Database Info

[GUIDE] Newbie's Step-by-Step: From Stock USCC Mesmerize -> Custom Rom/Kernel

THIS GUIDE IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE MESMERIZE
Steps To Customize Your Mesmerize (For upgrading from any version to FROYO 2.2 EC10)
1.) Upgrade from any setup to 2.2 EC10 (Official Froyo) - If you have not already done so, you will need to upgrade your phone to EC10 2.2. If you have already, skip to the next step. (You can check this in "settings->about phone" under "firmware version" (should be 2.2.1 if you've already done this) NOTE: There is a custom rom listed in this post, I will detail that down below.
NOTE: The roms for this version come pre-rooted, so no need to root. However, if you have issues with superuser permissions (or are staying stock with root), you can use the SuperOneClick Root tool located here
If in the previous step you installed the leak that had the CWM upgrade pre-loaded or you have already manually updated CWM, skip step 2.- You know you have the updated recovery if when you boot to recovery it takes you to the red recovery with voodoo, backup and other options.
2.) Upgrade CWM manually (if needed) downloading this., (this next step by step will upgrade your recovery so that you are able to flash custom rom's/theme's/kernels.)
1.Shut phone off, pull battery out and leave it out.
2.Run odin (assuming you have it installed)
3.Load the cwm-recovery-all.tar file into the PDA spot
4.Plug usb into computer, then into your phone.
5.Hold the volume down key until phone goes into download mode, there will be a yellow android picture.
6.In odin, one of your com: spots should light up yellow - this means your phone is seen by odin (if not you may need drivers)
7.If above step is true, press start and odin will flash the recovery file to your phone. If all goes well the yellow box will turn green and your phone will power off.
8.Now you're able to boot into CWM recovery using the three button method (see glossary here)
3.)Upgrade Kernel With EC10 brought a new turn of events which thanks to jt has allowed fasicnate users to develop kernels which are compatible on the entire line of this model, so be sure to read phidelt's post on kernel's located here and choose one that is compatible with your rom. AOSP and MIUI require a different kernel, so keep this in mind as if you're restoring you may need to flash the appropriate kernel as the restore does not do this for you.
4.) Flash a custom ROM Choose from one of the Custom Rom's that we have out right now;
EC10 Pick and Pack DOWNLOAD HERE -- This is our stock deodexed rom with bloatware moved to a seperate .zip containing flashable packages with those removed apps. - < created by: phidelt82 >
EC10 Custom RomDOWNLOAD HERE - This is a custom rom built by phidelt82 which incorporates some aspects of AOSP into the EC10 rom - launcher and calendar are to name a few.
AOSP -DOWNLOAD HERE - This is a custom ROM/Kernel built with the android open source project code (by lmartin), one of the most "vanilla" rom's meaning no manufacturer's additions such as touchwiz. It's very lean and runs well, but is in BETA stage so beware it may not be for your daily use. NOTE: If you use this rom/kernel and are wanting to return to EC10 you will need to reflash the appropriate kernel for the ROM you are restoring to (for example touchwiz)
MIUI -DOWNLOAD HERE - This is a custom ROM running on the AOSP kernel, you can learn more about it in the thread linked here.NOTE: If you use this rom/kernel and are wanting to return to EC10 you will need to reflash the appropriate kernel for the ROM you are restoring to (for example touchwiz)
GAS EC10 PNP based rom -DOWNLOAD HERE - This is a custom ROM that runs with the touchwiz kernel. Learn more about it in the linked thread.
HEINZ 57 EC10 (PNP/ED01/EC10 based rom) -DOWNLOAD HERE - This is a custom ROM that runs with the touchwiz kernel. Thanks to Sbrissen, it has a lot of extra settings in the TM parts settings menu, allowing you even more customizing. Learn more about it in the linked thread.
5.)Flash a custom THEME Pick one that's compatible with the ROM you are running, from this list.
HELP MY PHONE IS SCREWED (GO TO STOCK 2.2)!!!: If you weren't attentive and made a mistake or haphazardly missed a step and now you're stuck at a boot screen or one of many other failure points, stop what you're doing. Take a deep breath, wu-sa, grus-fraba, whatever you need to do to calm yourself and simply go to this thread and get your phone back to stock. You may not need to go all the way stock, but it seems to be the easiest, and requires the least amount of help from the developers (who have better things to do than answer questions of careless/unlucky people!! - no offense intended) This is also how you would handle getting your phone back to stock before trying to turn it in for repair.NOTE: Being as going to stock means it's expecting your phone to be formatted to RFS instead of EXT4 (lagfix enabled) you should disable lagfix before doing so or you will have errors and md5 mismatches which will disallow you from flashing from recovery. If for some reason you can't access recovery you will just have to disable lagfix manually which is detailed in this thread here.
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THIS IS THE OLD GUIDE FOR CUSTOMIZING 2.1
When I began this process, I had zero experience flashing any sort of software to any sort of devices, and a very minor understanding of "rooting". After much research and crawling I was able to work my way through these steps with little headache, and learned a lot along the way.
Keep in mind there are many variations to each step, this is what worked for me the easiest as a newb.
And last but not least. There is always the disclaimer that attempting any of this can and will make your phone dysfunctional and or possibly bricked beyond repair (but most likely just dysfunctional which is a pain in the arse to deal with) if you do not follow steps completely (and of a trustworthy source such as xda - ehm and in the appropriate forum ).
So make sure you're in a comfortable environment (not a good idea to be trying to accomplish this while slamming beers at the bar), take your time, read each step that these people have taken the time to carefully write up (then follow it), and you'll be just fine. Be patient as things don't always move fast and you never want to freak out as you may screw things up bad, when it's actually just taking longer than you would expect. Always give it at least 5 minutes before you determine it's looping or crashing or whatevering, there is alot going on behind the scenes, trust me!
Steps To Customize Your Stock Mesmerize (For eclair 2.1)
1) Root your phone. - Basically all this means is gaining the ability to give programs/apps and yourself SuperUser access (equivalent of being admin in windows) and also the ability to flash roms via recovery, detailed below.
