I broked Kindle Touch TTS

[zhouluyi]

Hi there,
Just got my Kindle Touch and all was fine. Then I accidentaly deleted all the folder in my kindle, no reason to panic. Kindle recreated all the folders and downloaded my books back, but it didn't recreated the tts folder, and now Text-to-Speech doesn't work, it just gives and error.

Can someone please send me the files inside the tts folder so I can get my kindle to work normally again?

[Morf]

I haven't got a Touch so I can't help you with the files.

It might be worth restarting the Kindle to see if that helps, but it may be that you will have to reset it to factory defaults in order to get things working again.

[beccaprice]

something like this, you should call CS - make sure you do it during Seattle's business hours, so you'll get someone who really knows what they're doing.

[zhouluyi]

@Morf, I already tried restarting, doing a factory reset, I even created another amazon account to test if it would make a diference but nothing. Apparently the files that come pre-installed in the storage area (the one accessible via USB) can't be recovered independentely.

@beccapride, I already talked via chat today for about 2 hours and ended up with no solution. Then I receive an e-mail which said my problem would be taken to some technician and I might get an answer in 3 days. Also, I'm in Brazil, and a call to Amazon would be very long (and costly) and probably not very efficient.

Since I just need the files (I suppose they are the TTS pre-installed voices) to get it working, I think it would be faster and less troublesome if someone can send those missing files with me.

In case it makes any difference (I don't think it does), my Kindle Touch is the Special Offers version.

[Ann in Arlington]

A "reset to factory" should put everything back to exactly the way it was before you messed with it.  I'd guess there's someplace hidden that the basic OS files are stored so they can be recreated.  And I would expect that would include the files needed for TTS to work.

But, of course, if you got to those hidden files and deleted those, you'd have a problem. . . .and it's not like your everyday PC that you can say, o.k. I'll just buy a new copy of Windows and start over. . . .the OS is proprietary to Amazon.  I'm afraid you'll just have to wait for someone to figure something out.  With luck they should at least be able to simply replace your device, though, as you are NOT in the US, they may charge you shipping.

Good  Luck!

[zhouluyi]

@Ann, not really, in fact, when you do a factory reset ALL content in the kindle if eliminated even the dictionaries and user guide that came pre-installed (maybe this folder would have remained there). As I see it, there is two storage location on the Kindle, the OS one where I can even access and this one is reseted on a factory reset, and the user files area (the one the shows up via USB). I deleted the files in the latter area, so if I replaced the files it should work again without further problem.

I think the files where in that area because you could (maybe in the future) place other voices for other languages, the mistake from Amazon part was to put the default voices in the same place as the user files.

[Ann in Arlington]

Well, I admit I've not tried to dissect my Kindle. . .even virtually.   I've always felt like you're not really supposed to mess around with files while the device is connected to your computer in 'drive' mode; so I haven't.  Oh I've sideloaded non-Amazon content once or twice, but never deleted anything!

But I have had my various devices (I've owned a kindle of one sort or another since July of 2008) freeze up from time to time and a restart has nearly always solved any problem.  In one extreme case I did do a factory reset, (mostly because it was just very full and was getting sluggish) but then once I re-registered the Kindle back to Amazon, all was as it had been before. . . .I had to reload my books, of course (this time I didn't load them all! ), but all functions worked . . . it was even recognized by Amazon according to the 'friendly name' I'd given it before.

At any rate. . .I'm not sure what exactly you've done, but I hope Amazon will get you sorted out!

[zhouluyi]

The way I see it, the accessible storage area isn't supposed to contain OS sensitive information or dependencies. I made a mistake on deleting the 'tts' folder, but when you consider that the other folders (audible, documents and music) all can be deleted and recreated without problem, placing a sensitive folder together with them can indeed cause a big problem.

[Luvmy4brats]

I'm pretty sure that folder is in the hidden system folder and not in the main folders, it's pretty difficult to completely delete them are you sure that you're not just trying to listen to a.book that didn't have tts enabled?

[zhouluyi]

@Luvmy4brats, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but I already explained that those files are NOT hidden. I CANNOT in anyway access the hidden OS files. Many of you are telling those kinds of things but as far as I can see none of you got the Kindle Touch so all you do is speculate. 

I provided all the information that I have and I'm pretty sure that if someone with a Kindle Touch would be able to verify that the 'tts' folder indeed is not hidden, and if this person kindly copy those files to me I will have my problem solved...

[Luvmy4brats]

Well if the TTS is in its own folder on the Touch in an easily accessible area (the Root Folder), then they've changed it from every other Kindle on the market. It has ALWAYS been in a completely hidden system folder. I'd be more than happy to check for you except I returned my Touch last week.

Also, if it is just simply a matter of some missing files, I'm sure that Amazon would either be able to email you the files or exchange your Kindle for you.

