New problem, old Touch

[Corpsegoddess]

Hey guys...

So I encountered a new problem today, and it started after I downloaded update 2.5.2 (via the Kobo desktop app).

Everything was working fine, no problems. I updated today, and suddenly my Kobo freezes while square dancing once I've turned it on. I noticed two interesting things:

1.) I cannot reset it using the pinhole method--no lights come on at all. It's like it's dead.

2.) I *CAN* get it to "come alive", but only after I've removed my SD card (where all the books are stored) AND connect it to my PC.

If I put the SD card back in--stuck at square dancing.

I've already done two factory resets, nothing seems to have changed.

Is this something old, new, known, unknown? Any advice?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Corpsegoddess

Hey guys...

So I encountered a new problem today, and it started after I downloaded update 2.5.2 (via the Kobo desktop app).

Everything was working fine, no problems. I updated today, and suddenly my Kobo freezes while square dancing once I've turned it on. I noticed two interesting things:

1.) I cannot reset it using the pinhole method--no lights come on at all. It's like it's dead.

2.) I *CAN* get it to "come alive", but only after I've removed my SD card (where all the books are stored) AND connect it to my PC.

If I put the SD card back in--stuck at square dancing.

I've already done two factory resets, nothing seems to have changed.

Is this something old, new, known, unknown? Any advice?

It's a new issue which I've noticed with a Touch, Glo and Aura. Originally, I thought it was a complete freeze but after running into late at night on the Aura and deciding it was too late to do a factory reset or otherwise beat on the problem, I left it. In the morning, the Aura was on the sleep screen. So far, it seems to average from 15 minutes to 2 hours for the boot process to finish.

I didn't need to connect any of them to a PC to get them to come back to life. A pin hole reset would repeat the boot process and get stuck at the same point with 1 square on the screen. Removing the SD card and resetting allowed the boot to finish but made the books unavailable. After I inserted the SD card into the booted ereader, it took the same 15 minutes minimum on the Aura before it would finish mounting the SD card and show the contents.

Regards,
David

[Corpsegoddess]

Originally Posted by DNSB

It's a new issue which I've noticed with a Touch, Glo and Aura. Originally, I thought it was a complete freeze but after running into late at night on the Aura and deciding it was too late to do a factory reset or otherwise beat on the problem, I left it. In the morning, the Aura was on the sleep screen. So far, it seems to average from 15 minutes to 2 hours for the boot process to finish.

I didn't need to connect any of them to a PC to get them to come back to life. A pin hole reset would repeat the boot process and get stuck at the same point with 1 square on the screen. Removing the SD card and resetting allowed the boot to finish but made the books unavailable. After I inserted the SD card into the booted ereader, it took the same 15 minutes minimum on the Aura before it would finish mounting the SD card and show the contents.

Regards,
David

Thanks, David. Glad it's not just me.

I'm not sure why I can't power it down when it's like this, but nothing seems to work right now except plugging it into the PC.

I got aggravated and decided to sideload 2.5.1 from April, so we'll see how that works. Right now it's processing my books.

Edit: Okay, that seems to have worked--my Kobo is on, it's not plugged into the PC, it processed all the books on my SD and I can access them. Fingers crossed.

That being said, can somebody who passes this sort of thing on to the powers that be let them know about this issue?

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by Corpsegoddess

Thanks, David. Glad it's not just me.

I'm not sure why I can't power it down when it's like this, but nothing seems to work right now except plugging it into the PC.

Given the power switch on the Kobo is not a physical power switch, at the point in the boot process where it stalls, it's quite possible the daemon that scans for the power switch has not yet been initialized.

On another hand, the reset switch on mine does work when it is stalled even though all that happens is the boot process is repeated to the stall point.

Regards,
David

[taming]

Originally Posted by Corpsegoddess

That being said, can somebody who passes this sort of thing on to the powers that be let them know about this issue?

Folks do pass these issues on--though it is one of those problems that can't be addressed very well unless it can be replicated. That is not always an easy thing to do. FWIW (and it might not be worth anything at all) the beta group got a build that killed Touch devices. Killed dead. First time that has happened in beta. Kobo very quickly fixed this. This fix may also have addressed the issue you are having in .5.2.

And no, I have no idea when a new FW will be released.

[Corpsegoddess]

Originally Posted by taming

Folks do pass these issues on--though it is one of those problems that can't be addressed very well unless it can be replicated. That is not always an easy thing to do. FWIW (and it might not be worth anything at all) the beta group got a build that killed Touch devices. Killed dead. First time that has happened in beta. Kobo very quickly fixed this. This fix may also have addressed the issue you are having in .5.2.

And no, I have no idea when a new FW will be released.

Thanbks, Taming--I figured as much (about the passing on), but I thought it couldn't hurt to mention.

That being said--unfortunately, I'm back to where I was. The first time after I powered down my Kobo after reinstalling the old firmware, the same thing happened.

However, thanks to David, I now knew I could leave it alone. Sure enough--some unspecified time later, because I had fallen asleep--the thing finally booted up.

I'm almost positive it has to do with the SD card, but I'm not tech-savvy enough to know why.

[taming]

Originally Posted by Corpsegoddess

I'm almost positive it has to do with the SD card, but I'm not tech-savvy enough to know why.

In the past, when folks were reporting many, many failures with SD cards, it needed to be fixed on the Kobo end. When only a few people are writing about an issue, it seems to be a bit more likely that it is something like a bad sd card etc. It still could be Kobo.

How up are you for trying a different sd card or using a tool like sd formatter to reformat your card? That's the kind of thing that makes me want to buy dead tree books, from time to time. The whole factory reset--new card yada yada shtuff can drive me nuts (not a very big journey some days).

