Another M92 screen problem

schoneschein · 09-07-2015, 11:40 PM

Hi All,

I turned on my M92 today to find a screen problem. It's just been sitting on my desk, and from the look of the screen I think the problem may be the cable or controller. I removed the back and tried pressing different parts of the cable while refreshing the screen, and this did change the appearance on the bad section.

I wish I had bought this from Booxtor! It's from Arta Tech and just over two years old. I plan to remove the screen to make sure that it's not cracked. If not, can anyone help me find a new ribbon cable? Is there anything else that I can try to fix it?

Here's a picture. Sorry it's upside down

http://imgur.com/n25ruTB

Thanks for the help!

schoneschein · 09-08-2015, 12:03 AM

Okay, I've taken it apart and looked at the back of the screen and I don't see any cracks.

Wong McGregor · 09-13-2015, 12:20 PM

Hi Schoneschein,

I'm sorry to hear/see that. I haven't encountered this sort of problem - yet.

For what it's worth, in this thread:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178058

it is claimed that the screen (if that is where the problem lies) is the same as that in the Kindle DX (but I don't know how the stylus would work then as I don't think the DX has got one). That might be one way of getting spare parts.

I'm still struggling to get a connected Obuntu install working myself. I either run into wireless or installation problems with Obuntu itself. The wireless (and so connection) problems mean that I can't install the parts missing from Obuntu (for instance, Make does not seem to work) that would allow me to the install drivers that would allow me to address the wireless problem.

I've just noticed that you mentioned in this post:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=182

that you couldn't get the latest Obuntu image (which is the one that I've been using) to work and so had to use the earlier 8-16 image. I presume this is the image that Kirth uploaded:

OBUNTU.update-20130816.tar.gz

since the 16-08-2013 links in the first post of the images thread haven't worked in some time.

How did you install this? Did you just follow the same procedure outlined (in seaniko7's first post of the images thread and the related video) for the later 17-08-2013 image?

schoneschein · 09-18-2015, 03:26 AM

Hi Wong,

It's nice to see that someone else is still working with one of these!

Thanks for the suggestion. I did a search for the part number of the screen and found some for around $100. It seems to be fairly easy to get. And it looks like the digitizer is actually behind the screen and is not adhered, so it shouldn't be hard to switch it.

The only reason I haven't yet ordered a screen is that I've been hoping someone would tell me it's probably the cable, since I know that these were failure prone.

As for Obuntu:

The newest image wouldn't even boot for me. You got a lot further than I did. I believe that I did follow the same procedure that's described for the newest build.

It sounds like you may have a broken distribution. Most things work out of the box. However, if you want to try fixing it, you can download on a computer the .deb packages you need, copy to your sdcard, and install them using dpkg. (You shouldn't have to compile anything)

I assume that you checked dmesg to see if the wireless adapter is recognized, and, if so, ifconfig?

Wong McGregor · 09-22-2015, 03:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

Hi Wong,

It's nice to see that someone else is still working with one of these!

Thanks for the suggestion. I did a search for the part number of the screen and found some for around $100. It seems to be fairly easy to get. And it looks like the digitizer is actually behind the screen and is not adhered, so it shouldn't be hard to switch it.

The only reason I haven't yet ordered a screen is that I've been hoping someone would tell me it's probably the cable, since I know that these were failure prone.

Yes - I wasn't aware that the cables were prone to failure. Obviously it would help to know which part failed and your experiments seem to point to the cable.

I was thinking more of ebay. I did see a M92 for parts in the States a few months ago but I missed it as I was too busy at the time. Given that the M96 is supposed to be just an upgrade of the M92 they also probably share alot of the same parts. They seem to look exactly the same and if I remember correctly people were disappointed that it had the same screen. That might be another route to getting compatible parts, although I'm not sure how you'd track them down. It would be great to have a list of part numbers like in the IBM service manuals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

As for Obuntu:

The newest image wouldn't even boot for me. You got a lot further than I did. I believe that I did follow the same procedure that's described for the newest build.

