Replacing Internal Storage?

Rbneader · 08-13-2015, 08:26 PM

I've looked but haven't found a good answer to this question. Can the Kindle's internal storage be replaced? I'm interested in one, but the included storage is just not enough.

AnemicOak · 08-13-2015, 08:36 PM

Haven't heard of it ever being done. There used to be services back in the day that would do this kind of thing for iPaq's and other PDA's, but haven't heard of it being done for more modern gadgets.

knc1 · 08-13-2015, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rbneader

I've looked but haven't found a good answer to this question. Can the Kindle's internal storage be replaced? I'm interested in one, but the included storage is just not enough.

All depends on the Model and the Firmware version.

I don't have any information on the "Device: None" shown in your info block.

But the general answer is:
The eMMC chip used is one of a family of devices that share the same physical pin-out and contact plan.
The one used **is not** the largest of the family in some cases.

Also, the bootloader (u-boot) must "know" how to use the eMMC chip model on the board.
Again, in some cases it does.

- - - - -

Bottom line:
It might be possible, I don't recall reading any reports of it being done.

- - - - -

Disclaimer:
The parts are BGA mount, SMT parts and that it will require the resources of a full SMT re-work station to do the job.

And if you have to hire-out that work, you have probably just double or tripled the cost of your Kindle - -
So take the easy way out, buy more than one.

brianinmaine · 08-13-2015, 08:54 PM

As far as I know, there is no way without a micro soldering station available - like at a college lab?

Easiest is to use online storage or local storage. I have a Kindle Touch and can use Dropbox or Google Drive or many other hosts if I wish. Usually I have a couple hundred books on the device and that's pretty many...

Good luck!

eschwartz · 08-14-2015, 12:51 AM

Couple hundred books -- that's nothing.

Assuming the average ebook is 400-600 KB, which is how I've found it, you can store about 6500 books on the Kindle's ~3.25GB storage space. Heck, let's be generous and say the average book is 1MB -- that's still over 3000 books.

Unless you read a lot of manga or scanned PDFs, with an average 50MB-or-whatever size, the current is not lacking.

I keep my TBR (350 books) on my Kindle, together with a long list of favorites, and don't usually bother to delete books when I'm done (until I need to, which is really rare), and have never been caught in a situation where I cannot find a book I am interested in reading.
As long as I can connect to my computer and add new books once every few months, I'm set (but I can easily connect daily).

I'd have more space, too, if not for all the miscellaneous junk that has nothing to do with reading at all, like a 1GB system image Just In Case I ever need a chroot, because I am literally too lazy to delete it even though it would take less time than I just spent typing this sentence.
That's how little it matters.

Jan Steinman · 08-14-2015, 01:34 AM

I'm not into replacing SMT components. But it would be nice to be able to use external storage simply. As far as I can tell, that isn't there — please correct me if wrong!

What I'd like to do is plug a multi-TB disk into the USB port and have it show up in some way. My library is currently 83 GB!

NiLuJe · 08-14-2015, 06:20 AM

Plus, as usual, these kind of devices tend to get bogged down the more content you stuff in them, despite the catalog handling having gotten much better than it used to be on Kindles.

Because how cool is a device with 666TB of stuff if you can't even navigate the thing because it's gotten so slow? ;o).

knc1 · 08-14-2015, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jan Steinman

I'm not into replacing SMT components. But it would be nice to be able to use external storage simply. As far as I can tell, that isn't there — please correct me if wrong!

What I'd like to do is plug a multi-TB disk into the USB port and have it show up in some way. My library is currently 83 GB!

Ah, topic change detected.

Which are you interested in?
"replacing internal storage" or "using external storage"
We have answers on-site for the second.

Edit:
Probably the easiest would be to mount an NFS export.
Even the initramfs system can do that.

Note, if you mount your external storage in the Kindle:/document/* sub-tree, you may have trouble with the indexer. The indexer has some limits that have caused problems in the past.

The file manager in KOReader should not have any problems, but you may need to enable swap.
Ah, yes, you can use network attached swap with NBD on a Kindle. Examples on-site.

thatworkshop · 08-14-2015, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NiLuJe

Plus, as usual, these kind of devices tend to get bogged down the more content you stuff in them, despite the catalog handling having gotten much better than it used to be on Kindles.

Because how cool is a device with 666TB of stuff if you can't even navigate the thing because it's gotten so slow? ;o).

I agree with @NiLuJe. Go light my friend, go light.

Personally, I just have a few books on my Kindle, rest on my laptop or my purchases on Amazon which I can access anytime I want. I don't need to have them on the Kindle, esp. given this Kindle is low on RAM, don't want to get it bogged down. It's very responsive as of now which I like.

knc1 · 08-14-2015, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rbneader

I've looked but haven't found a good answer to this question.
Can the Kindle's internal storage be replaced?
I'm interested in one, but the included storage is just not enough.

Not replaced but expanded (for some models).
There is a thread or two on here (somewhere) describing how someone added a USB flash drive internally (using the USB host connection for the 3G card).

Some models also support an internal SDC card (for Lab126 development).
I don't recall reading where anyone located the connection points for it on a production board.

Hmm... Heck, the K-1 supported an external SDC card. But the K-1 is probably a little bit slow for your use.

