a complicated rooting/resetting situation - G1 General

i bought an htc dream/g1 from ebay new. the catch is that it's in chinese (didn't know this when i bought it). i've set it to english, but the market place, among some other system dialogues are still in chinese. i've managed to log into my google account by guessing, but i'm getting error messages i can't read, and the whole market interface is in chinese.
so i CAN'T use the android market to download a file manager, or download anything at all (which seems to be required in order to root it). i can mount the sd card and access it in windows.
what i really want to do is just delete everything on there, os and all, and start from scratch (the same way i could with an iphone). the most important thing is that it be in english. secondly that it run smoothly. after that it would be nice if it could be a sense ui rom, but that is not required, i guess.
please, any help at all would be appreciated! i'm new to android and i can't figure all these issues out at once and in mandarin.

I would suggest downgrading to RC29 or RC7, but those are US and UK firmwares. What firmware version is it? it would be useful for us to have all the information in Settings > About. If it's on 1.5 you should be able to use the 'flashrec' method, but I guess that will ake some trial and error.

Related

HELP ! ROM Update to Android 2.0 / 2.1

Hey Guys at first sorry for my english i'm not good in it. And I'm a Android newbie I just gained a bit exerience with my Touch Diamond but it's broken now..okay but that's not the probleme....
If got a question:
After about 2 days of searching for an android 2.0 or 2.1 ROM I was a little bit confused of the diffrent news everybody was talking about. I'm root on my Hero. That was the first an last thing I made with my device.
1. Everybody is gonna talk about MoDaCo 3.0 but when I was trying to download his ROM my browser never got a request. Is the site down, where that ROM is hosted ?? Could someone give me a working link with this ROM ??
2. Is there a ROM with Android 2.0 or 2.1 outside or even not ??? And if yes are they working well ???
Would be nice if someone can help me =) thanks a lot.
Please answer soon if you know something about that =)
Greetz BassdoxXx
you can get modaco's roms at his website, www.modaco.com.
in the android development section there are some 2.0/1 roms, none of them works flawless, see for yourself if it fits your needs.
Thanks a lot for your fast answer. =)
The problem that i couldn't open the modaco page was my isp -.- i downloaded it at school
BassdoxXx said:
Thanks a lot for your fast answer. =)
The problem that i couldn't open the modaco page was my isp -.- i downloaded it at school
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What? Does ISP's block that site? Lol, would never happened in Norway
there is a few 2.0+ roms out there for the hero.
most seem to be very usable now.
best sense ui would be lox/behnaam community release on 1.6.
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1448
there are two aosp roms worth looking at.
lox aosp ( im using that on a daily basis)
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1416
jnwhiteh aosp
http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1528
Hello all,
I am having very specific request when it comes to choosing a proper rom for install on to my hero.
I am blind. Stock roms are only running Android 1.5. More robust accessibility features are available starting with Android 1.6 and improving even more with Android 2.0.
So for sure I am forced to upgrade my hand set.
There are various roms, some of their authors have even disable google specific features so I know I can't install such a rom.
All the accessibility efforts are being lead by the google developers.
Most likely these accessibility tools won't be usefull to most of you but please can anyone recommend me a rom where market is working and where the following applications can be installed and used?
- eyesfree suite of applications,
- talkback - the google screen reader for android,
- tts service.
All possible help is already appreciated.
sorry for the double posting. I've accidentally posted twice and I am unable to remove the post.
Hope anybody can help me please.
pvdeejay said:
Hello all,
I am having very specific request when it comes to choosing a proper rom for install on to my hero.
I am blind. Stock roms are only running Android 1.5. More robust accessibility features are available starting with Android 1.6 and improving even more with Android 2.0.
So for sure I am forced to upgrade my hand set.
There are various roms, some of their authors have even disable google specific features so I know I can't install such a rom.
All the accessibility efforts are being lead by the google developers.
Most likely these accessibility tools won't be usefull to most of you but please can anyone recommend me a rom where market is working and where the following applications can be installed and used?
- eyesfree suite of applications,
- talkback - the google screen reader for android,
- tts service.
All possible help is already appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i am on mcr3.0, i looked in the market, i can find 8 apps for eyesfree, tts is one of these. i didn't try to install one of these, but usually it works. the search for talkback returned nothing.
not that i want to be rude, but wouldn't you be better off with another phone if you are blind? i can not imagine a touchscreen only phone would be suitable for someone who is not able to see... especially because there are great devices out there that have a full qwerty keyboard, and come with android 2.0 out of the box... imho this would be a better solution.
again, the last thing i want to be is rude, but maybe this was your mistake: you posted in the htc hero section of this forum, the hero is a touch screen only device, including a virtual keyboard on the screen. it has only six buttons and a trackball, and two rocker buttons for the volume. just to make clear we are talking about the same device
if you are still up for the hero you could try the 2.1 rom from here: http://htcpedia.com/forum/showthread.php?p=30418&posted=1#post30418
best you try for yourself, it has some drawbacks, but maybe in areas you don't need (afaik syncing with exchange does not work for example, which wouldn't be a problem for me...). otherwise it might be worth to wait another week or two, we all are waiting unpatiently for the official eclair release from htc
keep asking if you need to know more, but maybe open a new thread, since your problems are very specific, and might drown between all the newbies question about "how to root my phone".
Hello,
Thanks for your reply and a great attitude.
Yes it may sound strange I have really got HTC Hero here. I know I'll be having problems with virtual keyboard but also I am afraid accessibility features of Android phones are not really such mastered one can use it daily. For example reading emails and content from the web browser is not yet possible. I just want to try how things work and I would also like to touch the virtual keyboard. If I can memorize computer keyboard and use it daily, typewriter keyboard, nokia mobile phone keyboard, then perhaps I might be able to make some use of this too.
I am sory but here are some more questions:
I haven't yet verified with some sighted friends but... is it possible my hero is running even older version of android like Android 1.5? I've based the assumption that it's most likelly running 1.5 because majority of the devices I was reading on the net are running it.
You've been triyng to locate eyes-free applications on the market but you were unable to find talkback. Are you sure you are running newer version of Android than 1.5?
Talkback is supposed to be installed with Android 1.6 andd 2.0 by default and you should be able to find it in the accessibility menu of your phone. I am not sure how well this applies to the custom roms.
Talkback requires google's accessibility api which is reported to be available on Android 1.6 upwards.
To tell you the full story first I've asked on the eyes-free google group whether some accessibility experts from there can help me but no one knowledgeable enough has replied to my query, so I'm trying my luck here then.
Oh I am really excited since I've got really well formed informative reply.
Thanks again
Edit:
Also, I've seen somewhere in the forums here this leaked HTC rom does not support the market. Has this been rectified already? You know if market does not work then most likelly I won't be able to install these applications I am tallking about.
Also you are mentioning possibility to wait a few weeks until HTC guys role out the official update for Hero. Wouldn't that break chances I will be able to root my device later?
Edit2:
Ooops, I should read better next time. Market works on this rom. The problem is paid apps can't be installed which is hopefully not a big issue for me since most of the accessibility enabled applications are free.
Which of the downloads from Hero 21 do I need?
63.18.55.06JU_6.35.09.26) or No Wipe Download. I will need a wipe I am sure but since this link says nowipe I am ehmmm. confused.
pvdeejay,
Unfortunately there is not an 'official' update for Android 1.6, 2.0 or 2.1 as of yet. There are rumours of one coming out soon, but nothing cast-iron yet.
You are correct in that the Hero runs 1.5. It does say it under Settings | About Phone (bottom item on list)| Firmware Version (bottom on list again), although without a working screen reader, there is probably little use in knowing how to find that.
If you did want to upgrade, I'm sure plenty of people could help find a ROM that would suit. The only issue with that is that you would need a rooted phone with a custom recovery image installed. Unfortunately, a lot of the procedures would not be easy for you, as the software that you might need to use to go through the procedure is probably not designed that well for accessibility tools. I don't know what kind of software you are using, but some of the instructions for making goldcards are quite complex, and involve editing some numbers in a 'table' which could be quite difficult for you, I would imagine.
I'm sure a friend would be able to help you out with making a goldcard/rooting if you did want to install a custom ROM (you'll probably be waiting a while otherwise ). They could even root their phone while doing yours (just share the goldcard between the devices).
Nonetheless, there is probably a ROM out there with little removed from it. I'll have a look just now, but you would need to have your phone rooted to do anything just now.
When it comes to rooting and installing custom recovery image. Do you thing the following instructions might work for me?
These instructions don't require a gold card:
- How to Root HTC Hero and Install Amon Ra Recovery Image
- How to install a custom rom on a HTC Hero
Hello,
Here are some numbers I've asked my friend to read from system -> about screen. The phone interface is in czech so I am unable to get some names translated to english, but I believe some of the geeks will understand these identifiers and might be able to help me what is best:
Code:
firmware: 1,5
63.118.55.O6U|6.35.04.25
2.6.27-a5504199
Build number: 1.76.405.6 146733 CL# 47214 release-keys
Software version: 1.0.0.A6288
pvdeejay,
to sum it up:
the hero definitly runs on android 1.5. there are no roms for older android versions, and a few homebrewn for newer versions, as we said already.
i searched for talkbalk on my 1.5 rom, so it is obvious that i couldn't find it...
about rooting of newer roms: it is just a matter of time, sooner or later there will be always methods of rooting a rom. what i meant by waiting is: wait until the official update is out, then wait a few more hours until the first rooted and customized rom is out
@pvdeejay,
I would have to agree with kendong2 that waiting for the official ROM is probably the best idea for you at the moment. There are no guarantees that an unofficial ROM would help, and it would be another user interface to try and learn.
@kendon,
I noticed he has the original, easily rooted version of the hero. IIRC, that is what I had on my G2 (and had the security unlocked bootloader out the box). If that's the case, would pvdeejay be able to 'fastboot boot' a full system img file for the purposes of testing it out to see if it meets the requirements.
The reason I ask is that I've only ever fastbooted my AmonRA recovery (I didn't flash it, because I never felt any need to). I'm guessing you could fastboot a full img, but I'm not sure about the practical issues of where it would be stored in memory...
Sorry guys originally I believed I am slowly getting into the matter and am begining to understand how flashing / rooting / upgrading home brew firmwares works on these phones.
After these 2 posts I feel like a total noob again.
Now again some very concrete questions:
What about these 2 guides I've posted links to?
Can I somehow got [Recovery] [13-Dec-2009] RA-hero-v1.5.2 installed so I will be able to do nandroid backup and then possibly flash some new roms?
Can I really brick my phone by trying to install amon ra?
Originally I thought the process works as follows:
1) get the custom recovery image installed (that's the amon ra in this case),
2) do a nandroid backup which will dump everything usefull on to the memory card,
3) backup and reformat the card,
4) download a rom, rename it to update.zip, put it onto the root folder of the cart, reboot the hero in recovery mode, do the wipe of the data partition, and run update,
5) reboot again and believe it's good.
Also some very significant bit is the thing you are all calling the radio. I am afraid I've not identified this bit thus it's missing in this summary.
Which files will I need to download if I decide to try Android 2.1 community edition 1.8? Are these files I've copied links to a few posts earlier both needed?
Can you please check this list, identify the things I am missing, and make suggestions and corrections why this may not work on my device based off of those number I tried to put down here?
Even if I won't be able to do this right now I'd be happy to get corrections as I can learn something new.
Of course I won't be doing all this on my own. I will ask my bro to read all the stuff to me and we'll do it according to your advices.
To give some bits about me and my computer skills, I believe I am a Windows power user, Basically I do also understand unix, I know what's bash how the files are arranged in a file system, can use command-line tools, telnet, ssh. I am working as a network administrator here so some background is there really.
Hi pvdeejay,
Answers to your questions here.
You can actually use fastboot to 'temporarily' load up the AmonRA recovery image into memory and run it from there. I do that on my phone, for the simple reason that I can't be bothered ) ) to flash the recovery. Once you get AmonRA running, the first thing you should do is make a Nandroid backup. It will be saved to your SD card, so then get the nandroid directory of your card and save it to your PC (just in case!)
So, here's how you'd go about this.
(Make sure you have the android sdk installed, and that adb and fastboot commands are working). USB cable should be plugged in throughout.
Before you begin, put the ROM you want (ie. Android 2.1 community edition 1.8) into the root of the microSD card (a .zip file).
Code:
adb devices
Should list your phone's serial number
Now turn off the phone, and turn it on with the back key held down (the one at the very bottom right of the device).
You should enter fastboot mode. Now type
Code:
fastboot devices
and you should see the serial number again.
Now type
Code:
fastboot boot AmonRA.img
where AmonRA.img is a file in your present working directory that is the filename of the latest custom recovery image. This does NOT flash your phone, it merely runs the image (pretty much as close as you get to risk free, other than sitting there with a tinfoil hat on )
See screenshot of the recovery image here:
http://www.sizzledcore.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/RA-hero-recovery-image-500x375.jpg
Make the Nandroid backup by choosing 'Nandroid Vx.x Backup' and waiting a while.
If your ROM needs a wipe first (most new ones do), select Wipe data/factory reset. You will lose all your user data on the device (but you've got a nandroid backup just in case)
You're now good to go. So choose "Apply sdcard:choose zip"
Now select the custom ROM zip file you downloaded. It doesn't even need to be called update.zip! Choose it from the list and push trackball.
Wait for the update.zip to go in. Do NOT turn off the device or pull the battery. First boot can take a very long time (upto 30 minutes). Just keep it plugged in via USB and wait...
As for radios, see http://android.modaco.com/content/h...-24-11-hero-roms-radios-in-update-zip-format/ and look at the section titled radios. The latest one is in bold. It is a .zip file as well, that you use these exact same instructions for to install (don't do the wipe or anything like that. Just install the .zip file)
anon2122 said:
@kendon,
I noticed he has the original, easily rooted version of the hero. IIRC, that is what I had on my G2 (and had the security unlocked bootloader out the box). If that's the case, would pvdeejay be able to 'fastboot boot' a full system img file for the purposes of testing it out to see if it meets the requirements.
The reason I ask is that I've only ever fastbooted my AmonRA recovery (I didn't flash it, because I never felt any need to). I'm guessing you could fastboot a full img, but I'm not sure about the practical issues of where it would be stored in memory...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
this is correct so far, i did the same, except i installed the recovery. i play a lot with my phone, the installed recovery image with the nandroid backup is the best i have ever seen for a phone...
@pvdeejay
you always write so much...
i try to answer everything:
the two guides you posted are good for your situation. i never tried flashrec, but from what i read it is safe to use. i installed my recovery image through fastboot, the guide is here: http://android.modaco.com/content/h...ng-the-patched-recovery-image-on-your-device/
i have no idea how this works out for you, but my honest suggestion would be that you have someone seeing assisting you, you CAN brick your phone, though it is not likely if you follow the instructions precisely. the process is not very time consuming at all, so you don't need to bother anyone for days of their time.
edit: and now i read your post to the end and saw that your brother will be helping you, so you are on the right track
once you have the recovery installed you can make nandroid backups, and i would suggest that you do this first thing after installing the recovery, better make a backup too much than one too less...
the 5 steps you described are correct, except there is no need to rename the zipfile anymore, you can select any .zip from your sdcard.
the radio part is the number that begins with 63.18.55.06, then comes two letters and then more numbers. as by now the version can be identified by the letters, with JU being the up-to-date one. in general you can say the newer the better, but you have to try for yourself. start with the newest one, if you have problems go back.
thanks this seems to be pretty doable plus I will easily be able to restore the current data backed using nandroid backup.
Which android SDK do I need the latest one?
The commands I need to type are supposed to be typed on the PC or on the phone? I assume on the PC but I just would like to ensure.
Hero21 1.8 community edition has a recommended radio listed in the first post. Is it necessary to install that one as well? What should I install first the actual rom or the radio? Do I need installing radio at all? Should i do the same with radio i.e. renaming it to update.zip and using amonra to install it?
Also will I be able to use this method even if I install another rom (running amonra without actually flashing it)?
Edit:
sorry guys did not realize renaming to update.zip is no longer needed.
Edit2:
is there an easy way on how to access sd card from windows? I can't just remove the card from phone and insert it into my laptop because I don't have the proper adapter. Previously my boss was using the hero and perhaps it would be nice to backup the sd card first.
Edit3:
uhmmm, installing android sdk is perhaps not as simple as it sounds.
I have just seen this article.
I am on a limited gprs internet connection, can you please suggest sdk features I won't need to save some download bandwith?
- you need only the adb binary (thats adb.exe for windows) from the sdk, the rest is not needed for this.
- install the radio from the 2.1community-rom-thread, it is the newest. install the radio first. DO NOT PULL THE BATTERY until the phone has rebooted completely. if you pull the battery during radio upgrade your phone will be dead. it takes a few minutes, do not panic!
- you can copy the contents of the sdcard via the usb-cable, plug it into your pc and pull down the notification bar...
Do I need to run SDK Setup.exe when I have downloaded android sdk for windows?
Or can I simply run that binary from the command-line without the installation?
Do I need any USB drivers so my phone can be recognized?

