[TUTORIAL] Install applications into SD Card for Samsung Galaxy 5 (i5500) - Android Software/Hacking General [Developers Only]

DISCLAIMER: DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU BRICK / RUIN YOUR PHONE IN ANY WAY.
Hi Everyone,
I have some good news for the owners of Samsung Galaxy 5 (i5500) Smartphones.
Doing some research on Google and reading about efforts from other people who could install applications on SD card on other android phones, I was able to develop a method to install application into SD card for the Galaxy 5. Better yet, you won't even need a custom Rom.
Before I get into the specifcs let me state that the following steps are manual and no application is provided to automate the process, so advanced computer skill is required and some knowledge of unix/linux is a plus.
Here we go: PLEASE READ THE WHOLE THING BEFORE YOU START. I MAY HAVE OMMITED SOME COMMANDS OUT OF LACK OF ATTENTION.
1) You'll need to root your phone. There is a lot of guides about this available, just google for it. I've used the SuperOneClick Root to do this.
2) Partition your sd card like this: 1 - FAT, 2 - Linux ext2. Again, there is a lot of guides about this on the net, just google again. I've used Paragon Partition Manager 2010 to lower the size of my FAT partition, leaving a 550MB unallocated space at the end of the card. Then I formatted this space as ext2 in linux, using ubuntu live CD. Most guides around there recommends that you keep this partition between 500~750MB, so I didn’t try with greater sizes. Also, i kept my partition 1 as FAT 16, but FAT 32 might actually work too, try that if you want and post me a reply.
3) Download Titanium Backup (or another app backup tool) from market and backup your applications. You may need to restore your applications to correct some permission problems that may occur after completing this guide.
4) Install busybox. BusyBox is a software application that provides many standard Unix tools, which are not available on stock android. You can get a copy of busybox by clicking on “problems?” button on Titanium Backup main window. It will get installed on /data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup/files.
5) If you still don’t have Android SDK installed on your PC, download and install it from Google. You’ll need ADB (Android Debug Bridge), which is included in the SDK, to proceed. Now open a shell connection with your device by typing:
Code:
adb shell
Just keep in mind that you MUST be logged as root. Root command prompt is recognized by the # character. If you don’t have root type the ‘su’ command. If even with ‘su’ you couldn’t get root, please review step 1.
6) Create ‘sd’ folder int /system:
Code:
cd /system
mkdir sd
7) Mount ext2 partition into /system/sd
Code:
mount -t ext2 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /system/sd
8) Create a folder to store the applications into ext2 partition:
Code:
cd /system/sd
mkdir app
9) Copy busybox to /system/bin
Code:
cat /data/data/com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup/files/busybox > /system/bin/busybox
chmod 755 /system/bin/busybox
10) Copy your applications to ext2 partition:
Code:
busybox cp /data/app/* /system/sd/app/
11) Change permissions of copied applications:
Code:
cd /system/sd/app
chown system.system *
chmod 644 *
12) Now comes the tricky part: making Android mount your new partition at boot time. All the hard work would be useless if Android discarded the mount points every time we restarted our phones. To do this we’ll need to create 2 scripts and store then into /system/etc. Obviously the scripts should be started by init.rc and need to run as root. Fortunately Android’s init.rc have a gap that makes this possible. The scripts are named install-recovery.sh and init-sd2.sh.
install-recovery.sh content:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
/system/etc/init-sd2.sh&
init-sd2.sh content:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
MYLOG=/data/install-recovery.log
echo "$(date) Starting install-recovery.sh" > $MYLOG
echo "$(date) Waiting SD to become ready..." >> $MYLOG
sleep 10
mount -t ext2 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /system/sd 1>>$MYLOG 2>>$MYLOG
mount -o bind /system/sd/app /data/app 1>>$MYLOG 2>>$MYLOG
mount >> $MYLOG
echo "$(date) Finishing install-recovery.sh" >> $MYLOG
If you plan to edit this files on windows I recommend a tool that is capable of keeping UNIX file format, just like notepad++ free tool.
13) After placing the scripts, change their permissions:
Code:
cd /system/etc
chmod 555 install-recovery.sh
chmod 555 init-sd2.sh
14) Rename the default application folder. If everything works fine you can remove this later to save space:
Code:
cd /data
mv app app_old
mkdir app
chown system.system app
chmod 755 app
15) Restart your phone and cross your fingers
16) If you have problems with your widgets don’t worry. You just need to remove then from your homescreen and add again.
17) Check if your applications are running as they should. Restore backups you’ve made with Titanium Backup for the applications showing problems.
18) If your partition didn’t mount at boot, check log file at /data/install-recovery.log
19) From now on your new applications will be installed on your SD Card. You can modify the scripts to store other folders from /data into the ext2 partition as needed. I’ve been running my applications from SD Card for a week now without any problems or bugs.
20) If you can’t make it work, post your question here and I will try to help you out.
21) Donations are welcomed, just drop some money into my paypal account. Just kidding
Good luck and cya!

can this script use for moving /data/data to EXT2?
if can, from where i should start type the script?

i'm still newbie on this
so i'm alittle bit confused, i hope you can help me and sorry for my bad english
i'm already succes from step 1 to step 11
but i'm little confused at step 12
can you explain how to make the script?
should i make those 2 script via notepad++ and then copy it to /system/sd and then continue to step 13?
or should i just type everything on step 12 after step 11 in cmd prompt?
the problem is, if i make the script from notepad++ the android system will just discard my mount point when i restart my phone
and if i just type everything on the step 12 in comand prompt, when i'm type chmod 555 install-recovery.sh and chmod 555 init-sd2.sh like in the step 13, it always say that install-recovery.sh and init-sd2.sh file is not found?
so what should i do?
i'm stuck on step 12

step 12, type it on notepad++ and then you have to change the extension of the file with .sh, after that copied the 2 files to /system/etc

andikasuhendar said:
step 12, type it on notepad++ and then you have to change the extension of the file with .sh, after that copied the 2 files to /system/etc
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've already done that
but when i make the script via notepad ++, i'm already make the save type become .sh, so isn't it just the same?
but when i reboot the phone it's still not working

But how to copy this two script files to system/etc??? it's saying permision denied..

