Firmware Update a new comer here, with a question on 2.5 update installation

alexTheFool · 05-03-2010, 12:37 AM

Hi all, nice to meet you here.

I have just brought a second hand kindle 2. It is a nice reader. I have several questions about the installation of new software.

1. there are quite a number of ebooks already in the reader when i brought it. it belongs to last user. although i can now read it in the reader, i am worrying if i update the software, i will lost them. Is it the case? btw, is there any ways for me to "own" the books?

2. the owner installed the font hacks for me to read Chinese, should i remove the hacks before the update? or could just install the update and let the hacks be over-written, then i can install the hack again?

3. if unfortunately, there is something wrong during updating, would the reader be locked or becoming unusable? just like the firmware update failure in other kinds of devices?

thanks a lot.

alex

Pushka · 05-03-2010, 12:56 AM

You need to uninstall the hacks first or the bin file will download, but it will be unsuccessful.

lene1949 · 05-03-2010, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alexTheFool

Hi all, nice to meet you here.

I have just brought a second hand kindle 2. It is a nice reader. I have several questions about the installation of new software.

1. there are quite a number of ebooks already in the reader when i brought it. it belongs to last user. although i can now read it in the reader, i am worrying if i update the software, i will lost them. Is it the case? btw, is there any ways for me to "own" the books?

thanks a lot.

alex

Backup the book from the kindle to documents/my kindle content, before you update. It might be a few weeks, before the 2.5 firmware is available...

Also make sure you register your kindle... The previous owner should have de-registered it.

alexTheFool · 05-03-2010, 05:07 AM

thanks.
the previous owner have already de-registered the reader and i have already registered it under my name.

what I am afraid of is about the book the previous owner brought and still inside the reader. Is there any methods for me to "own" these books? or in other words, can I copy it out from the reader, delete it in the reader and than after some time copy them to the reader again from my PC and still can open them? How specific is the ownership? to the reader or to the buyer?

thanks a lot.
alex

Pushka · 05-03-2010, 05:40 AM

If you want to keep the book then just leave it on your kindle. Once you re register it, if you delete it then put it back the kindle may not be able to read it.

robb01 · 05-03-2010, 09:19 AM

good info in this thread

Mike L · 05-03-2010, 10:04 AM

Alex,

If the previous owner bought the books from the Kindle store, they would have been deleted from your Kindle when he de-registered it. In that case, you will have lost the books.

The fact that the books are still present suggests that they were bought from other sources - or that they were free downloads. In that case, the books will stay on the Kindle until you explicitly delete them. Whether or not you are the legal owner depends on what you negotiated with the previous owner (and whether that person had the right to sell them to you).

If the books were from the Kindle store, and they are still present on the Kindle, it might be because you have Whispernet switched off. If so, as soon as you switch it on, I would expect the books to be deleted.

Maz · 05-03-2010, 04:14 PM

Hi, another Kindle newbie. I am in a similar position with pre owned Kindle due for delivery.
My K2i has 20 books downloaded apparently, can you tell from the Kindle where they have been bought from?

Mike L · 05-04-2010, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maz

My K2i has 20 books downloaded apparently, can you tell from the Kindle where they have been bought from?

There are at least two ways of doing this:

1. Go the Home page. Select a book. Move the 5-way to right - this will take you to the book's summary menu. If you see a menu item "Book Description", then this is an Amazon book. If not, it is non-Amazon.

2. Connect the Kindle to a PC or Mac. The Kindle will appear as a disk drive in Windows Explorer or equivalent. Navigate to the Document folder and view a list of your books. If the filename has the extension AZW, it's an Amazon book. If there's no AZW file, it's non-Amazon.

Note that this is based on my own experiments, and I can't guarantee they're correct. I would think the second option is more reliable. I've not got any books that I've purchased other than from Amazon (as opposed to downloaded from free sites), so I can't say how they will show up in the summary menu.

Hope this helps.

Devon · 05-04-2010, 10:11 AM

If you are worried about losing the books, back them up on your computer. Just copy the documents file. Replace it after you have upgraded. I have done this every time I have got a replacement Kindle, or upgrade - my books all stay in the order I acquired them. When in doubt - backup

jxh11215 · 05-04-2010, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

Alex,

If the previous owner bought the books from the Kindle store, they would have been deleted from your Kindle when he de-registered it. In that case, you will have lost the books.

