[Q] Nexus 7: A Beginners Quest! - Nexus 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi guys!
I bought a Nexus 7 a few days ago, This is my first Android device, my first tablet and my first attempt at rooting anything. so I was hoping for some help from the experienced folks because frankly i don't know what I'm doing I was hoping you could help me with a sort of beginners guide for rooting, like what i should look out for, whats the safest and easiest toolkit, rom, kernel to use. I know i have so much to learn from you guys and I've been reading some of the threads and im starting to get a bit of it already just asking for a step by step of what i should do im mainly going to use my tablet for torrents, games, and some light photo editing and lots of comics! so how do i start? hope to hear from you guys soon THANKS IN ADVANCE!

For rooting the tablet ..its safe ,the important thing is to follow the instructions .so to root it you can use one of the toolkits in the development section,I preferred wugfresh toolkit more ..but its up to you the other one is also good ... Here's a video which explains the root procedure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI0_ylxyrWA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
btw update your phone before rooting it
And for flashing Roms there are a lots of guides on how to do it..just use Google
If you got stuck in any boot loops just use the toolkit you first used, to restore to stock or restore with a nandroid backup
Most important thing when you root. before touching a file ..do a nandroid backup in recovery to always stay safe ..
That's it enjoy the forums
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

BigJoey010 said:
For rooting the tablet ..its safe ,the important thing is to follow the instructions .so to root it you can use one of the toolkits in the development section,I preferred wugfresh toolkit more ..but its up to you the other one is also good ... Here's a video which explains the root procedure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI0_ylxyrWA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
btw update your phone before rooting it
And for flashing Roms there are a lots of guides on how to do it..just use Google
If you got stuck in any boot loops just use the toolkit you first used, to restore to stock or restore with a nandroid backup
Most important thing when you root. before touching a file ..do a nandroid backup in recovery to always stay safe ..
That's it enjoy the forums
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well said, but here are some more tips: DO NOT PANIC!! when something goes wrong, which is likely, as you are a newbie to rooting, one thing you must not do is panic. calm down and troubleshoot, what did i do wrong? how do i fix it? and according to my experience, whenever a door slams shut behind you, a new window opens. if one method doesn't work, try another method.
also, read through the entire procedure list before start doing the steps. make sure you understand what is required and how to do it before accidentally doing something stupid. believe me, its happened to me b4, not a pleasant experience when you realise you dont actually meet the criteria to install something. btw, here is a list of common names given to the nexus 7: Nexus 7 (duh!), N7, grouper (wifi only) Tilapia (wifi+3g)
good luck rooting!

Read through the stickied threads and try to understand them. It won't happen right away though; your head will probably spin the first couple of times through.
There is really no "overnight" learning curve to this stuff - even if you are an old hand with Linux/Unix.
BTW, it is important to point something out: There should be no reason for you to feel like you should be in a hurry to root. The N7 is a fantastic device, even when used in a pure stock experience.. You are not going to be missing out by not rooting immediately. Spend some time with your device getting used to the Android way of doing things, and start reading XDA with a relaxed frame of mind. There is plenty of time. It would be different if you have lots of prior Android experience - but you said it - this is your first Android device.
OK, rooting. To try and keep you safe while you are a noob, I'll give this recommendation:
If you see the word "flash" (verb) near the word "bootloader", RUN AWAY!.
The most dangerous thing you can do to an N7 is mess around with the bootloader. You can turn your device into a useless object by getting things wrong, and it is a little bit rare that you need to flash a bootloader anyway. You have been warned.
So, make sure you know the difference between bootloader and "boot partition".
Most Android devices have a single flash memory chip in them which is divided up into a number of partitions. There are 5 principal partitions and about the same number of less frequently used partitions:
THE 5 PRINCIPAL ANDROID PARTITIONS:
(B) boot - a raw blob of binary data containing a "kernel" and a "ramdisk"
(B) recovery - another raw blob of binary data containing a "kernel" and a "ramdisk"
(F) system - The "ROM" part of Android - all the factory (or customized) software, used read-only
(F) data - User data and customizations. A "factory reset" simply erases all the files here
(F) cache - a scratch area used for downloading files and other maintenance operations
B = binary, bootable
F = Filesystem
Now, the two bootable partitions - boot and recovery - are very similar in structure, but extremely different in purpose. (In fact, in stock devices, they both use a private copy of the same kernel) The "boot" partition can produce a UI (User Interface) after it starts up only in conjunction with healthy /system and /data filesystems containing the Android software. But the "recovery" partition can produce a minimal UI even if the /data and /system filesystems are completely empty of files; so it (the recovery boot) is used to do all maintenance operations - including things like installing new /system software or erasing all user data.
So, and Android "rooter" will usually replace the very minimal (and locked-down-security) stock recovery partition with a "custom recovery" that is more friendly, and the vast amount of the "flashing" operations will take place using this custom recovery.
When people talk about "ROMs", they generally mean only TWO of those five partitions mentioned above: the "boot" partition and the "system" partition. When a "ROM" is flashed using the system partition, the usual procedure is:
- The rooter makes a full Nandroid backup.
- The rooter performs a "factory reset" procedure which erases the /data*** and /cache filesystems
- The rooter then "flashes a ROM", which puts in place a new boot partition, erases the /system partition, and then re-populates the /system partition with changed Android system software.
Upon booting an Android phone/tablet after this procedure, the device will behave as if it just came from the factory - but now with a different custom version of Android software. Note that this means that all the things you customized in the previous ROM - wallpapers, settings, home screen app icons, widgets, market apps downloaded, etc - will all be gone. So, folks that make a habit of hopping from ROM to ROM generally have some tricks up their sleeves for making the re-customization of a freshly-installed ROM a little less tedious. (Things like using custom launchers that allow you to save homescreen customizations, apps to restore previously-used market apps & their data, etc, etc, etc)
*** there is some funny business with Android devices that have no removable SDcard storage devices such as the Nexus 7 - the user's "SD card" is emulated, and the files that are stored there are actually stored in the /data filesystem. So, custom recoveries usually have a "factory reset" procedure which deletes all files in /data while scrupulously avoiding erasing things in this /sdcard area ( == /data/media ). This allows you to keep things safe from wiping (pictures, music, ROM files, backups) while still installing a fresh and un-initialized ROM. Note that the stock recovery in the N7 does not do this - when you use the "factory reset" of the stock recovery, EVERYTHING in /data gets erased - everything!
While you are reading about Android, here are some questions/searches to look up that concern rooting activities... have fun!
- What is the difference between grouper/tilapia (or nakasi/nakasig )?
- What does it mean to "install a new launcher" or "install a new home app"?
- What is Android fastboot used for?
- What is the Android ADB (Android Device Bridge) program used for?
- What is the difference between a boot image and a bootloader?
- How do I go about making a Nandroid Backup?
- What are the Carbon and Titanium Backup apps for? What can they do?
- What file browsers on the market are "root aware"?
- What Android settings can be saved by the Google Play Store, and automatically restored into a new ROM?
- Is there a difference between the "Superuser" and "SuperSU" root kits?
- What are the special Hardware Button Combinations used by the Nexus 7?
- What is the Google Android SDK?
- What custom recoveries are available for the Nexus 7?
- How many unique operating modes does the Nexus 7 bootloader display? What are they called?
- What is a MD5 signature? How can it help me stay out of trouble?
- What does soft-booting a bootable image with fastboot do?
- How many (Windows PC) drivers are needed to use ADB (with both the custom recovery and also the regular OS) and fastboot (with the bootloader), 2 or 3?
- Suppose I soft-brick my N7 - how will I transfer files to and from the N7 in this situation?
- What is the difference between adb push/pull and adb sideload?
- What does "sideloading an app" mean?
- Is an Android ".apk" file the same thing as a .zip file, or different?
- In what folder in /data are market apps (.apk files) found? Same question for /system and system apps (.apk files)?
- How do I enable the developer options on my N7 tablet?
- What are the limitations of MTP or PTP file transfer modes?
- Where does the custom recovery tool store backups?
- Are the Android tools "adb" and "fastboot" available for Mac or Linux?
- What are the limitations of the Google Factory Images for the Nexus 7? How are they installed?
- I have a problem using the recovery. Where is the log file stored?
- What is the big stumbling block involved in unlocking the N7 bootloader?
- What operations can you perform using fastboot and the bootloader which you can not do any other way?
OK, that's enough for now.