The easiest way to root is through the z4root.apk. (an application that will run right on your phone)
Download Here
After download, put z4root.apk on your SD card root directory
Then make sure in Settings->Applications that the "Unknown sources" box is checked.
If you don't have a file manager, download a free one from the market, using the file manager navigate to the z4root.apk and select to install it. Note: If you need help at this step, no offense I would suggest getting someone with more experience to help you continue on. I'm serious here
Reboot your phone
After it boots, open the z4root app and press root. At this point it is going to hang, give it 2 minutes and pull the battery. Count to 10, put it back in and turn it on. - This is normal, trust me .
After your phone boots open z4root again and click root, this time it will run no problems and phone will reboot.
NOTE**IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH z4root: "give Super One Click a try. It's a package you have to download to your computer, but you get to see more of what's actually going on so you know where it's at in the process. I have only used up to version 1.5.5, and I know that version is very capable for the Mesmerize on 2.1. It is located here."-This Information provided by phidelt82**
Once you are rooted (you will see the superuser icon in your apps, it will show apps you've given that permission to... eventually) you will need to make sure you have a file manager that can request root permissions (read/write) before you will be able to complete the next step. Search the market for "root file manager" and pick one to download and install.
Also at this step I would download and install RomManager and TerminalEmulator as you will need these later.
2) Install RomManager and the ClockworkMod Recovery. These will basically just give you the ability to boot into recovery where you can more easily flash kernel's/rom's and anything else you wish to push to your phone. (Recovery is basically a bios like interface - but it's different than the stock version)
I was able to install the Clockwork Mod Recovery very easily just by simply using the root file manager app I had downloaded, along with following with the instructions.
(In your file manager, MAKE SURE YOU ARE Read/Write not Read/Only, for RootExplorer there is a toggle at the top, other ones you may have to enable this through settings, others may just be R/W by default, you will just have to determine this or google the app)
Download the two zip files located in the first post here
Place both files on your SD card root if you were using a computer to download them or you could always download them through your phone's browser
Using the root file explorer app, move the Redbend_ua file from the SD card to /system/xbin/
Long press on the Redbend_ua file and click permissions, there should be one check missing, check that so that all are marked. Save and exit.
Now open TerminalEmulator (Come with me if you want to live )
NOTE:The spaces below are actual spaces and in bml8 there is a lowercase "L" not a "1" there is also a space after cd, after redbend_ua, after restore, and after recovery.bin
TYPE THIS ALL EXACTLY AS SHOWN BETWEEN THE QUOTES
at the command line ($) type "su" (then hit enter)
Type "cd /system/xbin" (then hit enter, which changes directory)
Type "redbend_ua restore /sdcard/recovery.bin /dev/block/bml8" (then hit enter, It will now scroll a bunch of text and reboot.)
After phone boots, open RomManager
Click on Flash ClockworkMod Recovery
Select the Samsung Fascinate your phone will still be the mesmerize. By now - you better damn well trust me , this is just what works with our model
At this point you're all stock and ready for new kernel/rom. (but now you are able to do so very easily)
3) KERNEL: Install Voodoo lagfix kernel and new 5.0 sound
If you want speed and good battery life (and high standard marks) +unlocking the headphone amp and eq controls (it makes even the samsung headset sound killer) go here and follow those steps for using your now functional recovery mode to flash the new Voodoo 5.0 kernel.
You could always install the old Voodoo kernel located here, if for some reason you do not want to take advantage of the new, sound improved one.
Note: Just an FYI, after installing custom kernel's you will always have an issue on start up of seeing a flashing black box in the middle of the samsung logo. This can be corrected by installing a custom boot screen (only requires root access) and you can find out how here.
Note: There are a few ways of getting into this recovery mode, the best way if all else fails is to hold phone from the back with left hand (thumb on volume button, in the middle holding both down and pointer on power button) hold these down until the mesmerize logo pops up then slide your thumb down a bit to volume down only (if you slip don't worry it might blink but it'll still go to recovery) Sometimes this is easier with the back case off. However the best way, is to download and use the QuickBoot app, it allows boot to recovery/reboot/poweroff options from the app.
4) Custom ROM : Download and install the ROM of your choice.
Just pick one from this list Here-They are all there along with other very useful links, read through the first post of each before you decide, some are plug and play some take a few steps first. These are currently only 2.1 eclair builds however right now they have an (somewhat unstable) 2.2 froyo rom/kernel that being worked on but is not quite yet ready for day to day use (some features are not working quite yet). But be patient because these guys will have something long before Samsung let's us have theirs, but who cares - "ours" will be so much better
HELP MY PHONE IS SCREWED!!! (GO TO STOCK 2.1): If you weren't attentive and made a mistake or haphazardly missed a step and now you're stuck at a boot screen or one of many other failure points, stop what you're doing. Take a deep breath, wu-sa, grus-fraba, whatever you need to do to calm yourself and simply go to this thread and get your phone back to stock. You may not need to go all the way stock, but it seems to be the easiest, and requires the least amount of help from the developers (who have better things to do than answer questions of careless/unlucky people!! - no offense intended) This is also how you would handle getting your phone back to stock before trying to turn it in for repair.
MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF Credit go to all of the OP's and many others (some included in my sig), these people are awesome, show them some love! Without them we would be stuck in stock US cell/Samsung HELL!
Final NoteIf you have any suggestions, additions, corrections, subtractions, or multiplications; PLEASE LET ME KNOW! I'm very open to all of the above and since this is now more of a community article let's stick to the android motto and keep it...open source

