Database Info

Creating a Downloadable "root kit" for the Market

I was just thinking... someone could write up an application that does the following:
It verifies you are running RC29. If not, it directs you to the sticky post on xda-developers (or sends you an email with the link).
The application contains a modified/rooted recovery image.
The application tells the user to type "telnetd" + enter.
Once telnetd is running, it telnets into localhost and automatically remounts the /system partition, and replaces the recovery image.
For noobs, it would trivialize a lot of the difficulty of rooting.
I'm pretty busy porting native applications and Mono to work with Android (almost done though!) but wanted to just throw this idea out there for someone else to pick up.
I can also provide source code for my Telnet client that is currently used to do the rooting. That would make a good starting point.

Its a good idea, though whether it makes it onto the market is another question. If u want root bad enough, then u should be able to figure it out through the threads here like i did

Even better, it automatically grabs an RC29 NBH from a server, saves it to SD, verifies the SD is FAT32, verifies its hash, renames it to DREAIMG.NBH and instructs the user to boot into bootloader mode.

I think this would be VERY helpful for those ignorant idiots who post on root-only apps and rate them down because they don't know how to operate Google.
Also, I think it should include an option to download the DREAMIMG.NBH file and put it in the root so that RC30 users can downgrade.
veda_sticks said:
Its a good idea, though whether it makes it onto the market is another question. If u want root bad enough, then u should be able to figure it out through the threads here like i did
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The thing is, this is exactly why the Android market is supposed to be better than the AppStore. There is no "official approval" process. Apps can get taken down if they are malicious, but as long as a developer has paid their $25, their apps can go straight to the Market.

I think we are all dreaming that an application like this would ever hit the market. I'm not saying it's a bad idea but think about what we putting in front of EVERYONE that owns a G1.
Do you really think everyone that owns a G1 should be trusted with root access?
What happens when the first application that comes to market place exploits root access and really does some damage/malicious to your precious G1.
I'd suggest rethinking this one.

rsfaze said:
I think we are all dreaming that an application like this would ever hit the market. I'm not saying it's a bad idea but think about what we putting in front of EVERYONE that owns a G1.
Do you really think everyone that owns a G1 should be trusted with root access?
What happens when the first application that comes to market place exploits root access and really does some damage/malicious to your precious G1.
I'd suggest rethinking this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root access is protected by Superuser.

Koush said:
Root access is protected by Superuser.
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I get that which is a nice feature, but I thought Superuser is only available in JF images. I don't recall having an application on my stock RC30 called Superuser and it's not found in market place.
What did I miss?

rsfaze said:
I get that which is a nice feature, but I thought Superuser is only available in JF images. I don't recall having an application on my stock RC30 called Superuser and it's not found in market place.
What did I miss?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was on the market for a while. Now its incorporated into the jf updates

korndub said:
It was on the market for a while. Now its incorporated into the jf updates
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ah then I retract all previous statements dam newbs always spouting off thinking they know everything

"root kit" is kind of an unfortunate name, don't ya think ;-)
Also, it seems like Google could certainly pull the download for violating Dev Distribution Agreement Section 4.4:
Prohibited Actions. You agree that you will not engage in any activity with the Market, including the development or distribution of Products, that interferes with, disrupts, damages, or accesses in an unauthorized manner the devices, servers, networks, or other properties or services of any third party including, but not limited to, Android Users, Google or any mobile network operator.
Click to expand...
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Finally, if you (or someone else) puts an app up there, people are going to download it and try it out. Inevitably some of them are going to be lazy idiots, and they're going to come to xda-dev and spam the dev board with the most inane and aggravating questions. Are you prepared to doom us to that?

jashsu said:
Finally, if you (or someone else) puts an app up there, people are going to download it and try it out. Inevitably some of them are going to be lazy idiots, and they're going to come to xda-dev and spam the dev board with the most inane and aggravating questions. Are you prepared to doom us to that?
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Click to collapse
I'd cancel my account

So just post the app online without putting it on the Market. Then the whole G1 world isn't stumbling across it, but you can pass the link to friends who would like root but who are too scared or too busy to go through the process themselves.

danguyf said:
So just post the app online without putting it on the Market. Then the whole G1 world isn't stumbling across it, but you can pass the link to friends who would like root but who are too scared or too busy to go through the process themselves.
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if they are too scared they shouldn't have root in the first place. You won't understand what Superuser is truly asking of you and give the wrong application permission then Tmobile will have an influx of calls about "damaged phones."
Busy people have friends like us that can always barter something out of them, just add to the long list of favors.

danguyf said:
So just post the app online without putting it on the Market.
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My line of thought is, if user x can't follow the instructions in the stickies to get root, then he/she probably shouldn't have root access to begin with. I don't want my phone price to be subsidizing the cost of replacing returns from users who bricked (or mistakenly think they've bricked) their phones doing things that are not officially supported by T-Mo/HTC.
...just my $0.02.