But how to copy this two script files to system/etc??? it's saying permision denied..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm use root explorer to move it to system/etc
The script can be moved but it still doesn't work at all :-(
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App

And i can't move them even with root explorer.. i don't get what i'm doing wrong (

@agus
about the scripts, u can check with root explorer, try to view the script and make sure it was the exact same from the script above, coz i experience the same problem for the first time i try this. if u sure that the script are same then try to execute it using root explorer and then go to titanium backup and see if there is there is another storage (usually there is internal and SD card only).
@stasic
use the root explorer to copy the script to /system/etc, don't forget to change the root explorer option from R/O to R/W, this option should be on top of the page, just touch it to change from R/O to R/W.

andikasuhendar said:
@agus
about the scripts, u can check with root explorer, try to view the script and make sure it was the exact same from the script above, coz i experience the same problem for the first time i try this. if u sure that the script are same then try to execute it using root explorer and then go to titanium backup and see if there is there is another storage (usually there is internal and SD card only).
@stasic
use the root explorer to copy the script to /system/etc, don't forget to change the root explorer option from R/O to R/W, this option should be on top of the page, just touch it to change from R/O to R/W.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
veeeerrrryyyyyyyyy biiiiiiigggggggggggg thaaaaaaannnnnkkkkkssssss brrroooo
you was right, after i check the script via root explorer, the script was not the same, after i fix it, everything works like a charm

in a step 2... how to change linux ext2???
any software can change from FAT to ext2???

I've changed root explorer option to R/W and still no luck..

@agus
sama2 bro AKA ur welcome bro, have fun with the app2sd hehehe
@nima
search on google, how to format EXT2, if i correct u can use paragon partition for windows user, but if u use macintosh u can just go to disk utility and make partition with EXT2 format
@stasic
go to the /system/etc and see if it already R/W or still R/O

It's written that R/W but when I copy and paste still nothing happens..

thx guy.... i must try it

andikasuhendar said:
@stasic
go to the /system/etc and see if it already R/W or still R/O
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i've rooted my g5 using superoneclick
but i still have R/O in /system/etc
when i tap R/O on the screen, i wont changed to R/W
what should i do?
maaf inggris nya acak2an

@siap
siapakahaku said:
i've rooted my g5 using superoneclick
but i still have R/O in /system/etc
when i tap R/O on the screen, i wont changed to R/W
what should i do?
maaf inggris nya acak2an
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In your PC command prompt execute:
Code:
adb shell
Make sure you are loged in as root and in ADB SHELL try this:
Code:
mount -o rw,remount /dev/stl12 /system
Then execute:
Code:
mount
If your mount result has a line like the one bellow, with the rw set, you'll be able to copy the files.
Code:
/dev/stl12 /system rfs rw,vfat,llw,check=no,gid/uid/rwx,iocharset=utf8 0 0

@stasic
stas1c said:
It's written that R/W but when I copy and paste still nothing happens..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try the same thing I posted above. I don't have Root Explorer installed here, so you should be able to finish this guide without it.

stuck in step 2
cant mkdir....

Hi, nice guide!
I succeded with this the first time I tried but now I have changed to a larger sd card and I can't get it to work.
The log file says that it failed to mount the mmcblk0p2 folder, and now when I check it doesn't even exist. What should I do?
Hope I can get help.. thankful for response. /Mattefacit

