Developing A Ramdisk (Unpacking & Repacking Boot.img) - EVO 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I was hoping some of the kernel devs can help me with a quick question. I am familiar with unpacking and repacking boot.imgs for the Droid but not for the Evo, I usually use the method found here. Is there an alternate method or even some perl scripts that will make the job as easy as it is for the Droid? Note: I am not trying to compile a boot.img, I just want to be able to edit the ramdisk of existing ones. Thanks in advance!

BuglessPete said:
I was hoping some of the kernel devs can help me with a quick question. I am familiar with unpacking and repacking boot.imgs for the Droid but not for the Evo, I usually use the method found here. Is there an alternate method or even some perl scripts that will make the job as easy as it is for the Droid? Note: I am not trying to compile a boot.img, I just want to be able to edit the ramdisk of existing ones. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
reading through the tutorial you linked to, i see perl scripts and directions. is there a certain part of that tutorial you've used on the EVO and have had trouble or its resulted in some kind of error? guess i didn't catch what isn't working for you?
edit: reviewing the tutorial again, i have been wondering which partitions are which on our phone? boot mtd2/3 ? recovery mtd2/3? i know system is mtd4 and data is mtd5 ...
once i know which partition for sure is boot, it might be worth while for me to grab the kernel and post up the stock ramdisk as a starting point for all those looking to do simple kernel mod'n ...

Not sure why this got moved out of development section, as it is related to developing a boot.img although it was a question.
I used the unpack perl script and it threw an error. I will also try the split script when I get off work.

Sorry to resurrect a dead topic, but I'm looking into this as well, and I haven't been able to modify a ramdisk successfully (I'm basically looking to set ro.secure=0 in default.prop). I typically use the same procedure as Pete outlined in the link, but using that for the EVO results in a hang at the bootscreen. (the white HTC EVO 4G screen seen on boot) Any help would be appreciated.

Resurrecting this topic once again.
ADB functionality is broken in Sense FroYo roms, maybe all froyo roms. I can communicate appropriately through fastboot and through ADB in Recovery, but not when running.
The /sbin/adbd process isn't running like it is on other ROMS, such as eclair and gingerbread.
Following this link:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=9437
I found that some nexus one devs had the same issue, and had to replace the adbd process on the ramdisk with one from another build that worked in froyo.
Following this guide that everyone links to:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.p...cking.2C_Editing.2C_and_Re-Packing_the_images
I was not able to use the included unpack/repack perl scripts without modifying them. It appears that the Evo has another file at the end and that script wasn't meant to handle that. Others commented out that line that kills it, I did so, but apparently that script doesn't grab the header appropriately, and the repack doesn't work appropriately for another. I get the white boot screen and it stays indefinitely.
I took the Boot.img and went through a hex editor to do it manually, and wasn't able to get the ramdisk to unzip correctly.
I'm at the end of my rope, and need someone else who's much smarter than I am to assist in what steps to take next.
I am developing a new app, and desperately need to have ADB working inside FroYo. I would run CM7, but it doesn't work right all the time, and has bad battery life for me. I use my phone for business too, so it all has to be stable.
Any ideas? I have lots of this stuff available as I've been working on it for the past couple days, so I can post links and the like to help bring anyone up to speed with what I've done. Thanks a crap-ton in advance. If you can help me get this working, I will send you a donation!
Also, this will fix ADB in all Froyo roms too, so you'd be doing the community a great favor as well.
-Nathan

kmartburrito said:
Resurrecting this topic once again.
ADB functionality is broken in Sense FroYo roms, maybe all froyo roms. I can communicate appropriately through fastboot and through ADB in Recovery, but not when running.
The /sbin/adbd process isn't running like it is on other ROMS, such as eclair and gingerbread.
Following this link:
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=9437
I found that some nexus one devs had the same issue, and had to replace the adbd process on the ramdisk with one from another build that worked in froyo.
Following this guide that everyone links to:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.p...cking.2C_Editing.2C_and_Re-Packing_the_images
I was not able to use the included unpack/repack perl scripts without modifying them. It appears that the Evo has another file at the end and that script wasn't meant to handle that. Others commented out that line that kills it, I did so, but apparently that script doesn't grab the header appropriately, and the repack doesn't work appropriately for another. I get the white boot screen and it stays indefinitely.
I took the Boot.img and went through a hex editor to do it manually, and wasn't able to get the ramdisk to unzip correctly.
I'm at the end of my rope, and need someone else who's much smarter than I am to assist in what steps to take next.
I am developing a new app, and desperately need to have ADB working inside FroYo. I would run CM7, but it doesn't work right all the time, and has bad battery life for me. I use my phone for business too, so it all has to be stable.
Any ideas? I have lots of this stuff available as I've been working on it for the past couple days, so I can post links and the like to help bring anyone up to speed with what I've done. Thanks a crap-ton in advance. If you can help me get this working, I will send you a donation!
Also, this will fix ADB in all Froyo roms too, so you'd be doing the community a great favor as well.
-Nathan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Adb does work in sense froyo roms. It works on mine and I nandroid between my daily sense rom and my dev sense rom when I need to. I prefer to use adb through recovery but I have successfully adb pulled and pushed com.htc.resources from the framework while my device was running just last night. I have also not changed the adb file in the ramdisk (even though I could if I wanted to) so I doubt adb not working in sense roms is the issue unless the rom maker did in fact mess with the ramdisk and inadvertently messed something up.

lovethyEVO said:
Adb does work in sense froyo roms. It works on mine and I nandroid between my daily sense rom and my dev sense rom when I need to. I prefer to use adb through recovery but I have successfully adb pulled and pushed com.htc.resources from the framework while my device was running just last night. I have also not changed the adb file in the ramdisk (even though I could if I wanted to) so I doubt adb not working in sense roms is the issue unless the rom maker did in fact mess with the ramdisk and inadvertently messed something up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not working for me on Fresh 3.5, Evio 1.8, or Mik's Z rom that was just released. I can go back to my PC36IMG.zip (eclair) or CM7, and it works just fine.
I've tried stock and custom kernels, to no avail. I'm absolutely NOT the only person with this issue. As you can see in the post above, Nexus one users are having the same problem, as are tablet owners with Tegra 2 chipsets, etc.
So, let me ask you, what ROM are you using? Is that the only ROM you've used since upgrading from Eclair?
I am at a loss for why this isn't working. As I said before, the /sbin/adbd process is NOT running, and I get a segmentation fault when attempting to launch it. It works fine on CM7 and Eclair, but NOT froyo. Not brand new, unaltered ROM installs, nothing. Whatever it is, the only thing in common is Sense and FroYo.
Thanks for responding, I think at this point I just need people to provide other things to look at that I haven't thought of. I'd still like to learn how to unpack and repack though, it could be a last resort.

kmartburrito said:
It's not working for me on Fresh 3.5, Evio 1.8, or Mik's Z rom that was just released. I can go back to my PC36IMG.zip (eclair) or CM7, and it works just fine.
I've tried stock and custom kernels, to no avail. I'm absolutely NOT the only person with this issue. As you can see in the post above, Nexus one users are having the same problem, as are tablet owners with Tegra 2 chipsets, etc.
So, let me ask you, what ROM are you using? Is that the only ROM you've used since upgrading from Eclair?
I am at a loss for why this isn't working. As I said before, the /sbin/adbd process is NOT running, and I get a segmentation fault when attempting to launch it. It works fine on CM7 and Eclair, but NOT froyo. Not brand new, unaltered ROM installs, nothing. Whatever it is, the only thing in common is Sense and FroYo.
Thanks for responding, I think at this point I just need people to provide other things to look at that I haven't thought of. I'd still like to learn how to unpack and repack though, it could be a last resort.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For my daily I use a rom based on miks eng base that I rooted and edited myself. For my dev rom I use joeykrims odexed rom that I deodexed. I also use a barebones 3.70 taken directly from the ruu, rooted and edited myself as well as deodexed it.
My two dev roms provide me with at least some sort of variables since joeykrim adds some extras to his rom.
In all three roms, the only thing I changed in the ramdisk is the kernel I compile and use (htc15 compiled to have sbc, havs, undervolt, etc.).
It could be (possible though unlikely since others do have success with adb on the roms you mention) that the ramdisk may have been edited in a way that prevents adb from starting in the init files.
Again just last night, both on my replacement evo and my wifes evo (she runs what I put on her evo which is usually a more polished version of mine) I used adb while the devices were running to pull some system apps and do some editing and then pushed them back. These are both sense based 3.70 roms using the same kernel.
Your situation is puzzling me at the moment since you said it works fine on cm7 and eclair but not on any sense based froyo roms. I would have drawn the same conclusion but since I personally can use adb on a sense based froyo rom I have to think the problem lies somewhere else and not solely on froyo. I'll try to duplicate this situation though I don't think I can without seeing what your device looks like.

