[Completed] [Q] Htc Desire 816 Software Update Issues

[Completed] [Q] Htc Desire 816 Software Update Issues - XDA Assist

I've been having trouble installing a new software update on my phone (HTC Desire 816, 4.4.2 KitKat) and I decided to give it another go today. My phone is rooted, I used CWM recovery and SU which I still use. When I let the phone do the automatic install, when the phone goes into recovery it says the path to the dl is invalid. Which I've checked and it seems the same to me. If I try to install it by going into the recovery mode and installing the zip it says "file_getprop: failed to stat "/system/build.prop": no such file or directory". So I came on here to try to find answers and the threads I came across just lead to more questions. One thread said: "If I unlock the bootloader and root (including flashing wp_mod) my HTC Desire 816 but remain in my default stock ROM will I still receive software updates from HTC officially?", then goes onto ask questions regarding how the internal memory amt is an issue for game data size that cant be moved to the SD card. and if Link2SD work or if there's a way to "emulate /link the ext SD and Int SD, and if busybox is required. The reply talks about Xposed module installation, busybox on rails, Xposed Framework, and S-ON.
I am a beginner with this type of stuff. I can do basic things (like root my phone and such), so the more information the better. But what is all the stuff that is being referred to and will any of it help me with my situation. I am always looking to learn more about the things I can do with my phone, So the more the better. I just need a complete work through, no steps skipped. And Lastly, I'm looking for the stock ROM for my phone if it's anywhere., but I'm hoping for the US version for Virgin Mobile, just in case I screw it up and need to revert back or just feel like going back to basic. Thank You

Hi,
Here is my suggestion. You want to learn and that's awesome! Learning this stuff requires lots of reading, googling, searching xda and reading stickies in your device section (the top threads in sections with thumb tack icons on them)
So, here is the desire 816 section...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/desire-816
I'm the general section, you'll find information... Guides, tutorials and whatnot, for many things. In Q&A section you can find questions others have asked, as well as more information threads too. You can read the summary of the other sections, but those 2 have a wealth of knowledge in thread already.... You won't often find people repeat it all, especially the many things you've asked, when the information is already out there. ?
If you get stuck on something, ask for help in your Q&A section for that device. ?
Good luck!

Related

[Q] MD5 code for ARHD superwipe file

Hi All,
I bought a phone that had ARHD 5.3 already installed but I'm having a few issues so I thought I'd try and upgrade to the latest. Being a noob with a modified phone has made my learning curve somewhat difficult since I couldn't follow any of the tutorials made for noobs my phone was past that point. Either way after PLENTY of reading I'm confident in what I'm about to do.
Part of that reading has instilled the importance of checking the MD5 before flashing anything. And I have for both my firmware and ROM but I couldn't find an MD5 for the ARHD Sensation SuperWipe file. I've spent an hour looking but couldn't find it so I'm hoping I wasn't just blind. I also realize this should probably be in the development forum but since this is my first post I don't have experience to ask it there.
-----------
Question 2
I haven't touched the SD card contents since I bought the phone but I would like to wipe it clean and start from scratch, but I'm nervous because of the folders such as 4ext, clockworkmod, virtuous_inquisition.
I know this folders have to do with the customization of the phone but will everything still be ok if I format the card? Will the system create whatever folders it needs?
Thanks

[Q] First android, very overwhelmed. A Question about SD cards.

This is my first android and only my second smart phone. My first was iphone 3GS.
I've had the phone for just a few days now and I'm beginning to understand things but I still have a bunch of questions. I'm sure it's answered in a guide somewhere already but I'm having trouble understanding the lingo to understand the guide...
So this phone obviously doesn't have an SD card port. But does that mean there is no way to create a virtual SD card? Is there one already on the phone that I don't understand how to access it?
In apps that require other files stored on an SD card it often brings up a browser with the location /SD card/. Is this an actual folder location? How can I access it and how can I put files there?
I apologize in advance because I probably will not be able to understand your directions since I just don't understand android talk yet.
I have no idea what sort of info you guys might need so here it all is.
HTC One X
AT&T 4G LTE
USA
Rooted using [ROOT] 1.85 One Click Root! - ACT NOW, MAY NOT LAST FOREVER! (I'm not sure how I did this or if I was supposed to. Just following instructions...)
I have no idea what a bootloader is, just that it can be unlocked. Should I do this? What does that mean?
I have a vague idea of what a rom is and i'm running the vanilla stock one. Any advice of what the advantages are of changing my rom and how to do it? Again I looked at the guides but I can't understand it...
I have no idea what a kernal is.