[zhouluyi]

Well if the TTS is in its own folder on the Touch in an easily accessible area (the Root Folder), then they've changed it from every other Kindle on the market. It has ALWAYS been in a completely hidden system folder.

@Luvmy4brats, I fell like people think I'm lying to get something that I didn't mean to have... here is a picture of the root of my Kindle Touch:

The 'tts' folder didn't have any attributes other than 'D' (from directory) so it was plainly visible together with 'documents', 'music', 'audible' and '.active_content'. The only hidden folder is 'system' that has the System and Hidden attributes, and to take this screenshot I had to tell my Windows to show those files, as it is normally hidden on my pc.

Here are the contents of the 'system' folder.

As you can see it doesn't look like any OS core folder, it looks more like a cache for system stuff (thumbnails, indexes, etc). BTW: this folder size is 11.7 MB of which 9.24 MB are Search indexes...

Also the free and occupied space reported shows that there are no more hidden files in the accessible storage of the Kindle Touch... if you need any other info, just ask for it.

[zhouluyi]

Sorry to make a reply to my own post, but this morning I tried to do a factory reset to confirm what I was thinking. Here is the 'system' folder after a factory reset:


The system folder indeed is just a cache area (it only had the User Guide thumbnail and 2 search indexes files). As you can see the Kindle clearly recreates EVERYTHING on a factory reset BUT not the tts folder...

[KindleChickie]

This forum is more reader-centric. You might try asking on some of the forums where they discuss hacks more.  Maybe mobileread.com?

[zhouluyi]

Thanks for the tip KindleChickie, I will check that forum too.

[Betsy the Quilter]

zhouluyl--

No one is suggesting you are lying...just trying to be sure we understand exactly what the issue is.  We've had a lot of experience where new users thought there was a problem which wasn't really a problem.  

I do see that the TTS files are NOT in the system folder on the Kindle Touch...which is indeed odd. And you are right, it doesn't seemt that they should be accessible.  I can't speak for where they are in other TTS Kindles, the Kindle Touch is the first one I've had that has TTS (which I'm not crazy about anyway)....

Betsy

[zhouluyi]

@Betsy and others, I already solved my problem, I got the missing files with an user at the mobileread.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Glad to hear it, zhouluyl...thanks for letting us know!

Betsy

[captaincarlos]

@Betsy and others, I already solved my problem, I got the missing files with an user at the mobileread.

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HELP! as you all know zhouluyi speaks the truth!   I also have a missing tts folder and this is the only blog on the net I've found.
       My kindle touch was acting funky and pausing after sentences. So I made the wonderful decision to right click in windows and format the device. I lost everything .  I got it all back on the cloud , but when I try text to speech I get error message.
       I called amazon cs and the rep said he would contact me after further research of the problem.  zhouluyi, You say all i need is the "tts" folder?  Where can you get that because amazon doesn't even know. Hit me Up! 
Thanks

[captaincarlos]

Problem solved zhouluyi!
The cs rep got back to me and sent me these instructions. I followed the steps and the texts to speech is now working again. The tts folder is now back in my device.
 
I'm sorry that Text to Speech is not working on your Kindle Touch. To fix this problem:
 
1. Download the following update file and save it to your computer:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/G7G_FirmwareUpdates_WebDownloads/update_Kindle_5.0.0_data.bin

2. Connect your Kindle Touch to your computer with the USB cable, and then click and drag the file from your computer to the Kindle Touch drive.

3. On your Kindle Touch, tap "Menu" on the Home screen and then tap "Settings." Tap "Menu" again and then tap "Update Your Kindle." If you can't choose this option, try to move the file to your Kindle Touch again.

4. Tap "OK." Your Kindle will restart twice during the update. Following the second restart, your software version will not change, but the update should resolve issues with Text to Speech.

I hope this was helpful.
 

[zhouluyi]

Good to know they are already working on a official solution.

[zhouluyi]

Tried the update, it didn't work for me.

[Betsy the Quilter]

zhouluyi--

I thought you got it working again?

Betsy

[zhouluyi]

@Betsy, I did got it working, but with the files from the TTS folder sent to me by another Kindle Touch owner. If I delete the folder and use the updated given to captaincarlos it did not work (at least for me). Maybe it might have some to do with location, I'm in Brazil.

Anyway, just copying the files from a working Kindle works, using the update changes nothing.

[Betsy the Quilter]

@Betsy, I did got it working, but with the files from the TTS folder sent to me by another Kindle Touch owner. If I delete the folder and use the updated given to captaincarlos it did not work (at least for me). Maybe it might have some to do with location, I'm in Brazil.

Anyway, just copying the files from a working Kindle works, using the update changes nothing.

Interesting. The update that captaincarlos was provided might have been specific to his problem.

Glad you are both working now!

Betsy