Kindle DX monitor keeps disconnecting/freezing

EinkMonitor · 11-27-2013, 05:00 AM

Im using the Kindle DX as a monitor (http://www.techhive.com/article/2595...c_display.html) because my eyes hurt badly when i look at an LCD. The Kindle DX monitor is the only way i can use my PC its a life saver for me and saves me from bad headaches/eye strain/sore eye sockets.

The problem for me (now) is that putty/the kindle dx freezes randomly. Sometimes it works well as a monitor for 2 hours then it drops. And sometimes it drops every 10 minutes or so. By dropping i mean the kindle dx screen freezes and putty has stopped. Then i have to reboot the kindle dx and reconnect (5min+ of time wasted). Due to using this exclusively as my monitor due to my sore eyes i am wasting upwards of an hour a day connecting and reconnecting the kindle dx.... reset kindle dx, type in the commends in debug mode, go to putty and connect. And i do this over and over again because it keeps crashing

Does anyone have any insight into this?

hawhill · 11-27-2013, 07:44 AM

KindleVNCviewer has a constantly reconnecting loop because of such issues. However the dropping of the SSH connection is a problem then. Unfortunately, I don't have neither a K3 nor a KDX for testing anymore. I remember that there was a network watching daemon on those devices that would drop long standing connections. This was not true for the SSH port, as far as I remember.

That said, and looking at the howto you mentioned, I see some things to try out. First, try switching from telnet to use SSH.

You might also want to try the kindlevncviewer call with ">/dev/null 2>&1 &" instead of just "&" at the end. This will redirect the output to the neverland, possibly avoiding problems when the telnet/SSH connection is dead and the kindlevncviewer is still running. At some point it will fill the output buffer and catch a signal it cannot handle.

I found it most stable, though, to tunnel the VNC connection through a SSH session. I'm pretty sure I talked about that at length in the kindlevncviewer thread (but some people have difficulties to grasp the concept of TCP connection tunnels via SSH, however, there are explanations on the web available and they are probably better than what I can deliver. They are not easy to grasp, so take your time).

NiLuJe · 11-27-2013, 08:15 AM

Yup, stopping netwatchd [/etc/init.d/netwatchd stop] might be needed for some workflows on FW 2.x & 3.x

.

EinkMonitor · 11-27-2013, 11:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawhill

First, try switching from telnet to use SSH.

Thanks! Im not a developer. Is there an easy way to do this. I changed to SSH in Putty but it didnt work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawhill

You might also want to try the kindlevncviewer call with ">/dev/null 2>&1 &" instead of just "&" at the end.

I tried this. It didnt work. It is still dropping out/freezing every 10min or less.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawhill

I found it most stable, though, to tunnel the VNC connection through a SSH session. I'm pretty sure I talked about that at length in the kindlevncviewer thread (but some people have difficulties to grasp the concept of TCP connection tunnels via SSH, however, there are explanations on the web available and they are probably better than what I can deliver. They are not easy to grasp, so take your time).

Is this something someone with only basic programming skills can do. I know how to code but dont know a thing about VNC. I really appreciate your help. The kindle dx monitor solution was working, but now it is not and my eyes are watering as i post this on my LCD monitor. I need a solution so bad.

Did i see in another thread you build a solution to turn your DX into a monitor. Do you think if i try your solution/code it would work better i.e. stay connected for at least 3 or four hours at a time?

EinkMonitor · 11-27-2013, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Yup, stopping netwatchd [/etc/init.d/netwatchd stop] might be needed for some workflows on FW 2.x & 3.x

.

How do i do this? What are workflows? What is FW?

knc1 · 11-28-2013, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EinkMonitor

How do i do this? What are workflows? What is FW?

Exact command to be entered shown in brackets.
Workflows == how you are using the system.
FW == FirmWare (your using 2.5.8, or should be)

EinkMonitor · 11-30-2013, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Yup, stopping netwatchd [/etc/init.d/netwatchd stop] might be needed for some workflows on FW 2.x & 3.x

.

Sorry i dont understand. I already use the command [/etc/init.d/netwatchd stop] in putty. So this doesnt help.

knc1 · 11-30-2013, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EinkMonitor

Sorry i dont understand. I already use the command [/etc/init.d/netwatchd stop] in putty. So this doesnt help.

Without typing the square brackets?
What was the result?
Any message produced?

EinkMonitor · 11-30-2013, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

Without typing the square brackets?
What was the result?
Any message produced?

The result is this thread: a kindle monitor that is disconnecting every hour and sometimes every 5 min (its sporadic). I have always entered that command - it is apart of the instructions to turn your kindle into a second monitor. So i have always used it. No i dont type the brackets.

I run win7 64-bit. The contrast hack: 1-bit mode, 4th setting for contrast. And follow the instructions above in the link to make the kindle a monitor. And have always turned off that daemon using the command you mentioned - it makes no difference. Putty/kindle screen still freezes every 5 min or 1 hour depending on the day.

NiLuJe · 12-01-2013, 06:54 AM

Bad cable? I'm assuming you're doing this over SSH and not telnet?

EinkMonitor · 12-02-2013, 01:56 AM

using telnet, dont know how to do via ssh. the cable isnt bad ive tried a spare

NiLuJe · 12-02-2013, 02:00 AM

Telnet has been known to get its connection dropped for no good reason. Usually stopping netwatchd takes care of the issue, but I couldn't assure you of that, telnet is only there as a 'last-resort' option. I'd go with SSH w/ a KeepAlive.

