bricked Kobo Glo

dspear99ca · 09-05-2015, 10:18 PM

Hi there. I have a Kobo Glo that's not even as useful as a doorstop. It stopped working a few weeks ago... it's charged, and I can make the LED do various things by pressing combinations of the power and light buttons, but the distorted cover image on the screen doesn't change and nothing appears to be able to reset it. Of course the paperclip was the first thing I tried as I've had to do it quite a few times in the past.

So, I see from poking around that the Glo appears to run some linux variant and that the whole OS as well as downloaded books are stored on a micro-SD card on the motherboard. I've downloaded kobo-update-3.1.7.3.zip, I'm very unix/linux savvy (worked as a UNIX sysadmin for many years) so no problem unzipping, etc. I have no idea, however, of the protocols involved with booting from a USB device... didn't exist when I worked in IT.

I see that the zipfile contains a) a linux kernel and b) a KoboRoot.tgz file. Is this all I need to format the SD card and replace contents? Is there a HOWTO on exactly where stuff needs to be put on the SD card in order to replace what's existing? I assume there's separate OS root partition and data partition(s) to store downloaded ebooks. What size are these partitions?

Or do I need an SD card image from someone to start with? If so where do I get one?

I also see an "upgrade" directory in the update, which contains a half-dozen or so u-boot-*.bin files as well as two UImage* files with no filename extension to indicate type. ???

Any help really appreciated, my 11-year-old daughter bought the Glo with her own money and is pretty sad to see it go.

meeera · 09-05-2015, 11:34 PM

If the cover image is distorted, I'm guessing you have a broken glass substrate. Can you post a good photo?

dspear99ca · 09-06-2015, 01:30 AM

Sorry if it's gigantic, couldn't figure out how to resize, most of these forums just post a thumbnail. Here's a photo of the screen.

**IMAGE REMOVED***

meeera · 09-06-2015, 01:33 AM

Your image will likely be deleted because it's too big - but see those diagonal lines? You have a fractured glass screen substrate. Nothing you're doing can help. It's caused by user abuse: impact, bending/twisting forces, or temperature extremes.

Buy a high quality rigid book-style case for the next device, and teach your child to treat it as though it has a very thin, fragile pane of glass in it. E-ink screens are far more fragile than smartphone and tablet screens.

dspear99ca · 09-06-2015, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

Your image will likely be deleted because it's too big - but see those diagonal lines? You have a fractured glass screen substrate. Nothing you're doing can help. It's caused by user abuse: impact, bending/twisting forces, or temperature extremes.

Buy a high quality rigid book-style case for the next device, and teach your child to treat it as though it has a very thin, fragile pane of glass in it. E-ink screens are far more fragile than smartphone and tablet screens.

(Sigh). Yeah, looking it the hi-res picture I could see the cracks right away too. Good to know. My daughter treats her things very well but they're all used to iPads and phone screens which seem all but indestructible. This happened while we were on a trip and in all likelihood it got bent as it was jammed into a soft-sided bag with all manner of items to entertain kids in the backseat of a car.

Thanks much for the help with the diagnosis.

Dave

Dr. Drib · 09-06-2015, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dspear99ca

Sorry if it's gigantic, couldn't figure out how to resize, most of these forums just post a thumbnail. Here's a photo of the screen.

**IMAGE REMOVED***

Why make life difficult?

Simply ATTACH the image to your post.

Here's how:

Go to EDIT.
Go to GO ADVANCED.
Click on MANAGE ATTACHMENTS.
Attach your image.

Don
(Moderator)

robko · 09-06-2015, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dspear99ca

(Sigh). This happened while we were on a trip and in all likelihood it got bent as it was jammed into a soft-sided bag with all manner of items to entertain kids in the backseat of a car.

That's really unfortunate, but you're likely right that that's the cause. From what I've seen it's rarely a direct impact of an object on the screen or even a drop of the device that kills the screen. It's usually a subtle twisting/bending. IMHO if you're traveling with it you need it in a solid box rather than just a cover because covers still allow flex. Personally I've never used a cover (I do primarily use it at home) but I have a wooden box I keep it in when I pack it in luggage etc.

09-05-2015, 10:18 PM	#1
dspear99ca Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2015 Device: Kobo Glo	bricked Kobo Glo Hi there. I have a Kobo Glo that's not even as useful as a doorstop. It stopped working a few weeks ago... it's charged, and I can make the LED do various things by pressing combinations of the power and light buttons, but the distorted cover image on the screen doesn't change and nothing appears to be able to reset it. Of course the paperclip was the first thing I tried as I've had to do it quite a few times in the past. So, I see from poking around that the Glo appears to run some linux variant and that the whole OS as well as downloaded books are stored on a micro-SD card on the motherboard. I've downloaded kobo-update-3.1.7.3.zip, I'm very unix/linux savvy (worked as a UNIX sysadmin for many years) so no problem unzipping, etc. I have no idea, however, of the protocols involved with booting from a USB device... didn't exist when I worked in IT. I see that the zipfile contains a) a linux kernel and b) a KoboRoot.tgz file. Is this all I need to format the SD card and replace contents? Is there a HOWTO on exactly where stuff needs to be put on the SD card in order to replace what's existing? I assume there's separate OS root partition and data partition(s) to store downloaded ebooks. What size are these partitions? Or do I need an SD card image from someone to start with? If so where do I get one? I also see an "upgrade" directory in the update, which contains a half-dozen or so u-boot-.bin files as well as two UImage files with no filename extension to indicate type. ??? Any help really appreciated, my 11-year-old daughter bought the Glo with her own money and is pretty sad to see it go. Last edited by dspear99ca; 09-05-2015 at 10:21 PM.

09-06-2015, 01:30 AM	#3
dspear99ca Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2015 Device: Kobo Glo	Sorry if it's gigantic, couldn't figure out how to resize, most of these forums just post a thumbnail. Here's a photo of the screen. IMAGE REMOVED* Last edited by dspear99ca; 09-06-2015 at 01:37 AM.

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09-05-2015, 11:34 PM	#2
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,808 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	If the cover image is distorted, I'm guessing you have a broken glass substrate. Can you post a good photo?

09-06-2015, 01:33 AM	#4
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,808 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Your image will likely be deleted because it's too big - but see those diagonal lines? You have a fractured glass screen substrate. Nothing you're doing can help. It's caused by user abuse: impact, bending/twisting forces, or temperature extremes. Buy a high quality rigid book-style case for the next device, and teach your child to treat it as though it has a very thin, fragile pane of glass in it. E-ink screens are far more fragile than smartphone and tablet screens.