PhatCrits said:
This is my first android and only my second smart phone. My first was iphone 3GS.
I've had the phone for just a few days now and I'm beginning to understand things but I still have a bunch of questions. I'm sure it's answered in a guide somewhere already but I'm having trouble understanding the lingo to understand the guide...
So this phone obviously doesn't have an SD card port. But does that mean there is no way to create a virtual SD card? Is there one already on the phone that I don't understand how to access it?
In apps that require other files stored on an SD card it often brings up a browser with the location /SD card/. Is this an actual folder location? How can I access it and how can I put files there?
I apologize in advance because I probably will not be able to understand your directions since I just don't understand android talk yet.
I have no idea what sort of info you guys might need so here it all is.
HTC One X
AT&T 4G LTE
USA
Rooted using [ROOT] 1.85 One Click Root! - ACT NOW, MAY NOT LAST FOREVER! (I'm not sure how I did this or if I was supposed to. Just following instructions...)
I have no idea what a bootloader is, just that it can be unlocked. Should I do this? What does that mean?
I have a vague idea of what a rom is and i'm running the vanilla stock one. Any advice of what the advantages are of changing my rom and how to do it? Again I looked at the guides but I can't understand it...
I have no idea what a kernal is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to the world of Android!
Our phone's file system is as follows:
2gb for Apps (in the /data location)
10gb for User Data (known as the "sdcard", in the /sdcard location, basically a virtual sd card)
4gb for system files and such.
Use any file explorer to acces the files in /sdcard. However, you can only edit the other "partitions" (as they are called, basically the other parts of the file system as described above) with root.
Root is basically giving you access to those other parts of the system so that you cant usually access so that you can modify your system
Bootloaders are the things that load the device firmware. If you unlock them, you can write custom things to boot the system up, such as custom recoveries (used to install custom ROMs, back your system up, etc) and custom kernels.
If for now you aren't going to use any custom ROMs then don't worry about Bootloader Unlock. If you want to use custom ROMs then you will need to unlock your bootloader and install a custom recovery.
Custom ROMs really come in two different types: ones that remove extra crap that AT&T/HTC install on there but are still very stock looking and give you a faster stock experience, and also those ROMs that completly deviate from stock and have an entirely different look and feel.
The second category of ROMs also can be broken up into two categories. One of them is AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs that give you the vanilla look of what Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to look like (look up screenshots of a Galaxy Nexus to see what it looks like). An example of ROMs like this are CM9 and AOKP. They both give you extremely high customizability. There are also ROMs that deviate from the standard type of different ROMs, such as the MIUI ROM. These give your phone a completely different look and feel like the AOSP Roms except they aren't trying to mimic AOSP. Check out screenshots of the MIUI ROM to see what I mean of a different ROM.
Ask any more questions you have.

rohan32 said:
Welcome to the world of Android!
Our phone's file system is as follows:
2gb for Apps (in the /data location)
10gb for User Data (known as the "sdcard", in the /sdcard location, basically a virtual sd card)
4gb for system files and such.
Use any file explorer to acces the files in /sdcard. However, you can only edit the other "partitions" (as they are called, basically the other parts of the file system as described above) with root.
Root is basically giving you access to those other parts of the system so that you cant usually access so that you can modify your system
Bootloaders are the things that load the device firmware. If you unlock them, you can write custom things to boot the system up, such as custom recoveries (used to install custom ROMs, back your system up, etc) and custom kernels.
If for now you aren't going to use any custom ROMs then don't worry about Bootloader Unlock. If you want to use custom ROMs then you will need to unlock your bootloader and install a custom recovery.
Custom ROMs really come in two different types: ones that remove extra crap that AT&T/HTC install on there but are still very stock looking and give you a faster stock experience, and also those ROMs that completly deviate from stock and have an entirely different look and feel.
The second category of ROMs also can be broken up into two categories. One of them is AOSP (Android Open Source Project) ROMs that give you the vanilla look of what Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to look like (look up screenshots of a Galaxy Nexus to see what it looks like). An example of ROMs like this are CM9 and AOKP. They both give you extremely high customizability. There are also ROMs that deviate from the standard type of different ROMs, such as the MIUI ROM. These give your phone a completely different look and feel like the AOSP Roms except they aren't trying to mimic AOSP. Check out screenshots of the MIUI ROM to see what I mean of a different ROM.
Ask any more questions you have.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you Rohan and Kleeman.
So I'm gonna keep asking if you don't mind. It seems to me that if I were to keep the stock rom then I would not be getting all I could out of the device. I think cleanrom is for me, but would I be missing out on features by sticking with SenseUI? Could you point me in the direction of a very very very dumbed down way to unlock it, preferably device specific? Simple google searches brought guides but not one I could follow. Oh, and when should I backup and how?

[Q] 100% Original Stock ROM backup before root?