jashsu said:
My line of thought is, if user x can't follow the instructions in the stickies to get root, then he/she probably shouldn't have root access to begin with. I don't want my phone price to be subsidizing the cost of replacing returns from users who bricked (or mistakenly think they've bricked) their phones doing things that are not officially supported by T-Mo/HTC.
...just my $0.02.
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i completely agree... if you cant read then root is not for you.... there are alot of posts that are well written

coolbho3000 said:
Even better, it automatically grabs an RC29 NBH from a server, saves it to SD, verifies the SD is FAT32, verifies its hash, renames it to DREAIMG.NBH and instructs the user to boot into bootloader mode.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might even be possible to do a force reboot into bootloader. I know how to force-reboot into recovery, but I'm not sure if a similar method can force-reboot into the bootloader.

F the market, its a place for kids to hang out and yell "First" when their 3rd. What joke the Market has been. Cant get an honest review anymore, its all about Obama, gays, being first, and lack of "good games". Nobody even cares that the app says "this is only a test, you probably shouldnt download it", they do and leave bad reviews. Idiots.
If something like this comes to fruition, make them come HERE for it, so their asses can be banned for being chilish

jashsu said:
Finally, if you (or someone else) puts an app up there, people are going to download it and try it out. Inevitably some of them are going to be lazy idiots, and they're going to come to xda-dev and spam the dev board with the most inane and aggravating questions. Are you prepared to doom us to that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If i had a nickel for every noob that spammed the board right now...

I really like the idea of putting it all in one complete package with as little user input as possible, but I don't think that the Android Market would be a suitable place to put it. People who don't even know what root is shouldn't have it offered to them. They should at least have to know enough to Google "root on android" and maybe be lead to one of our threads containing the link to this kit. If it goes on the market I would suggest not branding it in any way.
I support the root package idea in any case.

korndub said:
i completely agree... if you cant read then root is not for you.... there are alot of posts that are well written
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One of the issues for some people is that there *are* a lot of posts. To get from point A to point B I had to read through one sticky on how to downgrade to RC29, complete with many pages of replies in order to get a handle on possible problems and solutions, then another sticky on flashing to modified recovery image so that I could find how to install the test keys, then another stick on upgrading to JF1.3, again with many pages of replies with potential errors and solutions, and then I realized I hadn't done the engineering bootloader yet so I had to find another sticky to read through.
I did it, and it was easy, but, wanting to be safe, I had to spend several hours paging through stickies in order to make sure I had a good grasp on the whole picture.
I would not have minded having the process automated a bit. I know what I'm doing and I could have used that time for other things.
Additionally, I think it would cut down on questions from n00bs going step-by-step through stickies and making basic errors. Because right now they're still going to go through the stickies and make dumb mistakes and ask the same questions, and of that only a small fraction will understand what they're doing and take an interest in how bootloaders and recovery images work and become the sort of users that should have root.
As it is now, I don't see the stickies as being much of a barrier to entry for those who don't know what they're doing and might brick their phones. They're doing it anyway. Might as well give them something to do it for them so they don't brick the phone right off the bat, and don't flood forums with posts about encountering errors cause by typing errors.
Just my $0.02!

[RUU] RUU_Hero_C_Sprint_2.20.651.1_signed_test | Android 2.1

Here is a link to the latest RUU from Sprint.
You cannot simply extract it. This still has root since it is a test release. I recommend just doing an adb pull of your system directory after you flash it. Don't do this when the final one comes out or else you might be stuck without root.
You will need to add busybox, patch sh and su, and make sure that you do another recovery image and such. I also recommend adding Superuser.apk and stuff. If you use the Desire build.prop, you can get most of the protected apps working.
Enjoy.
http://dl.damagedroms.com/2.0/RUU_Hero_C_Sprint_2.20.651.1_signed_test.exe
Leak, I know who you are.

welcome back

damageless said:
Here is a link to the latest RUU from Sprint.
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Click to collapse
I would just like to say how hilarious this would be if it were a virus.....

glad to see you stay!

lattiboy said:
I would just like to say how hilarious this would be if it were a virus.....
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alright come on enough with the jokes.

Thanks damageless, much appreciated
Love all your work here

this was posted on the other thread before it was deleted...but, is there any advantage with an RUU release vs a the reg custom rom update.zips for the average user (i.eone who just flashes roms)?

ajaholic said:
this was posted on the other thread before it was deleted...but, is there any advantage with an RUU release vs a the reg custom rom update.zips for the average user (i.eone who just flashes roms)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A Test RUU is useless to someone that is not a Dev.

