Kindle P3: how long a spinning wheel lasts?

torto · 11-30-2019, 09:35 AM

Dear kindlemasters, my PW3 showed me the dreaded "Your kindle needs repair" message but was still connecting to my computer, so I tried to do the DO_FACTORY_RESTORE I found.
Now it is has been showing the kindle tree with a spinning wheel on top. I read somewhere it is probably some filesystem repair thing and it might last long, which makes sense since I switched it off and on many times while it was loading, but it's been about 20 days since...
Does it still make any sense to wait on this? Is there anything other than hardware hacking that I can do to save him? It is not jailbroken, it is on a very recent firmware, and this happened after I tried to open a *very* large web page sent to it that made it crash several times.
Thanks!

Dr. Drib · 11-30-2019, 09:53 AM

Get rid of that very large file.

Do a RESTART, instead, and try again. See what happens.

If you can't get to that very large web page [on your Kindle], plug your Kindle into your computer and see if you can locate it and then try to remove that sucker. (Twenty days for a file to load is insane - something's wrong.)

Switching your Kindle on and off many times (as you state) might not have been the most ideal action you should have taken.

I have no idea if any of my suggestions will work for you.

torto · 12-01-2019, 06:24 AM

Thanks a lot Dr. Drib!
I had already backed up the documents folder and tried to remove its files completely, both on a Mac finder or on a terminal. They seem to be gone but after a restart they always reappear (and the DO_FACTORY_RESTORE file disappeared). Is there a way to beat that file cache?
thanks!

Dr. Drib · 12-01-2019, 09:13 AM

Well, I don't know.

If your Kindle is at least operational, go to the top left where it says ALL | DOWNLOADED. Go to ALL and see if the file is there. If so, delete it there as well. And then do another RESTART. You may need to turn your WiFi on.

I will be the first to admit that I'm not an expert on this, but I have encountered issues occasionally where I deleted a file, but it was still located in the ALL area.

____________________

Can someone with more expertise please help him?

ilovejedd · 12-01-2019, 10:27 AM

ALL shows all content on the device and on Kindle Cloud.

DOWNLOADED only shows local content on the device.

If deleting the problematic book directly from Kindle in ALL doesn't work, OP could go to https://www.amazon.com/myk to delete it directly from the Kindle Cloud (might be under Docs instead of Books).

That said, it's possible that the flash storage on the Kindle is starting to go.

torto · 12-01-2019, 02:39 PM

Thanks for the answers.
Although I can see the files with my computer, the Kindle itself is unfortunately stuck on an eternal spinning wheel on top of the tree image. So I can only delete files via Finder or terminal, but all files reappear as soon as I restart the Kindle.
So I wonder if there's a way to purge them. Or is it possible to reformat or fix the filesystem using my computer somehow?

ilovejedd · 12-01-2019, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torto

So I can only delete files via Finder or terminal, but all files reappear as soon as I restart the Kindle.

That actually sounds like the flash storage has gone bad and can't be written to anymore in some parts. Sadly, probably cheaper and easier to replace the entire Kindle than open it up and solder replacement NAND yourself.

torto · 12-02-2019, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

That actually sounds like the flash storage has gone bad and can't be written to anymore in some parts. Sadly, probably cheaper and easier to replace the entire Kindle than open it up and solder replacement NAND yourself.

Well, is there anything I could try before messing with the hardware or simply throwing it away? I know most Linux systems can avoid bad blocks in storage media.

Junket · 12-03-2019, 04:41 PM

On a jailbroken Kindle you could try running fsck on the command line to check for bad blocks. I'm not aware of a way to do that without a jailbreak but you might want to do a search to see if anyone has a workaround.

As pointed out already it would be cost-prohibitive to repair if you are outsourcing labour. It might be viable if you happen to have SMT soldering rework tools & expertise yourself.

torto · 12-04-2019, 01:38 PM

Thanks for the input.

From what I researched, fsck would mess up even more with a non-jailbroken kindle. It seems I'll have to suck it up and accept this poor Kindle's unlucky fate...

