Database Users

New Nook Color - Root / CM7 / Help

OK, just picked up the Nook Color last night. It's v1.2.0 in its settings, and apparently a blue-dot version (since it only has 1.0 GB free space in its settings panel).
I picked this up because I wanted to make it a low-end cost-effective android tablet.
I'm already getting a bit confused with all the stuff flying around - I read some post that says you don't need to root these things, that you just format/flash right over the existing - more posts talking about how its next to impossible to brick these, other posts talking about bootable SDs, and some other posts talking about ManualNooter for rooting. THen I happened to stumble onto the whole "blue-dot" business.
My questions are fairly simple. I want a low-end android tablet that I can get stuff from the Market (or side-load) and play Netflix videos. I have a 4GB SD card in it now, that's free and empty that I can use to make flashable bootable whatnots.
Do I root? Do I repartition this blue-dot business first? Can some people chime in with exactly what I should be doing? I see things about rooting, I see things about bootable CWM SD cards, (different sizes for different SD cards, but golly if you're blue-dot, get the 1GB eyeballer somethingorother) and it's getting a bit much.
I have an Evo 4G that I've rooted and flashed ROMs, and know my way around CWM for that. I'm not a total noob to this.
I just want to make sure I have my ducks in a row. If I don't need to root, why is there manualNooter? I guess I'd just like to get an android OS going on there (CM7?) that will let me play netflix and get market apps and such. What's the shortest/easiest path to this, and should I repartition first?
edit: as a follow up - can I just install CM7 onto an SD card and always boot from that? Do I have to mess at all with NC's internal business? That would be handier, I think - if possible. I just read that it looks possible in the comments here:
http://www.linux-mag.com/id/8553/

In reading this:
http://quinxy.com/guides/how-to-pick-your-nook-color-operating-system-and-install-options/
I think I want to go the OS on SD-Card option. It protects the warranty, and I can keep it "safe" for now.

Wifflepig said:
In reading this:
http://quinxy.com/guides/how-to-pick-your-nook-color-operating-system-and-install-options/
I think I want to go the OS on SD-Card option. It protects the warranty, and I can keep it "safe" for now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If that's your decision, which is the same one I made, this is what I learned here:
-The MicroSD card itself can make running android a wonderful experience, or a torurous nightmare of force close issues on everything. All cards are not made equal. You probably want a SanDisk brand card, test your card with Crystal Disk Mark, and read Here and Here for more information on that part of it.
-I am running this Phiremod 6.2 image, dualboot between phiremod and honeycomb. You can just run it by default on the more stable phiremod without ever going into honeycomb if you want. I haven't updated it to phiremod 6.3 yet as the thread gives you the option for, 6.2 runs very well.
A rock solid package that works fantastically well, make sure to thank the people who made it if you like it - you can tell it's a labor of love by how nice it is.
Also, make sure that the battery is charged all the way to full the first time you put your custom SD card in.
To make the custom card:
-put it in your computer, fresh format if possible/necessary
-use WinImage to burn the image to the MicroSD card.
-use EASEUS partition software to extend the /sdcard partition to use the rest of the unallocated space on your MicroSD card.
...and that's really all there is to it. It can get confusing out there with so many options and configuration choices.
You may end up deciding that you like something better, but for a "no strings attached" look at android on the Nook color the image and tools I just linked are a good place to start.
Besides preserving your stock Nook color as-is, running from the sdcard lets you have a couple of different cards with different installs, and swapping between them is as easy as turning the Nook off and then back on again.
While the Nook is booted to it's stock configuration, you can plug it into your computer and transfer whatever you want drag and drop style into the internal memory of the device. When you reboot the Nook into your android sdcard install, you can use a file manager to browse to it and use it. No hassle pictures, music and etc... transfer to your android device.
The google market app "dual file manager" by medieval software is free and great for running back and forth between the internal and sdcard memory.
Also, for an sdcard install, get the google market app "sd speed increase" by diego stamigni. It absolutely makes a noticable difference in running android from the sdcard.
Two last app recommendations are both paid google market apps, but:
The "nook color power button" by otis8 provides you with an on-screen icon that emulates the hardware power button on the side of your nook. I have a case that covers mine, and a lot of searching led to this answer. You may or may not need it, but if you do this is the right answer.
"thumb keyboard" by beansoft, has completely changed my Nook experience in ways I didn't realize needed changing until I used it. The split keyboard makes thumb typing so much easier. The arrow keys I always seem to need were why I wanted a new keyboard, but with the customizable buttons and layout options available through this app...it was worth every last penny spent on it.
Every time I type something on the Nook, I am so glad I got this keyboard.
That should be enough to get you started, just make sure that if you install the image I reference above:
-After it boots into android the first time, let it sit and don't touch it for about 5 minutes. The first time it runs, it has to configure itself on the sdcard, which you don't see happening on the screen. A little bit fo patience this one time can eliminate some possible problems in the future.
-Log into and activate the google market from the app icon on the home screen first. If you delete this icon from the home screen, you may lose market on this install and have to either do something funky to get it back, or re-image the sdcard.
There is so much great information here, I was amazed and overwhelmed when I first started looking into it. This place has taught me so much in so little time - I love it here.
ETA:
One last thing is, I don't know anything about blue dot, i've only seen it in passing. My nook is updated to 1.2 stock. You should be ok, but make sure to read the thread of the image you download to make sure.
...and... by keeping your stock nook, you don't have a problem that others might. If using windows, an imaged sdcard can't be just formatted back to it's full capacity. Windows only reads the first small partition as the whole card.
If you boot the nook into it's stock software, and then insert the sdcard, the stock nook will let you format it right back to it's standard capacity and remove all the custom partitions on it.
Then all you have to do is pop the card out, put it in your computer, and burn a new image to it.

[Q] What happens to the Nook functionality when you boot CM7?

I have been reading a ton of threads on the CM7 rooting. My wifes Nook was rooted using AutoNooter. She maintains the Nook applications, but it sounds like with CM7 you do not. Are they not available stock while booted in CM7?
My nook will be here at the end of the week. I see myself using the tablet functions more than the E-reader functions, but I do like to read. What's the best reader to install to use in CM7? I have Calibre so format should be flexible?

First, CM7 is a custom ROM so it is already rooted and if installed to Emmc, you will loose the stock reader. That should not be an issue for you as there are several excellent choices for readers out there. I personally use nook for android, google books, kindle, and moon reader. All of them seem to work well for me. I have had CM7 installed since march and used the stock nook for a total of 2 days.
The CM7 install gives me all the functionality of the tablet I wanted and loosing the stock B&N software was a non-issue. Good luck which ever way you decide to go. There are many people here to help you out.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

Thanks for the info! I was gathering that it was a complete change...still new to the Android scene...not a smart phone user and this is my first "tablet".
I am planning to boot CM7 from an SD card (read all the SD card threads and ordered a 16GB sandisk). Part of the reason I asked was because I am thinking about my wife's nook...I am not a big fan of how it works on the AutoNooter...but again I probably missed some key parts when doing that as I never fully understood what I was doing, I just followed the instructions.
access to the Kids books from B&N is one of the things my wife misses with her nook, she has only the one "read to me" book that it came with.

You definitely made a right choice.
Note: on your CM7 uSD, you can install the Nook app, but it's horrible, just to let you know in advance.

tightwad said:
access to the Kids books from B&N is one of the things my wife misses with her nook, she has only the one "read to me" book that it came with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's odd, the stock reader (still there with rooted stock) can handle the kid's books, but Nook for Android can't.
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium

stolenmoment said:
That's odd, the stock reader (still there with rooted stock) can handle the kid's books, but Nook for Android can't.
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I may have miscommunicated...the kids books work, but she can't get them from B&N anymore (or something, I may not have been paying attention when she was talking...opps...)

You want Aldiko Free version, not the "pro/pay" version (it has some graphic bug).
It is absolutely the best E Reader, way better than the Nook app as well.
The only problem is that you have to add the books manually to the phone, I use Calibre to convert and add but you can just drag and drop them to the Nook drive when it is connected in USB mode if you are comfortable doing that too.

