[Q] ICS - Encryption - Galaxy S II Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello guys.
I know there's no way to make CWM work with encrypted memory and SD and also there's no way to decrypt.
So, any other encryption solution that allows backups?
Using android's encryption feature, what to do in case of problems?
Any way to recover?
What happens if the system bricks and a recovery is needed?
What happens flashing a non disruptive update? Is a wipe needed?
Thank you so much!

Flashing to an encrypted ICS gs2/i9100
ultradj83 said:
Hello guys.
I know there's no way to make CWM work with encrypted memory and SD and also there's no way to decrypt.
So, any other encryption solution that allows backups?
Using android's encryption feature, what to do in case of problems?
Any way to recover?
What happens if the system bricks and a recovery is needed?
What happens flashing a non disruptive update? Is a wipe needed?
Thank you so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are two options I've found that will work for flashing encrypted ICS, one is TWRP, which you would use instead of CWM, which would allow you to enter your password & flash what ever ROM you wanted like you were working with an unencrypted phone. But it's not (yet?) available for gs2/i9100.
The other option (original post here ) outlines how to do this from the command line of a computer with the Android SDK installed. I've spelled it out to include Android SDK installation since I didn't have that installed already when I had to do this.
Download, Install & configure Android SDK
Run SDK Manager
install "Android SDK Platform-tools"
Add <whatever>/android-sdk/platform-tools/ to path
in a command prompt / terminal window type "abd" to Check that your path includes the correct folders in the SDK (I had to do this manually on Win7)
On Phone
Reboot phone into Recovery mode
in CWM format cache partition
from your PC use adb to mount /sdcard as tmpfs:
Code:
adb shell mount -t tmpfs none /sdcard
put your ROM on the (fake) sdcard
Code:
adb push <your rom> /sdcard
Use the recovery to flesh the ROM as usual
Once you reboot the device will ask for you password as normal then finish the app installation/configuration after reboot. I was able to do this upgrading from CM9.0.0 RC1 to CM9.1. All data was preserved. Phone seems to be behaving itself but I only did this an hour ago so still too soon to tell.
Props to orcruin for sharing this. :highfive:
Ed

Related

RA-hero-v1.5.3.1 can't get ADB access, device malfunctioned(unknown device)

Hi,
Hope someone can help, about this problem. But I think all it's comes down to now is getting ADB access via Amon_RA recovery rom, as I've tried everything I can do... link to previous post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=642468
I'm running Window 7 Pro x64, previously the ADB was working, but after setting up some ext partition option accidentaly, (I think that it's linked to that), i've tried all options I know of by trying to manually install the drivers and removing them completely etc...
Main points, I can still access recovery image, and also the bootloader. I've succesfully flashed custom roms etc... before. And phone does not boot to rom(that's because I think it didn't install correctly, not sure)
So, i'm sort of lost now, just wondering if any developers here would kindly help or put me out my misery!
re partition your ext(2/3 for Eris base rom) ext4 might not work on Eris.
if you still facing problem remove the swap & only remain the ext partition for A2SD.
edit: and please update to v1.6.2 for the recovery***
Thanks for you response but I can't do anything within the recovery image, some options keep saying please use adb to carry out the process, but I can't get adb to detect on the phone anymore. Also I can't update the latest recovery image, as i'd need adb access....
I can't see why this is happening... perhaps its the SD card that's messed up? I could repartiotion using linux using gparted or something, but I don't know how the Hero set's up the partion.
When I try to recover using nandroid I get messages like unable to mount E:SDCARD etc...
Any clues?
did you do a dalvik wipe? y not try remove the ext partition & try restore previous nandroid?

[Q] Best way to backup and restore on a number of devices

Hi
I've done a bit of searching but can't find anything too specific to what I'm trying to do. Basically we have 10 Android tablets, and I want to make them all standardised e.g. have the same Apps on, configured in the same way (e.g. enterprise wireless network added).
