Develop Bugs

Error mounting /data/

I was trying to install a new rom on my Desire Z, following the directions here, but something went wrong somewhere and now I can't mount /data. I don't want to go any further in the rom installation process, as I'm afraid to brick my phone. The same thing happened to me while upgrading my Windows 6.5 phone (unexpected problem during rom install) and I ended up with a brick (corrupt bootloader).
I have found several threads here discussing the same problem. However, all of them use highly technical language and seem to be advice from experts to other experts. There are a lot of terms I don't understand or only understand partially, like nandroid, parted, hboot, and so on. Everyone assumes too much. Can anyone explain the procedure in terms a novice can understand?

gromky said:
I was trying to install a new rom on my Desire Z, following the directions here, but something went wrong somewhere and now I can't mount /data. I don't want to go any further in the rom installation process, as I'm afraid to brick my phone. The same thing happened to me while upgrading my Windows 6.5 phone (unexpected problem during rom install) and I ended up with a brick (corrupt bootloader).
I have found several threads here discussing the same problem. However, all of them use highly technical language and seem to be advice from experts to other experts. There are a lot of terms I don't understand or only understand partially, like nandroid, parted, hboot, and so on. Everyone assumes too much. Can anyone explain the procedure in terms a novice can understand?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Mount" data to flash a rom? You sure? Looking at the link you provided just says place on sd, wipe, flash. Where exactly are you stuck or am i just missing the obvious.

The /data corruption occurred halfway through the upgrade process. I'm not sure what to do, so I stopped and asked for advice. I kept going the last time I had a problem, and got a bricked phone for my trouble.

The only "data" I see in that guide (Same one I used in fact), is the comment bout doing a "Factory Reset/Wipe Data" which is what it says, says nothing about /data/ partition, just to do a full wipe.
Naturally you do this from recovery, not from within an app or while the phone is still booted into normal usage.

So, wiping the phone will fix everything? And then install cyanogen? Sorry, just want to be totally completely sure.

Aye, indeeed, as KB said, full wipe, then flash new rom.

OK, thanks! I was just reeeealy nervous about the "wipe the phone" part. My phone still sort of works now, most programs not available, but Google Maps and the telephone still work...the most important parts of the phone as I travel a lot.

gromky said:
OK, thanks! I was just reeeealy nervous about the "wipe the phone" part. My phone still sort of works now, most programs not available, but Google Maps and the telephone still work...the most important parts of the phone as I travel a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Factory Reset/Wipe will only clear the internal partitions ( /system /data /cache ) , and additionally if you choose Dalvik Cache, then that as well is usually good to do with a brand new rom.
It will not wipe your radio, hboot, recovery, etc, just the system-related areas for roms.
Generally speaking:
Factory Reset + Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache
Flash CyanogenMod
Flash the Google Apps Zip specific to that CM version (as CM doesn't come with Google Apps by default)
Reboot
Just remember that doing a backup before doing anything to your phone like above is available, as a factory reset and such will wipe contacts and settings and so forth unless you got a google account setup to restore them (or using something like Titanium Backup on an already rooted phone).

OK, I was following the rooting guide, as that must be done before installing cyanogen. I performed all the steps to "reboot". Md5 #2 & md5 #3 matched. Upon rebooting, I can't use su from the terminal (permission denied). I also tried "cd /sdcard && ./su" and got the same thing. Does this mean the rooting didn't work? Or can I proceed with wiping the device regardless? After I wipe the device I won't be able to perform the rooting steps again...and will likely have a brick...just totally paranoid here.

gromky said:
OK, I was following the rooting guide, as that must be done before installing cyanogen. I performed all the steps to "reboot". Md5 #2 & md5 #3 matched. Upon rebooting, I can't use su from the terminal (permission denied). I also tried "cd /sdcard && ./su" and got the same thing. Does this mean the rooting didn't work? Or can I proceed with wiping the device regardless?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I followed that one as well. And I assume you rebooted after that point.
Did you continue forth and factory-reset/wipe and then install CM7 over your stock install?
Basically the downgrading/etc makes the phone exploitable, and then the rooting portion puts you back up to a engineering hboot and such that is unlocked with S-OFF, from there you either flash a pre-rooted ROM (i.e.: CM7 etc), or you root an existing stock (which would have gotten wiped from the hboot replacement).
If you already flashed CM and can't do su via adb then it's possible that under "Security" or "Development" in your phones system memory that su is restricted to "app only" and you may need to change that to "app and adb".
You shouldn't be running su from /sdcard (since that's not a linux style partition, and /sdcard is a no exec area). The su binary should already be installed to system in CM.
Clarification If you did not yet reboot (i.e.: Step #7 and onward), and then wipe/flash cyanogenmod (or another pre-rooted custom rom), then proceed with the steps, otherwise you're just working with a half-processed phone and naturally nothing would work in that state.

kbeezie said:
I followed that one as well. And I assume you rebooted after that point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Did you continue forth and factory-reset/wipe and then install CM7 over your stock install?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You mean hold "down" and boot into recovery, and immediately do these steps? No, I did not. I let the phone boot as normal, to try to run su to verify if the rooting process worked or not.
I suppose my question should be: how can I verify that the rooting process worked, and I'm ready to wipe? The su on /sdcard was pushed there by adb and used during the procedure. From the guide:
adb push su /sdcard/
adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/
Basically the downgrading/etc makes the phone exploitable, and then the rooting portion puts you back up to a engineering hboot and such that is unlocked with S-OFF, from there you either flash a pre-rooted ROM (i.e.: CM7 etc), or you root an existing stock (which would have gotten wiped from the hboot replacement).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't downgrade, I still have my stock rom (phone bought from Hong Kong so it's one of the Asia roms) which temprooted just fine with visionary.

gromky said:
Yes.
You mean hold "down" and boot into recovery, and immediately do these steps? No, I did not. I let the phone boot as normal, to try to run su to verify if the rooting process worked or not.
I suppose my question should be: how can I verify that the rooting process worked, and I'm ready to wipe? The su on /sdcard was pushed there by adb and used during the procedure. From the guide:
adb push su /sdcard/
adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/
I didn't downgrade, I still have my stock rom (phone bought from Hong Kong so it's one of the Asia roms) which temprooted just fine with visionary.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't use Visionary unless for some strange reason your phone came with Froyo (2.2) on it (it's an outdated method, and has a high brick rate). Given that you may have an asian rom etc, I would just go ahead and do a factory reset /wipe via recovery, and flash CM7 or a pre-rooted stock rom found here on the XDA forum for the best result.
I think even one of the AOKP or Adromudus comes with Pinyin input support already if you need it.