MuGGzyx said:
You want Aldiko Free version, not the "pro/pay" version (it has some graphic bug).
It is absolutely the best E Reader, way better than the Nook app as well.
The only problem is that you have to add the books manually to the phone, I use Calibre to convert and add but you can just drag and drop them to the Nook drive when it is connected in USB mode if you are comfortable doing that too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How else are books added? Most of my library is in Calibre. Is the format for Aldiko the ePub format?

tightwad said:
How else are books added? Most of my library is in Calibre. Is the format for Aldiko the ePub format?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aldiko handles ePubs very nicely.
Sent from my LG Optimus V using Tapatalk

I can't get books I copy over from my Calibre library to show in Aldiko. I copied them to the Nook>myFiles>Books folder on the nook (emmc) drive. I also tried the "ebooks" folder on the SD card where the 1 book in Aldiko is located (Jack London's)
Any ideas?
I found out how...good ole google search finally came through. This is about as annoying a way as there could be...I have 3K books in my library!
another site said:
Here are the instructions.. from the Aldiko website:
I was able to use the SD Card feature in Aldiko to import DRM'd Nook books on my Android Device.
At the Home screen in Aldiko, tap SD Card.
Navigate to the Nook folder on your device
Navigate to the Content folder within the Nook folder
Tap on the book you want to import (not on the check box, just tap the title)
You will be prompted to open or import, tap "open"
you will then be prompted for a username and password. The user name is the name on the credit card associated with your Nook purchase. The password is the credit card number itself, no spaces.
Once you have been able to open the book, go back to the home page and follow steps 1 through 4.
This time, when you are prompted to open or import, choose "import". The book will be imported to your Aldiko Library.
The reason I open before importing is that there is no password prompt when importing. I did find that once I had entered my credit card info for one book, I was able to import all of the rest of my Nook purchases without opening first, the app seemed to just need this information once
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

tightwad said:
I found out how...good ole google search finally came through. This is about as annoying a way as there could be...I have 3K books in my library!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't imagine they were all purchased from B&N. If you're managing them with Calibre, I also doubt they're all B&N DRMed. Just drop them all in one folder, and import the whole folder using Aldiko like so: from Aldiko home, go to SDcard, navigate to the folder, longpress it, and choose Import.

Taosaur said:
I can't imagine they were all purchased from B&N. If you're managing them with Calibre, I also doubt they're all B&N DRMed. Just drop them all in one folder, and import the whole folder using Aldiko like so: from Aldiko home, go to SDcard, navigate to the folder, longpress it, and choose Import.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, lots of classic books etc. I discovered your method as well...took awhile to load about 1K books.
Now I need to figure out how to use the bookshelf.

Lost Wireless when I installed CM7 on SD 201 nightly
I lost my ability to use wireless when I upgraded to 201 nightly. YouTube also bit the dust. I am most interested in regaining the ability to hook up to my router or other wireless access points.
When 201 was installed, I had wireless. Then I installed a few applications and then I noticed YouTube was not working. I deleted Youtube and reinstalled but it was no use.
I shut off the wireless so that I could reconnect thinking a better connection might make Youtube work. NOW wireless would not hook up to my router at all. I deleted my router from the list of wireless sources and tried to find it again. Even with the Nook 1 meter from the router it could not pick up a wireless signal.
Next I saw in the discussions about the most recent nightlies and found out there is a bug. If you hit AIRPLANE MODE in the settings, you can not undo the choice merely by unchecking the box.
A potential work around was discussed, by using the terminal mode and typing:
SU
sqlite3 /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases/settings.db
delete from system where name = 'airplane_mode_on';
.exit
I tried this but failed to get it to work. I may have entered it incorrectly but I don't think I did. The poster suggested copy and paste but that is not easy with no wireless.
Can anyone help me and others in my situation. How far back would I have to go in the nightlies to correct this and update to 201 again?
Not having wireless is a bummer.
UPDATE:
After my nook sat for a while I tried to hook up to wireless again. It worked! I don't know if it was the script for certain, but I did not re-install anything. I believe it was oldman_58 that resolved this for me. I can't respond to his post, but thank him nonetheless.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=17811412&postcount=5111
The above link goes to his post on this issue.
Thanks Oldman!
Update 2:
Wireless is again missing. The only thing I can think of is to start over with a formatted SD card. If you know a better way please tell me. I am able to get wireless for short periods if there is an application that would help. I installed nightly 202 today, but it did not restore the Wireless.

[Q] MN5 weird system behavior

I have been having a problem with my 1.4.2 nootered, overclocked Nook Color that I can't find being mentioned anywhere on this board. And since I don't have enough posts to post this in the Manual Nooter thread, I am following GMPower's request and posting here.
Every time I add, or update, an app my screen, and I assume my system, will keep refreshing, from anywhere from 10 to over 50 times, and can take over 5 minutes to finish. The only thing I can do while it is doing this, is go into settings until it finishes. None of my widgets, or screen shortcuts are visible, and the app drawer is empty while this is going on
I am using Zeam launcher, MN 5.02.19 apps2sd with dalingrin's 091111 OC kernel, which I have been using without a problem since it was released, and my Nook is 1.4.2 software.
I have rerooted, following the instructions, multiple times, redownloaded all of the files, just in case they were the problem, and completely reset the Nook, using the 8 failed reboots, and started from scratch, with no improvement.
As of right now it is just a (major) annoyance, but I can't show off how cool my rooted Nook is to other Nook owners for fear that it will be refreshing itself and be unusable.
Is anyone else having this problem, and/or does anyone know how to fix it?
Thanks, Rick

rdranger said:
I have been having a problem with my 1.4.2 nootered, overclocked Nook Color that I can't find being mentioned anywhere on this board. And since I don't have enough posts to post this in the Manual Nooter thread, I am following GMPower's request and posting here.
Every time I add, or update, an app my screen, and I assume my system, will keep refreshing, from anywhere from 10 to over 50 times, and can take over 5 minutes to finish. The only thing I can do while it is doing this, is go into settings until it finishes. None of my widgets, or screen shortcuts are visible, and the app drawer is empty while this is going on
I am using Zeam launcher, MN 5.02.19 apps2sd with dalingrin's 091111 OC kernel, which I have been using without a problem since it was released, and my Nook is 1.4.2 software.
I have rerooted, following the instructions, multiple times, redownloaded all of the files, just in case they were the problem, and completely reset the Nook, using the 8 failed reboots, and started from scratch, with no improvement.
As of right now it is just a (major) annoyance, but I can't show off how cool my rooted Nook is to other Nook owners for fear that it will be refreshing itself and be unusable.
Is anyone else having this problem, and/or does anyone know how to fix it?
Thanks, Rick
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First off, thank you for following my request in the post, it makes it so much easier for me to quickly get on here and address this question for you. What it sounds like your describing, is a little issue that I have seen with the apps2sd support. The system is taking longer than it should to scan and remount the SD card.
I have been too busy with other stuff to get around to looking into the problem. I have never heard of anything as severe as yours. I personally have only had one screen refresh upon system startup, and again after removing the USB cable. I have a total of 13 apps that are installed on the SD card, and run a class 10 SD card. You can try moving all apps that are installed on the SD card to the device, then plug the device into the computer and delete any leftover files in the /sdcard/.android_secure folder.
If the issue continues to be a problem, and you want to remove the apps2sd support, feel free to send me a PM, and I can send you a file to flash that will remove it.

GM thanks for the quick reply. I moved most of my apps off of the sd card, and so far it looks promising. I will update after more experimenting. Looks like the problem could've been too many apps on the sd card. Thanks for your help, and for all you have done to make our Nooks better.
Rick

Well it looked promising, I downloaded an app from the amazon app store, and only one, very quick refresh and all was well. I just updated 3 apps from google play, wifi analyzer, google earth, and PvM, once done my nook started to refresh, the screen went black, except for the button savior buttons, and the notification bar. It stayed black and I had to reboot, and during the reboot I got stuck at the Nook Color by NookDevs portion of the boot up, and had to reboot again. It did reboot normally, and no refresh and appears to be acting normally now. I will keep experimenting.
Rick

[n00b Guide] - Fire for Christmas ::for Kids::