Hi there,
I am new to xda and new to Android hacking.
What I wanna ask is, (I guess it's of most newbies concern as well), can we have a 100% backup of our system (stock ROM)? Obviously, it is important because:
If we perform an official (OTA) update to a new Android version. And we don't like it. It is possible to get back to the old original one which we are used to. (not everybody likes new things, and/or not every new thing is good)
If our phones are having some problems. And we have to give it back to the company for a fix. In most cases they will flash a new ROM for us. If we wanna keep using the old one (explained in #1), we have to keep a copy of it by ourselves.
If we want to try new custom ROMs, we may want to switch it back after trying.
Whenever we do any modifications, it's always better to keep a backup/roll-back point. In case anything goes wrong, we have a safeguard.
For the official warranty issue.
Yup I do see there are some official stock ROMs downloads for some particular phones. But those are not really a backup of our original ROMs. And it's always hard to verify if those downloads are the original official releases. And, if those downloads are 100% stock ROMs, this means some guys out there could make it, so what is the way to do so?
Or, how those mobile phone companies do it in their labs?
I have been doing researches on this topic for a few days. Some posts claim that their methods are "backup stock ROM" or "backup before rooting". But after digging into it, they requires rooting and/or flashing CWM. Here comes a few questions:
Questions
Rooting will in fact changes some files/data of the system. So backup after root is NOT getting the original stock ROM. Is it?
Is there a method to "un-root", so ALL the changes are TOTALLY reverted?
Installing/flashing things like CWM in phone requires rooting, which would make the ROM not original. Is there a way to extract the system backup from a computer externally?
In addition, I have found some related pieces. which could be useful to anyone viewing this post, and might be useful for you to solve this (my) question. :fingers-crossed:
* as I'm a new user, I can't post links directly. Please delete the blank spaces in between.
ht tp://www .modaco .com/topic/351269-backup-original-rom/
In reply #5, user C3C0 raised a method of backing up the original stock ROM without root. But it seems he is flashing CWM and that method is only for ZTE Skate.
adb backup tool of Android SDK
At the first sight i came across this approach, I thought it is the official method to do whole system (ROM) backup (WOW - how nice!). But after studying for a few more posts, I think adb backup can only backup app+app_data, and possibly some system settings only. Am I correct? And also, adb backup is only for ICS (Android 4.0), isn't it?
adb backup usage: ht tp://forum.xda-developers .com/showthread.php?t=1420351
(But mentioned in the bottom of #1 the poster is having some issues on using adb backup. Perhaps there are some bugs and not reliable(?)
One more question on adb backup: Can it backup just one app+app_data, and restore just one app+app_data, without affecting other things? If yes, we don't need to root and don't need Titanium Backup (which requires root) for backup app+app_data. Isn't it?
** In case I have said anything or any terms wrongly in this thread, please DO correct me, for helping me and helping others.
P.S. i am using LG Optimus 3D.
Thanks a lot, wholeheartedly,
midnite_

Backup phone before root
Hello all this is my first post here...woohoo!:fingers-crossed: This forum is amazing as to the amount of information available. I just wish that in looking for what I need to do I did not need to look in so many places. I feel that if I want to root my T-Mobile GS3 that all the information should be in one subsection of the forum, but it is not that simple I guess....lol Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Samsung GS3 with T-Mobile that I want to root. Everyone says to back up the phone before you do it but I am not really seeing how to make a backup before I start. It appears that most of the guides to root just say to backup without telling you how to fo it. Another thing (correct me if I am wrong) I see the nandroid backup that I think is a backup of the phone however it seems to be done after you make changes to the phone and I thought the backup was supposed to be done before you do anything. Is it that there is not a way to make a complete backup with an unrooted phone?
My question is basically the same as the OP here. I have been reading and reading and reading posts here in the forum. There is much information here and much of it is duplicated with slight variances in some of the duplicates. I am not certain as to which rooting method I should use. There seem to be so many choices. As a new person to this forum I will say that you can find just about everything about any phone which is awesome. The hard thing is sifting through the many options to pick one to use for your issue.
I do see that Mr. Robinson has a thread with backups of the original roms. The only thing is that they are default roms that are like an out of the box phone and not my phone with my apps and my settings. That is what I want to backup...My phone with my settings and my apps.
:good: Thank you in advance for any one that can shed some light on this for me and the OP'er

ASharpEdge said:
Hello all this is my first post here...woohoo!:fingers-crossed: This forum is amazing as to the amount of information available. I just wish that in looking for what I need to do I did not need to look in so many places. I feel that if I want to root my T-Mobile GS3 that all the information should be in one subsection of the forum, but it is not that simple I guess....lol Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Samsung GS3 with T-Mobile that I want to root. Everyone says to back up the phone before you do it but I am not really seeing how to make a backup before I start. It appears that most of the guides to root just say to backup without telling you how to fo it. Another thing (correct me if I am wrong) I see the nandroid backup that I think is a backup of the phone however it seems to be done after you make changes to the phone and I thought the backup was supposed to be done before you do anything. Is it that there is not a way to make a complete backup with an unrooted phone?
My question is basically the same as the OP here. I have been reading and reading and reading posts here in the forum. There is much information here and much of it is duplicated with slight variances in some of the duplicates. I am not certain as to which rooting method I should use. There seem to be so many choices. As a new person to this forum I will say that you can find just about everything about any phone which is awesome. The hard thing is sifting through the many options to pick one to use for your issue.
I do see that Mr. Robinson has a thread with backups of the original roms. The only thing is that they are default roms that are like an out of the box phone and not my phone with my apps and my settings. That is what I want to backup...My phone with my settings and my apps.
:good: Thank you in advance for any one that can shed some light on this for me and the OP'er
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ya,
It's so nice that you are having the same concern as I do.
As far as i know, the approaches of rooting differ from phones to phones. So we may have to find our own specific rooting method in the phone model sub-forums. It won't be hard for your popular S3
I would like to have a look at that Mr. Robinson's thread. If he can backup the stock ROM, those app+app_data wont a big issue (i guess).
cheers,
midnite_

