Database Info

[CWM] Pantech Flex P8010

Hello people,
I am proud to present CWM recovery v5.8.0.2 for the FLEX!
THIS IS NOT UPDATED FOR JELLYBEAN!!..yet
UPDATED support for either internal or external sd
THE ACTUAL CONTENTS OF THE INTERNAL SDCARD ARE LOCATED IN THE /data/media FOLDER ON THE PHONE SO YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE /media FOLDER TO GET YOUR INTERNAL SDCARD's ZIP FILES AND STUFF WHEN CHOOSING INSTALL ZIP FROM SDCARD. ALSO THE BACKUPS YOU MAKE WILL BE STORED IN THE /data/clockworkmod/blahblah FOLDER ON THE PHONE SO I RECOMMEND YOU BUY AN EXTERNAL SD CARD BUT ITS JUST WHATEVVS.
Alright you will need a few things before you can install.
1. Rooted Pantech Flex P8010 (oscar)
2. Computer
3. Basic knowlege of adb/fastboot
4. ADB/Fastboot
READ ME (Disclaimer)
WARNING: THIS VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY
I am not responsible for you bricking your phone or anything that you do to your phone e.g. flash wrong zips , drop it in coke ect.
INSTRUCTIONS
Get a file manager such as Root Explorer and delete the FILE in the /system folder called "recovery_from_boot.p". Get the signed zip file for your desired sdcard mount point (either internal or external sd), and put it in your /external_sd or /sdcard folder. Download and put the .img file (also corresponding to the desired mount point for your sdcard) in adb folder and rename it boot.img. Then put the phone into fastboot mode (google it).
Type:
fastboot boot boot.img
And CWM recovery will pop up after a few seconds. Then choose install zip from sdcard and browse to the CWM_flex-P8010.zip and install it. Then reboot into recovery again and YAY! nandroid time :good:
BIG HUGE thanks to atadres for helping me along the way and also making the flashable zip :highfive:

Score dude! Team flex has such a bright future with these devs. Glad I could help

Bravo Timmy!

Timmy after playing around with,it ive,noticed its not able to browse internal sd,card only external,but thats a,minor issue no biggie,really

Yea I will try to add support for internal sd.
Sent from my PantechP8010 using xda app-developers app

hey thanks that helpped me fix a softbricked phone . Also has anyone done a nandroid of the stock rom yet that could post it, I did somthing and now have no sound from the phone. Thanks in advance

Works like a charm......thanks a lot, this is the beginning of the Flex development era!!

Ive nand of mine stock fresh factory reset I'll upload my nand try clearing data

Cool thanks man.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app

Ok so who is going to be the first to release a custom ROM for this beast?

donavan01 said:
Ok so who is going to be the first to release a custom ROM for this beast?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already started man eta next week because of school lol Genesis rom is already being cooked lol its gonna be a stock rom with Sony Xperia UI and apps widgets

there is a real major error! guys really major!! please read! when att prompts for the software update it will only alow you to postopone it so many times!! and once it updates autmatically itll get stuck in a loop booting into cwm recovery and never the phone no matter what! the temp fix is to fastboot stock recovery!! and not press on the update when you fastboot stock recovery itll download update and fail halfway through! do not upodate it breaks root!! be careful!

Does anyone know what the update is even supposed to do?

donavan01 said:
Does anyone know what the update is even supposed to do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fix a couple of bugs with battery meter add more att. Spam apps nothing big

atadres said:
there is a real major error! guys really major!! please read! when att prompts for the software update it will only alow you to postopone it so many times!! and once it updates autmatically itll get stuck in a loop booting into cwm recovery and never the phone no matter what! the temp fix is to fastboot stock recovery!! and not press on the update when you fastboot stock recovery itll download update and fail halfway through! do not upodate it breaks root!! be careful!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get the update forcefully, just reroot the phone using the previous method then install the recovery. That is what I just did and it worked for me. Syncing git repos as we speak
@timmythanoob please share how you did it....for knowledge's sake

I used a pantech burst cwm recovery and made it compatible with the flex (recovery.fstab, init.rc,) and I also used a /sbin/recovery file from an atrix 4g to get the resolution right for our screen (qHD).
Sent from my PantechP8010 using xda app-developers app