I've spent the past 3 weeks pretty solid working out how I want to transform the 3 Fire's I got for $35 for my boys, 10, 8, and 4. I figure I'd post where I've finally landed along with some other things I've tried both with success and failure, and hopefully save some people some effort. I'd suggest reading through this before you use it as a stepbystep guide to make sure this works for you. I apologize if it's a bit jumbled, but everything should be here for you to convert your Fire. Again, I'd suggest reading through the whole thing to come up with a plan of action for you.
Goal: Turn this Fire into a glorified gameboy, used ONLY by kids, not shared with parent(s) and child
On 5.1.1
Assuming you've purchased an SD card, you will want to repartition in preparation for moving files and content.
Pointers for this:
Make two partitions, 1 which is about 70% of the card formatted as Fat32, must be a PRIMARY partition.
Second partition will be the remaining space, make it ext2, must be a PRIMARY partition. (From what I can tell the reason people suggest using ext2, and not 3 or 4, is because with 3 and 4 there is some built in backup and recovery operations which is great for when you're running a full Linux operating system, but for our purposes all it does is cause more writes which in THEORY will shorten the life of your SD card)
I formatted the Fat32 partition as the first partition, and the EXT partition as the 2nd. Not sure if the order matters or not, but I've had no problems doing it this way thus far.
Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/increase-internal-memory-phone.html/
Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/how-to-use-link2sd-tutorial-guide.html/
Note:
During initial setup, don't bother with multiple user profiles (reasons explained later).
Using root junky's super tool (Thanks root junky, you made this all possible!!! http://rootjunkysdl.com/?device=Amazon Fire 5th gen&folder=SuperTool) do the following:
Root
Prevent OTA
Install Google Play
Install NovaLauncher (this is important if you're not going to use the built in Kids Mode in FireOS)
In Google Play Store download the following:
Link2SD (This is assuming you've purchased an SD card)
Kids Place - The VERY SIMPLE reason I went with using this app (which essentially becomes an alternative launcher) instead of using the built in FireOS's profiles and kids mode, is because the built in kids mode will ONLY allow you to use apps which you've downloaded FROM the AMAZON app store. I understand why they do it this way, I mean, the whole point of the fire is to keep you inside the Amazon ecosystem after all. But, I have MANY games I've paid full price for on Google Play that are appropriate for my kids. Since I can't put them into the kids profile built into the FireOS (If anyone can link me to a guide which is different, I'd love to hear about it) I couldn't use the built in stuff. In addition, the built in kids mode really is a pretty awesome feature on the fire, but the icons are freaking huge and kind of a waste of space.... going with this alternative method of Kids Place gives you smaller icons therefore you can "shove" more icons on a single view. Icons which take up half the screen are great, but if you're a dad like me who's going a little overboard and putting 100+ games on these things, it'll be a bit of a pain to scroll through them for your kids using the built in profile in the OS.
Note:
You can get Link2SD from the Amazon app store, but the version there is older than what's in Google Play and ultimately didn't work. Once I got the Google Play version, worked like a champ. NOTEx2: For whatever reason (this was frustrating for me to figure out), even though I partitioned 70% of the 64GB Samsung microSD to Fat32, and the other 30% I partitioned to ext2 (BTW I did the Fat32 first and ext2 second... not really sure if it matters the order or not but that's what worked first time for me so I went with it), when I launched Link2SD and it asked me which partition to use, I had to choose ext4 for it to finally work. Choosing both ext2 and Fat32 would both result in basically it saying: "yeah, you chose the wrong one punk" (or whatever it says).
Kids Place - similar to the one above, there is weirdness in the version on Amazon vs Google Play. On Amazon it actually claims the version there is slightly newer than Google Play, but when I'd launch apps on the one I got from Amazon it would kill the WiFi for that app. I realize that this is a built in option into Kids Place, being able to choose WiFi on or off per app (which is really cool), but the one from Amazon seemed to do it when and how it wanted instead of what I was telling it to do. Google Play's version had no such problems.
(( A word of caution using Link2SD's "feature" of being able to "Link Internal Data". DON'T DO IT. I've not been burned HARD CORE by it. The symptom is that if you POWER DOWN, and POWER ON the tablet, Apps go missing. Through reading and troubleshooting, it appears via this forum (http://androidforums.com/threads/link2sd-missing-apps-after-reboot.858565/) that the culprit is when you choose the Link2SD option to "Link Internal Data" to the SD Card. There's even a nifty batch way to enable it on ALL apps. Well, after powering off and powering back on the tablet (after I was COMPLETELY done putting on 150 games), when it came back up I only had like 15 apps on it. Everything else was POOF, gone. I've noticed sometimes after a power cycle like that the apps might take a few moments to 'come alive', but even after 15 minutes of waiting I had nada. Went in search and found I'm not the only one. I've now since completely redone (including reformatting the SD Card) all 3 Fire's and so far after multiple reboots, I've not lost a single app. So for now at least, this does seem to be the problem ))
You will need to spend the $2.35 on Link2SD Plus (striking out due to my caution above, that being said I'm glad I threw this guy $2.35 because my tablet would basically be worthless without the app), and after you install Kids Place, you'll need to upgrade to premium for $4.99. Here's why:
Link2SD - Plus - This is what allows you to automatically move files and content to the SD card when an app is installed. This is mega important to me because that piddly 5.x GB of usable space gets eaten up ridiculously fast otherwise. Dive into the settings once you have plus, and just go turn everything on. Auto move everything. Be sure to go into all menus and sub menus.
Kids Place - The premium features is key for me. For example: A) You can make this app launch upon reboot, thus it basically "forces" this into a kid only/friendly device. If your kids are sneaky, or bored, they'll try to break out of Kids Place. Then they'll delete apps, make folders, sabotage they're brothers devices, etc. B) You can change the name that's displayed on top from "Kids Place", to something else like their name, give them a fun nickname, whatever. For my 10 year old he won't feel like it's just a little kid thing. C) You can do this part without premium, but it's critical for me to mention it: You can change what the home "button" does so that it directs you back to Kids Place instead of the regular home launcher. The reason you need to install NovaLauncher above is because if you still have the stock firelauncher, you can NOT replace the home button with another launcher otherwise. [Word of caution, if you enable the 'background' premium feature, Kids Place is still running, just more in the background. Took me a few minutes to figure out that's what I had done. I kept thing something was wrong and wondering when whenever I launched Kids Place it kept asking me if I want to shut it down or go into settings.... it's because it was running the whole time already)
Once you've done all that, simply download apps (Amazon Underground still seems too good to be true, but I'm hopeful), sideload apps, get apps from Google Play, then go into the Kids Place settings and choose which apps you want (Manage Apps).
Other things worth noting:
SlimRom. So, this is cool. It's fast, and pretty awesome. For me however, at the end of the day, it didn't make sense to introduce something in addition that could go wrong. If you're like me and you have no intention of using this device yourself and you ONLY want this to be a device for your kids, I don't think SlimRom is worth putting in. If it's a shared device, it might be worth it. The only thing I really forgot to test when I had put SlimRom on one of the devices was how the Amazon App store would work, and whether or not the device would be recognized properly with the Amazon Underground portion.
That's it, I hope you find this helpful. I welcome any feedback or suggestions on how to make this a more gooder guide for anyone like myself who's first jump into amazon tablets has been these fires. They truly are AMAZING devices for the price.

hobojester said:
The only thing I really forgot to test when I had put SlimRom on one of the devices was how the Amazon App store would work, and whether or not the device would be recognized properly with the Amazon Underground portion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seems pretty comprehensive guide for those using it the same way, very nice work
And when I had Slim on it worked fine with my amazon app store and underground apps. And the music and video ones for that matter. I couldn't get the kindle app to show my books but someone solved that by using older apk after I went back to stock.

@hobojester, THANKS so much for posting.
I purchased the $35 Fire Tablet for my 3 girls (9, 7, 5).
I've rooted at 5.0.1 and disabled OTA, disabled ads, Installed GooglePlay store, and loaded Nova launcher. Although I haven't taken it another few steps with Kids Place, I feel that I'll start with just locking down and hiding the apps via Nova Launcher will be enough for now. My kids are pretty savvy at navigating interfaces and even when they touch/exit an app, they know how to get back to it. I know there are holes with settings and NovaLauncher settings so when they figure them out, they can reenable certain functionality.
I'll look into Kids Place though, that might be my next step.
Also, about the whole SD card partitioning, I've installed a 32GB card and the tablet stated that it would start using the card as the default storage device. I'm guessing your method moves EVERYTHING to the card, and the default behavior for the Fire Tablet is to install some things on internal memory and 'other' storage is routed to the card? I've installed quite a bit of applications since I plugged in my SD card and it doesn't seem to be full... although I didn't check the storage stats before I wrapped the tablets.
Also, I've heard some good press on the Circle (with Disney) router, so I did order one for the home as yet another piece of the parenting puzzle:
[edit] sorry, didn't have sufficient permissions to post outside links. Google up: "Circle router with Disney"

