Step by Step for Rooting Rogers Captivate (I896) - Captivate Android Development

Hey Guys
So one of the biggest questions I have seen in the last couple weeks since the Rogers captivate was released is how to root. I figured I would write a nice tutorial for everyone to make it easier!
Method 1: SuperOneClick
This is the easiest way, however most people have not been able to achieve root using this. Try this first if no luck move to method 2. Instructions on how to root using SuperOneClick can be found here
Method 2: Manual Root using ADB and Terminal
This one takes more time and not as easy to do as you have to do everything manually. But haven't heard of any problems with it yet
Step 1: Install <PDANet> Drivers. Just download the file and install. Select Samsung drivers. No need to actually install PDAnet on the Captivate you just need the drivers from the install. Follow the instructions with the installer to properly install the drivers.
Step 2: Download <Andriod SDK>.
- Extract the Android SDK .Zip file to C:\AndroidSDK (this should name the new folder created AndroidSDK in the C directory.
- Go to your start menu and search cmd or click run and type in cmd to open command prompt
- Type the following into command prompt, hitting enter at the end of each line
cd C:\AndroidSKD\Tools
adb devices
- You should see a serial number pop up. This is the serial number of your phone. This means ADB is set up
Step 3: Download <RageagainsttheCage Rooting Files>
- Extract them to the c:\AndroidSDK\tools\ folder. HAS TO BE IN THIS FOLDER FOR THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS TO WORK
Step 4: Unplug phone if it is plugged in. Then, on the phone, go to Settings > Applications > Development and make sure USB Debugging is Checked ON.
Step 5: Plug phone back in to computer. Make sure SD are not mounted
Step 6: Reopen Command prompt if not open. In the command prompt enter the following, pressing enter at the end of each line
cd c:\androidsdk\tools\
adb devices
adb push Superuser.apk /sdcard/
adb push su /sdcard/
adb push rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin /data/local/tmp/
adb shell chmod 0755 /data/local/tmp/rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
Step 7: On the phone, go to Marketplace and download Terminal Emulator
Step 8: Leaving the phone plugged in, open the Terminal Emulator on the phone. Type the following, pressing enter at the end of each line
cd /data/local/tmp
./rageagainstthecage-arm5.bin
Step 9: WAIT. It will take a full minutes for the rage root to install. When finished you will see "Forked Childs". DO NOT DO ANYTHING TILL YOU SEE THIS. Terminal will allow you to type as it goes back to $ while it is installing BUUT DO NOT DO ANYTHING JUST WAIT(Cannot stress this enough)
Step 10: once "Forked Childs" appears, exit the Terminal App, and then reopen it. Instead of $ you should now see #. If not redo Step 7. Otherwise continue.
Step 11: Type the following hitting enter at the end
cat /proc/mounts
This should bring up a list (Easiest to view in landscape mode. Look for the following
/dev/block/XXXXXXXXXX /system YYYY ro 0 0 (the XXXXXXXXX part should be different depending on which device you have. The YYYY part will either be; ext2, ext3 or yaffs2 or something similar. )
My YYYY was rtf , not sure if it will be the same for everyone (though i assume it is)
Step 12: Now in the terminal window, using the info from above, enter the following, hitting enter at the end of each line (Be sure to enter spaces where needed as below)
mount -o rw,remount -t YYYY /dev/block/XXXXXXXXXX /system
cat /sdcard/Superuser.apk > /system/app/Superuser.apk
cat /sdcard/su > /system/bin/su
chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
mount -o ro,remount -t YYYY /dev/block/XXXXXXXXXX /system
exit
Step 13: Close terminal window if still open. Check your app drawer and, assuming everything was completed properly, you should see Superuser. If not redo Step 12, again watching for spaces and using the correct info from Step 11.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I, in no way shape or form, came up with the above method or tools. This method was modified from and composed from the method decribed over at Theunlockr.com for ease of use and to root the Captivate specifically. I big thanks go out to those guys!
ORINGAL LINK CAN BE FOUND HERE
WARNING
I am not responsible for any damage doone to the phone or its file system as a result of this tutorial. It is for educational purposes only. You have been warned!

THANK YOU!
No other method was working for me (not SuperOneClick, not these ADB instructions). Sure enough, using Terminal Emulator, I was able to get #. I wasn't able get this through adb, nor was I through SuperOneClick (infinite loop @ "mount" command).
I noticed a few things:
-When I compared filesizes from your provided Rage Root files, to the ones that were included in this thread (which also come with SuperOneClick—and which I was unable to get working), I noticed major differences. This gave me hope!, as I'd tried everything else that I knew how to prior to this point.
-My "XXXXXXXXXX" was actually only 4 characters: "stl6".
-My "YYYY" was only 3 characters ("rfs").
-SuperUser showed up on my applist without even requiring a reboot.
THANKS AGAIN
I shall now attempt to apply a lagfix; I will report back with results.
--Bah: no luck. RyanZA's OCLF V2.2+ returns error:
Could not mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 onto /dbdata/rfsdata: mount: No such file or directory
--OCLF V1+ returns error:
Could not create /data/linux.ex2 - dd: can't open '/data/linux.ex2': Permission denied
Uh-oh.

PhrProfess said:
THANK YOU!
No other method was working for me (not SuperOneClick, not ). Sure enough, using Terminal Emulator, I was able to get #. I wasn't able get this through adb, nor was I through SuperOneClick (infinite loop @ "mount" command).
I noticed a few things:
-When I compared filesizes from your provided Rage Root files, to the ones that were included in this thread[/url] (which also come with SuperOneClick—and which I was unable to get working), I noticed major differences. This gave me hope!, as I'd tried everything else that I knew how to prior to this point.
-My "XXXXXXXXXX" was actually only 4 characters: "stl6".
-My "YYYY" was only 3 characters ("rfs").
-SuperUser showed up on my applist without even requiring a reboot.
THANKS AGAIN
I shall now attempt to apply a lagfix; I will report back with results.
--Bah: no luck. RyanZA's OCLF V2.2+ returns error:
Could not mount /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 onto /dbdata/rfsdata: mount: No such file or directory
--OCLF V1+ returns error:
Could not create /data/linux.ex2 - dd: can't open '/data/linux.ex2': Permission denied
Uh-oh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup same problem here. I was able to root it manually a few days ago, but have as of yet been unable to lag fix it.