Can anyone upload the system directory with sub folders, I did something and have lost all my sound.
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app

Do you think it could be your speaker or are you sure its a software problem?
Sent from my PantechP8010 using xda app-developers app

No I'm sure it's software
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app

superbart007 said:
No I'm sure it's software
Sent from my SGH-T769 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lemme make a backup of my rom on cwm and upload it to drop box
Sent from my PantechP8010 using xda app-developers app
---------- Post added at 08:35 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 AM ----------
Wow something weird just happened. I just tried rebooting into cwm using terminal reboot recovery and it rebooted into the stock recovery
Can anyone verify this?
Sent from my PantechP8010 using xda app-developers app

Backup raw sector-by-sector image of a partition

I have a non-rooted Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 P3113 that was factory reset, so I'm trying to dump the data partition sector-by-sector to microSD to try to recover data.
Since there is no way to mount the internal memory as a hard drive through USB, it makes the most sense to use an aftermarket recovery which can read the sectors and write them to an image file on the microSD.
But I don't know if CWM or TWRP can do this. Obviously they can back up to microSD, but I've never heard of someone having issues with the 4gb file size limit of FAT32. That means the backups are always smaller than the full size of the internal memory!! Somehow they have a way of distinguishing used space from empty space, but the empty space is exactly what I need to copy in order to recover files.
Which brings me to the next issue-- the size of the partition images. TWRP apparently supports exFAT so that shouldn't be a problem. CWM seems to require some hacks. So does anybody know how to force TWRP to backup ALL sectors of a partition to microSD?
Edit: The DD command would also work but I don't know if it's enabled when you ADB in to a Galaxy in TWRP. I can't just try it because I lost the USB cable.

You can use Android Terminal Emulator on the phone and use the dd command providing you have Busybox installed.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium

MultipleMonomials said:
You can use Android Terminal Emulator on the phone and use the dd command providing you have Busybox installed.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem is that requires rooting and downloading/installing a big app, which will overwrite a bunch of data... Right? Unless you can keep the files confined to the system partition I guess.

Just found out that TWRP can split up the backup so it can even use a FAT32 microSD. Pretty cool.
I just wish I could find out if it backs up the "empty" sectors. I emailed Team Win and they didn't reply.

I imagine that you could write a CWM zip that would copy the terminal emulator apk to the /system partition, but if I were you I would just shell out for a stock USB cord to use with ADB shell. You can find them online cheaply, and if you plan on doing any sort of rooting/customizing, you'll need one.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium

MultipleMonomials said:
I imagine that you could write a CWM zip that would copy the terminal emulator apk to the /system partition, but if I were you I would just shell out for a stock USB cord to use with ADB shell. You can find them online cheaply, and if you plan on doing any sort of rooting/customizing, you'll need one.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh I ordered a cord. I just meant I couldn't try it right away.
I tried some ADB shell stuff before I lost the cord and I couldn't even get it to list partitions. They really lock it down I guess. As I understand, you do have ADB access from TWRP, but I don't know if all the commands work or if you have root access.
Edit: It turns out TWRP backs up the boot and system partition as IMG files using the DD command, but all the others are backed up as simple zip files. I guess they decided no one would want to get a raw image of the data partition. Seems strange because extracting files from raw sectors is a common method of recovering files from camera memory cards etc, so why not a tablet/phone?
http://www.icsforums.com/forum/showthread/13239

Try the adb root command.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium

MultipleMonomials said:
Try the adb root command.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That would give root access while you're connected to the Recovery with ADB shell? Just type "root"?

So long as the device is actually rooted... Oh. Darn. I just remembered that the stock ROM has a bug that stops this from working. There's a kernel (flashed with ODIN) that fixes this for p5xxx, but it's not for 3xxx tabs. Maybe that's because they don't have the bug, though. Try it and see, but it may or may not work.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium

MultipleMonomials said:
So long as the device is actually rooted... Oh. Darn. I just remembered that the stock ROM has a bug that stops this from working. There's a kernel (flashed with ODIN) that fixes this for p5xxx, but it's not for 3xxx tabs. Maybe that's because they don't have the bug, though. Try it and see, but it may or may not work.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it's not rooted to begin with.
I'd be happy to root IF I can root without writing anything to the data partition. So far that seems to be impossible.

