[Q] Google Nexus 4: photo recovery -safest ROOT possible (pun) 4.4.2 - Nexus 4 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

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

Related

[Q] New to Root

So, I used to run WinMo way back when, and I'm familiar with flashing, HardSPL, blah blah blah, whatevs. I haven't done the rooting process yet on my phone because I'm finding it hard to find a few key things that I need.
-What is the effect on my phone when I root, in regards to data? Do I need to backup? If so, can I backup on my SD card or is everything wiped? What program could I use to backup?
-Are there any crazy little tweaks or tips that anyone has to help guard against a brick?
-I've read the pros and cons list, but can I get more details from someone? Can this help with battery life, allow me to flash my radio, increase general connectivity, etc.
All help would be greatly appreciated, and I'll plan on doing a donation today. I've just been out of the loop (running WinMo 6.5 style out of the loop:/) so some advice to a rook would be great. My goal is to get out of school and come home and root and fiddle with things with little to no problems. Thanks a ton everyone.
Dig Life!
D
The process of actually rooting doesn't mess with any of your stuff.
I use Titanium Backup to restore apps after flashing roms.
In general, most of this stuff COULD help your battery life, here there are Devs that will help - with sprint you get their tech support.
Well, I DL'ed TB and it says that I have to root first? Am I missing something here? Is it ok to root or will it delete all of my apps and what not? I mean, if it does, it isn't really that big of a deal, considering I can just download them again, I'm just looking for input.
copsgottanks said:
Well, I DL'ed TB and it says that I have to root first? Am I missing something here? Is it ok to root or will it delete all of my apps and what not? I mean, if it does, it isn't really that big of a deal, considering I can just download them again, I'm just looking for input.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm pretty new, too, but I think I can answer your questions. Rooting (at least with the One Click Method I used on my Epic) doesn't destroy any data/apps on your phone. It simply gives your user root access to the underlying OS. Once that is achieved, you can modify things and tweak things. Titanium Backup will let you backup all system files and data, but only AFTER rooting.
This is not a ROM flash or anything like that from the WinMo days. I haven't gotten that far on Android, so I'm not sure what the flashing options are yet, but rooting is harmless on its own. It will let you royally screw things up though, so once it is done, be careful what you do.
Well, I tried to do a few things like listed in the One-Click root thread, but I guess I'm just not getting it. Now that I know the effects of the root, I'd like to be able to actually do it, but I don't have enough details. I haven't ever rooted before, and I'm finding it confusing. What was listed in the one-click thread wasn't specific enough for me, I don't know if I need to run from SD card, what the ADB thing is, nothing. I was a WinMo master and I'm finally coming to Android which is literally worlds away from my comfortable norm.
what os are you running? the one click comes with everything you need. theres an osx version the windows version that noobnl updates and the linux version i maintain
I'm on Windows 7 64 bit. But I still can't get any of the one click stuff to work, I don't really know what exactly to do
copsgottanks said:
I'm on Windows 7 64 bit. But I still can't get any of the one click stuff to work, I don't really know what exactly to do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't exactly call root harmless..in itself it is ok..but if you give root access to a program that program has FULL access to your system..aka anything inputed on your phone or stored on your phone can be accessed by the program with root access. Though generally its not a problem..just careful which programs you allow to use root access.
Also, at what point are you getting stuck? did you install the drivers? are you getting any sort of errors or etc?
There is also some good reading over at SDX Developers.
I have hacked and rooted before, WinMo, Palm, HTC Hero, but this one was tough. It basically took me two days off and on, but it worked - finally.
Downloading drivers is a b--h, they are finicky and I needed all of them, kept
hanging on 2. They are slow, and kept looking for sources.
Search here, there is good info, then look there (above) I used OneClickExploit 2.2.4 which finally worked. It had some of the same files
in other methods, but this one worked.
I'm not changing roms, did on Hero to 2.2 because they weren't getting upgrade but I'm just going to hang and wait for Froyo.
Good luck
copsgottanks said:
I'm on Windows 7 64 bit. But I still can't get any of the one click stuff to work, I don't really know what exactly to do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download and unzip the one-click archive in to a folder. Double-click the run.bat. I had some problems where it would start and then hang. I often had to kill it and rerun the batch file. Sometimes I had to end task on the adb.exe process. Eventually after rebooting the phone, etc, I was able to get it to work. Not sure what the exact problem was. I think part of it was connectivity to the phone via usb. Connect through a port on your computer, not a hub.
Also, the batch file is just a bunch of commands. You can open a command line in the folder where the batch file is and run each line in the batch file individually from the command line. That will give you some idea of what is happening and where it might be failing.
Like I said, I had to stop and restart a bunch of time before it finally got through to the end of the batch file correctly. When it did, it was fast. Not sure what was happening.
gTen said:
I wouldn't exactly call root harmless..in itself it is ok..but if you give root access to a program that program has FULL access to your system..aka anything inputed on your phone or stored on your phone can be accessed by the program with root access. Though generally its not a problem..just careful which programs you allow to use root access.
Also, at what point are you getting stuck? did you install the drivers? are you getting any sort of errors or etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When I try to install the drivers I get this message:
"The MSS InstallWizard was not Completed for SAMSUNG USB Driver for Mobile Phones V1.3.450.0
The MSS InstallWizard was not successfully installed SAMSUNG USB Driver for Mobile Phones V1.3.450.0. Click Finish to exit the wizard.
And I'm basically stuck there. I've searched around and can't find any drivers that will work. Like I said, I'm on 64-bit Windows 7 with a clean OS and no previous negative install history. Not sure what the issue could be?
Found the drivers and everything that I needed and I'm rooted, but now I have one more question. I don't plan on flashing any roms, I'm alright with the stock rom, at least for now. I wanted to know what rooting will do in regards to over the air updates on my phone. Will I be able to OTA to FroYo when released? Any info would be great guys, thanks.
where did you find the drivers? I am having the exact same problem that you had where the installwizard cannot download finish installing the drivers for whatever reason

