360 Plus "Device Not Recognized"

[Miss]

When I connect my PB 360+ to the computer I get the "USB Device Not Recognized" message on my monitor saying the device has malfunctioned.

I've tried different USB ports, rebooted the computer, turned the PB on and off a few times, no change.

I'm painfully new to all this stuff and fairly computer ignorant, so there may be something obvious I'm missing. I received this reader a few months ago and have barely used it; a while back I managed to put a few books on it, delete some unwanted things and alter some minor settings but that's all. I just now attempted to hard reset it to see if that helped but apparently I couldn't even do that properly because it hasn't been restored to the original settings and content.

Would anyone like to help me out?

[Billi]

Another idea is to try another usb cable. And sometimes it makes a difference if you first connect the cable to the computer and afterwards to the Pocketbook or the other way round.

As a workaround you can use a card-reader and prepare your sd-card this way.

How do you charge your Pocketbook? With a wallcharger?

[jedd]

You may want to mention what operating system you're using.

As Billi suggested, try a different USB cable. Also try a USB port you know works - for example one of the ones your mouse or keyboard are plugged into.

When you had it working a few months ago, what was different then to now?

Is the PB360+ turned on when you plug it in? If it isn't, it (probably) should be.

Try the device on someone else's computer.

USB devices *tend* to not fail in this way (well, anything without a moving part tends to not fail this way) so, as above, the trick is to rule out various components. Also as Billi suggests, if you're using a microSD card, you can access that directly from the computer in order to get books onto your PB. If that works - and the other functionality of the device works, it implies it's fairly happy/healthy.

I just now attempted to hard reset it to see if that helped but apparently I couldn't even do that properly because it hasn't been restored to the original settings and content.

How did you attempt to do this? (You probably don't need to, btw.)

[Miss]

Thanks for the replies.

The Pocketbook charges fine when connected to the computer. When I select to connect instead of charge the screen will state it's connected, while the computer denies it.

The difference was indeed the cable when it was working a few months ago. I don't have that cable on hand anymore but will be trying different ones.

As it so happens I recently obtained a card reader and was all excited to try that as a work-around. Turns out the reader works fine for MP3s but it won't read the card that came with my Pocketbook. I'm going to see if someone else's reader works on it.

I systematically tried every USB port my computer has. (Some multiple times. :P) All of them are functional for all other devices that I have tried them on, so I'm pretty certain that isn't where the problem is located.

Originally Posted by jedd

How did you attempt to do this? (You probably don't need to, btw.)

(Good to know.)

I attempted to reset by removing the battery cover and using a crochet hook to press down the hole with the big "RESET" word over it. When it didn't work I tried several times, pressing harder, and when I was audibly hearing something click down and that still didn't do anything I stopped for fear of breaking it.

Originally Posted by jedd

You may want to mention what operating system you're using.

Would the answer be something like Windows 7?

[jedd]

This sounds like a weird one, certainly.

I think the sooner you can try a different USB cable (seems unlikely, but, yeah, good to rule it out) and a friend's computer .. and if you have a geek friend .. now's the time to call in that favour too

I'm not really a Windows person, but will say that Win7 is usually pretty sane with how it detects hardware, and the PB models have the benefit of presenting as plain vanilla USB storage units, which I've found 'just works' on Win7 as well as GNU/Linux.

Because you have the PLUS model, if you have a wifi network at home you can also use that to transfer books I believe. It may be an alternative workaround, as the anticipated workaround of transferring files via the microSD card fell through.

When you say the reader works fine for MP3's .. you mean for a different microSD card that you have, and use in a personal media player? A microSD card is a microSD card (he says with a little wariness) - all these things should be formatted to the ubiquitous VFAT file system - or to put it plainly, they should all 'just work' on every Microsoft operating system (and Apple OSX and GNU/Linux system) out there.

On the wild off-chance, could you remove the microSD card from your PB360, then power the PB360 on, and then plug it into the USB port on your Windows box? It's conceivable, but whacky if it's the case, that the microSD card is borked and is confusing things at the Windows end. (Whacky .. because it doesn't make much sense, but just conceivable because the PB presents two virtual disks to the operating system - its built-in 1.5GB memory, and the microSD card, as separate devices.) Worth a try anyway, as it's a very quick thing to test.

