I bricked my Kindle PaperWhite

zeroxia · 08-23-2013, 11:45 AM

Hi,

I have my kindle paperwhite jailbroken when it's version 5.3.5. Then the device upgraded to 5.3.6, and I re-installed usbnetwork, as well as the rescue pack.

The usbnetwork is configured to use wifi only, and automatically starts (I created both empty files "auto" and "verbose").

I had also installed the kindlet jailbreak, the KUAL launcher, and the JBPatch, then uninstalled them.

Then I added a symlink at /etc/fonts/conf.d/99-zh.conf, pointing to /mnt/us/fonts/99-zh.conf.

After I tried some fonts at /mnt/us/fonts, when I restarts the device, it is stuck at the spinning circle, with the bottom status line showing:

Code:

N tweaking iptables config

Then I ssh into the system and removed the /etc/fonts/conf.d/99-zh.conf symlink. But restarting the device still got stuck at that point.

But the SSH was reachable, when I login via ssh, the console output this message:

Code:

WARNING! The remote SSH server rejected X11 forwarding request.
#################################################
#     E R R O R  *  E R R O R  *  E R R O R     #
#################################################
# x.conf failed to start. Reboot limit reached
# REBOOTS=2, REBOOT_LIMIT=1
# To log into the device, remove files:
# /var/local/upstart/x.restarts
# /var/run/upstart/x.restarts
#################################################
[root@kindle root]#

I can find one of above "x.restarts" file, but I forgot which one. And removing that file still couldn't get pass the spinning circle. And that "x.restarts" file just showd up again.

Then I made this disastrous move:

Code:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0p3

I thought erasing the /var partition would get away of those annoying restart counter files.

Now the device is totally stuck at the spinning circle, plugging it to computer can show a new driver letter (on Windows), but there is no drive found (as prompted by Windows), and after a few minutes, the device restarts automatically, freezes at the spinning circle again for a couple of minutes, finally it shows the "Your Kindle Needs Repair" screen.

On the starting screen, there are the "verbose" status lines, but I just realize that the Wifi connection setup is probably stored at /var, and that's missing now, so without network the SSH shell is not available anymore....

Is there anyway to rescue this? Thanks in advance.

NiLuJe · 08-23-2013, 12:03 PM

That was probably some fonts Amazon's FT lib choked on, which in turn after a reboot crashes X, which in turn, after a while, stops the boot process/shutdowns to the 'YKNR' screen.

[Cf. what happened to a Fonts Hack user recently].

(FWIW, that's why I recommend manually checking that everything works fine after an X restart when adding new fonts, makes it easier to recover).

[As for the verbose eips print, completely normal, that's the last thing the USBNet hack does when WiFi is enabled, and since X never started, there wasn't a full screen refresh to 'erase' it].

Now, if you're in WiFi only (meaning it never switches to usbnet, stays in usbms), and you killed /var/local, yep, you're screwed on the WiFi front, catch-22. So, unless you can get access to the userstore to either disable the wifi only mode, or activate the rescue pack, it smells like serial time ;/.

zeroxia · 08-24-2013, 02:21 AM

Thank you. So I will handle this to Amazon. :-(

zxczxc · 08-24-2013, 04:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Now, if you're in WiFi only (meaning it never switches to usbnet, stays in usbms), and you killed /var/local, yep, you're screwed on the WiFi front, catch-22. So, unless you can get access to the userstore to either disable the wifi only mode, or activate the rescue pack, it smells like serial time ;/.

is possible to protect ourselves, that if the kindle is in this situation, (in diagnostics mode? i'm not sure...), that usbnet would be active, even if you made it wifi only?
so even if i have the rescue pack installed, but my usbnet is set to wifi only, i am forced to use wifi to fix my kindle?

knc1 · 08-24-2013, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zxczxc

is possible to protect ourselves, that if the kindle is in this situation, (in diagnostics mode? i'm not sure...), that usbnet would be active, even if you made it wifi only?
so even if i have the rescue pack installed, but my usbnet is set to wifi only, i am forced to use wifi to fix my kindle?

The two partitions of the flash, mmcblk0p3 (/var/local/*) and mmcblk0p4 (/mnt/us/* or 'kindle:/*' as seen by the user) are **used in common** by both the 'Main' and the 'Diags' mode.

Persistent information which is required for the system to 'operate as expected' (or even 'operate' at all) is stored in the common /var/local.
Like, things required to make your Wifi connection work.

You manually 'zapped that'. Smooth move dude.

The persistent information about which interface or interfaces on which to bring up the ssh daemon is stored in the USB storage area (/mnt/us).

You did not manually zap that.

So you have to either re-populate one or de-populate the other.

If you still have a functioning 'diags' mode - you can try exporting the user storage area and un-setting that 'AUTO' start on wifi-only setting(s) in the USB networking package.
Removing any added fonts in this case would be a good idea (tm) also.