Thanks for this. It could still come in handy. I've only had any success with the external install onto the SD card rather than the internal memory, which is more of a manual install. So I've oddly never had any success with the more automatic procedure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

It sounds like you may have a broken distribution. Most things work out of the box. However, if you want to try fixing it, you can download on a computer the .deb packages you need, copy to your sdcard, and install them using dpkg. (You shouldn't have to compile anything)

Yes - you are right about this. I was too pessimistic about this possibility from what I'd read earlier. I've now downloaded a large part of the repository with apt-mirror and will be attempting to install what I need from the SD card this way. The problem has always been finding a way to get access to the repository as Obuntu is rather incomplete out the box.

I've just attempted to install the kernel headers and it couldn't find them so I'll have to look into that further (perhaps a naming issue) but I was just able to install emacs so I must have found the right repository. So it does look like I've finally found a way to bring the repository to Obuntu in place of connecting Obuntu to it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

I assume that you checked dmesg to see if the wireless adapter is recognized, and, if so, ifconfig?

Yes - the errors turn up in dmesg - the problem seems to be with the loading the wireless firmware by the driver (module). I've discussed it at some length in the Obuntu images thread. I couldn't even blacklist the module. I eventually managed to brute force blacklist it by renaming it. But even then the firmware still failed to load (same errors) when I loaded the module manually, so I'm now mainly just trying to go around it. Certainly, USB wireless adapters are recognized on the USB bus but I've had the problem of not being able to install the drivers without a wireless or any other connection.

Thanks for your help!

schoneschein · 09-27-2015, 06:06 AM

Thanks for the responses! I've contacted Booxstor and am waiting to hear back. If he isn't able to help, and/or thinks the problem is the screen (not just the cable), I will order a new screen.

The part number is - ED097OC4 (LF) and it seems to be fairly easy to find and costs about $100. I did find one store selling them for $70. I've seen some complaints from Kindle owners about poor quality replacement screens. I hope that the one's I'm seeing are actually identical to my original screen!

--

I also installed on an SD card and really couldn't figure out how anyone was getting installs to the internal memory to work! I just had a thought about your problem: Did you check that you have free space on the Obuntu root partition? If it was incorrectly sized, that could explain why you ended up with a broken system.

Also, is your wifi working in the stock OS? (did you eliminate the possibility of a hardware problem?)

I guess I should look at the other thread before I comment here, because you've probably checked these things and much more!

One more thought, though: If you're still having trouble, since you're using an SD card, maybe you should try the other Obuntu version on a different card.

I wish I could remember more clearly what I had to do to get everything working. I did spend a very long time on this, first of all because I have an Artatech model, and had to flash the Booxstor firmware.

Wong McGregor · 09-30-2015, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

I also installed on an SD card and really couldn't figure out how anyone was getting installs to the internal memory to work! I just had a thought about your problem: Did you check that you have free space on the Obuntu root partition? If it was incorrectly sized, that could explain why you ended up with a broken system.

Also, is your wifi working in the stock OS? (did you eliminate the possibility of a hardware problem?)

I guess I should look at the other thread before I comment here, because you've probably checked these things and much more!

One more thought, though: If you're still having trouble, since you're using an SD card, maybe you should try the other Obuntu version on a different card.

Thanks - they are all useful suggestions. The wireless does work when running the Onyx OS, so it doesn't look like a hardware problem. I don't think that I've got a broken system as much as an incomplete one (as I dare say was intended). The problem, as far as I can see, is that the wireless firmware won't load. Everything else, with a few exceptions, seems to work. All the partitioning has been on the SD card which now also has got the apt-mirror repository taking up an additional 8GB so there was plenty of space. I have tried different SD cards with no change, though not the earlier version of Obuntu yet. I'll probably try to find another copy of the firmware in case that is where the problem is coming from. As I seemed to be making some headway (although alas not much today), I've kept going with the current version. Trying the earlier version on another SD card is a good suggestion. I might try to do that, since it is unlikely to disturb the existing setup, though it will take a while.