The fact that the books are still present suggests that they were bought from other sources - or that they were free downloads. In that case, the books will stay on the Kindle until you explicitly delete them. Whether or not you are the legal owner depends on what you negotiated with the previous owner (and whether that person had the right to sell them to you).

If the books were from the Kindle store, and they are still present on the Kindle, it might be because you have Whispernet switched off. If so, as soon as you switch it on, I would expect the books to be deleted.

This is not correct, deregistering books does NOT delete them from your device, however you will not be able to re-download (from Amazon) them if you delete them.

Mike L · 05-04-2010, 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jxh11215

This is not correct, deregistering books does NOT delete them from your device, however you will not be able to re-download (from Amazon) them if you delete them.

Thanks for the correction.

TuxGirl · 05-06-2010, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike L

Alex,

If the previous owner bought the books from the Kindle store, they would have been deleted from your Kindle when he de-registered it. In that case, you will have lost the books.

The fact that the books are still present suggests that they were bought from other sources - or that they were free downloads. In that case, the books will stay on the Kindle until you explicitly delete them. Whether or not you are the legal owner depends on what you negotiated with the previous owner (and whether that person had the right to sell them to you).

If the books were from the Kindle store, and they are still present on the Kindle, it might be because you have Whispernet switched off. If so, as soon as you switch it on, I would expect the books to be deleted.

not true. it is widely documented in amazon's kindle forum that deregistering a kindle, even with whispernet, does not remove books purchased from amazon.

TuxGirl · 05-06-2010, 08:59 PM

1. there are quite a number of ebooks already in the reader when i brought it. it belongs to last user. although i can now read it in the reader, i am worrying if i update the software, i will lost them. Is it the case? btw, is there any ways for me to "own" the books?

others have answered this, so I won't go into it...

2. the owner installed the font hacks for me to read Chinese, should i remove the hacks before the update? or could just install the update and let the hacks be over-written, then i can install the hack again?

You need to remove the hack to get the update

3. if unfortunately, there is something wrong during updating, would the reader be locked or becoming unusable? just like the firmware update failure in other kinds of devices?

Amazon runs the update with no involvement from you (if you don't have hacks installed, and you have whispernet access). In all the cases of firmware upgrades since the first kindle launch, I have *never* heard of a kindle being bricked by Amazon's upgrade. If somehow you were to be amazingly unlucky, they would probably deal with it very nicely at kindle CS -- they are very good.

I would be much more worried about this when installing a hack. There, you aren't using official updates, and CS doesn't _have_ to help you if you brick it. That said, the only people I've ever heard of bricking a Kindle with a hack are the hack authors...

alexTheFool · 05-07-2010, 09:57 AM

I have copied the "bundled" books from the kindle with USB, then use kindle in PC to open it. It shows "unable to open, download again". I am still wondering how specific are these books. They are specific to machine so that I can only open them in that particular machine? or they are specific to the buyer ID so that they cannot be opened with other registered ID? If it is the former case, why I can't "achieve" it (i was told so, i can't achieve any books not brought by me, they disappear)? if it is the latter case, why I can still open the books after the previous owner dereg the reader and then i reg the reader under my name?

perhaps they are running a mixed mode?

05-03-2010, 12:37 AM	#1
alexTheFool Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: kindle 2	a new comer here, with a question on 2.5 update installation Hi all, nice to meet you here. I have just brought a second hand kindle 2. It is a nice reader. I have several questions about the installation of new software. 1. there are quite a number of ebooks already in the reader when i brought it. it belongs to last user. although i can now read it in the reader, i am worrying if i update the software, i will lost them. Is it the case? btw, is there any ways for me to "own" the books? 2. the owner installed the font hacks for me to read Chinese, should i remove the hacks before the update? or could just install the update and let the hacks be over-written, then i can install the hack again? 3. if unfortunately, there is something wrong during updating, would the reader be locked or becoming unusable? just like the firmware update failure in other kinds of devices? thanks a lot. alex

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05-03-2010, 12:56 AM	#2
Pushka Wizard Posts: 1,119 Karma: 1019140 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Device: kindle, Ipad, Iphone, Nexus and PPW	You need to uninstall the hacks first or the bin file will download, but it will be unsuccessful.