Related

What is ____ (what am I doing to my phone)

I had a few questions that I can't pull up much information on. There looks to be a ton of updates we now have the option of putting on our EVO, what are the differences.
Kernel
--- Alright, I know this one but for anyone who doesn't. This is the heart of the phone. It is what allows software to talk to hardware.
--- Why do some of the kernel changes break the camera/accelerometer? Are these drivers built into the kernel instead of modules? Can they not be rebuilt with different kernels?
NAND
--- What is the NAND and why are we unlocking it?
--- NAND is a type of flash, no? Are all they system files (i.e. the /system folder) on their own chip inside the evo? How can rooting and remounting the system r/w not control the /system folder?
--- While I'm at it, does rooting just me remounting everything but the /system folder as r/w. So a non rooted phone is read only except for the SD card and where ever apps from the market are installed?
Recovery
--- It seems like there are a couple recovery systems out there... clockwork and another. Did the EVO not come with its own recovery system. What have these modded versions added?
ROMS
--- What are these really doing if they are not messing with the /system folder. Are they just a bundle of different programs? Change the rom and you change the programs that are installed? What is the difference between a ROM and a DEV-ROM
RADIO
--- What is the deal with the new radio. Is it updated drivers for the baseband? This kind of gets into my kernel question about how the drivers are handled within the kernel. How can this work across multiple kernels, but we cant get the camera working?
I know this is a lot, but if anyone could fill in some of the holes for me I would appreciate it.
Thanks
bump...
Any thoughts? You don't have to answer them all.
I am NO expert, but can help a bit....
Kernel
--- Alright, I know this one but for anyone who doesn't. This is the heart of the phone. It is what allows software to talk to hardware.
--- Why do some of the kernel changes break the camera/accelerometer? Are these drivers built into the kernel instead of modules? Can they not be rebuilt with different kernels?
From my understanding, the kernles that break the camera, are kernels that are ports of kernels from other phones. So, the drivers for the camera are not the same as for the other phones camera.
Recovery
--- It seems like there are a couple recovery systems out there... clockwork and another. Did the EVO not come with its own recovery system. What have these modded versions added?
My understanding is that the phone's original recovery, is locked to only flash Sprint's Official ROM's. So the custom recovery will allow to flash custom ROM's
ROMS
--- What are these really doing if they are not messing with the /system folder. Are they just a bundle of different programs? Change the rom and you change the programs that are installed? What is the difference between a ROM and a DEV-ROM
Aside from changing apps, ROM's can do different things like optimizing the apps so that they run smoother, move data from one place to another to run more efficiently and allow for a number of customizations that would not be available with only the stock ROM rooted. A ROM is understanded as a usable, stable ROM. A DEV-ROM is one that is not stable, were it has things that still dont work and need to keep improving.
Hope it helps!
Perfect thanks.
The ROM/DEV-ROM thing was really bugging me, and the recovery explanation makes sense.
amw2320 said:
I had a few questions that I can't pull up much information on. There looks to be a ton of updates we now have the option of putting on our EVO, what are the differences.
Kernel
--- Alright, I know this one but for anyone who doesn't. This is the heart of the phone. It is what allows software to talk to hardware.
--- Why do some of the kernel changes break the camera/accelerometer? Are these drivers built into the kernel instead of modules? Can they not be rebuilt with different kernels?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So with *.NIX kernels such as linux, unix, and the android kernel there are modules that make up the kernel itself. Any *.NIX kernel is going to be modular and this makes it more efficient and robust. In the case of specific items not working between different kernels, it most likely means the kernel was compiled with specific modules that have specific scripts and drivers in it. This method speeds up the kernel because it takes out stuff not needed. But means it limits the devices the kernel can run on.
In the case of Android ROMs not being able to fully interface with hardware, it likely means the kernel is missing something as another commentator already suggested.
NAND
--- What is the NAND and why are we unlocking it?
--- NAND is a type of flash, no? Are all they system files (i.e. the /system folder) on their own chip inside the evo? How can rooting and remounting the system r/w not control the /system folder?
--- While I'm at it, does rooting just me remounting everything but the /system folder as r/w. So a non rooted phone is read only except for the SD card and where ever apps from the market are installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We are unlocking NAND and rooting phones to get access to file systems that are locked down by phone manufactures/cell providers. Doing so unleashes the full potential of the device.
If you rooted your phone and you do not have full access to the file system, you only did part 1 of the root process. There are 2 parts because one unlocks NAND and the other unlocks the file system completely with the phone booted. Step 1 just unlocks filesystem for NAND which means you have to be booted into NAND for full access to file system. I think I have that right.
Recovery
--- It seems like there are a couple recovery systems out there... clockwork and another. Did the EVO not come with its own recovery system. What have these modded versions added?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clockwork and the others are just replacing NAND with their own system, if I am correct. I recommend doing this if you are rooted because you get better features and a constantly updated system, where as NAND is only updated when Sprint and HTC have an update with a NAND update in it (which isn't often). The way I recommend updating this is using ROM Manager once you are rooted. It is very safe and easy.
ROMS
--- What are these really doing if they are not messing with the /system folder. Are they just a bundle of different programs? Change the rom and you change the programs that are installed? What is the difference between a ROM and a DEV-ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you see ROM, think GUI for the OS, collection of apps and scripts. The ROM what you are going to interact with and use. I highly recommend flashing a custom ROM once rooted because you will have less problems and they are way more efficient than stock. Developers take time and care to test and tweak their ROMs so that they not only perform good, but give us the features we want. Find one you like and install. Make sure you do a NAND backup though once you get everything installed the way you like. Also do a titanium backup (app from marketplace) too.
RADIO
--- What is the deal with the new radio. Is it updated drivers for the baseband? This kind of gets into my kernel question about how the drivers are handled within the kernel. How can this work across multiple kernels, but we cant get the camera working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is recommended not to mess with the radio unless a ROM you want requires it. I flashed it without any trouble at all and things seem fine on my phone. Some people recommend flashing it because they think it makes the cell radios in the phone perform more efficiently and such. This is all I can say on the radio as I'm no expert.
I see most of the questions have been answered above...I'll attempt as well and perhaps it will help clarify (or just give a different way of looking at it).
amw2320 said:
I had a few questions that I can't pull up much information on. There looks to be a ton of updates we now have the option of putting on our EVO, what are the differences.
Kernel
--- Alright, I know this one but for anyone who doesn't. This is the heart of the phone. It is what allows software to talk to hardware.
--- Why do some of the kernel changes break the camera/accelerometer? Are these drivers built into the kernel instead of modules? Can they not be rebuilt with different kernels?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the kernel is the heart of any OS (Windows has one, Linux has one, etc). The kernel is where everything eventually goes to do anything.
The reason the new kernels do not have camera functionality is because, while we have generic source code, we do not have the drivers/modules for that source code. HTC does some modifications within the source that are proprietary and so we have to attempt to try and reverse engineer it. About the time we do, they release the source code (I have suspicions of conspiracy, but that may just be me) and that's when the kernel's really roll out with some fun stuff.
New kernels will be the source of the most new features...overclocking, efficiency improvements, etc.
NAND
--- What is the NAND and why are we unlocking it?
--- NAND is a type of flash, no? Are all they system files (i.e. the /system folder) on their own chip inside the evo? How can rooting and remounting the system r/w not control the /system folder?
--- While I'm at it, does rooting just me remounting everything but the /system folder as r/w. So a non rooted phone is read only except for the SD card and where ever apps from the market are installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is one of the areas I'm most weak in for understanding but I'll still take a stab.
NAND is a type of flash and, to my knowledge, it's own seperate chip. It is usually locked to prevent modifications that could break your phone or prevent it from updating properly...I *think* it's used during boot so the lock would translate straight through to your OS and prevent changes if put in a locked state (think similar to how some SD cards have a "lock" switch on the side to make it read only, except a software version of it).
Recovery
--- It seems like there are a couple recovery systems out there... clockwork and another. Did the EVO not come with its own recovery system. What have these modded versions added?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Clockwork and AmonRA's recoveries are replacements that add functionality over the stock recovery. The stock recovery is only meant to be used by the manufacturer to perform certain tasks (like updating, resetting, etc...but no user functions like backup/restores.). Both Clockwork and AmonRA's recoveries add the ability to take a complete image of your phone (so that you can always restore any software changes no matter how severe), reformat and partition your sd card (to add/remote a cache partition or a partition for Apps2SD), reset battery stats, and a host of other things I'm sure I haven't even touched on. Also, I believe they add the functionality to flash unsigned updates done by the community (not just restricting us to HTC's updates).
ROMS
--- What are these really doing if they are not messing with the /system folder. Are they just a bundle of different programs? Change the rom and you change the programs that are installed? What is the difference between a ROM and a DEV-ROM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the ROMs you see now require NAND unlocks so that they can mess with the apps in /system. Some ROMs are just a certain package of apps or a set of themes. Others add functionality or make certain things easier to implement. Yet others are tweaked to attempt to change other aspects of the OS to improve performance of battery life through tweaks to when the system performs certain tasks.
Ultimately, each ROM is different and the changelogs *should* tell you what all they've done over the stock (or if they're based on another ROM, you can open that page to see the tweaks they are tweaking, etc). (Sometimes it can get pretty big on the tweaks on another rom's tweaks on another rom's tweaks...check the CDMA hero forums for some combination roms ).
ROMs vs Dev-ROMs - Dev-ROM's are usually a work in progress...they are testing new features and often will be on the bleeding edge (emphasis on bleeding). These will sometimes (even likely) break something while they try and improve or add new functionality in another aspect. You should only flash these if you want to help test and if you have an idea of what's going on so you can help troubleshoot.
Normal ROMs are usually more stable (usually) and will have milder modifications (though once a DEV-ROM has successfully gotten a new feature stable, most other ROMs will incorporate those changes...it's kindof a lifecycle).
RADIO
--- What is the deal with the new radio. Is it updated drivers for the baseband? This kind of gets into my kernel question about how the drivers are handled within the kernel. How can this work across multiple kernels, but we cant get the camera working?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Radio images are a bit more like firmware updates to the radio chip. These often help to improve reception or connectivity or fix instabilities or other problems. Not everyone experiences the issues that it attempts to fix and doing a flash on your own does have certain risks. The odds of a problem arising for you isn't high, but the effect is potentially severe if a problem does occur. The main thing to remember is to ensure you have enough battery for the changes to occur (firmware updates in general recommend this on all devices, be it laptop BIOS updates or phone radio updates...I recommend using the wall charger and not unplugging it until 5 minutes after the update has completed), and ensure that you don't try and do anything else on the phone while the update is occuring.
I know this is a lot, but if anyone could fill in some of the holes for me I would appreciate it.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hopefully the info given by me and my fellow ex-newbies will help with your desire to learn! There's a lot of cool stuff about our phones and I love that we can get a bit into the guts of the thing (unlike some phones*)
*I can't help but throw a little jab at Apple every so often.
This is great information and helps me to push myself even further towards ROM development.
I enjoy my Evo and this website is amazing
Great thread and information, I was looking for something similar. I'm totally new to Android and want to start the whole rooting process.
I don't mean to hijack the thread or anything, but some terms are thrown around and I don't have a 100% understanding of what they really mean....could someone please define them?
Recovery?
Flashing?
Thanks codemonk and webs, that was awesome.
Onepanda, i'll give your question a shot.
Flashing is really just putting files on you phone. Generally it refers to replacing the andriod system files. You can flash a kernel, a ROM, drivers, or just an update to one of those.
Recovery is a mode you can put your phone into from boot. This is where you flash the files from. You cant just replace system files while they are running, so you boot into recovery mode and flash them from there.
Recovery mode also has a few other features allowing you to reset settings (cache) and make backups.

