Hacking the 505 for 1.1.00.18040

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by porkupan

Well, this error seems to indicate that the internal flashing utility nblsdm can no longer flash this reader with the Fsk image of larger size than what's already been flashed. Why - not sure. My advice is to reflash with the stock flasher, then try again.

That fixed it for me, albeit with a bit of concern 'till I got the firmware to reflash, but was then able to flash an image with the new icons too.

/Gwyn

[JeffElkins]

Originally Posted by igorsk

Hmm I think I've seen this before... nblsdm needs to be passed a parameter with the partiton size. Until I get around to implement that, reflashing with stock updater should allow you to flash a custom image again.

Unfortunately, the flasher refused to reflash: it said I was up-to-date

It's weird trying to figure out a way to brick my reader...The mind boggles!

[igorsk]

Edit the PRSVersion.dat inside the flasher (unzip it first) and change the last 0 to 1. This will enable reflashing.

[JeffElkins]

Hmm I think I've seen this before... nblsdm needs to be passed a parameter with the partiton size. Until I get around to implement that, reflashing with stock updater should allow you to flash a custom image again.

Originally Posted by igorsk

Edit the PRSVersion.dat inside the flasher (unzip it first) and change the last 0 to 1. This will enable reflashing.

Thank you Igorsk! That worked perfectly. I did both a #5,#6 and a #4,#6 (after rebuilding an image on my box). Can you post a bit about nblsdm? I see it referenced in make_opt.sh(commented out), but google tells me little. I was looking for a man page...

[SurgE]

Originally Posted by JeffElkins

It's weird trying to figure out a way to brick my reader...The mind boggles!

I LOLed in real life when I read this

[porkupan]

Originally Posted by SurgE

Heh, something new learnt today. I'm looking forward to your implementation of the submenu for localization switching

Well, I did get around to make a Russian localized menu using the Chinese method. It wasn't too hard to make a variable (using the example from Shade's clock), and make the localization dependent on the variable.

The image is here, if you want to take a peek. I didn't localize the strings hard coded in main.xml - I didn't really figure out how to make a global function that I could use to set the string variables for all sorts of strings. So, the menu is generally localized, but the hard coded strings (i.e. "Press MARK to shutdown device") are not. I could have easily overwritten those by Unicode Russian strings (as was done in the Chinese FW), but then the English users wouldn't be able to read them.

My intent was firstly to show that the menu language can be dynamically switched, and that it is not difficult at all to make a multi-language menu in the Sony Reader.

The image has forward paging with joystick, long-Enter-press shutdown, Russian Unicode fonts with Eastern European support, Shade's clock and the menu localization (experimental at this point). The localization can be turned on and off by pressing the "1" key on the About page. The "0" key is still reserved for the clock options.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by JeffElkins

Unfortunately, the flasher refused to reflash: it said I was up-to-date

It's weird trying to figure out a way to brick my reader...The mind boggles!

The menu-7(?) option on the flasher - something like "Enter firmware update mode" is the method I used.

[seajewel]

What seems to be the font size limit? 5 megs?

[JeffElkins]

Originally Posted by gwynevans

The menu-7(?) option on the flasher - something like "Enter firmware update mode" is the method I used.

I don't see a menu. Just a oval button, "click below to update."

[JeffElkins]

Anyone played with the raw.BootImg.img? It's not cramfs or squashfs...

[seajewel]

I've been trying to use the Universal Flasher to unify the menu text and to exchange fonts. I can run 5: make a new image fine, but 6 gives me "The new cramfs image is too big for flashing" .. I've tried reinstallign the stock firmware as noted in this thread, but still no go. My font files are 2.1mb in size each. I even tried changing the dutch801 to the stock font because I don't think it's used in the text or body of books on the Reader. So total of the new fonts would be less than 5 mbs.. What is the problem? Please help me! I was looking forward to this function SO much, and now it'll be back to the days of having to reset every time I want to upload a new book.

P.S. I do not need a clock, so if I can reduce the size of the cramfs image by getting rid of the clock, I would gladly do so. What files should I delete from my Flasher files? Thanks!

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by JeffElkins

Anyone played with the raw.BootImg.img? It's not cramfs or squashfs...

It is sent directly to the frambuffer to display the boot image ("Starting Up...").
Seems to be a raw 800x600 8bpp image.

[JeffElkins]

Originally Posted by igorsk

It is sent directly to the frambuffer to display the boot image ("Starting Up...").
Seems to be a raw 800x600 8bpp image.

File reports that: raw.BootImg.img: DOS executable (device driver) for DOS. Never would have figured it for an graphics file. Thanks Igorsk.

[seajewel]

for anyone having the problem with font sizes, i just replaced the text font with my font of choice .. the dutch801 font is the body font, btw and it worked. with no other files placed in the FONT folder, the default font is kept for the menu and my font is used in the body text. However, trying to use body+menu font made the cramfs file too big, as did trying to replace only the menu font after having already applied the body font.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by JeffElkins

I don't see a menu. Just a oval button, "click below to update."

The menu on the Universal Flasher ("7: switch to firmware update mode") :-)