Pond-life said:
Seems pretty comprehensive guide for those using it the same way, very nice work
And when I had Slim on it worked fine with my amazon app store and underground apps. And the music and video ones for that matter. I couldn't get the kindle app to show my books but someone solved that by using older apk after I went back to stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good to know about Slim and the Amazon store. Again, if I were going to use the tablet in a 'shared' environment where I'm using it AND my kids are using it, I'd totally use Slim. It was awesome. In this particular instance where this $35 device is a glorified gameboy, Slim is just something that is an extra layer of complexity that's really not needed and *could* get in the way. I have no intention of my kids even getting on the internet with this device. Not until there's a real need, and even then, I'd probably go get the K9 browser and use that.
TheTruthKC said:
@hobojester, THANKS so much for posting.
I purchased the $35 Fire Tablet for my 3 girls (9, 7, 5).
I've rooted at 5.0.1 and disabled OTA, disabled ads, Installed GooglePlay store, and loaded Nova launcher. Although I haven't taken it another few steps with Kids Place, I feel that I'll start with just locking down and hiding the apps via Nova Launcher will be enough for now. My kids are pretty savvy at navigating interfaces and even when they touch/exit an app, they know how to get back to it. I know there are holes with settings and NovaLauncher settings so when they figure them out, they can reenable certain functionality.
I'll look into Kids Place though, that might be my next step.
Also, about the whole SD card partitioning, I've installed a 32GB card and the tablet stated that it would start using the card as the default storage device. I'm guessing your method moves EVERYTHING to the card, and the default behavior for the Fire Tablet is to install some things on internal memory and 'other' storage is routed to the card? I've installed quite a bit of applications since I plugged in my SD card and it doesn't seem to be full... although I didn't check the storage stats before I wrapped the tablets.
Also, I've heard some good press on the Circle (with Disney) router, so I did order one for the home as yet another piece of the parenting puzzle:
[edit] sorry, didn't have sufficient permissions to post outside links. Google up: "Circle router with Disney"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you can find this useful.
As far as the storage card piece, you are correct in that "my" method moves EVERYTHING. Some apps are "self contained" as I like to think of it, when you download it. Popular games like Geometry Dash have everything contained in the downloaded app (or the .APK file). That is just the app itself. You can tell the OS to auto put the "app" on the storage card, and that works out great, but it's a little misleading. The problem comes in when you have games like Knights of the Old Republic. That app itself is something like 40 MB or what not, but after you launch the app, it'll download this extra content, which in this particular case is 2 GB. The kicker: it'll ONLY store that "content" (as I call it) into what the device considers "External Storage", which is ACTUALLY on the INTERNAL storage. That whole emulated SDcard business Android does. It's all funky. For fear of sounding like a commercial, Link2SD fixes all of that. Linux (what Android is built off of (oh, and hi iPhone users, so is iOS for the record)) has this thing called "Symbolic Links". You can google it up more about it, but think of it as an uber shortcut. You create a symbolic link on internal storage to the actual physical SD card, and the program THINKS it's writing to internal storage when in fact it's writing to the SD card. The kicker: you can only create symbolic links if you're rooted. The nice thing about Link2SD, is that it'll symbolic link EVERYTHING. The "app", the "content", and all of the saved game data and what not (which take a game like MineCraft, can get pretty big if your kids (like mine) go crazy building worlds). And you can have it to it all automagically. But you will need to pop that SDCard out, put it in your computer, and get it re-partitioned (visit the links I posted in the original guide for more in depth details).
I have heard really cool things about the Disney router. For now, my kids don't really have any need (or business) getting on the internet unsupervised. When they do, I'll probably give them the K9 browser.

Sorry for the questions but I can't figure it out, searching doesn't find it, and I'm trying to get these wrapped.
Do I need to still select Fire OS" install supported apps to sd". Or do I do it all with LInk2DS? I haven't Rom'd these yet and I probably won't until we get back from vacation. They are only rooted with stock rom. I also don't need to do the whole kids place thing as my kids are a little older...Thanks for taking the time to write this all up!
Also I have partitions shown in my Disk usage app that are named "External", "SDcard1", system and "SD Card". I know "SD Card" is the exfat 2 part I made base on the size, but as for the "external" and SDcard1, they are both roughly 5 gb ( my sd was only 8 gigs so I made the FAT 32 5 gigs and the rest the exfat 2. But now I am not sure of the naming and I can't tell based only on size. So, is "External" really the built in amazon storage, and "sdcard1" is my microsd?

Like your thinking.
How are you getting past the "Apps with usage access" request for Kids Place?

howzitnow said:
Sorry for the questions but I can't figure it out, searching doesn't find it, and I'm trying to get these wrapped.
Do I need to still select Fire OS" install supported apps to sd". Or do I do it all with LInk2DS? I haven't Rom'd these yet and I probably won't until we get back from vacation. They are only rooted with stock rom. I also don't need to do the whole kids place thing as my kids are a little older...Thanks for taking the time to write this all up!
Also I have partitions shown in my Disk usage app that are named "External", "SDcard1", system and "SD Card". I know "SD Card" is the exfat 2 part I made base on the size, but as for the "external" and SDcard1, they are both roughly 5 gb ( my sd was only 8 gigs so I made the FAT 32 5 gigs and the rest the exfat 2. But now I am not sure of the naming and I can't tell based only on size. So, is "External" really the built in amazon storage, and "sdcard1" is my microsd?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will be a good chance for me to point out (I'll edit the guide in a second): DO NOT LINK "INTERNAL" Data via Link2SD. It has caused apps to disappear and never come back. I actually had to start completely over on all there of my devices. That "option" to Link the Internal Data is only available when you purchase the Plus version of Link2SD, DON'T CHOOSE THAT OPTION!!!
Now, with that out of the way, Link2SD is clever in how it works, and I am barely out of the n00b stage on this so I'll give a disclaimer that I may be totally feeding you false information here, but here's how I understand it: First of all, what I did was leave the SD card settings inside the OS all 'defaults', which installs the "App" to the SD Card. Now with that, I believe what happens is Link2SD intercepts that 'transfer' and puts the actual apps on the EXT partition. There is the incredibly critical option in Link2SD to put all other data (except "internal" data of course) on the SD Card. That's what moves the really big parts of those big games and apps. So when the App is relocated, it's put onto that EXT part and the Content on your FAT32 part. To address your question regarding External, SDCard#, and 'where in the heck is the EXT' part.... the EXT partition is mounted and 'located' under the 'local' storage under something like the /data/sdex2 folder. Welcome to the world of Linux... on a computer Linux (if my really old dusty Linux knowledge still works) when you need to access the CD drive you have to MOUNT it, and than LINK that mount to basically a local folder (something like /MNT/CDROM). Your EXT partition is mounted the same way as a folder, and for whatever reason in an app like ES File Explorer you won't see it as another drive, you'll only see the FAT32 drive. Maybe that has something to do with it being FAT32, I'm not sure. ...... the long point here is that Link2SD intercepts or coordinates with the OS's moving of apps to locate the App data to your EXT partition (mounted to that /data/xxxxx folder) and all the other really big stuff to the FAT32 partition. Again, I may be way off here, but hey, makes sense in my brain right now .
Inside of Link2SD there's an option in the menu to see the storage consumption, and THERE it'll actually show you the EXT partition as well as the FAT32 partition.
If my kids were a little older and I truly didn't care about them mucking around in settings, potentially deleting things etc., I'd probably give SlimRom a go for that. I've been messing around with it some more and it is just simply more 'pure' Android OS so it'd give the more 'true' Android experience.... if you really care .

cogito808 said:
Like your thinking.
How are you getting past the "Apps with usage access" request for Kids Place?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not, simply because FireOS doesn't have that option. I just have to hit 'Cancel' and move on. If you were to put on SlimRom you'd have that option. From what I can tell the biggest thing we're missing out on by staying on FireOS and not having this option would be limiting time in Kids Place for certain apps and what not. For me personally, I'll just set a timer, but if it's something you want to use, I'd absolutely suggest putting SlimRom on there and then basically following the rest of the guide. Everything still applies.

If anyone cares, I set up SlimLP for my mom who is a bit less technologically advanced than I am and I put smart launcher on the device and just hid the apps I thought would be bad if she were to accidentally open them and not know what she was doing. (I thought his could be useful for some of the people here as well)

How do I avoid using the "Link Internal Data" feature? I do not see this option anywhere in the App.
Edit: OK. found it. I was looking in settings (before moving anything) but once I move an app the options come up.

chemie99 said:
How do I avoid using the "Link Internal Data" feature? I do not see this option anywhere in the App.
Edit: OK. found it. I was looking in settings (before moving anything) but once I move an app the options come up.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I found out the hard way how bad this can be.... like... 6pm on the 24th, type of thing, RIGHT when I had finished it all up. I had some kind of heavenly help nudge me into thinking "you should turn these off completely, and simulate Christmas morning, see how long it'll take to fully boot back up".... and you can imagine my stomach drop when I went from having 150 games down to something like 3... it was painful. So, yeah, avoid that setting AT ALL COSTS!

How do you partition the SD card on the tablet? Also is this worth doing when you can install xposed SD card modules and be able to move obb files
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk

just wondering on the reason for 70/30 FAT32/EXT2. What gets installed in each partition?

tonyt3rry said:
How do you partition the SD card on the tablet? Also is this worth doing when you can install xposed SD card modules and be able to move obb files
Sent from my KFFOWI using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I"m not familiar with the xposed SD card modules so I can't help there. As far as HOW you do it, I linked to some articles in the first post that might help (Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/increase-in...ry-phone.html/
Reference: http://rootmyandroid.org/how-to-use-...al-guide.html/)

chemie99 said:
just wondering on the reason for 70/30 FAT32/EXT2. What gets installed in each partition?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Basically the "app" gets installed to the 30% EXT2, and allt he "content" goes tot he 70% FAST32. Content will typically be data that gets downloaded after the app is installed. Take Knights Of The Old Republic for example, the "app" is like 50MB, but the "content" which gets downloaded upon the first time launching the actual program, is 2GB.