[Q] root/unroot

Hello
Let me start with admitting that I'm a newbie, a green one, whatever you want. I've bought my WF, my first smartphone, one week ago, and after a day a was confronted with my first limitation: I can't make access to the cisco vpn that my university uses.
I've started looking on the internet, and my only hope is a program called VPN connection, which needs root access to work. Not only the fact that I couldn't install that specific application, but also the disappointment of a discovery that the open-source OS was in fact closed, made me want to root my phone.
So I again started to do research on the internet, mostly by night, which makes me sit like a zombie in lessons, but I've learned a lot. However, there are still a few questions, which I just can't find the answer for.. So I'm hoping one of you would be so kind to help me out a bit!
- I've come to find out that rooting te WF just changes the read/write access of the root directory. So rooting an sich will not change any of the files or settings, nor the language (Dutch). Is that right, or is there an install of a complete "customized" (English) ROM which make the cellphone look brand new?
- I've done some research on how to unroot the WF (I'm having a 2 year waranty..). I know you can download the original ROMs here (shipped-roms.com/shipped/Buzz/) but first of all, I don't know which one to pick, and second, will there be a Dutch one there? Because I'm not sure that they will accept the statement that my phone is suddenly turned English.
Those are in fact the only two questions I have (for now ). Thanks in advance to help me entering a whole new world!
Erwin
The Android OS is a linux. And for such OS, there is a user account with UID 0, thats the "root" account, who got all privileges on the system.
If you root your phone, you will give your "user", thats the user that runs the android OS, the ability to gain root privileges. Those are necessary to do administrative changes to the OS, same as on a usual linux OS.
So the root user is able to mount devices in read/write and do other stuff.
Most official Updates are multilanguage and they are official updates from HTC so even on warranty issues there should be no problem with it.
Warlord711,
Thank you very much for giving me this explanation! But when you talk about "root your phone", I still have a question. If I root my phone, it will be by the method of Unrevoked (Unrevoked 3.21). I understand that the user now has root privileges, but how is that being accomplished? Do they flash the phone with a new ROM, who has "build-in" extended privileges, or do they really change the privileges of some maps on the ROM that originally came with the phone?
In extend I want to make sure about something: so if I install an original UK ROM from shipped-roms.com, I can just install it with the clockworkmod on my device and do an official update, witch will make my phone dutch again?
Thanks in advance!
Erwin
No ferther explanation? A pitty..
they replace recovery system, but how they do it, thats a question
I came across this thread hoping for reassurance about not losing warranty in case of unrooting, and I'm joining just to say that Erwin's questions are really accurate, well written and most probably helpful for any other android newbies like me.. so let's answer him/us please!
cignu
ErwinP said:
Hello
- I've come to find out that rooting te WF just changes the read/write access of the root directory. So rooting an sich will not change any of the files or settings, nor the language (Dutch). Is that right, or is there an install of a complete "customized" (English) ROM which make the cellphone look brand new?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It will not change any of the settings, I myself had it in dutch too. It will be the same as you shut it down, only thing that has changed is the recovery mode (entered by holding the volume down and press the boot key)
ErwinP said:
- I've done some research on how to unroot the WF (I'm having a 2 year waranty..). I know you can download the original ROMs here (shipped-roms.com/shipped/Buzz/) but first of all, I don't know which one to pick, and second, will there be a Dutch one there? Because I'm not sure that they will accept the statement that my phone is suddenly turned English.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dont know either which one to pick, but I _DO_ know that if I pick the right one, it will include dutch, together with several others including English.

[Q] Help. Big noob with legend andriod.

Hey guys,
First and foremost, I would like to say I have no idea about anything, and everything on this website is in a foreign language to me (can't understand anything), so please bear with me. I set up a new thread because after reading everything, I still don't get anything (being a noob).
I just signed up with vodaphone in australia to get a HTC Legend (my first android and smart phone after using n73 for the last 3years). Everything is going fine until I wanted to get apps from the android market. I didnt have a gmail account, so I signed up for one through my computer. However, when i tried signing in through the phone google account set-up wizard, after waiting 5mins for the phone to communicate with google servers, it fails and the phone would not let me, citing that it cant establish a reliable data connection to the server, being a temporary problem (Tried it with both 3G and wi-fi, also with 2 other friend's log-in). Any help on this would be good. Also, with HTC sync 3.0, I was unable to sync and backup all my sms for a factory reset. Is there any other ways to do this without the apps? Additionally, I cannot update my software to Froyo (Firmware 2.2) FOTA or finding a download for it onto my comp as the phone says my software is up-to-date (But HTC Australia shows that there is an update for Software 2.2 FOTA).
Alright, I know what goes through your mind, get the apps to do that, but without the sign-up for gmail settings, I cant access Market, cant download apps, basically cant do anything (and mind you, I dont know about programming or xda or anything of that sort to check the shell script or whatever that goes on in the forum).
I've went around looking for answers but never really got a definition, mostly about how-to's which I am not interested as I have no idea what they are.
What is flashing?
What is rooting?
What is un-branded or Vodaphone branded (in my case, if it makes sense)?
What is a goldcard and what's it for?
Is RUU or custom rom or rom the same thing? does that have to do with my firmware? and what is it?
What's with downgrading and upgrading for other stuff (to versions 1.1/1.3)?
What is Clockwork and Fastmode and all those other stuff?
What's the latest firmware/software for Legend (2.2 or 3.0) as I have read threads with firmware 1.3 or 3.3 (or something of that sort)?
I know I AM the biggest noob you guys will ever find. Seriously, no websites actually explain all these stuff, and I'm getting paranoid over using an android phone. I know you guys might just tell me to get a simpler phone, but I upgraded to an android to know more about it.
Thanks in advance guys, if any help can be provided. I have a cool phone, but I wanna use it fully.
Regards,
William
Firmware version
2.1-update1
Baseband version
47.39.35.09U_7.08.35.21
Kernel version
2.6.29-8d705e0d
[email protected] #1
Build number
2.10.178.1 CL211993 release key
Software number
2.10.178.1
Browser version
Webkit 3.1
http://lifehacker.com/5717356/set-u...tm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)
^ To know more about your Android.
Try various Wi-fi settings till you get proper Wi-Fi signal.
http://zubu.ca/legend/fota_check.php shows that there is no update available for your build, I suggest you debrand.
I just helped about with the basics, the more experienced people will be able to answer you better. Did you get a black Legend?
hey man, thanks for that. mightily helpful.
however, wat do u mean by various settings for wifi? there arent much to set.
also, what do u mean by debranding as well? like not go vodaphone or smtg like dat?
btw, i have a silver Legend i think? the metallic case.
marder101 said:
Hey guys,
First and foremost, I would like to say I have no idea about anything, and everything on this website is in a foreign language to me (can't understand anything), so please bear with me. I set up a new thread because after reading everything, I still don't get anything (being a noob).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be prepared to learn, and to become less of a noob
marder101 said:
I just signed up with vodaphone in australia to get a HTC Legend (my first android and smart phone after using n73 for the last 3years). Everything is going fine until I wanted to get apps from the android market. I didnt have a gmail account, so I signed up for one through my computer. However, when i tried signing in through the phone google account set-up wizard, after waiting 5mins for the phone to communicate with google servers, it fails and the phone would not let me, citing that it cant establish a reliable data connection to the server, being a temporary problem (Tried it with both 3G and wi-fi, also with 2 other friend's log-in). Any help on this would be good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm, I got that once before. If there's a different wifi network that you can get access to, try that.
marder101 said:
Also, with HTC sync 3.0, I was unable to sync and backup all my sms for a factory reset. Is there any other ways to do this without the apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are apps on the market, if you can sort the issue above then check those out.
marder101 said:
Additionally, I cannot update my software to Froyo (Firmware 2.2) FOTA or finding a download for it onto my comp as the phone says my software is up-to-date (But HTC Australia shows that there is an update for Software 2.2 FOTA).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, some users still haven't received the update. A debrand will help
marder101 said:
Alright, I know what goes through your mind, get the apps to do that, but without the sign-up for gmail settings, I cant access Market, cant download apps, basically cant do anything (and mind you, I dont know about programming or xda or anything of that sort to check the shell script or whatever that goes on in the forum).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct, I have said about apps. If you temproot using visionary you can install Titanium backup which can backup everything. Both of these are available for "sideloading". Without a file manager on your phone I can't think of an easy way to install them. What I'd do is go to the settings, make sure USB debuging is on (Settings --> applications --> development) and then use adb to install it:
Code:
adb devices
adb install Visionary.apk
adb install Titanium-Backup.apk
This is assuming that you rename the files to Visionary and Titanium-Backup, and have them in the same directory as ADB. For an easy installation of ADB do this:
Download this file and unzip it to C:\Android\ADB\
Open cmd (start orb/button, type "cmd" and hit enter)
In cmd do this:
Code:
cd C:\Android\ADB
Now you can use the adb command listed above. If you have the apk files in the same folder you can pretty much copy-paste those commands
marder101 said:
I've went around looking for answers but never really got a definition, mostly about how-to's which I am not interested as I have no idea what they are.
What is flashing?
What is rooting?
What is un-branded or Vodaphone branded (in my case, if it makes sense)?
What is a goldcard and what's it for?
Is RUU or custom rom or rom the same thing? does that have to do with my firmware? and what is it?
What's with downgrading and upgrading for other stuff (to versions 1.1/1.3)?
What is Clockwork and Fastmode and all those other stuff?
What's the latest firmware/software for Legend (2.2 or 3.0) as I have read threads with firmware 1.3 or 3.3 (or something of that sort)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing is the process of writing a new operating system to NAND (internal) memory, otherwise known as flash memory
Rooting is like gaining administrator rights on a Windows PC. On Unix-like systems (Android, Linux, OSX) this is known as the root account, hence "rooting"
Vodafone branded means that Vodafone has it's logos and apps on there. Think of the ROM on your phone as a custom ROM, made by Vodafone. You need to wait for Vodafone to update it. Un-branded simply mean that all of that is gone, it's like having the ROM that HTC meant for it. So we only need to wait for HTC to update it
A goldcard is an SD card that has been specially prepared for making the phone think it's CID is different. I don't fully understand how it works, all we need to know is that it does, and that we need one for rooting
ROM and firmware are the same thing RUU is "ROM Upgrade Utility". It's a method made by HTC for upgrading the phones firmware. A custom ROM is simply a ROM that's been customised. It may be based on the official ROM from HTC, or the open source version of Android
ClockworkMOD is an open source recovery image. It allows us to do full backups of the NAND memory (nandroid backup), as well as easily installing new ROMs/updates. These come in zip files Fastboot is a way to test stuff quickly. It allows you to flash certain parts of a ROM without the need to flash the whole thing, as well as boot from a kernel that isn't flahed to the device. It's a dev thing
The latest version of Android for the Legend (officially) is 2.2. HTC firmwares follow a different numbering scheme. HTC ROMs v. 1.x and 2.x are based on Android 2.1, and v. 3.x is based on 2.2
marder101 said:
I know I AM the biggest noob you guys will ever find. Seriously, no websites actually explain all these stuff, and I'm getting paranoid over using an android phone. I know you guys might just tell me to get a simpler phone, but I upgraded to an android to know more about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get learnin'
I hope this helps
@GrammarFreak:
Thanks for your post! Even though I thought I kinda understood most things, this cleared a lot up for me!
RMWessels
No worries
ishan_rulz said:
http://lifehacker.com/5717356/set-u...tm_campaign=Feed:+lifehacker/full+(Lifehacker)
^ To know more about your Android.
Try various Wi-fi settings till you get proper Wi-Fi signal.
http://zubu.ca/legend/fota_check.php shows that there is no update available for your build, I suggest you debrand.
I just helped about with the basics, the more experienced people will be able to answer you better. Did you get a black Legend?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello her last day i got a new legend and it was black and it looks like my old htc hero

[Q] Rooting newer Nook version: how to know which software?

I have a Nook Simple Touch Glowlight with software verion 1.1.5. All the information that I've been able to Google is for 1.1.2, in fact that is the version that I still see on the B&N website.
I _think_ that I have found a suitable way to root the device with Nooter but I would like to know how to confirm that in fact this is the right project for my software version. I'm sorry that I cannot post a link to the Nooter project, but I have less than 10 posts.
Thanks.
There are at least two methods that work with the Glowworm.
You should not use any method until after you have
- made a noogie disk
- booted from it
- backed up your device
- restored that backup to a test disk (a 2 gig or larger microSD card, for instance) and confirmed that the test results in a disk that has 8 partitions.
Many people have made the backup but not tested it; when they tried to restore, they did bad to fatal things to their devices. A very common failure on restore seems to be only getting one partition restored and blowing out the other partitions.
I don't know if the stuff that eded is working on has come to fruition yet - he was looking at building a tool that could detect whether it was run on an NST or NSTG and root appropriately to the device.
The two routes I know work are:
- glownooter, the nooter project tool, includes Google apps and market support
- tinynoot, pasted together from various tools, gives you minimal root without google apps and with amazon appstore. Will work with either NST or NSTG because it's approach is so minimalist.
Thanks, roustabout! I will be sure to test the backups before I install anything else, then. Good to know!
In any case, what I am most concerned about is getting the right version of the rooting software for my device. I see that Nook devices have different firmware and that certain tools only work with certain firmware versions. I see no mention of my firmware version in any tools' websites, hence my apprehension.
hence the value of a backup
I saw your request on that and I think one of the issues here is that so many folks use Windows exclusively, and the backup process is so easy on linux that trying to tell people how to do it in Windows is like jabbing yourself in the eye with a stick, given that linux is free, vmware player is free, and linux can be installed and used for this job entirely in vmware player. On the other side of the coin, if you know nothing of linux, even using dd correctly will be a challenge since there's a pretty steep learning curve behind setting up a new OS successfully just to be able to get backups off an 80-130 dollar device.
In your case: as of now, there is only one firmware release for the glowlight. This is why the folks with the tools aren't mentioning it, aside from 'this is for a glowlight.'
I didn't mention it, but I also use Linux at home (Kubuntu, like Ubuntu but with a better UI). So many people are now using Ubuntu that I find it surprising that the instructions even bother mentioning the OSes for which the operation is as difficult as you say. I remember when doing things in Linux was hard and Windows was easy, and at that time Linux was hardly ever mentioned!
In your case: as of now, there is only one firmware release for the glowlight. This is why the folks with the tools aren't mentioning it, aside from 'this is for a glowlight.'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did not realize that the 1.1.5 release is glowlight-only. Great, thanks, I'm on to hacking this thing!
ok, so for you the backup process is:
- make the noogie disk
- put it into your device
- power cycle your device
- when it boots to "rooted forever," connect the USB cable to your linux box
- once the linux box mounts the NSTG as storage, pay attention to which device it is mounting it at. Assuming it's sdX:
- backup with dd if=/dev/sdX of=backup.img bs=1M
When that's done, disconnect your NSTG, throw media of some sort, larger than 2G, onto your box and test your restore with
dd if=backup.img of=/dev/sdY bs=1M
Once that's done, do an
fdisk /dev/sdY
and a
p to print the partition table.
You should have 8 partitions (and your backup.img file should be just under 2 gig.)
Hack away; if you ever need to restore, you can just drop the virgin image back on.
I take a snapshot like this of my device every so often since remembering how I got to whatever config I liked is harder than just backing it up.
Thanks for the backup instructions, the idea of testing it on a DVD-ROM looks to save quite a bit of trouble with the actual device..
I rooted with this terrific guide:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1675706
The process was simple. I do have an issue where I need to install a Hebrew font but ES File Manager doesn't seem to see the root folders. I'm having a hard time googling my way out of this one, bu all the other little issues were fairly simple.
One issue that I will mention that was hard to solve was the inability to perform searches in the Market. This page helped me resolve that issue:
blog.the-ebook-reader . com/2011/07/15/rooted-nook-touch-fixing-market-search-and-other-tips-and-tricks-video/
I just figured out that the file manager has to have Root permissions enabled. I've enabled it and added some fonts to /system/fonts but I still cannot get Hebrew text to display on this device. All I get are the typical rectangles instead of characters. Any ideas about how to proceed?
Thanks.
Restore Nook 1.1.2
roustabout said:
Many people have made the backup but not tested it; when they tried to restore, they did bad to fatal things to their devices. A very common failure on restore .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I made this exact same mistake yesterday and I ended up with a bad backup.
2. My Nook Simple Touch (1.1.2) is now not working because I wiped ALL the partitions before attempted to restore the backup (which I didnt know was bad at the time)
3. Please help me restore the Nook back to factory or any working state. Are there any restorable backup images that can be downloaded online?
p.s. I have tried touchnooter and installed touchformatv2 but all I get now is a Read Forever load screen.
Please Please Help Me Im so sad (I know this is down to carelessness on my part but I really need help)
bubblewrapper said:
1. I made this exact same mistake yesterday and I ended up with a bad backup.
2. My Nook Simple Touch (1.1.2) is now not working because I wiped ALL the partitions before attempted to restore the backup (which I didnt know was bad at the time)
3. Please help me restore the Nook back to factory or any working state. Are there any restorable backup images that can be downloaded online?
p.s. I have tried touchnooter and installed touchformatv2 but all I get now is a Read Forever load screen.
Please Please Help Me Im so sad (I know this is down to carelessness on my part but I really need help)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Few people who will be knowledgeable will find your post buried here under this thread. i suggest that you simply start a new thread with a good descriptive title so that the gurus will find it.
Not sure how to get hebrew working. One assumes that in addition to the characters, you need it to right to left? If it's the latter, I know there was a thread discussing doing this with Arabic, and I'm not sure how that turned out. You can also google around for folks looking at this on, I think, mobilereads.
roustabout said:
Not sure how to get hebrew working. One assumes that in addition to the characters, you need it to right to left? If it's the latter, I know there was a thread discussing doing this with Arabic, and I'm not sure how that turned out. You can also google around for folks looking at this on, I think, mobilereads.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I think that I just need the fonts (or at least that would be a great first step). I put fonts with Hebrew glyphs in /system/fonts (using ES File Explorer in Root mode) but even after a restart it does not find the fonts (i.e. Hebrew text still shows as rectangles). I will fight with it some more in the coming days, if I don't succeed I will start a new, concise thread on the topic. There are plenty of Google posts on the subject, but all of the ones that I have seen (not Nook-specific) suggest that dropping the fonts is /system/fonts should be enough. Perhaps it is a permissions issue, I'll see if I can SSH into the device to see permissions.
dotancohen said:
I have a Nook Simple Touch Glowlight with software verion 1.1.5. All the information that I've been able to Google is for 1.1.2, in fact that is the version that I still see on the B&N website.
I _think_ that I have found a suitable way to root the device with Nooter but I would like to know how to confirm that in fact this is the right project for my software version. I'm sorry that I cannot post a link to the Nooter project, but I have less than 10 posts.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry that I am so slow to respond, but I think this is the information you need to root a Nook with Glow on version 1.1.5
It uses Glownooter
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...using-glownooter-includes-googles-app-market/
and this is the backup routine
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...-and-restore-nook-glow-and-nook-simple-touch/
ladykayaker said:
Sorry that I am so slow to respond,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! You don't need to apologize for taking time to respond, you are under no obligation! But I very much do appreciate your assistance and am happy to wait patiently! You will notice that I usually google issues first to try to save us both the time!
I think this is the information you need to root a Nook with Glow on version 1.1.5
It uses Glownooter
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...using-glownooter-includes-googles-app-market/
and this is the backup routine
http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/20...-and-restore-nook-glow-and-nook-simple-touch/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you. It seems that those posts are Windows-centric summerizations of information found here at XDA-developers. The root is pretty much the process that I used, but from the guide right here which has Linux directions as well.
By the way, the-ebook-reader site is often not responding for me. Is it just for me, or does everyone have trouble with that site?
Thanks!
version 1.2.0
UK glowlight ships with 1.2.0. Use tinynooter to root this. You may have issues installing apps atm though but you will get the browser at least.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1961835
Thanks, Loney. In fact, I got this Glowlight in the US, and it reports that it has software verion 1.1.5. But the information will be good for others who might google this thread!

