Database Info

[Q] Latest and Greatest Root steps for WiFi ONLY XOOM

My apologies if this post is a dup, but I'm havin a hell of a time trying to find the proper steps to root the WiFi only XOOM i have hangin out next to me.
I am seeing a ton of posts about rooting the XOOM, with a good bit of them telling me different informationDated 27 April 2011)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1010568&highlight=rooting+wifi&page=17 tells me to download the WiFi only image (Tiamat 1.3...), but then later tells me to download the Tiamat 1.4 images. [scribbi, my apologies for using your post as the example. But your post got me second guessing myself a little bit...(mostly cus I'm paranoid)]
I'm sure I am just second guessing myself over nothing, but just to be sure...
Is there a GOLDEN set of steps (or sticky), as of 27 APRIL 2011, that can give us (concerned rooters) the proper steps for rooting the WiFi only XOOM such that we can follow without minimal concern for the well-being of our tabs?
(I'm an embedded SW engineer, so I understand the repercussions of what I'm doing, which is why I'm to double checking the procedures before I attempt something that may brick my hardware)
Thanks for your time and mad props to everyone that was part of the effort to root this device. I wish I could code as well that they can.

I still do it the old fashioned way. I'm already unlocked so I just flash the boot image. With a clean system partition, you need to push a few drivers (.ko files) on plus "su" and the Superuser.apk. Superuser and su work together. And finally you need to create a new folder so that your real sdcard can be mounted. I think they changed the name from "sdcard2" to something new in 1.4.0.
Not exactly step by step but you can see which instructions that mirrors most.
New instructions involve CWM which I have not installed yet. I like to know what's done step by step as I have a Canadian system.img. I don't want that flashed over.

you could use the "one click" method found in the dev section. its really like a one click at a time, but goes slow so you can read and see what's going on. if your not comfy with adb I would suggest this method. then update the kernel with the kernel manager app.

jase33 said:
you could use the "one click" method found in the dev section. its really like a one click at a time, but goes slow so you can read and see what's going on. if your not comfy with adb I would suggest this method. then update the kernel with the kernel manager app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't trust the "one click" methods. Me, I need to know how every part works together and what every step does. I'm more comfortable with using adb and fastboot manually than I am with someone's idea of user friendly. I'm also the kind of guy that would fix his own car rather than have a mechanic fix it for free.
I should take a look at it. The way you describe it, it almost sounds like a batch file.
Also, when I understand what's going on, I can apply the steps in different situations. For example, most of the instructions here are for a PC but I can do exactly the same things with my Mac Mini when my PC isn't convenient.

OK, let me propose one of the root method which is not required to flash any boot image but is required to flash ClockworkMod Recovery and to use the recovery for rooting.
Such method (i.e. using custom recovery) may work not only on WiFi US model (which I have), but also on other models (Verizon, WiFi Europe etc). But I tested it on WiFi US.
So the step by step are:
1. Install ClockworkMod Recovery v3.0.2.5 as described here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1038870
This actualy means that you need to unclock bootloader and flash ClockworkMod Recovery.
2. Download attached Root_Xoom.zip file and put it on SD card
3. Insert SD card into Xoom
4. Boot Xoom in the recovery mode
5. In ClockworkMod Recovery menu choose "install zip from sdcard" and "choose zip from sdcard" and install Root_Xoom.zip
6. Reboot Xoom
Hope you will have Root after that.

ok so since I'm not currently rooted it looks like this should work for me. Gonna give it a shot in a little white once I get me some courage juice...

Al936 said:
OK, let me propose one of the root method which is not required to flash any boot image but is required to flash ClockworkMod Recovery and to use the recovery for rooting.
Such method (i.e. using custom recovery) may work not only on WiFi US model (which I have), but also on other models (Verizon, WiFi Europe etc). But I tested it on WiFi US.
So the step by step are:
1. Install ClockworkMod Recovery v3.0.2.5 as described here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1038870
This actualy means that you need to unclock bootloader and flash ClockworkMod Recovery.
2. Download attached Root_Xoom.zip file and put it on SD card
3. Insert SD card into Xoom
4. Boot Xoom in the recovery mode
5. In ClockworkMod Recovery menu choose "install zip from sdcard" and "choose zip from sdcard" and install Root_Xoom.zip
6. Reboot Xoom
Hope you will have Root after that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Other than rooting what else does this particular file do? Ovrclock, usb hosting, sd access??
Thanks

fabian29906 said:
Other than rooting what else does this particular file do? Ovrclock, usb hosting, sd access??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is for rooting only (as OP requested). It is just to push su binary and superuser.apk into system partition. Nothing else.

after that, get kernel manager and install 1.3.2 for oc, sdcard etc.... 1.4.0 isn't stable is it?

