Proscan-Curtis PLT1066: Blue Screen, No Access to Recovery Menu, Reset No Help

Proscan by Curtis, model PLT1066 (10-inch tablet)
Android JellyBean

I've had the tablet roughly 6 months, and only had a few very minor issues with it (usually something would auto-update and then crash, and I'd fix it by simply doing a soft-reset and then uninstalling and reinstalling the app... more often than not it was an app that I couldn't seem to get rid of, like Google Talk or Google Hangouts.

Then one night about a week ago, wham... I power it up and it stalls on the blue screen where it says PROSCAN with white letters.

I've tried doing a hard reset by pushing that little button with a paperclip, but after it comes back up it just stops at that blue screen again.

I've tried holding volume-down and/or volume-up while turning the unit on, holding/pressing various combinations of the up/down and power keys... no help.

Unit is no longer under warranty.

I'm on disabiltiy welfare, so I cannot afford to pay to ship it to their office to have it looked at. If I can get the money together I may take it to the Business Depot that is just around the corner from my home to see if they can help.

Before I spend my money though, I want to see if I can fix it myself. (hey, I've rebuilt my computer a dozen times and fixed my dad's computer at least double that, so it can't be that difficult if I can get the right online help).

I have downloaded the correct firmware from the Curtis International website for my tablet. Or at least I think I have. My tablet says its model is PLT1066, and the firmware they have says PLT1066G (which when I compare the two models on their website, the PLT1066 and PLT1066G are the same model, only difference is that the G-version has a slightly bigger box cause it comes with a case and a keyboard too... so its like saying its a different color plastic, but all the parts/drivers/etc are the same).

My biggest fear is that the factory-backup partition has become corrupted and/or the same for the boot-menu/startup-menu or whatever you call it.

So first things first.

(1) Is there a way I can get into the storage on my tablet to recover my text files? I've read you can hook a tablet up to a PC via USB, but the tablet has to be on and loaded up to at least its version of a "desktop" screen. (mine stalls at the blue screen).

(2) I've read a few things about re-installing the Android OS or the firmware, but everything I've seen seems to require that I either access the recovery menu or get into the tablet's control panel to turn on USB-debugging... neither of which I can do since the tablet is stalling right away.

(3) I've read it is possible to download and load the OS onto a micro SD-card (via a computer) and then install the micro SD-card into the tablet and have it boot from the SD-card. And I do have the firmware... but when I put it onto the SD-card and install it and then try to boot witth the SD-card inserted, the tablet still just boots to the blue screen and stalls there. Am I right in thinking that I'm missing some crucial step, like maybe I have to hold a specific button when I turn the tablet on so that it forces the tablet to boot from the SD-card instead of the regular in-built startup?
(3b) Maybe I missed something when putting them on the SD-card. Do they just go into the card's root directory, or do I need to make a directory called "script" or "boot" or do I need to name/label the card? Or maybe the firmware files need to be in a certain format or need a specific ending (if I recall, two are .bin, and one's a .zip... its kind of late at the moment, so I'll recheck the file names and post them later).

(4) When I called Curtis International to ask about the warranty and getting repairs, the guy on their end had me describe the problem... and then when I asked if they could recover my files, he said that they probably could... which would seem to indicate that despite my tablet stalling at the blue PROSCAN screen that there is obviously some way to access the files or boot around it or something.
(I guess if you have the right USB driver it could trick its way around the firmware and/or android OS and make the tablet act like a regular USB thumb-drive. If anyone knows how to do this, please, let me know.)
I have a few fanfic/text files that I had started writting and would desperately love to get off the tablet. A few of them are fanfics I started writting myself, and it would save me countless hours if I could extract them from the tablet instead of having to restart them from scratch.

 

1. Download the firmware from the proscan website. http://www.proscanvideo.com/item.asp?itemnmbr=PLT8235G. (web site down)

2. unzip the file and copy the files update.zip recovery.img and factory_update_param.aml to an external micro sd card.

3. Plug the tablet in and insert the sd card. Press the power button to see the battery icon then press the power button 5 times. Then let it run for 4 minutes and it should be set back to factory settings.

****NOTE***** If it fails to update then you still have the access to the recovery menu where you can do the factory wipe and still reset it.

Hope this helps.

 

I'm guessing the Proscan plt8235g is the same as the Curtis plt1066?

If proscanvideo.on is down, will the plt8235 from the Curtis site (curtisint.com) also work?

Oh, and when I hit the power button 5 times, should anything happen on screen? Because the only thing I notice is that the "battery charging" animation stops. Shouldn't I be seeing text saying stuff like "unpacking file" or "copying file" or "updating"?

 

This procedure got my ProScan PLT7777 to boot up again (with firmware from Curtis). I get to the welcome screen, but the touch screen is not working. Any Idea what's going on? What should I do now?

 

Once I got to the system recovery menu after the update failed, I can not scroll down to the factory reset option. Another site said to use a paperclip in the reset hole on back to scroll since there is no volume button but it does not work. What do I do now? Im stuck. Customer service was no help.

 

i cannot get the tablet to go past the blue screen, even with following the instructions above. how long do you hold the power button for during the five times? im not sure what im doing wrong lol help!! my husband misses his clash of clans haha

 

did you ever figure it out? im stuck at the same spot