[Q] ADB Not working on Sense Roms

I've run into a very strange issue where ADB isn't functioning properly in two of the sense Roms I've tried recently, both Fresh 3.5.0.1 and the newest Evio Rom by Caulkin, 1.8 I believe.
I can't get the phone to go into USB debugging mode, although it works just fine in CM7 and another gingerbread rom I tried yesterday.
Here's some of the things I've tried, give me something I haven't tried, I dare ya!
Wiping properly in recovery (with Amon Ra 2.3, 1.8.0, and clockwork recoveries 3.x and 2.5.x)
Using Caulkin's Format All in recovery
my golden nandroid backup of Fresh didn't work, neither did a fresh fresh install
ADB works in fastboot or recovery, but not in the ROM
ADB works just fine in CM7 and non-sense ROMS (tried 2)
I tried going back to the roots by flashing my post nand-unlocking PC36img.zip and it worked fine, new fresh 3.5 install, borked.
Different USB ports
Different USB cables
Different Android SDKs
Different Android USB Drivers
My wife's HTC Hero works fine on those same ports on the same machines
two machines, one XP 32 bit and one win7 64 bit, wifes works on both, my evo works on neither.
doesn't work on stock fresh kernel, doesn't work on netarchy custom kernel.
Used to work, because I use my Evo for a test device on my apps, but I can't remember if it has ever worked on Fresh 3.5
Tried formatting my SD just to be sure there wasn't a remnant on it.
And oh yes, I made sure USB Debugging was checked.
As you can see I tried a lot. I'm very familiar with ADB and its nuances. This is genuinely stumping me, as I feel I've eliminated nearly all variables and tried nearly all configurations.
Any ideas, or anyone have something similar happen?
Not sure if this is it, but could it be something to do with boot.img.
http://modmymobile.com/forums/403-m...x-remount-failed-operation-not-permitted.html
I have the same problem. Mine is a stock rom thats been rooted by unrevoked but I haven't flashed anything on it yet. Apparently there is a line in default.prop for ADB and if it is deactived some features do not work well. You can change it but the only way to get it permanent is to edit the default.prop in boot.img.
Not sure if this is remotely the case because these are custom roms ... but its worth getting it out there because I never knew this before.
trimeijer said:
Not sure if this is it, but could it be something to do with boot.img.
http://modmymobile.com/forums/403-m...x-remount-failed-operation-not-permitted.html
I have the same problem. Mine is a stock rom thats been rooted by unrevoked but I haven't flashed anything on it yet. Apparently there is a line in default.prop for ADB and if it is deactived some features do not work well. You can change it but the only way to get it permanent is to edit the default.prop in boot.img.
Not sure if this is remotely the case because these are custom roms ... but its worth getting it out there because I never knew this before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll flash back to Fresh tonight and check the build.prop to see if you're right.
I did notice that Flipz said he took the debug message out so it shouldn't pop up, but maybe that meant he disabled those lines in the build.prop. I would think he would know better than to do that, though, as that would disable ADB altogether, something he surely would see. It's totally possible though.
is there any way that mine could have gotten modified or something I wonder? I'd think no, because that would have to come from his install, especially on my new installs I did. Weird.
Unfortunately, my default.prop is the same as in the correct version in the link you posted. I'm literally at a loss of what else to try. Hoping some more pop in to share as I doubt we're the only two with this or have experienced this before.
I think I've figured out what's going on, now I just need to figure out how to fix it.
Like this post below, I think that the ADBD process isn't running because I couldn't find it in my process list. They used one from another build image and replaced their current one.
http://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=9437
Anyone done this before or could provide some guidance in addition to that thread?
I'd really appreciate the help.
My problem is that I can't write to /system but I think that might be something wrong with my root, even though I have s-OFF and I did flash a rooted rom ... not sure whats going on. I can only write to it in recovery.
Other ADB things work for my, like writing else where, shell, logcat ..etc
trimeijer said:
My problem is that I can't write to /system but I think that might be something wrong with my root, even though I have s-OFF and I did flash a rooted rom ... not sure whats going on. I can only write to it in recovery.
Other ADB things work for my, like writing else where, shell, logcat ..etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried the "adb remount" command prior to trying to write to system? That will get you sometimes.
I pulled the boot.img from CM6 and replaced the /sbin/abdb process with the one from CM6 inside the Fresh boot.img. When I repacked, everything looked good, I installed Fresh Rom, and then it won't boot. Not at all. Wish I knew more about how to do that. I think I'm going to try again, but was following the perl scripts he posts on this page:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.p...cking.2C_Editing.2C_and_Re-Packing_the_images
I had to suppress a message in one of them because there was a fourth file, and it says it was not created to be able to handle those. Read on another forum to comment it out. Anyway, it didn't work but I'm going to keep trying.
Installed CM7 again, and there it is as a process, /sbin/adbd. That's got to be the key.
Yeah adb remount doesn't do anything for me. Still errors.
I looked for my processes using ps ux and got nothing. Then in my default.prop is a line
"persist.service.adb.enable=0"
which they said was a problem and it sounds like my/our problem of there being no service. So i'm going to try another stock rom. I am using the OTA from teshxx but when I tried to modify it in the kitchen it said it had no boot.img (which could be why the setting is disabled and I don't have 'root adb'.)
@kmartburrito sounds like a signing issue right? I mean I messed with stuff like that before but I could never get it to boot properly after editing anything. Never really pursued it too much though. Read through the guide and it doesn't really have anything to do with signing ... but i know the space allocated for each section of the RAM is very specific so maybe there was a mismatch.
trimeijer said:
Yeah adb remount doesn't do anything for me. Still errors.
I looked for my processes using ps ux and got nothing. Then in my default.prop is a line
"persist.service.adb.enable=0"
which they said was a problem and it sounds like my/our problem of there being no service. So i'm going to try another stock rom. I am using the OTA from teshxx but when I tried to modify it in the kitchen it said it had no boot.img (which could be why the setting is disabled and I don't have 'root adb'.)
@kmartburrito sounds like a signing issue right? I mean I messed with stuff like that before but I could never get it to boot properly after editing anything. Never really pursued it too much though. Read through the guide and it doesn't really have anything to do with signing ... but i know the space allocated for each section of the RAM is very specific so maybe there was a mismatch.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I'm betting that's your problem. My line with that has a value of 1, so I'm not going to be any help from that standpoint. However, when you remount your filesystem as writable, you can modify that default.prop file and it SHOULD stick, in case you hit that same issue on your next rom.
I'm still trying to figure out what the hell is going on with my situation. I talked to another guy in a different thread and he explained that he is able to ADB in froyo sense roms, so even though I'm getting the same issue in multiple roms and not in non-sense roms, there's another person somewhere without the problem, so it logically can't be the ROM, unless it's a per-rom basis, and I've just hit the wrong rom three times in a row. Who the eff knows! This is really frustrating, but I guarantee you I will figure this out soon. I need to continue working on my app, so this needs to get fixed. Soon.
kmartburrito said:
Yep, I'm betting that's your problem. My line with that has a value of 1, so I'm not going to be any help from that standpoint. However, when you remount your filesystem as writable, you can modify that default.prop file and it SHOULD stick, in case you hit that same issue on your next rom.
I'm still trying to figure out what the hell is going on with my situation. I talked to another guy in a different thread and he explained that he is able to ADB in froyo sense roms, so even though I'm getting the same issue in multiple roms and not in non-sense roms, there's another person somewhere without the problem, so it logically can't be the ROM, unless it's a per-rom basis, and I've just hit the wrong rom three times in a row. Who the eff knows! This is really frustrating, but I guarantee you I will figure this out soon. I need to continue working on my app, so this needs to get fixed. Soon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried the SprintLovers Rom? It is the closest to Stock you can get and it has regular updates. If that works maybe you can examine the difference with Fresh.
Maybe a logcat would help.
From a # prompt try the following
stop adbd
setprop persist.service.adb.enable=1
start adbd
Then try connecting via usb/adb shell.
JusticeAA said:
Have you tried the SprintLovers Rom? It is the closest to Stock you can get and it has regular updates. If that works maybe you can examine the difference with Fresh.
Maybe a logcat would help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, trying this now, will let you know what I find. Thanks for the idea!
gpz1100 said:
From a # prompt try the following
stop adbd
setprop persist.service.adb.enable=1
start adbd
Then try connecting via usb/adb shell.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately, this is already set as such in my properties. I tried it anyway though on Mikz rom, and ADBD still isn't starting or working afterwards.
You know what it seems like? It seems that this is an issue with the HTC Kernel after one of the first versions that they released after FroYo. I say that because it works on Fresh's 3.1.0.2 rom which was one of the first FroYo builds, and it doesn't really work after that, which was a newer base build and newer Kernel. Doesn't work on really any other sense-based ROM for me either.
It DOES, however, work on any AOSP rom (which also uses a diff kernel) Which is one thought as to why it might not be working for me. The strange thing is though that this is somewhat isolated to my Evo. Maybe I have a lot of bad blocks or something, but something's fishy in that it works with early FroYo roms and any AOSP roms consistently, but not new Sense roms. So, either the majority of Sense devs are using Fresh's stuff as a base, or the problem is a bigger one related to the base build or Kernel itself.
I tried using the old HTC Kernel on a new build of Fresh, and found that the ADBD process did in fact appear when using a ps command, but it still did not function properly.
And furthermore, there is absolutely jack **** on documentation out there on what makes ADB work, or what could make it not work.
Since you mentioned kernels, have you tried a different one than what's in fresh?
I'm using the net's latest cfs kernel, and was using the previous 4.3.2 before. I'm not a big fan of the #15 kernel as it breaks the processing of scripts in init.d .
gpz1100 said:
Since you mentioned kernels, have you tried a different one than what's in fresh?
I'm using the net's latest cfs kernel, and was using the previous 4.3.2 before. I'm not a big fan of the #15 kernel as it breaks the processing of scripts in init.d .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, several versions of Netarchy's kernel, several HTC, no dice. I suppose that should rule out the Kernel and point to the base build. What is really weird though is that it's happening mostly just to me, although there are a couple others for the Evo I'm sure (many might not even know it) and there are definitely others affected like I am on different devices.
Hardware 002 and rooted using part 1 and part 2 of toast's method.