DJAscendance said:
A Test RUU is useless to someone that is not a Dev.
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Click to collapse
exactly. for it to even work you need to know how to
add busybox, patch sh and su, and make sure that you do another recovery image and such.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

sorry to be a noob here but this may be the final 2.1 sprint release? god i hope so because when i get my replacement hero next week id love to have a fully functional 2.1 rom to flash to.

smoother2010 said:
sorry to be a noob here but this may be the final 2.1 sprint release? god i hope so because when i get my replacement hero next week id love to have a fully functional 2.1 rom to flash to.
Click to expand...
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I hope NOT ..there is still alot of bugs in this .....

DJAscendance said:
A Test RUU is useless to someone that is not a Dev.
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Click to collapse
Anyone with a few hours, moderate computer literacy and google at their disposal could turn this into an update.zip

damageless, I appreciate your forthcoming with this... I do find it to be very unfortunate the circumstances under which this had to be released. Regardless whether you intend to remain involved with this community or not, best of luck.

Glad you stayed Damage. For the record i do not give a crap about the RUU i WANT YOUR ROMS.

Leak, I know who you are.
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Click to collapse
;-)
tenchars

Damage, Glad to see you back and hope you stay. You have always been honest and forthright about the leaked RUU and why you wouldn't/couldn't release to everybody. It is so rare to run across somebody who embodies the highest qualities of honesty, integrity, loyalty, and generosity. You have shown that by sharing your information and talent with the community to help troubleshoot and refine the 2.1 update.
It is an atrocity that a few jealous ingrates have managed to destroy this and future opportunities. This is what happens when people expect everything handed to them, without having to work for or earn it. Whatever happened to personal responsibility, your word being your bond, helping someone just because they need it, not because you can get something from it, honor and integrity?? Welcome to the new America..........
Anyways, I hope you stay and continue your great work, if not, I understand that as well.....................
And to the leak........remember, no deed goes unpunished...................

chfields said:
Damage, Glad to see you back and hope you stay. You have always been honest and forthright about the leaked RUU and why you wouldn't/couldn't release to everybody. It is so rare to run across somebody who embodies the highest qualities of honesty, integrity, loyalty, and generosity. You have shown that by sharing your information and talent with the community to help troubleshoot and refine the 2.1 update.
It is an atrocity that a few jealous ingrates have managed to destroy this and future opportunities. This is what happens when people expect everything handed to them, without having to work for or earn it. Whatever happened to personal responsibility, your word being your bond, helping someone just because they need it, not because you can get something from it, honor and integrity?? Welcome to the new America..........
Anyways, I hope you stay and continue your great work, if not, I understand that as well.....................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, first off, lets say I have respect for the man.
Second, get off his nuts, and third he was most likely approached by someone who leaked the files to him in exchange for anonymity. He didn't work for them any harder than anyone else. He got boned for being trusting. It sucks and ruined a good thing for the rest of us!.

obelisk79 said:
Ok, first off, lets say I have respect for the man.
Second, get off his nuts, and third he was most likely approached by someone who leaked the files to him in exchange for anonymity. He didn't work for them any harder than anyone else. He got boned for being trusting. It sucks and ruined a good thing for the rest of us!.
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Click to collapse
"Get off his nuts."
Yeah a whole lot of respect.

Did I miss something? What happened to Damage???

lattiboy said:
I would just like to say how hilarious this would be if it were a virus.....
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Click to collapse
+10000000
lmao!!!

Stock Rom

I want to do everything I can to develop for this phone. What I need from the people here is a stock flash able rom. I have made great progress on this phone but but idk how to build stock roms and at this point I'm not sure I have the mental capacity to learn it.
Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk

So...you have made great progress doing what?
There is a Chinese ROM floating around, maybe you can use that.

I want to do everything I can to develop for this phone. What I need from the people here is a stock flash able rom. I have made great progress on this phone but but idk how to build stock roms and at this point I'm not sure I have the mental capacity to learn it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL...
Without a stock ROM, we have been unable to develop much...
What have you developed, here?
Mostly the community is hacking the stock installed rom, and fixing what Motorola has purposefully broken, but with out a few more pieces and a working sbf, you are not going to get a "Stock" ROM.
If you really want to help out go jump into the bootloader unlock forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328714

jimbridgman said:
LOL...
Without a stock ROM, we have been unable to develop much...
What have you developed, here?
Mostly the community is hacking the stock installed rom, and fixing what Motorola has purposefully broken, but with out a few more pieces and a working sbf, you are not going to get a "Stock" ROM.
If you really want to help out go jump into the bootloader unlock forum:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328714
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use cheesecake 4 times a day every day. If I find something I compare it to what others have found.. What have I developed? Nothing more then a headache. Using the bionic safestrap I have been able to recover from 3 soft bricks. 2 of them using adb to push to the phone and 1 using the restore tool. But i had to remount /emmc to /sd-ext. But I think at this point I am done trying anything with this phone.
One more thing.. what can't we use all the stock files I've pulled from the phone to make a flash able zip?