Related

Few EXt2 questions

Is it possible to veiw the files in the EXt2 partition from our G1 terminal? If so, can we also delete files? If so, someone explain how, thanks.
asuming is mounted on /system/sd
just
cd /system/sd
ls -la /system/sd
to list the files
is their a way to erase those files
There are commands for deleting files on Android. Look up the Linux Command prompt commands for performing those functions.
If you've rooted your phone and don't know the commands already, you haven't been paying attention to the instructions.
ls = directory listing
cp = copy
mv = move/rename
rm = remove
Those are the very basics. Remember that Unix-like operating systems are case-sensitive and file.txt is different from File.txt or file.TXT.
If you're using wildcards to delete everything, take a precaution and use the dot-slash. It could save you a lot of trouble by ensuring you're only deleting files in the current working directory. To remove all text files in a directory, for example, you'd type rm ./*.txt
god, i hate how rude people are. I grew up with DOS, so dir, and del come more naturally to me than linux commands. So just ease up on the ppl that don't know linux. I didn't know linux til i started to IRC and wanted to run an eggdrop bot. Not like everyone has irc'd or compiled, or whatever. Heck, it has been so long now, I could not write an irc script or egg addon, and I think i was the first to develop some scripts in IRC 20 years ago. So all I can say is chill.
Shaggy
??huh??
whats the beef all about?
you can google the command and linux and probably have a ton of sites that list and explain the usage and stuff like that for *nix commands unix is a very old OS linus torvalds just woke up 1 day at age 15 or sumthin and said im gonna make a unix kernal that runs on my intel based pc and then instead of selling it and making a fortune I'll give it away and still make a fortune.
LINUS is the greatest man of our time, when the other OS was charging BIG $ to run Apache web servers in the .com boom (even more so now) linux was FREE and gave better throughput on the same hardware
Now if you want a pretty box booklet and packaging as you have become accustomed they have them to, some just feel better if they pay for it, free must not be as good as the one that costs right?
why did I bother just rambling, please ignore the babbling lunatic in the corner he is harmless
bhang
beartard said:
If you've rooted your phone and don't know the commands already, you haven't been paying attention to the instructions.
ls = directory listing
cp = copy
mv = move/rename
rm = remove
Those are the very basics. Remember that Unix-like operating systems are case-sensitive and file.txt is different from File.txt or file.TXT.
If you're using wildcards to delete everything, take a precaution and use the dot-slash. It could save you a lot of trouble by ensuring you're only deleting files in the current working directory. To remove all text files in a directory, for example, you'd type rm ./*.txt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you dontknow how to be polite to the noobz then dont say anything at all. let someone else answer their questions.
Hi Beartard,
Thanks for the info.
This site has such a wealth of information, that it can be overwhelming to many members.
Can you tell me how to copy my apps-private from my ext2 partition to my sd card partition so I can back them up?
Thanks
beartard said:
If you've rooted your phone and don't know the commands already, you haven't been paying attention to the instructions.
ls = directory listing
cp = copy
mv = move/rename
rm = remove
Those are the very basics. Remember that Unix-like operating systems are case-sensitive and file.txt is different from File.txt or file.TXT.
If you're using wildcards to delete everything, take a precaution and use the dot-slash. It could save you a lot of trouble by ensuring you're only deleting files in the current working directory. To remove all text files in a directory, for example, you'd type rm ./*.txt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
uh you wan't to copy your "app-private" folder as a backup in to yoru sdcard correct? well try this
busybox cp -a /system/sd/app-private /sdcard/app-private
if it don't allows you to copy do this command to re mount the system as read-write
mount -oremount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
Hi Nitro .
I tried it both ways and it says operation not permitted.
-------------------
Update:
But wait, I connected my phone to the computer and the app-private is copied to the sdcard.
Your procedure worked!
I erased the folder that was copied to test it again.
Then I used just this set of commands and it worked again:
busybox cp -a /system/sd/app-private /sdcard/app-private
So you still get the same error, but it works.
Thanks alot Nitro!!!
Nitro212 said:
uh you wan't to copy your "app-private" folder as a backup in to yoru sdcard correct? well try this
busybox cp -a /system/sd/app-private /sdcard/app-private
if it don't allows you to copy do this command to re mount the system as read-write
mount -oremount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u tried it as root? what error u got?
well glad it worked.
Hi,
The error says:
"cannot preserve ownership of ... cannot preserve permissions of ... operation not permitted"
for every file it tries to transfer.
But then when you look in your sdcard the app-private is there.
So it is a false error.
Thanks again.
Nitro212 said:
uh you wan't to copy your "app-private" folder as a backup in to yoru sdcard correct? well try this
busybox cp -a /system/sd/app-private /sdcard/app-private
if it don't allows you to copy do this command to re mount the system as read-write
mount -oremount,rw /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not working for me...
My error is this:
cp: cannot stat '/system/sd/app-private': No such file or directory
Hi,
Use terminal emulator jf 1.41 or better
type su enter
then the busybox commands
Connect your phone to your computer and look on your memory card.
app-private is there
Proxin said:
It's not working for me...
My error is this:
cp: cannot stat '/system/sd/app-private': No such file or directory
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bestwebs said:
Hi,
Use terminal emulator jf 1.41 or better
type su enter
then the busybox commands
Connect your phone to your computer and look on your memory card.
app-private is there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey guys need some help here i have the same problem, (as far as the error saying 'no such file or dir') and i tried your suggestion about typing su first then the busybox commands.
i have the most current terminal emulator, unfortunately i still continue to get the same error every time i try to run the busybox commands. it just simply say 'no such file or directory"
you guys have any suggestions for me to try ?
any help would be great.
the error i get is "cannot preserve permissions of" i think that error is not something harmful im n o *nix expert but is just saying it wont save the permision of that folder i think...
Code:
# mkdir /sdcard/bk
mkdir /sdcard/bk
# busybox cp -rf /data/app-private/ /sdcard/bk
busybox cp -rf /data/app-private/ /sdcard/bk
cp: cannot preserve permissions of '/sdcard/bk/app-private': Operation not permi
tted
# ls /sdcard/bk
ls /sdcard/bk
app-private
thats what i did.. worked for me.. moved the app-private in to a folder named bk inside the sdcard
Hi,
We are assuming that you have already moved your apps and caches to the memory in a ext2 partition, correct?
Otherwise this will not work.
I 1st followed all the instructions in this post:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=468959
All this has to be done 1st including the 2 step 13's
onikus said:
hey guys need some help here i have the same problem, (as far as the error saying 'no such file or dir') and i tried your suggestion about typing su first then the busybox commands.
i have the most current terminal emulator, unfortunately i still continue to get the same error every time i try to run the busybox commands. it just simply say 'no such file or directory"
you guys have any suggestions for me to try ?
any help would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nitro all i can say is thank you very much, i was looking through a 15 yr old unix book looking up commands, and it's just been so damn long ago i couldn't put it together.
thanks a ton. i'm sure you saved me at least a few hours.
@bestwebs ya i have done everything else including moving things to the ext2 partition i was just stuck on a few comands here and there.
but again thanks to both of you, and i'm all setup up now.
Hi,
Nitro is a real blast!
Glad it's working.

[GUIDE] Root Hero [MAC], Load Unofficial MoDaCo 1.2c, Nandroid Backup/Restore!

