Aura HD how to recover aura hd internal sd data on a broken screen?

[20mark]

Hello, by GF just broke her kobo aura HD screen (frozen screen and "tearing" lines) , i wnat to know if it's possible to connect to pc without pressing "connect" on kobo screen and recover epub files.
Or else i wnat to know if there is a plug-and-play microsd on the motherboard so i can tear it up and put the microsd in my pc and recover all.

Also there's a way to recover her reading time statistics? maybe dumping the nand? I dont know if i can do this having a broken screen altough...

[tshering]

Originally Posted by 20mark

Hello, by GF just broke her kobo aura HD screen (frozen screen and "tearing" lines) , i wnat to know if it's possible to connect to pc without pressing "connect" on kobo screen and recover epub files.
Or else i wnat to know if there is a plug-and-play microsd on the motherboard so i can tear it up and put the microsd in my pc and recover all.

Also there's a way to recover her reading time statistics? maybe dumping the nand? I dont know if i can do this having a broken screen altough...

If anything else works (apart from the screen), you can plug in your device via usb and (after some time) try to find and press "connect to pc" blindly. Maybe someone with a working Aura HD can indicate the exact position.

Other than that, you can open the case and take the internal sd out. Everything you need is on the fat partition.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by tshering

If anything else works (apart from the screen), you can plug in your device via usb and (after same time) try to find and press "connect to pc" blindly. Maybe someone with a working Aura HD can indicate the exact position.

Other than that, you can open the case and take the internal sd out. Everything you need is on the fat partition.

To mount the SD card in Windows:

If you can remove the internal uSD card (see above) you can mount it in windows, using "Bootice". Windows will not recognize the uSD card, as it is used in your device, because the partition table has a Linux type partition as the first partition. BootICE can be used to change the partition table so the FAT32 (KOBOeReader) partition is first in the partition table, and Windows will then see it and give it a drive letter. If you save the partition table both before and after changing the partition table, (Bootice lets you save and restore the partition table) you can "restore" the partition table to how you need it for your Kobo or to how you need it so Windows can use it.

First you will need BOOTICE, (there are different versions for 32 and 64 bit OS)

Then you can remove your Kobo devices internal uSD card, from your device and plug it into the reader on your PC.

Open Bootice and check that the "Destination Disk" is your uSD card.

Select the "Parts Manage" button and "Backup Partition Table", to save the existing partition arrangement so it can be restored easily after you are done. [I save mine in the same folder I keep my backup image files.] Give it a name like "Original_ Kobo.dpt"

Then select the "KOBOeReader" partition and click on the "Set Accessible" button. It should move to the top of the list. Now backup the partition table again and give it a name like; "AuraHD_FAT1st.dpt"

Close and exit Bootice. Open Windows Explrer and you should now have the FAT32 partition mounted and you can modify its contents.

When you are done, you open Bootice and restore the original partition table, that you saved earlier. Your uSD card should now work in your Kobo device again, with the changes you made in effect.

Now all you need to do to "Mount" the uSD card with the FAT32 accessible (for updates, ect.), is to "Restore" the FAT1st version of the partition table. Then make your changes and then restore using the backup of the original partition table.

Luck;
Ken

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by 20mark

Also there's a way to recover her reading time statistics?

Once you have access to the files, have a look in the .kobo folder.

If she will buy another Kobo just copy everything on the koboereader partition & it will be in the same state as the old device including all books, reading progress, etc.

[20mark]

Originally Posted by tshering

If anything else works (apart from the screen), you can plug in your device via usb and (after some time) try to find and press "connect to pc" blindly. Maybe someone with a working Aura HD can indicate the exact position.

Other than that, you can open the case and take the internal sd out. Everything you need is on the fat partition.

thanks tshering! im gonna do it tomorrow when we see. if i just cant manage to press that damn button, i'll go with ken method posted below! i already googled pics of aura hd and more or less i know where to press

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

To mount the SD card in Windows:

If you can remove the internal uSD card (see above) you can mount it in windows, using "Bootice". Windows will not recognize the uSD card, as it is used in your device, because the partition table has a Linux type partition as the first partition. BootICE can be used to change the partition table so the FAT32 (KOBOeReader) partition is first in the partition table, and Windows will then see it and give it a drive letter. If you save the partition table both before and after changing the partition table, (Bootice lets you save and restore the partition table) you can "restore" the partition table to how you need it for your Kobo or to how you need it so Windows can use it.

First you will need BOOTICE, (there are different versions for 32 and 64 bit OS)

Then you can remove your Kobo devices internal uSD card, from your device and plug it into the reader on your PC.

Open Bootice and check that the "Destination Disk" is your uSD card.

Select the "Parts Manage" button and "Backup Partition Table", to save the existing partition arrangement so it can be restored easily after you are done. [I save mine in the same folder I keep my backup image files.] Give it a name like "Original_ Kobo.dpt"

Then select the "KOBOeReader" partition and click on the "Set Accessible" button. It should move to the top of the list. Now backup the partition table again and give it a name like; "AuraHD_FAT1st.dpt"

Close and exit Bootice. Open Windows Explrer and you should now have the FAT32 partition mounted and you can modify its contents.

When you are done, you open Bootice and restore the original partition table, that you saved earlier. Your uSD card should now work in your Kobo device again, with the changes you made in effect.