midnite_ said:
Questions
Rooting will in fact changes some files/data of the system. So backup after root is NOT getting the original stock ROM. Is it?
Is there a method to "un-root", so ALL the changes are TOTALLY reverted?
Installing/flashing things like CWM in phone requires rooting, which would make the ROM not original. Is there a way to extract the system backup from a computer externally?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi midnight, welcome to a new and exciting world of Android and trying new things. First, let me assure you, what you want is NOT something new. People have been doing this type of thing for years. That is flashing and testing roms. As you will learn, it actually becomes quite addictive. We call those folks that get addicted to flashing: Flashaholics or crackflashers, lol
First let me talk about "root". This process consists of unlocking a lower level of the Android system known as the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader of your device allows you to flash a custom recovery, flashing a custom recovery allows you to flash the Superuser binary and Superuser.apk, This is what allows you to use apps that require "root". The bootloader is not an OS file. So when you are unlocking your bootloader you are not modifying your stock rom. Only when you have flashed the Superuser package have you modified your stock rom. And even that isn't really modifying anything. When you flash the Superuser package, it adds two files to your rom at certain locations of the file system. It adds the Superuser.apk file to system/app and it adds the SU binary to system/bin. Basically you CAN have a totally S-OFF (unlocked) bootloader and still have an entirely stock rom if you want. But the real benifit is flashing a custom recovery like ClockworkMod Recovery and then flash the superuser package.
As far as extracting the stock system, you should try giving adb a go. Do it right now if you like. Ensure you have the android sdk installed and properly set up on your computer and your computer can recognize your phone. Ensure your phone is in debugging mode, connect your phone to your computer, open up a command window, and run this command:
Code:
adb pull \
This command will pull everything off your phone except for data which is where your market or Google Play apps are stored.
Beyond XDA there are aso more resources to learn from. For example, http://www.android.com is a good place to start, and to learn more about adb check out http://developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html
If you need to learn how to setup the sdk here is the place to learn how: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
I'm sure others will add to this as well which is the good thing about this community.
Welcome to XDA, I hope you have fun learning, and maybe share back someday things you learn along the way.

wildstang83 said:
Hi midnight, welcome to a new and exciting world of Android and trying new things. First, let me assure you, what you want is NOT something new. People have been doing this type of thing for years. That is flashing and testing roms. As you will learn, it actually becomes quite addictive. We call those folks that get addicted to flashing: Flashaholics or crackflashers, lol
First let me talk about "root". This process consists of unlocking a lower level of the Android system known as the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader of your device allows you to flash a custom recovery, flashing a custom recovery allows you to flash the Superuser binary and Superuser.apk, This is what allows you to use apps that require "root". The bootloader is not an OS file. So when you are unlocking your bootloader you are not modifying your stock rom. Only when you have flashed the Superuser package have you modified your stock rom. And even that isn't really modifying anything. When you flash the Superuser package, it adds two files to your rom at certain locations of the file system. It adds the Superuser.apk file to system/app and it adds the SU binary to system/bin. Basically you CAN have a totally S-OFF (unlocked) bootloader and still have an entirely stock rom if you want. But the real benifit is flashing a custom recovery like ClockworkMod Recovery and then flash the superuser package.
As far as extracting the stock system, you should try giving adb a go. Do it right now if you like. Ensure you have the android sdk installed and properly set up on your computer and your computer can recognize your phone. Ensure your phone is in debugging mode, connect your phone to your computer, open up a command window, and run this command:
Code:
adb pull \
This command will pull everything off your phone except for data which is where your market or Google Play apps are stored.
Beyond XDA there are aso more resources to learn from. For example, ht tp://www .android .com is a good place to start, and to learn more about adb check out ht tp://developer .android .com/tools/help/adb.html
If you need to learn how to setup the sdk here is the place to learn how: ht tp://developer .android .com/sdk/index.html
I'm sure others will add to this as well which is the good thing about this community.
Welcome to XDA, I hope you have fun learning, and maybe share back someday things you learn along the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Wildstang,
Thanks very much for your warm welcome and very informative reply. So are you a Flashaholics or Crackflashers yet?
As I am a newbie, please forgive me if I am asking dumb questions.
As far as I understand,
The steps of root is
1. Unlock the bootloader
2. Flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk
** does "flash a custom recovery" means "flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk"?
"Flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk" is just "add SU binary to system/bin" and "add Superuser.apk to system/app". Then why not just copy them into place?
I just found on the web that "flashing" means replacing the OS of the phone with a new ROM. Would that still keeping the stock ROM?
To have a backup of the original stock ROM, can I
1. Unlock the bootloader
2. Flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk
3. Perform the backup
And later, after I have flashed a new ROM, or whatever I do, as long as I didn't brick it, when I want to rollback my phone to its original, I can
1. Restore the backup
2. Delete "SU binary in system/bin" and "Superuser.apk in system/app"
3. re-lock the bootloader
Is this correct?
I don't mean to challenge you. But does adb pull \ really backup the system, or just all the files?
Thanks very much again!
midnite_