11-30-2019, 09:35 AM	#1
torto Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: Kindle PW1, Kindle PW2 (RIP), Kindle 4, Tolino Vision 5	Kindle P3: how long a spinning wheel lasts? Dear kindlemasters, my PW3 showed me the dreaded "Your kindle needs repair" message but was still connecting to my computer, so I tried to do the DO_FACTORY_RESTORE I found. Now it is has been showing the kindle tree with a spinning wheel on top. I read somewhere it is probably some filesystem repair thing and it might last long, which makes sense since I switched it off and on many times while it was loading, but it's been about 20 days since... Does it still make any sense to wait on this? Is there anything other than hardware hacking that I can do to save him? It is not jailbroken, it is on a very recent firmware, and this happened after I tried to open a very large web page sent to it that made it crash several times. Thanks!

11-30-2019, 09:53 AM	#2
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,039 Karma: 56751447 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Get rid of that very large file. Do a RESTART, instead, and try again. See what happens. If you can't get to that very large web page [on your Kindle], plug your Kindle into your computer and see if you can locate it and then try to remove that sucker. (Twenty days for a file to load is insane - something's wrong.) Switching your Kindle on and off many times (as you state) might not have been the most ideal action you should have taken. I have no idea if any of my suggestions will work for you. Last edited by Dr. Drib; 11-30-2019 at 10:10 AM.

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12-01-2019, 06:24 AM	#3
torto Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: Kindle PW1, Kindle PW2 (RIP), Kindle 4, Tolino Vision 5	Thanks a lot Dr. Drib! I had already backed up the documents folder and tried to remove its files completely, both on a Mac finder or on a terminal. They seem to be gone but after a restart they always reappear (and the DO_FACTORY_RESTORE file disappeared). Is there a way to beat that file cache? thanks!

12-01-2019, 09:13 AM	#4
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,039 Karma: 56751447 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: Kindle: Oasis 3, Voyage WiFi; Kobo: Libra 2, Aura One	Well, I don't know. If your Kindle is at least operational, go to the top left where it says ALL \| DOWNLOADED. Go to ALL and see if the file is there. If so, delete it there as well. And then do another RESTART. You may need to turn your WiFi on. I will be the first to admit that I'm not an expert on this, but I have encountered issues occasionally where I deleted a file, but it was still located in the ALL area. ____________________ Can someone with more expertise please help him?

12-01-2019, 10:27 AM	#5
ilovejedd hopeless n00b Posts: 5,110 Karma: 19597086 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: in the middle of nowhere Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9	ALL shows all content on the device and on Kindle Cloud. DOWNLOADED only shows local content on the device. If deleting the problematic book directly from Kindle in ALL doesn't work, OP could go to https://www.amazon.com/myk to delete it directly from the Kindle Cloud (might be under Docs instead of Books). That said, it's possible that the flash storage on the Kindle is starting to go.

12-01-2019, 02:39 PM	#6
torto Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: Kindle PW1, Kindle PW2 (RIP), Kindle 4, Tolino Vision 5	Thanks for the answers. Although I can see the files with my computer, the Kindle itself is unfortunately stuck on an eternal spinning wheel on top of the tree image. So I can only delete files via Finder or terminal, but all files reappear as soon as I restart the Kindle. So I wonder if there's a way to purge them. Or is it possible to reformat or fix the filesystem using my computer somehow?

12-03-2019, 04:41 PM	#9
Junket Nil adsuetudine maius Posts: 278 Karma: 500000 Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: US Device: PW4	On a jailbroken Kindle you could try running fsck on the command line to check for bad blocks. I'm not aware of a way to do that without a jailbreak but you might want to do a search to see if anyone has a workaround. As pointed out already it would be cost-prohibitive to repair if you are outsourcing labour. It might be viable if you happen to have SMT soldering rework tools & expertise yourself.

12-04-2019, 01:38 PM	#10
torto Enthusiast Posts: 31 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2019 Device: Kindle PW1, Kindle PW2 (RIP), Kindle 4, Tolino Vision 5	Thanks for the input. From what I researched, fsck would mess up even more with a non-jailbroken kindle. It seems I'll have to suck it up and accept this poor Kindle's unlucky fate...