Kubrick

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Kubrick is a Live Linux system to debrick Kindle devices.

It should be working on pretty much every PC or laptop out there

which can boot from a CD, DVD, or USB drive.

Kubrick does not modify your Computer or your Operating System at all -
it simply provides a dialog-based wizard that guides you through the
procedure to debrick a Kindle.

Questions and Answers:

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Q: How do I prepare Kubrick for use?

A1: If you downloaded a CD or DVD image:
Burn boot.iso to a CD or DVD. How to do this depends on your
OS and installed software. If in doubt, ask your favorite search engine.
A2: If you want to make a bootable USB Stick:
BEFORE YOU START: The following procedure ***WILL DELETE ALL EXISTING
DATA FROM THE USB STICK*** - You have been warned.
STEP 1:
- Download and unzip kubrick-usb-base.zip. This is a very
small file which provides a basic 1 GB USB filesystem that can boot
a Kubrick image on many computers. However, it does *NOT* contain an
actual Kubrick system yet. See below (step 2) for more.
- Write kubrick-usb-base.img to your USB stick. How to do this depends
on your OS and installed Software, but here are a few hints:
* On Windows, you can use
http://sourceforge.net/projects/win32diskimager/
* On Linux or MacOS, you can use the command line, for instance:
sudo dd if=kubrick.img of=<USB_DEVICE>. If in doubt, search the
Internet for details about how to correctly use dd on your
platform, there are plenty of tutorials.
STEP 2:
- Download and unzip an ISO (CD or DVD) image which supports the
Kindle(s) that you want to debrick.
- Copy the "boot.iso" from that download into the existing "efi/boot/"
directory on the Kubrick USB stick. Do not create or modify other
files or directories on the USB stick.
- Safely eject the USB stick. The USB stick is now prepared to boot
and debrick the devices you selected.

Q: After the preparation - how do I use it?

A: Insert the CD, DVD, or USB stick into your computer.
Make the computer boot from the Kubrick device.
Again, the exact procedure really depends on your hardware, so
I can't give any more specific instructions. Most computers
allow you to choose the boot device using a function key,
like F8, F9, F10 or F12.
- On older computers, you may have to enter the BIOS to manually select
the boot order.
- On Apple computers, press and hold the left "alt" ("option") key while
turning on the computer. The CD/DVD will show up with a CD icon labelled
"Windows", and the USB stick with a USB disk icon labelled "EFI Boot".
See below for more Apple notes.

Q: What do I do on the boot screen?

A: You generally do not need to do anything. Just wait for a few seconds.

Q: Ok, it booted - what now?

A: The debrick wizard should start automatically.
The only keys you really need from there on are the arrow keys,
and the ENTER key. Follow the instructions on the screen.

Q: I'm using an Apple computer with the USB stick, and it won't boot.
A: Welcome to the Apple universe. First off, Kubrick will only work on Intel
Macs. It won't work on old (PowerPC) Mac models, because these use an
entirely different processor. That said, most modern Macs actually can boot
from that USB stick -- but possibly only if you also install Boot Camp.
Try booting from a CD or DVD. If that doesn't work -- well,
see the "think different" credo in action.

Q: The kubrick-usb-base.img file works, but now my USB stick

only shows up as 1GB, instead of its actual capacity of 4/16/X GB.
A: Yes, that is normal. Use a tool that allows to (non-destructively)
resize partitions. An example would be GParted:
http://gparted.sourceforge.net/

Q: I'm an advanced user, and I want to boot Kubrick with custom kernel
parameters. How can I...?
A1: When booting from a CD or DVD, edit the boot prompt, or follow the
isolinux instructions.
A2: When booting from a USB stick on standard x86 hardware, use GRUB's
built-in mechanisms to modify boot behavior. Alternatively, edit the
boot/grub/grub.cfg file on the USB stick.
A3: When booting from a USB stick on EFI hardware (e.g, an Apple device),
edit the efi/boot/grub.cfg file.

Q: Will Kubrick ever allow to debrick Kindle 1, 2, DX, Paperwhite?

A: No, because these devices cannot be debricked over USB. Sorry.

Q: Why "Kubrick"?
A: Just because :-)
Well, OK: I initially code-named this project KindleDebrick, then
KDebrick (or KUnbrick or so)... and then ended up with Kubrick.

-- ixtab