Yes, if you need oc, sdcard etc..., you can flash the kernel you like. It can be done after or before kernel flashing.

Do you have to have an SD card to CWM/root your Xoom?

Yes, you need SD card. CWM installs file from SD card to make root

[RECOVERY] G2x ClockworkMod flash for Mac

Disclaimer: flashing is a lot more risky than rooting so proceed at your own risk. This has only been tested with the G2x.
This uses the free VirtualBox (from Oracle) and a 900 meg vitrual machine I created to allow flashing recovery (clockworkmod or stock) from a mac. If you run into any problems with the first download link, try the second (it requires free registration).
This will give you a running linux virtual machine that has g2x root/unroot, clockworkmod (and stock) recovery flashing, and the android sdk (including adb) set up. You can root or unroot as well as flash clockworkmod recovery or the stock recovery using some double-clickable scripts. The android sdk is on there too in case you want to play around with adb. The clockworkmod version installed is 3.1.0.1 external with ext4 (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1086687) but you can download other versions and flash them pretty easily - just check the Readme.txt in the nvflash folder.
The clockworkmod flash here is the mac equivalent of http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056847 - though this thread just uses a linux virtual machine to get it done.
The username and password on the virtual machine are both "android" (without the quotes of course).
Requirements:
a few gigs of hard disk space
about 300 megs of RAM
intel mac
a sense of adventure
download virtualbox and the extension pack from http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/4.0.8/VirtualBox-4.0.8-71778-OSX.dmg
http://download.virtualbox.org/virt...alBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.8-71778.vbox-extpack
install virtualbox
install the extension pack (just double click it once virtualbox is installed)
download the linux virtual machine (thanks to propain4444 for the hosting) http://articulatevisuals.com/g2x/virtualbox_image_32bit_0_3.tar.bz2 or (requires free registration for this one) http://www.4shared.com/file/19DywhVS/virtualbox_image_32bit_0_3tar.html
decompress the virtual machine download (double click) if it didn't happen automatically
in virtualbox choose Machine -> Add… from the menu bar and choose the android_g2x.vbox file inside the android_g2x folder created by the decompressed virtual machine download
once the vm boots up you'll see the root/untoot and nvflash folders on the desktop with double-clickable scripts inside
After following the requirements above, to connect your phone for flashing with nvflash do the following:
plug the USB cable into your mac
turn the phone off
remove the battery
hold down volume up and volume down then plug the USB cable into the phone
Nothing will happen on the linux vm (unless you ran the tail_kernel_log.sh script in the nvflash folder) but you *should* be able to then run the flash-clockworkmod-recovery.sh script. If it doesn't see your device try disconnecting from USB and doing the steps above again. If you want more visibility into whether or not it's connected then double-click the tail_kernel_log.sh script and watch for a line to appear when you plug your phone in (with volume buttons held down of course).
If this helped you please click the Thanks button on this post. Thanks to baykakes for helping with the initial testing and propain4444 for the registration free download hosting. Countless thanks and credit to krylon360 for the updated ClockworkMod, Chris Soyars (ctso) for the initial test2 ClockworkMod and linux scripts in the g2x forum that motivated me to do this, koush for ClockworkMod and many others here whose knowledge helped make this possible.

YEY you posted it!
Once everything is downloaded IT'S REALLY EASY FOLKS!

Hey OP, thanks for developing and posting this. I can confirm that this works well and that it is really easy once the necessary files are downloaded.

I'm a newb, but after all these steps are done we should be able to save the stock ROM and I can download another ROM?

Mikeglongo said:
I'm a newb, but after all these steps are done we should be able to save the stock ROM and I can download another ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what you should be able to do. If you get it all installed and run the flash-clockworkmod-recovery.sh script successfully then you can do the following.
In preparation, download your ROM of choice to some place on your MicroSD card. If it's cyanogenmod you'll also need to install google apps. If you want to download it to your MicroSD card (gapps) and you'll install it later with clockworkmod. Once this is done back up the stock ROM:
power off the phone
hold down power and volume down until you see Android with a bunch of app icons then release both buttons
when the screen with red text comes up press volume down to scroll to "backup and restore" then hit power button to select
Backup should be highlighted so hit power to select
wait for the backup to complete
Now you should have a folder in /sdcard/_ExternalSD/clockworkmod/backup with a timestamp and the contents of your backup (the path may vary if you're on something other than the stock ROM). At this point you'll want to
navigate to "wipe data/factory reset" and let it complete
navigate to "advanced" => "Wipe Dalvik Cache" and let it complete
finally back to "install zip from sdcard" -> "choose zip from sdcard" and find the zip file with the ROM you downloaded above and install it
if you installed a ROM like cm7 that requires the google apps separately choose "install zip from sdcard" again, "choose zip from sdcard" and find the gapps zip you downloaded and install it
When it finishes you can reboot and setup your new ROM. You can of course backup the new ROM like you did before. At any point you can reboot into recovery (power off then hold power and volume down) and use restore to restore a previous backup.

worked great, thanks so much for your work!