Worth rooting?

Hi guys.
Obviously I am new, and noob so this might sound silly, but is it worth rooting?
I mean, I have been having stock Desire Z for, I dunno, almost 2 years, and it's been working perfectly, but since HTC and Google are moving on, leaving me on 2.3 and without any new updates, I was thinking of moving on on my own.
The thing is, I am as noob at rooting as I am in here, and bricking scares the **** out of me. Also, I don't know what ROM to chose, if that is the only thing to chose after rooting. I've stumbled upon cyanogen mod, and there are quite detailed step-by-step description on how to downgrade/root/install CM7, but CM7 looks like crap - I don't like it really.
I do like this http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1546915http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1546915 thou,, but since it's still beta, I don't want to end up with half working phone when I need it the most.
So, should I go for it, or stick with my guns?
and thx for replying or even reading :good:
I can't really comment on Sense roms (never cared for them, too bloated in my opinion). But I would prefer either Mimicry 1.3.1 or EliteMod ICS (which I'm using now), in regards to ICS (4.0.*).
Far as guides. Some like the Cyanogenmod one can be 'easier' to read, but the XDA wiki has a lot more information.
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=HTC_Vision
Since you're on gingerbread now you would go the Desire-Z Gingerbread route for unlocking/exploit before proceeding to root it. (but on the plus side sticking with a Desire-Z hboot will ensure your /system size is big enough to play with the Sense roms).
With ICS some things to keep in mind is that the most common issues tend to be :
1) Camera isn't "fully" working, in some cases like on mimicry and elitemod (or other non-Sense ICS roms), you can take a picture, you can record a video, but usually only with the stock camera app and usually won't have features like 720p recording or special effects.
2) Graphical glitch with the text can happen on an app, although rarely occurs, is easily fixed by closing the app or restarting (tends to stay with one app when it happens).
Those are probably the two most common issue you'll see with just bout every ICS rom out there for DZ/G2.
By the way some of the Sense roms are incorporating the 3.0 kernel from the Virtuous Infinity Preview (Full Sense 4.0), as such they're getting a decent camera with filters, but course there are still some bugs. (Previously Sense 4.0 roms had no camera functionality at all).
Edit
To clarify, even if you use the CM Wiki to unlock/root you do not have to install Cyanogenmod 7.2 afterwards, you can pretty much install any compatible rom once you've gotten it unlocked and running with a custom recovery (though I prefer 4EXT over clockworkmod).
I am sure it is worth ... i was just like u ..satisfied with my GB but i was so curious and so on so i followed this guide: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/HTC_Desire_Z:_Rooting and now iam rooted at the moment iam running Elite ROM ice cream sandwich and its ********* fast .... when you have root and you try new rom you will never want to stop of course there are some risks but I think that if you will have any kind of problem here on XDA is so many great people willing to help you ... my advice is to do it go step by step according to that guide and if you dont understand something just ask here on xda Best of luck....
back in the g1 days a friend of mine rooted his, i was astonished what could be done to phones now adays. i quickly rooted my g1 and began learning a ton about everything mobile, just like many before and after me i was hooked. even if you never found a better rom than stock the learning process is well worth it. even if you dont use most of the new features available to you at least having them is worth it. and unless you dont research/read first, or are mostly stupid/have bad luck, you wont brick your phone. i have rooted 50~60 phones and tablets, maybe more and never had a hard brick, sure when i first started out there was some close calls but with a little common sense you will be fine, also know you are now part a large community eager to help
so follow the xda or cyanogen wiki and downgrade and root your phone, move on to the rom compilation (found in the developers thread here) try a few roms and see what you prefer. you will be happy you did
on and one last point; the best reason to root your phone right when you get it, if there ever is a problem it is much easier to fix a rooted phone with software/firmware problems then an unrooted one. the only drawback could be if you need to send it back for warranty... but how likely is that, and the phone you have now im sure has little/no warranty left
happy flashing!
follow kbeeize's advice on how to root and try a few roms out
PS: One of the major advantages of having a custom recovery, is the ability to perform a backup of your currently installed rom. If you screw something up, you need only go back into recovery Wipe (factory-reset/cache/etc) and restore the backup to get right back to where you were. And you can have several backups too if you were trying out several different roms.
So basically the process of rooting/unlocking offers a safety net once you're up and running, be it in the recovery , or apps like Titanium Backup. Getting there is mainly the intimidating part.
kbeezie said:
Mimicry 1.3.1 or EliteMod ICS (which I'm using now), in regards to ICS (4.0.*).
Far as guides. Some like the Cyanogenmod one can be 'easier' to read, but the XDA wiki has a lot more information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you would recommend EliteMod & Cyanogen guide for starters?
kbeezie said:
Since you're on gingerbread now you would go the Desire-Z Gingerbread route for unlocking/exploit before proceeding to root it. (but on the plus side sticking with a Desire-Z hboot will ensure your /system size is big enough to play with the Sense roms).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Uhhh... What?
kbeezie said:
With ICS some things to keep in mind is that the most common issues tend to be :
1) Camera isn't "fully" working, in some cases like on mimicry and elitemod (or other non-Sense ICS roms), you can take a picture, you can record a video, but usually only with the stock camera app and usually won't have features like 720p recording or special effects.
2) Graphical glitch with the text can happen on an app, although rarely occurs, is easily fixed by closing the app or restarting (tends to stay with one app when it happens).
Those are probably the two most common issue you'll see with just bout every ICS rom out there for DZ/G2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can deal with that. Really, camera for me is one of the most useless apps. So stock app will do just fine
kbeezie said:
To clarify, even if you use the CM Wiki to unlock/root you do not have to install Cyanogenmod 7.2 afterwards, you can pretty much install any compatible rom once you've gotten it unlocked and running with a custom recovery (though I prefer 4EXT over clockworkmod).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, rooting won't delete everything from my phone, it will just be unlocked, so I could install some ROM apps that would do the rest of the work for me?
jumptoin said:
when you have root and you try new rom you will never want to stop of course there are some risks but I think that if you will have any kind of problem here on XDA is so many great people willing to help you ... my advice is to do it go step by step according to that guide and if you dont understand something just ask here on xda Best of luck....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is changing ROM deleting all my apps, messages etc., and is it doing so every time I change it. I've spent quite a lot of time and care to set the whole thing up, so I don't thing I would swap the ROMs so easily as you say
demkantor said:
back in the g1 days a friend of mine rooted his, i was astonished what could be done to phones now adays. i quickly rooted my g1 and began learning a ton about everything mobile, just like many before and after me i was hooked. even if you never found a better rom than stock the learning process is well worth it. even if you dont use most of the new features available to you at least having them is worth it. and unless you dont research/read first, or are mostly stupid/have bad luck, you wont brick your phone. i have rooted 50~60 phones and tablets, maybe more and never had a hard brick, sure when i first started out there was some close calls but with a little common sense you will be fine, also know you are now part a large community eager to help
so follow the xda or cyanogen wiki and downgrade and root your phone, move on to the rom compilation (found in the developers thread here) try a few roms and see what you prefer. you will be happy you did
on and one last point; the best reason to root your phone right when you get it, if there ever is a problem it is much easier to fix a rooted phone with software/firmware problems then an unrooted one. the only drawback could be if you need to send it back for warranty... but how likely is that, and the phone you have now im sure has little/no warranty left
happy flashing!
follow kbeeize's advice on how to root and try a few roms out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THX! :good:
kbeezie said:
PS: One of the major advantages of having a custom recovery, is the ability to perform a backup of your currently installed rom. If you screw something up, you need only go back into recovery Wipe (factory-reset/cache/etc) and restore the backup to get right back to where you were. And you can have several backups too if you were trying out several different roms.
So basically the process of rooting/unlocking offers a safety net once you're up and running, be it in the recovery , or apps like Titanium Backup. Getting there is mainly the intimidating part.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So it's like making an image file of the whole windows OS with all the programs preinstalled and restoring it when things go bust?
StipeP said:
So you would recommend EliteMod & Cyanogen guide for starters?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EliteMod ICS isn't really for everyone, something like Andromadus Mimicry would be an easier start if you wanted ICS.
StipeP said:
Uhhh... What?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The T-Mobile G2 hboot (0.76.200) has a /system of ~400MB, /cache of ~200MB and /data of ~1.3GB, but 400MB is not big enough for a Sense rom. So if you were following the cyanogenmod wiki for exploiting/rooting, you would need the Desire-Z Engineering hboot (0.84.2000) which has a /system of ~550MB, /cache ~300MB, /data 1GB. Otherwise you would have to avoid Sense roms or roms that say you need a DesireZ hboot.