I gotta say, you did a really good job explaining yourself there. Now I'll just have to send people to one post and not a bunch when I get messages at all hours of the night.
Good work!

phidelt82 said:
I gotta say, you did a really good job explaining yourself there. Now I'll just have to send people to one post and not a bunch when I get messages at all hours of the night.
Good work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks, and believe it or not this is the exact reason I decided to put this together with this much detail (aside from answering someone's question). I figure, I'm no android developer but I can follow instruction and explain myself pretty well so I put this together to take some of that off of you guys. (A small token of my appreciation)

Nice work! Stickied for others to follow
Oh and love that comment:
Now open TerminalEmulator (Come with me if you want to live )
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gave me a good laugh!

the_scotsman said:
Nice work! Stickied for others to follow
Oh and love that comment:
Gave me a good laugh!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha well good and thanks, I almost put /badjoke at the end of that comment
EDIT: Edit to main post.

Good Job! This pretty much covers everything. Hopefully soon we can add to it :S

Is there a rough idea of the amount of time it will take to complete? I have pulled the battery a couple of times, and it just sits at the "running exploit in order to obtain root access" spinning the icon for several minutes. I have re-started it for a third time, now just letting it spin to see if it will come around.

LaTuFu said:
Is there a rough idea of the amount of time it will take to complete? I have pulled the battery a couple of times, and it just sits at the "running exploit in order to obtain root access" spinning the icon for several minutes. I have re-started it for a third time, now just letting it spin to see if it will come around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Usually it only takes about a minute or so to complete. If it gives you problems, give Super One Click a try. It's a package you have to download to your computer, but you get to see more of what's actually going on so you know where it's at in the process. I have only used up to version 1.5.5, and I know that version is very capable for the Mesmerize on 2.1. It is located here.

Just wanted to say thanks for all the hard work and for the write ups for those of us new around here. You guys make the scene available for the rest of us.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk

Thanks for the easy walkthrough.
I am getting stuck at the end of step 2. The "redbend_ua restore" part was completed successfully, and after the phone rebooted I launched Rom Manager and clicked "flash ClockworkMod Recovery", selected the Fascinate, and keep getting an error message stating "An error occured while downloading your recovery."
Am I doing something wrong? Is there another way to get clockwork recovery onto my phone? I am on WiFi with a strong signal (I'm about 3 feet from the router) and the connection is working fine in other apps (browser and whatnot) so I don't think it's my internet connection.
Any help for this total newb to the android community would be greatly appreciated.

Mesmerizeuser said:
Thanks for the easy walkthrough.
I am getting stuck at the end of step 2. The "redbend_ua restore" part was completed successfully, and after the phone rebooted I launched Rom Manager and clicked "flash ClockworkMod Recovery", selected the Fascinate, and keep getting an error message stating "An error occured while downloading your recovery."
Am I doing something wrong? Is there another way to get clockwork recovery onto my phone? I am on WiFi with a strong signal (I'm about 3 feet from the router) and the connection is working fine in other apps (browser and whatnot) so I don't think it's my internet connection.
Any help for this total newb to the android community would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not you. I believe Koush's repo is down right now. Hopefully it will be back up soon and you will be able to finish up.

Thanks for the heads up. Is there any way to get the recovery on the phone without using rom manager, or will I have to wait for the repo's to come back up?

never mind

It's back up. Just flashed to a voodoo kernel. Thanks again for the great instructions.

Very good write up.. You actually made it kind of fun to read if that makes sense.. lol

I seem to be running into problems. Whenever I go into recovery mode my phone doesn't verify the update.zip file. I was wondering how do I fix it or get another one? Also what part does this file play in changing roms?
Error:
Verifying update package...
E:failed to verify whole-file signature
E:signature verification failed
Install aborted
Also very good write up A++ would hack again
Edit: got it working. I had to rerun redbend_ua and make sure it went through a full reboot and didn't stall. I think I wasn't giving it super user permissions. Great writeup thanks again!

thanks this is worked great for me on the Froyo step by step

jmtenny said:
thanks this is worked great for me on the Froyo step by step
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great, glad to hear it! This is a new addition and I've just made some more changes and also reformatted the OP so i'ts more obvious that there are two processes.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this!
I'd like to think that now I have a better understanding of what I'm doing.

