Inadvertantly reformatted kobo mini sdcard. Backup image not restoring all paritions

[goannawebsites]

Hi guys,
i have a number of kobo mini ereaders that i use for paragliding purposes (ie install xcsoar, tophat, and/or lk8000 on each one).

A number of other forums have user guides on backing up sdcards on kobos and usually recommend using win32 disk imager.

In the process of experimenting with lk8000 install, something went wrong and the kobo, whilst initially booting up fine, then stopped working. In the process of redoing the program install i stupidly reformated the micro sdcard to a single fat32 partition.

I wasnt concerned as I had previously backed up the original image to my pc using win32 disk imager, however, when i restored the original backup image to the card i had inadvertantly reformatted it did not recreate all of the original partitions (only a single fat 32 one).

I thought that win32 was supposed to backup/image the entire card?

I once had a link to reformatting kobo mini sdcards and some time ago i did sort this whole process from scratch with a formatted card but have forgotten exactly how i did it.

Questions...

1. What is the procedure for a complete reformat of kobo mini card with all needed partitions from scratch? (or does anyone have a link to url containing procedure)

2. Is there a disk imaging tool that actually makes an exact carbon copy of all partitions (I using Windows 10 64 bit)

3. I have been thinking about installing a virtual machine on my windows pc (perhaps ubuntu) in order to make it easier to deal with issues on kobo cards. Is a virtual pc going to have difficulty reading linux partitions when running under a windows environment?

4. Does it make any difference imaging & partitioning an sdcard if left in the kobo mini whilst being done (i vaguely remember i read somewhere card must be removed and mounted in a USB reader on desktop pc) EDIT I have found by trial and error just now that Micro SD Card must be taken out of Kobo to Backup otherwise only the fat32 partition is visible and is copied

5. Finally, i have conflicting information about whether or not one can use any kobo mini backup image to restore a bricked kobo. One point of view says it must be run through a third party application to sort out (was it serial number issues?). I cannot remember what this process was as i have not needed to do this before. My backup process in the past was simply to copy and replace the original card...keeping the original card in a safe place and running the kobo with a much larger replacement card that i resized to use the full capacity (e.g 8 GB)


my plan right now is to grab one of my other factory kobo mini's and take a good look at partitions and files on them to see if i can nut this out. I know that i can play with the partitions using windows disk manager (right clicking on Win10 start logo>Disk Management) In the meantime any help to my questions above would be greatly appreciated.

[davidfor]

How to image and restore the SD card in a Kobo device has been discussed many times here. The thread I usually refer people to is Memory Upgrade Mod Guide. It is for the Glo, but the steps are the same for all the devices. That should most of your questions.

For the VM, I don't really know. I have no real issues with doing this on a Windows machine. The only real advantage of a Linux machine is that you can mount the partitions and read the data directly.

For the serial number, you can use a binary editor to replace it before writing the image. The serial number is at offset 0x200. Setting it isn't that important. As far as I can see, it is used for very few things and if you aren't syncing to the Kobo server, it won't matter at all.

[goannawebsites]

Originally Posted by davidfor

How to image and restore the SD card in a Kobo device has been discussed many times here. The thread I usually refer people to is Memory Upgrade Mod Guide. It is for the Glo, but the steps are the same for all the devices. That should most of your questions.

For the VM, I don't really know. I have no real issues with doing this on a Windows machine. The only real advantage of a Linux machine is that you can mount the partitions and read the data directly.

For the serial number, you can use a binary editor to replace it before writing the image. The serial number is at offset 0x200. Setting it isn't that important. As far as I can see, it is used for very few things and if you aren't syncing to the Kobo server, it won't matter at all.

Thank you David, very helpful...i think this may have been the original forum post i used to do this a few months ago (i have bookmarked it this time so i dont lose it).

I have no need to sync to the kobo server so am happy with not worrying about editing the hex code to change serial number. Having said that, I assume that when connecting to nickel and then running the kobo app on a desktop pc, this may be a problem? (or would this also not matter as long as its still my own username?)

kind regards,
Adam

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by goannawebsites

Thank you David, very helpful...i think this may have been the original forum post i used to do this a few months ago (i have bookmarked it this time so i dont lose it).

I have no need to sync to the kobo server so am happy with not worrying about editing the hex code to change serial number. Having said that, I assume that when connecting to nickel and then running the kobo app on a desktop pc, this may be a problem? (or would this also not matter as long as its still my own username?)

I'm pretty sure the serial number is used when generating keys when setting the device up. After that, I'm pretty sure the keys are used rather than the serial number. The only other time I know it is used is when the device checks for new firmware. And I've played with this enough that it isn't really checked. It won't matter whether you are syncing over WiFi, or through the desktop application.

I can't guarantee this, but I am reasonably sure of it.

[ivaren]

I tried to insert the serialnumber in my mini, but it is 1 digit too long. I skipped the first (then the last), but i cannot set up my K mini with the new image. (Have also changed screen, maybe that is the problem).Strange, seems that other people who have received this image didn't have any problems

[goannawebsites]

The serial number isnt needed to get kobo working. It is only used i think by kobo website to download books. The mini will work with any kobo mini image

[JohnDoeKyrgyz]

I am in a similar position. I have a Kobo Glo HD that runs XCSoar. It cannot boot Nickel. When I try to backup the SD card image I cannot open it. Windows says that the image is corrupted. I have tried the Kobo manual reset procedure without success.

I hoping that some kind soul could share the SD card image with me. I'm thinking that my best recourse is to start from scratch.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by JohnDoeKyrgyz

I am in a similar position. I have a Kobo Glo HD that runs XCSoar. It cannot boot Nickel. When I try to backup the SD card image I cannot open it. Windows says that the image is corrupted. I have tried the Kobo manual reset procedure without success.

Is Windows saying the image is corrupt, or the card? It is usually the latter as it does not handle removable media with multiple partitions properly. And, it is usually wrong.

I hoping that some kind soul could share the SD card image with me. I'm thinking that my best recourse is to start from scratch.

PM sent.