Since you said you had a Desire-Z you may not even run across that issue.
StipeP said:
I can deal with that. Really, camera for me is one of the most useless apps. So stock app will do just fine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then that's all good then.
StipeP said:
So, rooting won't delete everything from my phone, it will just be unlocked, so I could install some ROM apps that would do the rest of the work for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends on how you root, and if your phone needs to be downgraded/exploited. Which most of the time it does (i.e.: to get ENG S-OFF), which will of course erase the existing data on the phone so backups is suggested.
StipeP said:
Is changing ROM deleting all my apps, messages etc., and is it doing so every time I change it. I've spent quite a lot of time and care to set the whole thing up, so I don't thing I would swap the ROMs so easily as you say
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's where root tools like Titanium Backup come in very handy. You can flash a band new rom, open up Titanium Backup, and then restore all your apps along with their settings/etc.
StipeP said:
So it's like making an image file of the whole windows OS with all the programs preinstalled and restoring it when things go bust?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Normally once you get an initial rom setup, you can do a backup in recovery. If things go bust, you just reboot into recovery, wipe/factory-reset and then restore from the backup which will put the phone at the exact same state as you backed it up.
But yea I guess it's kind of like taking a Ghost image of your hard drive, which is stored on the SD Card at /clockworkmod/backup
Dear StipeP,
Greetings!
I bought my Desire Z, my very first android mobile in April 2010 and since then I was thinking 'O my God! what the **** people are talking about rooting their mobile!!!'. It was not that I was not curious, it was the difficult looking procedure and always lingering fear of bricking my set . At that time, I was a toooooootal noob . Then HTC pushed gingerbread update. All was well before ICE rolled out and some other mobiles were getting it while desire z was no where in line. I decided I should give it a try but still I preferred some 'one click root' methods over the detailed one given at XDA (it seemed too intimidating). But every such method could not root a desire z on android 2.3.3 (they could have when I was on Froyo). Then I finally made my mind to take the bull by horn and started reading as much as possible about rooting the hard way. Finally, I went for the XDA-wiki and also stumbled upon a guy named Strawmetal's wonderful effort of putting all the necessary files and instructions at one place. One night, I sat after dinner just rooted it (though I remembered all possible Gods at some steps like matching the MD5 sums:fingers-crossed. I was so excited that I didn't sleep the whole night!
Now, question was which ROM to install ( I hated to be back on Froyo). I started fiddling with some gingerbread ROMs and then shifted to ICS ROMs. There are problems as mentioned by others. I would mention below some pros and cons (those matter to me) of these ROMs:
1. Gingerbread ROMs are generally quite stable. Some excellent examples are Virtuous Glite v2.01, EliteMod120316 (this is awesome!) etc. I found BeatMod Bliss Sense hybrid to be too heavy (it's a Sense 3.5 ROM).
2. Camera works fine with Gingerbread ROMs generally (It was good in EliteMod120316).
3. ICS ROMs are faster. Even browser there seems faster to.They give a lot of customization options (Rightnow, I'm on EliteMod 120728 and believe me, it would just enthrall you with its beauty and customization options).
4. For me, ability to read Hindi fonts is a bonus and ICS ROMs do this.
5. Regarding Camera on ICS ROMs, it is true that they are not good. But the Camera on EliteMod 120728 is working well. Only you cannot record 720p video:crying.
6. I'm yet to try some other good ROMs like CM9 unofficial so cannot say much about them.
7. One issue that I faced was that I could download from Play Store when using a gingerbread ROM but could not when using ICS ROMs. It was giving "error 403". Finally, resolved that today (of course, with help from others).
One thing that I should mention here is that after rooting and trying some ROMs, I felt frustrated and thought is there any way to go back to stock gingerbread rom without loosing root. Main issues was Camera (I use it a lot). But more I read and kept finding/trying new ROMs, more the desire to revert to gingerbread subsided. Finally, when I got EliteMod 120316, I was more than content. And now am using EliteMod 120728 (an ICS ROM).
Last but not least, I believe that the biggest advantage of rooting my desire z is not ability to run custom ROMs but the learning process and getting an opportunity to mingle with extra-ordinarily helpful XDA-guys.
Now, you have to take a decision about taking the plunge
Best of luck
Right, enough courage; time to get cracking.
I will go process by process, slowly following this: wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=HTC_Vision
If I get stuck, all my hopes are on you guys.
Wish me luck
StipeP said:
Right, enough courage; time to get cracking.
I will go process by process, slowly following this: wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=HTC_Vision
If I get stuck, all my hopes are on you guys.
Wish me luck
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the Best...
p.s.: take your time and better take notes of steps. It would help in bringing clarity. And make sure to copy your commands and outputs from ADB to a notepad. It would be of help if, God forbid, anything goes wrong. If you have already downloaded and setup the ADB, just try the msm_rotator command (adb shell cat /dev/msm_rotator). If you get following output, you are ready to go: /dev/msm_rotator: invalid length
Hi,
Another Android rooting NOOB, but experienced with Linux, including embedded (that's the day job )
Looking to root my HTC Desire Z, as is being discussed here.
From all the threads, it seems you have to downgrade to a very old stock ROM before starting. Several talk about being able to take a backup from Clockwork Recovery after you've rooted the phone in case things go wrong, but obviously by then the existing phone build will be gone.
What I'd really like to be able to do is to take a full backup of the stock Gingerbread setup I've currently got, so that if either (a) things go wrong or (b) I don't like the end result I can get back to where I am now.
None of the threads I've found so far (here, here, here and possibly others, I've been surfing around a lot the last couple of days!) talk about any way of doing this, some talk about using Titanium Backup or MyBackup Root to backup Apps, Call Data, SMS logs etc, but these presumably aren't a full OS backup.
Is there a relatively easy way of doing this from the fre3vo temporary root? Presumably 'dd' against the various /dev/block/mmcXXXX partitions will get most (all?) of the data? Are there sections that aren't available from Android device files as root?
One more (hopefully minor) thing - having worked down the start of this downgrade thread[URL], for now I've skipped the "Changing Version Number to Allow Downgrade and Gaining SuperCID with a Goldcard" section and tried the "Temp-Rooting to Backup" section (from my understanding of these two sections, I don't think anything from the section I skipped is relied upon in the backup section). I seem to find that the /system/bin/su file keeps getting corrupted or deleted. Is this HTC trying to stop me doing this, or is it one of the applications (SuperUser?) trying to protect the file and getting it wrong? In case it's making a difference, I also have Better Terminal Emulator Pro installed, which I'm using the "bash" from for some of the steps, as it has proper Linux auto-complete etc. which makes life easier.
I think I've managed to make a usable backup with MyBackup Root, but obviously can't easily test this without going further.
I'd really like to be as sure as possible that I can get back to where I am now before I start the downgrade to Froyo process...
Thanks in advance for any advice on this
Michael
I am worhtless.
Right now I am downgrading GB folowing CGmod guide wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/HTC_Desire_Z:_Firmware_Downgrade_(Gingerbread), and I am stuch at step 6. On the computer, open terminal and run the following commands:
Erm, what terminal????
btw, I extracted and copied the downloaded files into ADB install folder. That is the right one?
what terminal ? .... u just click start run and type in "cmd" ,,, or find command promt
says: adb is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
I am sorry to bother you, but I would be very grateful
so you downloaded adb from the sdk package right? you need to either change directories in cmd or change the path in enviromental variables
easiest thing to do would be hold shift and right click in the folder adb and files are in and choose open command here. then the path is chosen
also make sure debugging is turned on (in phone)
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
demkantor said:
so you downloaded adb from the sdk package right? you need to either change directories in cmd or change the path in enviromental variables
easiest thing to do would be hold shift and right click in the folder adb and files are in and choose open command here. then the path is chosen
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
did as you said but still the same problem: adb is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.
If only I could post screenshots here for you to see what exactly am I doing (wrong)
what does it say when you open the cmd?
C:/user......?
is that the folder adb.exe is in?
are you using windows 7, vista, xp? mac, linux?
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
demkantor said:
what does it say when you open the cmd?
C:/user......?
is that the folder adb.exe is in?
are you using windows 7, vista, xp? mac, linux?
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have ADV Manager.exe and SDK Manager.exe
No adb.exe
This is what I have downloaded and installed developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
(Win7)
ok, you may need to open sdk and download adb from there, otherwise you can check if you did without knowing it. go to your harddrive (C) and see if there is an android folder or android sdk or something like that, look for I think platform tools in there and see if there is a program called adb
if you can't find this try search in computer
or just open the sdk manager and download the tools in the first chunk, specifically platform tools
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Here you go.