OR

Try a 'complete re-boot' (cold start) of the system kernel.
Hold the power switch for at least 20 seconds, 30 seconds would not hurt.
If the cold start functions detect the fouled up /var/local, it may rebuild it for you - including the information needed for the Wifi interface to once again work.

If neither of the above work - get out your serial port cable.

NiLuJe · 08-24-2013, 11:09 AM

@zxczxc: You're not forced to do anything, your Kindle is in usbms mode, so you should be able to use the rescue pack. Nothing much we can do, no /var/local == no wi-fi, can't pull a working wi-fi setup out of a magician's hat ;-).

(And if you meant switching to usbnet if wi-fi is down, meh, not terribly inclined to do this, too much automagic assumptions to workaround what ultimately can only be a PEBKAC or a serious hw failure [with the exception of a full /var/local which shouldn't ever happen either] ...)

zeroxia · 08-27-2013, 10:29 PM

Amazon.cn charges CNY 611.28 for a replacement of my faulty Kindle PaperWhite, they don't offer repair service.

That funny 611.28 amount probably is translated from 100.00 USD...

Anyway I'd rather buy another new one if I have to pay such amount for a replacement only.

Is it possible to bring the USB mass storage back? Or will there be a recovery mode (download mode) discovered for KPW?

The following is the Linux dmesg when the device is plugged in.

Quote:

Aug 28 10:21:07 localhost kernel: [86293.822170] usb 5-2.4.2: Manufacturer: Amazon
Aug 28 10:21:07 localhost kernel: [86293.822175] usb 5-2.4.2: SerialNumber: B02416043284036V
Aug 28 10:21:07 localhost mtp-probe: checking bus 5, device 33: "/sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1d.7/usb5/5-2/5-2.4/5-2.4.2"
Aug 28 10:21:07 localhost mtp-probe: bus: 5, device: 33 was not an MTP device
Aug 28 10:21:07 localhost kernel: [86293.825212] usb-storage 5-2.4.2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
Aug 28 10:21:07 localhost kernel: [86293.825292] scsi21 : usb-storage 5-2.4.2:1.0
Aug 28 10:21:08 localhost kernel: [86294.825320] scsi 21:0:0:0: Direct-Access Kindle Internal Storage 0100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
Aug 28 10:21:08 localhost kernel: [86294.825843] sd 21:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0
Aug 28 10:21:08 localhost kernel: [86294.834311] sd 21:0:0:0: [sdc] Attached SCSI removable disk
Aug 28 10:22:30 localhost kernel: [86376.693249] usb 5-2.4.2: USB disconnect, device number 33

zeroxia · 08-27-2013, 11:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

If you still have a functioning 'diags' mode - you can try exporting the user storage area and un-setting that 'AUTO' start on wifi-only setting(s) in the USB networking package.
Removing any added fonts in this case would be a good idea (tm) also.

OR

Try a 'complete re-boot' (cold start) of the system kernel.
Hold the power switch for at least 20 seconds, 30 seconds would not hurt.
If the cold start functions detect the fouled up /var/local, it may rebuild it for you - including the information needed for the Wifi interface to once again work.

If neither of the above work - get out your serial port cable.

Sorry I did not see this post before......

Cold restart does not work. What is a "functioning diag" mode? I think to enter this mode I have to place a ENABLE_DIAG dummy file in /mnt/us. But that is not accessible now.

And for the "serial port cable", is there really a such cable that I can get a serial terminal with it?

knc1 · 08-28-2013, 03:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeroxia

And for the "serial port cable", is there really a such cable that I can get a serial terminal with it?

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...0&postcount=95

zeroxia · 09-19-2013, 01:05 PM

Hi all, after contacting Amazon.cn, I had gave up on this device (and got a Nexus 7 2013...). But yesterday I came across a forum thread that asked about kindle repairing, and I realized that I can try 3rd party repairing.

So I searched taobao.com (the ebay-like C2C site in China), and found a local guy who did this as a part time job. Today I went to his home and handed the device to him, and I was surprised how easily he tore the front panel off, just like turning over a book page. But he did not let me into his house to have a look on how he tinkered with the bricked Kindle.

After an hour of waiting, he came out with my kindle revived, I thought one hour is too long for such repair operation, but anyway he had stuck the front panel back and it looks like brand new, and he charged me only 50 Yuan (about 8 dollars), so I am happy with it now.

(Even the subway and taxi fares to there cost me 20 Yuan, and this did not cover the return trip).

@knc1: Thanks for the link, the images and teardown video are great, while the serial communication stuff gets me overwhelmed, thankfully there is some proficient guy to help me with that and now I can focus on my reading on Kindle instead of Nexus tablet.