It did have Froyo. I have uninstalled visionary per instructions before performing all these steps. But since I only get one shot at rooting correctly, I want to make absolutely positively sure the process worked before I do something irrevocable like wiping the entire phone, only to discover I can't install a new rom because the phone isn't rooted.
I use third-party programs (GO keyboard) for all of my Chinese needs, and they've worked fine so far.

gromky said:
It did have Froyo. I have uninstalled visionary per instructions before performing all these steps. But since I only get one shot at rooting correctly, I want to make absolutely positively sure the process worked before I do something irrevocable like wiping the entire phone, only to discover I can't install a new rom because the phone isn't rooted.
I use third-party programs (GO keyboard) for all of my Chinese needs, and they've worked fine so far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Rooting is at the rom/kernel level. But in order to flash a new custom kernel would need an unlocked bootloader which you already did with S-OFF.
So you would either flash a pre rooted rom like almost everything available via the developer section here (via recovery not hboot) or a stock rom then root that.
If you do everything via recovery you are less likely to accidentally lock/unroot the phone since recovery normally deals with the rom/kernel /cache and not hboot.
Sent from my T-Mobile G2

It worked - thanks! I was so concerned about bricking the thing. The whole process was easy...now that I've done it. Cyanogen came up in Chinese...couldn't figure out how to change it to English for a while. I suppose there's some setting in my phone that tells it to default to Chinese. It also appears to be locking up frequently on my phone - but at least I got the software on there, and now I can play with other mods. Thanks again!

gromky said:
It worked - thanks! I was so concerned about bricking the thing. The whole process was easy...now that I've done it. Cyanogen came up in Chinese...couldn't figure out how to change it to English for a while. I suppose there's some setting in my phone that tells it to default to Chinese. It also appears to be locking up frequently on my phone - but at least I got the software on there, and now I can play with other mods. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I had to make a guess, I would probably say you flashed Cyanogenmod onto the phone WITHOUT first doing a factory-reset/wipe, in which case you probably broke it (hence the language and freezing) by merging cyanogenmod on top of the pre-existing rom.

No, I definitely wiped the phone first. I got a few lockups in cyanogen so I went to install another rom. Now I'm getting "E:error in /cache/recovery/log" and "E:can't open /cache/recovery/log". When I install a new rom, it won't take and boots into cyanogen. It was in a reboot loop for a while but now it has booted into cyanogen again. Sigh. This is what I was afraid of.

Boot into boot and write down everything on that screen (power+volume down) just to check all is well, what is your recovery?
Search out two things (just use search function in g2 xda threads)
1 superwipe+ext4.zip
2 elitemod cm7
Boot into recovery and flash the super wipe like you did the from
Now flash elitemod
Is all well at this point?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

Actually the phone seems to be working with cyanogen now. I suspect the internal memory is corrupt somehow, and that's a problem that can't be fixed. I'm going to stop messing with it before I brick it. If any more problems I'll revive the thread. Thanks so much to everyone who helped. I really can't afford a new phone right now and cyanogen seems to have fixed the problems I was having with the stock rom.

gromky said:
Actually the phone seems to be working with cyanogen now. I suspect the internal memory is corrupt somehow, and that's a problem that can't be fixed. I'm going to stop messing with it before I brick it. If any more problems I'll revive the thread. Thanks so much to everyone who helped. I really can't afford a new phone right now and cyanogen seems to have fixed the problems I was having with the stock rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the emmc is faulty then it's going to eventually brick itself, and should probably be sent in for warranty if available.

Custom ROM infinite first boot

Firstly: I'm a total n00b for this. I have flashed custom ROMs before, but not for Nexus, so this is my first attempt, so far failing spectacularly.
That said, I'd appreciate advice on both what I did wrong and how to un-brick my phone.
I searched and my problem seems strictly linked to bad flashing, but all solutions are phone specific and I haven't found a thread for Galaxy nexus, so here goes:
I chose this firmware for my flash. I also used the toolkit from stickied post above.
I unlocked the bootloader and then ran (not installed) the CWM tools. Using them I flashed the image directly. The phone was not rooted though I later ran the rooting procedure and it finished without reporting any particular errors. Android naturally never booted during this procedure.
Anyway, my phone now stays in boot animation indefinitely. Recovery mode with fastboot works, but no android joy.
Help greatly appreciated.

More info is needed you didn't mention toro, toro plus, maguro. Ask you need to do is bout into bootloader and fastboot your images back to stick look in your models thread on how to do that so you can get the correct ones.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium

Sorry for panicking too soon. Phone unbricked. Would still appreciate info on what I did wrong to brick it in the first place.