Awesome, this might actually be what I was looking for, a big thanks to you.
Just one question, since T-mobile is sending me a new phone, shoud be here by thursday, might as well not install NVFLASH until thursday correct?

Mikeglongo said:
Awesome, this might actually be what I was looking for, a big thanks to you.
Just one question, since T-mobile is sending me a new phone, shoud be here by thursday, might as well not install NVFLASH until thursday correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, assuming you need to send your current one back you might just wait for the new one. Though you could flash cwm now, backup your stock ROM, flash some new ROMs just for fun then restore the stock ROM and flash the stock recovery before sending it back :-D. This virtual machine also includes my easy root/unroot scripts as well...

I may be able to host the VM image for you - Send me a PM if interested.

So, this is the "full" clockwork flash for a mac right? Not the "fake" one i keep hearing about.
Basically, this is flashing clockwork as described here (only, for a mac):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056847

propain4444 said:
So, this is the "full" clockwork flash for a mac right? Not the "fake" one i keep hearing about.
Basically, this is flashing clockwork as described here (only, for a mac):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1056847
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, the real clockworkmod as described in that thread. it's the external sdcard version of the 3.1.0.1 with ext4 support - though you can download and flash other versions if you want (see the Readme.txt in the nvflash folder)

jnichols959 said:
yes, the real clockworkmod as described in that thread. it's the external sdcard version of the 3.1.0.1 with ext4 support - though you can download and flash other versions if you want (see the Readme.txt in the nvflash folder)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - Let me know if you're interested re: hosting the VM.

Since I'm most likely flashing this way, what's a VM? Just because I'm a newb

Mikeglongo said:
Since I'm most likely flashing this way, what's a VM? Just because I'm a newb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
virtual machine. in this case it's a linux computer that runs in a window on "virtual" hardware. that's what VirtualBox provides - the software to emulate a computer and allow you to run these virtual machines.
i went this route because nvflash is only available for windows or linux machines. a windows vm would not be free but a linux vm is and the nvflash (and root/unroot) tools run quite well on it, in fact arguably better than on windows since you don't need any device drivers

Ooops sorry I wrote in here meant to message you

How do you do the internal SD flash recovery?!

Mikeglongo said:
How do you do the internal SD flash recovery?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check the read me file in the g2x folder of the downloaded package. I think all you have to do is put rename the recovery file in the nvflash folder. Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I think the script is made to flash by name. So as long as you rename the file you want and rename the old file (so it is not flashed) you should be good.
Sent from my LG-P999 using XDA App

Edit: Nevermind.

gshine said:
Edit: Nevermind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So did it end up working? Normally you need to watch the terminal that opens up and read the text in it. That should tell you when it's done, if it's successful, and what to do when it's finished.

Yes. not sure what happened on the first try, but the second one worked fine. I've backed up my original ROM, and installed CM7. I'm happy...for the moment!
jnichols959 said:
So did it end up working? Normally you need to watch the terminal that opens up and read the text in it. That should tell you when it's done, if it's successful, and what to do when it's finished.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

recovering partitioned internal memory

I recently used Frank's Tools to dual boot Ubuntu on my Tablet.
After I later realized it wasn't for me, I used the generic root kit to revert to android only OS.
I now see that my internal memory is only showing as 7.36 gb
I would like to know how I can go about recovering the partitioned memory
I have tried using frank's tools, and choosing android only but it gave me the error
"Nvflash started
nvflash configuration file error: file not found"
Some help would be much appreciated.

There should be a flash.cfg file in there- monkey around with the partition sizes and see if that fixes the issue.
I'm not familiar with Frank's tools, so can't help you there. My wild guess is that the rom files aren't unzipped and in the same folder as the nvflash executables.
You might try to download and flash the nvflash version of Prime or another custom rom since it will have the stock partition sizes.

