you doing this? I tried to telnet via wifi and via usbnet, but cannot see a single plug listed by ps in both cases.

[tigran]

Originally Posted by tshering

How are you doing this? I tried to telnet via wifi and via usbnet, but cannot see a single plug listed by ps in both cases.

Well, I simply ssh'd via usbnet and then did "ps -ef". Previously I connected via usb (via KSM's "usb" menu option) several times. Each time I remembered to click on disable script, of course. And I did everything in the correct sequence described in the "info" menu item in KSM. So, I didn't do anything special, really.

Ah, are you saying that this is perhaps nothing to do with usb? Well, other things that I did were putting the device to sleep in vlasovsoft launcher's menu (as it supports cover open/close correctly). And also a couple of times I put it to sleep inside Koreader, but as Koreader's sleep/wakeup is much less reliable than vlasovsoft's I normally use the latter.