I'm having some problems and was wondering if someone could help me please.....
I successfully installed the EA11 leak and updated from 2.1 to 2.2. However, when I boot into the blue recovery and try to hit update.zip from there it just shows me an exlamation icon and never goes into the red recovery instantly like it should according to everyone's directions.
At thiis screen it will stay showing this icon, and the only way off of it is to hit the menu key which takes you back to the blue recovery screen. It then has a description below the blue text that says:
-- Install from package...
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
E:Failed to verify whole file signature
E:signature verification failed
Installation aborted.
Am I doing something wrong? Any feedback would be so appreciated.

[STICKY]NEW Showcase Newbie Guide

After bdemartino wrote his AWESOME thread for the Mesmerize it seemed only fitting that the Showcase get their very own... And since his Thread was Flawless, with his permission I'm mostly copy/pasting word for word. as I am copying most of this from elijablake . . . so thanks this thread needs some editing, and I will be working on that in the future . . . . specifically the CWM / ROM manager which will not work. I could use some assistance in rewriting that part. TY!
BEST. ADVICE. EVER. #samsung-mesmerize on irc.freenode.net
<3<3<3<3<3
Also, read the Glossary for definitions and such. I was not the sharpest tool in the shed and it took me a while to find this . . .
Disclaimers
CSOUTH IS RELEASEING 2.2 UPDATE THIS WEEK (6/26). You may just want to wait for that to be released. This thread will be updated when the release occurs as how to flash recovery that you can flash roms with etc.
Keep in mind there are many variations to each step, this is what worked for me the easiest. READ ALOT BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANYTHING!!
There is always the disclaimer that attempting any of this can and will make your phone dysfunctional and or possibly bricked beyond repair (but most likely just dysfunctional which is a pain in the arse to deal with) if you do not follow steps completely (and of a trustworthy source such as xda - ehm and in the appropriate forum ).
Steps to get to 2.2 (EB11) on your phone:
**Please note that the links were removed by CSouth for copyright (COPY WRONG *****ES) reasons. So if you can find the files somewhere (ahem . . . ) then you can follow these steps. THIS GUIDE IS PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I DO NOT ADVOCATE BREAKING COPYRIGHT LAW.
I highly recommend using Heimdall rather than Odin. Don't ask me why . . . maybe because it has a command line utility and it is cross platform. So my instructions will be for using Heimdall.
After you have the downloaded files (from wherever you might have gotten them, you bad bad person) unzip and look for the following files:
-factoryfs.rfs
-modem.bin
-recovery.bin
-zImage
1) Put your phone in download mode by powering down your device, removing the battery, connecting the USB to your computer, and holding the volume down button. It shouldn't take long. You should see a little Android with a shovel.
2) In Heimdall, if using the GUI, put all of the files in their obviously appropriate spots. Don't worry if not everything is filled, just use the files that you have. (You should be using the repartition with the .pit file, the zImage with the Kernel, the recovery, and the modem)
If using the command line utility, cd to the directory where you unzipped the files and
Code:
heimdall flash --repartition --pit atlas_v2.2.1.pit --factoryfs factoryfs.rfs --kernel zImage --modem modem.bin --recovery recovery.bin
Wait for the process to finish, your phone will reboot at the end.
3. That is all, now your phone is updated to 2.2.1. Put the battery back in and boot your new shiny toy!
DO NOT DISCONNECT USB DURING THIS PROCESS AS IT COULD BE POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS!!! DON'T EVEN TOUCH IT AS I HAVE FOUND THE USB CONNECTION TO BE A BIT FLAKY!
Also, it is ok if it takes your phone what seems like forever to boot. This happens whenever you install a new kernel, just be patient.
If you have gotten the most updated batch of files, you should have the proper recovery to begin flashing. If not, well seek help . . . You should have RED RECOVERY!
See here for more information about CWM or go on irc.
To access recovery, you can use the three finger method. (Hold down the volume up and down keys and the power button all at the same time when you're turning your phone on) Once you see the Samsung splash screen you can remove your finger from the power button, but keep holding down both volume keys.
You should then go here to check out themes and mods.
Steps For Rooting either 2.1 or 2.2.1
Basically all this means is gaining the ability to give programs/apps and yourself SuperUser access (equivalent of being admin in windows) and also the ability to flash roms via recovery, detailed below.
**NOTE: most custom roms come rooted, so if you are installing a custom rom in 2.2.1, you most likely don't have to go through these steps. Just flash to the ROM you want . . . ***
The easiest way to root is through the z4root.apk. (an application that will run right on your phone)
Download Here
After download, put z4root.apk on your SD card root directory
Then make sure in Settings->Applications that the "Unknown sources" box is checked.
If you don't have a file manager, download a free one from the market, using the file manager navigate to the z4root.apk and select to install it. Note: If you need help at this step, no offense I would suggest getting someone with more experience to help you continue on. I'm serious here
Reboot your phone
After it boots, open the z4root app and press root. At this point it is going to hang, give it 2 minutes and pull the battery. Count to 10, put it back in and turn it on. - This is normal
After your phone boots open z4root again and click root, this time it will run no problems and phone will reboot.
NOTE**IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH z4root: "give Super One Click a try. It's a package you have to download to your computer, but you get to see more of what's actually going on so you know where it's at in the process. I have only used up to version 1.5.5, and I know that version is very capable for the Showcase. It is located here."-This Information provided by phidelt82**
Once you are rooted (you will see the superuser icon in your apps, it will show apps you've given that permission to... eventually) you will need to make sure you have a file manager that can request root permissions (read/write) before you will be able to complete the next step. Search the market for "root file manager" and pick one to download and install.
I use Root Explorer
It's a few bucks, but there's hardly a day that goes by when I don't use it.. (Well worth the money)
THE ECLAIR SECTION IS REMOVED AS CSOUTH IS RELEASING UPDATE THIS WEEK (6/27)

Hehmmmm....

nice write-up!