lfaber06 said:
I use cheesecake 4 times a day every day. If I find something I compare it to what others have found.. What have I developed? Nothing more then a headache. Using the bionic safestrap I have been able to recover from 3 soft bricks. 2 of them using adb to push to the phone and 1 using the restore tool. But i had to remount /emmc to /sd-ext. But I think at this point I am done trying anything with this phone.
One more thing.. what can't we use all the stock files I've pulled from the phone to make a flash able zip?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems like you know a lot more than all of us who have been working diligently for the last 60 or so days with this phone.... Why don't you give it a try and see if you can create a flash-able zip.
You can't build a flash-able zip, because you can not zip or tar files on the filesystem that are in use, and the kernel has a ton of files open and locked. the backup software gets around this in a couple ways that we really can't do, and backups are useless to make flash-able zip from. That is why we need the sbf or fxz or source code to make a flash-able, zip or ROM.
That is why we have warned everyone over and over and over, about trying things we post, right now. The information is not to try out, it is sharing of the developers, and for those of us working on actually developing solutions for this phone. There have been so many bricks, because people are not listening.... I am actually thinking of trading my phone with a buddy to get out of this, because I am tired of hearing about all the bricking people are doing, and having to help save someone who did something to their phone that they did after we told them not to.
Unless You Know What You Are Doing Don't Try This At Home. Until we get the fxz or sbf files. I am getting tired of saying this...
P.S. doing work on the cheesecake thing does not make you a Developer. Hell I am not an Android Developer, I am a UNIX and Linux Hardware architect and UNIX and LINUX Kernel Developer, so I am am able to use all that, 20 years of experience on the Android kernel, and I have been hacking and working on phones a long time.
Now I know it is great to try things and learn, but while learning, it is best to try things we say are safe first, then once you are more comfortable with certain things, then try something daring, that you know how to do.
I am in no way trying to insult you, just realize that right now, with the little help we have on the experienced development side of things, it is real painful to get things moving forward when people don't listen, or do things they are not ready for and then keep asking for help when they killed their phone in the process.

jimbridgman said:
I am actually thinking of trading my phone with a buddy to get out of this, because I am tired of hearing about all the bricking people are doing, and having to help save someone who did something to their phone that they did after we told them not to.
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Click to collapse
Please don't leave us Jim. You are an incredible resource. I'm new to Android and have learned many valuable things from you.
Remember, you don't have to help every person that bricks their phone.

Jim if you try to leave we will find you! ;p
Sent from my MB865

mtnlion said:
Jim if you try to leave we will find you! ;p
Sent from my MB865
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Click to collapse
LOL... I am not going anywhere, I am just trying to make a point, that things like this killed the Atrix board, and I hope we don't repeat that.
We are here to help, and I wish that it would be realized that we are in "Research" mode right now, and are not to point of actually hacking, or have very many how to post yet for that reason.

You can't buy common sense but stupidity is free.
Sent from my MB865

jimbridgman said:
LOL... I am not going anywhere, I am just trying to make a point, that things like this killed the Atrix board, and I hope we don't repeat that.
We are here to help, and I wish that it would be realized that we are in "Research" mode right now, and are not to point of actually hacking, or have very many how to post yet for that reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
WHEW.....You had me fixing to start looking at phone options!!! Honestly I'm to the point where I just read them and ignore them otherwise I say things I shouldn't LoL. But I will be the first to say this, IF THIS BOARD GETS AS BAD AS THE OG ATRIX DID, I WON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WALKING AWAY!
---------- Post added at 01:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:01 AM ----------
mtnlion said:
You can't buy common sense but stupidity is free.
Sent from my MB865
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Click to collapse
You can't fix stupid either......

JRW 28 said:
WHEW.....You had me fixing to start looking at phone options!!! Honestly I'm to the point where I just read them and ignore them otherwise I say things I shouldn't LoL. But I will be the first to say this, IF THIS BOARD GETS AS BAD AS THE OG ATRIX DID, I WON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WALKING AWAY!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Part of the issue I think is that everyone, who is doing these things, is of the I need this now, no matter what, camp... I just came a phone that had this, so this phone should too... LOL.
Yeah if it comes to anywhere close to the OG Atrix board I am out so fast it is not funny.
The thing is that I am most of the time ignoring these posts, but when you 6 people all did something similar, or like the OP did 4 or five things that messed his phone up, because he/they were impatient, you kind of have to tell them, look if you don't like it, get another phone. Heck the OP tried to say he was helping the cause by doing these things, when it was said so many times don't try this....

