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No road back to 0.33g...brick time.  XML
Forum Index » jetBooks
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fish



Joined: 06/07/2010 13:35:59
Messages: 18
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I wonder if anyone at Ectaco has considered putting ALL the firmware updates up on a server somehow for open user access ?

Even if they were all at some file sharing site with links by version it would be a big help.

I suspect that my out-of-warranty Jetbook has a hardware failure of some sort, but it was still working pretty well under 0.33g.

Trouble is there's NO WAY to get back there and since I did the upgrading it has become a brick for my purposes - I cannot read TXT files anymore with it at all.

I would have done well to avoid this entire process - but now that it has happened how exactly can I try to get it working at least as well as it did for the past year ?
[Email]
Jerry



Joined: 06/28/2010 05:09:51
Messages: 908
Offline

fish wrote:I wonder if anyone at Ectaco has considered putting ALL the firmware updates up on a server somehow for open user access ?

Even if they were all at some file sharing site with links by version it would be a big help.

I suspect that my out-of-warranty Jetbook has a hardware failure of some sort, but it was still working pretty well under 0.33g.

Trouble is there's NO WAY to get back there and since I did the upgrading it has become a brick for my purposes - I cannot read TXT files anymore with it at all.

I would have done well to avoid this entire process - but now that it has happened how exactly can I try to get it working at least as well as it did for the past year ?


Hey,

Thanks for the question. Please let me know
1)What happens when you try and open up the txt file? Error message?
2) Where did the TXT files come from?
3) Have they every been converted?
4) Are you using 0.35M?

There are a few things we can try. I will give you a few opti
fish



Joined: 06/07/2010 13:35:59
Messages: 18
Offline

I will answer and re-answer all your questions below them...

Jerry wrote:
1)What happens when you try and open up the txt file? Error message?
2) Where did the TXT files come from?
3) Have they every been converted?
4) Are you using 0.35M?

Also older jetBook versions should be available for download but you would have to contact customer support directly. Please DO NOT share any links on here that tech support gives you unless the support gives the ok. They can be contacted at 718-728-3605 or phil@ectaco.com.

Hope this helps!


1 - As specified previously - INFINITE hourglassing - nothing else.
2 - They are my own - plain DOS TXT files, NOT downloads.
3 - Irrelevant - they worked 100% FINE before the 'update' bricked it.
4 - NO. I went back to 0.34b and it is doing EXACTLY what 'm' did too.

As to calling your company - NO WAY - being verbally abused is NOT for me - been there/done that/no thanks.
Why should I email someone when I have already asked YOU - h
[Email]
Numbr6



Joined: 06/30/2010 12:52:10
Messages: 19
Offline

fish wrote:
And as to help - HOW exactly could your message have HELPED me ?
It asks for info which I already posted on this forum, and though I realize you cannot possibly memorize every posting, you must know that what you wrote right above was not help - but asking for info FROM me.

But thanks. I hope you DO offer some help, soon.


Wow, comments like this would really put you on the top of my list to provide help to. Jerry DID give you a phone number AND email address for further assistance. However, YOU choose not to use either of those options. If someone is rude to you over the phone, I suspect, given the way you conduct yourself in a public forum, there is ample reason for it. I can only imagine how pleasant you must be in a private conversation.
[Email]
fish



Joined: 06/07/2010 13:35:59
Messages: 18
Offline

I do appreciate your opinion - very clearly added with no other obvious purpose in mind but to post something, I guess.

You have not walked a mile in my mocassins friend - and have no idea just how NASTY this company has been to me when I used the phone back when I got the JB and it was bad right out of the box.

I ended up using the retailer I got it from just to avoid any further abuse from them, and got pleasant, cheerful, immediate service.

So - am I very strongly stated in my communications with their reps ?
Yes, absolutely.
Have they earned that behaviour ?
Yes - absolutely.

Now - unless you are a company rep and/or have a copy of firmware v0.33g to offer me - I wish you a good day and invite you to express your need to post opinions of people's behaviour in someone else's thread.