Sprint Nexus S Root HELP

I just recently received the new Spring Nexus S 4G...Model GRJ22 with Android 2.3.4 installed. I'm looking for the proper way to root this device and came across this article: http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-root-nexus-s-4g-tutorial/
I'm currently on Step 2 and wondering if a mounted SD Card is necessary in order to root the device? On my last phone, the Motorola Atrix, I was able to root without having an SD Card and install all my apps to the phone. Does the Nexus S not have enough room to do this and if I do install SuperUser directly onto the device, would I be able to recover/reset to factory in the future?
My second question is this. At the end of this guide it says "You now have permanent root"...
If I ever wanted to restore/reset this back to factory settings is it possible? (this is a business phone, provided by my company, not a personal purchase). I will eventually have to return this device. Do I need an SD card in order to reset this to factory?
Thirdly (for those that may know)...I'm trying to reset my Atrix back to factory settings. I've flashed back to factory, and even went and did a hard reset on my phone. It's wiped all my apps clean and took me back through the initial setup. However, if I go to file manager...I still see all the folders that were created when I had my phone rooted. Program folders, temp files, photos I took...why are all these files/folders still here? It seems to have unrooted, but how do I wipe the phone back to COMPLETE factory form?
Answer to question 2:
You can reset this to factory setting pretty easily,
You need a 'Stock GRJ22 4G Nandroid' [keep it safe somewhere]
Then when in 'clockworkmod' click 'backup and restore' > 'restore' > 'StockGRJ22Nandroid.zip'
Then all will be back to STOCK after this operation is complete [ie. No Root,No Clockworkmod, No Modded Rom]
The only thing left to do is go into 'cmdprompt' [win7] and navigate to your Android-SDK ie. 'cd C:\android-sdk\tools' then type in 'fastboot oem lock'
Answer to question 3:
Even though you clicked 'Factory reset/wipe' it will always keep the files on your '/sdcard' directory, its pretty good really because i store all my 'cyanogen roms',spare apk's and a backup or two.
I do not know the answer to question 1 but i would assume that you didnt need an external /sd as i have a nexus s [3g model] and it has 16GB built in, meaning all was possible without needing one.
Hope this help you on your rooting journey, i know it can be tough to get your head around but it will sink in eventually, even the most skilled face daunting tasks
Great! Thank you so much!
Could you possibly link me to that StockGRJ22Nandroid.zip file?
Does anybody else have any words of advice? I'd really appreciate it!
Also is there anyway to erase those extra files left on my Atrix? A program...or possibly a forum that lists the default files/folders I need to KEEP so I can delete the other files?
In my opinion the article you are referring to is poorly written and incomplete. You'll be better off using this guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1078213
You need to have Android SDK and proper phone drivers installed on your PC.
In the development section they have threads related to questions you have.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G using XDA Premium App

Need Help, can't access the phone/password

I need some help XDA. I don't know if you'll help or not, but I'm law enforcement and I need to access a locked Droid X. None of the forensic solutions available support bypassing the lock code and I don't have access to the Gmail password for this phone.
What I was looking for is a way to flash the phone with a rooted recovery image that would not overwrite the user data on the phone, so that I could recover the contents of the phone. I've looked at several different options including adb/custom recovery images but it looks like I need to access the USB debugging mode to root the phone.
Can this be done and if so how. Is someone out there willing to help me with building a custom recovery image that doesn't overwrite or dump the user data?
maybe im oversimplifying this but have you tried just plugging it in to the computer? my x will automatically connect as a usb drive and allow me to access the files on the sd card, obviously this wont help if you are wanting call logs or txt messages unless they backed them up to the sd card, just a suggestion before custom recovery
xsurferx, I have tried that and the only thing I get is the phone will charge. In device manager the phone is recognized as a Motorola MB810 USB device.
There is no way to access the device available through Windows Explorer.
My bet is that the person who took the time to ensure that privacy is more important than convience ( deny data connect from usb, wipe sdcard, and strong enough password/encryption) has looked further into other routes aswell. But I don't know of any kind of flashable that would both preserve data and reset the lock screen. The phone is probably one of the best suited to not devulging its information. It would probably be easier to get a court order for the cell records. But I wish you luck.
Dispatched at the Speed of Light from my XOOM
If you're trying to access the SD card, take it out and use a SD card reader on a computer and should be able to fix permissions that way? Maybe....
Sent from my DROIDX using XDA App
Thanks chbennet, I've already retrieved the cell phone records from the provider (via Search Warrant) and examined the victim's phone in this case. But as always I'd also like to have all of the evidence including the suspect's phone contents. I already have the SD card contents.
There has to be a way similar to the iPhone to restore the system data to default while keeping the user data (call logs, SMS, Images, video, browser history, etc.) in tact.
The iPhone does this by creating a system partition and a user partition. Is this the same in Android phones? Or is it one partition and directories?
I'd still like to see if there is someone that could build a ROM flash that would disable the passcode.
If it is rooted, there was probably a nandroid backup on the card. If there was, this might help.
http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/319602-read-copy-contents-nandroid-backups.html
Dispatched at the Speed of Light from my XOOM

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] Nexus 7: A Beginners Quest!

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..
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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....
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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.
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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!
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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.

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