Strange. After I rooted I had no problem using RyanZa's Lagfix. Your still using the stock rom after rooted correct?

deacfire said:
Strange. After I rooted I had no problem using RyanZa's Lagfix. Your still using the stock rom after rooted correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I've tested out quite a few apps from the market, though.
When I mount my device, I notice that there are some files on my internal SDCard:
-su
-Superuser.apk
-nv_data.bin
-busybox (why is this there, I uninstalled that)
-update.zip
...and some folders:
-layar
-twc-cache
-Android -» data -» com.cooliris.media
-Android -» data -» com.google.android.apps.maps
-svox
...These all have subdirectories.
Not knowing what a default internal SD directory ought to look like, I wonder: Could any of these be causing a conflict? I read that some said not to have any apps installed on the SDCard while trying to mess around (with ROMs, I think), so I tried removing what I could, and then rebooting (and some folders respawned), and reapplying the fix—no dice. I've since replaced all of the folders and the files.

Stock rom here as well.

Hrmm not quite sure why lag fix isn't working for you guys. Just a quick question, in RyanZa One Click, is "Un-Root Device" green?
I still have no problems applying RyanZa Lag Fix to my Captivate as I had to redo it last night after i switched back to the Rogers stock rom after testing Cog 2.2. My guess, and it is just a guess, is that the root never applied properly. Have you tried rerooting the device?

deacfire said:
Hrmm not quite sure why lag fix isn't working for you guys. Just a quick question, in RyanZa One Click, is "Un-Root Device" green?
I still have no problems applying RyanZa Lag Fix to my Captivate as I had to redo it last night after i switched back to the Rogers stock rom after testing Cog 2.2. My guess, and it is just a guess, is that the root never applied properly. Have you tried rerooting the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thought I might give you some info as well since i've been messing with mine for about a week now. I was able to root the device, oneclick did not work originally for this and I used ADB method similar to what you had here. After this I went for the lag fix, everything was green like it was supposed to be, installed the ext2 tools no problem and then get the same error about unable to mount when applying lag fix.
At this point I used OCLF to unroot the device and it did, I then used the oneclick to re-root which it did this time, in terminal I can su properly and again all the tools are green in OCLF. Tried to lagfix and failed again so I started making some changes manually based on the error messages that were out put. Created the folder it was trying to mount to for instance and then set the permission to this to 777 that would allow world write access, this allowed it to create the new partition in ext2 but when mounting the loopback device it fails saying it doesn't exist (which it doesn't I looked) so while I did get a bit further the lag fix still fails. I would gladly apply the lag fix manually through the terminal if I knew everything that was being done to re-format the partitions for ext3 but I can't seem to find that info anywhere.
Next best thing I would guess is to install a stock rom from rogers from someone else and see if there are any differences, I'm guessing based on the devices in the /dev folder that there are more then one image on the devices some set up more similar to AT&T that the lag fix will work on.

mrprefect said:
Thought I might give you some info as well since i've been messing with mine for about a week now. I was able to root the device, oneclick did not work originally for this and I used ADB method similar to what you had here. After this I went for the lag fix, everything was green like it was supposed to be, installed the ext2 tools no problem and then get the same error about unable to mount when applying lag fix.
At this point I used OCLF to unroot the device and it did, I then used the oneclick to re-root which it did this time, in terminal I can su properly and again all the tools are green in OCLF. Tried to lagfix and failed again so I started making some changes manually based on the error messages that were out put. Created the folder it was trying to mount to for instance and then set the permission to this to 777 that would allow world write access, this allowed it to create the new partition in ext2 but when mounting the loopback device it fails saying it doesn't exist (which it doesn't I looked) so while I did get a bit further the lag fix still fails. I would gladly apply the lag fix manually through the terminal if I knew everything that was being done to re-format the partitions for ext3 but I can't seem to find that info anywhere.
Next best thing I would guess is to install a stock rom from rogers from someone else and see if there are any differences, I'm guessing based on the devices in the /dev folder that there are more then one image on the devices some set up more similar to AT&T that the lag fix will work on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the stock rom in the main Rogers Captivate forum. It is one i used to go from Cog 2.2 back to stock and it applied the root and lag fix without a hitch. Give it a try and let us know!

deacfire said:
Try the stock rom in the main Rogers Captivate forum. It is one i used to go from Cog 2.2 back to stock and it applied the root and lag fix without a hitch. Give it a try and let us know!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Happen to have a link right to the forum? so many threads to search through...
I'm new to the whole android thing though I've been working with linux for years but its a bit of a learning curve coming from a blackberry.
also what are you using to flash your device?

I'm having the same problem. Let me know if you somehow fix it.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I896 using XDA App

I was finally able to get my last night.
Turns out my first root attempt was a failure. I had to unroot via an update.zip method as i did not have the permissions to remove the files from terminal.
Once unrooted i then did the update.zip method for the I897, and modified the script to look for I896 instead. It worked flawlessley. I am now getting the pop-up asking for root permissions. I had never seen it work previously.
I was then able to install OCLF without any problems. (and it popped up asking for root)
I am now rooted and lag fixed. Previous quadrant score was at 860's and i pulled a 2285 last night after the OCLF.

Can you please tell us how to modify script and how to flash back to stock..I need to return my phone and superuse app wont go away after unrooting and factory reset

inningsdefeat500 said:
Can you please tell us how to modify script and how to flash back to stock..I need to return my phone and superuser app wont go away after unrooting and factory reset
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i cannot help you flash back to stock as i don't quite know how to do that yet myself. But i can help you unroot, re-root, and lag fix.
I have found the files again and uploaded them to rapid share with the necessary modifications.
Download THIS FILE and once downloaded, rename it to update.zip Be careful not to name it update.zip.zip by accident.
Place the file into the root of your sdcard.
Shutdown the phone with the power button, or pull the battery out and put it back in.
Enter recovery mode:
While holding the volume up and volume down buttons press and hold the power button until you see the white text that says SGH-I896, then release the power button only.
When in recovery mode use the volume down key to highlight reinstall packages, then press the power button. It should say completed and reboot the phone.
Once the phone has rebooted, do the exact same thing again, only use THIS FILE instead. Dont forget to rename the file again!
Then install the OCLF from market. Install the EXT2 tools first. Then run the lag fix installer.
I assume you already know how to enter recovery mode, but this way someone else searching for a fix will have all the info at their disposal here.
EDIT!!!
Some mirrors for the files
For the UN-Root files go HERE
For the ROOT files go HERE

Hi all i am very lost here....i have tried for hours the last few days on how to root this i896 with the super one click method with no luck....anyways i was speaking to my brother earlier and he has done it with his bell vibrant no problem....anyways what i want to know is what is the purpose of rootindg the phone? I thought it was for downloading 3rd party apps or whats the purpose for superuser? The reason why i am asking is that i can download 3rd party apps already...i allow them on my application settings and download a app downloader and works fine? Im lost someone please help.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I896 using XDA App

dandroid123 said:
Hi all i am very lost here....i have tried for hours the last few days on how to root this i896 with the super one click method with no luck....anyways i was speaking to my brother earlier and he has done it with his bell vibrant no problem....anyways what i want to know is what is the purpose of rootindg the phone? I thought it was for downloading 3rd party apps or whats the purpose for superuser? The reason why i am asking is that i can download 3rd party apps already...i allow them on my application settings and download a app downloader and works fine? Im lost someone please help.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I896 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Take a look here. It answered alot of my questions.
http://www.androidcentral.com/rooting-it-me-some-qa
Also, if you only follow the second half of my post above you should be able to root it as well.

Thanks deacfire! The one click wouldn't work for me but the second method did.
I am having a really annoying problem though. The superuser.apk that you included just gave me a black screen. So I updated it to this one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=682828&highlight=no+apps+in+list
Which is newer. But now it just says "no apps in list". Tried installing it from the zip, tried from the market no different.
I do have apps that require superuser: ROM Manager, Root Explorer, Adfree. They all work, also have titanium backup but its is telling me it needs root access.
How can I fix this, it is a major issue.
EDIT:Thanks impulser91!! That work and was SUPER easy! Should probably get posted in the original post.

when i copy update.zip into the /sdcard and then try hitting reinstall packages, it results in an error and aborts. any suggestions?
Nevermind....it worked MUAHAHAHAHAHAH LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Sweet, 2 users. Not bad for under 10 posts
I'm glad its working for others. I had one heck of a time finding the right combination of files and process's for the I896. I am an IT professional and it took me a few days of fumbling around all the I896 and I897 posts.
Anyways, glad to hear it worked, and i hope other people find it useful as well. I will keep the originals, so if the links go down someone just PM me and i will load them somewhere else.

impulser91 said:
Well i cannot help you flash back to stock as i don't quite know how to do that yet myself. But i can help you unroot, re-root, and lag fix.
I have found the files again and uploaded them to rapid share with the necessary modifications.
Download and once downloaded, rename it to update.zip Be careful not to name it update.zip.zip by accident.
Place the file into the root of your sdcard.
Shutdown the phone with the power button, or pull the battery out and put it back in.
Enter recovery mode:
While holding the volume up and volume down buttons press and hold the power button until you see the white text that says SGH-I896, then release the power button only.
When in recovery mode use the volume down key to highlight reinstall packages, then press the power button. It should say completed and reboot the phone.
Once the phone has rebooted, do the exact same thing again, only use THIS FILE instead. Dont forget to rename the file again!
Then install the OCLF from market. Install the EXT2 tools first. Then run the lag fix installer.
I assume you already know how to enter recovery mode, but this way someone else searching for a fix will have all the info at their disposal here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I could just about kiss you.... but I won't
Thanks for the update files they worked like a charm. I had a similar issue where the device didn't seem to be properly rooted, though it didn't give me any issues with most things when applying the lagfix it would die.
applied both your unroot and then root and it worked flawlessly the first time, lagfix then ran with no issues and my quadrant scores are 2250 now.
Not sure what you did exactly, I've tried rooting from update.zip from oneclick and neither worked I ended up rooting with the ADB and though it seemed to work it apparently did not.
Thanks again

Related

Flash recovery image Droid Eris How To

First of all thanks to Amon_RA for this. I had no part in creating this. I am just providing a how to flash it. There may be an eaiser way but this is what worked for me.
First let me say I am on a Mac. If you are on windows the adb commands should work fine but I can't say how to get adb working for you.
1. download flash_image Here Link updated 3/17/10
2. Open the terminal and copy and paste the following commands.
adb shell [hit enter]
su [hit enter]
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system [hit enter]
3. In a new terminal window (don't close the original one).
adb push flash_image /system/bin [hit enter]
exit [hit enter]
4. Now in the original terminal window
chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image [hit enter]
5. Now exit all termainl windows and reboot your phone.
6. Download Amon_AR's recovery Here.
7. Mount your phones sd card and drop recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img on to it and eject your phone.
8. Open the Terminal and copy and paste the following commands with the phone connected to your computer.
8. adb shell [hit enter]
9. su [hit enter]
10. flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img
11. To get into recovery turn off you phone and hold the Volume Up + Power until it boots into recovery.
That's it.
I made an automator script the help all of you having problems getting adb working. Make sure you have the android sdk downloaded and named android-sdk Put it in your home folder and then run this script. Let me know how it works for you.
Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any damage you may do to your phone. I am only providing instructions on what worked for me. This is very beta. Good luck. Enjoy the nandroid goodness.
First link is Dead...........
ooopps Srry my bad, Its up.
You should mention that the chmod command is in the original terminal window. Also, you could do it in one window if you put:
adb remount
adb push bla /bla/bla
at the begining of everything.
adb push flash_image to /system/bin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there's a "to" in that command either. lol
testing567 said:
You should mention that the chmod command is in the original terminal window. Also, you could do it in one window if you put:
adb remount
adb push bla /bla/bla
at the begining of everything.
I don't think there's a "to" in that command either. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. I don't think the "to" is going to work either. I made the corrections.
Just a quick question. What does this boot too. Im new to all this phone stuff. I did the upgrade to 2.1 leaked so just been searching the forum here each day to see if a solution has come about. i just noticed v.1.6.2 in there so was curious as to what this will do.
Will this put the regular android on it or keep it the same, sorry just kinda getting started with android
coupla questions -
For northmendo:
Is the reboot in the middle of this even necessary? ( flash_image won't work right if /system is still mounted rw ?)
For testing567:
Do all the adb shell commands run as root against the 2.1_root install ... or maybe the above could be simplified even more by just running "adb root" first?
For Austinjs0102 (not a question)
This process only applies (at the moment) to phones with "2.1_root" - there isn't a path at present to go from "2.1_leak" to a rooted phone. Assuming that a way to roll back (or get root) for "2.1_leak" eventually is found, then the answer to your question is this: it is a process to apply a custom recovery partition to the phone that include tools that will allow you to perform complete phone backups and restore operations. This can be critical for devs who are experimenting with writing boot or system partitions to their phones - if something goes wrong with their experiments, they can "boot" their phone into recovery mode and restore back to a working configuration. To reiterate, though: this only applies to phones that are already rooted.
bftb0
Thanks a bunch that helps clear up info.
hopefully the hard working dev's here find a 2.1 leaked fix for us early people, if not then i may need to lose the phone lol.
Austinjs0102 said:
Just a quick question. What does this boot too. Im new to all this phone stuff. I did the upgrade to 2.1 leaked so just been searching the forum here each day to see if a solution has come about. i just noticed v.1.6.2 in there so was curious as to what this will do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am in same boat as you...
Let me start off by saying that I'm not a phone dev. I've done software development for many years, but never messed with the phone.
Can someone explain why we can't just load the 1.5 rooted PB001IMG.ZIP file over our 2.1 leaked handset? Is it a matter of the version number being lower? If so, since the 1.5 is rooted, couldn't someone just up the version number to whatever the 2.1 leak is plus one? Then, once it's loaded, write a little app to drop the number back where it should be?
TIA for the education.
Doc
DocTauri said:
Let me start off by saying that I'm not a phone dev. I've done software development for many years, but never messed with the phone.
Can someone explain why we can't just load the 1.5 rooted PB001IMG.ZIP file over our 2.1 leaked handset? Is it a matter of the version number being lower? If so, since the 1.5 is rooted, couldn't someone just up the version number to whatever the 2.1 leak is plus one? Then, once it's loaded, write a little app to drop the number back where it should be?
TIA for the education.
Doc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(I suppose I shouldn't respond, 'cuz DocTauri is jacking northmendo's thread. Sorry north!)
Doc,
I understand exactly what you are getting at... and also think I can explain why it's not easy.
First - what has been discovered so far was not a "root break-in", but rather an engineering ROM with root "built in". It is cryptographically signed so that a production phone will recognize the .zip file as a valid ROM. That first validation step has nothing to do with version numbers.
If the "SPL" on an unrooted phone was doing something as simple as looking at a couple of bytes in the initial file downloaded to the phone, then yes - doing what you suggest would work... just patch a few bytes using a hex editor. Unfortunately, the phone SPL is quite sophisiticated: it verifies the crypto signature on the entire zip file first, unpacks that zip, and then examines the contents of an individual file within the zip archive (and possibly even unpacks one of the YAFFS image files and then looks in a file within the YAFFS image) to read version numbers.
That means that the fundamental issue is the cryptographic signature on the .zip file. If you do anything which breaks step #1, step #2 (version # checks) are never reached. Certainly an individual file could be byte-patched, and then images and zip files could be re-assembled... but you would have no way to sign the zip with HTC's private key. Or you could even attempt to byte-patch the zip file - but then that would break the crypto signature. Either way, the crypto signature on the zip file is no longer valid.
If you have HTC's private RSA key, let us know!
bftb0
bftb0 said:
coupla questions -
For northmendo:
Is the reboot in the middle of this even necessary? ( flash_image won't work right if /system is still mounted rw ?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I added the reboot because. All I would get is out of memory errors. The reboot fixed that.
e.g.
mtd: read error at 0x001e0000 (Out of memory)
mtd: read error at 0x00200000 (Out of memory)
mtd: read error at 0x00220000 (Out of memory)
mtd: read error at 0x00240000 (Out of memory)
northmendo -
That first link (that you corrected) now points to the recovery image, not "flash_image".
Note that the "flash_image" executable which Amon_RA originally included with his first recovery (.zip) is identical to the /system/bin/flash_image binary which ships on the Eris with 1.5 (1.17.605.1); the md5sum signature (of both of those files) is:
16559f2c27d08ff1ddfcaca05fbf10fb flash_image
That's also the same md5 signature as the "flash_image" file which was posted to dl.dropbox.
I don't have 2.1_root installed on my phone, but if the same binary is already on the phone after installing the 2.1_root ROM, there's no need to include those steps in your instructions. It is also possible that even if the "2.1_root" version of /system/bin/flash_image is different, it would also work.
Note that the only reason I bring it up is that your instructions might be (a) unnecessary, and (b) are encouraging folks to overwrite a binary that is already on the phone. No harm (but unneeded) if it is the same, and unknown harm if it is different.
Also (while I'm at it)
901167f6b5541b488c8e0404bceb0631 recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img ***
It appears to me ( reading between the lines here ) that Amon_RA is trying to improve his v1.6.2 recovery - folks might want to keep an eye on that thread.
An alternative and quicker method than all of this is what zifnab06 suggested here. It's only two lines long, after all.
bftb0
[Edit]***Wow, my post was obsolete the moment I posted it - don't know how I missed Amon_RA's announcement post. Note that there appears to be several versions of "v1.6.2" floating around now - make sure to check his post if you want the most recent.
bftb0 said:
It appears to me ( reading between the lines here ) that Amon_RA is trying to improve his v1.6.2 recovery - folks might want to keep an eye on that thread.
An alternative and quicker method than all of this is what zifnab06 suggested here. It's only two lines long, after all.
bftb0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will keep the link updated to the newest version here. Also I tried the quicker method without success. I will try it again when I get home from work.
Thanks
bftb0 said:
(I suppose I shouldn't respond, 'cuz DocTauri is jacking northmendo's thread. Sorry north!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, didn't mean to. Understood on the explaination. I didn't realize it was a different rom image, I thought the key had been broken, allowing someone to resign a modified image.
Thanks!
Doc
I used this method and it was all really easy until I got to the end. It just says usage and then sits their and does nothing. I unplugged it and went into recovery and see the android dude and a yellow traiangle and exclamation point. Did I forget something? Is their an alternative way to flashing this?
sdk issues for flashing recovery...
Hey guys,
Im a noob but here's whats going on, Ive downloaded sdk extracted it to my c drive, ive downloaded all the required packages reccomended in the forum, Ive up dated my driver and still my machine doesnt recognize my phone...
Ive also extracted the recovery image to my tools directory and added the the path in enviromentals...
So at this point Im stuck as to how to get my pc (xp) phone and sdk in sync in order to get this recovery image working...So any advice would be highly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Chris
Spencer_Moore said:
I used this method and it was all really easy until I got to the end. It just says usage and then sits their and does nothing. I unplugged it and went into recovery and see the android dude and a yellow traiangle and exclamation point. Did I forget something? Is their an alternative way to flashing this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You could try this.
If you have your phone pluged in and type in to the terminal
adb reboot recovery [hit enter]
After you phone reboots it should come up with text options to do back-ups and restores. Do you get any of that?
Anyone know the key combo to get into recovery without adb?
having issues getting adb
got the command prompts working in xp, however while trying the methods here in the forum i am getting adb not foud errors. Any suggestions?

Troubleshooting for Newbies (having a "wtf!?" moment?)

Most of this information has been repeated so many times. But I wanted to make a short list of all the silly mistakes and simple oversights I’ve made over time.
(I make mistakes constantly - there are probably some mistakes in this very post - and I usually search around and try to find my way out of them. I will edit this post whenever I run into a problem. If anyone has any input, I will gladly add it to this post.)
YOU CAN NOT COME BACK FROM UNLOCKING YOUR BOOTLOADER:
If you ever think you’ll need to or want to “relock” your bootloader, you can’t.
Alternative root method:
VISIONary
(when you launch the application, you can leave everything unchecked)
Alternative recovery option:
ROM Manager (in the market)
ALWAYS DO A NANDROID/CLOCKWORKMOD BACKUP!
It will restore everything the way you had it if you F something up.
Want to go back to original shipping, but followed this guide, downloaded the linked file and can’t find the image files?
They’re not in that file. I don’t know why. Go here and download FRG33, decompress it and use the contents to follow the tutorial
Are you getting a “verification failed” error when you try to apply an update.zip in recovery?
Mount your SD card to your computer, download whatever file you were trying to apply directly to it (don’t download it and then drag it), and rename it to “update.zip”.
If you’re using Windows, make sure “hide extensions for known file types” is unchecked in your folder options within the Control Panel. You’ll keep having problems if it’s named “update.zip.zip” and you didn’t realize it
If you're still having problems, try this download of the stock FRG83 update.
<Added 11/18> I had another facepalm moment. If you downgraded back to FRG33 and you get an "assert failed" error, flash the recovery.img from that FRG33 package you extracted. (found this solution here)
Did you flash a ROM or go back to stock, start up your phone and noticed that you’re stuck on Edge?
Go to Menu>Settings>Wireless and Networks>Mobile Networks>Network Operators>(choose your carrier), wait.
Trying to copy something from your SD Card to /system/app (for instance)?
If you use the “cat” command, DON’T FORGET THE “>” SYMBOL. Nothing awful happens as far as I know, but it’s unnerving to watch the terminal puke all over itself.
Code:
cat /sdcard/thing.apk > /system/app/thing.apk
If you’re new to Linux and/or Android and are removing apps:
BE CAREFUL with the “rm” command. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
You can always rename (technically, "move") the files instead:
Code:
mv /system/app/thing.apk /system/app/thing.apk.bak
Switch the commands to get it back
Code:
mv /system/app/thing.apk.bak /system/app/thing.apk
And don't forget to mount /system as read and write. To do that:
Windows: (must have drivers installed, Nexus One drivers are in the SDK)
Code:
adb shell
su
Linux: (no drivers necessary)
Code:
./adb shell
su
Code:
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/mtdblock3/system /system
Don't forget to mount /system as read-only when you're finished. To do that, use the same code but replace "rw" with "ro" (without quotations of course)
Having trouble connecting with adb?
In Linux, you need to be in the SDK directoy (mine is in ~/AndroidSDK/tools). In Windows, you need to have ;C:\AndroidSDK\tools in the system path, within Environmental Variables (right-click on Computer>Properties>Advanced>Environmental Variables)
Unplug the device
In Linux, cd to ~/AndroidSDK/tools (or whatever you called it) enter:
Code:
sudo ./adb kill-server
sudo ./adb start-server
Plug in the device
Code:
sudo ./adb devices
In Windows:
Code:
adb kill-server
adb start-server
Plug in the device
Code:
adb devices
Device not found?
Did you enable USB Debugging in Menu>Settings>Applications>Development?
Trying to install an .apk but it just won’t work?
Try the “adb install” method, or push the apk to /system/app. If the app force closes or doesn’t work, just remove it
Code:
rm /system/app/thing.apk
Using Ubuntu (or another Linux distro), trying to mount your SD through Amon-Ra's recovery, but it won't mount?
Disable USB-MS toggle, unplug the phone, reboot your computer, try again.
Can I kiss you?
Seriously though I really appreciate it when the guys on here take time out of their day to post helpful guides like this since it prolly took 30 min at least. Thank you very much for doing this it might have been just what I'm looking for
ap3604 said:
Can I kiss you?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope.
ap3604 said:
Seriously though I really appreciate it when the guys on here take time out of their day to post helpful guides like this since it prolly took 30 min at least. Thank you very much for doing this it might have been just what I'm looking for
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you appreciate it. I'm not technically one of the guys on here. I've been on XDA in different device forums for a little while but have always been absorbing the information and never giving anything back. This is my first try. I can only dream of being a developer when I grow up, and solving more serious problems.
ahorriblemess said:
Want to go back to original shipping, but followed this guide, downloaded the linked file and can’t find the image files?
They’re not in that file. I don’t know why. Go here and download FRG33, decompress it and use the contents to follow the tutorial
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wondering ahorriblemess, I looked over the guide and it says:
"This will do the followings to your Nexus One:
1. Reset your system files to the original system files.
2. Reset your kernel/boot image to the original shipping boot image.
3. Reset your recovery to original recovery (if you wish)."
Since I'm a real idiot... does this guide get your baseband / radio back to original (january) shipping image as well?
I didn't see it in those 3 things and have the 5.12.00.08 version so I wanted to make sure following that guide would reset the radio baseband back to the original (january) version as well before I did it.
Now all I need to do is figure out how fastboot works and I'm gold!
ap3604 said:
Just wondering ahorriblemess, I looked over the guide and it says:
"This will do the followings to your Nexus One:
1. Reset your system files to the original system files.
2. Reset your kernel/boot image to the original shipping boot image.
3. Reset your recovery to original recovery (if you wish)."
Since I'm a real idiot... does this guide get your baseband / radio back to original shipping image as well?
I didn't see it in those 3 things and have the 5.12.00.08 version so I wanted to make sure following that guide would reset the radio baseband back to the original (january) version as well before I did it.
Now all I need to do is figure out how fastboot works and I'm gold!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't know. I'm in no way an expert at any of this. My intent with this thread was to compile all of the sort of simple things that I've overlooked in the past. Usually I've found solutions to those problems scattered all over the place, so I just thought it would be helpful to put them all in one place in case anyone ever has the same problems I've had.
I have a pretty good feeling about the answer, but I don't want to share it in case you decide to act on it and it's wrong.
Thanks a ton!

[Q] Getting past the "Read-only file system"

Ultimately... All I'm trying to do is put my custom ringtone on the internal memory so that it still plays correctly when the sd card is connected to my computer. (Though I certainly wouldn't mind removing the obnoxious "boot_att.ogg" file as well.) But I keep getting thwarted. First by the discovery that there's no /home directory (which kind of weirds me out, but that's a whole 'nother story).
Anyway, my phone is rooted with z4root, and I'm trying to do this by two different methods. [Correction: It would be better to say that I've tried this using two different programs] I've tried using "adb shell," and I've tried using "Android Terminal Emulator". I can successfully use su in both of them (but if I can't rewrite anything, then I don't see what the difference is). Then I go to the directory on my sd card where the cell ring is and I type
cp cell\ ring.mp3 /system/media/audio/ringtones/​
And it replies
cp: /system/media/audio/ringtones/cell ring.mp3: Read-only file system​
So, I found these instructions that say to use "mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3" (though I think it needs to be "mtdblock7" for mine) or "mount -o rw,remount -t rootfs /" But when I do either of those, it returns
Usage: mount [-r] [-w] [-o options] [-t type] device directory​
Which I take to mean that the "mount" command isn't being used correctly (and my experience with the mount command on desktop bash is limited, so I don't have any clue how to correct it).
It's worth noting that I have the exact same results in both adb shell and Android Terminal Emulator.
So, I found another thread (I think one on XDA) that said that I need to be in recovery mode to write to /system, which kind of makes sense. But I have no clue how to do that. And Google is not helping. The only instructions I could find said to turn the phone off and hold down the camera and volume up button. Which did nothing. And it's a good thing nobody was watching because I'm sure I looked like an idiot.
So... I guess I'll have to ask, how do I get into recovery mode? But at this point, I keep coming across so many absurd things keeping me from this that I wouldn't be surprised if next I get an error.
Therefore, my question is this: Is there a way to get into recovery mode, or, alternatively, is there a way to keep my ringtone working even while my sd card is connected to my computer?
Do you have busybox installed?
Have you tried Root Explorer? It has a button to toggle read-write and read only in a folder.
I do have busybox installed. I have no idea what it does, but I installed it in an attempt to enable sideloading (which I have yet to successfully do; apparently the file isn't in the same place on the Flipside as the Captivate and I was going by a Captivate guide).
I have not yet tried Root Explorer. I know this sounds stupid since it's just four dollars, but I tend to shy away from mobile programs that cost money. (Don't know why, I've been that way since my black and white palm pilot.) But, that's just something that's weird about me, lol. I'll get Root Explorer tomorrow and come back.
Busybox is a set of command line utilities. More Info. The link in my previous post is to an installer for Busybox. Busybox provides a set of commands that can be used and many of the tutorials on modifying an android phone use them. Some don't clearly state Busybox is required.
If you are using this thread as a guide to enabling installation from unknown sources be sure to read the whole thread. In particular this post.
Mission accomplished: Root explorer worked perfectly. I saw it in the marketplace before, but I didn't know it can change read/write privileges. (I didn't get it because I thought it was going to have the same effect as Android Terminal Emulator, just without the GUI. Obviously, I am pleasantly corrected.)
And I have a correction: I did not have BusyBox installed; I had the installer installed. But it is installed now.
Thanks also for the links; sideloading is on my to-do list, after removing AT&T bloatware.
And I have one quick question: Do you (or anybody reading) happen to know if it'll be ok if I remove that boot_att.ogg file in /system/media/audio? I don't know if AT&T designed it so that the phone will crash without it, so I thought I'd ask before removing it.
adanedhel728 said:
. . . .
And I have one quick question: Do you (or anybody reading) happen to know if it'll be ok if I remove that boot_att.ogg file in /system/media/audio? I don't know if AT&T designed it so that the phone will crash without it, so I thought I'd ask before removing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have not tried any mods of the boot sound. I would suggest that you replace the file with one that is the same name but just silence if removing it does not work.
Mounting file system as Read/Write
I too can affirm that the "Root explorer" app works perfectly for toggling the Read Only File System to Read Write.
I have a Samsung Captivate from AT&T that I upgraded to Froyo (2.2) using the official release from Samsung via the Kies Mini interface. First, I can say that was very worth it. Love 2.2 much better than stock 2.1
I rooted the phone with SuperOnceClick1.7 (had to have a Windoze OS to run that though) that I got from XDA developers and it worked like a charm. I then removed all the bloatware that AT&T likes to inflict upon its users by using "Titanium Backup." Finally, I added "Terminal Emulator" and verified that the su command was working and then "cd" to the "/etc" folder where the "PowerOn.wav" file is for the annoyingly loud startup sound is to delete it. When I issued the "rm" command to delete the file, got the dreaded "can't delete dueo the Read-only file system" or something very similar. Tried using the Android SDK via adb and that gave exact same results.