Beamer9408 said:
More info is needed you didn't mention toro, toro plus, maguro. Ask you need to do is bout into bootloader and fastboot your images back to stick look in your models thread on how to do that so you can get the correct ones.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hm, I've been reading on toolkit and roms for a couple of days now and I still can't really say what toro or maguro is. In what way would they be important for my troubles?

velis74 said:
Hm, I've been reading on toolkit and roms for a couple of days now and I still can't really say what toro or maguro is. In what way would they be important for my troubles?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's very important to know what type of google nexus you have. Majority of custom ROMs are only compatible to certain type of GNex. Maguro is for GSM GNex while TORO is for CDM/LTE GNex. Check the link below for more info:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/android-building/qzSxFEqWvNg/qanfxMkzXHMJ
One more thing, aside from Maguro and Toro, you still need to know what build or version of GNex you have (yakju or takju). This can also be considered when flashing new custom ROMs. I know majority (or all) of the ROMs works well with either yakju or takju, there is still a slight possibility that you will encounter an issue with the version. Check out the links below for more info regarding yakju and takju:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1778543
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1617685

Oh, in that case, I have a GSM version, Maguro it would seem.
The ROM I downloaded doesn't specifically say, but the same developer posted another ROM for which he confirmed GSM compatibility.
So can I myself find out what ROM this is since I can't ask the question in the development thread (I don't have 10 posts yet)?

did you clear all the caches via custom recovery? Although I haven't hit issues with my nexus while flashing, past devices, a factory reset sorts the bootloop most often (unless it was a bad flash). Just note that factory resetting the nexus gets rid of ALL of your data since there isn't an external SD to house your files and keep them protected from a wipe.
I would recommend you making a nandroid backup now that you're up and running again btw
Just my 2 cents

Kohawk09 said:
did you clear all the caches via custom recovery? Although I haven't hit issues with my nexus while flashing, past devices, a factory reset sorts the bootloop most often (unless it was a bad flash). Just note that factory resetting the nexus gets rid of ALL of your data since there isn't an external SD to house your files and keep them protected from a wipe.
I would recommend you making a nandroid backup now that you're up and running again btw
Just my 2 cents
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I cleared everything I found in main menu and advanced menu of CWM.
Do I *NEED TO* root my phone in order to install a custom ROM? I would think not, but one can't be sure. That's why I only unlocked bootloader before flashing.
Edit: Yes, I found about the factory reset the hard way. Executed full wipe, then tried to flash...

velis74 said:
Yes, I cleared everything I found in main menu and advanced menu of CWM.
Do I *NEED TO* root my phone in order to install a custom ROM? I would think not, but one can't be sure. That's why I only unlocked bootloader before flashing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would think you should have rooted... my logic is that you're flashing a zip, so you're making changes to /system, which requires root. I'm not technical enough to say whether or not installing a zip can work around not having root access, but I would think not. If you were flashing system images, I would think you could get by without rooting, but not for just a zip file.
Have you taken a look at the toolkit? Soon as I got my nexus I did the one click to unlock, root, install CWM. Took less than 10 min. I already knew fastboot commands, so no reason for me to do it manually if I can get it done automatically.

Kohawk09 said:
I would think you should have rooted... my logic is that you're flashing a zip, so you're making changes to /system, which requires root. I'm not technical enough to say whether or not installing a zip can work around not having root access, but I would think not. If you were flashing system images, I would think you could get by without rooting, but not for just a zip file.
Have you taken a look at the toolkit? Soon as I got my nexus I did the one click to unlock, root, install CWM. Took less than 10 min. I already knew fastboot commands, so no reason for me to do it manually if I can get it done automatically.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no to toolkits... just no...
you do not need root to flash custom roms, only an unlocked bootloader and CWM or TWRP for your recovery.

Zepius said:
no to toolkits... just no...
you do not need root to flash custom roms, only an unlocked bootloader and CWM or TWRP for your recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why all the hate for the toolkit? Probably the only confusing thing to me since moving to the nexus is why so many seem to be against its use... I think its a great and helpful tool.

Kohawk09 said:
Why all the hate for the toolkit? Probably the only confusing thing to me since moving to the nexus is why so many seem to be against its use... I think its a great and helpful tool.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
go look at Q&A
everyday there are at least 5-10 threads saying "HELP I BRICKED MY NEXUS... i used this toolkit but i have no idea what happened to my phone"
if someone is too lazy to type in these 2 commands and then flash su.zip to their phone, they dont need to be dinking with custom ROMs
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot flash recovery nameofclockworkortwrp.img
nexus phones are some of the easiest phones to unlock and root. there is no real need for a toolkit.

I'm currently making another attempt, but this time I'm rooting the phone and trying an image that is confirmed GSM.

Zepius said:
go look at Q&A
everyday there are at least 5-10 threads saying "HELP I BRICKED MY NEXUS... i used this toolkit but i have no idea what happened to my phone"
if someone is too lazy to type in these 2 commands and then flash su.zip to their phone, they dont need to be dinking with custom ROMs
Code:
fastboot oem unlock
fastboot flash recovery nameofclockworkortwrp.img
nexus phones are some of the easiest phones to unlock and root. there is no real need for a toolkit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
makes sense.... agree its probably more of a hinder than a help for those without basic fastboot knowledge. Especially since that knowledge is needed for getting out of a bind many times. Was just curious why I see some much negativity towards it...I still think its a useful tool to save time, at least from my perspective, if you already have that background. The files are all downloaded together and it was more of a convenience thing for me at least. The driver piece is probably the most helpful, since they can be a real PITA if there are leftovers from previous devices...

Just thought I pop my head in and say you were bootlooped. Not bricked. Not even soft bricked as that would constitute you had no recovery, which you did have. Just getting you clear on the lingo we use here.
Sent From My Toro+ via SkyBlue Tapatalk

Seems I chose a bad ROM after all. Flashing to CdTDroid's other ROM worked immediately.
Well, almost: after flash it would continuously report "system UI stopped working" or some such. I had to perform another factory reset before it actually worked as it should.
Now to go test if my issues with this phone are finally over or not.

velis74 said:
Seems I chose a bad ROM after all. Flashing to CdTDroid's other ROM worked immediately.
Well, almost: after flash it would continuously report "system UI stopped working" or some such. I had to perform another factory reset before it actually worked as it should.
Now to go test if my issues with this phone are finally over or not.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before you install a rom, always wipe data/cache.