What Android version are you using? I might be able to modify the standard root zip to use the /system partition exclusively.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium

MultipleMonomials said:
What Android version are you using? I might be able to modify the standard root zip to use the /system partition exclusively.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, that's possible? I think that would be useful for a lot of people trying to recover data.
Oh and what about the cache partition? Does the camera app store pictures temporarily there? If so that would be another source to try to recover pics from. Or do apps ever store docs there? Or is it not worth trying to preserve?
I was planning to use CF Auto Root but I asked Chainfire about it and he said that it can format the data partition if it becomes unreadable, so I didn't want to risk it.
Android 4.0.3
Kernel version 3.0.8-378347-user
[email protected] #1
Build number IML74K.P3113UEALD3
Model number GT-P3113

Well I guess this is all moot because I can't even figure out how to flash TWRP for the P3113. I downloaded an the .img file, Odin recognizes my device, and I got it into Download Mode, but I don't know how to set up the img as a tar.md5. You would think whoever made that .img would have provided instructions on flashing it, or just uploaded it as a tar.md5 since that's what you need. That's something that really annoys me about the Android community-- folks assume everybody knows what they're doing.
But the worst is all the threads where people ask how to flash TWRP to a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 with Odin, and the replies are all "Just use CWM".
I found a download for the TWRP 2.2 for some Galaxy phone but I can't even examine the format of the tar.md5 because the freaking download site requires registration. Even if I duplicated the format, no idea if it would work. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=30694404

I think all you need to do is rename the file to "recovery. img" and use 7-zip to put it inside a tar archive, then flash the tar with ODIN.
Posted from my Galaxy Tab 2 with CM10.1

MultipleMonomials said:
I think all you need to do is rename the file to "recovery. img" and use 7-zip to put it inside a tar archive, then flash the tar with ODIN.
Posted from my Galaxy Tab 2 with CM10.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apparently it's not that simple. Somehow you have to integrate an MD5 checksum with Linux console commands http://androidadn.com/2012/09/how-to-convert-img-files-to-tar-md5-to-do-a-flash-with-odin3/
Edit: Better thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1484304
This is the IMG file I'm talking about http://rootzwiki.com/topic/27140-recoverytouchtwrp211galaxy-tab-2-7-and-10662012/
Edit: I do have a Macbook running 10.6 Snow Leopard so I think this might work http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/14503/gui-tar
Edit: It can create a .tar but I don't know how to turn it into a tar.md5

Also, I was reading about Heimdall. Anybody know if it will work with just the .img file? http://www.thepowerbase.com/2012/04/slay-odin-with-the-mighty-heimdall/

Yeah, if you can get Heimdall running, you should be able to flash TWRP with that.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
---------- Post added at 07:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 AM ----------
I will warn you, however, that I think that by default TWRP backs up to /sdcard, which is located in /data/media, so make sure to switch that.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium

MultipleMonomials said:
Yeah, if you can get Heimdall running, you should be able to flash TWRP with that.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
---------- Post added at 07:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:58 AM ----------
I will warn you, however, that I think that by default TWRP backs up to /sdcard, which is located in /data/media, so make sure to switch that.
Posted from my Fascinate using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There's now a TWRP for the Tab 2 7.0! http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=38809460&posted=1#post38809460
I installed TWRP and now I'm trying to use ADB to see if I have root access. But Windows fails to install drivers for the tablet while in recovery mode

Well I've tried every driver I can find but I can't install the tablet in TWRP Recovery mode. Windows sees it as "GT-P3113"

Wait... Can't I load a rooted system image onto the tablet from Odin? Wouldn't that leave the other partitions unaffected?

[Q] i497 stock ROM build.

OK, a few people here who has the i497 AT&T 10.1" GT2 has corrupted there tabs trying other roms not designed for it. I couldn't figure out the ROM dump thing. But I did a CWM backup of a stock rom. If you can use this, then let me know.