05-03-2010, 05:07 AM	#4
alexTheFool Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: kindle 2	thanks. the previous owner have already de-registered the reader and i have already registered it under my name. what I am afraid of is about the book the previous owner brought and still inside the reader. Is there any methods for me to "own" these books? or in other words, can I copy it out from the reader, delete it in the reader and than after some time copy them to the reader again from my PC and still can open them? How specific is the ownership? to the reader or to the buyer? thanks a lot. alex

05-03-2010, 05:40 AM	#5
Pushka Wizard Posts: 1,119 Karma: 1019140 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Australia Device: kindle, Ipad, Iphone, Nexus and PPW	If you want to keep the book then just leave it on your kindle. Once you re register it, if you delete it then put it back the kindle may not be able to read it.

05-03-2010, 09:19 AM	#6
robb01 Connoisseur Posts: 81 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: Kindle	good info in this thread

05-03-2010, 10:04 AM	#7
Mike L Wizard Posts: 1,479 Karma: 3846231 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Edinburgh, Scotland Device: Kindle 3, Samsung Galaxy	Alex, If the previous owner bought the books from the Kindle store, they would have been deleted from your Kindle when he de-registered it. In that case, you will have lost the books. The fact that the books are still present suggests that they were bought from other sources - or that they were free downloads. In that case, the books will stay on the Kindle until you explicitly delete them. Whether or not you are the legal owner depends on what you negotiated with the previous owner (and whether that person had the right to sell them to you). If the books were from the Kindle store, and they are still present on the Kindle, it might be because you have Whispernet switched off. If so, as soon as you switch it on, I would expect the books to be deleted.

05-03-2010, 04:14 PM	#8
Maz Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: Kindle 2	Hi, another Kindle newbie. I am in a similar position with pre owned Kindle due for delivery. My K2i has 20 books downloaded apparently, can you tell from the Kindle where they have been bought from?

05-04-2010, 10:11 AM	#10
Devon Enthusiast Posts: 42 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: iPad, Kindle	If you are worried about losing the books, back them up on your computer. Just copy the documents file. Replace it after you have upgraded. I have done this every time I have got a replacement Kindle, or upgrade - my books all stay in the order I acquired them. When in doubt - backup

05-06-2010, 08:59 PM	#14
TuxGirl Groupie Posts: 179 Karma: 141378 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: kindle	1. there are quite a number of ebooks already in the reader when i brought it. it belongs to last user. although i can now read it in the reader, i am worrying if i update the software, i will lost them. Is it the case? btw, is there any ways for me to "own" the books? others have answered this, so I won't go into it... 2. the owner installed the font hacks for me to read Chinese, should i remove the hacks before the update? or could just install the update and let the hacks be over-written, then i can install the hack again? You need to remove the hack to get the update 3. if unfortunately, there is something wrong during updating, would the reader be locked or becoming unusable? just like the firmware update failure in other kinds of devices? Amazon runs the update with no involvement from you (if you don't have hacks installed, and you have whispernet access). In all the cases of firmware upgrades since the first kindle launch, I have never heard of a kindle being bricked by Amazon's upgrade. If somehow you were to be amazingly unlucky, they would probably deal with it very nicely at kindle CS -- they are very good. I would be much more worried about this when installing a hack. There, you aren't using official updates, and CS doesn't _have_ to help you if you brick it. That said, the only people I've ever heard of bricking a Kindle with a hack are the hack authors...

05-07-2010, 09:57 AM	#15
alexTheFool Member Posts: 10 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2010 Device: kindle 2	I have copied the "bundled" books from the kindle with USB, then use kindle in PC to open it. It shows "unable to open, download again". I am still wondering how specific are these books. They are specific to machine so that I can only open them in that particular machine? or they are specific to the buyer ID so that they cannot be opened with other registered ID? If it is the former case, why I can't "achieve" it (i was told so, i can't achieve any books not brought by me, they disappear)? if it is the latter case, why I can still open the books after the previous owner dereg the reader and then i reg the reader under my name? perhaps they are running a mixed mode?