That's the problem: I thought I did. Anyway, it's working now. Will have another go at CM later. Since I'm on custom ROM I might as well go all the way
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app

velis74 said:
I'm currently making another attempt, but this time I'm rooting the phone and trying an image that is confirmed GSM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need to root, as flashing the ROM will wipe the root. Most ROMs come with root access already, so people don't notice when they flash.

Yeah, figured as much + stopped doing all the unnecessary crap. Turns out flashing takes few steps but I dare not be as careless to say it's easy.
I have now successfully flashed the CM10 ROM by CdTDroiD straight from stock 4.0.4.
Turns out I misinterpreted "wipe data/factory reset" in CWM. It doesn't clear the filesystem (/sdcard) as I thought. Seems I managed to delete my files some other way during the first flashing attempt. Not clearing data was the cause of bootloop as Über reminds me it's called.
I did all that plus kept the original ICS animation which I like better than JB one. I'm really happy thus far having used it for a couple of hours.

[Q] Need method to recover root on KF2 after upgrade to 10.5.0

Several months ago I rooted my KF2. I'm sorry to say that I don't remember exactly what stock version was on the device at the time, but I think it was 10.4.2.
Before I rooted, I backed up key files as per
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=41956668&postcount=3
I would like to note that I had no su access even through adb at the time, but I was able to perform the adb commands without su.
I rooted using this method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2075959
and installed Google apps and Apex launcher as per:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2051270
or maybe http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2434888 not sure.
I did all this without a fastboot cable. Since then I have gotten one.
Some time in the last few weeks my kindle was auto "upgraded" to 10.5.0. I lost root, but still have Apex, Play Store, etc. However, I am thinking about flashing CM10, and regardless definitely want root back.
The backup and root processes above now all fail - it looks like lots of file and directory permissions have been highly restricted.
I tried the process in
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2100963
but was unable to perform the adb commands in Step 3 because of the restricted permissions. I went ahead with fastboot and flashed the three files in step 4, but the then the device just went into a bootloop on reboot. I flashed my backup files that I had stored and was thankfully able to restore normal boot.
So, how do I root this thing?
UPDATE:
I just discovered the "adb root" command and suddenly many more things are now possible. I was able to complete Steps 3 and beyond of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2100963 and now have TWRP. I could go on and flash Cyanogenmod. However, I still have no idea how to just get my root back. I'm sure it's easy from here...any pointers?

NathanThern said:
Several months ago I rooted my KF2. I'm sorry to say that I don't remember exactly what stock version was on the device at the time, but I think it was 10.4.2.
Before I rooted, I backed up key files as per
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=41956668&postcount=3
I would like to note that I had no su access even through adb at the time, but I was able to perform the adb commands without su.
I rooted using this method:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2075959
and installed Google apps and Apex launcher as per:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2051270
or maybe http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2434888 not sure.
I did all this without a fastboot cable. Since then I have gotten one.
Some time in the last few weeks my kindle was auto "upgraded" to 10.5.0. I lost root, but still have Apex, Play Store, etc. However, I am thinking about flashing CM10, and regardless definitely want root back.
The backup and root processes above now all fail - it looks like lots of file and directory permissions have been highly restricted.
I tried the process in
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2100963
but was unable to perform the adb commands in Step 3 because of the restricted permissions. I went ahead with fastboot and flashed the three files in step 4, but the then the device just went into a bootloop on reboot. I flashed my backup files that I had stored and was thankfully able to restore normal boot.
So, how do I root this thing?
UPDATE:
I just discovered the "adb root" command and suddenly many more things are now possible. I was able to complete Steps 3 and beyond of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2100963 and now have TWRP. I could go on and flash Cyanogenmod. However, I still have no idea how to just get my root back. I'm sure it's easy from here...any pointers?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have requested the mods to move this thread. And you should just flash a custom ROM.

SafinWasi said:
I have requested the mods to move this thread. And you should just flash a custom ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like I said, I probably will eventually. But at the moment I like having the stock launcher available. The reason I really want root is that I have some custom shell scripts for synchronization and the like that require root. It seems to me that, with TWRP installed, rooting should be a piece of cake and I just need to find the right info. But maybe I'm wrong.

Reverting Rooted Fire TV (2nd Gen) to Stock?

So I managed to root my 2nd generation Fire TV, and rather than doing the proper research, I downloaded and installed the stericson BusyBox Installer .apk from the Play Store (play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=stericson.busybox&hl=en). Seemed to work fine, but when I was looking into installing DropBear/BusyDrop and found it would be easier to use adbfire to install system tools and I no longer needed sericson's BusyBox. Well, not having spent much time with Android in general, I failed to realize how badly that uninstall was capable of going, and I have managed to mess things up reasonably badly.
So, naturally, I would like to revert to stock and start the process over. Seemed simple enough. I followed this guide (not written for the 2nd gen aftv):
aftvnews.com/how-to-unroot-a-fire-tv-and-switch-back-to-stock-updates-from-amazon/
(Appears I am unable to post links, as this is my first post here.)
Unfortunately, I've run into at least one problem, and very possibly two. The major problem is that the cache partition on the 2nd gen Fire TV is only 242.1M, while the stock image is ~470M. So I can't push the update image to the cache partition. I tried pushing it to /sdcard/, but didn't have any luck with recovering from there either. This leads me to the second problem, the guide is obviously written for the 1st gen Fire TV, and the contents of my system differ from those indicated in the guide. Where the guide indicates to push the image to "/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery", I am finding "/dev/block/platform/mtk-msdc.0/by-name/recovery". I did push the recovery image to the path present on my system, but I am not sure whether to believe that recovery is failing to work because of the differences between the 1st and 2nd gen Fire TVs or because I am forced to push the update.zip to /sdcard/ rather than /cache/. I did modify the /cache/recovery/command file to reflect the new location of update.zip ("echo –update_package=/sdcard/update.zip > /cache/recovery/command").
Anyway, at this point, there's not a ton of documentation available on reverting the 2nd generation Fire TV back to stock, so I am hoping somebody with more familiarity with Android and the Fire TV can toss me a line (or a link).
Thanks,
William