NOTE: This is a work in progress. While I have completed this guide myself SEVERAL times to ensure accuracy, It is possible that typos or errors in understanding exist. Please use at your own risk, and expect NOTHING from me. I will do my best to update this guide and improve the formatting as I find time. Feel free to leave feedback!
I cannot stress this enough: always have backups of any important information. While we may not be able to do full image-based backups until after root, you can still make sure we aren't deleting needed data. While yes, Google should hold your most important data and allow you to sync at any time, what would you do if Google went down? And I've even had trouble using the "Offline" function for some of the Apps. Therefore, Make a copy of everything on your SD card and read this excellent guide from Lifehacker about how to backup Google Apps data: Lifehacker
You will need an SD card. I recommend AT LEAST an 8GB Class 4. Most actually recommend a Class 6 for use with apps2sd, but I just wanted to let you know that it would still work with a Class 4. For those unaware, apps2sd allows you to save internal phone memory by placing after-market applications onto your SD card. Most users notice a speed benefit from this.
If you would like to purchase a Class 6 SD card, you can get a one here with three sizes available (4GB, 8GB, 16GB):
A-DATA MicroSDHC Class 6 Turbo With SD Adapter
To ensure the best possible load, perform a factory reset, and WIPE your SD card!
Code:
Menu > Settings > Security > Factory data reset > Reset phone > Erase everything
TRUE FACTORY RESET (UN-ROOT)
If you, like me, have already rooted and are trying to perform this process over again, you will unfortunately have to download the original ROM and flash it in Windows.
Download: RUU_Hero_C_Sprint_1.29.651.1_signed_release.exe
Run in Windows (I used XP through VMWare Fusion), and this will return the phone to the TRULY factory loaded state. Any other Factory data reset will simply reload the last ROM image saved, which, if you rooted and loaded MoDaCo, would be MoDaCo. I am encouraging you to follow this process to avoid any problems that may exist while the phone is rooted or loaded with the unofficial ROM. And even if you perform this process as a first-time rooter, it certainly wont hurt!
ROOT HERO [MAC]
(This is the process that allows modifications to occur on your phone):
The guide I follow and can verify is this:
Rooting CDMA Hero [Mac]
I do not use Windows as a primary platform, so I would recommend following this guide if you are on Windows:
How to root the CDMA Hero (DETAILED Windows guide)
You should be able to return to this guide after you have successfully completed the root process on Windows. Continue from the section "NANDROID BACKUP" below.
Per the purpose of this guide, I will detail my exact steps from the "Rooting CDMA Hero [Mac]" post. Thanks ajones7279!
Plug in your phone
Download Android SDK: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
Unpack, Rename the extracted folder to "AndroidSDK" (This is case sensitive!), and Move it to "Applications" (I consider the Android SDK a set of applications.)
Open TextEdit, Click Format>Make Plain Text, then copy and paste the following:
Code:
export PATH=${PATH}:/Applications/AndroidSDK/tools
Save as: ".bash_profile"
On Phone: Go to Settings > Applications > Development>USB Debugging and make sure the option is checked.
On your Mac: Download asroot2: http://zenthought.org/tmp/asroot2
Save this file into: /Applications/AndroidSDK/tools
Open Terminal and run the following commands (You can copy and paste):
Code:
cd /Applications/AndroidSDK/tools
adb push asroot 2 /data/local
adb shell chmod 0755 /data/local/asroot2
adb shell
/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cd /system/bin
cat sh > su
chmod 4775 su
exit
exit
At this point, the phone has root access.
Download: http://rapidshare.com/files/303797523/recovery-RA-heroc-v1.2.3.img
Save this file into: /Applications/AndroidSDK/tools
Go back to your terminal and type:
Code:
adb push recovery-RA-heroc-v1.2.3.img /sdcard/
adb shell
su
flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-heroc-v1.2.3.img
exit
exit
adb shell reboot recovery
Now, the phone will reboot into recovery mode. To preserve our freshly rooted state, we will make a Nandroid backup.
NANDROID BACKUP
*NOTE: These steps assume that you have already entered Recovery Mode on the phone through Terminal "adb shell reboot recovery" or the "Quick Boot" app.*
On phone: Using the trackball, scroll down and select "Nandroid v2.2 backup". This will create a backup of the phone in its freshly rooted state to your SD card, under the nandroid directory.
After it completes the backup, we want to make sure that we have the backup "backed up" by copying it to our Mac (Just in case anything happens to the SD card!).
Select "USB Mass storage on"
After your SD Card appears, copy the contents of the "nandroid" folder to anywhere you wish on your Mac (You are using Time Machine right?)
Once the copy is complete, eject the sdcard in mac and select "USB Mass storage off" on the phone.
NOTE: Nandroid does not backup the contents of your SD card. If you don't want to lose what's on your SD card, MAKE A BACKUP COPY!
From this point forward, if you do something that seems to really mess with the phones functionality, you can simply go back to your Nandroid backup!
RESTORE NANDROID BACKUPS
Select "Nandroid v2.2 restore" *THIS WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR PHONE*
Your phone will be returned to the condition it was in as of the last Nandroid backup. You can control which backup is restored by deleting the unwanted, time-stamped folders within the "nandroid" directory on your SD card. If you leave only one time-stamped backup folder, that is the backup that will be restored.
Note that this will leave the custom Recovery ROM we loaded (recovery-RA-heroc-v1.2.3.img) in place.
I actually perform a Restore after every Backup. While this takes extra time, you know your Backup is intact and not corrupted in any way!
If you are looking for a complete factory reset, you will need to scroll up to "TRUE FACTORY RESET (UN-ROOT)"
PREPARE SD CARD FOR APPS2SD (A2SD)
For those unaware, apps2sd allows you to save internal phone memory by placing after-market applications onto your SD card. Most users notice a speed benefit from this.
Select "Wipe SD: fat32+ext2+swap" *THIS WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR SDCARD*
Select "USB Mass storage on"
The mounted drive should now be empty. Double-check that it was partitioned correctly by opening Disk Utility and verifying 3 partitions on the sdcard: NONAME, disk1s2, and disk1s3. Close Disk Utility.
LOAD Unofficial MoDaCo 1.2c Core ROM
Forum Post: Unofficial MoDaCo 1.2
Download: Unofficial MoDaCo 1.2c Core
Save this file into: your SD card. (the root of your SD card, probably named "NONAME" if you didn't change it. You can change it to whatever you want though.)
Save the file as: "update.zip" (Or rename it)
Eject your sdcard and Select "USB Mass storage off"
Select "Apply sdcard:update.zip"
Select "Reboot system now"
If it successfully loaded, you now have a fresh load of the Unofficial MoDaCo 1.2c ROM! Congrats!
I would recommend that you create another Nandroid backup. Scroll back up to "NANDROID BACKUP" and follow the steps over again and come back to this point.
Now you are ready for the workarounds!
Guide: Workaround Issues (Unofficial MoDaCo 1.2c)