The same errors with the same wireless chipset have occurred elsewhere, it just isn't all that clear from some of those postings just what the solution is. It seems to be some sort of timing issue, which is why I was attempting to blacklist the driver from loading during the boot process. It seems as though one can vary the timeout in the insmod command that calls the ar6000.ko module but I can't find what configuration file is calling it during the boot process.

The error messages and the references to other discussions of them are in the last three posts of this page:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...217438&page=12

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

I wish I could remember more clearly what I had to do to get everything working. I did spend a very long time on this, first of all because I have an Artatech model, and had to flash the Booxstor firmware.

I've had to use the MFG tool to reflash the device which I presume it does with the Booxtor firmware.

I try to keep as extensive a collection of notes as I possibly can. I certainly know about things taking forever to get working. This has taken months. One has to keep coming back to things and try to figure out just where one had got up to.

I've now found what I think are the header files and they are indeed oddly named.

Code:

apt-cache search headers

returns:

Code:

linux-headers-imx51 - Linux kernel headers for imx51 machines
linux-headers-2.6.31-607-imx51 - Linux kernel headers for version 2.6.31 on I.MX51-based systems

Rather than:

linux-headers-2.6.35.3-power

which couldn't be found.

The chipset is actually i.MX50 which is a dedicated one for eReaders. So not quite i.MX51 but probably close enough. The sources file suggests that i.MX51 was used by Obuntu. Indeed, it seems to be telling me that these headers are installed anyway.

Apologies for the long delays between replies. Alas I've got to fit this in between other things. Keep us informed on how you go with your communications and finding parts (hopefully of acceptable quality).

Wong McGregor · 10-02-2015, 03:25 PM

Well, I just attempted an Obuntu install on another SD card, this time using the earlier 8-16 image, which Kirth uploaded:

OBUNTU.update-20130816.tar.gz

Surprizingly, it booted the first time. The only problem is that I get exactly the same wireless firmware errors in dmesg that I've already referred to in the last post. So it looks like I'm still back at square one.

Anyway, if you ended up with an external, SD card install, you probably followed hickathmoc's instructions:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...15#post2791215

They don't seem to be entirely complete, a few 'sudos' missing here and there, but I've never had any problem with them as a general guide, besides the inevitable wireless problems that seem to follow from them.

I haven't been able to reinstall the firmware. It looks like I'll have to download other parts of the repository to do that. So perhaps I'll try that next (not that I'm all that optimistic that it will make much of a difference) along with trying to install some other drivers. There seem to be indications that USB networking might work.

schoneschein · 10-12-2015, 01:31 AM

I'm sorry for being so slow to reply. I have shelved my M92 for now, and mostly forget about it. I'd really like to get the screen fixed, but it looks like I won't find the cable without the whole screen.

Anyway, your wifi problem is mysterious. It's been so long since I set up Obuntu that I'm having a hard time remembering much at all about the process. (And I failed to take detailed notes, as I usually do, and often regret!)

One other thought: What if I dd an image of my install and upload it somewhere? If there's no issue with the hardware, it should work. But it's ~ 3.0 gb, so I'm not sure how to give you access to it. If you can tell me where I could upload it, I'll make an image and do so.

Also, another shot in the dark (again, without having worked on my M92 in some time and now not remembering much about it):

I have a laptop that dual boots Debian and OSX (which I really never use, although it took a long time to setup!). I learned that if I turn off wifi in Debian, OSX never sees it, and I can't turn it back on. So, there's some kind of hardware switch even aside from the physical switch on the laptop. Could something like this be a problem?

schoneschein · 10-12-2015, 01:31 AM

Oh and I am still looking for a good screen or maybe cable, so if anyone has any suggestions, I will be very appreciative!!

Wong McGregor · 10-12-2015, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schoneschein

Oh and I am still looking for a good screen or maybe cable, so if anyone has any suggestions, I will be very appreciative!!

