Database Users

[Q] Nook touch 1.1.2

I just have quick question, i just got my nook yesterday at got it updated to new firmware, i see the several rooting options for nook and im sure i can install any of them without probs what i was curious bout is stability of the different rooting problems with new 1.1.2 are they all pretty compatible to new firmware or is there select few, thanks for any help.

they are compatible. 1.1.2 has improvements on wifi issues, not much changes on the other things.

ok i got it rooted i cant seem to do anything on it the market says "a server error has occurred", opera mini wont even boot at all the scree just flashes for second and the other browser loads and shows internet but when you touch anywere to type it crashes back to main menu. Im tryin to figure what went wrong i followed the directions on TouchNooter 2.1.31.
also youtube wont reboot up screen just flashes. When i first did install it was working ok i got to my gmail account got it set up etc. is touchnooter just outdated and use a different method to root now instead?

ok i got it unrooted and back to original 1.1.2 format. Do i follow the instructions on that still or is there new way to root the nook? Im not best in rooting files but i can follow information posted. Can someone please direct me to most reliable working rooting method for nook 1.1.2? Also i was curious i never used android before all the pdf options you can get from market, is it even worth rooting nook if thats prime reason, most pdfs i have has alot of image heavy files or am i just better off leaving it unroot use adobe to rebuild them instead?

opera mini wont work, i couldnt make it work tho. try opera mobile. to solve market issue, you have to wait 1+ day.
search wont work even after then.
try to check gmails after root, if it works then its ok. dont wory about youtube, since you wont watch any video there.
you can use multitouch + norefresh hack + ezpdf reader after root, that is perfect for pdfs that contains images and such.
check it out: watch?v=6pBPsyno5PY

ok i used minimaltouch this time got it rooted and working having some bugs not sure how to fix it, i know reg msrket you cant search in it so i use the search market app when i try to click on a app to download in search app it flashes attempts to go to next page were download is but fails and goes back to list of search. also the my apps button does same thing it goes back to previous screen in act of will. I also like to access the regular home to get to my reg nook books in my library but when i do it goes on its own accord back to android home, could osmeone help me with those minor bugs?

heres more detailed list on whats going on hopefully somoene will have idea whats wrong so i can fix it than reroot for third time. when you hit the N button and select home it goes to nook home for split second then instantly goes back to android home, when you hit library it goes to library but constantly refreshes non stop you cant select any menus or no ebooks show up in list so you have to rego back to android home. i installed search market for while i was able to download off android market, but now after i do search in searchmarket and select "file1" it does same as home button it goes to next page with download link for split second then it instantly goes back to list of search results. and in regular market when you hit "my apps" it does same thing again it goes to your list of downloaded files for split second and then goes right back to market main menu i cant go anywere no matter how many times i click it it keeps going back to previous menu non stop. gmail still works and syncs and i can access my pdf program i installed but i cant read any of my nook books cant do single thing on market cant go home or to library i also installed nook mobile it works just fine but everything else listed wont work, what could cause this glitch / bug, i followed directions to minimaltouch to letter and i didnt have single hitch during install all way through but now its like this. Is there anyway i can fix this or just keep rerooting 100 times till it finally works?

nevermind

[WARNING] NookColor Tools can cause forced factory reset

I couldn't see anything about this on the forum so far so I thought I ought to post a warning myself....
NookColor Tools is a great app, but don't be tempted to experiment with the menu entries further down the "All Settings" menu, as some of them (for example the multiple "Settings" entries) will force your NST/N2G to factory reset. Basically a B&N dialog appears and says something about a security or permissions breach detected, then forces a reboot and factory reset.
You have been warned!
The following [useful] menu entries are known to be safe:
About Your NOOK
Battery use
Development
Device Info
Diagnostics and Logging
Locale
Manage applications
Quick settings
Running services
Screen
SD Card
(Tested using N2G running 1.2.0 firmware, rooted using GlowNooter 1-12-25)

I can confirm this - just happened to me.

And me
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app

Yup! This happened to me too last week when I first rooted my Nook. I wish I had seen this earlier. It would have saved me from having to root again.