I STILL have a bricked JB to deal with and your post did EXACTLY zero to assist.
[Email]
Jerry



Joined: 06/28/2010 05:09:51
Messages: 908
Offline

fish wrote:

As to calling your company - NO WAY - being verbally abused is NOT for me - been there/done that/no thanks.
Why should I email someone when I have already asked YOU - here ?
You can easily, top-secretly provide me with a d/l link right here via email or PM, right ? (Aren't YOU a rep of your company after all ?)

And as to help - HOW exactly could your message have HELPED me ?
It asks for info which I already posted on this forum, and though I realize you cannot possibly memorize every posting, you must know that what you wrote right above was not help - but asking for info FROM me.

But thanks. I hope you DO offer some help, soon.


Hey,

Sorry if you had a bad experience with someone in customer support, if you do please get the persons name, what happened and email it to me privately.

I asked you to email tech support because they have the links to this. Instead you emailed me, i emailed tech support and receiving this link to the older version took longer then if you emailed them directly. I am trying to help fix the problem as fast as humanly possible. As i mentioned i am not tech support, if there is difficulty speaking with them you can always email.

Heres what to try:
-Diagnostics screen: Reset. Then hold "on/off", "zoom" and "menu". When the device shows the jetBook screen let go of "on/"off. Let go of the others when you see the diagnostics menu. Perform "reflash NOR" with SD card in. Also perform "restore factory default".
-Try creating txt format books on a different computer or try and download some from the WEB.

Sounds like a problem with your txt files. As you said "It opened a couple of PDFs just fine afterwards". But then you say "PDF support for the JB is a wash" does that mean they don't work?

Have you posted somewhere about format compatibility and functionality? I have read most of your posts and i don't see if you have tested out other formats or even other txt books rather then those in yoru collection or those you create on yoru PC. In my last post i insinuate it is a hardware error but the more i read the more i am seeing that only a collection of TXT books you have do not work. You even tried to flash back to a different firmware version with the same result.

Try downloading 3 txt files online form different sources and let me know if they work.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/28/2010 06:54:22

fish



Joined: 06/07/2010 13:35:59
Messages: 18
Offline

Thanks again Jerry.
I did all the things you suggested - but it is just insane-acting and I cannot get the older FW to successfully install again either.
It's time to give up on this one.
Wasting any more time on this would just be stupid for me.

As I said in the other thread:
The good news is that I have a 3rd party extended warranty bought with it that is in effect and I have made a claim.
Hopefully this will have my (working) replacement in my hands soon.

As to calling your company - when I got the first/defective one about 54 weeks ago, I tried to get help and after being insulted and abused by 3 different people who were NOT native english speakers, I just went to the retailer I got it from and it was replaced with ZERO trouble, by them.
(I do not know what their foriegn-sounding names were, sorry.)
There were 2 different men and one woman.

I have an extensive collection already of ebooks - the fiction ones are all in TXT, and the technical/work ones are PDF.
Having already bought a lifetime's worth of them I do not need to buy more or to indulge in other file formats.

For me it is not about the fancy pictures, it is about the info I gain and the enjoyment I get from plain old reading - and I need a dependable, comfortable reader for that purpose.

Recently all the white/burgundy JBLs went on sale for $69.99 and I was very tempted to just get one - but I resisted and I am glad I did.
I am borrowing a bigger reader while this is resolved and will be glad to have a more hand-sized reader when all this is over.
Also - I will be moving on from the JB soon.
It was a good starting point, and for starters, when it is on sale I would recommend it (with the added warranty !), but moving forward I want something better and will do the work to find what suits me better.

Thanks for the time and attention.

Jerry wrote: Sorry if you had a bad experience with someone in customer support, if you do please get the persons name, what happened and email it to me privately.
I asked you to email tech support because they have the links to this. Instead you emailed me, i emailed tech support and receiving this link to the older version took longer then if you emailed them directly. I am trying to help fix the problem as fast as humanly possible. As i mentioned i am not tech support, if there is difficulty speaking with them you can always email.
Heres what to try:
-Diagnostics screen: Reset. Then hold "on/off", "zoom" and "menu". When the device shows the jetBook screen let go of "on/"off. Let go of the others when you see the diagnostics menu. Perform "reflash NOR" with SD card in. Also perform "restore factory default".
-Try creating txt format books on a different computer or try and download some from the WEB.
Sounds like a problem with your txt files. As you said "It opened a couple of PDFs just fine afterwards". But then you say "PDF support for the JB is a wash" does that mean they don't work?