Why'd you make another guide?
nice guide man, no need to respond why you made another guide, the more the merry, nicely detailed as well
Shhhhhh.
I was just curious because there are like six...
I made another guide because while many of the forum posts acomplish bits and pieces, my guide provides the overall picture. Root, ROM, and Backup. And my upcoming "Workarond Issues" guide will collect scattered information in a similar fashion.
I find it ironic that I thanked you for your contribution and you find this guide excessive. Would you prefer that I removed the guide?
No not at all. Yours is nice and concise. There's just a lot, that's all. That's why I said it would be nice if a moderator could have merged all the ones that were already written at the end of mine. Didn't mean any harm.
Ah, I see what you mean. To be honest, I am also making this guide for self reference. If most all of the information I need is together its easier to help myself as well as my friends and the community. Thanks again for all your contributions.
Just to raise awareness, Nandroid does NOT back up your apps if you are using AppsToSD as in MoDaCo. You must back up your apps separately.
True, thanks for the heads up. I'll work on a separate guide that details how to backup your other apps. I believe that anything after-market can be backed up and restored through ASTRO though, and this is much easier for most than adb and Terminal commands (push/pull).
The whole 1.56.651.2 Firmware update is also making me wait to post any further guides, as some of my worksarounds may prove useless. It looks like we still have the Apps Renaming and Reverting issue though, and I didn't see the Sprint admin adress such issues specfically.
?
ok i did the update to the hero. and now found out about rooting(im new to all this) do i run that program you put in the beginning with windows? and then does that rom resolve the issue with battery with sms and other things the OTA update fixed? or should i get another rom or .img idk what to call it really and what does RUU stand for?
Alright,
A couple things to add to this guide, for the complete noob, as I can try to explain it a little more clear.
This should be done prior to doing anything within the guide.
First, connect your phone to your computer and mount your sd card. This can be done by connecting the usb cable, then on your phone, drop down the menu and chose, connect to p.c., Mount SD card. Make a folder and backup your entire sd card to this folder. Once done, delete everything off the card. if you don't, you will run into format and partitions errors later in the guide.
Eject the sd card on the computer, and end usb sharing on the phone. remove the USB cable from the computer.
Next, on the phone Go to Settings > Applications > Development>USB Debugging
Make sure that USB debugging is NOT CHECKED. If its checked later in the guide you will run into errors pushing the files onto the phone.
At this point you can start the guide from the beginning, under the main heading Root Hero [MAC]
I am running OSX 10.6.2 so i ran into a couple of issues.
Next. Under the part where you have to create the .bash file. This file should be saved in your user folder.
/Users/USERNAME where USERNAME is the name of your user account.
For instance my User account is Hamspiced so my user folder is:
/Users/Hamspiced/
when saving the file, uncheck "if no extension is provided, use .txt".
Next, I couldn't copy paste the code because it wasn't parsed properly. This is what i had to do.
And this should be a direct copy paste into terminal. If you don't know how to access terminal click the spyglass in the upper right hand of the screen, and type in terminal. then you should be able to directly copy paste this text.
Code:
cd /Applications/AndroidSDK/tools
./adb push asroot2 /data/local
./adb shell chmod 0755 /data/local/asroot2
./adb shell
/data/local/asroot2 /system/bin/sh
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
cd /system/bin
cat sh > su
chmod 4775 su
exit
exit
As stated you should have root access on the phone. you can verify this by downloading Terminal emulator from the Market, then running the app. Once inside the app if you hold Menu, you should bring up the onscreen keyboard. if you type in "su" (stands for super user) it will change the prompt from $ to #. If yours does not change, start over, something went wrong. If it did change then you can proceed to the next part of this guide.
Next the guide is trying to put the recovery Image to your phone. This doesnt restore your phone, it just puts the recovery portion to it, and it allows you to do all the cool things to your phone, like allow you to create backups, restore backups, and load customs roms.
again i ran into issues with parsing the correct format so these are copy pastes from terminal.
Code:
./adb push recovery-RA-heroc-v1.2.3.img /sdcard/
./adb shell
su
flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-heroc-v1.2.3.img
exit
exit
adb shell reboot recovery
If you get an access denied error pushing the recovery image, its because you had debugging turned on prior to connecting your phone to the computer. it must be off, then turned on once the phone is connected.
This will result in headaches, and endless google searching with no results.
Follow the rest of the guide regarding the Nandroid backup this backs up the entire phone settings. you want to save the raw phone backup as well as the backup after you load the rom. both are incredibly important!
Prepare SD Card for Apps2sd….
If when you checked Disk Utility and your SD card didnt partition properly follow these steps.
You must erase everything on your sd card for these steps to work. I ran into errors creating the partition. What i had to do was in the recovery mode chose factory recovery. when the phone restarted i had to go to Settings>Security>Factory Data Reset.
This restored EVERYTHING. THe phone, Sd Card, Etc. Everything was lost, however since in the begining, we made a backup of the SD card, and then we made a backup of our phone, we are fine.
Restart the phone in recovery mode once this finishes and restarts. (Hold Home and Power to turn on)
Next chose Part SD: fat32+ext2+swap this will partition the card properly. Then choose restart phone.
Once the phone restarts, we have to go through the normal steps that we did once we first received the phone for its first bootup. connect it to the computer, transfer over the Nandroid backup that should be saved from the first time you saved it on your phone. then restart the phone again in recovery mode.
Now you need to restore the nandroid backup. since you transferred it over, its the only nandroid backup there is, it will restore the phones origional settings. from here you can load the official MoDaCO rom fine on the SD card that is now formatted properly.
These are about all the issues and resolutions i ran into. Hopefully it helps someone else.
Guess it's subjective. I think I haven't turned off USB Debugging since shortly after I got the phone and didn't run into any problems. It's always on before I plug it in and I haven't ran into any errors while pushing a file to my sd card. Also didn't erase my sd card before I formatted (did back it up though of course) and everything went smooth. Dunno. It's always good to hear from diff people though. Also just edited my thread, thanks for the heads up.
need help rooting htc hero from sprint
