I accidentally formatted my g-tablet (via clockwork)...and there is no ROM to flash on the root of the tablet itself. I can still boot into recovery but I cannot flash anything since I haven't put a rom on there. Is there a way to flash from the SD card? If not, how can I get something on the tab's internal drive to flash from there? I can't access the tab's internal drive at all from my computer when I do POWER while holding VOL DOWN - I don't have the drivers and I am unable to find them (APX that is, win7 64bit).
I don't have the tablet infront of me, but you can mount your sd to usb mode, and copy a rom to it, all from clockwork. So should should be fine.
You can download the driver here:
developer.download.nvidia.com/tegra/files/android_tegra_froyo_20101105.msi
In clockwork its something like Mounts and Storage. Go there, then mount usb at the bottom.
Now it will pop up on your computer as a removable drive just as if it was booted up. Copy your rom over and unmount, install from SD.
regalpimpin said:
In clockwork its something like Mounts and Storage. Go there, then mount usb at the bottom.
Now it will pop up on your computer as a removable drive just as if it was booted up. Copy your rom over and unmount, install from SD.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PERFECT! Worked! Thank you =)
Joining the ranks of the "what was he thinking" Had TNT4.0 lite running fine. tried to upgrade to: GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.2 hung on 3 birds. A post said "go to cwm and partition the internal sd" ...fool that I am, I did. So now it hangs on booting and there's no update.zip on the internal sd to use to restore 'cause it all got wiped by the partition. Soooo managed to get the drivers (including NVIDIA boot recovery) so that NVIDIA Harmony shows as a device on my win7 notebook, but NVIDIA's "d:" drive, while listed, is grayed out and not available.
Back to CWM tried formatting and partitioning (ignorantly screwed with the sector and swap sizes) the internal SD card, mounting and unmounting (never shows and storage space, just mount/unmount) with no access from my pc to get some recovery files on it. HELP PLEASE-
1.suggestions to get access to the internal sd card and what files to put there
2.possible to get cwm 2.5.1.1 to see either the external sd or usb as location for update.zip file
3. proper settings for the internal sd card (sector size,swap size)
4 place to get my head examined
sesteinberg said:
Had TNT4.0 lite running fine. tried to upgrade to: GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.2 hung on 3 birds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you were on a 1.1 bootloader and you decided to jump to a 1.2 bootloader-based ROM (when that ROM has a perfectly good 1.1 bootloader-based version)?
First things first: Are you able to boot into ClockworkMod?
If yes, then you can copy any files you want to either sdcard, internal or external, using adb.
To copy files to the internal SD card:
Code:
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell mount /dev/block/mmcblk3p1 /sdcard
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb push c:\some\path\file.zip /sdcard/xyz.zip
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell umount /sdcard
To copy files to the external SD card:
Code:
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell mount [B]/dev/block/mmcblk2p1[/B] /sdcard
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb push c:\some\path\file.zip /sdcard/xyz.zip
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell umount /sdcard
If the "adb shell mount /sdcard" at the beginning complains about /sdcard already being mounted, just unmount the sdcard as shown in the last step, then start over again.
If you have inadvertently loaded a 1.2 bootloader, downgrade to 1.1 by following the steps given here.
After this, remove any external SD cards you may have so that there is no confusion when you format the SD card, then:
1. Reflash clockworkmod if needed, then boot into CWM.
2. Repartition internal SD card again with 2048 MB for /data and 0 for swap (no swap) and the rest for /sdcard.
3. Do a "wipe data/factory reset".
4. Use adb push to copy the GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.1.zip file onto the internal SD card using the commands above.
5. Install this zip file using CWM.
thank you very much for your help- i'm not experienced enough to know how to run adb...see below and thanks again
So you were on a 1.1 bootloader and you decided to jump to a 1.2 bootloader-based ROM (when that ROM has a perfectly good 1.1 bootloader-based version)? ***yes- saw a post that said that if the opening screen showed the slide lock, that bootloader was 1.2...go figure****
First things first: Are you able to boot into ClockworkMod? *yes**
If yes, then you can copy any files you want to either sdcard, internal or external, using adb. **can you help me understand how to do this- downloaded the java sdk; and the android sdk, but haven't been able to find out how to use them to move the files to the internal sd card....haven't figured out how to use adb***
To copy files to the internal SD card: ***I'm sorry, i don't understand the steps to do this...been looking on line so as not to bug you****
Code:
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell mount /dev/block/mmcblk3p1 /sdcard
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb push c:\some\path\file.zip /sdcard/xyz.zip
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell umount /sdcard
To copy files to the external SD card:
Code:
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell mount /dev/block/mmcblk2p1 /sdcard
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb push c:\some\path\file.zip /sdcard/xyz.zip
C:\some\path\platform-tools> adb shell umount /sdcard
If the "adb shell mount /sdcard" at the beginning complains about /sdcard already being mounted, just unmount the sdcard as shown in the last step, then start over again.