Nook Simple Touch - Stock Dictionaries

I have a rooted Nook Simple Touch running the 1.2.1 firmware since ~2015 and it has been a while since I had not need to use the internet/wifi and because of that I missed all the news about the firmware update to support the secure TLS stuff.
Today, I tried to install additional dictionaries from the settings menu, but it stays at "connecting" forever and I think it is because of the outdated firmware.
I read the post on this forum and noticed that the update method doesn't work for rooted devices and the only alternative is to restore a stock image, update the firmware and then root it again. (https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/general/nst-nstg-fw-1-2-2-update-t3785566)
But, since I don't remember how I rooted it and the other customization I did, I think I'll probably miss something and then it is not worth doing it.
Then, I wanted to ask if someone has the stock files for the dictionaries to share (preferably the German and Spanish ones), and if just copying them to `/system/media/reference` will be enough to make the Nook think they were installed or would I need to do something else?
Similar to this thread (https://forum.xda-developers.com/nook-touch/general/nst-reader-stock-dictionary-oxford-gb-t3942496)
ETA:
If you have a NST with 1.2.2 firmware (the newest one (2018) that can access the internet) , can you check if Settings > Reader > Dictionaries is available and if you can download the other dictionaries.
And If it is not too much trouble, can you download them and then extract the files and upload them.
Thank you.
renatogoes said:
Today, I tried to install additional dictionaries from the settings menu, but it stays at "connecting" forever and I think it is because of the outdated firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, how does that work?! I've never seen that option in Settings. Are we really talking about the NST? I know the Glowlight model (as opposed to the NST Glowlight) has the option to download other dictionaries, but I don't think the NST versions of the hardware ever did.
nmyshkin said:
Wait, how does that work?! I've never seen that option in Settings. Are we really talking about the NST? I know the Glowlight model (as opposed to the NST Glowlight) has the option to download other dictionaries, but I don't think the NST versions of the hardware ever did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I confirmed that mine is indeed a Simple Touch and its model number is BNRV300, but I don't know if there is more than one NST model.
I have a NST *without* the glowlight, and I can see it on Settings > Reader > Manage Dictionaries, and I can also access it when I search a word while reading by clicking on a button labelled "Change Dictionaries."
Someone (Renate NST???) mentioned that the extra dictionaries are stored in a different folder, but I'm not sure if she is talking about the official dictionaries or some custom ones that use some extra software.
@nmyshkin, I hadn't thought that most users wouldn't know about the other dictionaries, and after thinking about, I noticed that I only found them by chance.
I edited the original message to provide more details on that.
renatogoes said:
@nmyshkin, I hadn't thought that most users wouldn't know about the other dictionaries, and after thinking about, I noticed that I only found them by chance.
I edited the original message to provide more details on that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, but there is still much to be sorted out. I have attached a screenshot of the stock 1.2.2 Settings>Reader (no dictionary sub-level) below. It is all I have ever seen in many years of using the NST on FW 1.2.1 and 1.2.2. If I had seen what you are describing I would have tried to include it in my expanded Nook Settings app. But there is nothing else. No way to go to another screen, etc.
So....what does your device display in the "About Your Nook" section? It doesn't seem possible that it's US firmware. I can understand dictionary options in the UK firmware because maybe some would cross the Channel, but not the US firmware.
Curiouser and curiouser.
Edith, another thought. If, back in the day, you installed a custom ROM like the one cooked up by @pinguy1982, that may be the difference. I believe that ROM was based on UK firmware. If that's it, you're out of luck unless you can find someone who actually installed these dictionaries because with FW 1.2.1 the difference between the UK and US firmware was eliminated, and you can't do anything vis-a-vis B&N with FW 1.2.1 any longer.
OK, but there is still much to be sorted out. I have attached a screenshot of the stock 1.2.2 Settings>Reader (no dictionary sub-level) below. It is all I have ever seen in many years of using the NST on FW 1.2.1 and 1.2.2. If I had seen what you are describing I would have tried to include it in my expanded Nook Settings app. But there is nothing else. No way to go to another screen, etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mine has two entries inside Reader, the first one to configure the buttons as in your screenshot, and the one to manage the dictionaries.
So....what does your device display in the "About Your Nook" section? It doesn't seem possible that it's US firmware. I can understand dictionary options in the UK firmware because maybe some would cross the Channel, but not the US firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has some info about the account registered, the MAC address and Serial number, and the info about the model/firmware only have:
Software version -> 1.2.1
Model Number -> BNRV300
But it doesn't say anything about it being the US or UK version.
I think it is the UK since I have the Oxford dictionary named as `ox_en_GB.db` inside the dictionary folder.
When I checked the update zip on B&N site it had different files, which I think refer to the Merriam-Webster for the US version.
Edith, another thought. If, back in the day, you installed a custom ROM like the one cooked up by @pinguy1982, that may be the difference. I believe that ROM was based on UK firmware. If that's it, you're out of luck unless you can find someone who actually installed these dictionaries because with FW 1.2.1 the difference between the UK and US firmware was eliminated, and you can't do anything vis-a-vis B&N with FW 1.2.1 any longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It has been too long for me to remember exactly what I did, but I think I hadn't flashed a custom ROM because I only wanted to root it to install some random apk to read manga and I hadn't modified the ones for epubs.
renatogoes said:
I think it is the UK since I have the Oxford dictionary named as `ox_en_GB.db` inside the dictionary folder.
When I checked the update zip on B&N site it had different files, which I think refer to the Merriam-Webster for the US version.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so, too, but I want to check the 1.2.1 UK update zip (the final UK only version) and see what's inside. If that's where the difference is, then those dictionaries are probably long gone. Even if one were to install the Settings app from the UK version, the URLs for fetching the dictionaries would likely point to non-existent UK servers that B&N shut down long ago.
It would be interesting to know if the dictionary format changed from the NST to the "Glowlight" model (still not sure where in the lineup that one is...they really should have been more careful with their model naming). A Google search on Nooks and dictionaries yields a few hits that show something similar to what you are describing (I guess) but for the "Glowlight" model, not the NST. Since there would be some of those still out there, those would be the people to find--IF the dictionary format is the same.
Edit: yes, it's UK firmware. I took a look at the UserGuide from the 1.2.1 UK update zip. When the dictionary is in use (i.e., when you look up a word while reading) it shows an option to "change dictionaries". That is not present in the US firmware. Also, although there is no picture shown, it does mention the "Manage Dictionaries" option from Settings>Reader. It sounds a lot like what I read about the "Glowlight" model, probably looks the same too. So some non-English dictionaries still exist and are available to "Glowlight" owners. Whether their format is compatible with the NST is another question. You need to find an owner of the correct (rooted) model to find out, or get really lucky and find someone who kept their UK NST intact and downloaded a whole bunch of dictionaries in the past before B&N killed the servers there.
The old NST dictionaries were in the format of an SQLite database where the entries were zip files of HTML for each word.
This (overblown) implementation would have allowed images in addition to text for an entry.
I made a separate implementation that used dictionaries that were an SQLite database with deflate of HTML for each word.
That reduced size and complexity a bit.
I don't use the stock reader and I've given up on any usage that requires selecting text with your finger in a reader.
I have a separate application (Lookup.apk) that accesses dictionaries.
(Hmm, looking at this, I realize it needs some more attention.)
I also have a few dictionaries in the new format.
I'm not even sure if the new stock 5.0 even has dictionaries anymore.
If someone knows and can find the actual dictionary, please post it. Erm, it does.

Categories

Resources