i have 1.5 firmware bb version is 1.04.01.09.21 kernel version 2.6.27-533ce29dhtc [email protected] build number1.56.651.2 cl85027software 1.56 cant get root on this device can someone please help me
quis5550 said:
i have 1.5 firmware bb version is 1.04.01.09.21 kernel version 2.6.27-533ce29dhtc [email protected] build number1.56.651.2 cl85027software 1.56 cant get root on this device can someone please help me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=581686&highlight=root+mac
First, excellent guide! Personally, I used Universal Androot (snipurl.com/uaroot) to root my Hero, but this was a huge help in getting the SDK installed!
I'm running into a problem while trying to do the Nandroid backup. When I try to flash the recovery image, I get the following error message....
AJBlue98$ ./adb shell
$ cd /sdcard/
$ su
# flash_image recovery recovery-RA-herocv1.6.2.img
flash_image: not found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I even try the command with the leading "./" and I get essentially the same thing...
# ./flash_image recovery recovery-RA-herocv1.6.2.img
./flash_image: not found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running the latest official Sprint 2.1 ROM on my Hero and Terminal on Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 on a late-2009, 17 in. MacBook Pro. Oh, and I installed the Android SDK into another directory (had it installed before I found this tutorial), so here's my $PATH...
-bash: type: /opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:/Users/AJBlue98/soylatte/bin:/Users/AJBlue98/android-sdk-mac_86:/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:/opt/local/bin:/opt/local/sbin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/texbin:/usr/X11/bin: not found
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Am I missing something? I'll really appreciate the help!
—Adam
ajblue98 said:
First, excellent guide! Personally, I used Universal Androot (snipurl.com/uaroot) to root my Hero, but this was a huge help in getting the SDK installed!
I'm running into a problem while trying to do the Nandroid backup. When I try to flash the recovery image, I get the following error message....
I even try the command with the leading "./" and I get essentially the same thing...
I'm running the latest official Sprint 2.1 ROM on my Hero and Terminal on Mac OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.4 on a late-2009, 17 in. MacBook Pro. Oh, and I installed the Android SDK into another directory (had it installed before I found this tutorial), so here's my $PATH...
Am I missing something? I'll really appreciate the help!
—Adam
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah, you're missing the "flash_image" binary on your phone lol search xda for it and push it to /system/bin, then try the command again.
regaw_leinad said:
yeah, you're missing the "flash_image" binary on your phone lol search xda for it and push it to /system/bin, then try the command again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, regaw_leinad, for the lead! I found a copy of the flash_image file and copied it to my Android SDK folder, but when I try to push it to my phone, I get this:
AJBlue98$ ./adb push flash_image /system/bin
failed to copy 'flash_image' to '/system/bin/flash_image': Permission denied
failed to copy 'flash_image' to '/system/bin/flash_image': Read-only file system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(I rebooted the phone and tried again after my original post. The error message changed. BTW I'm connected via USB with debugging turned on and "Charge only" selected as my connection type.)
I've tried running adb as root, but I get this:
AJBlue98$ ./adb root
adbd cannot run as root in production builds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Again, any help will be greatly appreciated!
—AJBlue98
ajblue98 said:
Thanks, regaw_leinad, for the lead! I found a copy of the flash_image file and copied it to my Android SDK folder, but when I try to push it to my phone, I get this:
(I rebooted the phone and tried again after my original post. The error message changed. BTW I'm connected via USB with debugging turned on and "Charge only" selected as my connection type.)
I've tried running adb as root, but I get this:
Again, any help will be greatly appreciated!
—AJBlue98
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok type
adb shell
then
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
to mount it as r/w
then try the flash image command again.
Adb root or adb remount won't work, because your boot.img isn't patched yet.
regaw_leinad said:
ok type
adb shell
then
mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
to mount it as r/w
then try the flash image command again.
Adb root or adb remount won't work, because your boot.img isn't patched yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, I did that. I'm still charge-only and debugging turned on, and here's what happened.
(N.B.: I'm on a Mac, so I have to include "./" before running an application in the current directory. Also, I'm including "AJBlue98" in front of my "$" prompts to differentiate my Mac's local prompts from the adb shell prompts.)
AJBlue98$ ./adb shell
$ mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
mount: Operation not permitted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I tried these few things...
$ su
# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
# cd /sdcard/
# mv flash_image /system/bin
failed on 'flash_image' - Cross-device link
# exit
$ exit
AJBlue98$ ./adb shell su mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system
Permission denied
AJBlue98$ ./adb push flash_image /system/bin
failed to copy 'flash_image' to '/system/bin/flash_image': Permission denied
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now I'm completely flummoxed. As always, please help and thanks in advance!
Update: I got frisky, so I tried this, just for the heck of it...
AJBlue98$ ./adb shell
$ su
# cd /sdcard
# ./flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-heroc_v1.2.3.img
./flash_image: permission denied
# chmod 755 ./flash_image
# ./flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-heroc_v1.2.3.img
./flash_image: permission denied
# su ./flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-heroc_v1.2.3.img
Permission denied
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update 2:
I got some help at irc.twit.tv from a good soul in the #twitlive channel, who pointed me to ROM Manager (downloadable from the Market). That just did the whole backup, hey-presto, no flash_image BS required.
Thanks for the help anyway, all!
ajblue98 said:
Okay, I did that. I'm still charge-only and debugging turned on, and here's what happened.
(N.B.: I'm on a Mac, so I have to include "./" before running an application in the current directory. Also, I'm including "AJBlue98" in front of my "$" prompts to differentiate my Mac's local prompts from the adb shell prompts.)
So I tried these few things...
Now I'm completely flummoxed. As always, please help and thanks in advance!
Update: I got frisky, so I tried this, just for the heck of it...
Update 2:
I got some help at irc.twit.tv from a good soul in the #twitlive channel, who pointed me to ROM Manager (downloadable from the Market). That just did the whole backup, hey-presto, no flash_image BS required.
Thanks for the help anyway, all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sweet, glad you got it worked out
there were a few errors in what you did above, but looks like you got everything working without it, so that's good