What to do?...Found this thread that gave great advice that "Root explorer" does work to toggle the R/O to R/W so the file could be deleted.
Thank you marvin02 for the great lead!!!
I have removed the "boot_att.ogg" file without any problems and went as far as swapping out the "bootanimation.zip" also without any problems. Now using CyanogenMod 5 boot animation but... haven't had any luck replacing the .ogg file for a custom startup sound. Tried encoding audio to the same specs as the original but keep getting this strange noise at boot time instead. Just thought I'd throw that in.
Quick question...
I just downloaded the free explorer from Speed which makes Root Explorer.
don't see any button to change read only to read/write. Is that a feature only in the paid Root Explorer?
Thanks from a Noob.
Edit: Just so if there are any other noobs asking... Yes, need to get the paid version to be able to write in system folders.
The free version is not able.

[Q] Crash after root and renaming framworks-res.apk

So, I wanted to delete my google account in the first place. I found this tutorial with video. It says:
Basically this was done on a rooted phone. We used the program called Root Explorer and navigated to /system/framework. Make sure that is mounted r/w and not r/o (read write vs read only). Rename framework-res.apk > framework-res.apk.bak. You might get an error after this (force close). Just go ahead and force close it. Immediately rename it back to framework-res.apk. Reboot and you're done. Enter your new main Google account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I rooted the phone using the Galaxy S II Root Guide on this forum. I put the XWKDD_insecure.tar on my phone, succesfully. After reboot i rooted the the phone using SuperOneClick. Everything went fine, it asked me if i wanted BusyBox > clicked 'Yes'.
I rebooted my phone, left it in USB Debugging (you never know what happens). I launched the application Root Explorer (v2.14.2) > some message asked me if i allowed the app acces to my root > clicked yes.
So, Root Explorer launched, i navigated to /system/framework and clicked "mount R/W" (read/write). I renamed framework-res.apk to framework-res.apk.bak. TROUBLE STARTS HERE
All kind of processes started to crash and asked me to do forced close the tutorial says this can happen, so i force closed. But the errors kept popping up, and i kept clicking force close. In the end there were 3(i guess) processes which continiously kept crashing one-after-another.
The proces system crashed also, so the creen was black. I was able to slide the top bar (system tray?), the icon of my advanced task killer was there so I tried to launch that but it crashed too. So I gave up, and long pressed the powerbutton.
Big trouble
I tried to reboot, the samsung galaxy s II launch image appeared. That's it.. nothing left. After a lovely cursing-session i put on the KE2 original kernel. (again, just like the root guide says) Rebooted but it's still stuck at the launch image.
Kernel version:
2.6.35.7-I910XWKE2-CL187606
[email protected] #2
I've got this phone handed by the mailman 24hours ago, and i really really want to get this fixed. Whoever helps me to get my phone working again will get a reward, I'm really desperate.
Anymore information needed? Leave a reply plz
Just go into download mode and flash again with whatever rom you want (FULL ROM not just kernel). Should be fine I would think as /system is not essential (well, for to use it as a phone/pda yes) but not for flashing again. Should be fine then.
Although i'm new to the flashing stuff, i understand what you mean. I'm going to find a full rom and download it to my phone, and be back asap
Thanks already!
Phone works again
deanwray, if you have an paypal accoun you may PM your details to me. As i've said:
Whoever helps me to get my phone working again will get a reward, I'm really desperate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess answering my question was almost easier then picking your nose still i want to thank you
I do have a paypal account, but to anyone who would want paying for simple advice, I would have little respect for and even less so for myself, just press the thanks button in xda, im more glad that your sorted than nething else
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA Premium App
Understood, i already pressed the thanks button.
@Admins: If needed, this topic may be closed now.
I too did rename framework-res.apk and bricked my Kindle fire; need help
I too did the same dumb thing.
I already rooted my kindle fire, downloaded android market I loggedin using a google account. After that I was unable to change the google account. Browsed web and I saw the post of the video. I followed the instructions in the video.
steps followed: using root explorer, went to /system/framework and renamed framework-res.apk and and after I completed the renaming, the device crashed (or I clicked something; hence crashed?) and stuck in blank carrousel page.
So, I rebooted and all I get now if boot logo of 'Kindle fire'. It doesnt go any forward.
I connected to PC and I am able to see the device in ADB. But no root access in shell. So, any adb command I give I get back errors like: no permission; read-only folder, etc.
When I use the Kindle fire utility v0.9.3 and try to do temp root or root, I get
Error type 2 android.util.AndroidException: Can't connect to activity manager; is the system running?
adbd cannot run as root in production builds
PC detects the device as 'Android Composite ADB interface'. But cant do anything in adb. I can push files to /data/local/tmp folder. Thats about it.
when I do
adb shell mv /system/framework/framework-res.apk.bak /system/framework/framework-res.apk
I get:
failed on '/system/framework/framework-res.apk.bak' - Read-only file system
Can someone help rename this file back to original framework-res.apk?
Thank you very much;