Hey midnite_,
I am a newbie too and have a lot of blank spots in my understanding of what we can do with android. I also came here with same question. I found how to root, this isn't a secret. Like you, I want to know how do I fix it if I break it.
So, with regards to your questions.
1. Unlock the bootloader
Not clear on this one, as not every tutorial even mentions this part. My feeling is that this might be specific to some phones, like HTC.
2. Flash Custom Recovery (such as AmonRa, CWR, TWRP...)
Recovery is an intermediate stage of phone booting process after bootloader but before OS.
It is there to allow OTA (Over the air) updates. During those, the OS is halted and replaced with a newer one.
What this means for us is that the recovery is capable of replacing OS (ROM - are these terms interchangeable?).
Recovery is the same as hidden partition on windows, that is sometimes present on a PC. It has a limited interface.
It can replace one OS image with another. It probably checks the checksum and creates the new one after the update. It is probably the gatekeeper.
Stock recovery will not replace OS with an image from SD card or from PC through USB. Only OTA.
This is the reason for flashing the custom (hacked) recovery on.
Custom recovery is made to allow additional options, such as allowing image sources such as PC or SD card, and also a ROM backup (write OS image to PC).
3. Flash update file using "upgrade from SD card" function of custom recovery now in place.
In this step, the Superuser.apk and bin files are placed. Stock recovery will not let us do that.
Also, I think the reason we can't just use ADB to "copy" superuser package to phone is because the system is either running or exists as an image (compressed?), and is probably protective of its modification. (So, likely the superuser package also replaces the checksum that the OS uses to check if it has been compromised?) Yes, this modifies your rom.
I assume that unrooting could be done after this by updating again with a file that removes superuser package and that would make your rom stock again.
4 OR flash custom ROM, which usually includes superuser package. Of course using custom rom means you no longer have stock rom.
To have a backup of original ROM, you would :
1 Unlock bootloader,
2 Flash (install) custom recovery
3 superuser doesn't matter here
4 Use custom recovery function to back up your stock ROM.
I want to know the answers to the rest of your questions as well as some clarifications to mine.
Personally, I am looking for a way to backup the stock recovery as well.
I know there are some people asking about this. The procedure appears to be as follows:
(pieced together so don't take it as a tutorial)
1 Unlock bootloader (again, unclear on this. Also some mention S-OFF and others don't)
2 With USB debugging allowed (meaning connect as device requiring a driver), Connect to a PC with ABD, and a driver installed.
3 From ADB, issue a command "adb boot recoveryimage.name" instead of the usual "adb flash recoveryimage.name".
This will make the phone boot into a custom recovery image that is residing on PC, without first writing it to the phone.
4 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to back up stock rom to pc.
5 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to flash either root or custom rom to the phone.
6 Disconnect, reboot the phone. Once in OS, use root privileges to mount recovery partition ? (this makes it visible as drive)
7 Don't know how, but use root privileges to back up now visible stock recovery partition to PC as image.
( This should give you two out of three original parts.)
Keep in mind that even if my peace-by-peace "know-how" ever works, there is at least one clearly faulty step:
The back up of the original state of the boot loader has been never made. I do not know if it is easily can be toggled back and forth from lock to unlock and back without leaving any trace. Also, like yourself, I probably don't quite understand what am I talking about, but I have tried to make as much sense of what I have read here and there.
This is my first smart phone, and my experience with linux is limited to building a minecraft server on MineOS, which was pre-made so that not much was required to make it run. I have "mounted" a partition for the first time last week, trying to break Win7recovery, booting it with Knoppix. This is why I think this is probably will come in play here too, as the recovery partition on W7 was hidden. Until then I didn't understand what mounting means, as windows always does it for you. So, take everything I say with a bunch of salt.
Please, let me know too, if you find out more. I want to flash the hell out of my Prism, but I want to be smart about it.

bump... midnite_ r u still around?