There already seem to be some amazing threads on this topic in this, at times, amazing forum. I hadn't looked before but I ran into these:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=242181

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=196734

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=220794

They seem to spell out the dilemma quite well. It would be interesting to know whether anyone could improve upon them. I certainly hadn't expected these sort of complications but they do seem to be addressed. The installation could be one source of the quality issues you mentioned, if these types of displays are as temperamental as they seem.

The AliExpress store mentioned is still around and they are having a sale! They seem to be selling the screen and cable as a single unit. If you can get one for $70 - $100 US(?) that's looking like a good deal. It's disappointing how much these things cost.

I'll get back about Obuntu shortly when I've got a bit more time.

Wong McGregor · 10-15-2015, 12:11 PM

Apologies to take so long to get back to this. I was a bit worried I might be wasting your time. Since I'd done most of this on one laptop (Thinkpad X200) in one virtual machine, I thought that I'd try something else to see whether there was some common factor in that that was causing these results.

So I tried to install Arch on an old XP laptop I've recently moved away from (Thinkpad X40). Alas the install which seemed to go OK, for now, seems to have failed. Oddly, the very internet connection that I used to install it is no longer working! But I got far enough to get the SD cardreader working and so tried imaging a 4GB class 4 sandisk - but with the same results as before!

What type of SD card are you using? I've mainly been using class 10 or better Sandisk cards but I do have a bit of variety (a Samsung for instance). I put another copy of the earlier image on another card just the other day but got the same old results.

I don't know how such a dd image would avoid the problems as the problem
doesn't seem to be in creating the image on the SD card. Although, at this stage, I'm happy to try anything. I don't know that my problems are all that mysterious, even if they do seem rather intractable. It seems concern the loading of the wireless firmware and timing issues that may well relate to the use of an SD card.

I was thinking about attempting to make an internal install from the external install, on the SD card, but fdisk, for instance, seems to only see the external SD card and no partitions internal to the device. I haven't seen anything like your Debian/OS X behaviour, but you reminded me of that.

If you'd like to try it, my google drive account seems to have plenty of space, but there also seem to be complications with using it. I'll probably just try to set up a free account with Mega. Perhaps it would be best if I just sent you a private message via mobileread once I've done that and we can try to arrange something.

schoneschein · 11-18-2015, 02:22 AM

Again, I'm really sorry to have been away for so long! I've been so busy and completely forgot about this.

A fellow thinkpad user! My main computers are a couple X61t thinkpads, which run Debian.

I first got Obuntu working on some junky old SD card (I don't remember which), and then switched to a 32gb class 10 Sony. I don't think that the class should affect anything but speed. (Anyway, the old one I used worked fine.)

The reason I thought that trying one of my images would be helpful is that, assuming we have the same hardware (and I'm pretty sure this is a safe assumption - I really doubt that Onyx made mid-production changes to the M92 system board), if you still get the same wireless errors, it would have to be a hardware issue with your device.

The one very big disappointment about Obuntu for me was the font rendering. PDFs look like hell, and I couldn't figure out a solution.

I think I'll take another look at screens and maybe finally order one. I'm getting ready to start working on a dissertation, and having my M92 running would be really nice!

Wong McGregor · 11-20-2015, 01:56 AM

Well, that's funny. Your hardware is even older than mine! I ended up putting Debian on the X40 without issues. I was rather surprized to find it has a graphical installer these days.

One of the reasons for my foray into eink has been my growing dispair at laptops. I think the X200 is supposed to be about the last of the thinkpads with a proper (non-chiclet) keyboard and I'm getting sick of long hours in front of LCD screens. I'm thinking about using an Eink tablet and a mechanical keyboard most of the time.

For reading PDFs, since I annotate alot, I still tend to just use paper so I haven't really looked into that much yet. Though increasingly one seems to have to read everything off a screen.