Thanks Everyone!
bftb0 said:
Read through the stickied threads and try to understand them. It won't happen right away though; your head will probably spin the first couple of times through.
There is really no "overnight" learning curve to this stuff - even if you are an old hand with Linux/Unix.
BTW, it is important to point something out: There should be no reason for you to feel like you should be in a hurry to root. The N7 is a fantastic device, even when used in a pure stock experience.. You are not going to be missing out by not rooting immediately. Spend some time with your device getting used to the Android way of doing things, and start reading XDA with a relaxed frame of mind. There is plenty of time. It would be different if you have lots of prior Android experience - but you said it - this is your first Android device..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do appreciate everyones input! yeah i think ill make do with the stock for a couple weeks while i study up on rooting and firmwares. well the main reason i wanted to root was for the games, as much as i want to buy the games i like, i dont have the means to

This is great. Wish I had been fortunate enough to have such great help when I first started.
And the most important rule is the one about reading before you root or flash. This will save you some heartache down the road.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

How's rooting related to games ? You mean overclocking ?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

BigJoey010 said:
How's rooting related to games ? You mean overclocking ?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sad to say i will have to torrent my games as much as i wanna pay and support the game devs i already blew all my money on steam and buying the N7. ive read somewhere that if u are using the the stock version and you try to run a torrented game it automatically shuts down

No it doesn't ...i be downloaded tons of games(torrents) and I'm on stock and they are working normally
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

UrbabBear said:
sad to say i will have to torrent my games as much as i wanna pay and support the game devs i already blew all my money on steam and buying the N7. ive read somewhere that if u are using the the stock version and you try to run a torrented game it automatically shuts down
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All the help you were given....then you bring this up.
I doubt further help will come your way as pirating software is very much frowned upon at xda.
Sent from my cell phone telephone....

kj2112 said:
All the help you were given....then you bring this up.
I doubt further help will come your way as pirating software is very much frowned upon at xda.
Sent from my cell phone telephone....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i never really liked pirating software...believe me im a huge fan of steam and i practically buy alll my games legit for the pc.. since steam wallet codes are available at a local store here.. okay i promise i wont pirate and ill try to look for the means to buy from the google store , the thing is i dont have a credit card... and i dont know if google has have something equivalent to steam wallet cards for the google play store.. i could borrow a cc and pay for it.. but is the google play store a safe place to purchase ? i nkow some people disputing alot of charges from google play to everyone, i meant no disprespect.. i was thinking along the lines of test the game if there is no lite version, then when i can i will buy the game :< im still new to the whole tablet arena and im gonna need all the help that i can get

UrbabBear said:
i never really liked pirating software...believe me im a huge fan of steam and i practically buy alll my games legit for the pc.. since steam wallet codes are available at a local store here.. okay i promise i wont pirate and ill try to look for the means to buy from the google store , the thing is i dont have a credit card... and i dont know if google has have something equivalent to steam wallet cards for the google play store.. i could borrow a cc and pay for it.. but is the google play store a safe place to purchase ? i nkow some people disputing alot of charges from google play to everyone, i meant no disprespect.. i was thinking along the lines of test the game if there is no lite version, then when i can i will buy the game :< im still new to the whole tablet arena and im gonna need all the help that i can get
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
a good way to get started is to get yourself a prepaid credit card from 7eleven and use that for purchases from the play store.

Billchen0014 said:
a good way to get started is to get yourself a prepaid credit card from 7eleven and use that for purchases from the play store.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
as much as that service would be convenient its not available in my country thanks! i hope somebody brings it here ... i found a workaround already now just a matter of saving up for the good apps! so in the mean time lite versions here i come!