Upgraded the Showcase to 2.2.1 build EE25 with Samsung Kies this morning. Also had no issue rooting with superoneclick.

cpflow said:
Upgraded the Showcase to 2.2.1 build EE25 with Samsung Kies this morning. Also had no issue rooting with superoneclick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies has 2.3 out now =)

Kies Mini have 2.3.5 out now for generic cdma showcase.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
*Edit*
It seem everyone forgot about the Samsung Showcase Galaxy S Generic CDMA.
I managed to Root it flash CWMR and flash TSM TW 4.0 ROM. but then try to go back to stock and lost 3G. So I returned it and get a new one. No more mods for me I'm done no one cares about Generic CDMA.

Can someone provide directions to install a custom rom for a Showcase running stock 2.3.4? I don't have root. I'd really appreciate any help!

[Q] "Lost root" after busybox upgrade - Cannot r/w to / !

[Hopefully I didn't miss this being covered somewhere else, as I am much the same as many of you and get beyond irritated with endless repeat questions. I searched using the best keywords I could think of for the issue, but to no avail. Apologies in advance if this has been covered!]
Alrighty. I've got a TF101, rooted it myself (thank you XDA), running 8.6.5.1.9 i believe, stock rom just with root. Used nvflash and Razorclaw. Worked like a charm.
It's been fine for the last 6 months, no issues. However, I decided to update busybox using its internal updater as I have before with no problems. I noticed I accidentally told it to install to /system/bin instead of /system/xbin, and the only reason I even knew about that was due to having to configure an app to find busybox in /xbin instead of /bin.
Now there's a problem. I can still access the internal virtual sd card, but that's about it. The device can't seem to read or write to the main directory (although it can deal with going DIRECTLY to /mnt/sdcard). Ghost commander can't view the main directory, but ESFile explorer _can_, although root browsing in ESFile Explorer is UNchecked. It shouldn't be able to do what it's doing, and it's only doing it in one of two apps.
As a result, I've got no access to any root apps obviousy, but the wifi is having issues as well, it tries connecting but it can't complete the connection.
I'm toying with just wiping and flashing a new rom entirely, but figured I'd ask before I jump in the deep end of things. I keep backups of stuff, but it's still such a pain in the ass reinstalling things.
Any suggestions? I have a feeling it's something "simple", a link file or ... something which linux gurus would know about and I would not, not being a guru or disciple myself.
Thanks in advance!

If only you have working CWM installed. You could just flash this Superuser3.0.7.

Ah, but the plot thickens. I had superuser on there. I even uninstalled and reinstalled it. No dice.
Update: I said fuggit and did a factory reset. However, my wifi is still not fully connecting to my network although it has no problem finding it. I don't have a recovery image on the external SD and unless i get the network working, will have to wait until tomorrow to get a working microsd->usb adapter to put it on there.
I CAN still get into CWM, thank god.
Current rom is stock 8.6.6.19
Razorclaw gives an error when trying to root.
Also, when trying to moust USB from the recovery menu. it fails, saying "E:unable to upen ums lunfile (no such file or directory).
I am hoping this will magically get fixed after re-installing stock from the SD card ... and that my device isn't somehow crippled.
Sorry for the massive details, but more data = better.

It will magically get fixed
I recommend you flash any Totally stock ota. Then upgrade to the latest OTA, then use my tool PERI (or another) to install recovery and root. Then you should be all fixed up.

Well, it looks like I did get things back on track, but oddly enough, neither of the standard OR modified for root stock ROMs would work. One just wouldn't install, another failed halfway through. MD5s checked out and everything. I had put Revolver 4 beta on there sort of as a "just in case", and that one installed fine (and I was pleased when it displayed "installing Busybox symlinks").
Phew. CLose close call. Now to deal with the bull**** of setting stuff back up again.
However, the question remains: I'm assuming this whole thing happened because of the busybox update and me accidentally installing it to /bin instead of /xbin, and I think it "cleaned up" its own symlinks or something.
I'm not saying don't update your busybox, although I'm sticking with what works and **** upgrading anymore, just be careful...
Thanks for the help!

Recently I used the busybox installer to update my busybox version and it went through great... but after reboot it reverted back to the old version.. And I never touch it since.. don't want to take the hassle further..

There are certain 'plague' versions of busybox that simply don't work. I'd find that list of working BBs and STICK with one that's good. I'm still on 1.63 or someat like that.

Mangraa said:
[Hopefully I didn't miss this being covered somewhere else, as I am much the same as many of you and get beyond irritated with endless repeat questions. I searched using the best keywords I could think of for the issue, but to no avail. Apologies in advance if this has been covered!]
Alrighty. I've got a TF101, rooted it myself (thank you XDA), running 8.6.5.1.9 i believe, stock rom just with root. Used nvflash and Razorclaw. Worked like a charm.
It's been fine for the last 6 months, no issues. However, I decided to update busybox using its internal updater as I have before with no problems. I noticed I accidentally told it to install to /system/bin instead of /system/xbin, and the only reason I even knew about that was due to having to configure an app to find busybox in /xbin instead of /bin.
Now there's a problem. I can still access the internal virtual sd card, but that's about it. The device can't seem to read or write to the main directory (although it can deal with going DIRECTLY to /mnt/sdcard). Ghost commander can't view the main directory, but ESFile explorer _can_, although root browsing in ESFile Explorer is UNchecked. It shouldn't be able to do what it's doing, and it's only doing it in one of two apps.
As a result, I've got no access to any root apps obviousy, but the wifi is having issues as well, it tries connecting but it can't complete the connection.
I'm toying with just wiping and flashing a new rom entirely, but figured I'd ask before I jump in the deep end of things. I keep backups of stuff, but it's still such a pain in the ass reinstalling things.
Any suggestions? I have a feeling it's something "simple", a link file or ... something which linux gurus would know about and I would not, not being a guru or disciple myself.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may have been hit with a bug I introduced.
There was a bug with version 8.0 of my application.
There is not an issue with Busybox V1.20.1.
I apologize for this bug, the application symlinked all applets to Busybox and on some devices there are applets which are unique to the device and should not be replaced by those offered by Busybox.
A simple way to fix this is to simply reflash your rom. You do not need to wipe or clear any data. This will fix the issue and you can update Busybox normally with my application as long as it is version 8.1 or higher.
I apologize for the frustration I have caused, please let me know if I can do anything to help you further. I am trying to find people who were affected to see if I can help rectify the situation.

yeah me too
I guess I should have done a more recent backup. I tell you, there is a reason i have 38 updates waiting, everytime I start going through them, boom blows up in my face

[Q] Trying to Root: hboot 1.45.0013, Unlocked Bootloader, S-ON

Okay, have found a lot of threads similar to this, but with key differences that are making the answers not-terribly-helpful in my particular circumstances. Not a comment on the answers, but enough that I feel the need to ask my question specifically.
I am trying to gain more control over my MyTouch 4g Slide (aka Doubleshot), obviously on T-Mobile.
It is running Android 2.3.4, and has hboot 1.45.0013. I have wiped it a few times in the process of fuxing with it, so right now I'm not worried about losing anything other than basic function (i.e., bricking it is still bad).
I have tried the zergrush exploit (it's been closed),
have managed to unlock the bootloader using the HTC unlock tool,
and have managed to flash the appropriate Clockworkmod recovery and get the blue menu to come up.
My overall goal isn't to do any major overhauls- I want to be able to allow some apps to turn my GPS on and off, clean out some bloatware, and put some new ringtones into the same folder as the stock ones. My understanding is that temporary root access is enough to do these things- go in and clean up, change some permissions on apps, then go back to being a normal user, just like with a well-managed Linux computer.
I just can't seem to get the next step to work.
My understanding is that I now somehow use Clockworkmod to install Superuser from the .zip archive. The options I get in the recovery screen are:
reboot system now
apply update from sdcard
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
install zip from sdcard
backup and restore
mounts and storage
advanced
power off
My impression is that I should be using "install zip from sdcard" to install Superuser, but when I select that, the menu just disappears, and I am left looking at the logo, with no further options. I have seen it implied that there should be choices about which zip to install- those never come up.
What am I missing? My google-fu is failing me in trying to find instructions or guides for this particular combination of limitations and progress.
EDIT TO ADD: Ah- found part of my problem... the recovery menu uses the camera button, not the power button. Still somewhat at a loss to see what's next. Installing from the SD card fails. Info in a second post.

Got the menu working, but now failing to install Superuser. I get the following output:
Mounting SYSTEM...
Deleting SYSTEM:bin/su...
Extracting files to SYSTEM...
Setting SYSTEM:bin/su permissions to 06755...
Creating SYSTEM:xbin/su symbolic link...
E:Error in /sdcard/Superuser-3.0.7-efghi-signed.zip
(Status 0)
Installation aborted.
Now what?

I am seeing in other places that HBOOT 1.45.0013 can't be rooted. I've been trying for about 9 hours to do this. . .no luck, even with a variety of methods.
bummer.

I'm in the same boat as the both of you. Spent the last two hours and enough tabs in my browser that my music player was skipping when switching between them, and my machine is nothing to be scoffed at!
There just doesn't seem to be enough clear information about how to root this device, and with only 7 pages of development threads, it's gonna be hard to be told to search!

In recovery you use the trackpad to navigate, and select....also, why not just flash a pre rooted stock rom? Follow the directions in this thread, it will work with any rom, not just ICS roms. I used the instructions in this thread to install Bulletproof on my Bf's phone which was an insurance replacement, so it had the same hboot that you guys have, and S-on. It worked flawlessly, I am not sure why so many people are having such a hard time, because it worked the first time perfectly for me.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1508556
Edit: Which recovery are you using?