Reset .. cool, just wanted to make sure. As I say, it doesn't sound like this is something you need to do. I recall there's a *extra strong* reset option, something about holding down power and hitting that clicky button next to the battery, just for the record. I've had to do it once, and it required three hands and one nose. But, yeah, even the RESET hole by itself is overkill with this particular problem I think.

[paola]

I'll try the reset too, but I am also having the same problem, though with a PB903. This started with the latest firmware: I've noticed however what may be a connection: if you go to the "library" view, there is a small icon (bottom left corner) going "updating": if I wait for taht to turn into "Ready", and then connect the device, it works. If I try and connect without going through the libarry screen and waiting for the "Ready", I also get device non recognised. I do not think it is Windows 7, as until the latest firmware (i.e. for a year) I had no problem connecting (same cable, same device, same laptop). But again, mine is a 903, and even with the "proceduer", it does not always work, in the sense that I have to try a couple of times.

[Miss]

Changing the cable worked!

Originally Posted by jedd

When you say the reader works fine for MP3's .. you mean for a different microSD card that you have, and use in a personal media player? A microSD card is a microSD card (he says with a little wariness) - all these things should be formatted to the ubiquitous VFAT file system - or to put it plainly, they should all 'just work' on every Microsoft operating system (and Apple OSX and GNU/Linux system) out there.

Good to know. Yes, I had two microSD cards. I had purchased a small battery-run speaker that came with its own microSD card and microSD card reader to turn it into an MP3 player, and also a USB cable. Seems both the cable and the microSD reader are not interchangeable with other devices and cards as they ought to be. I wasn't wild about the speaker either, thus the whole thing has now been returned to wherever it came from and good riddence.

Originally Posted by jedd

Because you have the PLUS model, if you have a wifi network at home you can also use that to transfer books I believe. It may be an alternative workaround, as the anticipated workaround of transferring files via the microSD card fell through.

I tried that, failed at that, got a geek to work on it and turns out the authentication password was too long - PB wouldn't allow that length of characters. It has now been adjusted so I can access the network.

Guys, please tell me technology usually isn't this difficult? I can see now why so many people just get a Kindle. I'm not afraid to do a little legwork and learn some things but technical matters aren't my forte and all I ever wanted to do was read a few books! :P

Thanks again for all the suggestions. Glad this issue is over.

[kacir]

Originally Posted by Miss

Guys, please tell me technology usually isn't this difficult? I can see now why so many people just get a Kindle. I'm not afraid to do a little legwork and learn some things but technical matters aren't my forte and all I ever wanted to do was read a few books! :P

Look up "Ikea Effect" on the net.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ_CncrR-uU
Beautiful theory from one of my favorite author and sociologist Dan Arieli.

Arieli and colleagues found out, *and* measured that people value things they created or participated somehow in creating, much more than other, virtually identical things.

If you read the book - The upside of irrationality - you will find out that there is very deep reason why you have to add some ingredient when you buy a cake, sauce, or other meal in a box - the kind you have to cook or bake yourself, but almost all ingredients are there. The key difference is that when they started to sell such cake mixtures, nobody was buying them. Customers didn't like them. There was very little the housewife could do to make it "her" special cake. Then the manufacturer hired sociologist and the guy suggested leaving one key ingredient, an egg, for example, out, and the mixtures were an instant (pun intended) success. It turned out, that you need the customer to supply roughly 30% or more of "stuff" and then they consider it "their" cake or sauce.

So now you know our secret. Now you know why we love our PocketBooks *so* much. There is always something you can do to make it special. (NO! Only a very small percentage of users have to solve problems as severe as yours was ;-). ) Install a font, download a theme, help with translation to your language, install third-party alternative software for reading, configure the buttons to your liking, install a "screensaver" bitmap, share your findings here. If you buy a Kindle or other reader - there is very little you can do with it to make it special, apart from rooting or jailbreaking it.

[troll05]

"IKEA Effect"...LOL

Interesting idea, but I think it is at least partially true

[jedd]

Originally Posted by Miss

Changing the cable worked!

...

Guys, please tell me technology usually isn't this difficult? I can see now why so many people just get a Kindle.

I hope you realise that a faulty cable would be just as faulty no matter who made the device that is plugged into the other end, right?

Whether it's a hugely proprietary lock-in system designed to track your activities so that they can target increasingly precise adverts at you while restricting what you do with the books you buy ... or whether it's something else.