UrbabBear said:
as much as that service would be convenient its not available in my country thanks! i hope somebody brings it here ... i found a workaround already now just a matter of saving up for the good apps! so in the mean time lite versions here i come!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://play.google.com/about/giftcards/ use this to see if any retailers near you sell.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

Hey guys, what do you think are the most basic and necessary apps that i should get ? running on stock
, ive checked some and go a file manager

If you think you are going to root down the road...
If you think there is a good chance that you are going to root down the road, I would suggest unlocking the bootloader in the near future. You'll need to do this and it wipes everything on the tablet. Even if you don't root, there's isn't any major downside to having the bootloader unlocked and you can always relock it later.
It's better to do that before you've put a lot of time into customizing your tablet to perfection and then have to redo it all.

Related

New Nexus 7 User (Advice/Recomendations)

Hey guys,
I'm a new Nexus 7 user (Will be delivered today) and I'm just looking for some quick advice to get started.
I have had a good search/read of forum and found various rooting methods/kernels and some roms I will be trying out etc and shouldn't have any problem getting myself started, however to lower risk I'm just looking for some seasoned N7 users to maybe give me any recommendations or advice.
I'm not a n00b and dont expect/want any spoon feeding, Maybe just a few pointers to avoid any ****ups/bricks on N7/flashing techniques.
Advice/Links would be appreciated.
Easiest way you can possibly do it:
http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/
Wilks3y said:
Easiest way you can possibly do it:
http://www.wugfresh.com/nrt/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thnx, This was one of the apps I was looking at in my research so will give it a go.
I know you're not a noob because i saw you in S2 Q/A section several times. I recommand you to unlock your bootloader and flash a custom recovery with fastboot and after that you can flash superSU with the custom recovery.
PM me if you want more advices/links.
Since unlocking your bootloader wipes the device - including the psuedo-SD card, you may as well do that first - as soon as it comes out of the box - and get it over with.
The custom recoveries use a different USB VID/PID pair than the normal OS boot for the ADB endpoint - so a single driver (Asus or Google) won't talk to the custom recoveries in ADB mode unless you edit their .INF files (use notepad app, not any other editor) so you can use a single driver for fastboot/adb-OS/adb-recovery. For signed drivers this breaks their signing, but you can still install them. I suppose others get around this by installing multiple drivers - including drivers off of XDA of mysterious origin which are also unsigned.
You can find documentation of relevant USB VID/PID pairs at the bottom of this post
[REF] Nexus 7 Button Combinations
You might find the top bit of that post useful, too
Some folks claim that you need the latest version of the SDK to deal with the new 4.2.2 adb security layer. IMO, I'm not convinced (I'm using Asus drivers from 6/2012, not Google, and everything seems to work fine.) But, it certainly can't hurt to update your SDK.
After that you might as well run stock for a week or two while you are doing more reading (OK, let's say rooted stock); that way when you start ROM-hopping you will have a baseline experience to compare against.
Get yourself a decent OTG cable; maybe a USB key that has storage capacity as big as your device, too. If you want to mount Mass Storage devices as "OTG" devices on a rooted-stock ROM, use chainfire's Stickmount app from the market.
And lastly - just like with any other device, make full Nandroid backups - including for your lightly-rooted stock ROM. You never know when you might want to pull bits and pieces from them later.
Also, I consider myself decently skilled at this stuff - but because I came from a device with a real external SD card, I have managed to totally wipe out my "psuedo-SD card" twice now because I got in a hurry and wasn't paying attention. Moral: at a minimum, get copies of your Nandroid backups off of the device.
Finally, don't use a toolkit - you will learn nothing, and be unable to resolve even the most trivial of problems which eventually crop up. Underneath the hood it's all fastboot and adb anyway.
$.02
bftb0 said:
Since unlocking your bootloader wipes the device - including the psuedo-SD card, you may as well do that first - as soon as it comes out of the box - and get it over with.
...
[REF] Nexus 7 Button Combinations
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The link doesn't work.. Thought I'd mention it
And have fun enjoying your new Nexus. Do yourself a favor no matter what method you use to root/flash: read everything in the op before you flash anything and its better if you wait until others post feedback. I still have a $200 paperweight that says KINDLE on the back.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
kilometers4 said:
The link doesn't work.. Thought I'd mention it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - fixed it. Dropped one digit at the end.
Thnx for advice guys, will be rom hopping for a while until I find one to stay with for a while. Currently on CM10.1.
As mentioned the lack of real ext sd is a bit of a ball ache. Really wish they had have added the slot to new nexus range.

[Q] Google Nexus 4: photo recovery -safest ROOT possible (pun) 4.4.2

In short, i deleted my photos by accident, and deeply desire to recover them.
Data Recovery programs wont work on my Google Nexus 4, for a combination of reasons. Namely, because it is not a usb mass storage device, it is internal memory, and because the phone has not ever been rooted. If it is possible to recover the photos without rooting the phone, this would be favorable. But i doubt this is possible.
Is there a way to root my phone without causing a "factory wipe/reset"? Perhaps by avoiding unlocking the bootloader?I am not even 100% sure if this can be achieved on 4.4.2. as of now. I am continuing to investigate, but if anyone has the know-how, please let me know.
this forum here, suggests something that might work, but at the end of the forum, it suggests that 4.4.2 is still impossible to root without wiping.
-There are methods of scanning the phone after it has been rooted, but i can't find the right kind of rooting i need.
-There are methods of copying the phone's hard drive -bit-by-bit- to my PC in .RAW format, and then converting this into something that can be mounted like a real drive, which could be scanned and from which photos could be recovered., but this method requires a rooted phone as well
-there is a possibility of trying to mount the phone on a linux OS, and then scan it possibly. but i don't know if this is impossible.
i am reading the basics in the meantime.
LG Google Nexus 4, 4.4.2
Build:KOT49H
kernel:
3.4.0-perf-g2cae413
[email protected] #1
wed Nov20 14:54:28 PST 2013
Desktop PC: Windows 7 Professional 64bit, service pack 1.
Laptop: mac...
you can read more about things i have tried and my other concerns, in greater detail below.
LOTS OF METHODS, LITTLE CLARITY
I just came back from visiting some dear friends in china and purchased an upgraded version of dropbox. Before I uploaded my photos, I accidentally deleted my entire album.
What is the safest and surest attempt for recovery?
1. i need to avoid installing anything on my phone as much as possible - (lest it overwrite the empty areas where the "deleted" photos reside.)
2. i need to keep my phone off as much as humanly possible (lest it overwrite the empty areas where the "deleted" photos reside.)
3. almost without saying - id like to avoid bricking my phone, (lest it destroy my "deleted" photos)
SOFTWARE RECOVERY SECTION
All known software recovery programs won't find any data on my phone because either they are made for scanning mountable drives, USB mass storage devices, or some simply cannot scan the device unless i root my phone (although I am not sure if rooting is directly correlated with successful scanning, or if rooting the phone simply allows me to carry on with other necessary steps prior to "successful scanning"- like allowing me to installing apps that allow me to mount the internal memory as a scannable drive). Enabling USB Debugging, or enabling/disabling MTP is not the same as enabling USB mass storage mode. Seeing the Nexus 4 as "portable Device" under my computer does not mean it is a mounted drive that i can scan with a recover program. No matter what, nothing seems to work with the Google Nexus 4 as it is now.
***I first tried installing the driver's through the ANDROID SDK, by unzipping the contents from the downloaded zip file and by double clicking the .exe file. Double-clicking the .exe file resulted in a cmd dos-style window popping up and immediately disappearing. Perhaps i needed to put the extracted folder on "C:\"?
REGARDLES....later, I have used WugFresh Nexus Root Toolkit v1.8.2 for ensuring proper driver installation for my phone. I have only used this software to install drivers. It walks you through bad-driver uninstallation/clean up, it retrieves the latest drivers, installs them, and then tests their workability for you and lets you know if the drivers were successfully installed.
I have not used Wug's toolkit to root or hack my phone... yet....
Below is a list of software I have used on my Windows machine and my mac. These simply will not work with the phone as it is right now.
Remo
TenorShare
Bycloud android data recovery
Android Data Recovery
Dr. Fone
Recuva
- i havent tried disk digger. but it requires a rooted phone.
SO simple methods will simply not work? Please correct me if I am wrong.
BIT BY BIT CLONE METHOD
This seems to be the most tedious (but thorough) method for actually preparing something that can be truly scanned for photo-recovery. This method seems to create a bit-by-bit copy of the phone to my computer, which can be converted and mounted and then scanned.
However, it requires rooting. Not to mention, it recommends non-destructive rooting. Which leads me to the next section ...
ROOTING section (and its problems)
In the fruitless sections listed above, it always seems to lead towards rooting as a requirement. Most people say you should root your phone when you first get it, because, i suppose rooting is "synonymous" with a wipe/reset. I believe this reset happens as a result of the bootloader being unlocked. According to MY limited understanding, this unlocking process essentially causes a "factory reset" which wipes the phone, and then catastrophically overwrites the precious space where the deleted photos currently reside. this is unacceptable. I imagine, this "reset" is for security reasons.
Most people seem to suggest that you make a back up before you root. This isn't helpful for my situation because we are talking about retrieving deleted data. I cannot make a back-up of deleted data.
Is it really possible to root without wiping the Google Nexus 4?
Is it even profitable to consider rooting a viable option? I don't imagine myself enjoying a rooted phone as much as others on this forum. I would hate to be creating a black hole for malicious software to breed. i am only concerned with data retrieval for this one time in my life. Is rooting the only viable option? If i root, won't that make the previously mentioned software-scanning section (e.g., Dr. fone), more viable than the BIT-BY-BIT section tedious and pointless by comparison?
All in all, I think it most likely that i will need to root my phone and do the bit by bit copy. If a rooting-first-step is the final conclusion, then I am looking for clear and careful advice for my specific phone on how to root it without jeopardizing the deleted photos (e.g., avoiding a "factory reset" from unlocking the bootloader, or perhaps avoiding unlocking the bootloader altogether) and how to hopefully carry on from there. I don't even know if avoiding "unlocking the bootloader" will virtually guarantee a non-destructive root method
Rooting gets crazy because it leads to necessary installations of SuperUser, busybox, kernels, roms, etc... There are so many unfamiliar vague terms for a beginner like me and it is taking tons of time to break through. I am uninterested in keeping my phone rooted, or maintaining a lifestyle with a rooted phone. if we can move expeditiously from point A to B and then back, (get in, get the photos, and get out,) that would be the most awesome plan.
LINUX METHOD?
is there another way to get to the deleted photos?.
I do not know if 'mounting' the phone is akin to 'mounting' a scannable drive. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw2MKGIgyF4
maybe this is another wild goose chase?
IN SUMMARY
1. It would be helpful if there was a root-free photo-recovery software solution that actually works (this is unlikely to be in existence) with an unrooted nexus 4
2. It would be helpful if it is possible to root without destroying my chances of recovering my deleted photos, with the goal of allowing recovery software access (deeper access) to my phone, i.e. disk digger or if necessary... a bit-by-bit copy to my PC.
3. it would be interesting if the nexus 4 can be magically mounted and scanned on the linux operating system
4. It would be MOST HELPFUL if there was a clear consensus on what direction to take, because there is a lot of misinformation out there. One wrong step and i could end up shooting myself in the foot twice (if i inadvertently reset my phone), or three times (if i brick my phone).
5. can the phone be put back to normal (i.e. unroot) after rooting? or does this require that i make a full backup of the phone in its current state? ( i tried using WUGS toolkit to backup my media, but it wont do it unless i unlock the bootloader... back to that problem again )
I'm sorry for sounding like an idiot. I have been at this for a more than a few hours. I sincerely appreciate any help and consideration towards this specific situation in advance, and the hope that this forum has already offered me.
Impossible to root 4.4.2 without unlocking the boot loader and wiping the device.
DrFredPhD said:
Impossible to root 4.4.2 without unlocking the boot loader and wiping the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same problem.... There isn't a solution yet? :crying:
fabrollo said:
Same problem.... There isn't a solution yet? :crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope, you have to unlock the bootloader and that wipes the device
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA Free mobile app
jd1639 said:
Nope, you have to unlock the bootloader and that wipes the device
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And after i should try to recover all the wiped files with diskdigger for example? Maybe the datas that we was searching will be found?
Thanks... if i must try this way to solve my problem i will bite the bullet...
fabrollo said:
And after i should try to recover all the wiped files with diskdigger for example? Maybe the datas that we was searching will be found?
Thanks... if i must try this way to solve my problem i will bite the bullet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The chances of recovering anything is very small
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app