To dump system:
From the device
Code:
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p14 of=/sdcard/system.img.ext4
Then, from cygwin (windows) or a Linux terminal
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/system.img.ext4
tar -c system.img.ext4 > sghi497_system.tar
md5sum -t sghi497_system.tar >> sghi497_system.tar
mv sghi497_system.tar sghi497_system.tar.md5
The end result is a file named: sghi497_system.tar.md5
If they flashed a ROM for the p51xx, they more than likely did more damage than just corrupting their system. Those two devices are 100% different. I don't know why the moderators/admins haven't separated the LTE tab 2 and the non-LTE tabs..
The LTE Tab 2 (VZW/ATT/Tmo) are extremely similar to the SGS3.

MrHyde03 said:
To dump system:
From the device
Code:
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p14 of=/sdcard/system.img.ext4
Then, from cygwin (windows) or a Linux terminal
Code:
adb pull /sdcard/system.img.ext4
tar -c system.img.ext4 > sghi497_system.tar
md5sum -t sghi497_system.tar >> sghi497_system.tar
mv sghi497_system.tar sghi497_system.tar.md5
The end result is a file named: sghi497_system.tar.md5
If they flashed a ROM for the p51xx, they more than likely did more damage than just corrupting their system. Those two devices are 100% different. I don't know why the moderators/admins haven't separated the LTE tab 2 and the non-LTE tabs..
The LTE Tab 2 (VZW/ATT/Tmo) are extremely similar to the SGS3.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's all Greek to me, Never really learned about adb stuff. But thanks, I might look into it. I wish someone would develop a JB rom for this model, but I like the ICS also, it's a lot better than the Honeycomb that was on my Jetstream. Wifi Versions are cool, but I am not always near wifi.

The first part you can do from a terminal emulator. Then you can connect it to your computer and just copy/paste it from your tab.
Then send it to someone else who needs it and they can package it lol
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium HD app

OK, so I would have to reset back to stock first? You see, without step by step instructions I have dozens of questions. I wouldn't mind doing it, but don't want to put personal info into the dump. I have actually used adb before, but I forgot what I did with it. It is installed on my laptop. So that part I can just copy and paste.

MrHyde03 said:
Then send it to someone else who needs it and they can package it lol
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aaaa yeah, send it to the one who flashed a rom that wasn't made for it, and did that without even backing up first. :silly: I mean, I do a little research first, and would really at least back it up before trying a rom that isn't made for my device or even if it is. I mean if it was a tab I could spare, there might be a chance I would try it. But I am really interested in making one, just in case I do try a rom and it messes up.

The first set of commands above just dump the system. No personal data is involved. However, if you share the cwm backup you made, that includes all your data and accounts.
You don't need adb to dump your system, just root. The dd if=xxx of=xxx is used to dump the system.img.ext4 to your sdcard. It can take about 10 minutes to complete. Afterwards, just use your laptop with the tab connected to copy/paste the system.img.ext4 from your sdcard to your PC.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium HD app
---------- Post added at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:10 PM ----------
Also, just make sure to NEVER flash a Pxxxx ROM on your LTE tab or things may be irreparable. The mount points are completely different.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium HD app

Thanks for the help, I did a factory reset in settings, as well as CWM. Cleared Delvic and cache before doing the back up. So no personal info in it. So after it's dumped, they can flash it via Odin and it won't contain my info even though I didn't reset it?

If all you dump is system, then all they have to do is package as Odin flashable tar (.tar.md5) and flash in Odin. No personal info
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium HD app

MrHyde03 said:
If all you dump is system, then all they have to do is package as Odin flashable tar (.tar.md5) and flash in Odin. No personal info
Sent from my SCH-I535 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, so I did the first 2 lines, it's just sitting there, but I guess there is no fancy bars or anything. LoL

OK I put the file on my laptop. That didn't seem hard to do. I guess I could link it to them off dropbox. Or is there something else I should do?

Nope, no fancy bars. After a few minutes it'll say something along the lines of:
####+# records in
####+# records out
######## bytes transfered in x.xx seconds
---------- Post added at 03:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------
I can host it on my server if you can get it over to me.