Now the thing is if anyone messes around with them I want a really easy way to restore them to the original config which I've done.
One way I thought was to configure one fully, install Titanium Backup on it, do a full backup of apps/system data etc, and put the backup onto an SD card. Then I already have the base ROM on an SD card so if theres any problems, I can just flash the ROM over it again, install TB, and restore all the data. Would this be suitable to do to duplicate the data onto 10 tablets, and also restore the data if required?
The other thing I looked into was customising a ROM myself, don't want to do anything too tricky it'll just be a case of removing all the preinstalled crap I don't want, preloading the Apps we do want, and if possible preloading the wireless key and getting rid of the first boot initial set up wizard.
PS I've looked at installing CWM and doing whole image backups, but supposedly the tablet isnt supported (its an Ainol Novo 7 Elf 2)
Any advice would be great, hopefully theres some fairly straight forward way of managing this
Thanks
One of the reasons I integrated a full blown GNU/Linux on my devices, was the need to run full and automated backups. If you are looking into the possibility making a custom ROM, this might be a solution for you as well. I'm using BackuPC to run backups nightly, backing them up as any other GNU/Linux machine (using tar over ssh).
See the link in my signature for more information about this.
kuisma said:
One of the reasons I integrated a full blown GNU/Linux on my devices, was the need to run full and automated backups. If you are looking into the possibility making a custom ROM, this might be a solution for you as well. I'm using BackuPC to run backups nightly, backing them up as any other GNU/Linux machine (using tar over ssh).
See the link in my signature for more information about this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Thanks for the reply, not too sure this would be the right option for us. I don't really need to take nightly backups, I just need to make a backup of a preconfigured image, and then put that image onto 10 other devices. Then I want to keep the original backup and have an easy way to restore it onto any devices which have been messed up. Sort of like image cloning for PCs, I want to prepare a base image, and then flash it over all the devices.
fro5tie said:
Hi
Thanks for the reply, not too sure this would be the right option for us. I don't really need to take nightly backups, I just need to make a backup of a preconfigured image, and then put that image onto 10 other devices. Then I want to keep the original backup and have an easy way to restore it onto any devices which have been messed up. Sort of like image cloning for PCs, I want to prepare a base image, and then flash it over all the devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I see. Compile the image to you likings (boot image and system partition), and then flash it using fastboot onto you devices.
Hi
Does anyone have any more thoughts on this?
I have experimented with Titanium Backup and this seems to work quite well. I have installed a ROM, and customised it e.g. installed the apps I need and configured the apps, wireless settings and home screens etc. Then I do a full apps + system backup in TB to my SD card.
Then the plan is, I can reflash the ROM onto the other device, install TB and then restore this backup. This saves my user state and wireless settings etc.
Only problems is when I flash the ROM, I have to go through all the initial set up again and also remove some preinstalled apps which I dont want. Any ways around this?
There must be something I'm missing. Why don't you install the device, walk through the setup, remove the bloatware you don't want and then dumps the disk partitions into images you flash the other devices with using fastboot? This way you'll get'em cloned, isn't it this you want..?
Of course there's still some tinkering needed once restored/cloned, such as giving them individual Google accounts etc, but you can easily fix this without re-running the setup wizard.
kuisma said:
There must be something I'm missing. Why don't you install the device, walk through the setup, remove the bloatware you don't want and then dumps the disk partitions into images you flash the other devices with using fastboot? This way you'll get'em cloned, isn't it this you want..?
Of course there's still some tinkering needed once restored/cloned, such as giving them individual Google accounts etc, but you can easily fix this without re-running the setup wizard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Yes that's what I want to do! How would I go about dumping the disk into an image and then flashing?
fro5tie said:
Hi
Yes that's what I want to do! How would I go about dumping the disk into an image and then flashing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are several methods. Some boot loaders (such as nvflash for tegra based devices) can actually read back the disk partitions to a computer via the USB port. You can also on the tablet read the raw mtd device with busybox/dd. I assume you've unlocked the bootloader and gain root access to the device, since this is a requirement for flashing them as well. A third alternative is using busybox/tar, and then recreate the filesystem image using mkyaffs (or if ext3/ext4 even easier, just loopback mount an image on you linux maching to unpack the tar archive to). Once you got the images (system and userdata partitions), you flash the devices with "fastboot flash system system.img" and "fastboot flash userdata data.img". I don't believe you'll need to tamper with the other partitions.
kuisma said:
There are several methods. Some boot loaders (such as nvflash for tegra based devices) can actually read back the disk partitions to a computer via the USB port. You can also on the tablet read the raw mtd device with busybox/dd. I assume you've unlocked the bootloader and gain root access to the device, since this is a requirement for flashing them as well. A third alternative is using busybox/tar, and then recreate the filesystem image using mkyaffs (or if ext3/ext4 even easier, just loopback mount an image on you linux maching to unpack the tar archive to). Once you got the images (system and userdata partitions), you flash the devices with "fastboot flash system system.img" and "fastboot flash userdata data.img". I don't believe you'll need to tamper with the other partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Thanks for the quick reply, much appreciated.
Unfortunately you've lost me a bit here!
Yes the device is rooted, I dont have a linux machine though.
Any chance you'd be able to provide some more specific instructions? The device is a chinese tablet from manufacturer Ainol, the model is a Novo 7 Elf 2. Unfortunately there isn't much discussion on these online so specific help is hard to find!
fro5tie said:
Any chance you'd be able to provide some more specific instructions? The device is a chinese tablet from manufacturer Ainol, the model is a Novo 7 Elf 2. Unfortunately there isn't much discussion on these online so specific help is hard to find!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can provide you specific answers to specific questions, but I have no experience of the tablet in question, so you'll have to do some digging yourself first. Make sure it supports fastboot, investigate what the proprietary bootloader is capable of, see how/if you can obtain an original image etc.
One maybe easier solution, especially if you plan to restore the tablets on a regular basis, is to only make a new boot image to reflash the devices with. The only modification done is that you change the /init.rc script to mount /data and /system from the SDcard instead of from the internal nand disk device.
Once this is done, you'll power up and run the installation wizard and everything on your master tablet. Then power it down, and clone the SDcard. This SDcard now contains everything, so you'll simply restore a device by replacing its SDcard with a copy of this master card. I guess it's easier to clone a SDcard than reflashing several internal partitions. Easier to make the master as well - you don't need to dd or tar them, they are already in "image" format. If you can get hold of the original firmware, this should be quite easy without the need to preserving data from the device itself.
fro5tie said:
Any chance you'd be able to provide some more specific instructions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Issue the commands "cat /proc/mtd" and "mount" on your device at command prompt (e.g. via "adb shell" or the "ConnectBot" terminal app). This shows you if the device allows you to copy the boot image from it. Paste in the output into this thread. If you believe the "clone the tablet via the SDcard" is a good solution for you, the process is in short terms something as below;
Copy the boot image to the sdcard:
# dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd2ro of=/mnt/sdcard/boot.img bs=2048 (device dependent of contents of /proc/mtd)
Remove the sdcard, insert into a computer, split the boot image info kernel + initramfs. Read http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack%2C_Edit%2C_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images for instructions about how to work with the boot.img file. I really recommend a GNU/Linux environment for this.
Then edit /init.rc replacing the "mount yaffs2 [email protected] /system" with "mount ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /system" for system and data (use p3 for data partition, the device name may be different on your tablet, see mount output).
Create an SDcard with three partitions: #1 vfat (standard), #2 and #3 ext3. Insert into you device and boot it up again.
# mount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p2 /root
# cd /system
# tar cf - . | (cd /root ; tar xf - )
# umount /root
# mount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p3 /root
# cd /data
# tar cf - . | (cd /root ; tar xf - )
# umount /root
This copies your partitions to the SDcard. Shutdown the tablet again.
Make a new boot.img using the instructions in the link above, using the edited init.rc script.
Now you can non-destrutive give this a try.
Place you tablet in fastboot mode (often vol-up (or vol-down) during power on).
$ fastboot devices
This vill verify the tablet is in fastboot mode. It should be listed. Then:
$ fastboot boot boot.img
Note here, only BOOT the tablet, do NOT use the "flash" keyword. This in case of the image isn't working, you'll just have to restart you tablet, and no harm's done.
Look around. Do a "mount" command. Everything works? Mount shows /data and /system from sdcard? Perfect. Now you can reflash it. Shutdown and flash:
$ fastboot flash boot boot.img
Now the device will use /data and /system from the SDcard every time. Customize your device, and then clone your SDcard and try it in tablet #2 you'll booting with your new boot.img and the cloned SDcard. Verify that #tablet #2 is a perfect clone of tablet #1. It is? Now you can flash the boot,img into all your tablets.
--------------------
But don't forget, there may be other solutions as well, maybe more suitable. This you'll have to investigate yourself.
And the usual disclaimer - you can probably not follow above by the letter. There sure is some obstacle you'll have to overcome, something non-standard, etc.
Also keep the original boot.img file for safekeeping in the case you want to restore the device's boot image some day.
Wow! Thanks for the info! This is really helpful, I need to set aside a bit of time to work through this and have a look. Thanks again its really appreciated, I'll be back with info once I've had chance to give it a go!
I certainly can't offer more detailed info than the fellow from Sweden who seems to really know his stuff...but what about making a nandroid backup of your fully configured reference tablet (I'm assuming all tablets are rooted). Ensure all your tabs have CWM recovery and copy your nandroid file to each one.
If any of your fleet get 'corrupted' you can simply restore the original, fully configured ROM.
In fact that sounds too obvious..likely I missed something about your scenario which precludes this option from consideration!
Good luck mate.
tweeny80 said:
I certainly can't offer more detailed info than the fellow from Sweden who seems to really know his stuff...but what about making a nandroid backup of your fully configured reference tablet (I'm assuming all tablets are rooted). Ensure all your tabs have CWM recovery and copy your nandroid file to each one.
If any of your fleet get 'corrupted' you can simply restore the original, fully configured ROM.
In fact that sounds too obvious..likely I missed something about your scenario which precludes this option from consideration!
Good luck mate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Yes that was my first thought as well, tablets are rooted yes but there is no CWM for the tablet. Its an obscure Chinese branded tablet.
Unless there is another way to do nandroid backups?
hmm tricky situation. Catch 22 ! From what I know, your best bet is to backup all possible things through Titanium Backup given that you don't have the use of Nandroid backups. You can include wifi settings, messages etc but it's modular & not systemic.
I did a quick google search with no luck - time to upgrade your fleet dude :-0
Best of luck.

[Q] Access encrypted sdcard after factory reset/flash new rom on top

I wanted to try the encrypt feature of android in my phone but now when I try to flash a new version on my rom can't mount my sdcard as it is encrypted. When I did it I imagined that it may was possible to decrypt within recovery and then flash a new rom but that's not possible.
What's the best way to decrypt my phone/flash a new rom on top, by losing as few as possible??
I googled and found a thread in the galaxy nexus forums that mentioned that the only way is via fastboot, is this possible with s2? any pointers to the s2 method?
I managed to flash another rom (miui specifically) by using adb and the commands below
./adb shell mount -t tmpfs none /sdcard
./adb push update.zip /sdcard
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
but now its not possible to decrypt the sdcard despite the fact i know the password, it doesn't even prompt me at boot
edit:
By doing factory reset I might have deleted the encryption keys rendering my sdcard inaccessible that's why I don't get prompted for password at boot. Is there anyway to fix this or create the certificates again as I know the password???
This has bin spoke about before with no results mate. Sorry. Seems its lost now. People I spoke to tried every thing with no success.
I9100/I9300
Hey flash gb firmware. A user did this and it has no encryption on it then flashed jb firmware and it was sorted :thumbup::thumbup: pls try it and see.