I guess there IS such a thing as "too many choices"

Hi all,
I finally decide to root my Nook(SimpleTouch Glow, v1) again, and now I see all of these choices. TouchNooter, a tweaked version of the standard ROM, GlowNooter, SnoMod, I'm sure that there are others, I have no idea which is the best for what I want to do, so I thought I might ask around here.
I don't really plan on surfing the web, playing games, etc. On my Nook, I really want to read, but I want CoolReader, and I'd like it to be smoother than it has been before. I just want the customization I can get from CoolReader over the stock app. I know it's an older custom version of the software, but if one of these mods is a version of Android that the new CoolReader will work on, I'm all over that. I just don't know where to start for one that just works well for reading, maybe a little bit of browsing if I want to check out something i just read about.
Like I said, it's the first version of the SimpleTouch Glow, not the higher res one they put out last year, currently running v1.2.0.
And I also found this post at makeuseof, it's from last October, but looks like something different than I did last year. Is this technique already obsolete?
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/hack-your-nook-simple-touch-into-a-super-e-reader-in-three-easy-steps/
Thanks!!
Mike Wells
I would suggest updating to 1.2.1 before you start rooting.
If command line does not scare you, I would suggest using the Minimal rooting - back to basics thread's procedure. It will allow you to do what you want without installing all kinds of stuff you are not going to use.
I have attached a bare bones document I created as I followed this procedure on my device. It you want more explanation, feel free to ask. There are steps I left out because they were obvious to me because I have been fooling around with rooting for several years. Other stuff, like the font stuff is not necessary, just my preferences.
You might also want to consider NookManager - it's the method I used way back when I first rooted, as well as what I used when I re-rooted after soft-bricking (due to an attempt at system font replacement ). (By the way, I did get that working. :victory
The great thing about it is that it's easy, minimalistic, and customizeable by editing the NookManager.img file before writing it to your sdcard.
Thanks guys, that gives me a starting point. I think I'll try these in order, see how it works. Not sure if this Nook updates to 1.2.1, seems like B&N siad that was for the newer gen Simple Touch.
Never mind, got 1.2.1 to manually update. I'll tty David's method now.
thenookieforlife3 said:
You might also want to consider NookManager - it's the method I used way back when I first rooted, as well as what I used when I re-rooted after soft-bricking (due to an attempt at system font replacement ). (By the way, I did get that working. :victory
The great thing about it is that it's easy, minimalistic, and customizeable by editing the NookManager.img file before writing it to your sdcard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed. This is how I initially set up, then I installed CWM and that tweaked ROM (sorry forgot his name; on mobile right now), except with ReLaunch instead of BAM as the launcher. Runs like a charm but there is a slight lag after booting. By the way, if you go messing with the hidden activities for the Settings app, be careful! I opened an unnamed one by accident and it said there was an "Authorization Problem" and proceed to boot to CWM and wipe my /data/ and /cache/ partitions.
yattaro said:
Agreed. This is how I initially set up, then I installed CWM and that tweaked ROM (sorry forgot his name; on mobile right now), except with ReLaunch instead of BAM as the launcher. Runs like a charm but there is a slight lag after booting. By the way, if you go messing with the hidden activities for the Settings app, be careful! I opened an unnamed one by accident and it said there was an "Authorization Problem" and proceed to boot to CWM and wipe my /data/ and /cache/ partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... I learned that lesson the hard way a couple months ago.
NEVER AGAIN!
Yeah, pretty much just use the Nook color tools to enable USB debugging and leave the rest alone unless you feel inquisitive and have an up to date cwm backup!
OB
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
OverByter said:
Yeah, pretty much just use the Nook color tools to enable USB debugging and leave the rest alone unless you feel inquisitive and have an up to date cwm backup!
OB
Sent from my SPH-D710VMUB using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't even need it for that.
You can launch the Development Settings directly by executing this command in a shell (either directly from the Nook or over ADB):
Code:
am start -n com.android.settings/.DevelopmentSettings

[Q] Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 8.0 AT&T SM-T337A Root but NO Recovery

