iRiver Story HD firmware issue?

[flanker27]

Hi everyone,

I used to buy ebooks from BooksOnBoard.com but they are not trading any more, so I bought an ebook from ebooks.com recently. However, I can't open it - I have DRM issues: error message says:

"E_ADEPT_CORE_USER_NOT_ACTIVATED
A different Adobe ID has been authorized for use on this device."

I also can no longer open the ebooks I bought from the previous site, nor can I open ebooks from my local library. I was using an old P4 machine running Windows XP before, and now have a new computer running Windows 7, but don't think that is an issue(?)... *unless* running Adobe Digital Editions 2.0 now, instead of 1.5 (approx) makes any difference?

I've had wonderful help from the good folks at ebooks.com and I can't ask any more of them, when the problem surely resides on my Story HD. I connect to my PC using USB3 port - I do not have Wi-fi. I've asked iRiver Support for help, but the email address is in Korea and the lady there has somewhat difficult English, and this coupled with my incomplete understanding of these DRM issues makes it hard for me to know what to do.

I *think* she's telling me to go back to using "Basic" 1.28 version firmware instead of the 1.33 version I have.

I thought I DID have 1.28 but a friend must have upgraded it from my previous version to 1.33 instead of just to 1.28 I'd saved to Flash drive. He said he'd do it, because you apparently can "brick" a device, if you stuff up a firmware update. But on the iRiver site, at least for me, I can't download 1.28 (or 1.27) anyway; I get error messages which terminate the download partway through.

Even when I can (somehow) get hold of 1.28, I don't understand the instructions on the iRiver site about how to use the .hex file which is spawned from the downloaded .zip file. It says:

1. Connect Story HD with your PC via USB cable
2. Push hex file in Cover story folder.
3. Cut the connection between PC and Story HD by removing USB cable form PC.
4. Firmware update will be proceeded on losing the connection between of them.

Obviously the "Cover story" is an error in (2): *what* folder in the iRiver Story HD should I put the .hex file in before pulling out the USB connection, please? Or is this firmware maybe not the (only) issue?

The kind folks at iRiver's former Australian agent, CR Kennedy, today told me to try reformatting the Story HD (or at least removing the Digital Editions folder on it) to see if that helps - and also do a "hard" factory reset on the Story HD, but none of these steps worked. Anything not DRM-protected, eg a Word or .pdf file, works *fine*, but nothing with DRM protection will open.

Finally - all ebooks open fine on my PC in Adobe Digital Editions, and if I open them on my Story HD while it is connected to the PC as a Removable Disk, they ALSO work fine on Digital Editions. But they will not open when the reader is disconnected from the PC.

Please, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Charles

[flanker27]

Hi everyone,

I was able to successfully install Firmware version 1.28 on my iRiver Story HD reader (I checked it displayed 1.28, when I turn it off). However, I *still* can't open any DRM-protected (.epub) ebooks on it, even after re-downloading the ebook from the website I bought it from (ebooks.com), and the one I borrowed from my local library. I get a different error message now!

It says:

E_ADEPT_CORE_ACTIVATION_TOKEN_SIGNATURE

I can not find anything on the Internet about this particular warning.

I've also tried copying everything off the reader onto my computer, again an iRiver agency suggestion), reformatting the Story HD through Windows, and then copying it all back, but nothing works.

Please, is there *anything* else I can try, or am I going to have to throw my Story HD away, and buy something new? I hope I don't have to do that, as it is only 2 years old and I don't have much money! I have Adobe Digital Editions 2.0 but I recall I had an earlier version (1.5 or 1.7, perhaps) on my old computer on which all this worked fine. Should I replace Digital Editions 2.0 with an earlier version? (I don't know where to get it from, if yes)

Thank you for any help you can provide,

Charles

[shootingMaNs]

Have you tried authorizing your Story HD with your new computer? Should be a way to do it with Adobe Digital Editions.

[flanker27]

Hi shootingMaNs

Originally Posted by shootingMaNs

Have you tried authorizing your Story HD with your new computer? Should be a way to do it with Adobe Digital Editions.

I've tried, UNLESS I'm doing something wrong. I don't remember what I did before, when it DID work with DRM-protected purchased ebooks, sorry! Worked fine with booksonboard.com but not now with ebooks.com or from local library lending attempt (which I only first tried last week). These are all .epub files, if that matters.

About authorizing my Story HD: do I do this at the same time as authorizing my computer, with the Story HD already connected to the PC via USB? Does that authorize the computer AND the Story HD at the same time? Or should I authorize the computer with the Story HD NOT connected, and THEN connect it to the computer, with Adobe Digital Editions still open, or should the program be closed, and reopened after I connect the Story HD? Sorry, I'm so confused here.

I've also got (hell, I don't know what I am talking about here) - different username/password combinations for Adobe ID for booksonboard.com and for ebooks.com and my logins for both these sites (booksonboard is defunct) are different again.

Does anyone know - have I made a totally unavigable mess here, and if so, please - how on Earth do I fix it, and "start again?"

Thanks...

Charles

[frostschutz]

You should have only one Adobe ID. The reader can not be authorized for more than one at a time; and every authorization wastes a "slot" so you can't switch between them either (not without tricks, anyway). Unfortunately I have no clue how to fix this; I try to avoid DRM whenever possible. This problem isn't specific to the Story HD however, most readers would behave the same way if you tried to use multiple IDs on them.

[flanker27]

Frostschutz (thank you for your reply) - I will poke around the Adobe site. I hope I wasn't stupid when I decided to reformat the Story HD. I will also contact the former iRiver agent (here in Australia) to see if it is worth them fixing it, of course at my expense.

How can you avoid DRM, may I please ask? Surely you need it to purchase ebooks, or borrow them from a library?

Charles

[flanker27]

Hi everyone - I solved my problem - all is fixed! I can now read all my purchased ebooks from ebooks.com (bought two more tonight!) and the loans from my local library, and previous purchases from the now defunct BooksOnBoard.com site too.

I re-jigged my Adobe ID, uninstalled Adobe Digital Editions 2.0, reinstalled the Adobe Digital Editions 1.7 I had before... and that was all it took! Bizarre? Who cares - it all works, YAY!

Charles

[shootingMaNs]

Originally Posted by flanker27

Hi everyone - I solved my problem - all is fixed! I can now read all my purchased ebooks from ebooks.com (bought two more tonight!) and the loans from my local library, and previous purchases from the now defunct BooksOnBoard.com site too.

I re-jigged my Adobe ID, uninstalled Adobe Digital Editions 2.0, reinstalled the Adobe Digital Editions 1.7 I had before... and that was all it took! Bizarre? Who cares - it all works, YAY!

Charles

Great! That is weird, but hey, whatever works.

[Ntsimp]

Originally Posted by flanker27

How can you avoid DRM, may I please ask? Surely you need it to purchase ebooks, or borrow them from a library?

By not borrowing them from a library or purchasing them from any store that applies DRM.

There are scads of free ebooks out there (including the very nice library on this site), and there are a few legit DRM-free stores.

I've had my Story HD for just under 2 years and have never had a DRMed file on it.