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Keyboard & mouse problem on WinCE 6.0 netbook - reinstall?

gnecht Page Icon Posted 2013-06-04 2:22 PM
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I have a client with a netbook that runs Windows Embedded CE 6.0. On the bottom it says EZ BOOK PC-7" NETBOOK, model EZ-72A. When powered on, it boots to a Windows desktop and plays a tone, everything seems fine, but in about 5 seconds the keyboard and mouse lock up and everything stops responding. The only thing to do is hold down the power button for 5 seconds to force a shutdown.

I tried an external keyboard and mouse, but it didn't help. There is a reset button on the bottom, but all that does is restart the netbook.

In the owner's manual, it has instructions for using a recovery disc to reinstall the operating system to factory specs. It involves downloading a file from ezbookpc.com/recoverydisc, which seems like a defunct website. After further searching, the most likely info I could find was at fpdirect-40.fpdirect.com/ezbookpc/order.php, but that's only for ordering a netbook - no support info. The phone number listed there gave a fast busy signal; sounds like the number's no longer good.

Sooo... does anyone know where else to find the recovery files for this device? Or, would there be anything else to try for fixing the problem with the keyboard and mouse freezing up?
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-06-04 5:03 PM
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I have good news for you: there never was a recovery disc at that page.

http://web.archive.org/web/20101009110120/http://ezbookpc.com/recov...

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gnecht Page Icon Posted 2013-06-04 7:14 PM
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Thanks! I hadn't thought of checking the Wayback Machine.

However, there are earlier threads on this forum where people seemed to be getting something:

http://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=15454&st... (second-to-last post on page)

http://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=15598&st...
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2013-06-04 11:14 PM
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It's an 8505 processor, so any of the 7" 8505 firmware images should reflash the thing easy enough. Or you could even flash Android on it if you wanted...just search the web for via8505 or wm8505 firmware.
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-06-05 6:00 AM
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Not necessarily, Rich. Some of the EZBooks had a version of the Anyka AK78xx processor (notwithstanding Otoluk's claim in the first linked thread and on the open ANYKA netbook site he moderates under the revised name Oto). I've had two of those - and the first one often had the same symptom as gnecht is reporting (and both had the model number EZ-72A, though I think the WM8505 versions had the same model number). I think it's probably an issue with the motherboard, and it may well have something to do with why the EZBook manufacturer switched to the WM8505 later. (The one advantage of the Anyka CPU was that it supported display rotation, unlike the Via/WonderMedia series.) Also, as noted in that thread (and a recent one by me as well), there appear to be some incompatibility issues between the hardware and ROM images of the Sylvania and non-Sylvania models, at least in the area of interpreting battery level. My post about this was here:

http://www.hpcfactor.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=17006&po...
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Rich Hawley Page Icon Posted 2013-06-05 12:03 PM
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Always wondered why you would want to rotate a screen on a laptop....hmmmm...

I was assuming he had the 8505 cpu since that was the link Alt Bass provided for his model. Guess the only way to know for sure would be to open it up and look at the motherboard.
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-06-06 6:03 AM
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Testing a display rotation applet on it would be simpler, Rich. If it works, it's an Anyka, and if it doesn't, it's 8505. (Unless, of course, it freezes up before you get to test the applet.)
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gnecht Page Icon Posted 2013-06-06 5:10 PM
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I got Debian Linux running on an SD card, from these instructions: http://devio.us/~nextvolume/via_arm/viewtopic.php?id=4&t_id=19&page...

And the keyboard works fine. I didn't get graphics working, so I haven't tested the touchpad. But it does look like it's a Windows problem, not a hardware problem.

Here's what it has to say about the CPU; does that help at all to find out what model it is?

# cat /proc/cpuinfo

Processor: ARM926EJ-S rev 5 (v51)
BogoMIPS: 149.50
Features: swp half thumb fastmult edsp java
CPU implementer: 0x41
CPU architecture: 5TEJ
CPU variant: 0x0
CPU part: 0x926
CPU revision: 5

Hardware: WMT
Revision: 0000
Serial: 0000000000000000
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-06-06 6:25 PM
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Do you have access to flash memory partitions through Debian?

Why asking: the registry is stored in files on the persistent FAT partition on the flash memory. If you can mount it to the Debian you can delete registry hives and: CE will restore registry to default.

Edited by Alt Bass 2013-06-06 6:25 PM
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gnecht Page Icon Posted 2013-06-06 9:53 PM
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Do I have access to flash memory partitions? I'm not sure yet. I'm used to seeing drives like /dev/sda or /dev/hda; this netbook has nothing like that. There's a list of mtdblock devices, 0-9. Are those the flash memory partitions? If so, what command is used to mount them?

From what I've read so far, at http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/faq/general.html, it looks like I'll have to currently consider MTD flash memory as terra incognita.
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CE Geek Page Icon Posted 2013-06-07 8:26 AM
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So, from your specs, it appears that your device is indeed a WM8505. On mine, I think the freezeups (or slow response by the touchpad and keyboard, another more frequent symptom I observed on that device) may have been due to hardware overheating or something like that. Maybe the WM8505 version was vulnerable to that as well.
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gnecht Page Icon Posted 2013-06-08 2:23 PM
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Reflashed with the Sylvania 7" netbook image. http://www.hpcfactor.com/support/update/detail.asp?uid=438

That seems to have fixed the problem. Thanks everyone!
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Alt Bass Page Icon Posted 2013-06-08 6:06 PM
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Quote
gnecht - 2013-06-07 12:53 AM

Do I have access to flash memory partitions? I'm not sure yet. I'm used to seeing drives like /dev/sda or /dev/hda; this netbook has nothing like that. There's a list of mtdblock devices, 0-9. Are those the flash memory partitions? If so, what command is used to mount them?

From what I've read so far, at http://www.linux-mtd.infradead.org/faq/general.html, it looks like I'll have to currently consider MTD flash memory as terra incognita.


He says there that mtdblock is a block device emulated over flash memory.

Run "file -s" on these mtdblocks.
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