If you have inadvertently loaded a 1.2 bootloader, downgrade to 1.1 by following the steps given here. ***how would I know this?***
After this, remove any external SD cards you may have so that there is no confusion when you format the SD card, then:
1. Reflash clockworkmod if needed, then boot into CWM.
2. Repartition internal SD card again with 2048 MB for /data and 0 for swap (no swap) and the rest for /sdcard. **done***
3. Do a "wipe data/factory reset". **done***
4. Use adb push to copy the GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.1.zip file onto the internal SD card using the commands above. **same problem as above**
5. Install this zip file using CWM.
sesteinberg said:
***yes- saw a post that said that if the opening screen showed the slide lock, that bootloader was 1.2...go figure****
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, this is very important. In your first post, you said you, "Had TNT4.0 lite running fine." TnT Lite 4.0 is a 1.1-based custom firmware. Which is why I thought you were on a 1.1 based firmware. Are you in fact running ViewSonic's new stock firmware with the TapNTap UI?
***how would I know this?***
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read this thread. As the first post there says:
So, to check which branch you are on if you are on STOCK: Go to Settings -- About Tablet -- Tapu UI Version. If your firmware starts with "1.1", then you are on the 1.1 (old) branch. If your firmware starts with "1.2", then you are on the 1.2 (new) branch. Also an obvious difference between the two is that the 1.2 branch adds a lockscreen to the tablet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TnT Lite is very close to stock, so you can, I think, still go to Settings > About Tablet > TapUI Version and check the firmware version which indicates the bootloader being used.
If, however, you find out that you do, in fact, have a 1.2 bootloader, then just flash the file you originally used: GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.2.zip. By reformatting the internal SD card and doing a factory reset, you've done all that's needed to prepare for a new ROM install.
**can you help me understand how to do this- downloaded the java sdk; and the android sdk, but haven't been able to find out how to use them to move the files to the internal sd card....haven't figured out how to use adb***
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To set up adb on Windows, see this thread.
For quick one-shot use, follow the instructions here, and just replace the "adb" in the commands I gave with "sudo ./adb".
***Bought the tablet early this year, rooted it and installed a new rom tnt lite v 4.1.1 or 4.2.1 (i'm travelling and don't have the download--not viewsonic stock); I looked at the settings before this fiasco and did not see a 1.1 or 1.2 (because it was not longer stock?)- that's why I relied on the opening screen with the slide lock to (falsely?) conclude it was 1.2.
***on start-up the tablet loops at 3 birds--so I can no longer get to g-tab settings; I can reliably get to ClockworkMod Recovery v2.5.1.1-bekit-0.8- I did use it to "reset" the internal sd by partitioning it and using 2048mb and 0 for swap-no messages to suggest the internal sd was faulty**
***when I first flashed GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.2- it hung at 3 birds but I was able to revert to the tnt 4xxx by using CWM to select it on the internal SD card; when I flashed GtabComb_b3.1_bl1.2 the second time it hung again I found a posting on line that suggested re-partitioning the internal SD card which of course did not resolve the problem and took away my CWM restore possibilities***
***i've just finished downloading Knoppix with the hope of using it to run Adb to get access to the internal SD card---I do have NVIDIA Harmony as a "device" in win7-but the "d:" drive on it is grayed out and not browsable ***
this help you help me?
thanks again
sesteinberg said:
***Bought the tablet early this year, rooted it and installed a new rom tnt lite v 4.1.1 or 4.2.1 (i'm travelling and don't have the download--not viewsonic stock);
...
I can reliably get to ClockworkMod Recovery v2.5.1.1-bekit-0.8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The fact that you remember installing TnT Lite 4.x and also have CWM v2.5.1.1-bekit-0.8 working strongly suggests to me that your bootloader is 1.1.
I do have NVIDIA Harmony as a "device" in win7-but the "d:" drive on it is grayed out and not browsable ***
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might not show up as a USB disk, but, you should still be able to use adb on Windows. I'm not a Windows user--don't even have it on my PC--but, try this:
In CWM, select "mounts and storage", then "mount USB storage". See if the external SD card shows up as a drive on Windows.
EDIT:
If you don't have an external SD card, you can make the internal SD card's VFAT partition appear as a drive on Windows/Linux by using these adb commands:
1. Create a new file called fstab.txt with these contents:
Code:
/dev/block/mtdblock4 /cache yaffs2 rw
/dev/block/mmcblk3p2 /data ext3 rw
/dev/block/mtdblock3 /system yaffs2 rw
/dev/block/mmcblk3p1 /sdcard vfat rw
/dev/block/mmcblk2p2 /sd-ext auto rw
2. Copy this fstab.txt onto the gTablet using adb:
Code:
C:\> adb push C:\some\path\fstab.txt [B]/etc/fstab[/B]
3. On gTablet, create a symbolic link (it's like a shortcut) from /dev/block/mmcblk3p1 to /dev/block/mmcblk2p1, which is what CWM is trying to mount:
Code:
C:\> adb shell ln -sf /dev/block/mmcblk3p1 /dev/block/mmcblk2p1
4. Back in the CWM main menu, select "mounts and storage", then "mount USB storage".
I am having a similar issue with my G Tablet.