This has happen to me too yesterday. +1
I have made CWM backup just one day before it, but I should mention that it doesn't backup My Files folder from internal storage partition actually, because the 'media' partition just wasn't mount by CWM at all (at least it worked that way in my particular case). So be careful and backup your books and etc from internal storage partition manually if you need them.
I would recommend to have whole ROM (internal storage flash memory) backup to everybody (nookmanager or nogie will help to do it if you don't know how to use dd in adb shell). It obviously rules. I'm glad I had it.

Why isn't this thread stickied? This seems like Need to Know Information.

Oh crap. Does this mean that secret Barnes & Noble stuff is breached? Or does it just mean that the system finds out that it is rooted? Either way, that isn't good. This did get me thinking, if those settings exist, are they included, but blocked by the stock ROM? We already know about the secret factory menu, so is it possible that there are more menus like that? Possibly some that allow acces to that part of settings without causing a security breach?
Sent from my NookColor using xda app-developers app

More likely the settings entry is doing exactly what it is supposed to, and the way it's triggered stock just happens to show it as an entry. I just did this myself on accident, I think I'll leave it in reader only mode for a while, I rarely use the "tablet mode" features.
==EDIT== I do miss the screensaver banner editing (had it as an "if found, contact" notice) and the persistent battery bar I had though. I guess it's less likely to die quickly in reader only mode so the bar isn't really needed any more

I can confirm this. A few NookColor Tools settings don't work (they throw me back to main NCT menu), and at least one of them shown me the security breach message and then restarted my Nook Simple Touch.
After restart, Nook started to boot, but never finished doing that. Eventually i pushed at the top part of the screen - and that brought up the Quick Settings dialog (where you can enable/disable WIFI). After that, the top Android bar appeared, but the screen remained black.
My guess is that since i disabled B&N tools with NookManager, Nook had no home to run, or something like that.
Eventually i had to restore pre-rooting backup i've had.

Goggles2114 said:
Why isn't this thread stickied? This seems like Need to Know Information.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for making this thread Sticky!!

Just reporting:
Device Registrator can force factory-reset as well. If you register with it and then tap "unregister user."
I was running rooted 1.0.1 rooted with nookmanager.

Mineturtle33,
I'm thinking it's interesting, because the "security breach" problem may be related or the same of you first try to port CM7.
You agree?
Maybe better understanding of that can also solve some of the problems of the port!

Yes, and no. When it recently factory reset on me it was related. When I first tried to port SnowMod (not CM7 btw, but a NST optimized CM7-like ROM) It factory reset when I tried to open an app in the android launcher. This may or may not be related.
Sent from my NookColor using xda app-developers app

This is an old thread but I found this error myself much to my chagrin. I decided to test every selection. Every menu is okay to go through except the second settings down on the list and the registration menu. Some of them cause weird behavior (one of the timezone selections killed button savior after opening the registration menu) but are harmless from what I can tell. I wish there was some way to remove the second "settings" selection since it is on the bottom of the first page and someone could accidentally click on it instead of going to the next page. I tried backing up, letting it reset itself. and restoring, but it seems to be a flag that is on the system. Perhaps there is a way to turn it off but that is beyond me.

Agree
t_0_0_l said:
This is an old thread but I found this error myself much to my chagrin. I decided to test every selection. Every menu is okay to go through except the second settings down on the list and the registration menu. Some of them cause weird behavior (one of the timezone selections killed button savior after opening the registration menu) but are harmless from what I can tell. I wish there was some way to remove the second "settings" selection since it is on the bottom of the first page and someone could accidentally click on it instead of going to the next page. I tried backing up, letting it reset itself. and restoring, but it seems to be a flag that is on the system. Perhaps there is a way to turn it off but that is beyond me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happened to me too! I was looking for a way to change the time, as the UK has just changed to DST, and hit upon a "settings" that caused a bricking! I agree that this should be a "sticky" warning for noobs (such as me) to read first