I9100/I9300

[Q&A] [TOOL][NABI2] NabiLab - Root, Play, Recovery

Q&A for [TOOL][NABI2] NabiLab - Root, Play, Recovery
Some developers prefer that questions remain separate from their main development thread to help keep things organized. Placing your question within this thread will increase its chances of being answered by a member of the community or by the developer.
Before posting, please use the forum search and read through the discussion thread for [TOOL][NABI2] NabiLab - Root, Play, Recovery. If you can't find an answer, post it here, being sure to give as much information as possible (firmware version, steps to reproduce, logcat if available) so that you can get help.
Thanks for understanding and for helping to keep XDA neat and tidy!
State of Nabi 2 Root as of 12/14?
So I have admittedly been out of the loop on the state of rooting my two Nabi 2s since after I restored them to stock and all back last year when they released the update that included the Gapps. So I've been running stock since then and am on the latest firmware (2.4.6 I believe). All is mostly fine, but I would really like to get the external SD cards to be writable again, and from what I can tell, I need root again to do that.
So...as of today...what is the state (and best procedure) of rooting the Nabi 2 on the latest OTA update? Is Nabi Lab still the best tool? From what I've pieced together from scattered threads, it's looking like possibly use Nabi Lab to install TWRP, and then use that to install the SuperSU (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538053). However, I could likely be wrong...hence why I'm asking.
Eyebolt said:
So I have admittedly been out of the loop on the state of rooting my two Nabi 2s since after I restored them to stock and all back last year when they released the update that included the Gapps. So I've been running stock since then and am on the latest firmware (2.4.6 I believe). All is mostly fine, but I would really like to get the external SD cards to be writable again, and from what I can tell, I need root again to do that.
So...as of today...what is the state (and best procedure) of rooting the Nabi 2 on the latest OTA update? Is Nabi Lab still the best tool? From what I've pieced together from scattered threads, it's looking like possibly use Nabi Lab to install TWRP, and then use that to install the SuperSU (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1538053). However, I could likely be wrong...hence why I'm asking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nabilab will still work as long as you use a version with a Jellybean TWRP(since you are on 2.4.6).
katinatez repackaged it for jellybean here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=48987089&postcount=2088
I've searched high and low and can't find anything. I have nabi2S running KitKat. Every rooting guide I've found is for JB. Is there any way to root the 2S?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
jaxbierley said:
I've searched high and low and can't find anything. I have nabi2S running KitKat. Every rooting guide I've found is for JB. Is there any way to root the 2S?
Sent from my Nexus 5 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For the sake of anyone else looking for this information we are discussing it at the main Nabi thread starting at post #2477
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1905674&page=248
Stock Restore
Hi
I have downloaded NabiLab, as I am having wifi issues on my updated Nabi2. I unzipped, ran the .bat and chose option 3 (with my nab connected via USB). Nothing happened, no errors etc, the screen flashed up and shut down. Do I need to do something with the Nabi (recovery mode etc), do I need to install anything from NabiLab before trying this? Any help would be appreciated
Firepants said:
Hi
I have downloaded NabiLab, as I am having wifi issues on my updated Nabi2. I unzipped, ran the .bat and chose option 3 (with my nab connected via USB). Nothing happened, no errors etc, the screen flashed up and shut down. Do I need to do something with the Nabi (recovery mode etc), do I need to install anything from NabiLab before trying this? Any help would be appreciated
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of software? Use Nabilab2015 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=59073456&postcount=2544
It has more diagnostic info. Just be in Android or TWRP with ADb enabled. It also can see if drivers are loaded.
Hacking Nabi2 to Allow Data2SD
I managed today to hack my kids Nabi2 to enable Data2SD. I was to frustrated by the limited space in the tab. My kids were complaining about not being able to add more games. Thus, I decided to take the risk of modifying the mount points of the tab to allow the data partition to point to a partition in a large sdcard, instead of the limited 4.5 GB space in the internal storage.
