Menu won't go away

[UnbridledEditor]

I must have hit a combination of buttons or something when I wasn't paying attention, but now I have this menu on the bottom of my screen. It is the same little window that I would use to make a note in (I have a Kindle Keyboard model), but it has an arrow facing left, then a button that says "My Items", then one that says "Store", then one that says "Google", then "Wikipedia", then "Dictionary." I have tried everything I can think of to make this menu go away. I can't manipulate anything within the menu, either. It wouldn't bother me, but it covers the last line of text on a page so I can't read it.

Has anyone had this happen to them? I haven't been able to find any references to this. Thanks!

[kindlegrl81]

I would start with a hard restart (press and hold the power button for around 30 seconds until it resets itself).  If this doesn't work then I would call Kindle customer service.

[UnbridledEditor]

Thank you so much! You are awesome! The menu is all gone. :::twirling in glee:::

[Morpheus Phreak]

Just a note to anyone reading for later. The reset described above (which helped the user) is actually a soft reset. It's similar to holding the reset button on a PC or turning the power on and off on a device.

A hard reset is when you restore a device to its factory default state, wiping all content that you've added/changed from the device.

I'm glad kindlegrl81 was able to help, but it's important to use the right terms when telling someone how to troubleshoot an issue on their device.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Just a note to anyone reading for later. The reset described above (which helped the user) is actually a soft reset. It's similar to holding the reset button on a PC or turning the power on and off on a device.

A hard reset is when you restore a device to its factory default state, wiping all content that you've added/changed from the device.

I'm glad kindlegrl81 was able to help, but it's important to use the right terms when telling someone how to troubleshoot an issue on their device.

Actually, no, the above is  not correct.  Kindlegrl81 is correct.

from our FAQs

Help, My Kindle is Frozen! Will a 'soft' or 'hard' restart fix it? What's the difference?

Don’t panic! It’s not uncommon for a Kindle to freeze and it doesn’t necessarily mean anything drastic has happened. Restarting the Kindle by doing a ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ reset usually solves the problem.

NOTE: the soft restart is recommended as a first resort as it is less likely to cause any damage to the Kindle.

Make sure the Kindle is well charged then unplug it from the power adapter or computer.

Soft restart:-
If the Kindle is not completely frozen but just acting strangely you can achieve the soft restart through the menu options: Menu-->Settings-->Menu--> Restart (NOT the reset to factory defaults).

Hard restart:-
If the Kindle is totally unresponsive you can achieve a restart by using the on/off slider switch, which will have a different effect the longer you hold it. In normal operation a quick slide will merely bring on the sleep picture/screensaver. A slightly longer 5 second hold brings on a blank screen rather than a picture, but has no more effect than the quick slide. Neither of these options will unfreeze the Kindle. You will need to hold the slider switch for at least 15-20 seconds (the screen may go blank after about 5 seconds but keep holding!). After you let go, slide the switch again and if it's worked the Kindle should restart - you will get the 'your kindle is starting up' message.

I've been doing tech support for a long time, and a hard reset has always meant a forced restart.  "Restore to factory defaults" is called "restore to factory defaults."  I realize that in some cases, some smart phone sites use "hard reset" to mean restore to factory defaults, but that's hardly standard. yet.

Betsy

[Morpheus Phreak]

Actually no, the above is incorrect.

A soft reset is when you tell the device to reboot.

The technical definition of a hard reset is as follows: A technique to completely erase all user installed or entered data.

I've been programming for almost 25 years, and spent the last decade consulting & contracting with Microsoft (as I mentioned in the other thread). I've also been a certified mobile device specialist for the last decade as well. This includes for devices based off WinCE and various *nix configurations.


People often make the same mistake when talking about high-level and low-level formatting of devices as well. It's an easy enough mistake to make. Heck, half the websites (or more) on the internet get it confused.

The reason for the modern-day confusion is that with older model PC's where everything had to be stored in resident memory every reset WAS a hard reset. All data was reset as if the previous boot never happened.

So a lot of people have mistakenly carried the terminology over to refer to restarting a device as being a hard reset. It's a soft reset. That's why the term 'soft reset' was invented in the first place. Even if you have to use button instead of the handy dandy 'restart' menu option it's still a soft reset as your data remains intact.

There's also a difference between a factory reset, and a hard reset, but that would be taking us too far off-topic.

Needless to say, the term hard reset is incorrect and can actually cause someone to lose data if they read it correctly.

[Ann in Arlington]

So a lot of people have mistakenly carried the terminology over to refer to restarting a device as being a hard reset. It's a soft reset. That's why the term 'soft reset' was invented in the first place. Even if you have to use button instead of the handy dandy 'restart' menu option it's still a soft reset as your data remains intact.

There's also a difference between a factory reset, and a hard reset, but that would be taking us too far off-topic.

If you read the quoted material in Betsy's post above, you'll see that, around here in regards specifically to Kindles, we use soft restart and hard restart.  This is specifically to distinguish those operations from a factory reSET which is not usually what is needed to fix the sort of hiccups that the average user runs into and comes here to ask about.