[Q] help needed: stuck on startup screen after doing restore

I'm at wits end and am hoping someone here can help me. I recently bought a Nook Simple Touch (v 1.2.1), and tried to root it using this thread: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2040351.
Things seemed to go OK and I think I rooted it successfully, but I got frustrated because the amazon app store wasn't working and I couldn't figure out how to get google apps up and going. So I figured I'd restore it back to original state, do some more reading, and try to root it again when I had more knowledge. I was able to get it to the screen to do the factory restore (# 3 on this thread: http://nookdevs.com/Nook_Simple_Touch_restore_to_stock), but it is hung up on the start screen (the screen that says "nook by Barnes & Noble" with the dot moving across the five circles). It's been hung for over an hour.
I'm really frustrated - I've rooted phones before, and recently rooted a Nook HD+ with zero issues.
When I rooted it I thought I was making a backup by hitting the backup button before hitting the route, but I don't see any backup image on my SD card.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
---------------------------
UPDATE:
ok, I am a huge fan of the Brontes but have never been so excited to see their faces as I am now! After a lot of frustration and cursing, but lots of persistence, I was able to successfully do the system restore, by doing #2 on this thread ((# 3 on this thread: http://nookdevs.com/Nook_Simple_Touch_restore_to_stock)). It appears that option #3 wasn't really working (I hit the home button twice per the instructions, but then it turned into a cycle of hell).
So now I will proceed more cautiously, first being certain I figure out how to make a backup...

Hiya Droid,
Getting the google maps and market etc working is a bit of a faff quite frankly but it does work!
Heres the instructions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2086582
Take your time and follow them step by step and you should be good to go.
Google Maps works great on the nook and is possibly the best app for it. The twitter app also works and it looked like the facebook app worked too (but it was huge!) Opera Mobile Classic is a really nice web browser to use with it, The opera mini that come pre-installed is a waste of time imho. Also UC Browser (with the squirrel) is the other web browser I recommend. I probably use it more than Opera Mobile Classic.
BTW if you are in the UK then the amazon appstore doesn't work and you can just uninstall it by doing a long press on the icon.
Hope you get it all working. I think the thing to do is just to take your time and not to get frustrated or worry when things go wrong. If you have a fresh nook then you have no data to lose anyway, and as you have found, there are a lot of ways to get you back to where you started!
Good Luck!
Freya

thank you FreyaBlack, I was able to figure it all out. Maybe my first download of nookmanager was faulty, the second time it worked like a charm. The market was a bit wonky but I think it just needed time to sync! Now I just have to figure out how dropbox works on this thing (I already use it on my desktop for audio files but need to figure out how to get those (audio files) NOT to sync on my NST.

Options for registering a UK Nook Simple Touch.

Hello.
I have a second hand nook ST I bought as a spare. Currently registered to the old owner.
I have a UK and a US B&N account but the UK servers are no longer available since they pulled out of the market.
Am I right is thinking I can just flash the UK nook to US firmware and register the device on my US account? (I already have a nook running fine on a US account)
I have a image for the SD card to flash the rom but I cannot erase and deregister the UK nook using the standard menus as it requires server access. Best way to do this? Factory reset?
Any input will be much appreciated.
thanks

I would try a factory reset as that generally forces re-registration. You could then register it to your US account. At least that is my theory.

the_alternate said:
Hello.
I have a second hand nook ST I bought as a spare. Currently registered to the old owner.
I have a UK and a US B&N account but the UK servers are no longer available since they pulled out of the market.
Am I right is thinking I can just flash the UK nook to US firmware and register the device on my US account? (I already have a nook running fine on a US account)
I have a image for the SD card to flash the rom but I cannot erase and deregister the UK nook using the standard menus as it requires server access. Best way to do this? Factory reset?
Any input will be much appreciated.
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You may need to use a VPN? Not sure if the U.S. servers will allow registration from outside the U.S.

nmyshkin said:
You may need to use a VPN? Not sure if the U.S. servers will allow registration from outside the U.S.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No they don't mind where you are. I have another Nook registered on a US account. I think it needs to be the right firmware though or it will just automatically look for the old UK servers that are not there any more.
David0226 said:
I would try a factory reset as that generally forces re-registration. You could then register it to your US account. At least that is my theory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the best way to do a factory reset? I found this on google, any use?
After looking around and trying a few things I was finally able to find a process that works. The first thing is to wipe the data directory by getting it to reset it. To do this on the Nook Simple Touch you have to do 8 uninterrupted starts. So first, hold down the power button (the one on the back) and turn it off. Then hold the power button on the back for a second again to begin to power up the Nook, after waiting a second or two hold both the power and home buttons simultaneously for 5 seconds or so until the screen flashes and it begins to start up again. I found I had to wait a few seconds after the screen turned back on after each flash before holding the buttons again in order for it to reset again. Keep reseting it like that until a restoring screen comes up and it wipes the data drive.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks

the_alternate said:
What is the best way to do a factory reset? I found this on google, any use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the generally accepted (if tedious) method to invoke a reset. I've done it myself in the distant past. I'm wondering what the difference is between a "factory reset", and a return to "factory settings" such as available via NookManager. That path is certainly easier if the net result is the same.
Edit: also, here is a potential alternate method:
-Turn off your Nook Simple Touch completely.
-Turn it on again by holding down power, and then, as soon as the screen flashes, begin holding down the bottom page turn keys on the left and right of the device until the screen flashes with a message asking if you want to do a factory reset.
- Click the home key twice, and you should be on your way.

Thanks, I might give it a go later.
Anyone know, if I end up not being able to register the device, if I can just go ahead and root it? I assume you don't need to be registered to root?
thx

the_alternate said:
Thanks, I might give it a go later.
Anyone know, if I end up not being able to register the device, if I can just go ahead and root it? I assume you don't need to be registered to root?
thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can skip OOBE (instructions here on XDA somewhere and probably elsewhere) but there are reports that battery life is seriously impacted. No one has substantiated this AFAIK, either with direct measurements or an explanation as to what is going on. However, quite a number of libraries and universities which check out Nooks as readers often suggest this route after doing a factory reset, so it's anyone's guess I suppose.

Ok, update for anyone else stuck with a UK simple touch.
Used this method suggested above (thanks) to factory reset.
-Turn off your Nook Simple Touch completely.
-Turn it on again by holding down power, and then, as soon as the screen flashes, begin holding down the bottom page turn keys on the left and right of the device until the screen flashes with a message asking if you want to do a factory reset.
- Click the home key twice, and you should be on your way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Used this guide to flash US firmware.
https://sites.google.com/site/xcdguides/nook/nookregion
Registered with my US account straight away. I can see the US store and everything (although I am not sure if you can buy directly, I side load everything anyway).
Thx to everyone who helped,

Confirmed.
Used this method after a friend ended up with a migrated online account (Sainsburrys/Kobo) but a reset Nook (incorrect email when registered, don't ask!) After using this I have it coming up with a registration page for the USA site and I'm now looking to ether side load the books or look at possibly rooting the Nook and looking to install the Sainsburrys/Kobo App if such a thing exists.

Great. Having found an old UK NSTG, this has helped onto the first step towards rooting, installing CWM and finally switching to 1337 ROM.
Results so far: US firmware flashed, Nook registered with US B&N account (I completely forgot I had one, but it still works). Off we go...

critialmass said:
Great. Having found an old UK NSTG, this has helped onto the first step towards rooting, installing CWM and finally switching to 1337 ROM.
Results so far: US firmware flashed, Nook registered with US B&N account (I completely forgot I had one, but it still works). Off we go...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Critialmass, can you please provide a link to the ROM you will be installing.
I've recently acquired a NSTG and have been searching for GlowNooter but, perhaps due to it's age, any links I have found are broken and/or the file is unavailable.
Any help you can provide would be most appreciated.

StormStealer said:
Critialmass, can you please provide a link to the ROM you will be installing.
I've recently acquired a NSTG and have been searching for GlowNooter but, perhaps due to it's age, any links I have found are broken and/or the file is unavailable.
Any help you can provide would be most appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello StormStealer, it's the one from this thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/devdb/project/?id=6542#downloads
Install instructions are in the "Discussion" section - look for it in the black bar above the downloads.
I'd almost recommend another one a little stronger - it runs on my other Nook (an NST) and seems a little more stable, the 1337-ROM crashes/reboots sometimes, and mostly unexpectedly. So take a look at this one:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2651053

Thanks
critialmass said:
Hello StormStealer, it's the one from this thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/devdb/project/?id=6542#downloads
Install instructions are in the "Discussion" section - look for it in the black bar above the downloads.
I'd almost recommend another one a little stronger - it runs on my other Nook (an NST) and seems a little more stable, the 1337-ROM crashes/reboots sometimes, and mostly unexpectedly. So take a look at this one:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2651053
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you,
I've been doing a bit of searching elsewhere and you're not the first to say the 1337 ROM is a bit buggy.
A few places have said that most custom ROMs are slower (less responsive) than the stock ROM and that they play havoc with the battery life.
I'll try both ROMs out and see for myself.