I have no idea what your stuff looks like, but it shouldn't be too hard to switch from telnet to ssh.

hawhill · 12-02-2013, 03:45 AM

Errm, from the tutorial linked in the OP (or rather, intended to be linked, because the link is broken and I need to google it instead!), I'd say: leave out the step where it tolds to select Telnet instead of SSH.

That would be the first step. The next one is to go and setup SSH tunneling, but first check if a simple connection using SSH is enough.

Since the drop happens regardless of all output being redirected to /dev/null, I'm not sure simply using SSH will help. Tunneling the connection might be necessary. But let's take one step at a time.

EinkMonitor · 12-02-2013, 08:43 PM

i tried using ssh but when i open putty it does not auto connect to the kindle to allow for the commands to make it connect

EinkMonitor · 12-02-2013, 08:47 PM

i updated link to work in OP. here it is again for anyone wishing to help: http://www.techhive.com/article/2595...c_display.html

11-27-2013, 05:00 AM	#1
EinkMonitor Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 60632 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: Kindle DX	Kindle DX monitor keeps disconnecting/freezing Im using the Kindle DX as a monitor (http://www.techhive.com/article/2595...c_display.html) because my eyes hurt badly when i look at an LCD. The Kindle DX monitor is the only way i can use my PC its a life saver for me and saves me from bad headaches/eye strain/sore eye sockets. The problem for me (now) is that putty/the kindle dx freezes randomly. Sometimes it works well as a monitor for 2 hours then it drops. And sometimes it drops every 10 minutes or so. By dropping i mean the kindle dx screen freezes and putty has stopped. Then i have to reboot the kindle dx and reconnect (5min+ of time wasted). Due to using this exclusively as my monitor due to my sore eyes i am wasting upwards of an hour a day connecting and reconnecting the kindle dx.... reset kindle dx, type in the commends in debug mode, go to putty and connect. And i do this over and over again because it keeps crashing Does anyone have any insight into this? Last edited by EinkMonitor; 12-02-2013 at 08:46 PM.

12-02-2013, 02:00 AM	#12
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047190 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Telnet has been known to get its connection dropped for no good reason. Usually stopping netwatchd takes care of the issue, but I couldn't assure you of that, telnet is only there as a 'last-resort' option. I'd go with SSH w/ a KeepAlive. I have no idea what your stuff looks like, but it shouldn't be too hard to switch from telnet to ssh. Last edited by NiLuJe; 05-05-2014 at 09:34 AM.

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11-27-2013, 07:44 AM	#2
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	KindleVNCviewer has a constantly reconnecting loop because of such issues. However the dropping of the SSH connection is a problem then. Unfortunately, I don't have neither a K3 nor a KDX for testing anymore. I remember that there was a network watching daemon on those devices that would drop long standing connections. This was not true for the SSH port, as far as I remember. That said, and looking at the howto you mentioned, I see some things to try out. First, try switching from telnet to use SSH. You might also want to try the kindlevncviewer call with ">/dev/null 2>&1 &" instead of just "&" at the end. This will redirect the output to the neverland, possibly avoiding problems when the telnet/SSH connection is dead and the kindlevncviewer is still running. At some point it will fill the output buffer and catch a signal it cannot handle. I found it most stable, though, to tunnel the VNC connection through a SSH session. I'm pretty sure I talked about that at length in the kindlevncviewer thread (but some people have difficulties to grasp the concept of TCP connection tunnels via SSH, however, there are explanations on the web available and they are probably better than what I can deliver. They are not easy to grasp, so take your time).

11-27-2013, 08:15 AM	#3
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047190 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Yup, stopping netwatchd [/etc/init.d/netwatchd stop] might be needed for some workflows on FW 2.x & 3.x .

12-01-2013, 06:54 AM	#10
NiLuJe BLAM! Posts: 13,506 Karma: 26047190 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Paris, France Device: Kindle 2i, 3g, 4, 5w, PW, PW2, PW5; Kobo H2O, Forma, Elipsa, Sage, C2E	Bad cable? I'm assuming you're doing this over SSH and not telnet?

12-02-2013, 01:56 AM	#11
EinkMonitor Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 60632 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: Kindle DX	using telnet, dont know how to do via ssh. the cable isnt bad ive tried a spare

12-02-2013, 03:45 AM	#13
hawhill Wizard Posts: 1,379 Karma: 2155307 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Goettingen, Germany Device: Kindle Paperwhite, Kobo Mini	Errm, from the tutorial linked in the OP (or rather, intended to be linked, because the link is broken and I need to google it instead!), I'd say: leave out the step where it tolds to select Telnet instead of SSH. That would be the first step. The next one is to go and setup SSH tunneling, but first check if a simple connection using SSH is enough. Since the drop happens regardless of all output being redirected to /dev/null, I'm not sure simply using SSH will help. Tunneling the connection might be necessary. But let's take one step at a time.

12-02-2013, 08:43 PM	#14
EinkMonitor Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 60632 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: Kindle DX	i tried using ssh but when i open putty it does not auto connect to the kindle to allow for the commands to make it connect

12-02-2013, 08:47 PM	#15
EinkMonitor Enthusiast Posts: 25 Karma: 60632 Join Date: Nov 2013 Device: Kindle DX	i updated link to work in OP. here it is again for anyone wishing to help: http://www.techhive.com/article/2595...c_display.html

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