I agree that there wouldn't have been significant hardware changes. I'm increasingly suspicious of SD cards though, as I gather than a large proportion of the branded ones are fakes and I haven't found much help in identifying which are the authentic ones besides when they have obvious failings (hence the fakes I guess). So one is never sure of what one is dealing with and I can't be sure that I've got actual Sandisks.

schoneschein · 11-22-2015, 07:07 PM

Yeah, these X61t are getting pretty old! Everyone laughs at me for using this thing. But then I look at their slick new laptops, with plastic frames, loud fans, shiny widescreens, and so on, and I smile at my sturdy little workhorse.

The X220 still has a proper keyboard, I think. I'm thinking about buying an x220 tablet to replace one of these x61ts. Mainly it would be for the sake of battery life. With 4gb of ram and SSDs, and running Debian, my laptops do everything that I need. But anyway, you might take a look at the X220.

Honestly, even with my M92 working, I still maybe preferred my X61 in tablet mode, with Xournal for annotations. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard so that I don't have to switch out of tablet mode, and I can display to an external screen while in tablet mode, and have a browser or whatever open on one window with a PDF open on the laptop screen. For me, it's very efficient.

I had some of the same reasons for getting an M92, but I could never quite get used to the very slow processor and proprietary OS. I was really excited about Obuntu, and mostly it works great, but, again, fonts look terrible. I'm sure there's a solution, but I couldn't find it.

09-07-2015, 11:40 PM	#1
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Another M92 screen problem Hi All, I turned on my M92 today to find a screen problem. It's just been sitting on my desk, and from the look of the screen I think the problem may be the cable or controller. I removed the back and tried pressing different parts of the cable while refreshing the screen, and this did change the appearance on the bad section. I wish I had bought this from Booxtor! It's from Arta Tech and just over two years old. I plan to remove the screen to make sure that it's not cracked. If not, can anyone help me find a new ribbon cable? Is there anything else that I can try to fix it? Here's a picture. Sorry it's upside down http://imgur.com/n25ruTB Thanks for the help!

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09-08-2015, 12:03 AM	#2
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Okay, I've taken it apart and looked at the back of the screen and I don't see any cracks.

09-13-2015, 12:20 PM	#3
Wong McGregor Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 41374 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Hi Schoneschein, I'm sorry to hear/see that. I haven't encountered this sort of problem - yet. For what it's worth, in this thread: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=178058 it is claimed that the screen (if that is where the problem lies) is the same as that in the Kindle DX (but I don't know how the stylus would work then as I don't think the DX has got one). That might be one way of getting spare parts. I'm still struggling to get a connected Obuntu install working myself. I either run into wireless or installation problems with Obuntu itself. The wireless (and so connection) problems mean that I can't install the parts missing from Obuntu (for instance, Make does not seem to work) that would allow me to the install drivers that would allow me to address the wireless problem. I've just noticed that you mentioned in this post: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=182 that you couldn't get the latest Obuntu image (which is the one that I've been using) to work and so had to use the earlier 8-16 image. I presume this is the image that Kirth uploaded: OBUNTU.update-20130816.tar.gz since the 16-08-2013 links in the first post of the images thread haven't worked in some time. How did you install this? Did you just follow the same procedure outlined (in seaniko7's first post of the images thread and the related video) for the later 17-08-2013 image?

09-18-2015, 03:26 AM	#4
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Hi Wong, It's nice to see that someone else is still working with one of these! Thanks for the suggestion. I did a search for the part number of the screen and found some for around $100. It seems to be fairly easy to get. And it looks like the digitizer is actually behind the screen and is not adhered, so it shouldn't be hard to switch it. The only reason I haven't yet ordered a screen is that I've been hoping someone would tell me it's probably the cable, since I know that these were failure prone. As for Obuntu: The newest image wouldn't even boot for me. You got a lot further than I did. I believe that I did follow the same procedure that's described for the newest build. It sounds like you may have a broken distribution. Most things work out of the box. However, if you want to try fixing it, you can download on a computer the .deb packages you need, copy to your sdcard, and install them using dpkg. (You shouldn't have to compile anything) I assume that you checked dmesg to see if the wireless adapter is recognized, and, if so, ifconfig?