Edit: Okay, so I found the correct images for my device on zeroepoch's site. I'm assuming at this point that system.orig.img is the update.zip (it's currently downloading), and I now know that I was definitely using the wrong recovery image for my system. Still, I will not be able to put the update.zip in /cache/ because of the space limitation on my system. Once I load the correct recovery image, will I be able to follow the steps here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2799779) and just perform a factory wipe/reset?
Thanks!

fecaleagle said:
Edit: Okay, so I found the correct images for my device on zeroepoch's site. I'm assuming at this point that system.orig.img is the update.zip (it's currently downloading), and I now know that I was definitely using the wrong recovery image for my system. Still, I will not be able to put the update.zip in /cache/ because of the space limitation on my system. Once I load the correct recovery image, will I be able to follow the steps here (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2799779) and just perform a factory wipe/reset?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can't use recovery at this point to revert an AFTV2 to stock so that thread will not work. It's also not an update zip it's a full /system partition image. You need to dd the image as root to revert. Actually if you are just trying to get to a clean rooted state you should dd the rooted image instead of the stock one.
There are some guides that cover the dd steps with the images, for example the first post of the root thread, along with other comments about it depending on what version you are on etc.

ImCoKeMaN said:
You can't use recovery at this point to revert an AFTV2 to stock so that thread will not work. It's also not an update zip it's a full /system partition image. You need to dd the image as root to revert. Actually if you are just trying to get to a clean rooted state you should dd the rooted image instead of the stock one.
There are some guides that cover the dd steps with the images, for example the first post of the root thread, along with other comments about it depending on what version you are on etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for this! I'm really glad to know that recovery is off the table for my model (in the sense that I can move on to an approach that works) and also relieved that I can simply flash the entire rooted image with dd. I am reasonably comfortable with dd, so I will seek out the guide and go that route. Very much appreciated.
I've rooted Androids in the past but never owned one, so it's been a bit of an adjustment for me. Looking forward to getting another chance to take my time and get somewhat closer to doing it right this time around.
-William
Edit: Just read through the relevant section of the original guide and will be pushing and dd'ing the rooted image from @zeroepoch. Thank you so much for your help.
Assuming adbfire is not yet fully compatible with the aftv2, is the better approach to simply use the busybox build on @zeroepoch's page? My goal is to get DropBear or any sshd running at boot time so that I'm not limited to accessing it with adb and have the option of using an ssh client app as a terminal on my television. I will relocate these questions to other threads if I am unable to find reasonable answers to them by searching and RTFM. Thanks again for everything.

Thanks for this, I was running into the same issues you were seeing with the cache partition being too small. I'm trying to get a custom recovery installed so I was trying to downgrade to an earlier version.
Is there any way to get custom recovery working on the ftv2?

thepacketslinger said:
Thanks for this, I was running into the same issues you were seeing with the cache partition being too small. I'm trying to get a custom recovery installed so I was trying to downgrade to an earlier version.
Is there any way to get custom recovery working on the ftv2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wasn't overly concerned with loading custom recovery, and @ImCoKeMaN seems to suggest that there aren't any options yet for aftv2, but dd'ing the rooted image gave me a rooted stock image, and that was all I was looking for. It is a bit of a concern though, because it basically means you're hosed if the system won't boot. I was unable to get it to boot into recovery mode at all, but that may be because I tried to install ClockWorkMod with adbfire. I have not checked on it since the restore, but I was just pleased to be able to flash a rooted or stock image back onto the device.
I'm assuming we'll just have to be careful until custom recovery for aftv2 becomes a reality. I'm using @zeroepoch's busybox binary as well, and everything is going smoothly this time around.

thepacketslinger said:
Thanks for this, I was running into the same issues you were seeing with the cache partition being too small. I'm trying to get a custom recovery installed so I was trying to downgrade to an earlier version.
Is there any way to get custom recovery working on the ftv2?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am working on recovery. Should have something out soon. Although I don't know what you are going to downgrade to.

rbox said:
I am working on recovery. Should have something out soon. Although I don't know what you are going to downgrade to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gotcha. I was only looking to downgrade as a path to getting recovery installed, but it looks like that's not an option. Thanks for clearing that up!

Wondering if there is any updates on this. Currently have TWRP and a rooted ROM on my AFT2, and I'm throwing in the towel with its impossible interface and user/dev hostile environment. Looking to return it to factory for refund.

[GUIDE] Root, custom recovery and ROMs for JEM [OCTOBER 2017]