Can't manage to modify the /system folder

I've been trying for a couple of days now to try and modify the /system folder because I want to edit the host file and delete standard .apk's. However I just can't get it to work and I don't understand why.
I got a rooted 2.2 legend with modaco stock htc sense rom.
Things I tried:
Root explorer: For some reason I can't write files to the folder. It always says there is not enough free space while there is something like 6mb available. Also, deleting files doesn't actually seem to work. Root exploreres says the files are deleted but after a reboot they are there again!
Also root explorer makes my phone reboot.
ADB: Basically the same thing. Also I don't get adb to work when i'm in recovery mode (red traingle screen, I used to have clockwork but even after trying to reflash the clockwork recovery that just doesn't show up anymore and gone fubar out of the blue....) and want to enter the /system folder.
Terminal app: Same thing as above.
All 3 make my phone reboot.
What am I doing wrong?
I don't use the same phone as you, but I think that /system is usually mounted as read only (ro). Some file managers can mount /system as read/write (rw). Or I think you can chmod /system to 777 in your terminal as su with the command chmod 777 /system. Also I think CWM has an option to mount /system as rw, but I may be wrong. If you chmod, remember to set it back. You'll need to know shell commands and how to read permissions from an ls -a -l command and reset them. Hope this helps.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA App

[Q] NEED HELP LG Optimus Elite Virgin Mobile

Hello Forum!
So i am currently using a Virgin Mobile LG Optimus Elite.
After 2 days of refuge here on the forums i amazingly found a small little program that was intended to root p500 devices and worked for mine.
I did run root checker and all plus i have root access so it is rooted.
My problem is,
1.) I cannot edit my build.prop
2.) Install Xbox Smartglass (which is the whole reason i'm killing myself for all this right now)
I'm running 2.3.7 gingerbread, and the smartglass app requires 4.0 and up.
I am certain this phone can run the app.
From the very beginning i tried to take the easy path out by manually downloading the .apk from an outside source but when i try to install it
i get an error stating that it had a problem "parsing" the info.
Running my little research i found you could edit the build.prop file to make the play store think you were running another device that was compatible. Then realizing my device must be rooted first, began my 2 days long journey to root the stubborn thing.
After root success, I installed ES File Explorer. From there, i went to my build.prop, proceeded to edit it with the ES text editor. Re-wrote the 2 lines required then when i went to save, "Error occurred when trying to save the file. It will not be saved." And just left me hanging after that.
In a quick desperate attempt, i found QtADB, which i thought would allow me to edit the system files. It only allowed me access to a hand full of the root directories. I downloaded the newest android dev kit (obviously you need it to run QtADB) so i don't know what exactly the problem here is.
For my absolute last desperate attempt i decided to do it manually. I took the build.prop and edited it manually through wordpad. (NOTE: i backed up the original) I named it "copy.build.prop" and placed it back in an easy to find directory. I then opened up ES file explorer, located the file and tried to copy it to the original location but no matter what i name it or what i do in general it will not move. It keeps failing and just telling me the file cannot be moved.
I am at my last legs with this to the point where i may just give up.
I dont know what to do and was hoping someone on here would.
If there was another way to install the app? If i could install it manually? Something to get me around all these utterly frustrating and annoying errors. I've ran from error to error, fixing it then coming to another. And at this point i just dont know what to do.
The help and replies would be much appreciated! Thanks in advanced!
The build.prop file is located in the /system partition, which is by default mounted as read-only (and for good reason).
Here are some simple steps to modifying the build.prop file.
1) Fire up an ADB shell ("adb shell" from a command prompt without quotes)
2) Within the ADB shell, execute "mount -o rw,remount /system /system" without quotes. This will remount your /system partition in read-write mode
3) Open a new command prompt and CD to an easily accessible directory (e.g "cd ~/Desktop" if on a Linux box)
4) Execute "adb pull /system/build.prop" without quotes
5) Edit the build.prop file as needed with a good text editor (DO NOT use Wordpad or Notepad, I prefer Notepad++ on Windows and Geany on Linux)
6) Execute "adb push /path/to/your/edited/build.prop /system/build.prop" without quotes. This will copy your modified build.prop back into the /system partition
7) In the ADB shell prompt, execute "mount -o ro,remount /system /system" without quotes. This will remount your /system partition read-only (never leave it read-write that is bad)
8) Reboot your phone
9) Profit!
As far as the Smartglass app goes, there is likely a good reason it requires ICS and above, and simply modifying your build.prop may not be enough. Don't take my word for it though, try the above steps and see what happens.
Cheers!
drewwalton19216801 said:
The build.prop file is located in the /system partition, which is by default mounted as read-only (and for good reason).
Here are some simple steps to modifying the build.prop file.
1) Fire up an ADB shell ("adb shell" from a command prompt without quotes)
2) Within the ADB shell, execute "mount -o rw,remount /system /system" without quotes. This will remount your /system partition in read-write mode
3) Open a new command prompt and CD to an easily accessible directory (e.g "cd ~/Desktop" if on a Linux box)
4) Execute "adb pull /system/build.prop" without quotes
5) Edit the build.prop file as needed with a good text editor (DO NOT use Wordpad or Notepad, I prefer Notepad++ on Windows and Geany on Linux)
6) Execute "adb push /path/to/your/edited/build.prop /system/build.prop" without quotes. This will copy your modified build.prop back into the /system partition
7) In the ADB shell prompt, execute "mount -o ro,remount /system /system" without quotes. This will remount your /system partition read-only (never leave it read-write that is bad)
8) Reboot your phone
9) Profit!
As far as the Smartglass app goes, there is likely a good reason it requires ICS and above, and simply modifying your build.prop may not be enough. Don't take my word for it though, try the above steps and see what happens.
Cheers!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm having problems setting a custom directory now... im on a windows 7 pc. I'm using the Qtabd shell, and at first it stated to give the CD a home, i've tried a million combinations and i just cant get one to work!!!