09-27-2015, 06:06 AM	#6
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Thanks for the responses! I've contacted Booxstor and am waiting to hear back. If he isn't able to help, and/or thinks the problem is the screen (not just the cable), I will order a new screen. The part number is - ED097OC4 (LF) and it seems to be fairly easy to find and costs about $100. I did find one store selling them for $70. I've seen some complaints from Kindle owners about poor quality replacement screens. I hope that the one's I'm seeing are actually identical to my original screen! -- I also installed on an SD card and really couldn't figure out how anyone was getting installs to the internal memory to work! I just had a thought about your problem: Did you check that you have free space on the Obuntu root partition? If it was incorrectly sized, that could explain why you ended up with a broken system. Also, is your wifi working in the stock OS? (did you eliminate the possibility of a hardware problem?) I guess I should look at the other thread before I comment here, because you've probably checked these things and much more! One more thought, though: If you're still having trouble, since you're using an SD card, maybe you should try the other Obuntu version on a different card. I wish I could remember more clearly what I had to do to get everything working. I did spend a very long time on this, first of all because I have an Artatech model, and had to flash the Booxstor firmware.

10-02-2015, 03:25 PM	#8
Wong McGregor Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 41374 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Well, I just attempted an Obuntu install on another SD card, this time using the earlier 8-16 image, which Kirth uploaded: OBUNTU.update-20130816.tar.gz Surprizingly, it booted the first time. The only problem is that I get exactly the same wireless firmware errors in dmesg that I've already referred to in the last post. So it looks like I'm still back at square one. Anyway, if you ended up with an external, SD card install, you probably followed hickathmoc's instructions: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...15#post2791215 They don't seem to be entirely complete, a few 'sudos' missing here and there, but I've never had any problem with them as a general guide, besides the inevitable wireless problems that seem to follow from them. I haven't been able to reinstall the firmware. It looks like I'll have to download other parts of the repository to do that. So perhaps I'll try that next (not that I'm all that optimistic that it will make much of a difference) along with trying to install some other drivers. There seem to be indications that USB networking might work.

10-12-2015, 01:31 AM	#9
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	I'm sorry for being so slow to reply. I have shelved my M92 for now, and mostly forget about it. I'd really like to get the screen fixed, but it looks like I won't find the cable without the whole screen. Anyway, your wifi problem is mysterious. It's been so long since I set up Obuntu that I'm having a hard time remembering much at all about the process. (And I failed to take detailed notes, as I usually do, and often regret!) One other thought: What if I dd an image of my install and upload it somewhere? If there's no issue with the hardware, it should work. But it's ~ 3.0 gb, so I'm not sure how to give you access to it. If you can tell me where I could upload it, I'll make an image and do so. Also, another shot in the dark (again, without having worked on my M92 in some time and now not remembering much about it): I have a laptop that dual boots Debian and OSX (which I really never use, although it took a long time to setup!). I learned that if I turn off wifi in Debian, OSX never sees it, and I can't turn it back on. So, there's some kind of hardware switch even aside from the physical switch on the laptop. Could something like this be a problem?

