TL3/626 Can't write on internal memory

[rkomar]

You can resize the first partition (the exportable internal filesystem); I did it by changing the size in the partition table with a hex editor. My device did not recognize the new size until I reformatted the internal memory with its System utility. You might be able to use some tool to modify the partition table, however all the ones I tried balked at the overlapping partitions that PocketBook sets up.

[zledas]

The link is dead Maybe anyone still has this image? Or anyone could make one from their restored device?

I am trying to follow the steps and make my own modification, but ending with bootloop...

Originally Posted by chshkhr

Hi,

Thanks to all here. I managed to restore my dead device and want to share Pocketbook 626 8Gb SD ready image.

All you need to save this image to some drive under Linux and run the following command from the folder where it saved as su:

gunzip -c pb626.img.gz | dd of=/dev/mmcblk0 bs=1M status=progress

Replace /dev/mmcblk0 on your actual SD card device. You can find it with:

fdisk -l

Good luck!

[zledas]

Ok, I solved my problem.

Firstly: "sw_20170718_626_W_5.14_1225_5.12_CI_gdb_pn_630_us er" didn't work for me – infinite hourglass when booting. I mean process of patching monitor.app and adding original serial text file didn't work. BUT with "sw_20160922_626_W_5.14_791_5.12_CI_gdb_pn_630_use r" same process worked perfectly.

Secondly: as I used Dropbox to sync my books, I wanted an update (as only from version "W_5.14_1225" updates to Dropbox API were included). So I started researching more and I found that there is a way to "rebind" any Pocketbook to any SD card.

Here is the link to forum post (in Russian): link.
Here is the Google translation: link.

Basically you can download an app (linked in the above post; reposting here as well: https://yadi.sk/d/bo7FNPlRy_fMzA ) and then use it to regenerate ".freezestatus" file (replace existing one with the new one at "/mnt/sde9/.freezestatus") with a command:

./serial --serial_number YT4517001251004000Y5 --sd_serial 0x12345678

After this it just works WITHOUT replacing monitor.app and so on.

P. S. Russian post includes much more details and more usefull info, but for basic "clone the SD content from original to new one and make it work", this replacement of ".freezestatus" is enough.

[polossatik]

thank you for sharing!

[takikura]

Originally Posted by TheProto

As i had some trouble getting things to work i will try to summarize the steps i followed.
Note: I completed the following steps on my linux machine because i found it much easier as i don't have much experience with windows.
1.Create a copy of the sd card image using dd.
Command: sudo dd if=<sd_card_devide_location> of=<path_to_output_file>
Example: sudo dd if=/dev/mmcblk0 of=~/Desktop/pb_sd_image.img
2.Find the cramfs.img
As described above the cramfs.img is located in the ebrmain partition.
Since I was searching for it under linux the disk was mounted at /dev/media under the name "Volumn".
3.Unpack the cramfs.img (this could be done with cramfsck)
Command: cramfsck <image_name> -x <path_to_output_folder>
Example: cramfsck cramfs.img -x out
4.Modify the monitor.app
Note: monitor.app is located at: <path_to_unpacked_cramfs_image>/bin/monitor.app
I used ghex to modify the app by substituting the string "/sys/block/mmcblk%c/device/serial" with "/mnt/secure/.sd_original_serial".
5.Substitute the patched app 5.1: Copy the application to the mounted disk that contains the "pocketbook -> bin/monitor.app" symlink. 5.2: Rename the old symlink: Command: mv pocketbook pocketbook.ORG 5.3: Create the new link Command: sudo ln -s <name_of_patched_app> <name_of_symlink> Example: sudo ln -s patched-monitor.app pocketbook
6.Create the .sd_original_serial file:
Note: The .sd_original_serial should contain the CID of the original sd card;
To create the .sd_original_serial file i used the following command:
Command:cat /sys/block/mmcblk0/device/cid > ~/Desktop/.sd_original_serial
7.Copy the newly created .sd_original_serial to the "secure" sd card partion.
For me its name was a combination of 16bit code devided by "-".
8.Make sure both monitor.app and .sd_original_serial have the correct permissions.
Just to be safe i used: chmod 777 <name_of_file>
For both of the files when i copied them to their proper location.
I hope this helps you fix your device. Good luck

Hi

I need your help. On one of my PBTL3 I have internal memory problem. The PBL3 starts and operates normally but it does not save the setting changes and new apps etc.
I went thru the above mentioned procedures with the image from its original 4GB SD card and the image from the Russion site. Both did not work, resulting in the sand clock display.
I am not an expert with Linux but I installed Ubuntu on my Win10 PC and spent 5 days to go through the above instructions, learning terminal commands and how to root. I believe I can now execute all the steps correctly but the results are not successful after 5 days.

Because of this problem I bought the second PBTL3, which runs without any noticeable problem. I copied the image file from the 4GB SD card from this second PBTL3 to the 8GB SD, as the image is slightly larger than the 4GB SD from the first PBTL3, and went thru the above procedures. The result is the same; the first PBTL3 starts with this 8GB SD and shows the initial display but does not proceed further.

If I swap the original SD cards between these two PBTL3, their behaviors are also swapped.

I would appreciate it very much, if you could suggest what I can do further, as I am at a loss

Software version is: 0626 5. 8. 317.
I downloaded sw_20190730_U626_5.20.1157_user and flashed it from the external SD but it did not make any difference.

Thanks for your help in advance.