A few questions before rooting...

I am going to root my phone and have a few questions before I do. I am coming from a sensation and with the htc I only had 1 way to root so are any of the methods better or worse than others? I was planning on using to root injected stock rom method.
Secondly, I've read and still don't understand, could somebody explain the loss of imei to me? Htc doesn't have anything like that so I am confused about the backup of it?
Finally, could somebody suggest a good starting point for a rom and kernel combo? Unlike my htc I'm pretty happy with the stock rom sped and battery. I mainly want to tweak the looks of things a little, maybe a new battery icon and moving the clock position.
Best way to root is the video in my signature (use my files, too). It's easier and faster than the way you describe. I wish people would forget that stupid flash counter exists. It's not like we can't reset it.
Loss of IMEI very rarely happens when you flash. But, once you flash CM10, just run the terminal emulator that comes with it: su > reboot nvbackup. Now your IMEI is backed up, and you are protected against possible, but unlikely, loss. I've flashed every day for two months and never lost mine.
Rom: Why use ICS when you can use JB? IMO, the sole reason to use an ICS build is wifi calling. Use CM10. Use the stock CM kernel. CM doesn't have center clock (AOKP does), but IMO, CM is the better of the two. A lot of people like to flash custom kernels. They usually provide marginally better battery life, overclocking/undervolting, etc. I feel that none of these are necessary. There is an additional problem that the 3rd party kernels always lag behind CM's kernel merges, also. This typically results bootloops. So make sure the kernel you flash (if you do), is compatible with the newest CM build.
No the method does not matter, root is root. Read about them and use the one you are comfortable with.
Yes, HTC does have IMEI. All GSM phones do. It is basically the serial number your phone uses to connect to the network. All you have to do is follow the instructions in one of the threads to back it up.
For stock based ROMs on ICS, I like Wanamlite.
Aerowinder said:
Best way to root is the video in my signature (use my files, too). It's easier and faster than the way you describe. I wish people would forget that stupid flash counter exists. It's not like we can't reset it.
Loss of IMEI very rarely happens when you flash. But, once you flash CM10, just run the terminal emulator that comes with it: su > reboot nvbackup. Now your IMEI is backed up, and you are protected against possible, but unlikely, loss. I've flashed every day for two months and never lost mine.
Rom: Why use ICS when you can use JB? IMO, the sole reason to use an ICS build is wifi calling. Use CM10. Use the stock CM kernel. CM doesn't have center clock (AOKP does), but IMO, CM is the better of the two. A lot of people like to flash custom kernels. They usually provide marginally better battery life, overclocking/undervolting, etc. I feel that none of these are necessary. There is an additional problem that the 3rd party kernels always lag behind CM's kernel merges, also. This typically results bootloops. So make sure the kernel you flash (if you do), is compatible with the newest CM build.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply, CM10 wasn't officially supported with the htc so it never really worked great, but it looks like the M version is pretty smooth and ironed out so I'll definitely try that. I guess a lot of the threads I've read were early ones from before the flash counter could be reset, I thought it was a bigger deal than it seems like it is. I'll try your sig's root method. Oh yeah, wifi calling doesn't work for me right now with the stock rom so losing it isn't a big deal at all.
joshnichols189 said:
No the method does not matter, root is root. Read about them and use the one you are comfortable with.
Yes, HTC does have IMEI. All GSM phones do. It is basically the serial number your phone uses to connect to the network. All you have to do is follow the instructions in one of the threads to back it up.
For stock based ROMs on ICS, I like Wanamlite.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't saying HTC doesn't have imei, I was saying in a year of having it and before with the G2 I never once read any threads about people "losing" it, so I wanted to know what makes the s3 different.
That was SOOOO much easier than the sensation was. The senny took me over an hour, I had to learn adb and had to check and recheck a ton of commands before entering each to make sure I didn't brick anything. This was fast and easy, but now I can't seem to get into twrp recovery? Every time I try vol up/home/power it boots into what I'm assuming is the standard stock recovery?
My signature has an explanation for that.
Thanks again, I don't understand why but I installed cwm touch and it worked and then used goo manager to install twrp again and now it works fine. I know there's a whole thread about twrp but what do you like and why?
I stopped using TWRP because the keyboard (at least at the time) didn't work properly. It would close for no reason, making me retype the file names. Took me 5-6 times once, for this file name: CM10-XXXX. 9 characters. Would just keep closing and resetting the characters I had already typed. I've heard the new version, 2.3, has some pretty bad bugs, but I haven't used it, so can't confirm. Developer is currently fixing said problems. I also find the slide-to-continue gimmick to be ridiculous. I will say, however, that flash-queuing is a good idea.
I won't even discuss CWM because we have CWM Touch. The layout is nonsensical. Everything seems to be in random order, no dividers to make things easier to read, no prompt on fix permissions. Other than that, it's great. It allows you to delete stock recovery, and it keeps root for you when you flash OTA files with it.
CWM Touch is what I use, and will continue to use until something better shows up.
One more question, is there a way to double check once I've done the su/nvbackup using terminal emulator, or should I just assume that if the phone rebooted after running that command that it was successful?
When you reboot with that command, you will see blue text at the top left corner of the screen, like when you are going into recovery. It says it's copying modemst1 and modemst2 to fsb and backup. Yes, the names are incorrect, but you get the idea.

