# Kindle is Stuck Shows "Development Menu" Screen



## kindle566 (Oct 5, 2010)

My kindle recently died so I recharged the battery and when I turned it back on, it showed a "Development Menu" with the following options:

I * initialize & format partitions
E * export userstore
U * update on userstore
M * Update on MMC
Q * Quit and reboot

It appears that none of the options actually work, except for pressing "E" which brings the Kindle to a "Recovery Mode" screen that does nothing, however lets me connect the Kindle to my PC, where it shows up as an empty removable disk with 1.48gb of space. I had files on my kindle so its odd that it shows up completely empty.

It's a Kindle 2nd generation



















EDIT: Holding the HOME button while it was restarting allowed me to get to a new menu, which is to reset to factory default... so... doing that right now, wondering how itll work out................well, nope it just took me back to the development menu screen =|


----------



## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

If this happened to me I'd call Kindle Customer Support. 

I can't imagine what caused these screens to display.


----------



## kindle566 (Oct 5, 2010)

well i called customer service today and they dont seem to have an idea whats going on.... sigh


----------



## ansorca (Oct 22, 2010)

The same thing just happened to me...

I bought a new ebook and my kindle had an empty battery, so I left it to recharge overnight, the next day this "Development Menu" screen appears and I cannot find a way to get out of it.

The kindle hadn't been charged in a while, so I don't know if that's the problem, or if it's something with the book I bought.


----------



## kindle566 (Oct 5, 2010)

When I spoke with one of the technicians, he actually commented that he had never heard of this problem before. You have to call customer service and have them send you a new one because nothing will actually take you out of the screen (no amount of restarting, pressing keys, or whatever else the service rep is reading off of a generic trouble-shoot list)


----------



## Pfarris (Oct 15, 2010)

I have formed the opinion today that non-Amazon content is risky and the Kindle is way too open to hacker abuse. The screens you show are very suspicious as somebodies idea of a joke.

I had trouble yesterday with non-Amazon content but ti has been resolved. I think that one was not intentional but that you have come across a hacker. I suggest asking Amazon to install the same content and see if they can reproduce it that way, or find a friend that loves solving these problems more than they love their Kindle and see if they can break theirs, too.

I get upset that people will ruin our Kindle fun just for kicks, but it will happen as the Kindle becomes more popular.

I wonder what new ebook ansorca loaded to get this problem as that might make it reproducible issue and also help me know who/what to watch out for.


----------



## kindle566 (Oct 5, 2010)

well, i hadnt downloaded any new ebooks from amazon or elsewhere. the kindle had just died and upon restarting this screen showed. i doubt its hackers and just some flaw in the kindle they never noticed.


----------



## Tiersten (Sep 6, 2010)

Pfarris said:


> I have formed the opinion today that non-Amazon content is risky and the Kindle is way too open to hacker abuse. The screens you show are very suspicious as somebodies idea of a joke.
> 
> I had trouble yesterday with non-Amazon content but ti has been resolved. I think that one was not intentional but that you have come across a hacker. I suggest asking Amazon to install the same content and see if they can reproduce it that way, or find a friend that loves solving these problems more than they love their Kindle and see if they can break theirs, too.
> 
> ...


I've no idea how you jumped to the conclusion that somebody had hacked the Kindle. There is absolutely no evidence of that happening so don't spread FUD. The only known method of getting into a Kindle involves you copying special update files to the Kindle. An eBook won't do it and it won't happen without some interaction by the user anyway.

The explanation is that the Kindle is faulty and needs to be sent back to Amazon for service or replacement. The firmware has been damaged in some manner. The screens shown are all tasks you'd do during firmware development for the Kindle. I've never seen those specific screens before though but it isn't surprising that technical support would have never seen those screens before because they would have been used by Lab126 which developed the Kindle and not technical support.

If the user had jailbroken it and installed remote access tools for the Kindle without protecting it sufficiently then that is their own fault. It'd be like you leaving your front door wide open 24x7 because its more convenient but then complaining when somebody goes in and steals something.


----------



## Tiersten (Sep 6, 2010)

kindle566 said:


> well, i hadnt downloaded any new ebooks from amazon or elsewhere. the kindle had just died and upon restarting this screen showed. i doubt its hackers and just some flaw in the kindle they never noticed.


Have you tried downloading an update from Amazon and putting it onto the Kindle drive? Do E to Export Userstore and then once you've copied it and ejected the drive, try doing U to update.


----------



## s0nicfreak (Jun 10, 2010)

Not recently but you did in the past, right? Had it been turned off completely/did the batteries die since the last time you downloaded something? 

This menu does look very suspicious. It's also very odd that I can not find any info about it anywhere, you'd think that if nothing else the people making Kindle hacks would have found this and talked about it. I can not find any info about a development menu nor any of those options except for recovery mode. 

Did you have any hacks installed? Font hacks? Because that is an odd font (if this is a font normally included with the Kindle someone please correct me).

How long did you have the Kindle? Do you remember what you have downloaded in the past? 

Have you posted about this on any Kindle hacking forums, asking them if they have ever seen this? 

I'm really curious about this now and want to find out how it happened.


----------



## kindle566 (Oct 5, 2010)

i got the kindle last feb and have only put 3 books on it bought on amazon via the kindle (books were: let the right one in, then the alchemist, then ender's game). it was maybe 2+ months since i got enders game that the kindle died, so i highly highly doubt they are related. i have no hacks installed, no fonts, nothing. the batteries have died before and i was able to recharge it without any problem.


----------