After farting around with it the other day I lost track of what I was doing and now at start up it just sits with the three birds image and does nothing.
When I try to boot into recovery I get:
"Detect a recovery key pressed"
followed by
"Booting recovery kernel image"
Then it just sits there.
So I searched all over for solutions and found the nvflash threads. I downloaded all the files needed but my PC's just won't detect the tablet and therefore I can't install the drivers for it.
I have two Win 7 machines, on 32 and on 64 . Both do the same.
What should I be doing next ? Any ideas ?
tried the various mounting options- internal sd mounts but makes no difference in terms of being visible on my PC; external sd (with memory card inserted) gives an error message; usb storage mount- no apparent effect
burning knopp disk now- and will try to get adb to allow commuication with tab...any tricks?
Frogbone said:
I downloaded all the files needed but my PC's just won't detect the tablet and therefore I can't install the drivers for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the USB cable OK?
What should I be doing next ? Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google "Viewsonic GTablet For Dummies" and follow the Code RED instructions there.
sesteinberg said:
tried the various mounting options- internal sd mounts but makes no difference in terms of being visible on my PC;
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you try the adb push ... method? That should've worked without mounting anything.
external sd (with memory card inserted) gives an error message; usb storage mount- no apparent effect
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's no good. Need exact steps/commands tried and exact error messages returned.
burning knopp disk now- and will try to get adb to allow commuication with tab...any tricks?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If all else fails, Google "Viewsonic GTablet For Dummies" and follow the Code RED instructions on that site.
rajeevvp said:
Google "Viewsonic GTablet For Dummies" and follow the Code RED instructions there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This ^^^^
I must have missed the Power plus Volume- to get to APX mode in all of the other procedures I read.
Thanks for pointing out this great site !!
Frogbone said:
Thanks for pointing out this great site !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is the distilled wisdom of the xda-developers gTablet forum in one place.
Consider making a donation to keep that site up.
Back home and at this again- went to "Dummies" "code red"
downloaded the USB driver (had done this previously through SDK tools) and while I don't get any error messages when connecting the g-tablet; Device manager shows only a "Android Debug Bridge Interface" working ok and drive up to date. below is from the code red instructions:
Using your PC, download the driver for USB connector here (clicky). Alternate source driver for USB connector. ***done***
Unzip the SystemUSB.zip file and place the folder "Flash USB driver" somewhere easy for you to find. I suggest your desktop. ***done***
Turn on your gtab by pressing the power button and volume less (-) button simultaneously and hold. Your screen will turn on with the 3 viewsonic birds and then it will turn black. Looks like it is off, but I promise you it is on in APX mode. ***As I mentioned before, I have CWM which reliably starts on holding the power button and the volume (-) button- I was able to get to a state (using the "menu" key) where the device is clearly on- black screen, but backlighting obvious.... is this APX mode?***
Do not click here.
Connect your gtab to your computer via usb. Your computer will say driver install unsucessful. ****doesn't happen...did before I installed the USB driver from the SDK****
Right click on Computer icon --> Properties --> Device Manager (left side) --> right click APX and choose upgrade driver. ***I see the Android Debug Bridge (working properly) but no APX; updated this driver with the USB driver recommended in code red- shows up to date, but still no APX reference*** Navigate to where you put the USB driver folder and select the folder. Your computer should now recognize the gtab in APX mode. ***I have no idea if this has occurred. In device manager it is listed as a "Portable device" drive d...but drive d isn't accessible....any way to confirm that the gtablet is in APX mode and that I've got the correct driver on my PC---again, no error on initial connection.
I downloaded NVFLash with CWM for 1.1 (the boot loader it seems most likely I had)- unzipped and ran it under the conditions above....ran nvflash_gtablet.bat (with CWM) --I get: "NVflash started" then "unknown device found" then "press enter to continue:" pressing "enter" closes the dos window but no activity on the pc and none on the tablet. If I run NVflash at the three birds screen on the tablet I get NVflash started and then "USB device not found" which I guess makes sense. Do I have the wrong USB driver on my PC? Am I not getting into APX mode on the tablet? Are the instruction different when Cwm is already installed -- should I have used the NVflash without CWM? thanks as ever.
The gTablet has 3 distinct modes of operation:
1. The normal mode.
Press the power button when the tablet is switched off and this is where you land. In this mode the gTab bootloader loads the linux kernel (which the firmware supplies) and this then runs the firmware you installed. This mode is where you will spend most of your time.