Rbneader · 08-14-2015, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

Not replaced but expanded (for some models).
There is a thread or two on here (somewhere) describing how someone added a USB flash drive internally (using the USB host connection for the 3G card).

Some models also support an internal SDC card (for Lab126 development).
I don't recall reading where anyone located the connection points for it on a production board.

That sounds functionally close enough to what I want. Do you have links to any of the threads?

knc1 · 08-15-2015, 08:55 AM

No I don't.
But I do have a post about using the *advanced* search feature of this forum in my FGA thread. (Prefix keyed as: 'Tutorial').

HarryT · 08-15-2015, 09:30 AM

Once your library reaches a certain size, it's impractical to keep it all on a portable device, so may as well get used to being selective. Personally I find that the couple of thousand or so books that the Kindle allows me to store is more than sufficient to ensure that I have a good choice of reading material at any time.

thatworkshop · 08-15-2015, 10:32 PM

@Rbneader, I found it for you: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=221104

And very helpful: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66160

knc1 · 08-15-2015, 11:13 PM

Keep looking.

Somewhere there is a thread with pictures that show how a USB hub and USB flash drive (minus case and connector) was mounted internal into a Kindle-?something?

And it was sometime in the past three years - I.E: since I joined, I may even have commited on it.

You probably will not have any luck searching for posts by my user name - the forum software only considers the most frequent 500 posts (Geekmaster learned of that limit).
But then again, "they" may have changed that since then.

08-13-2015, 08:26 PM	#1
Rbneader Fanatic Posts: 503 Karma: 2661351 Join Date: Mar 2012 Device: None	Replacing Internal Storage? I've looked but haven't found a good answer to this question. Can the Kindle's internal storage be replaced? I'm interested in one, but the included storage is just not enough.

08-14-2015, 12:51 AM	#5
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Couple hundred books -- that's nothing. Assuming the average ebook is 400-600 KB, which is how I've found it, you can store about 6500 books on the Kindle's ~3.25GB storage space. Heck, let's be generous and say the average book is 1MB -- that's still over 3000 books. Unless you read a lot of manga or scanned PDFs, with an average 50MB-or-whatever size, the current is not lacking. I keep my TBR (350 books) on my Kindle, together with a long list of favorites, and don't usually bother to delete books when I'm done (until I need to, which is really rare), and have never been caught in a situation where I cannot find a book I am interested in reading. As long as I can connect to my computer and add new books once every few months, I'm set (but I can easily connect daily). I'd have more space, too, if not for all the miscellaneous junk that has nothing to do with reading at all, like a 1GB system image Just In Case I ever need a chroot, because I am literally too lazy to delete it even though it would take less time than I just spent typing this sentence. That's how little it matters. Last edited by eschwartz; 08-14-2015 at 12:56 AM.

08-15-2015, 10:32 PM	#14
thatworkshop hub Posts: 715 Karma: 2151032 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Iranian in Canada Device: K3G, DXG, Kobo mini	@Rbneader, I found it for you: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=221104 And very helpful: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66160 Last edited by thatworkshop; 08-15-2015 at 10:42 PM.

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08-13-2015, 08:36 PM	#2
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	Haven't heard of it ever being done. There used to be services back in the day that would do this kind of thing for iPaq's and other PDA's, but haven't heard of it being done for more modern gadgets.

08-13-2015, 08:54 PM	#4
brianinmaine Evangelist Posts: 456 Karma: 1287375 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: West Gardiner, Maine Device: Touch (5.3.7)	As far as I know, there is no way without a micro soldering station available - like at a college lab? Easiest is to use online storage or local storage. I have a Kindle Touch and can use Dropbox or Google Drive or many other hosts if I wish. Usually I have a couple hundred books on the device and that's pretty many... Good luck!

08-14-2015, 01:34 AM	#6
Jan Steinman Ecovillage founderer Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada Device: Kindle DXG	I'm not into replacing SMT components. But it would be nice to be able to use external storage simply. As far as I can tell, that isn't there — please correct me if wrong! What I'd like to do is plug a multi-TB disk into the USB port and have it show up in some way. My library is currently 83 GB!

08-14-2015, 06:20 AM	#7
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	Plus, as usual, these kind of devices tend to get bogged down the more content you stuff in them, despite the catalog handling having gotten much better than it used to be on Kindles. Because how cool is a device with 666TB of stuff if you can't even navigate the thing because it's gotten so slow? ;o).

08-15-2015, 08:55 AM	#12
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	No I don't. But I do have a post about using the advanced search feature of this forum in my FGA thread. (Prefix keyed as: 'Tutorial').

08-15-2015, 09:30 AM	#13
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Once your library reaches a certain size, it's impractical to keep it all on a portable device, so may as well get used to being selective. Personally I find that the couple of thousand or so books that the Kindle allows me to store is more than sufficient to ensure that I have a good choice of reading material at any time.

08-15-2015, 11:13 PM	#15
knc1 Going Viral Posts: 17,212 Karma: 18210809 Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Central Texas Device: No K1, PW2, KV, KOA	Keep looking. Somewhere there is a thread with pictures that show how a USB hub and USB flash drive (minus case and connector) was mounted internal into a Kindle-?something? And it was sometime in the past three years - I.E: since I joined, I may even have commited on it. You probably will not have any luck searching for posts by my user name - the forum software only considers the most frequent 500 posts (Geekmaster learned of that limit). But then again, "they" may have changed that since then.

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