Hi Devs,
I've just joined and am uncertain of the proper place for this thread. Apologies if inaccurately posted.
I have the T337A, which I have rooted on ANF4, but I cannot find a recovery. I have read and read but am not finding the solution to my little project. I would like to get a safestrap on this locked bootloader so that I can install and learn to write custom ROMs. I have tried a safestrap but it was not for this specific device and did not work. I have also installed and purchased CWM Recovery and TWRP Recovery, in my learning process. The problem with the recovery is that there is no custom recovery written for this device and the bootloader is locked, as this is the AT&T WiFi/LTE version. So it looks to me like I need to figure out the partitioning image somehow in order to make a safestrap work on this device...as step 1. Is there anything else that I can do with this locked bootloader? I would love to have some help in writing a custom recovery and ROM for this device but I am a tiny tiny noob here and not a hard core programmer. If I could get some feedback on places to start for such a daunting task, it would be great. I guess one thing that I do not understand is why I cannot make my current rooted ROM the default recovery in TWRP. It asks me to choose from the list of supported devices. I understand that it goes: NAND --> aboot.img/bootloader --> recovery/or/kernel --> OS/or/ROM? If this is close to accurate then I would have to write something to the NAND?, which I'm not sure what is yet, in order to hijack the factory bootloader and then write the partitions on the sdCard for the ROM, like the safestrap folks wrote? It looks to me like they also included a version of TWRP touch which I used on the S4 yesterday and was really cool, so I guess that would be needed as well and is also why TWRP does not work for me now...it cannot hijack the locked bootloader. How do I hijack this hard headed thing? fastboot does not work to this device. In the process of this project, I have also run into a roadblock trying to update the /system/framework/framework-res.apk, in the manner that a flash needs to be done, I think. I want to change the /res/values/bools/bools.xml switch "voice_capeable" to true. AT&T or Samsung disable this on this version of the tablet, I guess to sell tethering or something else I'm not familiar with...but the way it looks to me, everything is configured on the device and I have a phone number provisioned for data at least. Why can't I turn on this switch and use the phone portion of the device? Any time I tickle the running framework-res.apk, it kills the OS. I tried compiling an update.zip aligned and signed with test keys or something like that but when I flash it, it fails with wrong footer and invalid signature...then it wipes me back to the stone ages. I warned I was a noob..! ...but not scared to brick some shtuff in order to learn this and write some custom solutions. An after thought...is there a solution for a bootable extSdCard for Android? This might lead to some options if it is possible.
Gathering phone info...
Collecting information. Be patient! Do NOT disconnect the phone!
Model: SM-T337A
Android Version: 4.4.2
Sales Code: ATT
PDA Version: T337AUCU1ANF4
Phone Version: T337AUCU1ANF4
CSC Version: T337AATT1ANF4
Product Code: SM-T337AZWAATT
HIDSw Version: T337AUCU1ANF4/T337AATT1ANF4/T337AUCU1ANF4/T337AUCU1ANF4
Board Platform: MSM8226
Serial Number: R32FA00PMRF
Imei: 3534.............
Unique Number: C1604.......
Connections: AT,MTP,MTP
Battery Status: 4.28V (94%)
Network Type: GSM
SuperSU Pro v2.40
TWRP donate latest
CWM donate v5.5.3.7
BusyBox Stericson donate v1.23.0
Titanium Backup Pro latest
xPosed v2.7.1
Wanam xPosed v3.3.1
NinjaMorph Pro v2.8.2
ROM Toolbox Pro v6.0.6.5
RootLogger Pro v1.9
Nandroid Backup v4.4.5
Next Launcher 3D Shell v3.20
Root Firewall Pro v2.1
SetCPU v3.1.2
w/respect. PitPin
Sir,
Please wait until mods will move this thread to the device specific forum for more relevant answers.
Stand by
Good luck
We had a dev working to get safestrap, but he struck out. So if you can get it, I'll test. I too have the 337a. Sucks to have a locked bootloader and no dev interest.
pre4speed said:
We had a dev working to get safestrap, but he struck out. So if you can get it, I'll test. I too have the 337a. Sucks to have a locked bootloader and no dev interest.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks pre4speed. I am taking a look at the two tasks again tonight and decided to take the res/bool = voice_capable issue on first since this will determine how brickable this device can be for me. If I can use it as a regular modem phone then I might be a bit more careful with the bootloader project I did some more tinkering with the framework-res.apk ...specifically the /res/values/bools/bools.xml resource and tried the following:
-------
Factory wipe
Flashed sammobile.com T337AATT1ANF4 firmware
Rooted
SuperSU
Busybox
Froze AT&T update service and others involved
Titanium backup and pulled a good backup
Online Nandroid and pulled a good backup
Installed my XDA app. of course..!
-------
Framework-res.apk:
Used total commander to copy the running apk off to the sdCard and then my PC.
Decompilled in APKStudio2.0.3b-Windows (I am also using Ubuntu 14.04 if there is a better way here..also Android Studio on both OS...just learning).
Edited my value.
Recompiled with zip align/sign option.
***Now here in lies the problem, if I haven't already created one above ***
The random article I dug up said that in order to get past the wrong footer and signature issue, and stone-age wipe, when attempting this via abd sideload with an update.zip, is to now copy the edited file back into the original APK using 7zip in order to retain the original signing keys. When I open the original APK archive, it does not show the resource folders deemed "important and I should not jack with them" in the compiled APK (mainly values/* folder). The article mentioned the resource folders such as res/values/bools are compiled and hidden and that I needed to copy over the new resources.arsc file. I see this in the newly compiled APK I made but it also put the Manifest.xml and /res folder in there. Do I need to copy all of that or just the compiled resources.arsc file? I did all and it boot looped me so I'm guessing that I either did something wrong or this was not the right answer. The last part was to chmod the new APK, use total commander to mount the folder as rw, copy over the file, and reboot. All of that worked and I had to reboot many many times...loop.
That is where I am on the modem part and am going to attempt copying just the resources.arsc in a few. I will post more on the bootloader side soon, as I've been researching what goes on from the time I push the power button until the time I swipe the first screen. Lots of reading
w/respect - PitPin
Copying only the resources.arsc file from within the newly compiled apk back to the original framework-res.apk made some progress. Now I have the phone dialer app icon in my apps drawer... but it is failing complaining about contacts. On to the next round of research..!
PitPin said:
Copying only the resources.arsc file from within the newly compiled apk back to the original framework-res.apk made some progress. Now I have the phone dialer app icon in my apps drawer... but it is failing complaining about contacts. On to the next round of research..!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stalled out temporarily on the tab project as laptop hard drive bought the farm. Back in action and made some progress on the tab voice_capable issue. Everything appears to be there and in working order but the SMS modules. I think this has something to do with why the contacts app is blowing up but not sure yet. GoSMS and EXDialer seem to work together without blowing up but the dialer taps the modem and then dies. Taking a break from this to start a thread on rooting the AT&T Alpha. I'm about half way through the exploit on that project. Any input on what might be my SMS problem on the tab 4 would be appreciated. Attached are a few screens.
Does anyone know how to removed the caution sign on the left corner it keep telling me unauthorized action have been detected.
I am in the same boat, I so wish this would come through because I do love this little tab.
same boat
/baker said:
I am in the same boat, I so wish this would come through because I do love this little tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so did you finally get it going or what?I have been wanting to get my Tab going as well. I've Rooted it and paid for an unlock even, which worked fantastic by the way...Thanx XDA!!! The rooting guide I got from here was right on point,no problem at all!!But anyways, I have it on metro pcs now on the unlimited $60 plan which is awesome (.REAL unlimited internet with NO THROTTLING ) for me because now at home I run pda.net, which gives me very good, fulltime, internet for my home computers as well as the ability to stream everything onto a large screen or even via windows when we want to watch with all the bells and whistles! No lag at all usually,and I don't use my hotspot because of the usb internet connect on pda.net. When I do use the wireless connect, it doesn't take any of the allotted hotspot usage up either!!All in all it's a great deal for me. I just got a new sim for it, called in the imei to metro ,which in turn gave me a phone number and data account, and presto!Been on the net ever since! Now that I've had it for over a month ,I wanna get the voice capability to work as well, being that I am paying for 2 lines now. Although I can use the old trusty hangouts dialer with the GoogleVoice easily enough. I want to be able to use my metro number mainly because these phone companies charge and charge and charge, never caring about us,or our need to have communication at our disposal at all times.Cell phones are by far not inexpensive and the internet wasn't started for us to pay aan arm and a leg to use.Anytime I come out good while dealing with a wireless company. it's a stupendous event,I'm telling you!! Heck ,I'm writing from my home computer now, going through the Tab at this very moment! Nevertheless, I'm wanting for the devs, to come through as well. With maybe even a new rom,sans the at&t stuff, of course, since I do now have a different carrier? Heck, the Tab is even great for when we travel! 24/7 unlimited internet /streaming , and the screen size is much better than the phone screen ever was!I just really wanted to thank XDA for the work they put in to help us part - timers out,Ive been rooting and unlocking and bricking and un-bricking for quite some time now,I even repair phones now actually,but the programming and the putting it all out here for guys like me to have fun and tinker with these phones would be entirely impossible without the DEV'S and their hard work for SURE...Thanx Guys!!You ROCK!