Hi there go to little stevies thread download olife.sh and set up the enviroment put the rom you want in images boot.img system.img recovery.img
Run olife.sh and go to the option flash then select stock it will resize all the partitions and flash the rom you put in images i usually use the script just for flashing new roms makes sure i get a super clean install
Sent from my tf running krakd warped an twisted 1544mhz Blades kernel

Danzano said:
Hi there go to little stevies thread download olife.sh and set up the enviroment put the rom you want in images boot.img system.img recovery.img
Run olife.sh and go to the option flash then select stock it will resize all the partitions and flash the rom you put in images i usually use the script just for flashing new roms makes sure i get a super clean install
Sent from my tf running krakd warped an twisted 1544mhz Blades kernel
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am very new to Linux and don't know much at all about their OS or ubuntu.
I know i can install it and dual boot my PC with ubuntu, or simply just run a VM of ubunt on my PC.
All i know to do in Ubuntu us open up the terminal by hitting Ctrl+alt+f i beleive
Can anyone show me a step by step way of doing so?
Stevies thread asumes you have knowlege of ubuntu, but I just don't.
Even better has anyone been able to acomplish this with windows?

SomethinAmazinn said:
I am very new to Linux and don't know much at all about their OS or ubuntu.
I know i can install it and dual boot my PC with ubuntu, or simply just run a VM of ubunt on my PC.
All i know to do in Ubuntu us open up the terminal by hitting Ctrl+alt+f i beleive
Can anyone show me a step by step way of doing so?
Stevies thread asumes you have knowlege of ubuntu, but I just don't.
Even better has anyone been able to acomplish this with windows?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can have ubuntu run next to windows just download the wubi version from the website it lets you have dualboot and if you get sick of ubuntu you can just uninstall it like any other win program.
As for the steps to setting up there are 1000 youtube vids on how to set up adb etc on ubuntu and there very easy to follow
Once you have watched a few of those videos you will have a folder in your home folder called platform-tools thats where all the good stuff goes for android and thats where lil stevies thread pics up from..
I was completly new to linux and android when i got my gt540 but after 2-3days i was happy flashing and modding and now with my tf doing even more with the system.
If you have a little patience and dont mind watching a few youtube vids you can get the whole lot set up and done and ready for future use in an hr or so
Understanding it or what your doing is the part that will take 2-3 days lol
Sent from my tf running krakd warped an twisted 1544mhz Blades kernel

Thanks so much Danzano.
You really helped me out alot. I installed Ubuntu like you suggested, and was able to safely remove the ubuntu partition from my tf's internal memory.

SomethinAmazinn said:
Thanks so much Danzano.
You really helped me out alot. I installed Ubuntu like you suggested, and was able to safely remove the ubuntu partition from my tf's internal memory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
All good mate it comes in handy alot for work on the tf and other bits and pieces
Sent from my tf running krakd warped an twisted 1544mhz Blades kernel

[Q] How would you copy/clone a TF700 image?

Hey guys,
I have 30 TF700 tablets that need to be identical and was wondering if there was a way to clone them.
How would one go about doing this?
Thanks!
PS: I originally tried making back-ups with CWM, Nandroid, & Titantium with no luck. The apps don't recognize any SD card even though the OS & file viewers do. I've manually moved the back-ups onto the card, but still no luck. It's probably user error as I am fairly new to Android.
Also, this is running 4.0 ICS, rooted and unlocked.

Anyone?

Both options you've tried should work. It appears your issue is with the SD card, not the method. I would focus on that. Perhaps it's a simple matter of how the SD card is formatted?

I'm curious as to what you have 30 Infinities for... are you the IT person for a private school or something?
Sent from my XT894 using xda premium

danger-rat said:
Both options you've tried should work. It appears your issue is with the SD card, not the method. I would focus on that. Perhaps it's a simple matter of how the SD card is formatted?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With ICS did they change the SD card pathing? I think what's happening is CWM is not recognizing the actual external SD card, but is reading from the mnt/sdcard path which is on the internal memory. I may be way off base here. Still trying to troubleshoot.
I also cannot get the CWM recovery to start, so I may have it flashed incorrectly. (I used the ASUS tool to unlock the bootloader. Upon start-up it says "This device is unlocked," but is it possible it's actually not? Tried running the tool again with no luck. Just trying to figure out why I can't get CWM recovery to start on boot-up)
moah909 said:
I'm curious as to what you have 30 Infinities for... are you the IT person for a private school or something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. If the first 30 are successful, there will be significantly more tablets on the way. So it's imperative I resolve a way to image and standardize them all. I'm unfortunately not having the best luck right now.