Hi Descent2,
Yes i am still around but i am busy with other stuffs at this moment. Thanks very much for your reply. You have studied a lot and you really did good summarisations. Very informative and I learnt a lot from it. Hope some of the masters or experienced ones would come by and bring us out of the mist
cheers,
midnite_
Descent2 said:
Hey midnite_,
I am a newbie too and have a lot of blank spots in my understanding of what we can do with android. I also came here with same question. I found how to root, this isn't a secret. Like you, I want to know how do I fix it if I break it.
So, with regards to your questions.
1. Unlock the bootloader
Not clear on this one, as not every tutorial even mentions this part. My feeling is that this might be specific to some phones, like HTC.
2. Flash Custom Recovery (such as AmonRa, CWR, TWRP...)
Recovery is an intermediate stage of phone booting process after bootloader but before OS.
It is there to allow OTA (Over the air) updates. During those, the OS is halted and replaced with a newer one.
What this means for us is that the recovery is capable of replacing OS (ROM - are these terms interchangeable?).
Recovery is the same as hidden partition on windows, that is sometimes present on a PC. It has a limited interface.
It can replace one OS image with another. It probably checks the checksum and creates the new one after the update. It is probably the gatekeeper.
Stock recovery will not replace OS with an image from SD card or from PC through USB. Only OTA.
This is the reason for flashing the custom (hacked) recovery on.
Custom recovery is made to allow additional options, such as allowing image sources such as PC or SD card, and also a ROM backup (write OS image to PC).
3. Flash update file using "upgrade from SD card" function of custom recovery now in place.
In this step, the Superuser.apk and bin files are placed. Stock recovery will not let us do that.
Also, I think the reason we can't just use ADB to "copy" superuser package to phone is because the system is either running or exists as an image (compressed?), and is probably protective of its modification. (So, likely the superuser package also replaces the checksum that the OS uses to check if it has been compromised?) Yes, this modifies your rom.
I assume that unrooting could be done after this by updating again with a file that removes superuser package and that would make your rom stock again.
4 OR flash custom ROM, which usually includes superuser package. Of course using custom rom means you no longer have stock rom.
To have a backup of original ROM, you would :
1 Unlock bootloader,
2 Flash (install) custom recovery
3 superuser doesn't matter here
4 Use custom recovery function to back up your stock ROM.
I want to know the answers to the rest of your questions as well as some clarifications to mine.
Personally, I am looking for a way to backup the stock recovery as well.
I know there are some people asking about this. The procedure appears to be as follows:
(pieced together so don't take it as a tutorial)
1 Unlock bootloader (again, unclear on this. Also some mention S-OFF and others don't)
2 With USB debugging allowed (meaning connect as device requiring a driver), Connect to a PC with ABD, and a driver installed.
3 From ADB, issue a command "adb boot recoveryimage.name" instead of the usual "adb flash recoveryimage.name".
This will make the phone boot into a custom recovery image that is residing on PC, without first writing it to the phone.
4 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to back up stock rom to pc.
5 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to flash either root or custom rom to the phone.
6 Disconnect, reboot the phone. Once in OS, use root privileges to mount recovery partition ? (this makes it visible as drive)
7 Don't know how, but use root privileges to back up now visible stock recovery partition to PC as image.
( This should give you two out of three original parts.)
Keep in mind that even if my peace-by-peace "know-how" ever works, there is at least one clearly faulty step:
The back up of the original state of the boot loader has been never made. I do not know if it is easily can be toggled back and forth from lock to unlock and back without leaving any trace. Also, like yourself, I probably don't quite understand what am I talking about, but I have tried to make as much sense of what I have read here and there.
This is my first smart phone, and my experience with linux is limited to building a minecraft server on MineOS, which was pre-made so that not much was required to make it run. I have "mounted" a partition for the first time last week, trying to break Win7recovery, booting it with Knoppix. This is why I think this is probably will come in play here too, as the recovery partition on W7 was hidden. Until then I didn't understand what mounting means, as windows always does it for you. So, take everything I say with a bunch of salt.
Please, let me know too, if you find out more. I want to flash the hell out of my Prism, but I want to be smart about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

check here
All your answers can be found here: [REF] [GUIDE] Welcome to your device, the Galaxy S III. For more XDA related issues check here: [GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA
Good Luck!
mf2112
XDA Moderator
ASharpEdge said:
Hello all this is my first post here...woohoo!:fingers-crossed: This forum is amazing as to the amount of information available. I just wish that in looking for what I need to do I did not need to look in so many places. I feel that if I want to root my T-Mobile GS3 that all the information should be in one subsection of the forum, but it is not that simple I guess....lol Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Samsung GS3 with T-Mobile that I want to root. Everyone says to back up the phone before you do it but I am not really seeing how to make a backup before I start. It appears that most of the guides to root just say to backup without telling you how to fo it. Another thing (correct me if I am wrong) I see the nandroid backup that I think is a backup of the phone however it seems to be done after you make changes to the phone and I thought the backup was supposed to be done before you do anything. Is it that there is not a way to make a complete backup with an unrooted phone?
My question is basically the same as the OP here. I have been reading and reading and reading posts here in the forum. There is much information here and much of it is duplicated with slight variances in some of the duplicates. I am not certain as to which rooting method I should use. There seem to be so many choices. As a new person to this forum I will say that you can find just about everything about any phone which is awesome. The hard thing is sifting through the many options to pick one to use for your issue.
I do see that Mr. Robinson has a thread with backups of the original roms. The only thing is that they are default roms that are like an out of the box phone and not my phone with my apps and my settings. That is what I want to backup...My phone with my settings and my apps.
:good: Thank you in advance for any one that can shed some light on this for me and the OP'er
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks mf2112. But those resources are seem only for GS3. And it seems it is not teaching us to backup our stock ROMs, it provides stock ROMs for us to download instead. Is there a general way to backup our stock ROMs?
Thanks,
midnite_
mf2112 said:
All your answers can be found here: [REF] [GUIDE] Welcome to your device, the Galaxy S III. For more XDA related issues check here: [GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA
Good Luck!
mf2112
XDA Moderator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