2. Recovery mode.
You enter this mode by first pressing the Volume [+] key, then while this key is pressed, pushing the power button. Keep the Volume [+] key depressed until you see a "Detect a recovery key pressed/Booting recovery kernel image" message.
Recovery mode will take you either into the stock recovery or into ClockworkMod recovery. This mode exists so that you can a) fix problems with your firmware, or b) install things like the firmware itself using a safe kernel, a mini-filesystem image and the CWM Recovery program.
3. APX mode.
You enter this mode by first pressing the Volume [-] key, then while this key is pressed, pushing the power button. Keep the Volume [-] key depressed until you see the blank screen right after the 3 birds boot logo has flashed by.
This is a very low-level mode which lets you recover from a "soft-brick". You should get into this mode only if CWM Recovery can't be used to fix your problems (and 90% of problems can be fixed within CWM with a bit of thinking).
In Linux you can tell which mode you're in by issuing a lsusb command:
Here's the gTab in APX mode (Volume [-] and Power):
Code:
$ [B]lsusb[/B]
Bus 002 Device 011: ID 0955:[B]7820[/B] NVidia Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c03d Logitech, Inc. M-BT96a Pilot Optical Mouse
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0d49:7410 Maxtor Mobile Hard Disk Drive (1TB)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Here's the other mode (both regular and recovery modes report the same device ID):
Code:
$ [B]lsusb[/B]
Bus 002 Device 013: ID 0955:[B]7100[/B] NVidia Corp.
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:c03d Logitech, Inc. M-BT96a Pilot Optical Mouse
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0d49:7410 Maxtor Mobile Hard Disk Drive (1TB)
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
From your last message it looks like you're going into Recovery mode rather than APX mode. I don't want to state the obvious here, but... look at the top of the tablet and see which key is the Volume [-] key and which is Volume [+]; then press the correct key. Many other users have made this same mistake.
BTW, did you try pushing the files you need to use (the 1.2 to 1.1 bootloader downgrade zip file and the GtabComb ROM install zip file) using adb on Linux, then installing the files after the push?
sesteinberg,
If you can get your G Tablet in APX Mode and connectect to your PC, then the steps I went through to restore a G Tablet may help you.
Guide - Restore G Tablet after a failed Recovery Mode update
djab67
THANK YOU - your description of the two modes was key- with vol- plus power the tablet showed up in windows device manager as USB recovery mode (rather than APX) BUT, in this mode the tablet was recognized by NVFlash and restored. THANK you again for your time and patience.
I am currently showing: Android 0s version 2.2 Tap UI version 1.1-3588 Kernal 2.6.32.9-00000-10.8.2-dirty [email protected] #16
Could you recommend a Rom? Will I need to root it before installing? (yes I recognize this as bootloader 1.1) worth going to android 3.0?
appreciate your expertise
Glad we could help you.
You wanted to try out GtabComb before. Beta 3.3 came out yesterday and it works pretty well--all considering. Try it out. Make sure you get the 1.1 bootloader version.
Copy the file onto the SD card, boot into CWM (Volume + and Power), then do a "wipe data / factory reset" from the menu first, and finally, install the GtabComb zip file. Note that it will take some time for the first boot--about 5 - 7 minutes--so don't panic if nothing seems to happen.
rajeevvp said:
Glad we could help you.
You wanted to try out GtabComb before. Beta 3.3 came out yesterday and it works pretty well--all considering. Try it out. Make sure you get the 1.1 bootloader version.
Copy the file onto the SD card, boot into CWM (Volume + and Power), then do a "wipe data / factory reset" from the menu first, and finally, install the GtabComb zip file. Note that it will take some time for the first boot--about 5 - 7 minutes--so don't panic if nothing seems to happen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thx- does this support Flash 10.3 for Youtube and other flash video?
thank you again..
sesteinberg said:
thx- does this support Flash 10.3 for Youtube and other flash video?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Flash version installed in 10.3 and flash does work. YouTube works for sure; don't know about other video sharing sites.
I deactivated the SD-Card in my Flyer, later I wanted to activate it again - but that doesn´t work - and the internal flash storage also is "offline".
It seems to be as if the device could not mount the flash storage again, connecting the device to a PC via USB also doesn´t bring the drives back.
Connecting in fastboot mode, I can address the Device and adb commands seem to work.
How can I get back the flash drives (internal and external)?
The Flyer is S-ON and not rooted, HBOOT Version is 1.07.
Solved.
Got the flash storage back by erasing everything via "Menu" - "Storage" - "Erase tablet storage" and "Factory data reset".
After that both flash drives were available again. Crazy.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=16190536#post16190536 <--- Try this
How is this in any way a "brick"???
People here are really starting to abuse the term.