Just following this thread.
I was wondering if one could flash TWRP instead of CWM \ set up a tablet as required \ backup with twrp.
Flash twrp to all the other tabs \ create backups \ then hopefully use 1 compatible backup on an SD for the other tablets.
(TWRP folder on external SD)
I'm certainly no expert and quite possibly something low level prevents backups from tab to tab.
Still sounds like quite a bit of work to do in any case.
Good luck there.

Thats OK said:
Just following this thread.
I was wondering if one could flash TWRP instead of CWM \ set up a tablet as required \ backup with twrp.
Flash twrp to all the other tabs \ create backups \ then hopefully use 1 compatible backup on an SD for the other tablets.
(TWRP folder on external SD)
I'm certainly no expert and quite possibly something low level prevents backups from tab to tab.
Still sounds like quite a bit of work to do in any case.
Good luck there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good thinking. I'm trying TWRP now and will let you know how it goes.:good:
In order to load that backup onto a clean, stock tablet, it will have to be rooted and unlocked correct? At first I thought it might only need to be unlocked, but I think flashing the recovery in GooManager requires root access correct? ( So I'll need to root and unlock all 30 tablets? )

You have two options:
1 - Root and flash recovery via Goo Manager
2 - Unlock and flash recovery via fastboot
If these tablets are for a school, then the first option would preserve your warranty, which could be beneficial.
Are you really planning on letting students have rooted slates? What kind of software are you trying to install, and do you really need the data to be copied also?

danger-rat said:
You have two options:
1 - Root and flash recovery via Goo Manager
2 - Unlock and flash recovery via fastboot
If these tablets are for a school, then the first option would preserve your warranty, which could be beneficial.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Custom recovery can be flashed without unlocking? That would be new to me.

danger-rat said:
You have two options:
1 - Root and flash recovery via Goo Manager
2 - Unlock and flash recovery via fastboot
If these tablets are for a school, then the first option would preserve your warranty, which could be beneficial.
Are you really planning on letting students have rooted slates? What kind of software are you trying to install, and do you really need the data to be copied also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The software will be comprised of custom apps currently in developement and yes the data needs to be nearly identical.
It's not for traditional students. They'll be used by technicians/engineers. I know it sounds silly to give a bunch of tech savvy people rooted &/or unlocked slates, but we're more concerned about having the slates standardized with our custom software and settings.

I think for this use case you only need root, not even unlock. If you just want to clone installed custom apps, it should be enough to pack /data/app/(your_apps) and /data/data/(dirs_of_your_apps) into a tar file on one tablet and then extract it on another. This does not register the apps with the package manager or the market, but it may be enough in your case. To do this, you'd just need root and busybox installed, and then run the appropriate tar command line via adb shell from a connected PC (using adb pull and adb push to get/put the tar from/to the tablet). For "mass duplication" you could create a fancy distribution solution via network involving netcat.
If you also want to clone the launcher layout, also copy the content /data/data/com.android.launcher/databases.

_that said:
Custom recovery can be flashed without unlocking? That would be new to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Typically, on most Android devices, yes.
Never tried on this...

I wanna dual boot Ubuntu / Android on my SL 101

Ok, so, I want to dual boot ubuntu and android but:
I do not want to change my current partition layout (and lose all my data)
I don't want to touch the current android install AT ALL
I would like to run ubuntu from my SD Card
I would like to run ubuntu from an Image (img file) on my sd card
I would like to press vol down and power at boot to boot to ubuntu
I am rooted, I have (what the sbkcheck says) SBKv1
One more thing.
Why don't we have an SL101 forum?

I believe there is a pseudo-dual boot for our device where you could run Ubuntu from SD card. But if I remember correctly, each time you want to switch operating systems, you have to flash a different kernel. I'm not entirely sure though, I'll keep looking for the post.
Even though you have SBK1, SBK differs per device. Meaning Nvflash still isn't available to us yet.
Also, SL101 doesn't have a forum because frankly there aren't enough users. Plus the device is so similar to the TF101 and some ROMs run fine on both.

Solar.Plexus said:
I believe there is a pseudo-dual boot for our device where you could run Ubuntu from SD card. But if I remember correctly, each time you want to switch operating systems, you have to flash a different kernel. I'm not entirely sure though, I'll keep looking for the post.
Even though you have SBK1, SBK differs per device. Meaning Nvflash still isn't available to us yet.
Also, SL101 doesn't have a forum because frankly there aren't enough users. Plus the device is so similar to the TF101 and some ROMs run fine on both.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I remember seeing a way to flash the recovery partition with something that allowed you to press vol down and power to boot to ubuntu, using the SDcard as / .. basically i'd like that type of setup only with an .img file on the sdcard instead of using the raw sdcard.