A small debricking guide for “noobs”

By Silver18

To be honest, what you’re about to read is a journal on what I did to debrick my

Kindle.
I write this just because it sums up most of the things needed in a “standard”
bricking.
I did all the process in Windows (XP in my case) and I worked on my Kindle Touch
5.1.0 (K5), so everything here applies to this version of Kindle.

First of all, let’s list all necessary tools:

 KindleSelectBoot containing MfgTool.exe to select boot mode.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=82836&
d=1329798296
 Fastboot_win_public needed to replace images and/or kernels
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=83827&
d=1331579769
 Kindle-Fastboot.inf and libusb-win32-bin-1.2.6.0 needed to make your PC
read Kindle in fastboot mode
http://www.mediafire.com/?t8myi35pk6323h2
http://www.mediafire.com/?yb8fbasxw002arj
 Linux.inf needed to make your PC read Kindle in SSH
http://www.mediafire.com/?qbb5a6b4l6st1cs
 Kindle forensic images, i.e. all img files and kernels. I used 5.0.0 images.
o diags_kernel.img: diags kernel.
http://www.mediafire.com/?wxv0eat6lcz6mx6
o mmcblk0p2_ssh.img: diags partition.
http://www.mediafire.com/?un3qrdfblfyl1d0
o kernel-kt-5.0.0.img: main kernel.
http://gitbrew.org/~dasmoover/kindle/touch/forensic/kernel-kt-
5.0.0.img.gz
o mmcblk0p1-kt-5.0.0.img: main partition.
http://gitbrew.org/~dasmoover/kindle/touch/forensic/mmcblk0p1-kt-
5.0.0.img
  Putty: a simple SSH implementation for Windows and Unix
http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/putty.exe

HAVING A GUIDE TO FOLLOW DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN TURN OFF YOUR BRAIN!
READ ALL THE GUIDE BEFORE STARTING DEBRICKING AND UNDERSTAND ALL
STEPS!

Ok, you should have all files needed to start debricking.

First of all, let’s get clear: some kindles could be debricked in a simpler way, by
entering diags mode and using a RUNME.sh file to fix the problem.

I tried it, but I didn’t manage to make my Kindle work again. IMHO, although it’s
faster and it doesn’t involve playing with images, I found this way a bit confusing as I
needed to swap from diag partition to main partition…

N.B Check the last page for some more images!

N.B It should be totally clear that:

- main kernel version MUST MATCH main partition version

- diags kernel version MUST MATCH diags partition version

- main partition doesn’t necessary have the same version of diags partition
BOOT IN FASTBOOT MODE
1) Unzip KindleSelectBoot.zip

2) Plug your bricked Kindle into USB port

3) Press and keep pressed the power switch until LED turns off, then press the
home button (while power switch is still pressed) and finally release the
power switch

4) You should now see Kindle detected as a USB/HID Device

5) Run MfgTool.exe in KindleSelectBoot folder

6) In MfgTool, press Scan Devices: you should see HID-compliant device. Select
now Kindle fastboot from profile menu e press Start
7) Soon, you’ll see your Kindle detected as a new device.
Your PC shouldn’t be able to find any driver, so let’s help it: point the driver
path where you stored Kindle-Fastboot.inf and let the PC load the driver.
I had another problem while in this process: my PC lacked of libusb0.sys and
that’s why I added the link for libusb-win32-bin-1.2.6.0. You can point your PC
to it and you’re done!

8) You should now see a Kindle-Fastboot device in Windows Device Manager!

FLASH NEW DIAGS WITH SSH AND KERNEL
1) Unzip Fastboot_win_public.zip in an easy-to-reach place (if you’re not good at
using DOS, create a new folder called fastboot in C drive. You’ll end having
C:\fastboot)

2) Unzip kernel-kt-5.0.0.img.gz and mmcblk0p2_ssh.img.gz to C:\fastboot

folder. WinRAR and 7-Zip work fine for this.

3) Press Windows key+R and run cmd

4) Type cd \ you should now be in C:\>

5) Type cd fastboot: you should now be in C:\fastboot>

6) Type fastboot.exe: if everything’s OK you should see the fastboot help page
 7) Now let’s flash the new diag partition with built-in SSH. Type:

fastboot flash diags mmcblk0p2_ssh.img

And, along with it, the new diag kernel. Type:

fastboot flash diags_kernel diags_kernel.img

You should get something like this:

C:\fastboot>fastboot flash diags mmcblk0p2_ssh.img

downloading 'diags'...
OKAY [ 3.109s]
writing 'diags'...
OKAY [ 6.406s]
finished. total time: 9.516s

C:\fastboot>fastboot flash diags_kernel diags_kernel.img

downloading 'kernel'...
OKAY [ 0.241s]
writing 'kernel'...
OKAY [ 0.925s]
finished. total time: 1.167s

8) In the same way, we can flash the new main kernel. Type:

fastboot flash kernel kernel-5.0.0.img

You should get something like this:

C:\fastboot>fastboot flash kernel kernel-5.0.0.img

downloading 'kernel'...
OKAY [ 0.234s]
writing 'kernel'...
OKAY [ 0.938s]
finished. total time: 1.172s

9) Now let’s reboot in diags mode. Type:

fastboot setvar bootmode diags
fastboot reboot
PLACE NEW MAIN PARTITION AND COPY IT
Now, the main part…this is what really debricked my Kindle!

