Develop Bugs

Which user am I logged in as ?

Hi all,
couple of questions I hope somebody can answer for me ?
1. If I connect my Hero phone to my XP PC and run adb shell and then SU so I get the # prompt, what user am I logged in as ? is it root ? I tried whoami command but it was not a recognised command.
2. What is special about the system directory, because if I try and do
#chmod 777 system
I get this error: Unable to chmod system: Read-only file system
but no problem if I do same command to the sys directory. Both sys and system have same file permissions:
drwxr-xr-x root root 2009-08-27 03:51 system
drwxr-xr-x root root 1970-01-01 01:00 sys
so what makes the system directory a Read-only file system ?
I hope this makes sense, I'm only just starting to dabble with this linux stuff.

The answer to the first question is you are indeed logged in as root, su will(...should...) log you in as root for the entire session.

with # you are root. the id command works.
/system is the "rom" part, it should not be changed and therefore is usually mounted RO. you can remount it RW with the usual mount options or adb remount. why would you want to change the permissions of the folder? i don't think it's good idea tbh, you should not mess with system files unless you know what you are doing.

kendong2 said:
with # you are root. the id command works.
/system is the "rom" part, it should not be changed and therefore is usually mounted RO. you can remount it RW with the usual mount options or adb remount. why would you want to change the permissions of the folder? i don't think it's good idea tbh, you should not mess with system files unless you know what you are doing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, thanks for explaining. tbh I was just seeing what I could and could not do, I will take your advice and not mess with the system files any more.
So the read only thing, is to do with mounting rather than file permissions from what you say. I think I need to read up on the subject.
Cheers

gudge said:
OK, thanks for explaining. tbh I was just seeing what I could and could not do, I will take your advice and not mess with the system files any more.
So the read only thing, is to do with mounting rather than file permissions from what you say. I think I need to read up on the subject.
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do whatever you like, i learned most of what i know by trial&error just be prepared to break it, never go without a backup...

[SOLVED?] Busybox causes /system to be read-only?

First, my Euro Desire Z is S-Off (using the gfree method) and perm-rooted.
I was messing with installing some new keyboard layouts to the /system folder, when I found and installed busybox from the market to use its cp command...
Then I discovered I could no longer write to /system -- I could before busybox
I booted to recovery, installed my nandroid backup (taken before installing busybox), and I still can't get write access to /system
I did a factory wipe (still have S-Off) ran visionary to root and permroot ( I get the # prompt just fine) and still no write access to /system.
I restored my nandroid to get my apps back and still can't seem to get write access.
Any ideas

Hmm -- I just found and installed "mount /system" from the market and that did it -- I can now write to /system.
Not sure why it stopped working before... Busybox may have been a red herring.

I think it was just that you still had /system mounted as read-only, and that app just mounted it as read-write (i.e. "mount /system -o rw, remount" )

steviewevie said:
I think it was just that you still had /system mounted as read-only, and that app just mounted it as read-write (i.e. "mount /system -o rw, remount" )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah -- I had it RW and something must have remounted it to RO --perhaps when I was doing an adb session...
Speaking of BusyBox -- whats the best version people are using for the DZ?

Root explorer

Hey guys.
What root file managers do you use?
I've tried both ecs and yaffs and both fail to do what I want them to, I've been trying to chmod system/app to 777 so that I can copy stuff into that folder.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App

You need to remount the system with read-write access, then you'll be able to put apps in it.

And to answer the question, I swear by ES File Explorer. You can set hem to automaticly mount /system as read/write, so no problems with editing system files.
Erwin

after the 1 click root - not able to mount some directories in root explorer?

I used the post to install the one click root for the samsung epic 4g (sprint), and it appears to have worked. However - after entering root explorer, only some of the directories allow me to edit files. I click the remount as r/w button but nothing happens. Any thoughts?

sedric1 said:
I used the post to install the one click root for the samsung epic 4g (sprint), and it appears to have worked. However - after entering root explorer, only some of the directories allow me to edit files. I click the remount as r/w button but nothing happens. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure you granted root permissions to root explorer when it first ran? Run the superuser app from the app drawer and see if root explorer is on the list of apps that are allowed root permission.
I just tried v2.17.2 and it works fine. I tried changing the permissions on /system/xbin/busybox, it said filesystem mounted ro, then I press the mount rw button and redid the permission change, this time it worked no problem.

Thanks for your response-
yes, when i ran root explorer it asked if i wanted to grant superuser and i said yes. some folders allow it to remount, but - say the /system/bin folder - it doesnt allow it at all.

for further background, i used the automated instructions here for my root:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1342728
i did option A like 5 times and also did option C (as i have EK02).
When opening root explorer it tells me that i have super user permissions. one thing to note- if i go to /system/xbin, i do not see a busybox directory. is there something else i should be installing?
in fact, i cant mount anything under the system directory or sub directories, but above that, i was able to change to r/w mode. i could also mount the /vendor directory right beside the /system directory...

If you were able to remount "/" as r/w then the problem isn't with root. That is basicly an "I'm a little bit pregnant situation" Either you are or you aren't.
Now if you weren't able to get root in the first place, then I'd look at the root.
As to busybox, there is no directory. There should be a file /system/xbin/busybox Also there should be a bunch of symlinks from various apps it supports to busybox.

I see - yea i did validate that busybox is not allowing for a mount or any type of change on that file/directory including busybox but the file is present. any suggestions on what else may be locking down this system directory?

I don't know if root file explorer is implemented it's own concept of ro/rw to protect you from making mistakes or it is using the system facilities. If it is using the system facilities, then once you remount /system as rw, then everything under /system is automatically rw. It is all the same partition.
I would try it from "adb shell" (do not type $ or # symbols)
Code:
$ su
# mount -o remount,rw /system /system
# cd /system/xbin
# chmod 755 busybox
If it lets you do that with no errors, then you have remounted /system/xbin as rw and the problem is with root file explorer. For that, you'd have to check with them or someone more well-versed in why that might be failing.

i appreciate your help
I went off googling the adb stuff/installed it and java's jdk stuff. then figured out how to run that adb shell stuff and validated that it worked (permissions were changed in places that this app didnt allow). knowing that the problem is actually with root explorer helps a ton.. as I just assumed it was working

unable to mount system rw, Android m 6.0.1 Nexuss 7 flo stock rom

Hello everyone,
I am a beginner please bear with me. I tried to mount system as rw through terminal emulator, adb, TWRP recovery and the app named "Mount /system RO/RW [ROOT]" but no success. I read somewhere that in Android 6.0.1 it is impossible to remount system as rw, is it true?
Thank you.