Root myTouch 3G Slide 2.2.1 RUU/OTA - NO PC required - 2013 - New Method

Earlier I posted about how to un-root the 3G Slide and go back to the latest 2.2.1 RUU from HTC. Big mistake -- who knew it would be so flipping hard to go back to rooted? My problem was, the WiFi in CM7.2 stable for this phone was terrible! But being confined to an un-rooted stock phone was worse. After doing the below, I flashed the latest radio, and put the latest nightly on the phone for CM7.2 and it's a little better, but still loses connection fairly often FYI - if anyone has any working solutions to the WiFi issues with this phone I'm all ears. But that aside, here's why I'm writing this post.
After spending nearly 4 days trying every root method I could find for the myTouch 3G Slide with the latest 2.2.1 stock ROM - I almost gave up when I decided to try something different. Luckily for me, it worked -- and best part is, I didn't have to touch a PC to do it! So I thought I'd share and hopefully save someone else some headache. Chances are, you've tried some other methods before finding this post too, so you should do a factory reset on your phone (Settings -> Storage -> Factory Reset) to get back to square 1. Also, delete any files you've used as well, and be sure to download the files using the links I've provided below, as they are known to work (for me at least).
What you'll need:
1) I know I said no PC required, but creating the goldcard hardly counts -- after this step, it's phone-only -- Goldcard - wiki.cyanogenmod.org/w/Howto:_Goldcard -- I found that the psas.revskills.de/?q=goldcard site was down quite often, so an alternate is here: huygens.hoxnet.com/goldcard.html - also, this tool helps: www.modaco.com/topic/308798-pc-application-goldcardtool/
I have to say, I had already created a goldcard for many of the other methods I had tried, so I'm not 100% certain it is required, but it only takes a minute to create, so do it anyways.
2) Download www.4shared.com/file/sz0VO2TL/SlideEng-package.html from this link and use an app on your phone like AndroZip Free to extract the zip on your sdcard. I extracted mine to the /sdcard/downloads/ directory. Which is the directory I'll use in the shell commands below.
3) Download the GingerBreak 1.20 apk, and install the app on your phone. Note, because this app isn't in the market you'll have to enable "Unknown Sources" in your settings to be able to install it. droidmodderx.com/gingerbreak-apk-root-your-gingerbread-device/ - Note that USB debugging must be enabled in your phone settings for GingerBreak to work.
4) Download www.4shared.com/file/OsmF_ZD7/ESPRIMG.html and place the ESPRIMG.zip file in the root of your sdcard (/sdcard/ESPRIMG.zip)
5) Download CWM recovery download.clockworkmod.com/recoveries/recovery-clockwork-2.5.0.7-espresso.zip and rename it to update.zip - place it also in the root of your sdcard (/sdcard/update.zip)
That's all you need, now let's get started:
1) Open the GingerBreak app and press the "root" button.
2) Wait a few minutes for it to run, if successful the phone will reboot. Once it has rebooted ensure that it was able to install the Superuser app.
3) Install any RAM booster app. I used the quick boost button in: play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=imoblife.memorybooster.lite
4) Install Terminal Emulator app from the Market.
5) Open your RAM booster app and click on "boost" RAM. You'll need ~ 70% free RAM for the next step to work.
6) Open the Terminal Emulator app.
7) Type the following commands into the terminal (don't type the $ or #'s below):
$ su
# cp /sdcard/downloads/flash_image /data/local/
# cp /sdcard/downloads/mtd0.img /data/local/
# cd /data/local/
# chmod 04755 *
# ./flash_image misc mtd0.img
8) If you get a memory error when executing that last command it's because your ram booster didn't free up enough memory. Try again, sorry.
9) Now power off your phone.
10) Hold VOLUME DOWN and POWER buttons to power on the phone into hboot.
11) Wait while it searches for and verifies your ESPRIMG.zip file on the sdcard.
12) Once it's verified, press VOLUME UP on the phone to say "Yes" to the installation.
13) When it's done installing the ESPRIMG.zip file DO NOT restart the phone! Press VOLUME DOWN to say "No".
14) Use volume buttons to highlight "recovery" from the menu, and press Power to select it.
15) If you see a red triangle with an exclamation point in it press VOLUME UP + POWER to get past it into recovery.
16) Once in recovery, choose apply update.zip from sdcard.
17) update.zip will run, and afterwards you should be in Clockworkmod recovery. From there you can wipe the data, and install any custom ROM you want.
Hope this helps someone
Plssss help
I still find it difficult to update my touch 3G slide O.s from 2.1 to 2.2...
donvman said:
I still find it difficult to update my touch 3G slide O.s from 2.1 to 2.2...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This thread assumes you want to root the phone in order to flash something like Cyanogenmod. If you simply want to update to the latest stock firmware, this may work -- http://www.htcdev.com/ruu/ (Look for the Espresso exe).

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