jimbridgman said:
Part of the issue I think is that everyone, who is doing these things, is of the I need this now, no matter what, camp... I just came a phone that had this, so this phone should too... LOL.
Yeah if it comes to anywhere close to the OG Atrix board I am out so fast it is not funny.
The thing is that I am most of the time ignoring these posts, but when you 6 people all did something similar, or like the OP did 4 or five things that messed his phone up, because he/they were impatient, you kind of have to tell them, look if you don't like it, get another phone. Heck the OP tried to say he was helping the cause by doing these things, when it was said so many times don't try this....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The funny thing is the "OP" didn't do anything he was told not to due.. Instead he/I tried new approaches and have actually been able to recover from a few soft bricks at this point. We get places from trying new things not by talking down to those that try them. I'm trying to help as I own the phone too. I am not in any way "under-educated". I am a .Net developer and I am doing my best in my free time to help the community by opening up this phone to its full potential. Now, Am I impatient.... Hell Yes.. I want CM7 and ICS now. Will I get it now?.. No, but i'm trying to get the rest of you on your way. I cant believe you would try to push someone so willing away..

A better way to go about it would be to post your discoveries and share them to help others out instead of demanding things you need.
lfaber06 said:
What I need from the people here is a stock flash able rom.
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Click to collapse
We aren't pushing anyone away that is willing to help and we welcome everyone that is willing to hel. But when you experiment know that we might not be able to help you and we have no way back to stock. By experimenting we found root,the bionic's bootstrap and we will have to continue to experiment. Part of progress is by finding out what works and what doesn't.
We need to all work together and not against each other. But with that said if you look at the amount of recent posts with people experiencing problems and calling for help is because they didn't do any research before hand and now they are asking for help for something they could have very well prevented by patiently doing a little homework.
With the progress you have said to have made, start a new thread about it explaining the procedures you went about to recover from the soft bricks so others can benefit from them as well. I can promise you we are all very interested.

JRW 28 said:
A better way to go about it would be to post your discoveries and share them to help others out instead of demanding things you need.
We aren't pushing anyone away that is willing to help and we welcome everyone that is willing to hel. But when you experiment know that we might not be able to help you and we have no way back to stock. By experimenting we found root,the bionic's bootstrap and we will have to continue to experiment. Part of progress is by finding out what works and what doesn't.
We need to all work together and not against each other. But with that said if you look at the amount of recent posts with people experiencing problems and calling for help is because they didn't do any research before hand and now they are asking for help for something they could have very well prevented by patiently doing a little homework.
With the progress you have said to have made, start a new thread about it explaining the procedures you went about to recover from the soft bricks so others can benefit from them as well. I can promise you we are all very interested.
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Click to collapse
Thanks, and Very well said, I agree 100%

Wanna be a dev? We need help with something:

