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How to disassemble a Nook Simple Touch to remove or replace a battery

Dave Farquhar e-readers May 26, 2015June 13, 2022android, Nook Simple Touch, power button

If your Nook Simple Touch won’t power on, or is displaying a question mark (?) on its battery indicator, I have a four things to try. But before you go to the trouble of disassembly, try charging the device with a different charger. Some chargers fit more tightly than others, and as devices like these age, they can get picky about their chargers.

If a charger change doesn’t give you an easy fix, the next step is to disassemble it, unplug the battery, wait a good 30 seconds, then plug it back in and reassemble.

You’ll need a very small slotted screwdriver or another sharp and semi-flat object, and a T5 Torx screwdriver.

Dave Farquhar

David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.

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Hacker chasing, circa 1987

Dave Farquhar Retro Computing, security December 12, 2013November 30, 20181980s, 1990s, android, computer security, IBM, irony, Nook Simple Touch, NSA, unix, vulnerability

I’m catching up on reading. Next on my reading list is The Cuckoo’s Egg, (Amazon link), Clifford Stoll’s memoir of chasing down a computer hacker in the late 1980s. In it, he describes a very different world, ruled by mainframes and minicomputers, where Unix was something special, IBM still made PCs, but desktop PCs and Macintoshes only received occasional mention, and academia and the military owned the Internet, almost literally. And, oh, by the way, the Cold War was still raging.

The remarkable thing about this book is that it’s an approachable spy thriller, written in 1989, that explains computer security to an audience that had never seen or heard of the Internet. You don’t have to be a security professional to appreciate it, though it’s a classic in the computer security world–many people read it in the late 1980s and early 1990s and decided to get into the field. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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Barnes & Noble’s fate is just more evidence that being better isn’t enough on its own

Dave Farquhar Hardware February 25, 2013amiga, Barnes Noble, commodore, dell, kindle, Nook Simple Touch, public domain

There’s news today that B&N’s founder is looking to buy the store’s retail and web business, but not the Nook business, and the Nook business could be spun off or even discontinued, but whatever happens, it’s likely to be de-emphasized.

My family owns two Nook Simple Touch e-readers, and we like them, but they have one very big problem.

I got a $25 Nook gift card for my birthday. I’ve seen a couple of books I wanted in the past 3 months, but nothing available as a Nook book. As I recall, all of those books have been available for Kindle.

The Nook is the better device, and I’m not sure it’s even close. But better hardware and better technology isn’t enough. You have to have something to buy. Especially when the consumption device is break-even or near-break-even. I remember, some 20 years ago, having a conversation with a friend. My Amiga was a much better computer than his unremarkable Dell PC, but he retorted, “None of that matters if you, you know, like having software!”

A year later, Commodore was out of business. Twenty years later, Dell is struggling, but by Commodore standards, Dell’s bad years would have been pretty good.

I’m impressed with the Nook tablet range too, but there again, being locked in to what Barnes & Noble has to sell makes me hesitant to buy one. Will everything I want to run on a tablet be available for it? If I’ve learned one thing over the last 20 years, it’s that when in doubt, you’ll be better off going with an open system over a closed one.

So, with no books to buy, one of our Nooks spends the bulk of its time displaying library books; I loaded the other one up with public domain e-books and other stuff I converted into epub format to keep handy. We’re happy, but neither of these uses makes B&N any money.

Dave Farquhar

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A contrarian (but defendable) view of e-books

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized January 7, 2013January 7, 20131990s, christmas, Christmas Eve, journalism, Nook Simple Touch

Tech author Nicholas Carr has some interesting statistics that led him to state that perhaps e-books will complement printed books, rather than replace them.

It’s not hard to find history to support that hypothesis. Read more

Dave Farquhar

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If you need a deal on a Nook Simple Touch, they’re on sale

Dave Farquhar Hardware September 1, 2012April 17, 2017amiga, android, Barnes Noble, kindle, Nook Simple Touch, public domain, sears

Sears has the Nook Simple Touch on sale for $70. That’s about a 30% discount. (Thanks Dealnews!)

I guess I’ve had mine for about six weeks, and I like it. It’s the #2 e-reader, and I’ve run into problems in the past buying the #2 just on the basis of technical superiority (Amiga, anyone?), but if being able to load books on an SD card and the availability of free public domain e-books isn’t enough, you can root the device, load the Kindle Android app, and turn it into a Kindle.

Dave Farquhar

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Yes, an e-reader does change how you read

Dave Farquhar Uncategorized July 29, 2012Nook Simple Touch

I’ve read that e-readers change the way you read, but of course up until this week I’ve never experienced it firsthand. I can say that in my limited experience with a Nook Simple Touch, I’ve already noticed it.

Dave Farquhar

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Nook won’t turn on? Try these four things.

Dave Farquhar e-readers July 26, 2012September 9, 2018IBM, kindle, Nook Simple Touch, power button

I’d owned a Nook Simple Touch for less than 24 hours when I had a problem. So I learned out of necessity what to do when a Nook won’t turn on.

I found several things to try to get them working. Don’t expect the same solution to work every time. But these things are good to know.

Dave Farquhar

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Buying that Nook was more work than it needed to be

Dave Farquhar Hardware July 19, 2012kmart, Micro Center, Nook Simple Touch, VHS

I drove to the Kmart the 90s forgot–on Manchester Avenue in St. Louis, if it matters–in search of a $70 Nook Simple Touch. I found it in the electronics section, in the very back of the store, in a glass case with a bunch of obsolete stuff. If you need VHS tapes, I know your place.

The price was wrong. That was a bad sign, but I waited until the clerk wasn’t busy.

Dave Farquhar

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I’m tempted by this Nook deal

Dave Farquhar Hardware July 19, 2012July 19, 2012CBK, cissp, kmart, Nook Simple Touch, pdf files

Kmart is selling the Nook Simple Touch–the e-ink, black-and-white version–for $70, which is nearly 30% off. I’m tempted. Very tempted. Tempted even to buy one and just use it as–drum roll–an e-reader.

Disappointed in me?

Dave Farquhar

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Yesterday was Windows 8 day, but I found this e-reader hack more interesting

Dave Farquhar Hardware March 1, 2012android, Angry Birds, Nook Color, Nook Simple Touch, windows 8

Yesterday, the consumer preview of Windows 8 hit the streets. I haven’t downloaded it. I’m mildly curious, but have a number of things higher on my priority list. Being a late adopter of Windows versions serves me well more often than not anyway.

I found something else yesterday that I find a lot more interesting: An e-ink Android tablet. Humor me.

Dave Farquhar

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