K1 - how to restore to factory defaults?

[MeganW]

A friend of mine has a first gen. Kindle she'd like to sell, but first she wants to clear all of her personal docs, etc., off of it.  She's already de-registered her Kindle from her account, but can't figure out how to restore it to factory defaults.  I've never had a K1, so I'm not sure what to tell her/where to go/etc., and I haven't had any luck finding info in Amazon Kindle Help online. 

Can anyone tell me how to do this?  I know she could connect it to her computer and remove it that way, but a quick Restore to Factory Defaults-type option would be great, if there's one available.  I'll have her contact Customer Service if she needs to, but I thought I'd check here first -- y'all are so helpful!  Any help would be much appreciated!! 

Thank you!!
Megan

[Ann in Arlington]

I *think* you hold the "alt" and the "shift" (the up arrow) and press R. . . .

And here's the original K1 FAQ. . . .haven't searched to see if there's more info there:  http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,285.0.html

[MeganW]

Thank you, Ann!  I'll have her try that.  I checked that same FAQ before I posted, did a search, etc.  -- if all else fails, she can call Customer Service & they can walk her through it. 

[Ann in Arlington]

Thank you, Ann!  I'll have her try that.  I checked that same FAQ before I posted, did a search, etc.  -- if all else fails, she can call Customer Service & they can walk her through it. 

If it comes to that, make sure she calls KINDLE customer service and is very clear that she's talking about a First Generation device. . . .maybe ask for someone who's been there at least 3 years and preferably since the beginning. . . . . . . . some of the folks they've hired in the last year or two probably won't have a clue. . .and it's possible the database they use to check things won't be easily searchable back that far!

[MeganW]

Ha ha!  Great idea, Ann, thank you!!  And yes, I'll make sure she calls Kindle customer service.    I'm wondering if maybe I should just call and ask myself...

[Ann in Arlington]

Well, I found this that I posted a while back:

On a K1, you can do a 'soft' reset by pressing <alt><shift> {the up arrow, that is} and <R> at the same time.  I don't know if that works on a K2.  There's also a reset function in the menu/settings area, I believe, of both versions.  (But don't do the option that says about factory settings -- that will make everything go away.)  The 'soft' reset should work if the screen is not frozen.

And then I found this

There is a firmware reset which will restore the Kindle to its original shipping state and delete all content that is stored in the Kindle memory. I emphasized that last part because I found that it does not erase anything stored on the SD card if you have one.

The process is to hold down Alt+Shift and hit R. This is the soft reset command sequence. As the Kindle goes blank, start holding down the Home Key. You will get a screen with three options. Choose the "Firmware reset" in the middle.  The Kindle will say that it is resetting the firmware and reset. When it comes back it will load up with the Initial startup letter welcoming you to Kindle.

which specifies some additional action as the Kindle begins to re-boot itself.

[MeganW]

Thank you!!!  I apologize for making you search -- I'm apparently a little out of practice, b/c I missed both of those... 

[Ann in Arlington]

no worries. . .they were both rather buried.

[MeganW]

Ha ha!  Just a bit!  Wonder why...