8

I have a dual boot with Windows XP and Ubuntu 10.10. I connected my Amazon Kindle to an USB interface in XP and in Ubuntu. From XP everything works with no flaw. In Ubuntu the data exchange is perfect, but the device does not charge.

I am pretty sure that there is a trivial Linux configuration of USB power management, and probably this is a newbie question. Any suggestion? Thank you.

Improve this question
3
  • My original title was edited to indicate specifically the Amazon Kindle. However, I think that the solution would be applicable more generally to any USB device.
    – Halberdier
    May 31, 2011 at 13:18
  • I did this, you may just change it back, however I think if it's device specific that will attract more views and better search results from Google :)
    – slhck
    May 31, 2011 at 15:00
  • I like it as it is, with your change and my comment :)
    – Halberdier
    May 31, 2011 at 15:06

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
8

Try ejecting Kindle drive in Nautilus or in terminal sudo eject /dev/disk/by-label/Kindle

Improve this answer
6
  • OK, I'll see if something happens. However, in Windows it charges both before and after ejecting, therefore I expect power and data exchange to be independent.
    – Halberdier
    May 31, 2011 at 14:03
  • After ejecting the device, as in Windows, the service message disappears to let the user read the documents, so I cannot say if it is charging or not. But I don't think that anything changes.
    – Halberdier
    May 31, 2011 at 20:39
  • 1
    I was wrong saying that you can eject Kindle in Nautilus. I found multiple postings stating that you can either transfer file or charge the device, not both simultaneously. Please see this one: iamyouruser.blogspot.com/2009/03/ubuntu-eject-kindle.html
    – skfd
    May 31, 2011 at 20:57
  • The trick appears to be this: you can't charge in Linux if your system has data access. Thank you for the reference. I hope someone of the Linux team will fix it. If it can be done in Windows, it should also be possible in Linux.
    – Halberdier
    May 31, 2011 at 21:26
  • Documentation says it applies to Windows too. See amazon.com/gp/help/customer/… "Using Kindle while Charging via Kindle Micro-USB Cable". Is it not?
    – skfd
    Jun 1, 2011 at 13:13
1

Check your dmesg or kernel logs - sometimes you see something about how the device has requested more power than the system is able/willing to supply. It's rare, especially because XP will charge it, but possible.

Improve this answer
2
  • I can't see anything related with power in dmesg: ] scsi9 : usb-storage 4-1:1.0 ] scsi 9:0:0:0: Direct-Access Kindle Internal Storage 0100 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2 ] sd 9:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg3 type 0 ] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] 6410688 512-byte logical blocks: (3.28 GB/3.05 GiB) ] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Write Protect is off ] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdc] Mode Sense: 0f 00 00 00
    – Halberdier
    May 31, 2011 at 20:35
  • Well that's certainly good - nothing hardware related. Looks like the other answer's the cause.
    – Broam
    Jun 1, 2011 at 14:35
1

My problem was that the USB for kindle was connected through a USB hub. Solution from Amazon: I connected the cable directly to a USB on the computer.

Improve this answer
1
  • I had issues with the WiFi dongle: it didn't work on the front socket, it works now on the rear, thus I assume the power from the rear USB sockets is higher. But the Kindle was always connected through the rear, with no intermediate hub. Moreover, it works fine under Windows, therefore it should be a software reason.
    – Halberdier
    Oct 20, 2011 at 22:23

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .