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MD5 hash checks, flashing radios, kernels. Could someone explain these?

I just got my Thunderbolt last Thurs. I was previously using a Droid X so these things are all new to me.
What is a MD5 hash check? What if they don't match? Will it brick your phone?
What's the advantage of flashing a new radio? I've noticed that some ROMs require you to flash a new radio. Why is this?
I don't plan on flashing a new kernel but from what I understand it's just a way of adjusting the processor?
Thanks in advance.

First off, Google is always your friend...
MD5 hash checking is basically a way to check to make sure a file is identical in different locations. Often, when people post download links, they'll include the MD5 hash of the original files as they uploaded it. You can then verify that your download file is identical to what they uploaded by generating your own MD5. If they values match, then you're good. If they don't match, then the file you have is different. It could be that someone messed with it (a possibility when downloading from mirror sites) or that it was corrupted while downloading.
You should never try and use a file if the MD5 hash is wrong, especially not when it comes to flashing your phone which is why it's included with almost all downloads you see on the site.
The kernel is basically the low-level operating system of the phone. People tweak the kernel to get desired outcomes such as a faster data speeds or improved battery life. Some of the developers are actually quite good at this, for example, I noticed that on my TB, just when idle I was losing battery at a rate of 22%/hr. I then flashed Leankernel and I've been getting a battery loss rate of 9%/hr while I actually use the phone!
As far as the radios go, it's basically the same thing, just the software that drives the radios. There are a few versions floating around out there, the later version is supposed to be tweaked for better performance and less bugs. As for why some ROMs require it... I'll pass that off to someone more knowledgeable.

drumz0rz said:
First off, Google is always your friend...
MD5 hash checking is basically a way to check to make sure a file is identical in different locations. Often, when people post download links, they'll include the MD5 hash of the original files as they uploaded it. You can then verify that your download file is identical to what they uploaded by generating your own MD5. If they values match, then you're good. If they don't match, then the file you have is different. It could be that someone messed with it (a possibility when downloading from mirror sites) or that it was corrupted while downloading.
You should never try and use a file if the MD5 hash is wrong, especially not when it comes to flashing your phone which is why it's included with almost all downloads you see on the site.
The kernel is basically the low-level operating system of the phone. People tweak the kernel to get desired outcomes such as a faster data speeds or improved battery life. Some of the developers are actually quite good at this, for example, I noticed that on my TB, just when idle I was losing battery at a rate of 22%/hr. I then flashed Leankernel and I've been getting a battery loss rate of 9%/hr while I actually use the phone!
As far as the radios go, it's basically the same thing, just the software that drives the radios. There are a few versions floating around out there, the later version is supposed to be tweaked for better performance and less bugs. As for why some ROMs require it... I'll pass that off to someone more knowledgeable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How do I flash a new radio? Is it the same as flashing a ROM? Just use CW?

NO! It's done through hboot, not through recovery.
Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk

To flash a new Radio, you need to download the file (it will be named PG05IMG.zip, and will be about 25MB in size), and place it in the root of your SD Card (not in a folder).
After that, you want to root into your bootloader (power off your phone, hold the volume down key, and turn it on), select the default option, and it should recognize the update within a couple of seconds, and prompt you to install it.
Hope that helps!

stuckhere4ever said:
To flash a new Radio, you need to download the file (it will be named PG05IMG.zip, and will be about 25MB in size), and place it in the root of your SD Card (not in a folder).
After that, you want to root into your bootloader (power off your phone, hold the volume down key, and turn it on), select the default option, and it should recognize the update within a couple of seconds, and prompt you to install it.
Hope that helps!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, thanks. And I think I've read that I need to remove the file from my SD card afterward so it doesn't revert back, right?

dbisch said:
Okay, thanks. And I think I've read that I need to remove the file from my SD card afterward so it doesn't revert back, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its a good idea to remove it yeah. It will at least try to do the update again I'm not sure if it will revert back to be honest, I've never tried it.
In any case, best to clean up after words. I have a folder on my SDCard where I put all the radio files, and move them around as I need them.

stuckhere4ever said:
Its a good idea to remove it yeah. It will at least try to do the update again I'm not sure if it will revert back to be honest, I've never tried it.
In any case, best to clean up after words. I have a folder on my SDCard where I put all the radio files, and move them around as I need them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, thanks a lot man.

No worries at all. Good luck!

[Q] Total noob wants help reverting to factory rom

I've seen posts in other forums about where to find files and how to do this with other devices but nothing specific to the TF700. After installing the latest system update (4.2.1) I found a lot of apps, including system apps. were crashing and the whole thing was running incredibly slow. I went into the settings and did a factory reset, reinstalled the apps and set everything up again but the same thing is still happening.
I read somewhere that flashing the system rom (which I'm guessing reinstalls the system files) might be a way to get things working again. I've never done this before, and I know things can go badly if you do it wrong, so I'm hoping someone can walk me through it, including letting me know which files I should be using.
Thanks in advance for the help.

slap_shot_12 said:
I've seen posts in other forums about where to find files and how to do this with other devices but nothing specific to the TF700. After installing the latest system update (4.2.1) I found a lot of apps, including system apps. were crashing and the whole thing was running incredibly slow. I went into the settings and did a factory reset, reinstalled the apps and set everything up again but the same thing is still happening.
I read somewhere that flashing the system rom (which I'm guessing reinstalls the system files) might be a way to get things working again. I've never done this before, and I know things can go badly if you do it wrong, so I'm hoping someone can walk me through it, including letting me know which files I should be using.
Thanks in advance for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download the full Asus firmware from Asus site, unzip the file then copy the unzipped file to the root of your micro sdcard, you should see a notification to upgrade, do the upgrade.

Firmware unavailable
buhohitr said:
Download the full Asus firmware from Asus site, unzip the file then copy the unzipped file to the root of your micro sdcard, you should see a notification to upgrade, do the upgrade.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried to do that but the Build Number that I have isn't on the Asus site. After upgrading my build number is JOP40D.ww_epad-10.6.1.14.4-20130329
All the ones on the Asus site have 2012 as the year, and I even tried the one that matched everything else and just get an error message after it starts installing.
Any ideas?

slap_shot_12 said:
I have tried to do that but the Build Number that I have isn't on the Asus site. After upgrading my build number is JOP40D.ww_epad-10.6.1.14.4-20130329
All the ones on the Asus site have 2012 as the year, and I even tried the one that matched everything else and just get an error message after it starts installing.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Go to this page, select "Android" and find your build number - it's there: Version V10.6.1.14.4(WW)
http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=ASUS+Transformer+Pad+Infinity+TF700T&p=28&s=1

slap_shot_12 said:
I have tried to do that but the Build Number that I have isn't on the Asus site. After upgrading my build number is JOP40D.ww_epad-10.6.1.14.4-20130329
All the ones on the Asus site have 2012 as the year, and I even tried the one that matched everything else and just get an error message after it starts installing.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this method:
Download this from Asus " Version V10.6.1.14.4(WW) "
You have to decompress the ZIP File. Then you have the actual update ZIP file, then rename the File to "EP201_768_SDUPDATE.zip" (without quote).
Reformat your micro sdcard to fat32 (make sure you do this) and copy the File to the root of a FAT32 formated microSD Card and insert into your Tab.
Now, reboot into recovery (hold volume down and power button and release when see white text on the screen) and the update install will begin without any verification of Software Version.

eenyae about
buhohitr said:
Try this method:
Download this from Asus " Version V10.6.1.14.4(WW) "
You have to decompress the ZIP File. Then you have the actual update ZIP file, then rename the File to "EP201_768_SDUPDATE.zip" (without quote).
Reformat your micro sdcard to fat32 (make sure you do this) and copy the File to the root of a FAT32 formated microSD Card and insert into your Tab.
Now, reboot into recovery (hold volume down and power button and release when see white text on the screen) and the update install will begin without any verification of Software Version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This did it --- Thanks very much. Renaming the file allowed the update to complete and now it seems to be working normally again. I sure appreciate the help everyone!! :good:

4.3 help!!!

I have an N8013 and I have been trying to go to 4.3 for a while. Like illusion rom... i've tried cwm a few versions even the latest, twrp, and even philz recovery as recommended and I even deleted the updater scripts as recommended. I for the life of me can not get past the zip file failing to flash. I've downloaded the rom multiple times, used odin to go back to completely stock, factory reset.... just about everything. There is one other dude tellin me to do this....
"I have a N8013, and deleting the assert and getprops works for me 100% of the time. However, it is important to note, two things. One you have to have the N8013 version of the ROM, which is labeled N80xx, and 2, when you go to install it after you have modified the file, you will get a validation error because the zip file will no longer match the MD5 validation, you have to install anyways. Other than that it works fine on my N8013, using CWM 6.0.3.1, running official CM 10.2."
But I dont know exactly what file he is talkin about. If ANYONE can help me out with this id be forever grateful.

First thing first. I'm guessing from what you don't understand is the MD5 validation.
So let me try to explain it. Doing an MD5 check, is basically checking the fingerprint of a file to the fingerprint posted. You get an MD5 sum by running it though a MD5 hashing program. Someone that knows the terms better then me will probably jump in and correct my terminology. But the best way of saying it is that by comparing MD5 sums, you are able to see if a file is unaltered.
Second, you'll want to make sure the file you download is compete and uncorrupted. So you run it though the hasher, and get the MD5 sum to check it against the posted numbers.
For "Illusion-v2.5.alpha-UNOFFICIAL-n8013.z" the MD5 Sum is: 95eb24cadc1a7721934a508e3ce97212
For "Illusion-v2.5.alpha-UNOFFICIAL-n8000.zip" the MD5 Sum is: 7789f71ca54647b43c352837702795a3
Now as for a hashing program, if you are on Windows, I would suggest a program called HashTab. http://implbits.com/
It puts the hashing into a tab so you can just right click the file, click Properties, and then "File Hashes"
So for the next thing that you need to do to make sure everything is good, is to check the MD5 sum of the file you download (unmodified) and make sure it is a good download. If all of that is good, then something else is going off.
I will note that right now I'm running the n8000 version on my n8013. Yes there are reasons I do that, even though the GSM hardware isn't in place. But using the n8000 version makes use of VoIP phones much easier.

Niscandia said:
First thing first. I'm guessing from what you don't understand is the MD5 validation.
So let me try to explain it. Doing an MD5 check, is basically checking the fingerprint of a file to the fingerprint posted. You get an MD5 sum by running it though a MD5 hashing program. Someone that knows the terms better then me will probably jump in and correct my terminology. But the best way of saying it is that by comparing MD5 sums, you are able to see if a file is unaltered.
Second, you'll want to make sure the file you download is compete and uncorrupted. So you run it though the hasher, and get the MD5 sum to check it against the posted numbers.
For "Illusion-v2.5.alpha-UNOFFICIAL-n8013.z" the MD5 Sum is: 95eb24cadc1a7721934a508e3ce97212
For "Illusion-v2.5.alpha-UNOFFICIAL-n8000.zip" the MD5 Sum is: 7789f71ca54647b43c352837702795a3
Now as for a hashing program, if you are on Windows, I would suggest a program called HashTab. http://implbits.com/
It puts the hashing into a tab so you can just right click the file, click Properties, and then "File Hashes"
So for the next thing that you need to do to make sure everything is good, is to check the MD5 sum of the file you download (unmodified) and make sure it is a good download. If all of that is good, then something else is going off.
I will note that right now I'm running the n8000 version on my n8013. Yes there are reasons I do that, even though the GSM hardware isn't in place. But using the n8000 version makes use of VoIP phones much easier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thank you sir. No one has ever explained it to me like you did. I honestly appreciate it. I have a PC running windows 7 and I also have an iMac for my music. Not saying I completely understand how to do what your telling me but it puts in to a much greater perspective and for that, thank you. I know something is going wrong. This isn't my first rodeo but I definitely don't know how to change stuff around or dissect it yet. I started rooting and modifying about a year ago. Im a tech so in interests me. But I don't all that much time to dissect yet or understand what your saying exactly. I guess I just need a good download. Maybe I'll try the N8000 version instead. I don't care about the GPS and I use VOIP a lot more than I would GPS. I'll try that I guess. But thank you for the great response and for taking a moment to help a fellow androidian out.

Thought:
Could it be that im downloading the rom to my iMac, transferring to my pc via flash drive thats corrupting it somehow? I dont have hemidal or samsung drivers on my imac but it seems to download the files faster thats why im doing that. But when it finishes its a folder not a .zip so I transfer it to my pc and compress it with 7zip.
I think other people are getting the same error tho as well so maybe not..

RussellEstridge25 said:
Wow, thank you sir. No one has ever explained it to me like you did. I honestly appreciate it. I have a PC running windows 7 and I also have an iMac for my music. Not saying I completely understand how to do what your telling me but it puts in to a much greater perspective and for that, thank you. I know something is going wrong. This isn't my first rodeo but I definitely don't know how to change stuff around or dissect it yet. I started rooting and modifying about a year ago. Im a tech so in interests me. But I don't all that much time to dissect yet or understand what your saying exactly. I guess I just need a good download. Maybe I'll try the N8000 version instead. I don't care about the GPS and I use VOIP a lot more than I would GPS. I'll try that I guess. But thank you for the great response and for taking a moment to help a fellow androidian out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well to start, would be to download the Hashtab program and install it. That gives you easy access to the MD5 sums that you'll need so you can verify downloads.
Now on your Mac, I can only tell you how to do it from the command line. Open up a terminal window and type in without the quotes "md5 filename" replacing filename with the file you want the MD5 sum for.
Hashtab is a nice user friendly version, but it is a 3rd party program. Some people don't like those. So your choice there.
I can also tell you of the only real problem I have had so far with the Illusion Rom. Bluetooth Tethering doesn't work. Now what I mean by this is using Bluetooth on a Cell Phone to give Data to the Note is problematic. DHCP doesn't work til launched manually, and DNS servers don't work. So as long as you don't use Bluetooth Tethering for your Note you'll be fine. But if you use Bluetooth tethering ( a small group of people I know) might not want to upgrade quite yet.
RussellEstridge25 said:
Could it be that im downloading the rom to my iMac, transferring to my pc via flash drive thats corrupting it somehow? I dont have hemidal or samsung drivers on my imac but it seems to download the files faster thats why im doing that. But when it finishes its a folder not a .zip so I transfer it to my pc and compress it with 7zip.
I think other people are getting the same error tho as well so maybe not..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now this explains the entire problem... Your Mac is unzipping the file, and probably destroying some of the symbolic links. Rezipping it still leaves the broken links and causes problems. I don't remember how to tell OSX (Mac) not to auto unzip files. But you'll need to do that or download it on your PC.

Niscandia said:
Well to start, would be to download the Hashtab program and install it. That gives you easy access to the MD5 sums that you'll need so you can verify downloads.
Now on your Mac, I can only tell you how to do it from the command line. Open up a terminal window and type in without the quotes "md5 filename" replacing filename with the file you want the MD5 sum for.
Hashtab is a nice user friendly version, but it is a 3rd party program. Some people don't like those. So your choice there.
I can also tell you of the only real problem I have had so far with the Illusion Rom. Bluetooth Tethering doesn't work. Now what I mean by this is using Bluetooth on a Cell Phone to give Data to the Note is problematic. DHCP doesn't work til launched manually, and DNS servers don't work. So as long as you don't use Bluetooth Tethering for your Note you'll be fine. But if you use Bluetooth tethering ( a small group of people I know) might not want to upgrade quite yet.
Now this explains the entire problem... Your Mac is unzipping the file, and probably destroying some of the symbolic links. Rezipping it still leaves the broken links and causes problems. I don't remember how to tell OSX (Mac) not to auto unzip files. But you'll need to do that or download it on your PC.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont you mean how to tell a mac how to autozip the files? But again thank you. That helps a lot.

RussellEstridge25 said:
Dont you mean how to tell a mac how to autozip the files? But again thank you. That helps a lot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From how it sounds your Mac is auto-unzipping. You want the Mac to leave the downloaded zip file & leave it alone. Not to unzip & rezip it up. That is what is causing trouble, the unzipping and rezipping more then likely. So disable the "expand archives". Doing a quick search try reading up on it here to get Safari to behave. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1483114?start=0&tstart=0

Niscandia said:
From how it sounds your Mac is auto-unzipping. You want the Mac to leave the downloaded zip file & leave it alone. Not to unzip & rezip it up. That is what is causing trouble, the unzipping and rezipping more then likely. So disable the "expand archives". Doing a quick search try reading up on it here to get Safari to behave. https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1483114?start=0&tstart=0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you thank you thank you. You answered me exactly the way I needed to hear it. :good:

RussellEstridge25 said:
Thank you thank you thank you. You answered me exactly the way I needed to hear it. :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just needed that key piece of info. That you where rezipping the file after using your Mac to download it.
Hope it installs this time around. But I would suggest learning how to check the MD5 sums as well. Doesn't hurt to be careful.

Niscandia said:
Just needed that key piece of info. That you where rezipping the file after using your Mac to download it.
Hope it installs this time around. But I would suggest learning how to check the MD5 sums as well. Doesn't hurt to be careful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I completely agree. And I plan to. Didnt know it would be that easy. Again thanks man. But you completely helped me understand. I love learning about this when there is someone willing to teach.

I just downloaded the rom on my pc and its doing what it was before. I try putting the zip file in to my internal sd on my tablet and it says "CAN NOT COPY ITEM, The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected"
It has not I can assure you. I've tried rebooting the tablet and pc when this happened before and still with no avail. I can copy other files to my tablet no problem. I've never ran into this before.
I cant even open the zip file or extract it to my desktop right now. Seriously, what the hell.
says windows cant open it cause the file is invalid. Must be that MD5 thing your tellin me to do. So now That im doing it on my windows pc should I install that program you mentioned?

RussellEstridge25 said:
I just downloaded the rom on my pc and its doing what it was before. I try putting the zip file in to my internal sd on my tablet and it says "CAN NOT COPY ITEM, The device has either stopped responding or has been disconnected"
It has not I can assure you. I've tried rebooting the tablet and pc when this happened before and still with no avail. I can copy other files to my tablet no problem. I've never ran into this before.
I cant even open the zip file or extract it to my desktop right now. Seriously, what the hell.
says windows cant open it cause the file is invalid. Must be that MD5 thing your tellin me to do. So now That im doing it on my windows pc should I install that program you mentioned?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've had that problem before with windows. Not sure exactly what causes it, my guess is some data on the usb connection is causing it. Wrong driver or something.
When it happens changing USB ports, sometimes helps. Or you can use ADB to copy the file over. Not sure if you have used ADB before or not. The third way is to pull the Micro SD card out of your Note, and use an adapter (SD to USB) to put the file directly onto it from windows.
Only options I can think of off the top of my head for that problem. But it is one I've seen before.

Niscandia said:
I've had that problem before with windows. Not sure exactly what causes it, my guess is some data on the usb connection is causing it. Wrong driver or something.
When it happens changing USB ports, sometimes helps. Or you can use ADB to copy the file over. Not sure if you have used ADB before or not. The third way is to pull the Micro SD card out of your Note, and use an adapter (SD to USB) to put the file directly onto it from windows.
Only options I can think of off the top of my head for that problem. But it is one I've seen before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great ideas! I can try the sd one tomorrow. Day 3 lol. Wish Me luck

I may have missed this part, so I apologize. Is there any reason you can't just download it directly from the tablet, saving it to the sd card? It would assuredly cut down on the headache and potential file corruption during transfer between devices.

spycedtx said:
I may have missed this part, so I apologize. Is there any reason you can't just download it directly from the tablet, saving it to the sd card? It would assuredly cut down on the headache and potential file corruption during transfer between devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Already got cm10.3 up and running. The developer gave me a nightly build that had all the files taken out already. Had to download it twice but got it after putting it on my internal memory. Thank you for your help. The note 10.1 has a good community of people.

[Q] Installing Illusion Rom 2.6 S3

I'm pretty new at installing Roms and such, but I do have a successful install of the Illusion Rom 2.6 Beta on my phone. I tried to update, and I couldn't get the file to install.
I use ClockworkMod, and when I try to install the ZIP from my external SD, it tells me there's something wrong with the file. I have downloaded it multiple times, thinking maybe it was a corrupted copy I put on. Same results. (Now, I could be missing something, as the file is listed as a Grouper, and I'm not sure what that means.)
Any suggestions or info would be very helpful. Thank you!

Aliselyn said:
I'm pretty new at installing Roms and such, but I do have a successful install of the Illusion Rom 2.6 Beta on my phone. I tried to update, and I couldn't get the file to install.
I use ClockworkMod, and when I try to install the ZIP from my external SD, it tells me there's something wrong with the file. I have downloaded it multiple times, thinking maybe it was a corrupted copy I put on. Same results. (Now, I could be missing something, as the file is listed as a Grouper, and I'm not sure what that means.)
Any suggestions or info would be very helpful. Thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As you wrote, the file may be corrupted during downlad. Why don't you check the MD5 ( check with google to learn how). Another reason that, the file may be something else than the required rom.

TWRP backups

So I tried my first Nandroid backup today using TWRP and a howtogeek - "How to Back Up and Restore Your Android Phone with TWRP" guide I found off a quick google search.
Basically TWRP, backup(boot,system,data), reboot to android, shut down, twrp-restore then reboot.
When I would reboot after TWRP-restore, it shows the typical bootloader corrupt error msg.
Shuts down again, shows the bootloader msg, then goes into TWRP, asks for my decrypt password, then begins to run an openrecovery script (I think?) of some sort. I then go to reboot my phone again, bang factory reset mode.
I hope I'm not alone here.:cyclops: I'd just really love to be able to backup/image my phone entirely so I can try out a few custom roms, and for general knowledge sake.
thanks!:silly:

mark7807 said:
So I tried my first Nandroid backup today using TWRP and a howtogeek - "How to Back Up and Restore Your Android Phone with TWRP" guide I found off a quick google search.
Basically TWRP, backup(boot,system,data), reboot to android, shut down, twrp-restore then reboot.
When I would reboot after TWRP-restore, it shows the typical bootloader corrupt error msg.
Shuts down again, shows the bootloader msg, then goes into TWRP, asks for my decrypt password, then begins to run an openrecovery script (I think?) of some sort. I then go to reboot my phone again, bang factory reset mode.
I hope I'm not alone here.:cyclops: I'd just really love to be able to backup/image my phone entirely so I can try out a few custom roms, and for general knowledge sake.
thanks!:silly:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of TWRP have you been using? I understand, RC2 has issues with properly restoring a backup. (RC is release candidate and is not considered fully stable, however, works well enough to flash custom roms and such).
The partitions on the pixel are set up in a more complex way than previously seen on many android phones, which is why there's no perfectly stable version of TWRP yet. You could try using RC1 to see if you get better luck backing up and restoring, however, you should assume that you may run into other issues and be prepared to deal with them should they arise.

exad said:
What version of TWRP have you been using? I understand, RC2 has issues with properly restoring a backup. (RC is release candidate and is not considered fully stable, however, works well enough to flash custom roms and such).
The partitions on the pixel are set up in a more complex way than previously seen on many android phones, which is why there's no perfectly stable version of TWRP yet. You could try using RC1 to see if you get better luck backing up and restoring, however, you should assume that you may run into other issues and be prepared to deal with them should they arise.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm running 3.1.0-0RC2 so maybe I'll try RC1. Normally I'd just go off and try everything but unfortunately I'm not in a situation I can simply play with my Pixel and potentially brick it leaving me without a phone for who knows how long.
I don't think there would be any harm with playing with RC1 but I'll research a little bit more into it and see what I can find out first. I heard the partitions are split for redundancy(?) for firmware upgrades and dual-booting. That's something all else on it's own as I've REALLY wanted to get my phone ultimately on a Multi-Rom setup but it seems way too complicated for me at the moment to try on my own even though I'm generally good with this stuff..
Thanks exad for the insight. Any other help is greatly appreciated.

mark7807 said:
I'm running 3.1.0-0RC2 so maybe I'll try RC1. Normally I'd just go off and try everything but unfortunately I'm not in a situation I can simply play with my Pixel and potentially brick it leaving me without a phone for who knows how long.
I don't think there would be any harm with playing with RC1 but I'll research a little bit more into it and see what I can find out first. I heard the partitions are split for redundancy(?) for firmware upgrades and dual-booting. That's something all else on it's own as I've REALLY wanted to get my phone ultimately on a Multi-Rom setup but it seems way too complicated for me at the moment to try on my own even though I'm generally good with this stuff..
Thanks exad for the insight. Any other help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would say use RC1 too. I've used it and never had a problem with it other than the occasional failure to decrypt which is no big deal. Just reboot back into recovery. I would add though, instead of backing up system, backup system image. Also vendor image. If you back up system instead of system image you'll more than likely run into battery drain problems. I'm not sure what causes it but it'll cut your battery life down to only several hours. Using system image doesn't cause that problem.
If you should happen to accidentally backup system instead of system image it's not a huge deal to fix it though. If you're on stock just download the factory image that you are currently on, extract the system.img file and flash it using fastboot. If you're on a custom rom, a dirty flash of the rom will fix it.

mark7807 said:
I'm running 3.1.0-0RC2 so maybe I'll try RC1. Normally I'd just go off and try everything but unfortunately I'm not in a situation I can simply play with my Pixel and potentially brick it leaving me without a phone for who knows how long.
I don't think there would be any harm with playing with RC1 but I'll research a little bit more into it and see what I can find out first. I heard the partitions are split for redundancy(?) for firmware upgrades and dual-booting. That's something all else on it's own as I've REALLY wanted to get my phone ultimately on a Multi-Rom setup but it seems way too complicated for me at the moment to try on my own even though I'm generally good with this stuff..
Thanks exad for the insight. Any other help is greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RC1 and backup system image, vendor image, data and boot.

robocuff said:
I would say use RC1 too. I've used it and never had a problem with it other than the occasional failure to decrypt which is no big deal. Just reboot back into recovery. I would add though, instead of backing up system, backup system image. Also vendor image. If you back up system instead of system image you'll more than likely run into battery drain problems. I'm not sure what causes it but it'll cut your battery life down to only several hours. Using system image doesn't cause that problem.
If you should happen to accidentally backup system instead of system image it's not a huge deal to fix it though. If you're on stock just download the factory image that you are currently on, extract the system.img file and flash it using fastboot. If you're on a custom rom, a dirty flash of the rom will fix it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TheBurgh said:
RC1 and backup system image, vendor image, data and boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks again guys,
I ran a
fastboot boot twrp.zip to boot to what I thought was like a "live cd" version of twrp
with the rc1 .img and .zip in the sdcard directory I installed the .zip
booted my phone and it forces to recovery everytime now.
did I upset something?
I mean at this point, I could factory reset the google pixel all from the very beginning of time. boot/system the whole shabang, but I think this could be a good lesson from me if I could boot back to system out of this..
Okay. I have RC1 on here and have backed up to USB. I'm extremely tired and going to bed. I'll report back on how the restore goes. THANK YOU ALL!!!

mark7807 said:
Thanks again guys,
I ran a
fastboot boot twrp.zip to boot to what I thought was like a "live cd" version of twrp
with the rc1 .img and .zip in the sdcard directory I installed the .zip
booted my phone and it forces to recovery everytime now.
did I upset something?
I mean at this point, I could factory reset the google pixel all from the very beginning of time. boot/system the whole shabang, but I think this could be a good lesson from me if I could boot back to system out of this..
Okay. I have RC1 on here and have backed up to USB. I'm extremely tired and going to bed. I'll report back on how the restore goes. THANK YOU ALL!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay so, I stayed up a little late and tried a restore. I got this error near the end of the restore "extractTarFork() process ended with error: 255" in which resulted in corruption of files and a failed restore. Was I supposed to unmount data? Is there any reason I can't backup all partitions?

mark7807 said:
Okay so, I stayed up a little late and tried a restore. I got this error near the end of the restore "extractTarFork() process ended with error: 255" in which resulted in corruption of files and a failed restore. Was I supposed to unmount data? Is there any reason I can't backup all partitions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure where to direct you at this point. I have always used RC1 and backed up system image, vendor image, data and boot and never had a problem restoring. Someone with better knowledge will come around.

