Sony Reader - Adobe Digital Editions DRMed books causing crashes

i have exactly the same problem with two Waterstones purchased books. My original support case was closed saying ti was a Sony problem but i have just reopened having seen here that it is not unique to me. i would appreciate any advice you can share.

Alan

You guys rock!

Regards,

Bob

Many thanks Bentley. I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say thank-you for taking this so seriously.

Peter has been in contact by email and I have sent him a copy of one of the DRMed books which cause my Reader to crash. Hopefully the problem is well on the way to being solved.

Mike.

Mike,

In case you haven't seen it, Adobe Engineering is investigating, and will coordinate with Sony. When I have futher info we'll post it here.

Regards,

Bentley Wolfe
Senior Support Engineer, Flash/Flash Player/Digital Editions
Adobe

Update Two:
I zorched the Reader, then reloaded ALL content to a Memory Stick. Once this had completed it's initial scan, it would refresh in a couple of minutes when accessed with Sony's software, then detached from the computer.

I next re-authorized the Reader and added a single protected book via ADE to the internal memory of the Reader, with the MS removed. This book was the only thing in the Reader. It loaded, but the Reader took a relatively long time to refresh after disconnect (like 25 seconds, with only one book). I can access the book without a problem.

Next I installed the MS. It took about six or seven minutes, but it came up OK (about 200 books on there). After that I connected the Reader to the computer for a minute or two and then detached it. It completed the two refresh cycles in about 30 seconds (internal memory then the MS).

Next I plugged it into the computer and accessed it with the Sony software. I then ejected it via the software and unplugged it and it's been stuck in a refresh cycle ever since. I expect it to crash if I wait long enough, but I'll probably pull the card after finishing this post.

Something is happening to the Reader that is causing it to be VERY slow about scanning external memory after it's authorized by ADE.

Next experiment is to see if what happens with just a dozen or so books only on the internal memory.

UPDATE 3:
So I put about a dozen books in the internal memory, no external cards. That refreshed in about 5 seconds after detaching from the Sony software. I then added four more protected books via ADE. Detaching from the computer after that the Reader took about two minutes to refresh the content (now only 16 books, 5 protected by ADE).

Adding a few more books from the Sony software caused about a two minute refresh cycle. Next detach with Sony software was very fast (no changes, just listing the contents) as was one where I added a single file.

I'll keep adding stuff to the internal memory to see what happens.

Finally, I'd note that when the Reader hangs the spinning arrows are frozen, or only move once a minute or so, as opposed to spinning rapidly but for a long time.

I think you can recreate this problem if you just load up an external memory device with a 150 or so books from your favorite public domain source, then start adding a few protected by ADE. Users with 650+ books have reported that it only takes their readers about three minutes to refresh the contents after unhooking the from the computer, so I'm pretty sure something is amiss here.

Thanks again for looking at this. I can keep swapping stuff around manually, but I really liked having all my books on the Reader so I can pick and choose while on trips. Not being able to use the memory expansion is a significant drawback.

Peter/Bentley:
I'm having EXACTLY the same symptoms. I downloaded some books from my library and everything was fine for a while, then I started to get the "endless refresh" or "refresh/crash" problem when I disconnected the Reader from my computer.

I reformatted (and eventually replaced) the memory card thinking it was the problem, since, as noted above, if I removed it the refresh cycle (circling arrows) would eventually stop. (Note that the DE content is ON the Reader, not the card, but FYI DE was creating a directory on the card for some reason.)

I formatted a Memory Stick (trying another media) Yet Again, then recopied all the (non-DE) books back to it via the Sony desktop software. Everything worked fine as long as I *didn't* have any interaction from the desktop to the Reader with DE. I could update non DE content and unplug the Reader and it would finish the update process in about thirty seconds. I've got about 150 books on the MS and 60 in the Reader so this is normal.

I could read the DE content fine on the Reader and reading it didn't cause any problems but, if I add or delete any DE content, using DE on the desktop, the Reader book "delete" function or the Sony desktop software, I get immediately sucked back into the "endless refresh/crash" tar pit the next time I disconnect it from the computer.

As I said, it was working wonderfully right after I loaded the first protected books, but as soon as I started to manage them the wheels came off. Now I'm cautious of even connecting the Reader to the computer.

Please let me know if you need any more information or have any suggestions. I was going to zorch the internal memory on the Reader and re-authorize it to see what happens, but I didn't want to start burning up my authorizations on a wild goose chase.

Thanks for your time on this issue!

Regards,
Bob

UPDATE: I just did an experiment. I deleted the DRM'ed DE file from the Reader and re-did the files on the memory stick. I could connect and fiddle with it with the Sony software without a problem. I then started ADE on my desktop and just clicked to display the contents of the Reader within ADE. I didn't add or remove any books. I then exited ADE and disconnected the Reader which immediately froze during the content refresh cycle. I had to pull the card, let it finish with just the empty reader (taking about five minutes) then re-insert the memory card and wait another twenty minutes for it to re-read/refresh that. So it appears that whatever the problem is in my case, it's caused by something that ADE is doing to the Reader even if it's NOT changing the content on it.

Hi Peter,

Just to let you know. I've just updated to the new ADE 1.6 and transferred 'One Red Paperclip' on to a freshly-formatted SD card in the Reader then unplugged. Sorry to say it crashed just as it has done in the past.

Hi Bentley,

Many thanks.

I'm ready for almost anything now ;)

Mike.

Mike, we reset your activations (I think i did it as part of a case, but I can't remember. Peter may also have done it.) Proceed to keep testing with Peter. :)

Regards,

Bentley Wolfe
Senior Support Engineer, Flash/Flash Player/Digital Editions
Adobe

Hello Peter,

You can reach me on mike_richards ('AT' SYMBOL) mac.com and I can mail you the file directly.

I've tried accessing the same document using Bootcamp and Windows XP on my MacBook, but I still had the same problem.

You're correct about the crashing process. The Reader is stable whilst the USB cable is connected. As soon as the device is ejected from Windows and unplugged, the Reader shows the spinning circular update icon to show it is refreshing its content lists. After a few seconds, my Reader resets and begins to reboot only to crash when it tries to refresh its contents - ad infinitum.

At the moment I can't do any further authorisations as I've used up all six of my ADE authorisations. I raised this with Adobe a week ago, and beyond sending the request to technical support, I've heard nothing.

Hope this helps, let me know what else you need, and many, many thanks for your assistance.

Mike.