[Q] Why is there no dev's working on samsung galaxy discover sch-r740c roms

Hey all im just curious why nobody is working on roms and such for samsung discover sch-r740c? seems like it should get a little love for our cricket brothers. a couple roms and such would be sweet.

darkskywalker said:
Hey all im just curious why nobody is working on roms and such for samsung discover sch-r740c? seems like it should get a little love for our cricket brothers. a couple roms and such would be sweet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Currently attempting a cw-9/10 port to this device, however; we're still needing a stock rom for it, if you happen to have the phone I would be more than willing to help walk you trough data dumps of the systems primary partitions recovery/modem/system/boot.
This is important to have a 'default return to' unfortunately I'm unable to use my phone as a stock image as I heavily modified the system partition shortly after rooting the device thinking there would be roms forthcoming soon..
Note to self: in the future always always always get a stock restore FIRST!
CowboyEnvy

cowboyenvy said:
Currently attempting a cw-9/10 port to this device, however; we're still needing a stock rom for it, if you happen to have the phone I would be more than willing to help walk you trough data dumps of the systems primary partitions recovery/modem/system/boot.
This is important to have a 'default return to' unfortunately I'm unable to use my phone as a stock image as I heavily modified the system partition shortly after rooting the device thinking there would be roms forthcoming soon..
Note to self: in the future always always always get a stock restore FIRST!
CowboyEnvy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes i actually do have one although im not a dev if you write some instructions i will try to get you the info you need maybe ill learn some new stuff and have some fun helping. thank you for quick response.

Samsung r740c img dump - Howto
- Check samsung settings > about phone - baseband version and build number should end in r740CVV???? and should match, also check for kernel version 4.1.2
- Enabled USB debugging on the phone (system settings > developer options)
- Install Samsung USB driver pack(http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/content/SW/201211/20121129051929115/Samsung_USB_Driver_for_Mobile_Phones_v1.5.14.0.exe)
- Install UnlockRoot Pro (free version - http://downloadcdn.betterinstaller.com/installers/9/9/UnlockRoot_downloader_by_UnlockRoot.exe)
(read everthing and and 'skip' the unwanted software)
- Plug phone into PC and get past lock screen if enabled
- Open UnlockRoot and click "Root"
(skip unwanted software(apps) again)
- download ADB create a directory either on the desktop or c:\ for easy access I suggest c:\sch-r740c
- extract the files of sch-r740.zip into the folder
- click start and search for cmd
- right click cmd.exe run as administrator
- at the command window execute the following commands.
cd c:\sch-r740c
adb shell
su
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p12 of=/mnt/extSdCard/recovery.img bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p8 of=/mnt/extSdCard/boot.img bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p3 of=/mnt/extSdCard/modem.img bs=4096
dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p16 of=/mnt/extSdCard/system.img bs=4096
exit
exit
adb pull /mnt/extSdCard/recovery.img ./recovery.img
adb pull /mnt/extSdCard/boot.img ./boot.img
adb pull /mnt/extSdCard/modem.img ./modem.img
adb pull /mnt/extSdCard/system.img ./system.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
note these commands may take a while to process
when your done, you can zip and upload the files to an upload service, or Google drive and share them.
I'll create an odin recovery

Hello no need for you to pull flash files from your device, I've finally been able to restore my phone to stock 4.1.2 through a somewhat convoluted process so I'll now be able to create a stock restore
Sent from my SCH-R740C using xda app-developers app

thank you
cowboyenvy said:
Hello no need for you to pull flash files from your device, I've finally been able to restore my phone to stock 4.1.2 through a somewhat convoluted process so I'll now be able to create a stock restore
Sent from my SCH-R740C using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you sorry I had some family issues or I would have been quick on it plus couldn't log in for a day hmm anyway last night there was an ota update seemed the size of whole os is there somewhere in root files or elsewhere we can extract this? And if so would it help us in anyway I would like to start working on learning more and helping teams build custom ROMs and seems like this might help.

darkskywalker said:
Thank you sorry I had some family issues or I would have been quick on it plus couldn't log in for a day hmm anyway last night there was an ota update seemed the size of whole os is there somewhere in root files or elsewhere we can extract this? And if so would it help us in anyway I would like to start working on learning more and helping teams build custom ROMs and seems like this might help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No worries, first off check your build number if it end in I1 or F1 we have that update already saved and uploaded to shared services, if you are VVBNA5 you have a new update we have not seen yet.
In any case, install OTA rootkeeper available on market or you will loose root, and have to odin flash (custom) to re-root.
Also, updates can be found at /cache/FOTA/update.zip
local caches up updates can help developers fiddle with multiple versions of the OS without relying on updates via OTA updates. or backups etc.
So far, all the patches that have come out for this device are 'patch based' only IE not much help other than to allow people to download the update manually, or for devs to check out potential 'mods' against multiple versions.