TheBurgh said:
Not sure where to direct you at this point. I have always used RC1 and backed up system image, vendor image, data and boot and never had a problem restoring. Someone with better knowledge will come around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah very strange I did exactly what you told me to do as well. Any changes to partitions I backup if my phone is rooted by chance??

mark7807 said:
Yeah very strange I did exactly what you told me to do as well. Any changes to partitions I backup if my phone is rooted by chance??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I am aware of. Mine is rooted and backups have been smooth sailing.

I recently attempted creating a nandroid backup via TWRP on my rooted Pixel and I'm consistently getting an error: 'cannot create [path]\backup file" message from TWRP. Is there a permission issue that I've overlooked here or does anyone have any thoughts as to why my rooted Pixel would be denying TWRP authority to create the backup?
Thanks

What version of twrp ?
I only use rc1, never seen this.

Yep- RC1. I'm thinking it's in 'read only' mode or something because as soon as it attempts to create the folder/file- no-go.

pstgh said:
Yep- RC1. I'm thinking it's in 'read only' mode or something because as soon as it attempts to create the folder/file- no-go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you boot into TWRP did it ask for your unlock PIN? If it doesn't/didn't, either keep rebooting into recovery or turn the phone off and go back into recovery until TWRP does ask for your encryption PIN. Sometimes TWRP doesn't ask, and without the PIN being entered, it can't write to the internal storage.
If you click "Install" in TWRP and see a bunch of gobbledygook it's because the internal storage is still encrypted so TWRP can't do anything with it.
You could probably use USB OTG through the USB-C connector, though, to do a backup to it, if you need to.

Tried it again and it worked flawlessly.... it seems sort of buggy in that sometimes it presents the 'pattern' security lock that I use and sometimes it doesn't. After booting up in the bootloader and fastbooting the TWRP boot image slowly and methodically, the security pattern came up and all is perfect- thanks.
---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 PM ----------
Now I'm wondering how to best move that backup folder (or a copy of it) over to Google Drive? I have root explorer, but not sure if it is capable of mounting to Google Drive.. any thoughts on best practices here would be appreciated.
Thanks

pstgh said:
Tried it again and it worked flawlessly.... it seems sort of buggy in that sometimes it presents the 'pattern' security lock that I use and sometimes it doesn't. After booting up in the bootloader and fastbooting the TWRP boot image slowly and methodically, the security pattern came up and all is perfect- thanks.
---------- Post added at 08:37 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:36 PM ----------
Now I'm wondering how to best move that backup folder (or a copy of it) over to Google Drive? I have root explorer, but not sure if it is capable of mounting to Google Drive.. any thoughts on best practices here would be appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't confirm since I've yet to do a successful backup but... Flashify Pro version looks like an option???
also
Anyone know when TWRP 3.1.0-0 will be out for Pixel? Looks like it addresses boot slots which off first glance seems like quite a fundamental feature no?

Thanks... I'm thinking I'll just adb pull the file over to my desktop... not sure.

pstgh said:
Thanks... I'm thinking I'll just adb pull the file over to my desktop... not sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root Explorer does have support for Google Drive. In Root Explorer touch the plus sign in the lower right corner and in the menu that opens choose Google Drive tab.

Can get Root Explorer to connect to Google Drive, but when I select all of the backup files from my Pixel's TWRP backup folder, my only choices are to cut or copy them- so I tried both and then RE creates this little clipboard icon that you presumably click on to paste them once you've opened the proper GD folder.... so I tried that and in both cases (cut and copy) it says 'fail'.... ? Thoughts? I've given RE permission to manage folders and files in GD.

pstgh said:
Can get Root Explorer to connect to Google Drive, but when I select all of the backup files from my Pixel's TWRP backup folder, my only choices are to cut or copy them- so I tried both and then RE creates this little clipboard icon that you presumably click on to paste them once you've opened the proper GD folder.... so I tried that and in both cases (cut and copy) it says 'fail'.... ? Thoughts? I've given RE permission to manage folders and files in GD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you've got the right idea. Cut will move the files, copy will do just that. You choose one of the two and browse to the Google Drive tab, find the folder you want to use and then use the little clipboard thing to transfer the files to that folder. If that's what you're doing, the only thing I can think of right off the top of my head would be that you don't have enough space left on Google Drive for the size of the files you're trying to transfer. Try a picture or something and see if it takes that. If so, I'd suspect lack of Drive space is the reason it fails.