My roommate gave me his Kindle 8.9 to play with and root if possible. I had been successful at rooting, flashing TWRP, but couldn't get a custom ROM to flash. Being stupid, I didn't do a test flash first, so I ended up wiping the system and storage, so I couldn't boot into anything aside from TWRP and ADB was unresponsive. It also caused a power error, causing the device to turn back on immediately when powered down.
I acquired two of these tablets from eBay, for $35.00 a Piece, in like-new condition. I replaced the one I broke and bought one for myself. The problem I had was, there is no single guide which 1) lists the current root method for this tablet 2) The files needed to flash a custom recovery once root is gained 3) the most up to date TWRP recovery available. I read a lot of stuff on XDA. I read a lot of stuff elsewhere. The root methods listed in most every thread, no longer root. It was very hard to find an updated TWRP recovery, but thanks to @ong14, who pointed me to a single post, that was possible. So, I created this guide as a single go to for the current methods to root, TWRP and install a custom ROM.
***THIS GUIDE WILL ROOT YOUR DEVICE AND INSTALL A CUSTOM RECOVERY FOR THE AMAZON HD 8.9 JEM TABLET ONLY***
This method is used with ADB which requires Windows. Please make sure the proper drivers are installed before performing these steps. Required files for rooting and custom recovery installation are available at the bottom of this post. Please see respective links for custom ROMs. I did not create any of this software or the files. I'm not responsible if your device is damaged or bricked.
1. Enable the installation of files from unknown sources in Settings > security.
2. Enable ADB debugging from Settings > device.
3. Using the Silk Browser, go to Kingroot.net and download, install and run the APK. Also from Silk, download and install Total Commander File manager and grant it root access. Once you do that, download FireFlash11.apk at the bottom of this post. Open Total Commander and navigate to /sdcard > Downloads. Install FireFlash, open it and grant it root access to use later. (You can locate FireFlash from Home > Apps.)
5. Download the rest of the files at the bottom of this post and place into a folder of your choice on your desktop. Then go here and download this file and this file and place them in that same folder. Then move the following files to your Kindle: freedom-boot-8.4.6, u-boot-prod-8.1.4, stack and kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img.
5. Please follow the steps below from @MeowDude which will tell you how to flash a custom recovery to your Kindle.
now if you moved the files straight to your kindle, then they should be on the sd card, if you downloaded these through silk, they'll be in the downloads folder in your sd card. Now open FlashFire11, and give it root access (if you haven't yet). You should be greeted with a somewhat complicated looking wall of text and checkboxes.
!IMPORTANT!
| | |
\/ \/ \/
1. So, let me now guide you through this app, first of all, there should be red print informing you that you're not on the 8.1.4 bootloader or something like that, so click on the checkbox (at the upper right. The one that says "install kfhd8uboot-prod-8.1.4.img or something like that)
2. Now go down, and you'll see some text that says "Boot Partition Image (boot.img) and a box under it that says "NOT FLASHED" tap it. it should bring up a file manager-like list. scroll down until you see your already downloaded "kfhd8freedom-boot-8.4.6.img" , and tap/select it. (I know it says 8.4.6, IT WORKS ON 8.5.1!).
now go slightly under it and check "apply stack override".
*Next, Go under that to find a line that says "Recover Partition Image (Recovery.img), and slightly under it a box that says "NOT FLASHED" tap that, and again, you'll be greeted with a list-like file manager. scroll down until you see "kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img" and tap/select it. last part! go slightly under that and tap the check box next to "disable auto recovery update".
*Now that you have all you options in order, verify that you have them in order, and correctly selected (refer back if needed) and scroll down until you see at the bottom, a box that will install/flash all these things, it will say something like "Execute Flash Script" tap it, and your all set. if you want to boot into recovery (immediately after flashing), go right under that box to find another box that says "reboot into recovery" click it, and wait a sec, your screen will black out, and you will first see the normal kindle fire logo, then a blue one, then some glitchy looking stuff, then it should show a TeamWin logo, and go into recovery.
NOTE: If you don't flash your device with android, the stock Amazon os will erase the recovery, so NEVER REBOOT INTO RECOVERY USING FIREFLASH! Only right after you install/re-install recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should boot back to recovery at this point and do a factory reset. Here is how to do that below:
1. Power off your Kindle.
2. Once off, press first and hold the volume down button, then the power button. Hold them both down until the device boots to the BLUE Kindle logo. Then release the power button then the volume down button.
3. You should see the "Team Win" logo come across the screen. Tap on wipe, advanced, and choose dalvik, data and cache. Ten swipe the wipe button. DO NOT SELECT THE SYSTEM OR INTERNAL STORAGE OPTION. This will do a clean install of FireOS 8.5.1 and get rid of Kingroot.
Installing a custom ROM
You can now use FireOS as you were able to before, but I was unable to get the necessary Gapps to work with each other properly. You can try, but I recommend installing a custom ROM. I've tried two so far and can confirm they both work. I will list the links below where you can get the ROMs and installation instructions.
1. The Candy Rom, based off of Lollipop 5.1.1, works on this tablet. Root is built in so you don't need to install or flash SuperSU, but the post does say you can flash it. I've had a lot of trouble with custom 5.1.1 ROMs when it comes to launchers. Be warned it doesn't play nice with Nova and will cause the SystemUI to crash and restart over and over.
2. Unofficial CyanogenMod (CM 13). I currently use this ROM. Root is also built in. I have had trouble getting used to the permissions for apps. I have to go in and set them myself. If you can't get the Google app to sign you in, go to settings > apps > Google App > permissions > grant all permissions. I cannot get Hangouts to work, but the dialer works perfect. I'm not sure if either of those issues are a fault of mine or just a fluke.
I own 3 Amazon tablets: Amazon Fire 7, rooted with a custom ROM. Amazon Fire HD 8, but unfortunately there's no root for it yet. Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9, rooted, custom recovery and ROM. I have had great fun 'hacking' these things. I hate FireOS, but I will give Amazon credit for making some really bad ass tablets.

I didn't really feel too happy with the CM 13 ROM. It was pretty sluggish. Just overall performance was less than it should've been. So I decided to try another CM13 (Marshmallow 6.0.1) build by Temasek . This is by far the best ROM I've ever worked with on Kindle (Sorry Fire Nexus). Performance is off the chart. There's little to no lag. You HAVE to flash SuperSu, but it works really well. You don't see the App icon, just tap settings and SuperSU is listed. You also don't need to flash Viper4Android, already comes installed. Just select it in settings, grant it root access and select yes to download the driver. It will take a minute or two for it to update, but reboot when done and configure your Viper. Just make sure you have BusyBox installed and updated. You can get it from the play store. There are more settings and customization options I can list. Truly an awesome, well built ROM.