Warning: I am not responsible of any damage as a result of following the next steps. Always make backups
Note: I have the last update (KitKat) installed in the Nabi2
1- Dump the boot image from an adb shell:
Code:
su
cat /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/LNX > /sdcard/boot.img
2- Open this url http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
to see the instructions of how to unpack and repack the boot image. Note that, the splitimage script mentioned in the page can be found at https://gist.github.com/jberkel/1087743
Warning: do not do anything in the tutorial, just wait
3- Format an sdcard as one partition of ext4 type
4- Insert the sdcard in the nabi2
5- Use the tutorial in step 2 to extract the ramdisk contents from the boot image and then Modify the file "fstab.mt799" in the ramdisk folder by replacing the line
Code:
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/UDA /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,data=writeback,nodelalloc,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/MDA
with
Code:
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.0/by-num/p1 /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,data=writeback,nodelalloc,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/MDA
which switches the data partition mount point to be on the sdcard
and the line
Code:
/devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.0/mmc_host/mmc2 auto vfat defaults voldmanaged=sdcard1:auto
with
Code:
/devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/mmc_host/mmc0 auto vfat defaults voldmanaged=sdcard1:12
which mount your old data partition into the directory of the external sdcard
6- Repack the boot image as mentioned in the url in step 2
7- Copy the new boot image to the nabi2 sdcard
8- Once you copied the new boot image (e.g. new_boot.img), replace the current boot image with the new one using adb shell:
Code:
su
cat /sdcard/new_boot.img > /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/LNX
9- Now the kernel is replaced and once you rebooted your external sdcard would be in use, but note that your device is now having an empty data partition on the external sdcard, so you have to setup everything from the beginning. Note also that your previous data partition is now mounted as an sdcard, however, you have to format it from ext4 to fat32 to work as an sdcard (you can do the format from setings->storage->sdcard format)​
ashahin1 said:
I managed today to hack my kids Nabi2 to enable Data2SD. I was to frustrated by the limited space in the tab. My kids were complaining about not being able to add more games. Thus, I decided to take the risk of modifying the mount points of the tab to allow the data partition to point to a partition in a large sdcard, instead of the limited 4.5 GB space in the internal storage.
Warning: I am not responsible of any damage as a result of following the next steps. Always make backups
Note: I have the last update (KitKat) installed in the Nabi2
1- Dump the boot image from an adb shell:
Code:
su
cat /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/LNX > /sdcard/boot.img
2- Open this url http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
to see the instructions of how to unpack and repack the boot image. Note that, the splitimage script mentioned in the page can be found at https://gist.github.com/jberkel/1087743
Warning: do not do anything in the tutorial, just wait
3- Format an sdcard as one partition of ext4 type
4- Insert the sdcard in the nabi2
5- Use the tutorial in step 2 to extract the ramdisk contents from the boot image and then Modify the file "fstab.mt799" in the ramdisk folder by replacing the line
Code:
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/UDA /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,data=writeback,nodelalloc,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/MDA
with
Code:
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.0/by-num/p1 /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,data=writeback,nodelalloc,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/MDA
which switches the data partition mount point to be on the sdcard
and the line
Code:
/devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.0/mmc_host/mmc2 auto vfat defaults voldmanaged=sdcard1:auto
with
Code:
/devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/mmc_host/mmc0 auto vfat defaults voldmanaged=sdcard1:12
which mount your old data partition into the directory of the external sdcard
6- Repack the boot image as mentioned in the url in step 2
7- Copy the new boot image to the nabi2 sdcard
8- Once you copied the new boot image (e.g. new_boot.img), replace the current boot image with the new one using adb shell:
Code:
su
cat /sdcard/new_boot.img > /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/LNX
9- Now the kernel is replaced and once you rebooted your external sdcard would be in use, but note that your device is now having an empty data partition on the external sdcard, so you have to setup everything from the beginning. Note also that your previous data partition is now mounted as an sdcard, however, you have to format it from ext4 to fat32 to work as an sdcard (you can do the format from setings->storage->sdcard format)​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are not sure which line to change, I have the fstab.mt799 file attached with this post. You can simply replace your file with this one.
ashahin1 said:
I managed today to hack my kids Nabi2 to enable Data2SD. I was to frustrated by the limited space in the tab. My kids were complaining about not being able to add more games. Thus, I decided to take the risk of modifying the mount points of the tab to allow the data partition to point to a partition in a large sdcard, instead of the limited 4.5 GB space in the internal storage.