Why so much hassle to gain your fundemential right to make best use of the hardware

before this htc 626 a32_ul phone i had nexus 7 (2013) 32gb tablet which was simple to root, and make use of my system as best i could, but without any access to sdcard to add extra storage space for apps and media i might like to store , i always thought i was half cheated out of the full potential of possible maximum use of the hardware i had paid for, now i have brought htc 626 a32_ul phone with 16 gb memory, i was thinking that is ok i root it like my nexus , but never realised the problem that s-on causes would cause me, and with the bloat ware that htc installs that i have no use off the memory free to use for apps is even far smaller than i had thought i would have, media i can store on sdcard and is only dependant on size of my sdcard, but the number of apps i can use is severally restricted by the limited internal memory,if i had known of this problem before purchase i would never have brought this phone, i like the phone , i am ok with its working speed, but with the amount of space taken up by bloatware that i have no use of ,i now wish i never brought this phone, it has driven me to learn lot more about android system in trying to root this phone and now feel lot more confidant in using adb and fastboot cmds and have even help couple people to recover their phones from bricked status in the process which has given me some small compensation . but really i would just liked simple purchase of phone and additional sdcard and install at will what apps i liked with plenty space on sdcard for music and films or tv recordings i would like to see, and also be able to remove or move to sdcard any bloat ware that i dont much care for, the high use apps i would like to keep on main memory and those apps i dont use often moved to sdcard is simple really if i dont use much i dont much care about start-up time , but if i use often then i would like to start up asop.
this is how os should work for the benefit of the user.
But android is being designed to force people to buy the high end phones and tablets with large internal memory so they can maximise profits,
su or superuser program is like 100 kb of space yet even so i paid for hardware i am not allowed use of super user privilege . so i am sold a phone hardware that im free to choose what phone provider i want , but am not allowed to use my phones hardware as i want until i void my warranty and install a custom rom that will give me access to my root system even so i own the hardware outright to use as i want, i not free to use the open os as i want, is weird situation . a bit ilike being sold a kettle to make tea , but you are not allowed to make coffee because of limitation imposed by the manufacturer, and if u do make coffee with such machine you invalidate your warranty.
also with htc 626 ?? suffix x, w p, h , s,g all having different chipsets we are let in a minefield of matching up boot recovery and root,
regards frank gambit
my thoughts on this htc 626 ( is so many pref-axis ) prefix wtf would be more appropriate universal prefix appropriate to this phone.
frankgambit said:
before this htc 626 a32_ul phone i had nexus 7 (2013) 32gb tablet which was simple to root, and make use of my system as best i could, but without any access to sdcard to add extra storage space for apps and media i might like to store , i always thought i was half cheated out of the full potential of possible maximum use of the hardware i had paid for, now i have brought htc 626 a32_ul phone with 16 gb memory, i was thinking that is ok i root it like my nexus , but never realised the problem that s-on causes would cause me, and with the bloat ware that htc installs that i have no use off the memory free to use for apps is even far smaller than i had thought i would have, media i can store on sdcard and is only dependant on size of my sdcard, but the number of apps i can use is severally restricted by the limited internal memory,if i had known of this problem before purchase i would never have brought this phone, i like the phone , i am ok with its working speed, but with the amount of space taken up by bloatware that i have no use of ,i now wish i never brought this phone, it has driven me to learn lot more about android system in trying to root this phone and now feel lot more confidant in using adb and fastboot cmds and have even help couple people to recover their phones from bricked status in the process which has given me some small compensation . but really i would just liked simple purchase of phone and additional sdcard and install at will what apps i liked with plenty space on sdcard for music and films or tv recordings i would like to see, and also be able to remove or move to sdcard any bloat ware that i dont much care for, the high use apps i would like to keep on main memory and those apps i dont use often moved to sdcard is simple really if i dont use much i dont much care about start-up time , but if i use often then i would like to start up asop.
this is how os should work for the benefit of the user.
But android is being designed to force people to buy the high end phones and tablets with large internal memory so they can maximise profits,
su or superuser program is like 100 kb of space yet even so i paid for hardware i am not allowed use of super user privilege . so i am sold a phone hardware that im free to choose what phone provider i want , but am not allowed to use my phones hardware as i want until i void my warranty and install a custom rom that will give me access to my root system even so i own the hardware outright to use as i want, i not free to use the open os as i want, is weird situation . a bit ilike being sold a kettle to make tea , but you are not allowed to make coffee because of limitation imposed by the manufacturer, and if u do make coffee with such machine you invalidate your warranty.
also with htc 626 ?? suffix x, w p, h , s,g all having different chipsets we are let in a minefield of matching up boot recovery and root,
regards frank gambit
my thoughts on this htc 626 ( is so many pref-axis ) prefix wtf would be more appropriate universal prefix appropriate to this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/desire-626/development/desire-626s-root-t3249254
gingrbred said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/desire-626/development/desire-626s-root-t3249254
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is my point that link is for htc626s custom rom which is a qualcomm 210 chipset, my htc626 is a32_ul chipset and i think is also called htc626x in asia the custom recovery rom i need to root my phone i have found link too but is Chinese site that u need be knight ranked to download but i dont know how to get to knight rank,