An Alternative Solution
I also gave my kids 3 Fire tablets for Christmas. My kids are mostly older (12,11,4) and the older two have had other Android devices. I went a different direction from the OP, which I'll discuss here for posterity's sake. This is a bit harder than the OP's method but ends up with a more conventional Android environment.
As background, I used FireOS on the Fire Phone for a few weeks, and ran into many problems. I installed CM11 on the Fire Phone and bought another in the final sale. You can read about that on the Fire Phone forum if you're interested.
Also, I've used Screen Time Parental Control for a couple years now, and while somewhat expensive it's great for monitoring without being too invasive. I can let the kids have a lot of freedom with their devices, without having to be worried about them either being on them all the time, or doing weird things. Screen Time nominally works with FireOS but in the end I did not use the tablets as-is long enough to try installing it.
For these tablets, I decided the easiest path was to install CM12. This avoided waiting for Amazon for security updates, and any FireOS incompatibilities, as I'd experienced with the Fire Phone. Also, the kids are familiar with CM, and frankly any replacement Android device will be easier in the future. After my experience with the zombie Fire Phone from Amazon I'm less concerned about CM/ggow/XDA bugs than I am Amazon's.
I decided to create separate user accounts for each child, as opposed to having both my Google account and the child's Google account** under a single user. I've done this before, but it's awkward to have to switch between accounts when using Gmail/Hangouts/Drive/etc., and sometimes things get mixed up.
Thus, for each of the three tablets I went through this process:
[I don't have the tablets in front of me, so if one of these steps doesn't seem obvious ask and I'll look up the exact names/buttons.]
1) Install CM12 using the well-documented methods
2) Boot into CM
3) Configure for my primary Google account
- Download interesting applications that have been purchased on my account
- Open SuperSU, enable multi-user access
- Open Contacts, select "ME", change name to "Dad" (or whatever)*
- Open File Manager
- Settings / Enable multi user access
- Open main Settings app:
- Set screen lock / PIN
- Users / Add user / OK / Set up now
4) "Switching to new user"
- Google Launcher always
- Log in with the "child's" account** in the wizard
- Open Contacts, change "ME" to the child's name
- Open File Manager
- Settings / Switch to Root access mode
- Browse to /data/app/
- Change into interesting packages and pick the .apk file
- Select "Install"***
- Repeat as necessary
Here I installed Screen Time Parental Control from the Play Store and went through the steps for Child device. Also any customization for the account should go here, then you can switch back to your regular user.
To switch user, drag down the system tray, pick the head image in the top right corner, and then the appropriate name.
Notes:
* This is in a wacky place, but this contact is how CM identifies the user name to display in the switch screen. If you don't see "ME" don't add it, just browse around; it's there somewhere.
** Apparently Google only allows accounts for people >=13. Thus, if you are reading from Google, know that these are my own accounts and my children happen to use them.
*** This will actually not re-download the application, but it makes a temporary copy while installing. Application user data is always separate between users, but for the most part download data is shared. For most applications things work on either user; however, Electronic Arts applications don't work with separate users, and Terraria will print an error (but still worked once the core data was downloaded with my purchasing account). I'm sure there are other apps that roll their own security and will be in this situation, but out of a very large family library these are the only apps with which I've had trouble.
Finally, a last note that Screen Time does not presently block creating new users from the system tray. In theory a youngling could create a user that would not have Screen Time limits, but then they wouldn't be able to delete it without getting in to Settings, which you should block anyway. Depends how devious your children are; for me I'm just waiting until they figure it out to do anything about it... just keep an eye on it if you go this route.
Hopefully this helps someone, eventually!
Best,
Tim

I got two fire tablets for the kids for Xmas, one is the kids edition (with the 1yr of apps,etc) the other is a standard fire. Used root junkies tool on both to block lock screen ads and OTA and hide Apps. They were both running OK, occasionally have the odd situation where you try to open an app and it looks like it is reloading it or redownloading it, not sure if this is because internal space has ran out and its redownloading on the fly but its quite frustrating.
Decided to flash slim LP rom on the standard tablet as there were apps that weren't available(better choice on play store and it wasn't tied into the 1year subscription).
So glad I did, was pretty straight forward to get it up and running and the latest build is so solid, fast and stable, was expecting it to be a bit quicker than fire OS as it had a lot less bloat but it seriously impressed me. So I have kids place set up on it to control apps and play time. I also installed hilocker from the play store to help simplify/lock down the lock screen. For example you can disable the status bar in kids place,but the child is still able to turn the screen off and on, they can then access the pull down toggles and mess with things, but with hilocker you can disable it which is great. Battery life is just as great if not better and your also up to date with all Google's security patches to boot.
It is a very good value tablet, as its just been reduced to just £40 in the UK. One thing that would be a major improvement is I just wished they had put 16GB of storage instead of 8GB. I know it has the sd card option which is great but in reality you only get around 5GB of actual internal storage for apps, a lot of which can't be moved to the sd card or still take up internal space when they are. Again I can't recommend slim rom enough as it really makes a big difference to the tablet (besides providing full play store access) and makes it perfect for consuming media, browsing, or just handier for when you want to use a bigger screen than your phone.
Sent from my InFocus M810t using Tapatalk

gsmyth said:
One thing that would be a major improvement is I just wished they had put 16GB of storage instead of 8GB. I know it has the sd card option which is great but in reality you only get around 5GB of actual internal storage for apps, a lot of which can't be moved to the sd card or still take up internal space when they are.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@gsmyth, look into Link2SD if you haven't already. Between that and a 32GB MicroSD I don't feel especially constrained by the 8GB onboard.

tdcrone said:
@gsmyth, look into Link2SD if you haven't already. Between that and a 32GB MicroSD I don't feel especially constrained by the 8GB onboard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How are you formatting your 2nd partition for links2sd?. I keep getting 'unable to mount' error, trying to setup as ext4, which I thought was the standard on newer hardware. I believe I tried ext 2 as well. Without 2nd partition obb and data stay on internal. Thanks

I wish to thank the OP for this, as I am trying to use, and bought the recommended apps... haven;t had the time to set this all up, and it gets a little confusing having all these other devices, but eventually I'll get it.

No browser in rooted Nook

Hello, I've rooted my Nook Simple Touch using NookManager. It seems to be fine except that I have no browser, so cannot get on line. (I can't even access the Nook store because Barnes & Noble have dumped UK users like me.) I want to install NTGAppsAttack but since I can't go on line I presume that Google Market won't load unless NTGAppsAttack fixes the problem.
I'd be very grateful for help with this. Best regards, Caromcm

caromcm said:
Hello, I've rooted my Nook Simple Touch using NookManager. It seems to be fine except that I have no browser, so cannot get on line. (I can't even access the Nook store because Barnes & Noble have dumped UK users like me.) I want to install NTGAppsAttack but since I can't go on line I presume that Google Market won't load unless NTGAppsAttack fixes the problem.
I'd be very grateful for help with this. Best regards, Caromcm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Searching these forums will yield several suggestions for multiple browsers that "work" (note quotes) on the Nook. If you download the apk for one of these, you should be able to install it with adb.

David0226 said:
Searching these forums will yield several suggestions for multiple browsers that "work" (note quotes) on the Nook. If you download the apk for one of these, you should be able to install it with adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Thanks for the advice, David. I've downloaded Opera Mobile onto my PC, to transfer onto the Nook (tho' not sure where). But on going back to the Nook I did manage to get into a browser. It may be the original Nook browser as there's a lot of Nook stuff in the history and the keyboard has no full stop - so it's impossible to type in any website address. A different keyboard, with full stop, appeared first (and I got into Ebay as an experiment) but I can't get back to this keyboard. I got onto Google, but couldn't sign in because I couldn't type the '.com'. There are all sorts of symbols, but no stop!
I think there must be some sort of conflict here which needs to be sorted out first. I'd be very grateful for a steer as I'm a complete novice in the Android world. I have a Android smartphone but only downloaded a couple of Google apps when I first got it and then just poked around and got things to work. - Caromcm

caromcm said:
p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Thanks for the advice, David. I've downloaded Opera Mobile onto my PC, to transfer onto the Nook (tho' not sure where). But on going back to the Nook I did manage to get into a browser. It may be the original Nook browser as there's a lot of Nook stuff in the history and the keyboard has no full stop - so it's impossible to type in any website address. A different keyboard, with full stop, appeared first (and I got into Ebay as an experiment) but I can't get back to this keyboard. I got onto Google, but couldn't sign in because I couldn't type the '.com'. There are all sorts of symbols, but no stop!
I think there must be some sort of conflict here which needs to be sorted out first. I'd be very grateful for a steer as I'm a complete novice in the Android world. I have a Android smartphone but only downloaded a couple of Google apps when I first got it and then just poked around and got things to work. - Caromcm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First, you can uninstall the old B&N browser. Locate the app in the system/app folder (you may need to set ReLaunch to see root folders). Or, you can just ignore it.
To sideload apps using ReLaunch (or a file manager app), drag the apk file via USB into a folder you have created on your SD card that you're using for storage. Then after disconnecting the USB, navigate to the folder from the file manager section of ReLaunch. Touch the apk and you should get a dialog that includes "install". I'm not too familiar with ReLaunch, but I believe you can uninstall by touching and holding on an apk file.
If you want GApps, of course, you need to run the package install you mentioned. Just a warning: a number of people have been having trouble with the sign-in process lately. Maybe they've been a little confused or maybe (more likely) Google is not too fond of dealing with these old devices. There is an older method for sign-in (and eventual Market access) that apparently does still work, but you can try what's described in the GAppsAttack posting and then if that doesn't work, try the older method [the method itself is a little ways down in the post I linked]
Also, based on my observations, you can no longer successfully select an app on your PC and expect to see it show up on your "phone" (which is how Google sees the NST). That used to work, but doesn't seem to any longer. So you really need to get Market working on the NST if that's how you intend to get apps. Otherwise, sideload.