Warning: I am not responsible of any damage as a result of following the next steps. Always make backups
Note: I have the last update (KitKat) installed in the Nabi2
1- Dump the boot image from an adb shell:
Code:
su
cat /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/LNX > /sdcard/boot.img
2- Open this url http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=HOWTO:_Unpack,_Edit,_and_Re-Pack_Boot_Images
to see the instructions of how to unpack and repack the boot image. Note that, the splitimage script mentioned in the page can be found at https://gist.github.com/jberkel/1087743
Warning: do not do anything in the tutorial, just wait
3- Format an sdcard as one partition of ext4 type
4- Insert the sdcard in the nabi2
5- Use the tutorial in step 2 to extract the ramdisk contents from the boot image and then Modify the file "fstab.mt799" in the ramdisk folder by replacing the line
Code:
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/UDA /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,data=writeback,nodelalloc,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/MDA
with
Code:
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.0/by-num/p1 /data ext4 noatime,nosuid,nodev,journal_async_commit,data=writeback,nodelalloc,errors=panic wait,check,encryptable=/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/MDA
which switches the data partition mount point to be on the sdcard
and the line
Code:
/devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.0/mmc_host/mmc2 auto vfat defaults voldmanaged=sdcard1:auto
with
Code:
/devices/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/mmc_host/mmc0 auto vfat defaults voldmanaged=sdcard1:12
which mount your old data partition into the directory of the external sdcard
6- Repack the boot image as mentioned in the url in step 2
7- Copy the new boot image to the nabi2 sdcard
8- Once you copied the new boot image (e.g. new_boot.img), replace the current boot image with the new one using adb shell:
Code:
su
cat /sdcard/new_boot.img > /dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/LNX
9- Now the kernel is replaced and once you rebooted your external sdcard would be in use, but note that your device is now having an empty data partition on the external sdcard, so you have to setup everything from the beginning. Note also that your previous data partition is now mounted as an sdcard, however, you have to format it from ext4 to fat32 to work as an sdcard (you can do the format from setings->storage->sdcard format)​
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you don't have the time to do all these steps, I have the modified boot file attached here.
Yo can either follow steps 7 and 8 above to write it, or use the fastboot command as follows:
Code:
fastboot flash boot new_boot.img
Nabi2 not found
Hi, I purchased a reconditioned Nabi, which was reset back to stock. The wifi worked fine, until I updated it through the tablet. I am now on version 2.0 with no wifi. I have tried various options through NabiLab , however my Nabi is not recognised as being connected (although windows picks it up). Please help!
Swipe to restore
I am trying to return my nabi to stock, i can get to the screen that asks you to 'swipe to restore' but the screen is not responding. I dont have issues with the touchscreen normally
Aytul said:
I am trying to return my nabi to stock, i can get to the screen that asks you to 'swipe to restore' but the screen is not responding. I dont have issues with the touchscreen normally
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's weird...if you keep messing with it you may find a spot a little left, right, higher, or lower where you can grab the button to swipe....or you try to re-flash TWRP or maybe there's a new version of TWRP for your particular nabi software version.
did you ever get nabilab to see it? did you check the device manager to see if it was totally recognized? Are developer options enabled?
n3wt said:
That's weird...if you keep messing with it you may find a spot a little left, right, higher, or lower where you can grab the button to swipe....or you try to re-flash TWRP or maybe there's a new version of TWRP for your particular nabi software version.
did you ever get nabilab to see it? did you check the device manager to see if it was totally recognized? Are developer options enabled?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Nabi is showing as a device, it's responds as it should up to the point of TWRP. I had to repeatedly press buttons to get to the restore swipe and have tried many times, unsuccessfully. Where do I enable developer options?