Now all you need to do to "Mount" the uSD card with the FAT32 accessible (for updates, ect.), is to "Restore" the FAT1st version of the partition table. Then make your changes and then restore using the backup of the original partition table.

Luck;
Ken

Ken, thank you for your very very exhaustive answer! I work in IT and i'm tech-savvy, so i understand all that you said, and i want to thank you because without your answer i'll never know on that uSD was a linux( ext4?) partition as primary! But now, since she live in a univeristy apartment without internet connection (sigh) i'll bring the right tools (plus a copy of usb-bootable ubuntu maybe, just in case)

just a thing; i noticed in Bootice under part manage that i dont have "set accessible" button, but i see "activate" and "hide" buttons. maybe i should click on "activate"?

Originally Posted by frostschutz

Once you have access to the files, have a look in the .kobo folder.

If she will buy another Kobo just copy everything on the koboereader partition & it will be in the same state as the old device including all books, reading progress, etc.

thanks frostschutz, it will work also on lets say aura HD -> aura H2O ? since they are almost "the same" model...

this is a good news because she was in tears when realized that all her reading time was lost and now i have a chance to set it up all like before.

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by 20mark

thanks frostschutz, it will work also on lets say aura HD -> aura H2O ? since they are almost "the same" model...

Kobo uses the same firmware for all models [with minor hardware adaptions], so you can migrate the .kobo/KoboReader.sqlite database [and pretty much all other files] between them.

[Ken Maltby]

Originally Posted by 20mark

thanks tshering! im gonna do it tomorrow when we see. if i just cant manage to press that damn button, i'll go with ken method posted below! i already googled pics of aura hd and more or less i know where to press



Ken, thank you for your very very exhaustive answer! I work in IT and i'm tech-savvy, so i understand all that you said, and i want to thank you because without your answer i'll never know on that uSD was a linux( ext4?) partition as primary! But now, since she live in a univeristy apartment without internet connection (sigh) i'll bring the right tools (plus a copy of usb-bootable ubuntu maybe, just in case)

just a thing; i noticed in Bootice under part manage that i dont have "set accessible" button, but i see "activate" and "hide" buttons. maybe i should click on "activate"?




thanks frostschutz, it will work also on lets say aura HD -> aura H2O ? since they are almost "the same" model...

this is a good news because she was in tears when realized that all her reading time was lost and now i have a chance to set it up all like before.

Once you are in the "Parts Manage", with the multi partition uSD, and select/highlight the "KOBOeReader" partition, the "Assign Drive Letter" button will turn into "Set Accessible" .

Luck;
Ken

[20mark]

Originally Posted by Ken Maltby

Once you are in the "Parts Manage", with the multi partition uSD, and select/highlight the "KOBOeReader" partition, the "Assign Drive Letter" button will turn into "Set Accessible" .

Luck;
Ken

thank you im gonna try this evening and let you know!

[20mark]

recovered all books and .kobo dir from internal microsd. unfortunately touch screen was completely unresponsive and i cant press "connect". so i ripped it apart and take microsd out.
maybe today she'll but a new one and test it out by putting entire directory on new kobo.

should i do the start-up configuration or i should put everything on without setup?

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by 20mark

recovered all books and .kobo dir from internal microsd. unfortunately touch screen was completely unresponsive and i cant press "connect". so i ripped it apart and take microsd out.
maybe today she'll but a new one and test it out by putting entire directory on new kobo.

should i do the start-up configuration or i should put everything on without setup?

As you have a complete backup from the old device, just put everything on the new one. That will include the set-up. And if it doesn't work, you can always do a factory reset and start again.

[frostschutz]

If it doesn't work, do the firmware update first.

And once you put your backup files on, even if it seems to work properly, do a power off / reboot for good measure.

[20mark]

ok new kobo aura H2O.
Put the backed up files on new kobo..everything is working just like before...BUT!!!

when i started it up the first time the right part of the screen was washed out like a "gradient" from content to blank page...i was MAD and i even go back to the store ...but obiviously the problem did not represent.
that's the moment i realized maybe those e-ink screen have a "memory" effect and if they stay with screen off for too much time they tend to have the "ghost" effect with the image displayed before shutting down ...can you confirm that?
by the way thanks for your great support everyone!

[frostschutz]

Originally Posted by 20mark

maybe those e-ink screen have a "memory" effect

There is ghosting, but it should go away once you refresh.

[robko]

Originally Posted by 20mark

... maybe those e-ink screen have a "memory" effect and if they stay with screen off for too much time they tend to have the "ghost" effect with the image displayed before shutting down

Yes there can be a ghost effect, but it isn't related to how long it's had the image on the screen. It typically occurs if you have a solid dark colour across a section of the screen and until you get a screen refresh can cause the new text to look washed out. This often happens from a picture on a cover or in a book or a map in a book. Either way, it's not at all a permanent thing and should disappear with the next full screen refresh.

[20mark]

no, apart from ghosting when i first turn on the reader i noticed that the right part of the screen was completely "white" ...navigating a bit and open books and turn pages make the right part "appear" sometimes but that was not the behaviour of a 179€ piece of plastic with an e-ink screen. so i put everything in the box with the kobo turned on and in a half hour i arrived at the shop, explaining the problem but the problem was gone...no more vanished right screen..so i tought it HAS to be a memory effect.