cowboyenvy said:
No worries, first off check your build number if it end in I1 or F1 we have that update already saved and uploaded to shared services, if you are VVBNA5 you have a new update we have not seen yet.
In any case, install OTA rootkeeper available on market or you will loose root, and have to odin flash (custom) to re-root.
Also, updates can be found at /cache/FOTA/update.zip
local caches up updates can help developers fiddle with multiple versions of the OS without relying on updates via OTA updates. or backups etc.
So far, all the patches that have come out for this device are 'patch based' only IE not much help other than to allow people to download the update manually, or for devs to check out potential 'mods' against multiple versions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got a new one I'll post pic

Here is pic I been trying to post all day my app acting stupid
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

K that is your current rom and you have a large update file?
Sent from my SCH-R740C using xda app-developers app

darkskywalker said:
Here is pic I been trying to post all day my app acting stupid
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
current build pre-update or current-build post-update?
---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2617484

cowboyenvy said:
current build pre-update or current-build post-update?
---------- Post added at 05:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 PM ----------
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2617484
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did this move to a new thread or something?

No never got a response from this and I have moved to a Samsung Galaxy s4 on Verizon

cowboyenvy said:
No never got a response from this and I have moved to a Samsung Galaxy s4 on Verizon
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have this phone i rooted it via cwm even tho its a temp. recovery

[Q] Will I brick my N5 if I do this?

Update - Yes, the procedure below works. It will not brick my N5.
I have not done much with Google phones so I am a little bit afraid of the risk of bricking my N5. Can someone help me take a look at what I plan to do and advise me whether there is something incorrect?
What I want to do is to remove some APKs and add the su binary to Google's factory image. I downloaded the latest version: hammerhead-ktu84p. Extracted the file system.img and moved it to an Ubuntu Linux virtual machine.
I used the utility simg2img to first de-sparse the system.img file:
sudo simg2img system.img expanded_system.img
Then mounted it on /system:
sudo mount -o loop expanded_system.img /system
I added the su binary to /system/xbin with the right permissions (6755). I also removed some APKs from /system/app.
Then I used make_ext4fs to repack the /system folder into a new system.img file:
sudo make_ext4fs -s -l 1024M -a system system.img /system
Now I would like to use fastboot to flash this new system.img file. Does it sound like I am doing the right things? Any risks with doing so?

The worst secnerio is that android cant boot up from your edited system. You dont have to worry if that happens, you just simply have to flash back the original system from google's rom
Tapatalk-kal küldve az én Nexus 5-el

What the person above said. One of the many cool things us Nexus users benefit is we have factory images and we have fastboot which is cool. You'd have to really really do something nuts to brick a Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Why did you not just flash su into the system
Please fix the F/C on this application. Thx.

Thanks to both of you. This is very assuring. So, off to my experiment.
flashback7 said:
What the person above said. One of the many cool things us Nexus users benefit is we have factory images and we have fastboot which is cool. You'd have to really really do something nuts to brick a Nexus.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

wxppro said:
Thanks to both of you. This is very assuring. So, off to my experiment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would just make a ROM zip instead. Easier to edit in case of problems, on device flashable, shareable, etc.
I cant think of one benefit the img has over the zip in your case.

Sounds like a lot of trouble for very little benefit but it can't hurt.

You started saying you don't have much experience with Google. Why are you making it so complicated?
Root is easy. Takes 5 minutes, risk free if done right. What you are doing could potentially go sour.
Unlock bootloader. Flash custom recovery. Install SuperSU. Done.
And to get rid of apps, use titanium backup. Tho freezing is better. They're not big files, and you can simply unfreeze if needed. Can't take an ota if they are gone. And if you uninstall something you shouldn't, you'll be flashing the firmware again.
Keep it simple.