As I am working my way through the public transportation circuit back to my dev chair, I have a chance to ask for help if someone(s) are interested in helping the doubleshot development effort at large.
Development in the open source community is about two main points:
1. Being driven by your curiosity to learn something new or make something do whatever it does differently or better.
2. Distributing the workload of what we want or need between multiple people - many hands make light work and if everyone contributes something small collectively it turns into a whole lot of progress and success.
So here's something that would help us all out immensely even though it seems like a small issue on the surface:
.nb0 and .nbh files - how to break them down and an explanation of how exactly they work.
What they are is a proprietary format used to wrap up some of the installer files within OTA and software updates we get from HTC for this device. (Other HTC devices too)
We also need to have or have links to the software we need to break them down with.
This information and how to use it will make a tremendous difference in how quickly and effectively we can assimilate and process our official software updates and continue to deliver both S-OFF and Root solutions when they are stripped from us on OTA pushes.
I'm making too much progress on other fronts and with other issues to stop and take care of this, and the very limited searching I've been willing to spare on this front has lead to dead ends and dead (mostly megaupload) links to what we would need.
Honestly, I've got a lot of dev work I've gotten myself involved in with this device and the progress I make doing other stuff is greater then putting more time into this, based on the project files I have in process. If I was just starting with helping out on doubleshot development this would be what I would be spending time on - just where I'm at I lose momentum focusing on this.
I get PM's from people asking for advice or direction on how to help out in addition to a scattering of threads around here started by people with lot's of enthusiasm but no direction, and I definitely understand! I've been and (believe it or not) continue to be in that very same position!
Sometimes all people need is a nudge in a direction, a path pointed out to them that they can explore and learn about - this is just such a signpost on the way to becoming the developer some of you out there want to be.
Development basically = knowledge + implementation, and the more you know the more creatively you can leverage it to your advantage. We certainly have some creative people who have passed through or are here now surprising us every day.
From the impressively out of nowhere CM7 port kornyone gifted us with in the past to the jaw-dropping brute-force ICS work tbalden blazed a trail into ( and sucked a few people into along the way ) all the way down to the work XMC has been steadily chipping away at building tools for us to use and wrap it all together with - we really have some talent, passion and a lot of success in our small but effective corner of the XDA forums.
...and those are only a few of the people who have made a lot happen around here, there are and certainly have been others who have either left a mark on development for this device or continue to do so.
Excited? I am! There's so much cool stuff to do and who cares if we never get an 'official' ICS update? We (collectively) are producing software the manufacturers/carriers wish they could produce in a fraction of the time it would take them to do so.
What some may not realize, though, is that it isn't this person or that person making it happen, but the collective efforts of us all together that enhance and compliment the individual strengths we all bring to the table separately.
...and it's all built on us sharing what we know and helping each other out. Maybe some out there, especially the more casual viewers or unregistered lurkers don't realize just how much we work together - where the larger sub-forums are more scattered and individualized just because of their population.
As an aspiring dev, this should make our little corner even more appealing because that leaves a lot more new ground to cover and gives everyone who jumps in that much more of an impact on what we have available.
Maybe in other places you're the fiftieth person to make some lockring or point something out, but over here just about anything you get into is new ground for us - so we are definitely excited about everything anyone has to offer, no matter how trivial it may seem to you.
As many of you have gathered by now I'm a bit long winded at times, but it's all so exciting!
So back to the original point, which was that if someone or a handful of someone's wanted to do something to help out, and push development for the device forward but wasn't sure what to do, figuring out how those .nb0 and .nbh files work and finding some software to crack them open with would be a big help in gaining and maintaining S-OFF and Root for this device.
.nb0 files especially, because they are something within the OTA that is a single file that impacts multiple partitions, and we really haven't gotten a look inside of them at what exactly they are doing to our device and how.
The death of megaupload and sites like it cost the open source community a lot of tools that are in some cases still missing and in others maybe never to be replaced...at least not without someone taking the time to sit down and do so.
...could that be you?
gtmaster303 said:
Sorry blue, I got lost in your post. What exactly are you looking for?
A software that can do what with these files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cliff notes:
Blue6IX said:
The strength of XDA is the community itself and the knowledge it contains. If we want to truly leverage it here in the doubleshot forums, this is how it can be utilized the best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Any and all info on the .nb0 or .nbh file format, anything people can gather.
How do we break them apart?
What is inside of them when we do?
What partitions does it flash it's pieces to, are the individual pieces signed or just the file itself?
Can we make these files?
...How?
.nb0 is inside the OTA packages, .nbh is a type of package like the PG59IMG.zip files, so the tools to work with them are different?
Here is an .nbh thread that could help get someone started...
NBHextract: Extract contents from NBH files with a tool but we don't have any of these files yet?
Here is the wiki page it links to which will help more:
NBH wiki page that it links to on that tool page which might help some more.
I bring up .nbh because that is one of the methods of insertion the auto-install tries to use when booting to hboot:
Blue6IX said:
When loading hboot, the files it automatically looks for on the sdcard are:
- PG59DIAG.zip
- PG59DIAG.nbh
- PG59IMG.zip
- PG59IMG.nbh
- PG59IMG.tar
- PG59IMG.aes
- PG59IMG.enc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
...and the more people we have familiar with these files and spend time helping us to figure them out, the better equipped we will be to deal with new OTA packages and everything that goes with them.
What do we know? Collectively, here, not very much - if so, someone speak up and if not here's something people can help with.
How do we make .nbh files, or any of the other packages quoted there we don't have?
We've pretty thoroughly examined PG59IMG.zip files but the .nb0 files in them are still somewhat of a mystery - here are the ones from the 3 PG59IMG.zip files you can find links to here:
Restore to Stock
Files:
doubleshot_1-28-531-9_nb0.zip
Download Link
MD5: d5e8721090dbc048c711d7f42404286b
Size: 1.75 MB
doubleshot_1-55-531-3_nb0.zip
Download Link
MD5: dba1925982b4c5e0a41f3291942e09e0
Size: 1.75 MB
doubleshot_1-63-531-2_nb0.zip
Download Link
MD5: aaa9edc7b2c5ec91559ab01caebab8ac
Size: 1.75 MB
These zip files are in uncompressed form, simply zipped in store - small files but 2 each. Here you go, hope someone has fun with them!
Sent from a digital distance.

http://www.ubiquitense.com/technology/how-to-install-android-roms-with-nb0-file-extension/2800/
dont know if this is what you are looking for but maybe........
i think this is better?
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=How_to_unpack_and_repack_NB0_file

tl;dr:
Blue is a noob with poor time management skills.
jk, I would love to see more people get involved with development. You can't really ***** about a lack of development and then not be willing to support it.