nmyshkin said:
First, you can uninstall the old B&N browser. Locate the app in the system/app folder (you may need to set ReLaunch to see root folders). Or, you can just ignore it.
To sideload apps using ReLaunch (or a file manager app), drag the apk file via USB into a folder you have created on your SD card that you're using for storage. Then after disconnecting the USB, navigate to the folder from the file manager section of ReLaunch. Touch the apk and you should get a dialog that includes "install". I'm not too familiar with ReLaunch, but I believe you can uninstall by touching and holding on an apk file.
If you want GApps, of course, you need to run the package install you mentioned. Just a warning: a number of people have been having trouble with the sign-in process lately. Maybe they've been a little confused or maybe (more likely) Google is not too fond of dealing with these old devices. There is an older method for sign-in (and eventual Market access) that apparently does still work, but you can try what's described in the GAppsAttack posting and then if that doesn't work, try the older method [the method itself is a little ways down in the post I linked]
Also, based on my observations, you can no longer successfully select an app on your PC and expect to see it show up on your "phone" (which is how Google sees the NST). That used to work, but doesn't seem to any longer. So you really need to get Market working on the NST if that's how you intend to get apps. Otherwise, sideload.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Thank you for this very helpful reply, Nmyshkin. With regard to GoogleApps, all I want is a way to download DRM books without tangling with ADE, which will not run on my Linux laptop. Google Market seems to be the answer. Last night I succeeded in getting into Google and registering with my gmail address, so this may help?
This morning in System/App I found HTMLViewer.apk and Browser.apk, hence the conflict and the 2 input screens. On the All Applications screen the browser is just called 'Browser', so perhaps this is the obstructive B&N one?
I did not find ReLaunch in System/App so I expect that I need to load it, or another file manager app. I did find some other apps which might be relevant: GoogleSearch.apk, GlobalSearch.apk, AffileDownloadService.apk, DownloadAdmin.apk, ApplicationProvider.apk, Packageinstaller.apk.orig. Is that last one disabled​?
I cannot get into Root, and I'm not a Superuser, so these problems presumably need to be tackled.
I tried clicking on Amazon Appstore to see what I could download, but I got the message that it could not download 'because of a network connectivity error'.
My Nook now seems to have become unstable - when I close it I always find a different screen when I open it again, except when I close it on a book page.
I'd be very grateful for any suggestions. Meanwhile I'll look into downloading ReLaunch, or similar, onto my laptop. Best regards, Caromcm
p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; }

caromcm said:
Thank you for this very helpful reply, Nmyshkin. With regard to GoogleApps, all I want is a way to download DRM books without tangling with ADE, which will not run on my Linux laptop. Google Market seems to be the answer. Last night I succeeded in getting into Google and registering with my gmail address, so this may help?
This morning in System/App I found HTMLViewer.apk and Browser.apk, hence the conflict and the 2 input screens. On the All Applications screen the browser is just called 'Browser', so perhaps this is the obstructive B&N one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You want to get rid of Browser.apk, but there should not be a conflict with HTMLViewer.apk.
I did not find ReLaunch in System/App so I expect that I need to load it, or another file manager app. I did find some other apps which might be relevant: GoogleSearch.apk, GlobalSearch.apk, AffileDownloadService.apk, DownloadAdmin.apk, ApplicationProvider.apk, Packageinstaller.apk.orig. Is that last one disabled​?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wait, did you say you rooted with NookManager? That should install ReLaunch by default so if you hit the "Home" quicknav "button" you should get a dialog for whether you want the B&N Home or ReLaunch. Or, install some other launcher if you have a preference and you'll get the dialog to select it. The problem with no launcher is that even installing a file manager won't do you any good because you will have no way to access the app without a launcher! That's why ReLaunch is included with NookManager.
I cannot get into Root, and I'm not a Superuser, so these problems presumably need to be tackled.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, now we have an issue. Both should be taken care of with NookManager. It installs a copy of SU as well as enables side-loading. How are you looking at the files in system/app if you don't have root access??
So it sounds like the real problem is that you have not yet figured out how to launch ReLaunch (it's maybe not a system app? did you look in data/app?) so none of the rest of it is going to work for you.
I tried clicking on Amazon Appstore to see what I could download, but I got the message that it could not download 'because of a network connectivity error'.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Aha! So you have found the app drawer!!!!! That is part of ReLaunch Whew..... Alas, the Amazon App Store is dead on the NST and should be uninstalled. It always caused instability on my NST (see your remark below). So now your task to to figure out how to find the file or folder manager in ReLaunch. There I cannot help you. I know it's there because I've seen screen images. Try the menu button when on the app drawer. Perhaps something will show up. There has to be a way to navigate to the folder screen and to access settings so you can enable viewing of the root folders as well.
My Nook now seems to have become unstable - when I close it I always find a different screen when I open it again, except when I close it on a book page.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That should not happen, obviously. Since you haven't gone very far at this point you might just want to use NookManager to do a factory reset and try the whole process over again.

nmyshkin said:
You want to get rid of Browser.apk, but there should not be a conflict with HTMLViewer.apk.
Wait, did you say you rooted with NookManager? That should install ReLaunch by default so if you hit the "Home" quicknav "button" you should get a dialog for whether you want the B&N Home or ReLaunch. Or, install some other launcher if you have a preference and you'll get the dialog to select it. The problem with no launcher is that even installing a file manager won't do you any good because you will have no way to access the app without a launcher! That's why ReLaunch is included with NookManager.
OK, now we have an issue. Both should be taken care of with NookManager. It installs a copy of SU as well as enables side-loading. How are you looking at the files in system/app if you don't have root access??
So it sounds like the real problem is that you have not yet figured out how to launch ReLaunch (it's maybe not a system app? did you look in data/app?) so none of the rest of it is going to work for you.
Aha! So you have found the app drawer!!!!! That is part of ReLaunch Whew..... Alas, the Amazon App Store is dead on the NST and should be uninstalled. It always caused instability on my NST (see your remark below). So now your task to to figure out how to find the file or folder manager in ReLaunch. There I cannot help you. I know it's there because I've seen screen images. Try the menu button when on the app drawer. Perhaps something will show up. There has to be a way to navigate to the folder screen and to access settings so you can enable viewing of the root folders as well.
That should not happen, obviously. Since you haven't gone very far at this point you might just want to use NookManager to do a factory reset and try the whole process over again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Many thanks, again. I really don't have ReLaunch, I have Launcher (Launcher.apk in System/App). I've been using the Launcher file menu system. I've also been using the app drawer - didn't know that's what it's called. I've now deleted the Amazon App Store.
I've also deleted browser.apk and discovered that the input screen which actually had a full stop in fact belonged to that. HTMLViewer is just that, not a browser - should have realised. I need to get a browser installer into the right place. Should I drag the Opera Mobile installer from my laptop into the Root folder which is one of 14 folders at the top file level? I can open this, but it appears to be empty, which I interpreted as inaccessible except to superuser. Or should I put the installer into the top file level along with various init files?
When I click Superuser in the app drawer the screen just re-writes. No message.
How would I do a factory reset? Also, I have Calibre on this Nook and my laptop. Is it possible that Calibre has upset the applecart?