You must unlock your bootloader then flash a custom recovery. You will then use that custom recovery to make a backup of your rom. That backup will be stored on your sd card.
Now, I have tried to help you and so have a couple other folks. You expect us to just give you answers step by step. I am sorry but this is simply not how XDA works. XDA is set up in a way which makes it for any users to find quickly what they want to know. Use the search feature on the site and you will find many answers. I tell you to go do your own research now and be proud of what you learn on your own. And if you cannot, please do not try to modify your phone further, you may just brick it if you aren't careful.

midnite_ said:
Thanks mf2112. But those resources are seem only for GS3. And it seems it is not teaching us to backup our stock ROMs, it provides stock ROMs for us to download instead. Is there a general way to backup our stock ROMs?
Thanks,
midnite_
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put in the GS3 links since the OP was using that phone. Every phone will be different so I don't think a general way or guide would be practical.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

Official Nook HD and HD+ Dev thread (Temporary Only)

So, let's be honest.. I know that this is a Nook Color board, but given the delay in an HD board coming around, I thought I would throw a bone out there for users. Here are the ground rules for this thread:
1) This only a hold over, and will be moved/closed as appropriate when a correct forum is made.
2) In this forum, this is the only topic where HD/+ content may be posted. Any bleed over to NC threads will be merged were possible, and closed where needed. Consider this thread the entirety of the HD/+ developer board right now.
3) This topic is for true development only; general discussion will be moved to the discussion thread.
With that said, consider this thread open, at least until we know what is happening with an official board..

Divine_Madcat said:
So, let's be honest.. I know that this is a Nook Color board, but given the delay in an HD board coming around, I thought I would throw a bone out there for users. Here are the ground rules for this thread:
1) This only a hold over, and will be moved/closed as appropriate when a correct forum is made.
2) In this forum, this is the only topic where HD/+ content may be posted. Any bleed over to NC threads will be merged were possible, and closed where needed. Consider this thread the entirety of the HD/+ developer board right now.
3) This topic is for true development only; general discussion will be moved to the discussion thread.
With that said, consider this thread open, at least until we know what is happening with an official board..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How about incorporating this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1994129 here so the discussion can continue, or is it reopened elsewhere?

That thread is not development ( dev threads must either be the release of software (ROM, kernel, tool), or active development discussion (debugging, error logs, etc). The the guide is handy, it would not belong on a dev board anyway ( when the time comes, its proper place will be general discussion).
Now, if somebody wishes to post a rooting tool, and some guide with it here, that would apply. Otherwise, discussion belongs in the open general thread).

Divine_Madcat said:
That thread is not development ( dev threads must either be the release of software (ROM, kernel, tool), or active development discussion (debugging, error logs, etc). The the guide is handy, it would not belong on a dev board anyway ( when the time comes, its proper place will be general discussion).
Now, if somebody wishes to post a rooting tool, and some guide with it here, that would apply. Otherwise, discussion belongs in the open general thread).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you then going to reopen this thread in the general forum/thread?

The thread that is open in the general forum is sufficient to handle current discussion. As I have mentioned before, once I have an actual place to put HD threads, they will all be reopened and moved where appropriate. I am sorry that you do not have an HD forum yet, but would also like to remind you that you are lucky to have ANY HD threads in a board for a totally different device.
As it is, this is not the place for this particular discussion. This is a DEV discussion topic. If it will not be used as such, I will close this thread, and just have everything back under the general thread. Given how many people had been asking for this, I had hoped to see more progress than just being badgered here..

If you users appreciate help given by me, verygreen, someone0 and others, please stop badgering Divine_Madcat to open other threads here in Nook Color. This is not a Nook HD forum and he is giving us a break by keeping this open. Just keep pushing him and we will lose this one too.
Sent from my Nook HD+ using Tapatalk

Like I promised, I am publishing a cwm image that people can boot off sdcard. Grab it here.
To install: gunzip and dd into an sdcard (not a partition, but entire device) whose content you don't care about.
This is targeted at people experimenting with root only at this point, so that they don't need to undergo the full 8-reboots-factory reset scenario.
When you screwed something up in system, just put this sdcard in, and it'll boot on the next reboot cycle.
adb into it, and:
Code:
busybox mount /dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.1/by-name/system /system
fix whatever breakage you introduced, and then umount /system, remove sdcard and reboot.
This is a very minimally functional thing right now, uboot menu and all other fancy stuff is disabled for now.
More full-featured thing and device tree are still coming, hopefully very soon now.

Thank you, verygreen! Just in time. I semi-bricked my HD+ again messing with framework-res.apk and it won't boot. I was afraid I would have to 8 fail reset again. This should get me out of it. Will report back.
Edit: Worked! Got it to boot to your CWM. Had to install a new driver (Windows) because it has a new device ID. Chose Android ADB Interface from list. Installed fine. ADB worked. Serial number is a dummy 123456789... ADB shelled to mount /system per above command. Pushed original framework-res.apk and rebooted. Victory! Thank you so much.

