Theories as to why 505 freezing???

[petercreasey]

I've had my Sony 505 for quite some time. I use both Sony eBook Library and Calibre (latest versions of each) to load the reader.

Until the past few days, there were never any problems. However, in the past few days, I have encountered perhaps 3 - 5 occasions where my reader froze up and could only made operable by using the reset button on the back of the reader. It has happened with more than 1 ebook in unknown format(s).

I don't want to reformat my reader because its contents are not backed up. Thus far, I can live with the problem if I have to.

I have read in other threads about folks having similar experiences with their readers.

What are the theories as to what is causing these freeze ups? For example, could it be a defect in the formatting of the ebook on the reader? Etc.? Etc.?

Thanks for any/all ideas!

. . . . . . . Pete

[kezza]

I've been having this problem for several months now. I don't think it has anything to do with the new desktop software, but it is new since they updated the firmware last year. At first I thought it had to do with the book I was reading, I think it was an RTF file, but it still happens with books purchased from Sony and PDFs. I managed to decrease my freeze-ups considerably by completely wiping the device memory and reloading from the desktop, but now it's a few months later and they're happening nearly twice a week.
My best guess as to what is happening is that the reader memory buffer becomes full over time and then causes the device to freeze when it becomes too full. This is why I suspect clearing the device and starting over seems to help. Surely, though, a Linux OS shouldn't have a problem like this, should it?

[petercreasey]

Originally Posted by kezza

My best guess as to what is happening is that the reader memory buffer becomes full over time and then causes the device to freeze when it becomes too full.

K, Your drift is the same as mine. When I observe problems start up like this one, then I start to think they may have to do with memory management.

I have wondered if the 505 operating system has any defrag-type capabilities built in to run automatically and remediate any memory problems.

In any event, my strategy thus far has been to keep my 505 reader loaded with ONLY A FEW ebooks...in the hope that memory management issues, if they are the problem, will be minimized.

Hopefully, though, someone will chime in here with some thoughts or strategies that will more easily explain and remediate the freezing problem...if it is indeed a chronic problem.

. . . . . . Pete

[petercreasey]

Originally Posted by kezza

I managed to decrease my freeze-ups considerably by completely wiping the device memory and reloading from the desktop

K, One I question I would like to see answered is how does one reliably save the reader contents to the PC then, after a reformat, restore the saved reader contents from the PC to the reader.

. . . . . . Pete

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by petercreasey

K, One I question I would like to see answered is how does one reliably save the reader contents to the PC then, after a reformat, restore the saved reader contents from the PC to the reader.

. . . . . . Pete

Next time you connect your Reader you can use Windows Explorer to navigate to it and simply copy the files to your hard drive. Add the books to your calibre library and then use calibre to send them back to Reader after the format.

[doreenjoy]

I've found that SD cards and memory sticks cause more lockups.

Also it could be problems with a specific book. I have a few books converted via Calibre that lock up the reader.

[acidzebra]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I've found that SD cards and memory sticks cause more lockups. Also it could be problems with a specific book. I have a few books converted via Calibre that lock up the reader.

I sort of have the same idea about SD cards (but that might be observer bias, I also think SD is a larger drain on battery - again, entirely subjective) but I _always_ read from memory stick and have almost zero lockups if I take a little care:

I do agree some books can cause the reader to reboot. Something in the formatting causes the reader to choke, and instead of ignoring the choke point and moving on the reader decides to restart. Like there is some kind of memory leak or issue which causes it to run out of memory and then restarts.

More telling: if I switch between books _a lot_ (e.g. open a book, read a bit, open another book, read a bit, rinse, repeat) it seems the restart is more likely to happen, leading me to think the "out of memory reboot" issue is what is going on.

Note: since I have switched to reading specially formatted PDFs using either LaTex or PrinceXML the issues have largely disappeared.

[doreenjoy]

I took the SD card out of my 505 about a month ago, and I've noticed fewer resets...probably only 1 since I took out the card. Not a scientific study by any means but I have been trying to pay attention to how often the reader reboots.

[Superlucky]

Originally Posted by doreenjoy

I took the SD card out of my 505 about a month ago, and I've noticed fewer resets...probably only 1 since I took out the card. Not a scientific study by any means but I have been trying to pay attention to how often the reader reboots.

I've noticed far less stability when using an SD card as well.

[petercreasey]

I agree with those of you who think the freeze-ups might be due to certain ebooks... probably certain of those loaded using Calibre. If not an ebook memory glitch, then the particular book seems to be a likely cause.

. . . . . Pete

[petercreasey]

Originally Posted by Superlucky

Next time you connect your Reader you can use Windows Explorer to navigate to it and simply copy the files to your hard drive. Add the books to your calibre library and then use calibre to send them back to Reader after the format.

S, I have looked at the ereader content in the past using the strategy you suggest.

I have found the files to be spread out and in totally different styles. It seems impossible to sort through them, copy them, and then restore them properly.

Can someone provide some helpful info!?!

. . . . . Pete

[dordale]

Pete...The only files you'll need to copy from your reader to your computer are any books that you have on your reader. So, any files that have the extension ".epub, .pdf, .txt., .lrf,. lrx, .txt--I think that's all of them. You said in an earlier post in this thread that you only keep a few books on your reader, so this shouldn't be too hard to do.

Then after reformatting your reader, just copy the books you want on your reader back to the reader. You can do this with the Sony software, with Calibre, or with Windows Explorer.

It's actually a good idea to keep a backup copy of your books on your desktop anyway in case something happens to your reader. (The first time I ever reformatted my reader was because something on it got so corrupt that it was the only option I had.)

Hope this helps!

dordale

[no.guru]

Clearing the history in utilities has solved this problem for me. If I'm not mistaken, it must be done for each book individually.

The next time it freezes, it will clear the history. From then on, simply clear history when you are done with each book.

[petercreasey]

Originally Posted by dordale

Pete...The only files you'll need to copy from your reader to your computer are any books that you have on your reader. So, any files that have the extension ".epub, .pdf, .txt., .lrf,. lrx, .txt

D, Thanks again!

I'll have to look at the reader contents again. My recollection is that they were spread over several drives, folders, files, etc. and basically unidentifiable, but I'll go back and view things again.

. . . . . Pete

[petercreasey]

Originally Posted by no.guru

Clearing the history in utilities

N, I had not heard of doing this. It sounds like a worthwhile action to take.

Interesting that not doing this might affect the freezing problem.

. . . . . Pete