Sorry blue, I got lost in your post. What exactly are you looking for?
A software that can do what with these files?
Usually, all unknown file types I come across I run through winrar and see how it handles it.
Found this with a quick google:
http://filext.com/file-extension/NB0

I edited the first post, adding the second half to it starting with the quote below:
gtmaster303 said:
Sorry blue, I got lost in your post. What exactly are you looking for?
A software that can do what with these files?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As evidenced by my original posting, being concise is not my strong suit.
I posted that from the doubleshot while I was sitting somewhere waiting for people, and so it was a little all over the place even for me. Hope this post and the edits above clarify the intentions of this thread better?
Can someone explain how to break down the nb0 files and find tools to do it properly? See if you can sit down and crack one open and see what's inside.
See how many of the questions can be answered from above, and what other ones we don't know enough to ask are/their answer(s) are?
The doubleshot community benefits from it's developers having how-to references on the things we need to do, and pretty much everything we need to know is scattered all over XDA.
It takes time to funnel, qualify, and share that information here so we can use it.
Many more people will be able to dev for this device if they can come here and learn how to do it, and not have to resort to the XDA scavenger hunt that every other dev who started here had to go through.
If other people can see the value of and want to help out in searching out how to do things and get it here for us to use, the honest truth is that's a resource built by the developers here or not at all.
Learning how to do things and going through that experience and what the pitfalls are and finding where to get what you need to do it is basically development.
Sharing those experiences with XDA is what makes this community a resource.
Bringing it here gives people who want to dev and don't know where to start a learning project that can benefit everyone working here.
Something like this is a good trial for posing this question - there are a lot of things that we would benefit from having here and not just on XDA at large. If someone or people want to get together and solve this mystery because they were looking for a problem to solve, then here is the best way to turn that learning experience into a guide for the rest of us.
...and we can check that off our list of things we need to learn how to do.
I can make a post at some point with a concise listing of things we need to know about, with a link to a summary of what we know about each, and then we could use it as a checklist to start systematically solving our problems and making the device do what we need to do.
The strength of XDA is the community itself and the knowledge it contains. If we want to truly leverage it here in the doubleshot forums, this is how it can be utilized the best.
--------
So, when someone gets so energized by this as many of us have felt at some point - that overwhelming desire to help but complete confusion on where to start?
Go learn something we don't know and share how to do it or what it is here. We all benefit and people already here working on other things can just add how to do whatever that is to their methods.
Please don't think this is a case of me sitting here saying "i'm too lazy to learn how to do this, someone teach me" ...
...this is a case of "does anyone out there want to help explain what this is and how to use it? Here's a project if anyone wants it" ...
...i've written quite a few guides here as i've learned how to do things, and wouldn't pose this kind of question without having contributed first. So just offering a starting point to anyone else willing to do that too.
If there is interest in people taking the project on, I can make a checklist of what we need to know and we can have a point of reference on how to spend our time when looking for projects to do.
If no one's interested in learning this and sharing it here then I won't waste the time it would take to put such a list together and source everything. Eventually i'll figure this out and share it here if no one does, but we would grow as a community for others to do it. Just looking for ways to make everything work more smoothly here.
This place is whatever we make it to be, so do we want this?

You think it would help if we asked HTC dev what they're for?

I would love to help! But I don't know anything about being a Dev.

Hi Blue6IX,
I've read most of your post, but I don't quite understand to what purpose we need the contents of these files.
I mean, I got my Doubleshot, rooted/S-OFF'ed it with revolutionary/unrevoked and SIM unlocked it following this guide and installed an ICS ROM. Is there anything that prevents others from doing the same?
Also, I come from the Moto Milestone, which has a locked bootloader and no way to unlock, and still people managed to get ICS up and running (with 2.2 being the latest version Motorola wanted us to have on the device).
For the Doubleshot, you can just fire up a repo sync with CM9, get the preliminary msm8660 device tree(s) and create a doubleshot device tree. I know it will require some adaptations and coding, but IMHO this is nowhere near the problems other devices face.
Since I didn't really find any information on other hindrances, I would be glad to hear of them. Otherwise, I don't think analyzing HTC's/T-Mobile's original update files will be useful for anything?
Curiously yours,
Stefan