Have you posted somewhere about format compatibility and functionality? I have read most of your posts and i don't see if you have tested out other formats or even other txt books rather then those in yoru collection or those you create on yoru PC. In my last post i insinuate it is a hardware error but the more i read the more i am seeing that only a collection of TXT books you have do not work. You even tried to flash back to a different firmware version with the same result.

Try downloading 3 txt files online form different sources and let me know if they work.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/28/2010 06:54:48

[Email]
Jerry



Joined: 06/28/2010 05:09:51
Messages: 908
Offline

fish wrote:Thanks again Jerry.
I did all the things you suggested - but it is just insane-acting and I cannot get the older FW to successfully install again either.
It's time to give up on this one.
Wasting any more time on this would just be stupid for me.

As I said in the other thread:
The good news is that I have a 3rd party extended warranty bought with it that is in effect and I have made a claim.
Hopefully this will have my (working) replacement in my hands soon.

As to calling your company - when I got the first/defective one about 54 weeks ago, I tried to get help and after being insulted and abused by 3 different people who were NOT native english speakers, I just went to the retailer I got it from and it was replaced with ZERO trouble, by them.
(I do not know what their foriegn-sounding names were, sorry.)
There were 2 different men and one woman.

I have an extensive collection already of ebooks - the fiction ones are all in TXT, and the technical/work ones are PDF.
Having already bought a lifetime's worth of them I do not need to buy more or to indulge in other file formats.

For me it is not about the fancy pictures, it is about the info I gain and the enjoyment I get from plain old reading - and I need a dependable, comfortable reader for that purpose.

Recently all the white/burgundy JBLs went on sale for $69.99 and I was very tempted to just get one - but I resisted and I am glad I did.
I am borrowing a bigger reader while this is resolved and will be glad to have a more hand-sized reader when all this is over.
Also - I will be moving on from the JB soon.
It was a good starting point, and for starters, when it is on sale I would recommend it (with the added warranty !), but moving forward I want something better and will do the work to find what suits me better.

Thanks for the time and attention.

Jerry wrote: Sorry if you had a bad experience with someone in customer support, if you do please get the persons name, what happened and email it to me privately.
I asked you to email tech support because they have the links to this. Instead you emailed me, i emailed tech support and receiving this link to the older version took longer then if you emailed them directly. I am trying to help fix the problem as fast as humanly possible. As i mentioned i am not tech support, if there is difficulty speaking with them you can always email.
Heres what to try:
-Diagnostics screen: Reset. Then hold "on/off", "zoom" and "menu". When the device shows the jetBook screen let go of "on/"off. Let go of the others when you see the diagnostics menu. Perform "reflash NOR" with SD card in. Also perform "restore factory default".
-Try creating txt format books on a different computer or try and download some from the WEB.
Sounds like a problem with your txt files. As you said "It opened a couple of PDFs just fine afterwards". But then you say "PDF support for the JB is a wash" does that mean they don't work?

Have you posted somewhere about format compatibility and functionality? I have read most of your posts and i don't see if you have tested out other formats or even other txt books rather then those in yoru collection or those you create on yoru PC. In my last post i insinuate it is a hardware error but the more i read the more i am seeing that only a collection of TXT books you have do not work. You even tried to flash back to a different firmware version with the same result.

Try downloading 3 txt files online form different sources and let me know if they work.


Hey,

No problem! Hopefully the extended warranty company will get everything solved asap. As always if you have any questions please let me know!

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/28/2010 06:55:21

fish



Joined: 06/07/2010 13:35:59
Messages: 18
Offline

I emailed Phil at Ectaco.
Very glad I didn't REALLY need help or it would have been S.O.L. time for sure !!!

I wrote:
Hello Phil.
A while back Jerryhelped me to get a copy of the original (0.33g) firmware
that came in my Jetbook.

It would not work and I learned later that once a user passes 0.34 there is
no way back by any normal means.

My JB is now a useless brick for the TXT files I mainly use it for and I
wonder if there is some tool, method or thing which you can direct me with
to magically get it back to the 0.33 level ?

I do not wish to ship it anyplace and/or pay for repair - nor do I wish to
simply throw it out so I am hoping you have a better option to offer me.