Woot! Oops...
Well, I managed to root my phone... and then borked it through my own overexuberance. :headdesk: Oh well, I can fix it. Important part:
I finally found out what "Status 0" means- the zip you are trying to install wasn't signed properly. I re-downloaded, no luck. But there is an option to turn off signature checking in CWM, and that worked, after some fiddling- Superuser installed and worked fine. Not sure if re-downloading ended up being relevant or not.
So, you can root this version without flashing a new ROM.
That said, I think I probably did enough weirdness to mine that I will go for a new stock ROM, so much thanks to yellowjacket for posting that thread link. Removed HTC Sense, then somehow borked Go Launcher Ex, so my phone doesn't have a home screen and I can't get to the app I used to move stuff to fix it. Of course I never found a set of instructions for making a Nandroid backup until after I messed things up... Oh, well, time to go looking for the stock ROM.
Thanks all!

If anyone has a Nandroid backup or copy of the dead-standard out-of-the-box ROM for this phone, please let me know. All I am finding is modified versions. Can't find the base that they were made from, and even the most basic version says it requires S-OFF to install. :headdesk:

Do you specifically need a nandroid backup, or would a flashable ZIP do? Pointers to the latter are available.

Flashable zip would actually be preferable, and pointers would be very much appreciated. I know they have to be out there somewhere, I'm just not finding the right search terms to locate them among all the modified versions.

Look at this post in the developer reference thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17384145&postcount=7
(There's lots of stuff listed there, but look for the 400 MB+ images.)
NOTE: Some ZIP tools get confused by these signed ZIPs, so they might seem corrupt. Check the MD5s to see that you got a good download. 7Zip seems to deal with them OK if you want to look inside.
I have personally flashed the 1.28 and 1.55 ZIPs without incident, but I did check the MD5s.

Well, I was not able to restore the ROMS from the links wjcarpenter linked- everything worked fine, as far as I can tell, but the phone said the "updates" were older than what was originally installed, so the installation was aborted. Not sure how to fix/handle that.
For the moment, I have one of the cleaned-up ROMs that is very similar to stock, but I would really rather it not be obvious that I rooted the phone the second you start it up (the one I found has changed the startup animations), so I will keep looking.
If it's going to be obvious that I changed the ROM, I guess I might as well start looking for the best custom ROM... any suggestions as to which is the most stable?

Firefairy said:
Well, I managed to root my phone... and then borked it through my own overexuberance. :headdesk: Oh well, I can fix it. Important part:
I finally found out what "Status 0" means- the zip you are trying to install wasn't signed properly. I re-downloaded, no luck. But there is an option to turn off signature checking in CWM, and that worked, after some fiddling- Superuser installed and worked fine. Not sure if re-downloading ended up being relevant or not.
So, you can root this version without flashing a new ROM.
That said, I think I probably did enough weirdness to mine that I will go for a new stock ROM, so much thanks to yellowjacket for posting that thread link. Removed HTC Sense, then somehow borked Go Launcher Ex, so my phone doesn't have a home screen and I can't get to the app I used to move stuff to fix it. Of course I never found a set of instructions for making a Nandroid backup until after I messed things up... Oh, well, time to go looking for the stock ROM.
Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just think of it as a big learning experience! The first time I rooted a phone, I messed it up so much I had to keep flashing back to stock and rerooting at least 3 or 4 times. Thankfully I had a phone that was virtually unbrickable. It was a good learning experience though, and I now feel comfortable rooting and flashing on several different devices.

Firefairy said:
Got the menu working, but now failing to install Superuser. I get the following output:
Mounting SYSTEM...
Deleting SYSTEM:bin/su...
Extracting files to SYSTEM...
Setting SYSTEM:bin/su permissions to 06755...
Creating SYSTEM:xbin/su symbolic link...
E:Error in /sdcard/Superuser-3.0.7-efghi-signed.zip
(Status 0)
Installation aborted.
Now what?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
download from androidsu and either save it directly to the ROOT of your sdcard, or copy and paste to the root of your sd card. i always get that same error when i install superuser from a folder in my sd card.

Odin stuck at "recovery.img" on Tab 2 10.1

Hey guys. I admit it....I'm a noob here (man it hurts to say that).
Anyway, I've been attempting to root my Tab 2 10.1 (P5113 w/ 4.0.4 upgrade) using the method weltwon describes here: thread 1657056 and I keep running into the following problem. When attempting to root it Odin keeps getting stuck at the "recovery.img" step (I've let the tablet sit for nearly 30 minutes at that step with no luck).
Based on some other posts I've attempted all the following with no luck:
Removed Lockout Security & Antivirus from the tablet
Disabled antivirus on the computer
Ensured the tablet is directly plugged into a motherboard usb port
Nothing has helped. The only thing I haven't tried is shifting to a different computer (only have a single computer at home). Fortunately I can force reboot the tablet and it comes back up to the stock ROM with no issues.
I'm using Odin V1.85_3 and running Windows 7 64-bit. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Alan

SlickAl41 said:
Hey guys. I admit it....I'm a noob here (man it hurts to say that).
Anyway, I've been attempting to root my Tab 2 10.1 (P5113 w/ 4.0.4 upgrade) using the method weltwon describes here: thread 1657056 and I keep running into the following problem. When attempting to root it Odin keeps getting stuck at the "recovery.img" step (I've let the tablet sit for nearly 30 minutes at that step with no luck).
Based on some other posts I've attempted all the following with no luck:
Removed Lockout Security & Antivirus from the tablet
Disabled antivirus on the computer
Ensured the tablet is directly plugged into a motherboard usb port
Nothing has helped. The only thing I haven't tried is shifting to a different computer (only have a single computer at home). Fortunately I can force reboot the tablet and it comes back up to the stock ROM with no issues.
I'm using Odin V1.85_3 and running Windows 7 64-bit. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Keep trying... odin sucks. Heimdale is better, but it is a little more complicated lol still figuring it out on my end with my infuse every once in a while.