First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to post your very good guide for us new guys. Another superb tutorial can be found here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72395624&postcount=55
Your and comwiz's guides that summarize MeowDude's excellent work are two of the best ones I've seen to date and they help us novices a lot.
I want to set my elderly father up with Google's new YouTube TV streaming service when I visit him after the holidays and they currently require an Android L device or better to activate the service and control their interface. All he had was a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 a relative gave him that he never uses, so he sent it to me a few days ago so I could modify it. I've read a few of your posts on this and other threads and you seem very impressed with Temasek's CM13 custom ROM, so that's good enough for me and the one I wanna try first. But I'm a little confused by your followup post when you say "you HAVE to flash SuperSu". Does this mean that one should root with that app instead of Kingroot as was described in your original guide? I'm also not totally clear on exactly where in the procedure BusyBox needs to be installed. Here's what I have done so far to date...
*performed factory reset on Kindle Fire HD 8.9 just to clean it up and get it back to stock
*installed ADB on PC and verified it communicates with the Fire HD (detects device and returns serial number)
*downloaded and installed Total Commander (nice looking file explorer at first glance, BTW)
*sideloaded Root Check and verified device is not rooted
*downloaded the following files to PC but have not yet transferred them to the Fire:
---NewKingrootV5.1.0_C176_B415_en_release_2017_05_11_20170511212237_105203.apk
---fireflash11.apk
---kfhd8-u-boot-prod-8.1.4.bin.img
---kfhd8-freedom-boot-8.4.6.img
---kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img
---stack
---SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip
---stericson.busybox.apk
---cm-13.0-20160827-V11-temasek-jem.zip
I think this is everything I need but I'm not yet comfortable enough with my current knowledge level to try rooting and flashing a custom ROM. If you or anybody else could tell me what I should do next or at least point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated. I figure it's better to ask some dumb noob questions now before I attempt anything rather than have to come back later and ask how to unbrick my tablet.

CornellEngineer said:
First off, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to post your very good guide for us new guys. Another superb tutorial can be found here...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72395624&postcount=55
Your and comwiz's guides that summarize MeowDude's excellent work are two of the best ones I've seen to date and they help us novices a lot.
I want to set my elderly father up with Google's new YouTube TV streaming service when I visit him after the holidays and they currently require an Android L device or better to activate the service and control their interface. All he had was a Kindle Fire HD 8.9 a relative gave him that he never uses, so he sent it to me a few days ago so I could modify it. I've read a few of your posts on this and other threads and you seem very impressed with Temasek's CM13 custom ROM, so that's good enough for me and the one I wanna try first. But I'm a little confused by your followup post when you say "you HAVE to flash SuperSu". Does this mean that one should root with that app instead of Kingroot as was described in your original guide? I'm also not totally clear on exactly where in the procedure BusyBox needs to be installed. Here's what I have done so far to date...
*performed factory reset on Kindle Fire HD 8.9 just to clean it up and get it back to stock
*installed ADB on PC and verified it communicates with the Fire HD (detects device and returns serial number)
*downloaded and installed Total Commander (nice looking file explorer at first glance, BTW)
*sideloaded Root Check and verified device is not rooted
*downloaded the following files to PC but have not yet transferred them to the Fire:
---NewKingrootV5.1.0_C176_B415_en_release_2017_05_11_20170511212237_105203.apk
---fireflash11.apk
---kfhd8-u-boot-prod-8.1.4.bin.img
---kfhd8-freedom-boot-8.4.6.img
---kfhd8-twrp-3.0.2-2-recovery.img
---stack
---SR5-SuperSU-v2.82-SR5-20171001224502.zip
---stericson.busybox.apk
---cm-13.0-20160827-V11-temasek-jem.zip
I think this is everything I need but I'm not yet comfortable enough with my current knowledge level to try rooting and flashing a custom ROM. If you or anybody else could tell me what I should do next or at least point me in the right direction that would be much appreciated. I figure it's better to ask some dumb noob questions now before I attempt anything rather than have to come back later and ask how to unbrick my tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Root" is built into the ROM. But, it's not full root. So the ROM maker tells you to Flash SuperSU once the ROM is installed and functioning. You have to do that because you wipe the system (pretty much all of it) before you flash the ROM. That wipes Kingroot, root etc. until you flash the new ROM. You're on the right track exactly. Just make sure your files are placed properly and use FireFlash to install TWRP. Just follow all the steps exactly and it should be successful. The good thing about this method, it doesn't wipe your data to install the recovery.

Okay, DF...thanks. When researching Kingroot & SuperSU I came across a ton of external links about how to get rid of the former if it was used to originally root a device and replace it with the latter. I even found another XDA thread last night where you posted that you yourself spent many hours reading about how to do just that. It seemed like a lot of hoops to jump through so I thought maybe it was better just to use SuperSU to root in the first place and be done with it. But this was all probably before you tried the new ROM you're now using and are apparently liking a lot. It sounds like Temasek's ROM version automatically takes care of most/all of the Kingroot exorcism that gave you such a headache. Apparently on many devices you can install TWRP first and THEN root with SuperSU afterward but I gather the Kindle Fire's funky bootloader unfortunately doesn't permit this.
I'll just keep reading threads over and over again as well as outside reference articles on other sites like I have been so far. Some of it must be finally sinking in because some posts are actually finally starting to make a little sense and in some cases I now understand what a few folks did wrong to cause them problems. When the vast majority of the posts and articles I read make sense and not just some of them then I'll give it a shot. Appreciate the guidance.