caromcm said:
p { margin-bottom: 0.25cm; line-height: 120%; } Many thanks, again. I really don't have ReLaunch, I have Launcher (Launcher.apk in System/App). I've been using the Launcher file menu system. I've also been using the app drawer - didn't know that's what it's called. I've now deleted the Amazon App Store.
I've also deleted browser.apk and discovered that the input screen which actually had a full stop in fact belonged to that. HTMLViewer is just that, not a browser - should have realised. I need to get a browser installer into the right place. Should I drag the Opera Mobile installer from my laptop into the Root folder which is one of 14 folders at the top file level? I can open this, but it appears to be empty, which I interpreted as inaccessible except to superuser. Or should I put the installer into the top file level along with various init files?
When I click Superuser in the app drawer the screen just re-writes. No message.
How would I do a factory reset? Also, I have Calibre on this Nook and my laptop. Is it possible that Calibre has upset the applecart?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow...it's like we're not even talking about the same device. If you do not have Relaunch how can you have an app drawer? How can you see any folders except for B&N user folders? When I connect my NST via USB to my PC all I can see in the "Nook" directory is what B&N intended for me to see, despite the fact that the device is rooted. That's the way the USB interface is designed to work. How are you even running Launcher.apk? That old, primitive launcher that B&N left on there is useless.
So here's what is says in the original NookManager post:
Technical stuff:
The actual rooting function is minimal and as non-invasive as possible:
uRamdisk is patched to enable ADB
the internal database setting is changed to allow installation of non-market apps
the DroidSansFallback font is replaced with the updated font from jellybean to add support for extended characters
the su/Superuser binary/package is installed
Relaunch is installed
ADB Konnect is installed for enabling/disabling ADB over wireless
on systems running firmware 1.2+, the ModManager jars and package are installed
on 1.2+ systems, the PackageInstaller.apk from the 1.1.2 firmware is installed to resolve issues with package installers
and, finally, the Amazon appstore is installed just to have some easy way of downloading new apps. You can uninstall it using ReLaunch if you don't use it.
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Click to collapse
Relaunch, as little as I know about it, has a few screens. One of them is a folder browser, like a file manager. It can see the SD card if you have one inserted, as well as the actual Nook "hard drive"--but not at the root level unless you have enabled that in the settings for Relaunch.
System apps can be installed as you have described: just drag the apk file into the system/app folder and reboot. But you can't install other apps that way. The apk file needs to be processed via the package installer (or through ADB....another story). Hence the need for a folder browser of some sort such as is part of Relaunch.
I repeat, if you have an app drawer, that is, a screen with a bunch of icons on it that represent and will start apps when you touch them, then you have Relaunch. If so, then you need to find the other screen with the folders, because that's how you are going to install, for example, Opera Mobile, by placing the apk file in some folder or another (create one called "Downloads" or something) and then touching on the apk file to bring up the installer. Again, while looking at the app drawer try the "menu" button--that's the little soft "button" at the top of the screen next to the "back" button.
If you are convinced that there is no Relaunch (I still don't understand how you can see any folders?!), then you MUST do a factory reset and try the process again because anything else is just piling problems on top of problems.
I'm not going to ask how you got Calibre onto your NST because you should not have been able to do so with all the issues you are having.
The presence or absence of Browser.apk has nothing to do with the system default keyboard, which certainly contains a period.
To do a factory reset: turn off the Nook and insert the NookManager card you made. Turn the Nook back on and wait for NookManager to load up. Factory reset is either an option on the first screen (after the dialog about Wi-Fi) or is found under "Rescue".
Before you try again, check your software version number (or just look at what NookManager says at the top of the screen when it is loaded. You should have 1.2.1

nmyshkin said:
Wow...it's like we're not even talking about the same device. If you do not have Relaunch how can you have an app drawer? How can you see any folders except for B&N user folders? When I connect my NST via USB to my PC all I can see in the "Nook" directory is what B&N intended for me to see, despite the fact that the device is rooted. That's the way the USB interface is designed to work. How are you even running Launcher.apk? That old, primitive launcher that B&N left on there is useless.
So here's what is says in the original NookManager post:
Relaunch, as little as I know about it, has a few screens. One of them is a folder browser, like a file manager. It can see the SD card if you have one inserted, as well as the actual Nook "hard drive"--but not at the root level unless you have enabled that in the settings for Relaunch.
System apps can be installed as you have described: just drag the apk file into the system/app folder and reboot. But you can't install other apps that way. The apk file needs to be processed via the package installer (or through ADB....another story). Hence the need for a folder browser of some sort such as is part of Relaunch.
I repeat, if you have an app drawer, that is, a screen with a bunch of icons on it that represent and will start apps when you touch them, then you have Relaunch. If so, then you need to find the other screen with the folders, because that's how you are going to install, for example, Opera Mobile, by placing the apk file in some folder or another (create one called "Downloads" or something) and then touching on the apk file to bring up the installer. Again, while looking at the app drawer try the "menu" button--that's the little soft "button" at the top of the screen next to the "back" button.
If you are convinced that there is no Relaunch (I still don't understand how you can see any folders?!), then you MUST do a factory reset and try the process again because anything else is just piling problems on top of problems.
I'm not going to ask how you got Calibre onto your NST because you should not have been able to do so with all the issues you are having.
The presence or absence of Browser.apk has nothing to do with the system default keyboard, which certainly contains a period.
To do a factory reset: turn off the Nook and insert the NookManager card you made. Turn the Nook back on and wait for NookManager to load up. Factory reset is either an option on the first screen (after the dialog about Wi-Fi) or is found under "Rescue".
Before you try again, check your software version number (or just look at what NookManager says at the top of the screen when it is loaded. You should have 1.2.1
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Click to collapse
Many thank for the valuable info. Yes, I do seem to have tripped into a parallel universe. Perhaps I now have a quantum Nook - complete with wormholes in the operating system!
The menu button in the app drawer doesn’t work. I get to the folder browser via the library button: this opens the SD card (I think I set it to do this) and I go up through the folder levels. I'm not exploring the file system via USB/laptop, I'm doing it direct on the Nook. I should be able to transfer the Opera Mobile apk file to the Nook SD card and thence to an appropriate folder on the Nook itself. It might be better to do a factory reset - but wouldn't I have to re-register? I don't think that would be possible now that B&N no longer support the Nook in the UK. My Nook is v1.2. I was using Calibre before I rooted.
Re ReLaunch - I've now set the right-hand physical buttons to go to the menu. This works as expected now, but originally I was in file manager mode and every time I tried out my change the word 'ReLaunch' popped up - first time I've seen it on the Nook. It wasn't a menu, just 'Relaunch' and two buttons, Information and OK. 'Information' just gave me a version number - v.1.38 - and OK just took me back to the previous screen. With hindsight I think Relaunch was asking me to OK the change. NB Now I've gone back to read mode the Nook seems to have stabilized.
When I deleted the Amazon Appstore and the browser, I just did a long press (I think) and got a menu including Delete. I didn't use ReLaunch because I couldn't access it. Can it only be accessed via System/Apps? I don't seem to have a facility to do a search through the file system.

caromcm said:
The menu button in the app drawer doesn’t work. I get to the folder browser via the library button: this opens the SD card (I think I set it to do this) and I go up through the folder levels. I'm not exploring the file system via USB/laptop, I'm doing it direct on the Nook. I should be able to transfer the Opera Mobile apk file to the Nook SD card and thence to an appropriate folder on the Nook itself. It might be better to do a factory reset - but wouldn't I have to re-register? I don't think that would be possible now that B&N no longer support the Nook in the UK. My Nook is v1.2. I was using Calibre before I rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not going to ask how you got a Calibre app onto your Nook before rooting. Yes, you can copy the Opera Mobile apk file to the SD card and then use any sort of file manager/explorer to install it. If you want an ordinary file manager (since you have a sort of app drawer you should be able to launch it), I recommend an old version of ES File Explorer. It is among the apps I have bundled together that are hard to find which I have found useful on my NST. You can download the package here. In the settings for the app you can enable access to root folders.
Re ReLaunch - I've now set the right-hand physical buttons to go to the menu. This works as expected now, but originally I was in file manager mode and every time I tried out my change the word 'ReLaunch' popped up - first time I've seen it on the Nook. It wasn't a menu, just 'Relaunch' and two buttons, Information and OK. 'Information' just gave me a version number - v.1.38 - and OK just took me back to the previous screen. With hindsight I think Relaunch was asking me to OK the change. NB Now I've gone back to read mode the Nook seems to have stabilized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It sounds like you really need a good launcher. The hidden one that's on the NST is pretty crippled. Many people like Relaunch because basically they use their Nooks to read and do little else. Relaunch was designed for that. If that sounds like you, one option to get a functioning/updated copy is to install Opera Mobile and use it to download/install Relaunch. Here's a link. Or you can download on a PC and transfer to the Nook to install.
When you install any new launcher you will get a dialog when you touch the "Home" quicknav "button" asking what you want to do. It's possible that in the past you had that for Relaunch and answered something different with the "always do this" checked and then it's nearly impossible to find the launcher again--unless you install a new one. I personally prefer a more traditional tablet approach and use ADW Launcher, but there are many other options. Almost anything has got to be better than what was hidden on the NST when B&N shipped it out (of course they never expected anyone would access it). I do not think launchers, in general, are system apps. My ADW is in data/app along with most installed apps. BUT, launchers do not typically appear in the app drawer (why would they?) so there is no way to start one except at the initial dialog when you try to access "Home" after installing a new launcher (or each time you access "Home" if you do not tick the "always do this").
I can understand now why you do not want to do a factory reset, seeing as how you are in the UK. It has been reported that running the NST without registering results in abnormal battery drain. I don't know whether that is correct, and there might be more than one way to set it up without registering, but it's a risk. That being the case, I can't stress enough how important it is to make backups frequently as you try to sort things out. Making a backup with NookManager is easy, but only one backup can exist on the SD card at a time. You can transfer backups to your PC when NookManager is running. So, for example, if you plug the USB cable in before you exit NookManager, you will actually be able to see the otherwise hidden backup folder and can copy the files to your PC. I usually make a folder with the date and include a small text file that describes what has been done since the previous backup. Keeping two or three backups on your PC can be a lifesaver if something that you try goes really wrong.