If nothing else works you might be able to restore to stock... but I agree Heimdall is a better option.

Ryanscool said:
Keep trying... odin sucks. Heimdale is better, but it is a little more complicated lol still figuring it out on my end with my infuse every once in a while.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Heimdall did it. Thanks for pointing me that direction. :highfive:

SlickAl41 said:
Heimdall did it. Thanks for pointing me that direction. :highfive:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I thought Heimdall did it. Guess I celebrated a bit early there. When attempting to boot into CWM I get thrown over to the Stock Android Recovery. Based on some more searching it looks like I'll have to roll back to 4.0.3 before flashing recovery.img. Back to the web and to figure that portion out.
Alan

SlickAl41 said:
Well, I thought Heimdall did it. Guess I celebrated a bit early there. When attempting to boot into CWM I get thrown over to the Stock Android Recovery. Based on some more searching it looks like I'll have to roll back to 4.0.3 before flashing recovery.img. Back to the web and to figure that portion out.
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alan, that's because the tabs have a script called install-recovery.sh that re-installs the stock recovery on each boot. you will need to find and remove that before the recovery flash will hold.
trying to find the thread that talked about where that script is located.... but if you have root explorer installed search and you'll find it. I would suggest saving a copy of it to the sdcard before removing it from the system... just incase it is ever needed for anything.

Ryan79 said:
Alan, that's because the tabs have a script called install-recovery.sh that re-installs the stock recovery on each boot. you will need to find and remove that before the recovery flash will hold.
trying to find the thread that talked about where that script is located.... but if you have root explorer installed search and you'll find it. I would suggest saving a copy of it to the sdcard before removing it from the system... just incase it is ever needed for anything.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, now I feel like my head is starting to spin. The script is located in /etc (not to surprising there). This is where my head starts to spin. /etc has permissions of 777 (which rather blew my mind based on past unix and linux experience). Install.recover.sh has permissions of 544 which I would expect for an executable in /etc. That means I have to have root permissions to modifiy the file since root is the owner.
So, from my understanding I need to get CWM recovery installed so I can flash cwm-root which will grant me root access......seems kinda like a case of the chicken and the egg to me.

SlickAl41 said:
Ok, now I feel like my head is starting to spin. The script is located in /etc (not to surprising there). This is where my head starts to spin. /etc has permissions of 777 (which rather blew my mind based on past unix and linux experience). Install.recover.sh has permissions of 544 which I would expect for an executable in /etc. That means I have to have root permissions to modifiy the file since root is the owner.
So, from my understanding I need to get CWM recovery installed so I can flash cwm-root which will grant me root access......seems kinda like a case of the chicken and the egg to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I think I may see how to get around this.....Heimdall is rebooting my tablet after the recovery flash. Need to figure out the command line parameter that prevents reboot and then reboot directly to CWM Recover (guessing there but that's what I'm going to look for at least).
That did it.....found the --no-reboot common argument for Heimdall and then manually rebooted directly to CWM Recovery. That allowed me to boot into CWM Recovery without the install.recover.sh shell running. Waiting for first reboot after flashing the CWM-Root.....rebooted installed SuperUser and disabled SuperSU but still can't rename or delete the /etc/Install.recover.sh (even though the root browser was given su permissions by SuperUser) ..... sigh
I know I'm rooted because I can reboot using Quick Boot after granting it su access - that's just strange.
Finally, figured it out...You can't modify or delete Install.recover.sh in /etc. You must do it at the following location /system/etc
Alan

SlickAl41 said:
Ok, I think I may see how to get around this.....Heimdall is rebooting my tablet after the recovery flash. Need to figure out the command line parameter that prevents reboot and then reboot directly to CWM Recover (guessing there but that's what I'm going to look for at least).
That did it.....found the --no-reboot common argument for Heimdall and then manually rebooted directly to CWM Recovery. That allowed me to boot into CWM Recovery without the install.recover.sh shell running. Waiting for first reboot after flashing the CWM-Root.....rebooted installed SuperUser and disabled SuperSU but still can't rename or delete the /etc/Install.recover.sh (even though the root browser was given su permissions by SuperUser) ..... sigh
I know I'm rooted because I can reboot using Quick Boot after granting it su access - that's just strange.
Finally, figured it out...You can't modify or delete Install.recover.sh in /etc. You must do it at the following location /system/etc
Alan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey Alan, sorry... been away from the forums for a couple days. But it looks like you got it figured out you are correct on the Heimdall command, the only thing different that I did is that I already had root explorer purchased... so after the SuperUser install I just ran it to move the install_recover.sh to my SD card
Glad to hear you got it working!

I am trying to Flash the Stock ROM on my Galaxy Y PRO after it is gone into a bootloop (by itself), i am using ODIN , but it got stuck on Flashin the recovery img
i tried all The USB ports of my computer and only 1 worked. Please i need help and a sure answer thx

MultipleMonomials said:
If nothing else works you might be able to restore to stock... but I agree Heimdall is a better option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How to use Heimdall when I have bl, ap, etc