Okie dokie, DF...just a quick status report on how we're doing following your new guide. So far, so good...used Kingroot to root the device no problem, verified it was rooted with Root Check, gave Total Commander (which I had installed a few days ago) root access, and downloaded and installed FireFlash. But when I opened the app and clicked on "allow" to have root privilege there was a minor glitch...although I could see the FireFlash menu in the background there was an error message saying it did not have root access and that it was going to close, even though Kingroot verified it as an app that had permission. Tried uninstalling and reinstalling a few times but kept getting the same error message. Finally I simply rebooted the device and it worked fine after that...so if there are any fellow noobs out there who are one step behind me (and heaven help you if you are) you might wanna try a simple reboot during this step if you experience a similar problem to see if that solves it.
Before I do anything else I'm gonna use ADB to create some images of several of the now-rooted stock partitions and save them to my PC just in case I eff something up later on. You did not mention this in your guide but this was summarized nicely by comwiz in his very similar tutorial...
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=72395624&postcount=55
He also included many screenshots that one will see while following your guides...I found these visual aids to be very helpful in terms of what one could expect to see as you march through all the steps that you guys so graciously spent the time laying out for us newbies. I'm probably gonna hold off on installing TWRP and Temasek's custom ROM for a few days...I wanna read up more about TWRP and fastboot before I take the next baby steps. BTW, like you I just bought another used KFHD 8.9 in almost new condition on eBay today for about the same price that you paid...how's THAT for the ultimate "backup"???
Man, thank God for this XDA forum...no way I try this on my own without all the info and tools and help that experienced folks have taken the time to post here.

CornellEngineer said:
EDITED BY ME, "compjan"
Before I do anything else I'm gonna use ADB to create some images of several of the now-rooted stock partitions and save them to my PC just in case I eff something up later on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PLEASE upload those images !!! if you are running 8.5.1 on a 32 gig model I NEED THEM !

compjan said:
PLEASE upload those images !!! if you are running 8.5.1 on a 32 gig model I NEED THEM !
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wrote a guide on how to flash recovery on 8.5.1 without a computer. Swing around and check it out, its got all the updated files.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ki...t-install-twrp-android-fire-os-8-5-1-t3278286

MeowDude said:
I wrote a guide on how to flash recovery on 8.5.1 without a computer. Swing around and check it out, its got all the updated files.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ki...t-install-twrp-android-fire-os-8-5-1-t3278286
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iRoot doesn't work anymore. At least not when I tried. Regardless of the method used to root, the quicker to get rid of them, the better it makes me feel.

MeowDude said:
I wrote a guide on how to flash recovery on 8.5.1 without a computer. Swing around and check it out, its got all the updated files.
https://forum.xda-developers.com/ki...t-install-twrp-android-fire-os-8-5-1-t3278286
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
um, i do not have a working 8.9 tablet. i screwed it up and had a red screen of death for a couple years now. i have been off work due to knee surgery and decided to see if there was a working fix. member sd_shadow has me OFF red screen, now i need to get back to stock BEFORE i start playing with it. that way i can fix it right then if i mess it up again.
SO, i need a copy of the 3 partitions to get back to stock.
UNLESS. . . . i can get the partitions out of the 8.5.1 BIN i grabbed from amazon. that is how sd_shadow ( THANK YOU SIR ! ) got me back to a NOT booting but hung at the fire logo. i flashed the bin to SYSTEM and now i need the other 2 partitions.

UPDATE: GOT IT UP AND RUNNING AS 8.1.4 ! ! !
wife wanted it stock, so i loaded the 8.5.1 update from amazon in the root directory of INTERNAL STORAGE. not i a folder. re-booted and it installed the 8.5.1 update. worked fine . . . EXCEPT . . . .
the built-in amazon app store was buggy as hell. so was the silk browser. gapps worked fine until a re-boot. then crashed as soon as i launched play store.
SO. . . . i'm backing up the 3 partitions and going to load a ROM on this puppy.
EDIT: there is a NEWER 8.5.1 "update" at amazon, it will NOT auto install via the "check for updates" button (afaik. and i tried it on 2 different 8.9's) . download it, copy it to the ROOT of the 8.9, not in a folder. reboot. it will install all by it's self. fixed all my stock problems!! END EDIT

I got CM13 installed on my 8.9 but then having issue.
a. Can't boot into custom recovery. With volume down hold + power button -> Kindle Fire orange -> Kindle Fire blue -> then it either boots back into CM13 or getting "Fast boot".
b. In CM13, i don't have root access. How so? Weird. I am always under the impression that every custom image will come with root access. I maybe wrong though.
---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------
Well, my bad was I downloaded the wrong gapps, picked 7.1 instead of 6.0, so I wanted to boot back in recovery to install the correct gapps.

votinh said:
I got CM13 installed on my 8.9 but then having issue.
a. Can't boot into custom recovery. With volume down hold + power button -> Kindle Fire orange -> Kindle Fire blue -> then it either boots back into CM13 or getting "Fast boot".
b. In CM13, i don't have root access. How so? Weird. I am always under the impression that every custom image will come with root access. I maybe wrong though.
---------- Post added at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------
Well, my bad was I downloaded the wrong gapps, picked 7.1 instead of 6.0, so I wanted to boot back in recovery to install the correct gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If using temasek ROM, you'll have to flash SU. Use 2.7X. then update from play store. Root for regular CM is found in developer options. Settings > about device > tap build number 7 times and go back to Maine settings menu, scroll to bottom. For developer options. Enable root in that menu. Select both apps and ADB.

I am using the CM13 ROM by alexander_32, I guess the same one you're using.
Personally, it isn't as snappy as I wish but I'll give it some more time.
Also, the option to boot into recovery on the menu is so much better than using keys combination. Thumb up for that!

what is the optimal gapps to get from open gapps? there are so many options im not sure which works best on jem.

green_reaper said:
what is the optimal gapps to get from open gapps? there are so many options im not sure which works best on jem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I almost always use pico gapps.

DragonFire1024 said:
I almost always use pico gapps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so basically for jem im using CM13 (Marshmallow 6.0.1) build by Temasek . and for gapps should I use (platform = ARM , Android 7.0 and pico) ? or is there a better gapps build selection?

green_reaper said:
so basically for jem im using CM13 (Marshmallow 6.0.1) build by Temasek . and for gapps should I use (platform = ARM , Android 7.0 and pico) ? or is there a better gapps build selection?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to opengapps website. Always download the gapps for the corresponding Android version. Always choose ARM.