seidler2547 said:
...
I mean, I got my Doubleshot, rooted/S-OFF'ed it with revolutionary/unrevoked and SIM unlocked it following this guide and installed an ICS ROM. Is there anything that prevents others from doing the same?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yea - for a while S-OFF was impossible for any device on the 1.55.531.3 software version ( or later ) with hboot 1.45.0013
There was also a time where they couldn't unlock the device and were basically stuck barely able to root.
For most people, S-ON and unlocked is the best it can get at the moment - making it pain to flash roms with custom kernels and completely unable to go back to the stock radio or hboot.
seidler2547 said:
Hi Blue6IX,
I've read most of your post, but I don't quite understand to what purpose we need the contents of these files.
...
Otherwise, I don't think analyzing HTC's/T-Mobile's original update files will be useful for anything?
Curiously yours,
Stefan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I cut out most of the post you made ... ( quoting a whole post unnecessarily is rather annoying ) ... But you really answered your own question here.
Do you know for certain they won't help now or in the future?
Have you checked to see?
How can you check if you can't break it open?
If you can, could you share directions how and working links to tools to do it with?
...the OTA and PG59IMG.zip packages are how the manufacturer updates the device and makes changes to things we can't - knowing how they do it can help lead to a way for us to do it.
Especially since we don't have a proper RUU and basically are left begging for scraps at the "official" software table for the device - knowing how the few legitimate software packages work we get becomes even more important.
Every time an OTA update comes out, the possibility exists to lose root, S-OFF or even a working device ( the next broken update will NOT be the first ).
As you mentioned being curious, well, you hit the nail on the head as to the entire purpose of the thread.
I'm curious, anyone serious about helping us keep root at the very least is too ( and if not, now know they should be and a bit about why ).
It's one of many, many pieces to the puzzle, but the more thoroughly we understand each puzzle piece itself, the better of a chance we have at actually putting it together.
Bottom line is we don't know, we should know, and the project of finding out and sharing it here is a great opportunity for someone who wants to learn how to be a dev and has no clue where to start.
This project is on my list, but I figured i'd post it here and create an opportunity for anyone interested in it...otherwise I'll get to it at some point.
For all the time I've put in the thread, I probably could have made progress on the answers to at least some of the questions I've posed. I'd rather see if investing that time in soliciting more participation is worthwhile. It's not something I need, but rather something WE need...
Anyone like a good mystery?
Sent from a digital distance.

[Q] 4.3 downgrade??

I was going through the 4.3 update discussion thread and came across twitter links to a possible downgrade from 4.3 to 4,1,2. Anyone have any new information on this? Is this true, and if so how can you do this.

wibirt14 said:
I was going through the 4.3 update discussion thread and came across twitter links to a possible downgrade from 4.3 to 4,1,2. Anyone have any new information on this? Is this true, and if so how can you do this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
https://twitter.com/MobileTechVids/status/454103612721860608
heres the tweet

Moved to Q&A.

Let's not be fooled here one of two things are happening. Either it is a trick to get followers or they mistakenly "downgraded" a 4.3 rom that already had the insecure boot loader and are trying to figure out why it won't work again. There is no reason why the haven't put up the links already. I'm betting its a trick but who knows? Deep down inside I hope they figured something out.

ThePagel said:
Let's not be fooled here one of two things are happening. Either it is a trick to get followers or they mistakenly "downgraded" a 4.3 rom that already had the insecure boot loader and are trying to figure out why it won't work again. There is no reason why the haven't put up the links already. I'm betting its a trick but who knows? Deep down inside I hope they figured something out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
MobileTechVideos is a very renown website and Josh Groce is a very respected developer. He wouldn't try to "trick" anyone to believe something like this isn't true. Also, there is a reason he wouldn't put up any links because this wouldn't be something that can be done on the software level. It's most likely a hardware mod and requires JTAG.
Could he have been mistaken and jumped the gun on this announcement? Possibly. However it wouldn't be something as simple as not realizing the phone already had an insecure bootloader. He knows what he is doing.
To get a taste of the stuff he does check out some of his youtube videos. Here's an example:

BattsNotIncld said:
MobileTechVideos is a very renown website and Josh Groce is a very respected developer. He wouldn't try to "trick" anyone to believe something like this isn't true. Also, there is a reason he wouldn't put up any links because this wouldn't be something that can be done on the software level. It's most likely a hardware mod and requires JTAG.
Could he have been mistaken and jumped the gun on this announcem ibly. However it wouldn't be something as simple as not realizing the phone already had an insecure bootloader. He knows what he is doing.
To get a taste of the stuff he does check out some of his youtube videos. Here's an example:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I retract my last post. I took a look down in his Facebook posts and he accidentally found a way to downgrade. So call me crazy but you don't accidentally stumble across a fix like this if it requires a hardware mod and I thought jtag was proven to not work because of the efuse or qfuse or whatever its called. From the "feel" of his post he did a repair he has done before that works with both the 4.1.2 and 4.3 boot loader and didn't realize he mixed the two up until the customer told him he was on 4.3 before sending it in. I'll be the first to admit I know nothing about bootloaders and there operation. Perhaps he bypased the fuse by removing and programing the chip directly and that is his normal repair operation instead of jtag and that is why it worked? No matter what it is I am happy he figured it out and hope he gets a lot of business out of it. Sorry for my ramble I probably didn't need to post all of that but its done and I don't feel like deleting it.

This is really exciting news, but I hope he updates soon. If he is wrong, I would not be mad but would rather know sooner than later. Right now, it's just a big tease

yoyomonk said:
This is really exciting news, but I hope he updates soon. If he is wrong, I would not be mad but would rather know sooner than later. Right now, it's just a big tease
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He did it three times on three different phones so I'm sure he is correct.