they have a link to a file named twrp-2.8.7.0-a32_ul.rar the site is ai-development.org http://www.ai-development.org/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=8345 , so i waiting till i get knight rank and free to download but as this sight is in Chinese and doesn't work correctly in gogle translate it is hard to navigate to do the task to gain this knight ranking thing.
Not the only one
I found this site as well when researching a way to get TWRP for this specific Desire 626 model. I made an account on the website but it is too hard to decipher how I am even meant to earn levels or coins etc. I tried but was unable to get far.
I THINK I have 10 coins but I still need the lvl 5 trainee knight thing and am just classed as a lvl 1 civilian. God darn. >_>
ThatOneJoshy said:
I found this site as well when researching a way to get TWRP for this specific Desire 626 model. I made an account on the website but it is too hard to decipher how I am even meant to earn levels or coins etc. I tried but was unable to get far.
I THINK I have 10 coins but I still need the lvl 5 trainee knight thing and am just classed as a lvl 1 civilian. God darn. >_>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have got to lvl 3 now
as u have to register daily on http://www.ai-development.org/plugin.php?id=dsu_paulsign:sign daily attendance page and leave a smiley face and hello each day .
plus complete tasks on http://www.ai-development.org/home.php?mod=task forum task page
first two task are dooable.
as to reading the pages i goto the raw page http://www.ai-development.org/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=8345 first then login via facebook , mistake was going to google translate page u need original page for menus to work properly then right click on web page and pick translate to english then this will translate the page and keep all menus and buttons working properly. i keep logging there till i get the file i want or i find it or make it myself whatever happens first not sure which ill do first rofl :laugh:
Managed to get custom recoveries for it
So I managed to get two image files and when doing the fastboot boot command, it didn't display the error for not having a dtb as the recovery is rebuilt for this device (as far as I can see anyway). I flashed each file as well to try each of them that way instead of the boot command as the boot command just froze the phone and both gave the same result. It will boot into recovery mode but will have a blank screen and not do anything.
I'll link the files download links, as well as the source as to where I downloaded the files here below. All credit should go to the creators of the files.
Try them out and see if you can get them working yourself.
As a note, I am unable to post links due to the account type I have as it is now so put mediafire before those links with a forward slash. Also, one is for TWRP 2.8.0.0 and one is 2.8.7.0. Anyway...
?ubuhbdj0ygdkcqb
and
?bviw88iyrgmyef8
Source: type twrp a32_ul into google and it will be on the website known as ai-development
Good luck and let me know if you make any progress with these.
ThatOneJoshy said:
So I managed to get two image files and when doing the fastboot boot command, it didn't display the error for not having a dtb as the recovery is rebuilt for this device (as far as I can see anyway). I flashed each file as well to try each of them that way instead of the boot command as the boot command just froze the phone and both gave the same result. It will boot into recovery mode but will have a blank screen and not do anything.
I'll link the files download links, as well as the source as to where I downloaded the files here below. All credit should go to the creators of the files.
Try them out and see if you can get them working yourself.
As a note, I am unable to post links due to the account type I have as it is now so put mediafire before those links with a forward slash. Also, one is for TWRP 2.8.0.0 and one is 2.8.7.0. Anyway...
?ubuhbdj0ygdkcqb
and
?bviw88iyrgmyef8
Source: type twrp a32_ul into google and it will be on the website known as ai-development
Good luck and let me know if you make any progress with these.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for the links saved me 3 weeks time
i get the same problem with blank screen but does read as a htc626x asia device in recovery mode with blank screen not sure why that is yet.
First link for 2.8.0.0 can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/ub...0.0-a32_ul.rar
Second link for 2.8.7.0 can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/bv...7.0-a32_ul.rar
i thought you wouldnt mind me posting link for your 2 files here for others to try out as more people trying this out more likely we find a method to next step a working screen and/or rooting method.
also i been using squabbis htc one toolkit with updated fastboot and adb files so it works with our device , so here is link to modified squabbis toolkit isnt my program but does now work for htc 626 device.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Xp3GIFBvPvWnRuanE1b1ZJVmM/view?usp=sharing
i hope this helps everyone out there trying to gain root or custom recovery and more ppl trying stuff out more likley someone hit pot luck and resolve this problem
:laugh:
regards frnkGambit
frankgambit said:
thanks for the links saved me 3 weeks time
i get the same problem with blank screen but does read as a htc626x asia device in recovery mode with blank screen not sure why that is yet.
First link for 2.8.0.0 can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/ub...0.0-a32_ul.rar
Second link for 2.8.7.0 can be found here: http://www.mediafire.com/download/bv...7.0-a32_ul.rar
i thought you wouldnt mind me posting link for your 2 files here for others to try out as more people trying this out more likely we find a method to next step a working screen and/or rooting method.
also i been using squabbis htc one toolkit with updated fastboot and adb files so it works with our device , so here is link to modified squabbis toolkit isnt my program but does now work for htc 626 device.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4Xp3GIFBvPvWnRuanE1b1ZJVmM/view?usp=sharing
i hope this helps everyone out there trying to gain root or custom recovery and more ppl trying stuff out more likley someone hit pot luck and resolve this problem
:laugh:
regards frnkGambit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know its been awhiel, but do you ahve the files still? all the links seem to be dead

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