I have a NST that I rooted awhile back that I love. My brother wants to get a Nook HD or HD+ for his wife and wants to know if I can root that as well. I am having trouble finding specific resources for that. Is the Nook HD+ perm rooted yet? Are there still some work that needs to be done with development? It's a newer device so I would completely understand that.

LuckBox63 said:
I have a NST that I rooted awhile back that I love. My brother wants to get a Nook HD or HD+ for his wife and wants to know if I can root that as well. I am having trouble finding specific resources for that. Is the Nook HD+ perm rooted yet? Are there still some work that needs to be done with development? It's a newer device so I would completely understand that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In progress. See above, here, and here.

verygreen said:
Like I promised, I am publishing a cwm image that people can boot off sdcard. Grab it here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! It's working fine for me too.
verygreen said:
More full-featured thing and device tree are still coming, hopefully very soon now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I look forward to this.

verygreen said:
Like I promised, I am publishing a cwm image that people can boot off sdcard. Grab it here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for this.
When a CM10 is released and we install it to the sd card , can we still use this sd card for storage etc or does it all have to be taken up by cm10 ?
Also with the current way you are getting past the bootloader does this mean cm10 will only work from an internal sd card and we wouldn't be able to load it from internal memory ?

sorrowuk said:
Also with the current way you are getting past the bootloader does this mean cm10 will only work from an internal sd card and we wouldn't be able to load it from internal memory ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think he can, at least not initially. Mainly the problem is the locked bootloader. It's like you have a PC that don't allow you to reinstall windows/linux on the HDD/SSD. But it still allow you to boot from USB/CDROM/floppy. Sure in case of linux (not too familiar w/ android, so I won't say that it can for sure), you can have just the kernel on a floppy and the rest of the OS on the HDD. I know some people do this to lock down their machine. The entire OS is sitting on a HDD encrypted with one missing part, the kernel. Then you boot it from the USB which have the kernel and the decryption key for that HDD. It's like a physical authentication method and can be combine with password and that make it two-factor authentication. Then again whoever does that better backup that USB key, or he/she would be toasted if that USB become corrupt or lost.

sorrowuk said:
Thank you for this.
When a CM10 is released and we install it to the sd card , can we still use this sd card for storage etc or does it all have to be taken up by cm10 ?
Also with the current way you are getting past the bootloader does this mean cm10 will only work from an internal sd card and we wouldn't be able to load it from internal memory ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Booting from internal storage is possible too, but I we are not in the state yet where people should be replacing BN software with CM, as such I think sdcards provide enough playground for now to mature the product before we move further.

Noob question, since I am using Windows, how do I 'dd' the image onto the sd card?
TIA
PS found this for other Windows users:
http://nookdevs.com/Nookie_FroYo:_Burning_a_bootable_SD_card
PSS ok, that worked but I couldn't find what I horsed up. Just had to reboot 8 times and start over...

dbh369 said:
Noob question, since I am using Windows, how do I 'dd' the image onto the sd card?
TIA
PS found this for other Windows users:
http://nookdevs.com/Nookie_FroYo:_Burning_a_bootable_SD_card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use a few different software in windows to write the image to SD card. Try https://launchpad.net/win32-image-writer/+download, I personally use version 0.5 if I have to us a windows machine

CelticWebSolutions said:
You can use a few different software in windows to write the image to SD card. Try https://launchpad.net/win32-image-writer/+download, I personally use version 0.5 if I have to us a windows machine
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, yes, my link got me there too.

Divine_Madcat,
This one needs to be moved to dev and renamed. It has verygreen's CWM in it. Or at least move that post over there somehow.
edit: you moved his rooting thread there. Why don't you just move his CWM post to that thread and close this thread.
Sent from my Nook HD+ using Tapatalk

[Completed] How do I make my external SD card primary storage for my device?

Okay, I'm having some issues with my device being a Samsung Galaxy Avant. I have gained root access and TWRP as well as AOSP ROM flashed... Because who wants stock? So since I'm always looking for ways to make my phone better than the rest and with out spending an outrageous amount I ask how do I get more space on my device. I have a lot of music and new music is always coming in and while using a file manager works, it tedious and unsettling if something goes wrong. So I appreciate any answers or hints.

XDA Visitor said:
Okay, I'm having some issues with my device being a Samsung Galaxy Avant. I have gained root access and TWRP as well as AOSP ROM flashed... Because who wants stock? So since I'm always looking for ways to make my phone better than the rest and with out spending an outrageous amount I ask how do I get more space on my device. I have a lot of music and new music is always coming in and while using a file manager works, it tedious and unsettling if something goes wrong. So I appreciate any answers or hints.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, and thank you for using XDA Assist!
To do this, you need to modify your fstab in your boot.img to be able to redirect internal storage to say, a second partition on your SD card. But it's messy (especially if the bootloader is locked), and full of considerations (e.g. puts extra load on a sensitive SD card).
At any rate, please go ahead and create an XDA account, so you can post in the rest of the site. Then, check out the following thread:
> General discussion > Questions and Answers > New Galaxy Avant G386T & G386T1 - We have root and recovery
Your device experts can be found there. Hope this helps!

Database Info

welcome