Kindle Paperwhite 2 bricked after updating Amazon software?

[orthog]

I have been running my Kindle Paperwhite 2 off wifi for a little while now. Yesterday I decided to connect to the wifi to download updates and a book sample. Now my Paperwhite is stuck in a boot loop...

Here's the sequence of events:

* Connected to wifi.
* Allowed the Kindle to download updates.
* Restarted it to apply the updates.
* Updates applied fine, thought all was well and proceeded to the Kindle store to download a sample of "Ready Player One."
* Created a collection of 4 books.
* Sample downloaded, but it wouldn't open, so I restarted the device.
* Started reading the sample and noticed it got less responsive over the next few pages. Tried clicking footnotes and it stopped responding at all.
* Held down the power button for a few seconds till the restart screen came up.
* Restarted the device.
* Device displayed the "Please wait a moment while your Kindle starts up." screen.
* It's been displaying the same thing since....

Things I've tried:

* Hard reset by the 40-second power button method
* Plugging it into a computer and letting it charge for hours, trying the 40-second method while plugged in.
* Plugging it into the wall, oddly enough it never fully charged even though it was well over half battery when I last looked. The light stayed orange the entire time, even after 4+ hours of charging. Tried the 40-second method while plugged into the wall.
* Chatting with tech-support, only to be told to use the 40-second method while unplugged twice to no avail.

When I try the hard reset, after about 7 seconds the charging indicator flashes 5 times and the backlight shuts off then turns back on. The screen stays the same the entire time.

I don't have USB access. I've tried restarting it while it was plugged in and it never came up.

It's never been jailbroken, always run stock firmwares. When I contacted Amazon they said it's out of warranty, so they offered to replace it at a 60% discount, but I don't know if I want to buy another one when this one bricked so easily. I just want to fix it.

[Doitsu]

If you're really, really desperate, you could try the DO_FACTORY_RESTORE method.

However, this method might not work for you and you probably won't be able to use the Kindle for a couple of days while it rebuilds the file system.

For more information see this thread. (Make sure to read the whole thread.)

If you have problems copying the file to the Kindle partition, try this method suggested by eschwartz:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

It is possible that it only appears for a second or two -- you'd need to be fast!

As I recall Geekmaster once had that happen and fixed it with a bash loop.

In a batch script try:

:loop
type NUL > E:\\DO_FACTORY_RESTORE
goto loop

It will constantly attempt to create an empty file with the right name on Drive E.

(The above code needs to be copied to a text file with a .cmd or .bat extension that you'll need to double-click.)

Before resorting to this method you may want to keep your Kindle on a wall charger for a couple of days.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

If you're really, really desperate, you could try the DO_FACTORY_RESTORE method.

However, this method might not work for you and you probably won't be able to use the Kindle for a couple of days while it rebuilds the file system.

For more information see this thread. (Make sure to read the whole thread.)

If you have problems copying the file to the Kindle partition, try this method suggested by eschwartz:



(The above code needs to be copied to a text file with a .cmd or .bat extension that you'll need to double-click.)

Before resorting to this method you may want to keep your Kindle on a wall charger for a couple of days.

See the FGA thread for what happened to you.

- - - -

Leave it on the wall charger for days, not hours.
As soon as possible (you might check once a day) try to remove those 4 books (the indexer is stuck on one of them).

Otherwise, after a long time (days) worth of charging on a wall charger - try the method suggested above.

[orthog]

Well, I left it on the charger for a whole week. No change.

[knc1]

Originally Posted by orthog

Well, I left it on the charger for a whole week. No change.

That should be enough to fix it, if that would have fixed it.

And if you can't stick a "DO_FACTORY_RESTORE" filename onto the USB storage ....

Then I guess it is either the serial port, get a credit from Amazon on it, or sell it as "parts only".