JBL will not remain on very long when connected to computer

I just got a new JBL with software v0.16e:v16 and I noticed that it will not remain on long enough when tied to my computer to do a backup or other tasks. This happens whether or not I have my 4 gig card installed. I have noticed it turning off a few times while reading a book also. Is there a fix for this or is the product defective? Otherwise the unit suits me fine!

Thanks, Irv

irv wrote:I just got a new JBL with software v0.16e:v16 and I noticed that it will not remain on long enough when tied to my computer to do a backup or other tasks. This happens whether or not I have my 4 gig card installed. I have noticed it turning off a few times while reading a book also. Is there a fix for this or is the product defective? Otherwise the unit suits me fine!

Thanks, Irv

There is a default setting to automatically turn off when it receives no input
while you are reading (in case you fall asleep or are otherwise distracted).
You can adjust that setting.

When connected to your PC with the USB cable the JBL should be displaying
a screen with an image of such a connection. While you are doing things
with the JBL connected to your PC, you aren't using the JBL's display for
anything. All the action takes place on your PC display. You should be
able to work with the drive that the PC views your device as without the
JBL's screen being on.

Luck;
Ken

Yes, I am aware of the auto turn off setting. I have had it set to 30 minutes. I will set it to "never" and try that.

I am also aware of the JBL screen display, however, when the usb connection drops the JBL screen goes blank and I have to press the JBL "on" button to re-establish the connection again. This happens again within several minutes and I have to repeat that cycle.

Maybe this is a better explanation of the problem.

Irv

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 12/18/2010 02:58:52

irv wrote:Yes, I am aware of the auto turn off setting. I have had it set to 30 minutes. I will set it to "never" and try that.

I am also aware of the JBL screen display, however, when the usb connection drops the JBL screen goes blank and I have to press the JBL "on" button to re-establish the connection again. This happens again within several minutes and I have to repeat that cycle.

Maybe this is a better explanation of the problem.

Irv

When you say "the usb connection drops" is there any indication from the PC
operating system that the connection is down? Does it make a sound when
you plug in or break the USB connection? Do you hear that sound when the
the problem occurs?

The auto shutoff setting would only apply to what you noticed when you were
reading and it shut off. While the USB cable is connected that screen I mentioned
should remain displayed on the JBL and no auto shutdown occur.

You might want to try it on another computer.

Luck;
Ken

When the usb connection drops there is an audible sound from the computer (same sound heard when usb cable is disconnected), the task stops (or freezes), and the JBL turns off and the screen goes blank. As soon as I turn the JBL on again I hear the reconnection sound.

I've had this unit only 3 days so I have not figured it out completely, but the first couple of times I hooked it up with the usb cable I did see a screen showing the connection but after that when I hook it up I only see the JBL menu with its 3 selections.

Yes, I have tried it on both my desktop and my laptop with the same result.

I have not done a "reset" on the JBL because I didn't see from the "weak" documentation what this actually changed.

I am beginning to think that this unit is giving me unpredictable results but I have been able to read everything I have tried. I had no trouble loading a 26mb DRM epub book on my 4 gig sd card which I authorized with Adobe Digital Editions and copied the JBL authorization folder to the card. To me this is much easier than using the usb hookup and the JBL read it just fine.

Thanks for your help, Irv

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 12/18/2010 18:42:32

irv wrote:When the usb connection drops there is an audible sound from the computer (same sound heard when usb cable is disconnected), the task stops (or freezes), and the JBL turns off and the screen goes blank. As soon as I turn the JBL on again I hear the reconnection sound.

I've had this unit only 3 days so I have not figured it out completely, but the first couple of times I hooked it up with the usb cable I did see a screen showing the connection but after that when I hook it up I only see the JBL menu with its 3 selections.

Yes, I have tried it on both my desktop and my laptop with the same result.

I have not done a "reset" on the JBL because I didn't see from the "weak" documentation what this actually changed.