[MOD][JB] Tiamat Backtrack 5 with Aircrack - Sniff This!!

BT5 and Aircrack-ng on the Xoom​This thread is the continuation of another one (you can read it at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1280601 although most of the important information will be duplicated [and hopefully extended] here). I also recommend reading this post.The idea of this thread is to continue maintaining this EXCELLENT tool for JB 4.1.2, and hopefully for 4.2 when it comes for our beloved Xoom. Bigrushdog (the OP of the original thread) has sold his Xoom and was unable to continue with the original thread, and has handed to me to continue it here. He is a mighty god as a developer compared with me, so I'll try my best keeping this up. Don't doubt in correcting possible mistakes or asking questions, the idea here is to learn between all of us. The BT5 image can be used no matter the OS version, but the kernel has to be compiled, and here's where many of us begin having problems. I'll investigate everything I can, and with the help of others I plan to turn this thread into a tutorial on how to do this.
After all this intro, I'd like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Bigrushdog for the original thread and all his help. Secondly, here's the original presentation of the thread:​
After much testing, developing, and debugging, Team Tiamat Xoom is proud to present Backtrack 5 with Aircrack for Motorola Xoom! Backtrack 5 is a Linux Distro designed specifically for Information Security (InfoSec) professionals. Aircrack is a software suite for wireless network vulnerability and penetration testing (pentest). We are very excited that we have been able to unify Backtrack, Aircrack, and the Xoom to produce a robust, unified, and mobile security solution.​
​Please be advised: The purpose of this thread is to release the Tiamat Xoom Backtrack 5 with Aircrack Expansion Pack. It is also to advance the Android implementation of this suite, along with discussion of drivers, dongles, and other aspects AS IT PERTAINS TO ANDROID. This is not the thread for asking about how to use the software suite. There are countless sources on the internet on which to find information about using the software suite. Also, due to the nature of this software, it may be a violation of XDA policy to discuss certain aspects of vulnerability testing, network penetration, and the like. I will personally follow up with XDA Moderation to determine what is fair game and what it not. Upon receiving guidance from moderation, I will open a thread in the Xoom General section for sharing scripts, tips, strategies, etc.​​
Well, and third: let's present the files and what to do with them!!
If you are running JB 4.2 EOS:
Download the BT5 Image Installer for JB4.2 Here. NEW
Download Development overlay 6 here, which contains the boot.img compatible with JB 4.2 and several BT5 scripts (it is basically the overlay 4 with the new boot.img, see post 2), and several corrections to init scripts to take into account the new folder structure in 4.2.
Download Backtrack 5 Flashable Zip Remover Tool for JB4.2 (if you get tired of BT5 or are in need of those 5gb of internal memory, you'll need to flash this to delete the BT5 image.).
1.- Download both files and place them on the Xoom. Be aware that the BT5 image is going to take 5gb of your internal memory, so before going to recovery make sure you have at least 5.5gb free there.
2.- Flash the BT5 image installer (patience, it will take some time finishing up).
3.- After this is finished, flash the overlay 6 (second file). Reboot.
If you already had BT5 running on jb4.1.2, then... Just flash overlay6.zip in recovery, and reboot!!
4.- Go to your favourite terminal app (I recommend ConnectBot, see post 3) and type:
Code:
su
bt5
. You should now be on a BT5 shell if everything went ok. What you do from here on...
-------------------------------------------------------------
If you are running JB 4.1.2 (hopefully Team EOS):
BE AWARE that you'll need to have 5Mb free in /system before flashing the overlay, or it won't work properly. JB fits very tight in our Xoom, so check it before starting to flash. In (Eos155-wingray with 0802gapps, 6.85Mb are left free, so there's no problem)
Download the BT5 Image Installer Here. It's the same as the ICS one, in case you had it already.
Download Development overlay 5.1 here, which contains the boot.img compatible with JB 4.1.2 (using eos150-stingray) and several BT5 scripts (it is basically the overlay 4 with the new boot.img, see post 2). (Thank you to Trevd, Mjamocha and Bigrushdog for showing me the way to update the boot.img it to JB 4.1.2).
Download BT5 scripts updater for JB. It modifies key scripts to initialize/mount the BT5 to make it compatible with JB.
What to do with this?
If you are installing it for the first time:
1.- Download the three files and place them on the Xoom. Be aware that the BT5 image is going to take 5gb of your internal memory, so before going to recovery make sure you have at least 5.5gb free there.
2.- Flash the BT5 image installer (patience, it will take some time finishing up).
3.- After this is finished, flash the overlay 5 (second file), followed by the Scripts_updater. Reboot.
If you already installed this tool on ICS and have sinced upgraded to JB 4.1.2, then you only need to follow step 3.
4.- Go to your favourite terminal app (I recommend ConnectBot, see post 3) and type:
Code:
su
bt5
. You should now be on a BT5 shell if everything went ok. What you do from here on...
-------------------------------------------------------------
If you are running ICS (hopefully Team EOS):
Download the BT5 Image Installer Here
Download Bigrushdog's development overlay 4 here, which contains the ICS kernel and several BT5 scripts (more info on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1513490 )
Download Backtrack 5 Flashable Zip Remover Tool (if you get tired of BT5 or are in need of those 5gb of internal memory, you'll need to flash this to delete the BT5 image.)
What to do with this?
1.- Download both files and place them on the Xoom. Be aware that the BT5 image is going to take 5gb of your internal memory, so before going to recovery make sure you have at least 5.5gb free there.
2.- Flash the BT5 image installer (patience, it will take some time finishing up). After this is finished, flash the overlay (second file). Reboot.
3.- Go to your favourite terminal app (I recommend ConnectBot, see post 3) and type:
Code:
su
bt5
. You should now be on a BT5 shell if everything went ok. What you do from here on...
-------------------------------------------------------------
Long live to BT5 on the Xoom!!
The Kernel
This is the part that is weakest on this second thread on the BT5 for the Xoom. Please anyone with more knowledge than me, correct me here. It seems that the kernel has to be compiled with certain code to be able to use the modules that enable us to use injection capabilities. It was originally compiled by Bigrushdog for Honeycomb, and later for ICS, but not for JB due to time constraints.
What we have at present:
The boot.img needed for the overlay is composed of 2 parts: the kernel, and the ramdisk. What we have now in the overlay5 is the ramdisk from JB 4.1.2 mixed with the ICS kernel compiled for module-compatibility. It is not ideal, but it works.There are several threads on how to unpack and pack boot.img files using your favourite kernel and ramdisks, so I will not go into that here (I used instructions in this xda thread and I got it the first time).
What we need:
A fully JB 4.2 (and 4.1.2 ideally) compiled kernel (and how to do it). This is work in progress, and every bit of help is appreciated here.You can contribute on the thread, or by PM to me, and I will keep updating this section until we get a fully working guide.
Tools
ConnectBot for Honeycomb​Grab it here . Much credit and thanks to arctu for putting this together. You can have many shells open and easily access them for processing jobs​
This is so freaking amazing. Can't wait for the rest of the process.
I will flash bt5 and the overlay tomorrow so i can be ready to compile the kernel once the instructions comes up.
Thanks again for taking your time to continue the work on getting it on JB..
Sent from my Xoom using huge amounts of internets
krankdroid said:
This is so freaking amazing. Can't wait for the rest of the process.
I will flash bt5 and the overlay tomorrow so i can be ready to compile the kernel once the instructions comes up.
Thanks again for taking your time to continue the work on getting it on JB..
Sent from my Xoom using huge amounts of internets
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are running JB, don't flash the ICS overlay, wait a couple of days for the JB instructions! Patience...
Waiting for it Amazing work dude!
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
Well, the JB instructions and files are now up. I was able to "cook" up a 4.1.2 compatible boot.img mixing the ramdisk of EOS nightly 155 and the ICS kernel from bigrushdog's overlay4. It does work, and it will have to hold until I learn to compile from scratch a 4.1.2 kernel.
Thank you to Trevd for the idea (mixing ramdisks and kernels from different sources), and Mjamocha and Bigrushdog for the work on this.
Enjoy!!
iruiz2 said:
BT5 and Aircrack-ng on the Xoom​This thread is the continuation of another one (you can read it at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1280601 although most of the important information will be duplicated [and hopefully extended] here). I also recommend reading this post.The idea of this thread is to continue maintaining this EXCELLENT tool for JB 4.1.2, and hopefully for 4.2 when it comes for our beloved Xoom. Bigrushdog (the OP of the original thread) has sold his Xoom and was unable to continue with the original thread, and has handed to me to continue it here. He is a mighty god as a developer compared with me, so I'll try my best keeping this up. Don't doubt in correcting possible mistakes or asking questions, the idea here is to learn between all of us. The BT5 image can be used no matter the OS version, but the kernel has to be compiled, and here's where many of us begin having problems. I'll investigate everything I can, and with the help of others I plan to turn this thread into a tutorial on how to do this.