[nhedgehog]

For this to work you need a firmware version lower than:
5.20.346
And no updates should be done afterwards, otherwise the sandclock doesn't go away.
or the permanent solution incl. possible updates:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=93

[takikura]

Originally Posted by nhedgehog

For this to work you need a firmware version lower than:
5.20.346
And no updates should be done afterwards, otherwise the sandclock doesn't go away.
or the permanent solution incl. possible updates:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...0&postcount=93

Thanks for your quick reply. I have tried to use the image from this Russian site but it did not work. I have also downloaded the program files for generating .freezestatus file but have no idea how to use them due to my lack of Ubuntu experiences. Fortunately my PB3 works with the original 4GB SD with read only status problem. I was able to extract the device info using your app as attached.
I would appreciate it very much, if you could give me an instruction for generating the .freezestatus file;

Where in Ubuntu should I place the program.
What are the command lines I should execute in the terminal.

I learned lots about Linux for the last 7 days. This was not easy for 70 year old man.
Thanks for your help in advance.

[nhedgehog]

You got mail. Check your inbox.

[takikura]

Originally Posted by nhedgehog

You got mail. Check your inbox.

I have replied to your questions. Thanks for your help.


takikura

[viralpoetry]

Hi guys,
anybody willing to help me with my stuck Pocketbook 624? It basically broke during the first software update I ever made (via wifi) and is stuck with the sand clocks.

I bought another second-hand one, now I am able to run the old one with the SD card from a newer (also with newer software version), but unfortunately SD card behave like read only...

I was able to create an SD card image on my Ubuntu, but "freezestatus" file is not there, and I can't make mentioned hacks work on it.

Read-only, working firmware version is W624.4.4.1310, Release date 20150401_144259

I can pay

[carltonbp]

There is a a way of doing this yourself, I had help and it was a steep learning curve but because I'm on Windows and of limited skill I wasn't also able to repartition to a larger micro SD card but I did get it working again.

The easier option is to contact Russia Pocketbook who were very helpful, it has to be Russia, Europe wasn't interested.

For less than £5 and that included a tip they did the new firmware for me.

I contacted them at this address service@pocketbook-int.ru

I said an update had made my card read only and I wanted a new image file. All replies will be in Russian but they can clearly read English but to try and help i also included a Russian translation of my messages and tried to keep them short and clear.

I got a new micro SD card that I health checked, but with increased size (16gb)

I needed to get the unique code for this card, as the firmware is linked to a specific card. There is an app to do this in the thread but also Pocketbook tell you how to do it.

You then need to pay via paypal.

Finally they will create the firmware to your new card size so if you replace a 4gb card with a 16gb card they will partition the firmware so you now have 16gb which is good. The file is able to download for 3 days so don't go on holiday.

They give very good instructions, albeit in Russian and my 840 ereader has been working perfectly ever since.

[markA]

i have the read only problem on my PB840 too. But i dont know what the exact problem is. I made a disc image. Then i formatted the SD card with the sandisk sd card formatter. after that i restored the image. but the problem remains. there is no indication that the sd card has bad sectors. how can you test if the card is ok? or that there is a hardware failure? which tool must be used. one from linux ?
odd enough the dd from linux gave a different image than a tool for windows.
I see many instructions but they all contain minimum info and are more guide lines.
I would prefer to fix the original sd card. i can not compare it to a working one since i have only the image i extracted and thus no idea if this is a usable image or not.

thanks

[viralpoetry]

Originally Posted by carltonbp

There is a a way of doing this yourself, I had help and it was a steep learning curve but because I'm on Windows and of limited skill I wasn't also able to repartition to a larger micro SD card but I did get it working again.

The easier option is to contact Russia Pocketbook who were very helpful, it has to be Russia, Europe wasn't interested.

For less than £5 and that included a tip they did the new firmware for me.

I contacted them at this address service@pocketbook-int.ru

I said an update had made my card read only and I wanted a new image file. All replies will be in Russian but they can clearly read English but to try and help i also included a Russian translation of my messages and tried to keep them short and clear.

I got a new micro SD card that I health checked, but with increased size (16gb)

I needed to get the unique code for this card, as the firmware is linked to a specific card. There is an app to do this in the thread but also Pocketbook tell you how to do it.

You then need to pay via paypal.

Finally they will create the firmware to your new card size so if you replace a 4gb card with a 16gb card they will partition the firmware so you now have 16gb which is good. The file is able to download for 3 days so don't go on holiday.

They give very good instructions, albeit in Russian and my 840 ereader has been working perfectly ever since.

Thank you very much for this. I can confirm that I was able to obtain new image for two devices. Price was just few euros per device.

[carltonbp]

Originally Posted by markA

i have the read only problem on my PB840 too. But i dont know what the exact problem is. I made a disc image. Then i formatted the SD card with the sandisk sd card formatter. after that i restored the image. but the problem remains. there is no indication that the sd card has bad sectors. how can you test if the card is ok? or that there is a hardware failure? which tool must be used. one from linux ?
odd enough the dd from linux gave a different image than a tool for windows.
I see many instructions but they all contain minimum info and are more guide lines.
I would prefer to fix the original sd card. i can not compare it to a working one since i have only the image i extracted and thus no idea if this is a usable image or not.

thanks

The card won't work any more and each card is linked to the firmware in that device. so you can't simply replace it. Please read my above post it's got all the info you need. Easiest thing is to get a new card and firmware from Russia. Otherwise you need a new card, linux or someone with linux that understands what needs doing to create firmware that works with your new card, it's not straight forward and it's easy. Contact Russia customer services, the email is in my post.

[bikeridercz]

Originally Posted by nhedgehog

For this to work you need a firmware version lower than:
5.20.346 ...

Dear friends, unfortunately I noticed that firmware version of my pocketbook TL3/626 is 5.20.1157 (loking into .version file). So that the change based on .sd_original_serial and monitor-patched.app does not work for me, there is a clock icon rotating on a boot ... Is there a way hot to fix it even in my case ? In other case my pocketbook does not remember pages on my books and setting like fonts etc. Many thanks for help.