I used the method described on this page which worked well for the UK Nook I got on eBay to replace my broken one -> http://heeed.net/resetting-a-nook-simple-touch/
Then I installed NookManager and all is well

It seems you can skip the device registration altogether using this simple method by XDA user mastermind4:
mastermind4 said:
At the "Hi, welcome to your NOOK GlowLight™" screen, hold down the home button and swipe your finger along the top of the screen from left-to-right. A "Factory" box will appear in the upper-left. Press it.
At the factory screen, hold down the home button and tap the lower-right corner of the screen. A "Skip Oobe" box will appear. Press it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The original thread is called "Nook GlowLight (NGL) bypass Oobe"

ivanko021 said:
It seems you can skip the device registration altogether using this simple method by XDA user mastermind4:
The original thread is called "Nook GlowLight (NGL) bypass Oobe"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the distant past, skipping Oobe on the NST was reported to result in high battery drain. I don't know if that was ever confirmed or if it might also apply to the NSTG.

Nook Simple Touch Network Problem - a success story that raises more questions

First of all, thanks to nmyshkin and all the other folks who have put in the time and effort both to develop tools and solutions for the NST and to document the process to share with others. I wanted to document my own recent experience in case it’s of any help to anyone with similar issues.
A little background: I've been using a NST since 2011, which my (US-based) parents bought for me at the time. I've usually kept wifi turned off, except to occasionally connect in order to sync the clock, and I've sideloaded books from my Mac using Adobe Digital Editions and Calibre.
I'd originally written here that I'd never rooted the device; however, years ago I did remove the two default User Guide books from the library. Unless there's a way to do this without root, or unless I just hid the books on a shelf and then forgot about them, then I must have rooted it at the time, at least temporarily.
In 2013, I cracked the device's screen, so I picked up a used on on eBay and swapped the guts from my old one to the chassis of the new one. At least I think that's what I did...it was some time ago, and I didn't document the process.
At any rate, on to the present.
In the evening on 2022-04-26, I took out my NST to read a book, and I was greeted by the “new device” sequence of prompts (as if my device had never been used and needed to be set up for the first time). I believe that the first page I was shown was language selection, but I never saw this page again in this entire process, so I cannot be sure. I stepped through the menus (accepting agreement, choosing time zone, connecting to wifi), but after connecting to wifi, I got a “Network Error” and could not proceed.
Taking to the internet, I found out that this error is usually related to B&N servers no longer being online, and that I should try to bypass the registration entirely. The directions given for this involved factory resetting to get to the Welcome page, holding the top right page turn button and swiping the top of the screen left to right, tapping the Factory button that appears, holding the top right page turn button and tapping the lower right corner of the screen, and finally tapping the "Skip Oobe" button that appears. I found these directions in the following sources, among many others:
https://www.reddit.com/r/nook/comments/ex61b3
I should note that at no point in this entire process was I ever able to get the hidden Factory button to pop up, despite finding these directions all over the internet. I attempted to factory reset several times (reboot and immediately press the two lower page turn buttons as soon as the screen flashes), attempted to factory re-image using NookManager (https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-updating-nookmanager-for-fw-1-2-2.3873048/), and while these resets were successful, I never was able to access the hidden Factory menu at the welcome screen.
I also at this time downloaded and manually installed the Nook 1.2.2 update from B&N, in case I had not done so before (https://help.barnesandnoble.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4212/~/having-trouble-connecting-to-your-nook?#ManualDL). To make the update happen automatically, I copied the file to the Nook’s internal storage from a computer, put the Nook to sleep, and waited a minute or two until the Nook found the file and started the update. B&N says that this update is necessary to allow connection to their servers, so it seemed like a logical thing to do; however, at this point, this update neither gave me access to the Factory menu nor allowed me to register my device on the B&N servers.
Doing some more reading, I found that UK devices were cut off from their servers a few years ago, and some industrious people came up with a ways to use these devices anyway, the most common being to replace the Nook’s firmware with the US firmware using the “Nook Region Changer” SD card, which is based on clockworkmod (CWM).
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-dealing-with-non-us-aka-uk-devices-in-2021.4233411/
https://web.archive.org/web/20210821235751/https://sites.google.com/site/xcdguides/nook/nookregion
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nst-g-update-fw-1-2-2-uk-unofficial.4360889/
I decided to give this a try, in case my device happened to be a UK or other international device (although I was fairly certain it was US based, because I am located in the US and the device listed time zones from the US…though I suppose it could have been Canada?). The directions I followed were a mix of the second and third links above:
I downloaded the nook_region_changer file (from the first of the three links above) and used Etcher to make a bootable microSD
I followed steps 3-10 in the third link from nmyshkin: power down, boot into CWM, backup, wipe dalvik cache, wipe data/factory reset
I then switched to steps 7-9 in the second link (archive.org): install rom_backup.zip, install nook_1_2_update_US_CWM.zip, reboot twice
Following these steps, I was now getting a slightly different welcome screen when I booted into the Nook firmware, which matches the one in the YouTube video cited earlier in this post, except without the Back button. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of what my screen looked like before this flash (though I’ve done a little digging into this, which is toward the bottom of this post). Nonetheless, I was still unable to access the hidden Factory menu, and I was also unable to register the device with B&N.
I then decided to apply the B&N 1.2.2 update once again, copying the file to the Nook’s internal storage and putting the Nook to sleep so that it could update. Following this update, the Welcome screen remained the same, and the hidden Factory menu was once again inaccessible. However, this time, my device was able to connect to the B&N servers, and I was able to finish setup.
Things now seem to be in working order.
—————
Some thoughts from afterward:
I’m not sure why my device decided to re-initialize in the first place, as I’ve been using it for the past decade or so, I always keep my Nook’s wifi turned off, and I had sideloaded a book to the device just a few days earlier, opened the book at that time, and everything had been working normally.
I wonder if the Factory menu is only available on international Nook devices. I have no idea why I was never able to access this menu throughout the process, though I did find one other user who had the same problem a couple of years ago (this was the post that pointed me at the nmyshkin custom UK firmware post that became a part of my solution in the end): https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nook-simple-touch-network-problem.4130461/
This user was also based in the US, so it’s possible that my hypothesis about the Factory menu being inaccessible from US firmware is correct; however, I would have to install some other firmware to check, and as my device is finally working, I don’t want to risk it.
I believe that what clued me in to needing to update to the latest B&N firmware (despite this not solving things once before) was this post by nmyshkin in another thread: https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/...mple-touch-update-1-2-2.3971367/post-80341393
On that note, I don’t know why my device was unable to register after the first time I applied the B&N firmware update.
It’s possible that my device wasn’t a US-firmware device. As I mentioned briefly at the beginning, my original Nook was a gift from my parents in 2011 (and thus was probably a US device), but its screen became damaged and I purchased a second one from eBay. I don’t recall what was wrong with the second one (maybe a bad battery, maybe something else?), but I do remember taking both devices apart and mixing the two of them as I put them back together, presumably to use the good screen from one and…something…from the other. So there’s a chance that the brains of this device are from the second Nook, though it seems unlikely, as my B&N account (through a computer web browser) showed the serial number of this device as having been registered in 2011, which is when I got the first Nook (which was presumably a US device). It also seems likely that I'd have wanted to keep the working internals from the old device and just use the screen from the new one.
A second thought on the unable-to-register-the-first-time-I-updated-my-Nook problem. As I mentioned above, I was getting a slightly different Welcome screen on my device prior to flashing a different firmware with Nook Region Changer. I did not take any pictures at the time, but I believe the old screen looked like this (https://u-mercari-images.mercdn.net/photos/m86876116644_1.jpg?1598739388), and the new one looked like this (https://shopgoodwillimages.azureedge.net/production/48/8-9-2021/35449379212449Nele.JPG). These images are attached to this post, with “Welcome to your all-new NOOK” for the old Welcome screen and “Welcome to your NOOK Simple Touch” for the new. What is also interesting to me is that the other person I found online who was unable to access the hidden Factory menu on the welcome screen (see link above) mentioned the old text, “Welcome to your all-new NOOK,” in their description as well.
Perhaps this is a much older firmware? I wasn’t able to check, because I couldn’t get into a working Nook to look at its version. I remember seeing the announcement a few years back that 1.2.2 would be necessary and that I would need to update if I wanted the device to continue working. I’m not sure whether or not I ever did that, but it seems likely considering I remember the post. One theory is that perhaps if a NST is running a very old firmware, it is unable to directly update to 1.2.2 and requires intermediate updates, which could be why flashing the firmware using Nook Region Changer allowed the later update to 1.2.2 to happen successfully. This would also explain why, after the first time I installed the 1.2.2 update in this most recent series of events (prior to the Nook Region Changer flash), I was still unable to register (and I still had the old Welcome screen).

the.sting said:
I wonder if the Factory menu is only available on international Nook devices.
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No, it should be available from all devices in general working order. Clearly something else was going on with yours.
the.sting said:
This user was also based in the US, so it’s possible that my hypothesis about the Factory menu being inaccessible from US firmware is correct; however, I would have to install some other firmware to check, and as my device is finally working, I don’t want to risk it.
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It ain't broke (now). So leave it be. But...I would definitely use NookManager to make a backup. You don't have to root in order to do that (I think).
the.sting said:
It’s possible that my device wasn’t a US-firmware device. As I mentioned briefly at the beginning, my original Nook was a gift from my parents in 2011 (and thus was probably a US device).
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The differences are subtle, but since you've flashed the UK version now, the point is moot. The opening screen on the US version is the Welcome screen. The opening screen on the UK version is the Language picker, followed by the Welcome screen. Alas, I didn't pay that much attention to any differences in the Welcome screens between the two versions so your attached images don't ring any bells.
In the UK version the dictionary is the Oxford English and the Settings app is a little more expansive, including a dictionary management section (which does not work). Also, the locale or language picker is not fixed on "US English".
the.sting said:
One theory is that perhaps if a NST is running a very old firmware, it is unable to directly update to 1.2.2 and requires intermediate updates, which could be why flashing the firmware using Nook Region Changer allowed the later update to 1.2.2 to happen successfully. This would also explain why, after the first time I installed the 1.2.2 update in this most recent series of events (prior to the Nook Region Changer flash), I was still unable to register (and I still had the old Welcome screen).
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I have never heard anything like this, but as they say, anything is possible (though I doubt this one).
Wow. You've been on quite a ride! I'm glad if anything I put together was helpful. Again, I strongly suggest a backup. It's possible there is a hardware fault in the device that caused it to run a factory re-image. If that happens again, a backup to restore would be handy.

Thanks, nmyshkin! Your posts were incredibly helpful in navigating my way through this.
It sounds like I must have had a US version previously. I have a fuzzy memory that I may have had the language picker the first time I found my Nook in the initialization sequence, but at that point I was just trying to get through it to use the device again, so I wasn't paying that much attention. But every subsequent time that I factory reset it, it went straight to the welcome screen.
I'm actually currently running the US firmware; I flashed the US image that comes with the Nook Region Changer package rather than the custom UK one that you put together. The custom UK one was the next thing I was going to try, but the device allowed me to register after the flash and subsequent update, so I never got there.
I did run a backup using the clockworkmod tools in Nook Region Changer prior to making that flash, which resulted in several files being generated on the SD card (see attached image -- the times are wrong, but the files with "Today" timestamps are presumably the ones generated by the backup). I'll make sure to perform another backup now that things are working. Would you suggest I use NookManager rather than clockworkmod?
I still have no idea why I was never able to get the Factory button to appear, but it sounds like the "Skip Oobe" workaround has its downsides anyway, so I'll stick with what's working now.
Thanks again!

the.sting said:
I did run a backup using the clockworkmod tools in Nook Region Changer prior to making that flash, which resulted in several files being generated on the SD card (see attached image -- the times are wrong, but the files with "Today" timestamps are presumably the ones generated by the backup). I'll make sure to perform another backup now that things are working. Would you suggest I use NookManager rather than clockworkmod?
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It has been said, but I cannot verify, that the CWM backups are not "complete". They are certainly better than nothing. The NookManager backup is a single file "image". That's the not-too-impressive extent of my knowledge on that score. I have used CWM backups to restore other devices before, so I might just be all wet on this topic.
the.sting said:
I still have no idea why I was never able to get the Factory button to appear, but it sounds like the "Skip Oobe" workaround has its downsides anyway, so I'll stick with what's working now.
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I actually had a thought about that after my post. I've never used the hardware buttons for page turns. Never saw the sense. I have them assigned to various other functions but don't use them often. So I could be caught off-guard if, for example, one of them just decided not to work any more.....like the upper right one? Just a thought, but it's probably too easy!