KJ said:
Unlock bootloader. Flash custom recovery. Install SuperSU. Done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately everyone just wants to "root without losing data" because its so much of a bother to simply copy your internal storage /sarcasm
Oh and use toolkits because they have "magic" and they're "easy to use".
Because it really is hard to do a few simple steps and avoid a possible, uh, "softbrick"; is what they call it these days?
Sent from my Nexus 5

Lethargy said:
Unfortunately everyone just wants to "root without losing data" because its so much of a bother to simply copy your internal storage /sarcasm
Oh and use toolkits because they have "magic" and they're "easy to use".
Because it really is hard to do a few simple steps and avoid a possible, uh, "softbrick"; is what they call it these days?
Sent from my Nexus 5
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. Lol
Everyone is different I guess. I don't have much data I care about. Or pics. I put all the important stuff on my PC regularly.
And yeah....use helium or whatever...backup. Move to PC. Then take 5 minutes to unlock and root. Then restore the backup. What's that....15 minutes total? ?
---------- Post added at 07:27 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:26 PM ----------
Or....risk the brick and do crazy script and hackz stuff I guess.

KJ said:
Ah. Lol
Everyone is different I guess. I don't have much data I care about. Or pics. I put all the important stuff on my PC regularly.
And yeah....use helium or whatever...backup. Move to PC. Then take 5 minutes to unlock and root. Then restore the backup. What's that....15 minutes total? ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not a good idea to keep important things on your phone anyways, always good to put them on your computer or cloud storage.
And it takes way longer when they avoid fastboot and end up with a "softbrick" which they'll then try to fix with a toolkit, not wanting to learn lol. Then they end up on here making threads.. When it would've taken literally 5 minutes had they read stickies.
Sent from my Nexus 5

Thanks. No, I have not played with Google Nexus phones much. But I have with Samsung phones. The procedure I described above is what I did on Samsung phones. They need to be flashed with ODIN and require the image files. That is how I learned to work with the ext4 image files.
And, yes, I am aware of the custom recovery/flash SuperSU thing. But I would like to know how the system works. So I can make the changes I like. I do not care about the OTA very much. I can just repeat the whole procedure.
What I am not sure is how different Google Nexus phones are from Samsung phones. From the other replies, it seems Google Nexus phones are even easier to work with.
KJ said:
You started saying you don't have much experience with Google. Why are you making it so complicated?
Root is easy. Takes 5 minutes, risk free if done right. What you are doing could potentially go sour.
Unlock bootloader. Flash custom recovery. Install SuperSU. Done.
And to get rid of apps, use titanium backup. Tho freezing is better. They're not big files, and you can simply unfreeze if needed. Can't take an ota if they are gone. And if you uninstall something you shouldn't, you'll be flashing the firmware again.
Keep it simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

[Solved]
A quick update to my experiment:
The procedure works. So, yes, it is very easy to work with Nexus phones. No need to create tar ball files after the image files are packed. I can simply flash the sparse image files using fastboot, easy and straightforward. No issue at all.
It looks like simply adding the su binary no longer works with Android 4.4. As I researched on other threads, it seems sugote is required as well. But like KJ has said, it is easy to root using SuperSU.
Thanks.

what if i just want to extract and repack the system.img? i just want to remove and replace some APKs...
i've been using windows 7, should i use ubuntu?

Gilang555 said:
what if i just want to extract and repack the system.img? i just want to remove and replace some APKs...
i've been using windows 7, should i use ubuntu?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, ubuntu is so much easier than Windows. Get a virtual machine and off you go.
Install Android fsutils and you will get simg2img and make_ext4fs tools to get the job done. One tricky thing is the Android branch you need to use. Choose the right version and you will be good. You probably need to try a few times.

wxppro said:
Yes, ubuntu is so much easier than Windows. Get a virtual machine and off you go.
Install Android fsutils and you will get simg2img and make_ext4fs tools to get the job done. One tricky thing is the Android branch you need to use. Choose the right version and you will be good. You probably need to try a few times.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, i have ubuntu on my laptop and installed fsutils through synaptic package manager, but i don't know what to do...
can u guide me? just to unpack and repack the system.img

Gilang555 said:
hey, i have ubuntu on my laptop and installed fsutils through synaptic package manager, but i don't know what to do...
can u guide me? just to unpack and repack the system.img
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just use this
http://andwise.net/?p=403

rootSU said:
I just use this
http://andwise.net/?p=403
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, recently i wanted to unpack again but i forgot how to do it. And when i go to the site, it is gone.
Can you guide me please...
Sent from my ASUS_T00F using XDA Free mobile app