1) You should now be in diag mode

2) Tap USB device mode and wait a little: soon you’ll see a kindle drive in your
PC. Copy mmcblk0p1-kt-5.0.0.img into it, rename to mmcblk0p1.img and
safely remove USB drive. Than tap exit on your kindle screen to return to diag
main screen.
3) Select this exact sequence of menu items: N) U) Z) X) than wait 20 seconds.
Your PC should see a new device (another one!!). If it can’t install it, use
linux.inf as described before and install the kindle as a new network adapter.
It should now be seen as a Linux USB Ethernet/RNDIS Gadget device.

4) From device manager, network adapters, Linux USB Ethernet/RNDIS Gadget,

properties, advanced, IP address: set 192.168.15.201 as IP address and
255.255.255.0 as subnet mask
5) Now open putty.exe and type 192.168.15.244 as host name (or IP address)
with port 22 and SSH connection selected. Click on open and press YES at
security alert
6) Now type root at login as prompt and mario as password prompt

7) Let’s copy the main partition and fix our Kindle! Type:

dd if=/mnt/us/mmcblk0p1.img of=/dev/mmcblk0p1 bs=4K

don’t worry if also putty seems to be bricked (!!!), it’s just working!

After a while it should be back on its feet!

8) If you want to be double sure, you can also delete /var/local partition (it
deletes collections). Type:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/mmcblk0p3 bs=4K count=1K

NB: If you don’t want to zero out mmcblk0p3 (which will erase your settings
and collection), and you’re stuck at “Your Kindle Needs Repair” screen, you
can reset the boot counter with this command:

echo 0 > /var/local/upstart/lab126_gui.restarts

9) Now the magic moment: let’s see if it worked! Type:

rm /mnt/us/ENABLE_DIAGS

idme -d --bootmode main

reboot
NB: rm /mnt/us/ENABLE_DIAGS could give you this error:

rm: can’t remove ‘/mnt/us/ENABLE_DIAGS’: No such file or directory

This happens because you don’t have any ENABLE_DIAGS file in /mnt/us. If so, don't
bother and jump to next command (idme -d --bootmode main).

This is what you should see in Putty after all these commands:

login as: root

root@192.168.15.244's password:
#################################################
# N O T I C E * N O T I C E * N O T I C E #
#################################################
Rootfs is mounted read-only. Invoke mntroot rw to
switch back to a writable rootfs.
#################################################
[root@[192_168_15_244] root]# dd if=/mnt/us/mmcblk0p1.img
of=/dev/mmcblk0p1 bs=4K
89600+0 records in
89600+0 records out
367001600 bytes (350.0MB) copied, 238.393246 seconds,
1.5MB/s
[root@[192_168_15_244] root]#
[root@[192_168_15_244] root]# dd if=/dev/zero
of=/dev/mmcblk0p3 bs=4K count=1K
1024+0 records in
1024+0 records out
4194304 bytes (4.0MB) copied, 0.025542 seconds, 156.6MB/s
[root@[192_168_15_244] root]# idme -d --bootmode main
Devmode enabled
Reading vars from temp storage...
...None found, Copying vars from /proc
Setting bootmode to main
Writing new vars to temp area
You must reboot before new values will take effect
[root@[192_168_15_244] root]# reboot

Now wait with your fingers crossed. Your kindle should reboot in main mode, you
should see the “under the tree screen” and, hopefully, the main screen!!!
NOTES
Your Kindle has now 5.0.0 firmware, so you’ll need to upgrade it as usual.
You can change commands using other images as needed (i.e. change file names
according to what you’re using and unzip if needed).
5.1.0 main kernel:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sc3mvazvlxsage1
5.1.0 main partition image (thanks to Deep):
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/29927061/mmcblk0p1-kt-5.1.0.img.tar.bz2

If you find your Kindle with the “low battery” screen, don’t’ worry: you can charge it
in fastboot mode or using a wall charger. Charging in diags mode seems to take
much longer!
Remember to always match kernel and partition!
USEFUL LINKS
1) Simple debricking method for K5 (touch) and K4 (mini), with K3 links
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=170929
2) Select Boot for K4 and Touch
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169645
3) Select Boot for Windows: Pictorial Guide to Installation and Usage
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1972836
4) Fastboot for Windows
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2000997
5) Windows and fastboot mode
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2001621

CREDITS
I would like to thanks Geekmaster, Thomass, Knc1, Deep and everyone who helped
me debricking my Kindle.
Everything you find in this guide is just a collage of what I found, I read and I
discovered. I didn’t invent anything, I just put everything together.
Most of the credits goes to Geekmaster who was so kind to publish everything in
Mobileread Forums!
MORE IMAGES LINKS

As we now have lots of new images, you can really choose which you want to use.
Just make sure to use consistent images and to match versions as described in the
second page.
Here are some links to download images:
http://pastebin.com/Wdw4L7yT

And here are 5.0.0 and 5.1.2 image:

http://ixtab.tk/kindle-touch-images/

Please note that images come packed in different ways. You can find:

 **.img
 **.gz
 **.tar.gz
 **.zip
 **.rar

If your image ends with one of the last 4 extensions, it should be unpacked first in
order to use it with fastboot.