08-23-2013, 11:45 AM	#1
zeroxia Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2013 Device: Kindle 4	I bricked my Kindle PaperWhite Hi, I have my kindle paperwhite jailbroken when it's version 5.3.5. Then the device upgraded to 5.3.6, and I re-installed usbnetwork, as well as the rescue pack. The usbnetwork is configured to use wifi only, and automatically starts (I created both empty files "auto" and "verbose"). I had also installed the kindlet jailbreak, the KUAL launcher, and the JBPatch, then uninstalled them. Then I added a symlink at /etc/fonts/conf.d/99-zh.conf, pointing to /mnt/us/fonts/99-zh.conf. After I tried some fonts at /mnt/us/fonts, when I restarts the device, it is stuck at the spinning circle, with the bottom status line showing: Code: N tweaking iptables config Then I ssh into the system and removed the /etc/fonts/conf.d/99-zh.conf symlink. But restarting the device still got stuck at that point. But the SSH was reachable, when I login via ssh, the console output this message: Code: WARNING! The remote SSH server rejected X11 forwarding request. ################################################# # E R R O R * E R R O R * E R R O R # ################################################# # x.conf failed to start. Reboot limit reached # REBOOTS=2, REBOOT_LIMIT=1 # To log into the device, remove files: # /var/local/upstart/x.restarts # /var/run/upstart/x.restarts ################################################# [root@kindle root]# I can find one of above "x.restarts" file, but I forgot which one. And removing that file still couldn't get pass the spinning circle. And that "x.restarts" file just showd up again. Then I made this disastrous move: Code: dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0p3 I thought erasing the /var partition would get away of those annoying restart counter files. Now the device is totally stuck at the spinning circle, plugging it to computer can show a new driver letter (on Windows), but there is no drive found (as prompted by Windows), and after a few minutes, the device restarts automatically, freezes at the spinning circle again for a couple of minutes, finally it shows the "Your Kindle Needs Repair" screen. On the starting screen, there are the "verbose" status lines, but I just realize that the Wifi connection setup is probably stored at /var, and that's missing now, so without network the SSH shell is not available anymore.... Is there anyway to rescue this? Thanks in advance.

08-23-2013, 12:03 PM	#2
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,502 Karma: 26047188 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	That was probably some fonts Amazon's FT lib choked on, which in turn after a reboot crashes X, which in turn, after a while, stops the boot process/shutdowns to the 'YKNR' screen. [Cf. what happened to a Fonts Hack user recently]. (FWIW, that's why I recommend manually checking that everything works fine after an X restart when adding new fonts, makes it easier to recover). [As for the verbose eips print, completely normal, that's the last thing the USBNet hack does when WiFi is enabled, and since X never started, there wasn't a full screen refresh to 'erase' it]. Now, if you're in WiFi only (meaning it never switches to usbnet, stays in usbms), and you killed /var/local, yep, you're screwed on the WiFi front, catch-22. So, unless you can get access to the userstore to either disable the wifi only mode, or activate the rescue pack, it smells like serial time ;/. Last edited by NiLuJe; 08-23-2013 at 12:06 PM.

08-24-2013, 11:09 AM	#6
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,502 Karma: 26047188 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	@zxczxc: You're not forced to do anything, your Kindle is in usbms mode, so you should be able to use the rescue pack. Nothing much we can do, no /var/local == no wi-fi, can't pull a working wi-fi setup out of a magician's hat ;-). (And if you meant switching to usbnet if wi-fi is down, meh, not terribly inclined to do this, too much automagic assumptions to workaround what ultimately can only be a PEBKAC or a serious hw failure [with the exception of a full /var/local which shouldn't ever happen either] ...) Last edited by NiLuJe; 08-24-2013 at 11:13 AM.

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08-24-2013, 02:21 AM	#3
zeroxia Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2013 Device: Kindle 4	Thank you. So I will handle this to Amazon. :-(

09-19-2013, 01:05 PM	#10
zeroxia Member Posts: 11 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2013 Device: Kindle 4	Hi all, after contacting Amazon.cn, I had gave up on this device (and got a Nexus 7 2013...). But yesterday I came across a forum thread that asked about kindle repairing, and I realized that I can try 3rd party repairing. So I searched taobao.com (the ebay-like C2C site in China), and found a local guy who did this as a part time job. Today I went to his home and handed the device to him, and I was surprised how easily he tore the front panel off, just like turning over a book page. But he did not let me into his house to have a look on how he tinkered with the bricked Kindle. After an hour of waiting, he came out with my kindle revived, I thought one hour is too long for such repair operation, but anyway he had stuck the front panel back and it looks like brand new, and he charged me only 50 Yuan (about 8 dollars), so I am happy with it now. (Even the subway and taxi fares to there cost me 20 Yuan, and this did not cover the return trip). @knc1: Thanks for the link, the images and teardown video are great, while the serial communication stuff gets me overwhelmed, thankfully there is some proficient guy to help me with that and now I can focus on my reading on Kindle instead of Nexus tablet.

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