Now, do some people inadvertently say 'reset' when they mean 'restart'.  Absolutely. . . and when we notice it we try to correct it because we don't want someone to reset their device to factory conditions unless that's what they really want. . .if they do it without knowing it can be a royal pain to get it back the way it was since all data and settings are lost.

But, back on topic. . .kindlegirl's advice was spot on (though she did use 'reset' where we'd typically use 'restart') and it solved the OP's problem.  So, welcome, Toni!  Hang around a bit. . .lots more to do and see here.

eta:  I note that Amazon does use the word "reset" when they're talking about the slide and hold or press and hold to 'unfreeze' a device.  I think that adds to the confusion.  It is still perfectly clear that, via software, there's a 'restart' option and a 'reset to factory' option.

[Morpheus Phreak]

eta:  I note that Amazon does use the word "reset" when they're talking about the slide and hold or press and hold to 'unfreeze' a device.  I think that adds to the confusion.  It is still perfectly clear that, via software, there's a 'restart' option and a 'reset to factory' option.

Yup, and even in the quoted material from Betsy 'reset' and 'restart' are used interchangeably. If the advice being given said 'restart' (while somewhat awkward terminology in this case) I wouldn't have commented. It was the use of 'hard reset' that led to my correction.

Even Amazon gets it wrong in their documentation which actually surprises me. They refer to a 'forced shutdown' as a 'hard reset' in multiple places. As I mentioned earlier, it's mostly a hold over from the days when using a hardware reset button really was a 'hard reset'.

The whole purpose of my comment was to help avoid issues since these are mobile devices and the term 'hard reset' (especially in the mobile device world) means loss of all data. I wouldn't want to see that happen to anyone.


As I told Betsy in the other thread, I think I'm going to be done posting here. I'm surprised at the reaction I've received from sharing my knowledge. It's why I typically lurk most places I have accounts at. People don't like my posts (in general on the net) because I typically only post when something needs to be corrected, or when I see that someone isn't getting any answers (if I spot their post).

[Ann in Arlington]

Well, KindleBoards isn't for everyone.  I guess no forum is.  Clearly there are a lot of people who really like KB and appreciate how things are handled.

But I do think you're being a bit oversensitive. 

FWIW, when we answer questions posed by new members, our goal is to try to clarify things. . rather than confuse them. . .which is why we like to specify what meaning we're assigning to words that are used differently in different places. 

And the folks who ask questions are doing so because they are generally confused by what's been written elsewhere.  It doesn't help to use the same words if they don't understand them. 

We often see folks who are clearly quite knowledgeable (and, I must admit, some who think they are but are mistaken. ) try to answer rookie questions -- but when the responses are such that those of us with extensive experience with Kindle -- I've had one for 3½ years -- KNOW they don't really help the questioner, we WILL step in to clarify.

And with that. . .back on topic.

Toni, it looks like your problem is solved. . .the press and hold thing will often resolve such issues but if it ever doesn't, please don't hesitate to ask again!  And do check out the rest of the boards. . .lots of discussion on accessories -- you need them -- and books and pretty much anything under the sun if you wander into "Not Quite Kindle."

[UnbridledEditor]

Thank you Ann and everyone on this thread... I appreciate your assistance.

[Betsy the Quilter]

Happy to help, Welcome to KindleBoards!

Betsy

[kindlegrl81]

No matter what the name is I'm glad it worked for you 

[Morf]

We had a discussion on the differences between a menu ("soft") restart and a power switch ("hard") restart on a Kindle here:

http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,88877.0.html

I've got to say I can see both sides of this argument. I was instrumental in the creation of the FAQ article, and approved its wording, and I am happy that it is correct. As Morpheus (no relation!) points out, there is a single use of the word "reset" in the FAQ, which I will arrange to have corrected, but that's not the same as saying "reset" and "restart" are used interchangeably. Furthermore, if this is the terminology Amazon uses then we can (and will) cause more confusion if we use the terminology differently.

On the other hand, just like Morpheus, I have used the phrase "hard reset" for many years in relation to handheld devices - PalmPilots for instance - where it mean a reset with all user data erased.

I suppose I've never been entirely happy with the use of "soft" and "hard" - even with the word "restart" rather than "reset" - for exactly the reason that Morpheus raises. I suppose if I were able to dictate the phrases that people used in discussions in relation to the Kindle, I would use:

Restart - A menu restart, by pressing Home, Menu, Settings, Menu, Restart.
Forced Restart - A power switch restart, only to be used when the menu restart doesn't work.
Reset to Factory Defaults - From the settings menu.

... and I would avoid the words "Soft", "Hard" and "Reset" entirely!

[Betsy the Quilter]

I never considered it an argument  but rather a discussion and disagreement and was rather surprised at MP's statement he would stop posting. My overarching goal is to avoid confusion and to provide consistent information to our members.

Betsy