After all this intro, I'd like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Bigrushdog for the original thread and all his help. Secondly, here's the original presentation of the thread:​
After much testing, developing, and debugging, Team Tiamat Xoom is proud to present Backtrack 5 with Aircrack for Motorola Xoom! Backtrack 5 is a Linux Distro designed specifically for Information Security (InfoSec) professionals. Aircrack is a software suite for wireless network vulnerability and penetration testing (pentest). We are very excited that we have been able to unify Backtrack, Aircrack, and the Xoom to produce a robust, unified, and mobile security solution.​
​Please be advised: The purpose of this thread is to release the Tiamat Xoom Backtrack 5 with Aircrack Expansion Pack. It is also to advance the Android implementation of this suite, along with discussion of drivers, dongles, and other aspects AS IT PERTAINS TO ANDROID. This is not the thread
What to do with this?
1.- Download both files and place them on the Xoom. Be aware that the BT5 image is going to take 5gb of your internal memory, so before going to recovery make sure you have at least 5.5gb free there.
2.- Flash the BT5 image installer (patience, it will take some time finishing up). After this is finished, flash the overlay (second file). Reboot.
3.- Go to your favourite terminal app (I recommend ConnectBot, see post 3) and type:
Code:
su
bt5
. You should now be on a BT5 shell if everything went ok. What you do from here on...
If you are running JB 4.1.2 (hopefully Team EOS):
Download the BT5 Image Installer Here. It's the same as the ICS one, in case you had it already.
Download Development overlay 5 here, which contains the kernel compatible with JB 4.1.2 and several BT5 scripts (it is basically the overlay 4 with the new kernel, see post 2). (Thank you to Trevd, Mjamocha and Bigrushdog for showing me the way to update the boot.img it to JB 4.1.2).
Download BT5 scripts updater for JB. It modifies key scripts to initialize/mount the BT5 to make it compatible with JB.
What to do with this?
If you are installing it for the first time:
1.- Download the three files and place them on the Xoom. Be aware that the BT5 image is going to take 5gb of your internal memory, so before going to recovery make sure you have at least 5.5gb free there.
2.- Flash the BT5 image installer (patience, it will take some time finishing up).
3.- After this is finished, flash the overlay 5 (second file), followed by the Scripts_updater. Reboot.
If you already installed this tool on ICS and have sinced upgraded to JB 4.1.2, then you only need to follow steps 2 and 3.
4.- Go to your favourite terminal app (I recommend ConnectBot, see post 3) and type:
Code:
su
bt5
. You should now be on a BT5 shell if everything went ok. What you do from here on...
Long live to BT5 on the Xoom!!​​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have the steps twice
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app​​
keywar18 said:
You have the steps twice
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One is if you are running ICS, the other set if you are running JB. I thought it was clear in the OP.
Downloading to test it
thanks for the hard work on it
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
So, I installed the BT5 on my Xoom, flashed everything in the correct order and I didn't get past the "Motorola" logo at the boot screen. I was thinking a little and concluded that maybe it's because of the lack of free space on /system of JB, I may help you finding a work around about it, just didn't post logcat because I'm on my way to school and have no PC here ... BTW good luck with your project
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
XxLordxX said:
So, I installed the BT5 on my Xoom, flashed everything in the correct order and I didn't get past the "Motorola" logo at the boot screen. I was thinking a little and concluded that maybe it's because of the lack of free space on /system of JB, I may help you finding a work around about it, just didn't post logcat because I'm on my way to school and have no PC here ... BTW good luck with your project
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What ROM are you using? Have you installed anything else on system? I have just flashed everything one more time and it boots fine here. What I did:
Wipe cache, dalvik and system.
Flash Team EOS 155
Flash Eos Gapps 0802
Flash overlay5
Reboot
I didn't flash the script updater again, you only have to do it once but it changes only one file in the BT5 folder.
After booting, I've got 2.36 Mb of free space on /system. Quite tight, you are right, but enough on EOS 155.
I am wondering about something here, and I am thinking my question here will end up as d'oh moment for me.
The tutorial mentions the team EOs 4.1.2 ROM. All I can find, both stable and nightlies Team EOS wingray ROMS, are 4.1.1
Am I missing something here?
Edit:
well. it seems that the latest EOS 3 nightly buils is 4.1.2. This is not mentioned anywhere i could see in the EOS Wingray thread. Just flashed the 155 build and there it was. 4.1.2.
iruiz2 said:
What ROM are you using? Have you installed anything else on system? I have just flashed everything one more time and it boots fine here. What I did:
Wipe cache, dalvik and system.
Flash Team EOS 155
Flash Eos Gapps 0802
Flash overlay5
Reboot
I didn't flash the script updater again, you only have to do it once but it changes only one file in the BT5 folder.
After booting, I've got 2.36 Mb of free space on /system. Quite tight, you are right, but enough on EOS 155.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm using Team EOS nightly 124 (because I'm using a 3g ROM), I wiped the cache and flashed everything... Now I deleted some files on the /system/ like live wallpapers and videos, I'm up to 15Mb free now, the problem I think happened is that, as I'm on a 3g ROM there are many modules that aren't on WiFi only ROM. Will try again soon
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
Iruiz how much space do you have before flashing?
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
XxLordxX said:
Iruiz how much space do you have before flashing?
"This Story Ends Where It Began"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think it has more to do with the Android version, what are you running in eos124?
I suggest you follow the instructions in the second post regarding how to mix a ramdisk from your boot.img and the overlay5 kernel. That should work, let me know how it goes...
for injection, i belive that any wifi adapter with Realtek 8187L chipset can be used right ?
even the chinese cheap non-brand have paid for blueprints to produce wifi adapters containing realtek 8187L chipsets as far as i know, so they should work just as well i am guessing. i will find out soon enough any how.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i too have encountered the same sort of boot loop after flashing according to the tutorial, after mimicking the enviroment you described with same version nightly build and all. i maneged to get it booted, but i do believe that something had messed around in the framework, all gapps would insta crash, and upon sleep it would go back to boot animation loop.
i will try to clear out some stuff from /system tomorrow as well and see if that works.
Will test in the coming days when I have some time.
Great work y'all! Much thanks to you. Your work is greatly appreciated.
Idk if Bigrushdog is on this thread, but thanks for being an initiator I know you put a lot of effort and work into the things you do and its at least greatly appreciated by me if not many.
Iruiz2 if y'all think I can help with anything let me know! Thanks again for your awesome work, and look forward to some aireplay in the near future
Sent from my Xoom using xda premium
krankdroid said:
for injection, i belive that any wifi adapter with Realtek 8187L chipset can be used right ?
even the chinese cheap non-brand have paid for blueprints to produce wifi adapters containing realtek 8187L chipsets as far as i know, so they should work just as well i am guessing. i will find out soon enough any how.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i too have encountered the same sort of boot loop after flashing according to the tutorial, after mimicking the enviroment you described with same version nightly build and all. i maneged to get it booted, but i do believe that something had messed around in the framework, all gapps would insta crash, and upon sleep it would go back to boot animation loop.
i will try to clear out some stuff from /system tomorrow as well and see if that works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
About rtl8187 cheap versions, I had one that would work on my computer but not on my Xoom, but after I bought an original one I had no problems, just for you guys to know.
About the install instructions, did you follow them to the letter, and if you got into a boot loop, how did you get it to boot? What ROM did you have to start with?
krankdroid said:
for injection, i belive that any wifi adapter with Realtek 8187L chipset can be used
right ? even the chinese cheap non-brand.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be weary of cheap knock offs, you will not get the same results.

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