FIX: extsd2internalsd broken after Verizon 4.1.2 OTA

Loong time lurker, first time poster. I couldn't post a reply in the development forum, obviously. Maybe someone can link to this in relevant threads over in development.
This is a guide for those who are/were using the extsd2internal to swap storage which no longer works after the 4.1.2 OTA or want to do take advantage of this mod: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1849860 OR it MIGHT work for other ROMs which want to use this method for the Galaxy S3.
After the OTA, and getting back up and running, I could not get the script to work correctly with this error: "no such file or directory" and doing some sleuthing, it seems Verizon (in their infinite wisdom) changed the mounts, or maybe it did this because gremlins/gnomes, maybe because Vzw/Samsung knows about the swapping method, who knows. Anyways, here is the fix that worked for me:
PreReqs:
Stock ROM 4.1.2 OTA
Rooted (duh)
BusyBox
SManager ads
Terminal Emulator
Root Explorer in R/W mode
extsd2internalsd mod installed/script in the correct place!
BACKUPS!! Make a nandroid backup before you do ANY tinkering people, and copy it to a safe place like your computer.
Let me be clear, for the love of bits and bytes, do not just keep one copy on the sdcard in the phone!!
1) To find the /dev/block/vold for the external sd card, open Terminal Emulator and run this command. Grant it root access when prompted:
Code:
su ls /dev/block/vold
Write down or make a note of the numbers. (For me there were only 2, 179:32 and 179:33) Now run these commands:
Code:
adb shell
cat /proc/mounts
There will be a whole lot of text that shows up, you are looking for "/dev/block/vold/179:xx" and in the same line there is "/storage/extSDCard"
Alternate method, after you are in shell run command and look for mmcblk1p1:
Code:
cat /proc/partitions
The number in the "minor" column, that's the new number!
Double-check that the blocks are right for the sd card's partition size.
Note: I tried using mmcblk1 and it didn't work, then tried mmcblk1p1 and VIOLA! Yay, trial and error.
2) In SManager, edit the extsd2internal script, and replace the 179:97 to 179:*new number* (again, for me it was 179:33)
3) Reboot or just "run" the script in SManger and wait a few moments, then check Settings>Storage.
Here is what my script looks like:
Code:
#!/system/bin/sh
#extsd2internalsd is a modification that allows to switch internal sd to external sd and viceversa. With this you can use default internal sd only for app storage #and the external sd to store all apps resource and all others stuff. The resut is a very big increase of installable apps on gs3
#All credits to Mattiadj of xda forum for the idea and script and to mike1986 for the cmw zip.
#xda thread url at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1772234
#Script Modified for U.S. Galaxy S3s by Zedomax at GalaxyS3Root.com to be compatible when sdcard is not inserted.
busybox mount -o remount,rw /
busybox mount -t vfat -o umask=0000 /dev/block/vold/179:33 /mnt/sdcard
busybox mount -t exfat -o umask=0000 /dev/block/vold/179:33 /mnt/sdcard
if busybox mount | busybox grep vold/179:33; then
busybox mount -o bind /data/media /mnt/extSdCard
fi
If this didn't work for you, I am a complete n00b, so I will do my best, but don't expect much.
Things to double check:
Permissions on the extsd2interal script in Root Explorer should have all the boxes checked EXCEPT the last 3 at the bottom.
SManager script should be set to "Su" and "Boot"
OTA Headaches? Use this guide to keep root and boot unlocked worked PERFECTLY: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2186574#8 I did a nandroid restore to pre-OTA since it borked the first go-around, and then used this method.
Take home message: MAKE BACKUPS!
Credits / Current Build of this mod:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1772234
This mod does work, and just replacing the old with the new (still have to add it in SManager) will get the job done. The new script is significantly different, and I am sure there are reasons, but without a changelog...
Forum Community: Created the thread here because I couldn't find another thread specific to this environment with all the relevant information in one place. If anyone has seen any errors of my ways, please, please reply with what's up.

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