Good to know, I'll look into making a NookManager backup.
nmyshkin said:
I actually had a thought about that after my post. I've never used the hardware buttons for page turns. Never saw the sense. I have them assigned to various other functions but don't use them often. So I could be caught off-guard if, for example, one of them just decided not to work any more.....like the upper right one? Just a thought, but it's probably too easy!
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I hadn't considered this, as I also barely use the hardware buttons on the sides. But you seem to be spot on...I just checked, and the top right button is the only one of the four that isn't working for page turns either! Sometimes the simplest explanations turn out to be right.
Thanks again!

You can use UsbMode.apk (in the sig) to check the action of physical buttons (or USB or Bluetooth).
I don't use WiFi, I use a little utility to sync the time whenever I sync content over USB.
Such a utility is dependant on the exact syntax of the date command and the ability to directly get a # prompt without using "su".

nmyshkin said:
It has been said, but I cannot verify, that the CWM backups are not "complete". They are certainly better than nothing. The NookManager backup is a single file "image". That's the not-too-impressive extent of my knowledge on that score. I have used CWM backups to restore other devices before, so I might just be all wet on this topic.
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In light of the fact that my top right page turn button doesn't work, do you have any thoughts on the NookManager backup process? Unfortunately, "Format remaining space on SD card" (which seems to be a precursor to making a backup) is selected by that top right button.

the.sting said:
In light of the fact that my top right page turn button doesn't work, do you have any thoughts on the NookManager backup process? Unfortunately, "Format remaining space on SD card" (which seems to be a precursor to making a backup) is selected by that top right button.
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I should have seen that coming
I've been here before with another member, different button, same general issue. That time it was NookManager-1, nmyshkin-0.
The device has 6 hardware buttons. Whether it will recognize input from the remaining two with the instruction set that is loaded at boot remains to be seen. I've got a busy day, but it's the kind of busy that will allow my mind to wander. I'll see what turns up. Try not to have a device meltdown today.

the.sting said:
In light of the fact that my top right page turn button doesn't work, do you have any thoughts on the NookManager backup process? Unfortunately, "Format remaining space on SD card" (which seems to be a precursor to making a backup) is selected by that top right button.
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OK, this time around the little grey cells have triumphed!
Do you know about ADB? If not, this will not do you much good, although it's fairly easy to install a minimal ADB package on a Windows machine (if you have one).
Anyway.....
It's possible to synthesize a button press using ADB, and NookManager gives you the option to start up ADB before you do much of anything else. Except there is a catch. The button that starts WiFi so you can connect with ADB is---you guessed it---also your dead button.
Not to worry. The left buttons are unused on that menu screen and I can easily alter that menu for you. All you would need to do is replace the file on the card with the altered one.
Then once WiFi is started, you have the option to start ADB (a left button) and are given the IP address to connect to.
The ADB command for sending a press of your non-working button is:
Code:
adb shell sendevent /dev/input/event0 1 407 1
(those are zeroes--both of them)
This would enable you to access the entire NookManager menu system (if the need ever arose), including the backup and restore functions. You just need to send that code each time you should press that dead button.
But you'd need ADB to do it.
Let me know if you want to pursue it. If this seems like too much for too little, keep your CWM backup safe somewhere. As I said before, I've used them to restore other devices.

Wow, thank you so much for putting the thought into this! I haven't worked with ADB, though it's something I would definitely be interested in investigating (I like to tinker). That said, I'm stretched a little thin to really dive in at the moment...getting married soon and otherwise a bit swamped with work.
I'll definitely save the CWM backup for now. Can I ping you here again if I'm interested in working on this later?
Thanks again!

the.sting said:
I'll definitely save the CWM backup for now. Can I ping you here again if I'm interested in working on this later?
Thanks again!
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Absolutely. Congratulations on your approaching wedding!