10-15-2015, 12:11 PM	#12
Wong McGregor Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 41374 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Apologies to take so long to get back to this. I was a bit worried I might be wasting your time. Since I'd done most of this on one laptop (Thinkpad X200) in one virtual machine, I thought that I'd try something else to see whether there was some common factor in that that was causing these results. So I tried to install Arch on an old XP laptop I've recently moved away from (Thinkpad X40). Alas the install which seemed to go OK, for now, seems to have failed. Oddly, the very internet connection that I used to install it is no longer working! But I got far enough to get the SD cardreader working and so tried imaging a 4GB class 4 sandisk - but with the same results as before! What type of SD card are you using? I've mainly been using class 10 or better Sandisk cards but I do have a bit of variety (a Samsung for instance). I put another copy of the earlier image on another card just the other day but got the same old results. I don't know how such a dd image would avoid the problems as the problem doesn't seem to be in creating the image on the SD card. Although, at this stage, I'm happy to try anything. I don't know that my problems are all that mysterious, even if they do seem rather intractable. It seems concern the loading of the wireless firmware and timing issues that may well relate to the use of an SD card. I was thinking about attempting to make an internal install from the external install, on the SD card, but fdisk, for instance, seems to only see the external SD card and no partitions internal to the device. I haven't seen anything like your Debian/OS X behaviour, but you reminded me of that. If you'd like to try it, my google drive account seems to have plenty of space, but there also seem to be complications with using it. I'll probably just try to set up a free account with Mega. Perhaps it would be best if I just sent you a private message via mobileread once I've done that and we can try to arrange something.

11-18-2015, 02:22 AM	#13
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Again, I'm really sorry to have been away for so long! I've been so busy and completely forgot about this. A fellow thinkpad user! My main computers are a couple X61t thinkpads, which run Debian. I first got Obuntu working on some junky old SD card (I don't remember which), and then switched to a 32gb class 10 Sony. I don't think that the class should affect anything but speed. (Anyway, the old one I used worked fine.) The reason I thought that trying one of my images would be helpful is that, assuming we have the same hardware (and I'm pretty sure this is a safe assumption - I really doubt that Onyx made mid-production changes to the M92 system board), if you still get the same wireless errors, it would have to be a hardware issue with your device. The one very big disappointment about Obuntu for me was the font rendering. PDFs look like hell, and I couldn't figure out a solution. I think I'll take another look at screens and maybe finally order one. I'm getting ready to start working on a dissertation, and having my M92 running would be really nice!

11-20-2015, 01:56 AM	#14
Wong McGregor Connoisseur Posts: 51 Karma: 41374 Join Date: Dec 2014 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Well, that's funny. Your hardware is even older than mine! I ended up putting Debian on the X40 without issues. I was rather surprized to find it has a graphical installer these days. One of the reasons for my foray into eink has been my growing dispair at laptops. I think the X200 is supposed to be about the last of the thinkpads with a proper (non-chiclet) keyboard and I'm getting sick of long hours in front of LCD screens. I'm thinking about using an Eink tablet and a mechanical keyboard most of the time. For reading PDFs, since I annotate alot, I still tend to just use paper so I haven't really looked into that much yet. Though increasingly one seems to have to read everything off a screen. I agree that there wouldn't have been significant hardware changes. I'm increasingly suspicious of SD cards though, as I gather than a large proportion of the branded ones are fakes and I haven't found much help in identifying which are the authentic ones besides when they have obvious failings (hence the fakes I guess). So one is never sure of what one is dealing with and I can't be sure that I've got actual Sandisks.

11-22-2015, 07:07 PM	#15
schoneschein Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: Onyx Boox M92	Yeah, these X61t are getting pretty old! Everyone laughs at me for using this thing. But then I look at their slick new laptops, with plastic frames, loud fans, shiny widescreens, and so on, and I smile at my sturdy little workhorse. The X220 still has a proper keyboard, I think. I'm thinking about buying an x220 tablet to replace one of these x61ts. Mainly it would be for the sake of battery life. With 4gb of ram and SSDs, and running Debian, my laptops do everything that I need. But anyway, you might take a look at the X220. Honestly, even with my M92 working, I still maybe preferred my X61 in tablet mode, with Xournal for annotations. I have a wireless mouse and keyboard so that I don't have to switch out of tablet mode, and I can display to an external screen while in tablet mode, and have a browser or whatever open on one window with a PDF open on the laptop screen. For me, it's very efficient. I had some of the same reasons for getting an M92, but I could never quite get used to the very slow processor and proprietary OS. I was really excited about Obuntu, and mostly it works great, but, again, fonts look terrible. I'm sure there's a solution, but I couldn't find it.

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