I am beginning to think that this unit is giving me unpredictable results but I have been able to read everything I have tried. I had no trouble loading a 26mb DRM epub book on my 4 gig sd card which I authorized with Adobe Digital Editions and copied the JBL authorization folder to the card. To me this is much easier than using the usb hookup and the JBL read it just fine.

Thanks for your help, Irv

Well it sounds like the problem is definitely with the JBL, with its normal operation you
would see that PC to JBL connection image and not the main menu, when the USB
cable is connecting the JBL to your PC.

There was a recent post over at the MobileRead Forums "Ectaco jetBook" forum that
described a procedure that might be worth a quick try. It went like this;
First, with your PC shut down you plug in your JBL with the USB cable,
Then, with the JBL turned on, turn on your PC, The PC should then recognize the
attached device - before Windows starts - and if it detects a problem with the attached
drive's file structure (your JBL's internal memory, if there is no SD card in your JBL)
The boot routine will run ChkDsk on the attached drive fixing the file structure.

There is another procedure you can do, that can be done without using the USB cable.
For this you will need to be able to prepare an SD card as you would for a firmware
update, though.

I'll repost my boilerplate for this procedure, you won't probably be able to do the USB
cable parts but you can skip those;

The thing is, you can fairly easily reset the JBL to factory settings and install the current
firmware on the device.

Make sure you have a fresh set of batteries in your JBL then:

You should remove any SD card from your JBL and connect the USB cable to backup your
JBL's internal memory, to a folder on your PC's hard drive. There should be a new drive
letter for your JBL's internal memory on your PC now. (If you had an SD card in the JBL,
there would also be a new drive letter for that.)

It is much better to have a USB 2.0 SD/Media Card reader/writer connected to your PC
and work with your SD cards using that, but if all you have is the JBL it is possible
to use it to make your update/repair SD card.

Reformatting the JBL's internal memory to FAT32 is a good idea and running ChkDsk on it
while you have the JBL connected to your PC with the USB cable is a good idea as well.

If you can get to the logo screen then you should be able to do this:

First if you only have one SD card then you will want to back it up to a folder on your
PC's hard drive.

Format an SD card for use during the update of the firmware. (I still use FAT16 for this
although I understand that FAT32 works as well.) The formatting will insure a clean card
and root directory into which the three update folders go.

Be sure to use a firmware update with all three folders to make the SD card. Insert the
SD card into the JBL.

Make sure the USB cable is not connected at this point.

Then you go to the Diagnostics Menu built into the JBL, it is here that you can do the
#13 - Reflash NOR and the #7 - restore factory defaults

To enter the diagnostics screen:
Reset the device. Then hold down three buttons. They are: "on/off" "zoom" and
"menu". When you see the jetBook screen let go of "on.off". Keep holding the
"zoom" and "menu" keys until you see a 16 item screen. It's tricky, so it may
take a couple of tries.

Then you can reflash the NOR Memory and reset the JBL to factory defaults.

After that is done reset the JBL.

Now you can update the firmware as you normally would.
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=70171

Follow all directions and don't play with any settings you don't understand.

This procedure should fix any firmware related problem. If you have a valid download
of valid firmware and this doesn't fix the problem then it is a hardware issue.

Luck;
Ken

The main thing for your issue, (I think) would be the reflashing of the NOR memory,
but you should restore the factory defaults as well.

OT- glad to hear the SD card as your JBL, to ADE is working for you.

Thank you very much Ken, for the suggestions! I will have to put this on hold for a while to get some other things done, then I'll try the suggestions starting from the top. This unit works fine aside from the issue at hand. I really didn't buy this to work on, and seeing that my friends who purchased another brand are not having these kind of troubles, I may consider sending this back to Newegg. I will report back when I can try these suggestions.

Irv

Before I got around to trying the above suggestions the batteries got low enough that the unit turned off and after changing to new batteries I had to use the reset. After it booted up the problems mentioned seemed to go away and the unit is now working as it should. Meanwhile, I'll just enjoy it until something else happens.

Thanks, Irv