[Corpsegoddess]

Originally Posted by taming

In the past, when folks were reporting many, many failures with SD cards, it needed to be fixed on the Kobo end. When only a few people are writing about an issue, it seems to be a bit more likely that it is something like a bad sd card etc. It still could be Kobo.

How up are you for trying a different sd card or using a tool like sd formatter to reformat your card? That's the kind of thing that makes me want to buy dead tree books, from time to time. The whole factory reset--new card yada yada shtuff can drive me nuts (not a very big journey some days).

I could try it--but the fact that everything was working perfectly up until I installed the new firmware makes me suspect the firmware, not my card.

I hadn't done anything differently during the day up until that point--loaded a few books, was reading no problem, etc. Then--firmware upgrade and *boom*--new problem.

[taming]

Well, can you tell us what card: manufacturer, class, size? That way maybe Kobo can check to see if that particular card is not being handled by the firmware. It could be a good way to replicate the problem.

I am willing to bet it IS the FW, but I do remember having what had been a perfectly good cat5 cable fail when I plugged it in a new desktop computer. Strange things sometimes happen at inauspicious moments.

[Corpsegoddess]

Originally Posted by taming

Well, can you tell us what card: manufacturer, class, size? That way maybe Kobo can check to see if that particular card is not being handled by the firmware. It could be a good way to replicate the problem.

I am willing to bet it IS the FW, but I do remember having what had been a perfectly good cat5 cable fail when I plugged it in a new desktop computer. Strange things sometimes happen at inauspicious moments.

Very true, Taming. I just try to use Occam's Razor in these situations, so I don't end up slamming my head into my keyboard (much).

The SD card is a SanDisk 32 gig micro SD.

And funnily enough--I had to run errands today, and lo and behold--I've come home with a new Kobo Aura. I NEVER do stuff like that, but I made the mistake of reading the forums and I wanted that bigger screen and light. So--might be a moot point, but still.

[taming]

Originally Posted by Corpsegoddess

The SD card is a SanDisk 32 gig micro SD.

Well, does it work in the Aura (or don't you know yet)? Can you check what class the card is? In the past, that has ocasionally mattered.

[Corpsegoddess]

Originally Posted by taming

Well, does it work in the Aura (or don't you know yet)? Can you check what class the card is? In the past, that has ocasionally mattered.

I do know it works in the Aura--powering up mine right now and going to plug it in.

I'm not sure how to figure out the class of the card, though. There seems to be something etched in the card, but there's NO WAY I can see it--it's super-tiny and I have some vision problems.

I read in the Aura thread that you've bought one. Are you still pleased with it? So far, I am--holy cow, is it fast!

This is only my second ereader (my Touch is the same one I bought two years ago), and I don't have a tablet. So I'm kind of giddy with gadget excitement right now.

[taming]

Originally Posted by Corpsegoddess

I do know it works in the Aura--powering up mine right now and going to plug it in.

I'm not sure how to figure out the class of the card, though. There seems to be something etched in the card, but there's NO WAY I can see it--it's super-tiny and I have some vision problems.

I read in the Aura thread that you've bought one. Are you still pleased with it? So far, I am--holy cow, is it fast!

This is only my second ereader (my Touch is the same one I bought two years ago), and I don't have a tablet. So I'm kind of giddy with gadget excitement right now.

I have a SanDisk, too, and it is almost impossible to read the class.

Yes, I am very, very happy with the Aura. My Touch is in Dubai for the summer with a friend and my DH is using the Glo. I don't miss either one (the devices, not the people).

With 4GiG in main memory, I don't need an SD card, but I prefer to keep my sideloaded books on one. I don't keep all that many books on the device. Calibre has them all and they are backed up to the cloud, but I seldom have more than 50-75 books on the device itself.

My backup device (a Touch) has evey digital book I have ever had on it. Just in case I have to get out of Dodge fast, I guess.

[Corpsegoddess]

Originally Posted by taming

I have a SanDisk, too, and it is almost impossible to read the class.

Yes, I am very, very happy with the Aura. My Touch is in Dubai for the summer with a friend and my DH is using the Glo. I don't miss either one (the devices, not the people).

With 4GiG in main memory, I don't need an SD card, but I prefer to keep my sideloaded books on one. I don't keep all that many books on the device. Calibre has them all and they are backed up to the cloud, but I seldom have more than 50-75 books on the device itself.

My backup device (a Touch) has evey digital book I have ever had on it. Just in case I have to get out of Dodge fast, I guess.

Awesome, I'm glad to hear you still like it.

When I was a kid, I actually remember saying to my parents, "I wish I had a magic book, that would be, like, all the books in the world. But it would still be book-shaped and not get any heavier"; this was after having to decide how many and which books to bring along on a trip. It was also around 1978.

I am amazed that I now have my "magic book", and so I keep all my books on it--because I can. And because I love having them all in one place. I can DJ my reading now, just like iPod let me DJ what I wanted to listen to when I was on the go.

I might ask my husband to try and read my SD card for me when he gets home, but I don't think it's humanly possible without magnification. I do know this one looks exactly like it:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820171454

Edit: Okay, my Aura processed everything on my SD card with no problem, but when I powered it down and back up again, I'm getting the same thing--it's frozen on the square dancing. The Aura also has firmware 2.5.2 running on it.

If I can get it hooked up to my PC, I might dump everything on the card and start over--see if that does anything.

[Ankh]

I am sorry that you are affected by this bug, Corpsegoddess. But I am surprised that you were willing to go through the firmware downgrade, just to keep using the SD card.

Storing few books in reader internal flash is simply not an option?