nmyshkin said:
I'm not going to ask how you got a Calibre app onto your Nook before rooting. Yes, you can copy the Opera Mobile apk file to the SD card and then use any sort of file manager/explorer to install it. If you want an ordinary file manager (since you have a sort of app drawer you should be able to launch it), I recommend an old version of ES File Explorer. It is among the apps I have bundled together that are hard to find which I have found useful on my NST. You can download the package here. In the settings for the app you can enable access to root folders.
It sounds like you really need a good launcher. The hidden one that's on the NST is pretty crippled. Many people like Relaunch because basically they use their Nooks to read and do little else. Relaunch was designed for that. If that sounds like you, one option to get a functioning/updated copy is to install Opera Mobile and use it to download/install Relaunch. Here's a link. Or you can download on a PC and transfer to the Nook to install.
When you install any new launcher you will get a dialog when you touch the "Home" quicknav "button" asking what you want to do. It's possible that in the past you had that for Relaunch and answered something different with the "always do this" checked and then it's nearly impossible to find the launcher again--unless you install a new one. I personally prefer a more traditional tablet approach and use ADW Launcher, but there are many other options. Almost anything has got to be better than what was hidden on the NST when B&N shipped it out (of course they never expected anyone would access it). I do not think launchers, in general, are system apps. My ADW is in data/app along with most installed apps. BUT, launchers do not typically appear in the app drawer (why would they?) so there is no way to start one except at the initial dialog when you try to access "Home" after installing a new launcher (or each time you access "Home" if you do not tick the "always do this").
I can understand now why you do not want to do a factory reset, seeing as how you are in the UK. It has been reported that running the NST without registering results in abnormal battery drain. I don't know whether that is correct, and there might be more than one way to set it up without registering, but it's a risk. That being the case, I can't stress enough how important it is to make backups frequently as you try to sort things out. Making a backup with NookManager is easy, but only one backup can exist on the SD card at a time. You can transfer backups to your PC when NookManager is running. So, for example, if you plug the USB cable in before you exit NookManager, you will actually be able to see the otherwise hidden backup folder and can copy the files to your PC. I usually make a folder with the date and include a small text file that describes what has been done since the previous backup. Keeping two or three backups on your PC can be a lifesaver if something that you try goes really wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I've misled you about Calibre. I meant that I run Calibre on the laptop and had noticed a couple of Calibre files in the Nook filing system. I've just checked and found the're on the SD card.
Progress in understanding here, but no practical progress.
I put the Opera Mobile apk file on the Nook SD, but then found it couldn't be moved/copied onto the Nook itself. Do you think I could install direct from the SD - B&N seem to have set up a barrier. I also emailed various links to the gmail address I put onto the Nook, but the emails refuse to open. I think the Google stuff needs updating.
I re-enabled the B&N browser, but it keeps warning me that site certificates are out of date, even when I use addresses which work on my laptop. Occasionally something works.
Amongst t[/QUOTE]he galaxy of menus I found an option to 'Show all apps including this one'. I clicked and ReLaunch appeared in my apps drawer!
nmyshkin said:
When you install any new launcher you will get a dialog when you touch the "Home" quicknav "button" asking what you want to do. It's possible that in the past you had that for Relaunch and answered something different with the "always do this" checked and then it's nearly impossible to find the launcher again--unless you install a new one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, that's what I did - it was supposed to be reversible, but the trick didn't work.
I think I'll make another backup and try NTGAppsAttack. Might free up the email. Then I'll have a think about launchers.
Many thanks for all the useful suggestions. Will let you know how things go, but not tomorrow as I have other things I have to do.

caromcm said:
I think I've misled you about Calibre. I meant that I run Calibre on the laptop and had noticed a couple of Calibre files in the Nook filing system. I've just checked and found the're on the SD card.
Progress in understanding here, but no practical progress.
I put the Opera Mobile apk file on the Nook SD, but then found it couldn't be moved/copied onto the Nook itself. Do you think I could install direct from the SD - B&N seem to have set up a barrier. I also emailed various links to the gmail address I put onto the Nook, but the emails refuse to open. I think the Google stuff needs updating.
I re-enabled the B&N browser, but it keeps warning me that site certificates are out of date, even when I use addresses which work on my laptop. Occasionally something works.
Amongst the galaxy of menus I found an option to 'Show all apps including this one'. I clicked and ReLaunch appeared in my apps drawer!
Yes, that's what I did - it was supposed to be reversible, but the trick didn't work.
I think I'll make another backup and try NTGAppsAttack. Might free up the email. Then I'll have a think about launchers.
Many thanks for all the useful suggestions. Will let you know how things go, but not tomorrow as I have other things I have to do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, Calibre stores little files on the SD card if you use it to move over books. I might add that simply dragging over the epub files seems to result in a smaller chunk of memory storage. Perhaps those Calibre files don't get updated (and larger) when you do that. At least that was my experience. And the NST can't use the Calibre information, in any case.
I install all my side-loaded apps from a folder I have on my SD card called "Downloads", so yes you can install an app from SD card--or should be able to do so.
If there was already a resident Gmail app in system/app it is probably useless. Even the one in GAppsAttack only functions for awhile and then you have to reinstall it to get it going again (and again....). Apparently a known issue but "fixed" versions do not run on the NST. You can try the small and simple e-mail app that is linked from here. That's what I use. It works simply and reliably with imap e-mail and functions just like you would expect Gmail to.
The problem with certificates has recently been addressed and is not a problem of the old (albeit largely useless) browser, but of the device itself and it can limit its access to, for example, Kindle books as well as various websites. When you get to the point where you want to deal with it, read the thread here (and the next few entries for some simplification).

nmyshkin said:
Yes, Calibre stores little files on the SD card if you use it to move over books. I might add that simply dragging over the epub files seems to result in a smaller chunk of memory storage. Perhaps those Calibre files don't get updated (and larger) when you do that. At least that was my experience. And the NST can't use the Calibre information, in any case.
I install all my side-loaded apps from a folder I have on my SD card called "Downloads", so yes you can install an app from SD card--or should be able to do so.
If there was already a resident Gmail app in system/app it is probably useless. Even the one in GAppsAttack only functions for awhile and then you have to reinstall it to get it going again (and again....). Apparently a known issue but "fixed" versions do not run on the NST. You can try the small and simple e-mail app that is linked from here. That's what I use. It works simply and reliably with imap e-mail and functions just like you would expect Gmail to.
The problem with certificates has recently been addressed and is not a problem of the old (albeit largely useless) browser, but of the device itself and it can limit its access to, for example, Kindle books as well as various websites. When you get to the point where you want to deal with it, read the thread here (and the next few entries for some simplification).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! You're a mine of useful info - and, belatedly, I've just found the Thanks Button. I've also loaded Opera Mobile, which is working fine. In the process the email has been fixed too. I've copied all your links onto my Nook for future investigation. When I have time (next week) I'll run NGAppsAttack (making a backup first) and then I should be able to download books.
For clarification, it was Loader, not ReLoad which offered me the load options and an "Always do this" tick box after rooting. The action of the tick box was supposed to be reversible, but that trick didn't work. I still don't know where Loader fits in. Part of the Nook software? Part of ReLaunch? However, all works now, so I won't post any more into this thread as it's really about my browser problem. May thanks Nmyshkin.

caromcm said:
Great! You're a mine of useful info - and, belatedly, I've just found the Thanks Button. I've also loaded Opera Mobile, which is working fine. In the process the email has been fixed too. I've copied all your links onto my Nook for future investigation. When I have time (next week) I'll run NGAppsAttack (making a backup first) and then I should be able to download books.
For clarification, it was Loader, not ReLoad which offered me the load options and an "Always do this" tick box after rooting. The action of the tick box was supposed to be reversible, but that trick didn't work. I still don't know where Loader fits in. Part of the Nook software? Part of ReLaunch? However, all works now, so I won't post any more into this thread as it's really about my browser problem. May thanks Nmyshkin.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad we got some things squared away. If you install the ES File Explorer I directed you to, it comes with an app manager. You can find the Loader, or Launcher or whatever (more likely, "Home") and cancel the default behavior from your "always do this" mishap.
Good luck.