Thanks for any help.


His reply:
I am afraid You won't be able to downgrade Jetbook.

However. I would suggest You to try out 0.35 version - the latest firmware
that works best with txt, pdf, epub and many other formats.


Next:
Thanks Phil but that is exactly zero help as I tried that version before and
it was horribly unstable - locked the JB up over and over until I finally
flashed it 'down' to the lowest possible version.

I think you folks shipped different h/w earlier on and the newer F/W is not
fully compatible with it...but that nobody is allowed to say anything except
'ship it in for repair'...


And finally:
0.35m is a stable version.
And I am more than sure that You have never tried to use it.
You probably used 0.35a or 0.35e


Wow.
That entire, perfectly good day I wasted in July (and posted all about here as I did it...) was just my imagination-> or perhaps by this he infers that I am merely an imbecile...who knows.

Here's what I DO know-> The above demonstrates MANY points but most of all why I decided to NEVER call this company on the phone again - nothing I can write would well enough describe how BAD these folks were to me and seeing this guy's reply just re-affirms my decision.

So remember folks-> when all else fails, denial is always the best response when a person asks for support...

Good thing there is an active user's community with knowledgable folks who are really willing to help others which is easily found if a person looks a little bit....

Best of Luck !

fish

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/28/2010 06:58:33

[Email]
Jerry



Joined: 06/28/2010 05:09:51
Messages: 908
Offline

fish wrote:I emailed Phil at Ectaco.
Very glad I didn't REALLY need help or it would have been S.O.L. time for sure !!!

I wrote:
Hello Phil.
A while back Jerryhelped me to get a copy of the original (0.33g) firmware
that came in my Jetbook.

It would not work and I learned later that once a user passes 0.34 there is
no way back by any normal means.

My JB is now a useless brick for the TXT files I mainly use it for and I
wonder if there is some tool, method or thing which you can direct me with
to magically get it back to the 0.33 level ?

I do not wish to ship it anyplace and/or pay for repair - nor do I wish to
simply throw it out so I am hoping you have a better option to offer me.

Thanks for any help.


His reply:
I am afraid You won't be able to downgrade Jetbook.

However. I would suggest You to try out 0.35 version - the latest firmware
that works best with txt, pdf, epub and many other formats.


Next:
Thanks Phil but that is exactly zero help as I tried that version before and
it was horribly unstable - locked the JB up over and over until I finally
flashed it 'down' to the lowest possible version.

I think you folks shipped different h/w earlier on and the newer F/W is not
fully compatible with it...but that nobody is allowed to say anything except
'ship it in for repair'...


And finally:
0.35m is a stable version.
And I am more than sure that You have never tried to use it.
You probably used 0.35a or 0.35e


Wow.
That entire, perfectly good day I wasted in July (and posted all about here as I did it...) was just my imagination-> or perhaps by this he infers that I am merely an imbecile...who knows.

Here's what I DO know-> The above demonstrates MANY points but most of all why I decided to NEVER call this company on the phone again - nothing I can write would well enough describe how BAD these folks were to me and seeing this guy's reply just re-affirms my decision.

So remember folks-> when all else fails, denial is always the best response when a person asks for support...

Good thing there is an active user's community with knowledgable folks who are really willing to help others which is easily found if a person looks a little bit....

Best of Luck !

fish


Hey Fish,

If you can please forward me this email correspondence and i will present it to my supervisor. jerry@ectaco.com.

I am doing my best to clean up customer service and satisfaction within the company. As always i will be here to help you with any difficulty as best i can.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 09/28/2010 06:59:35

fish



Joined: 06/07/2010 13:35:59
Messages: 18
Offline

I can easily forward that email to you - but I urge you to have that supervisor look at this thread instead - and also maybe the one where I posted all my firmware adventures for all to see because I believe that would be a better way to get an idea of how this situation has gone.
[Email]
Jerry



Joined: 06/28/2010 05:09:51
Messages: 908
Offline

fish wrote:I can easily forward that email to you - but I urge you to have that supervisor look at this thread instead - and also maybe the one where I posted all my firmware adventures for all to see because I believe that would be a better way to get an idea of how this situation has gone.


Hey,

Yes they will be examining the entire situation. Thanks for the input.
 
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