I am on version 2 (Nabi) and using the most up-to-date version of NabiLab. I am trying to restore to stock so that the software version goes back, as the update has stopped my wifi working. Even a factory reset doesn't take the Nabi software back further than v2.0
Aytul said:
The Nabi is showing as a device, it's responds as it should up to the point of TWRP. I had to repeatedly press buttons to get to the restore swipe and have tried many times, unsuccessfully. Where do I enable developer options?
I am on version 2 (Nabi) and using the most up-to-date version of NabiLab. I am trying to restore to stock so that the software version goes back, as the update has stopped my wifi working. Even a factory reset doesn't take the Nabi software back further than v2.0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For developer options you go to settings, scroll all the way down, if you don't see "Developer options" there, press About tablet, then repeatedly tap build number until it pops up and says "You are now a developer!", then go back and now you should see the Developer options menu item, press it and then make sure it's on at the top and that the USB Debugging option is checked.....then try nabilab again.
n3wt said:
For developer options you go to settings, scroll all the way down, if you don't see "Developer options" there, press About tablet, then repeatedly tap build number until it pops up and says "You are now a developer!", then go back and now you should see the Developer options menu item, press it and then make sure it's on at the top and that the USB Debugging option is checked.....then try nabilab again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this is enabled, as without it I am unable to run nabilab etc. The problem is TWRP & the version of software I am running on the tablet?
Aytul said:
Yes this is enabled, as without it I am unable to run nabilab etc. The problem is TWRP & the version of software I am running on the tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the touch issues are probably due to a bad build of TWRP but not necessarily the wrong one. The problem with nabilab not being able to see the tablet I think has to be drivers. Have you checked device manager to make sure there are no unrecognized things? 'cause the tablet show up as two separate things in there and it sounds like the USB storage part is working but not the adb and/or fastboot part(s).
n3wt said:
Well, the touch issues are probably due to a bad build of TWRP but not necessarily the wrong one. The problem with nabilab not being able to see the tablet I think has to be drivers. Have you checked device manager to make sure there are no unrecognized things? 'cause the tablet show up as two separate things in there and it sounds like the USB storage part is working but not the adb and/or fastboot part(s).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've managed to sort the drivers by installing PDANet, then managed to sort TWRP by installing an older version. I've now updated to 2.1 on the Nabi but no luck with the wifi issue..i'm guessing it's really broken and it happening whilst updating may have been a coincidence?!
Aytul said:
I've managed to sort the drivers by installing PDANet, then managed to sort TWRP by installing an older version. I've now updated to 2.1 on the Nabi but no luck with the wifi issue..i'm guessing it's really broken and it happening whilst updating may have been a coincidence?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might just be broken but that's a heck of a coincidence... Do you have a backup from before the wifi issue started? If so, I'd try to thoroughly wipe everything but your external sd card and then restoring your backup and see if that helps.
n3wt said:
It might just be broken but that's a heck of a coincidence... Do you have a backup from before the wifi issue started? If so, I'd try to thoroughly wipe everything but your external sd card and then restoring your backup and see if that helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I bought it as a reconditioned did unit. Turned it on, updates it (wifi worked) and then had this problem, so no backup to go back to unfortunately

[Q] bricked or not

Hello all. hdx 7 was running the original version of safestrap and gapps on the very first firmware. accidently wiped internal and now can only boot to safestrap no abd so bricked or not and by the way i already read like damm near all the threrads i could find so dont accuse me of being a lazy no good non reasearching az mf thanx
jamesh1979 said:
Hello all. hdx 7 was running the original version of safestrap and gapps on the very first firmware. accidently wiped internal and now can only boot to safestrap no abd so bricked or not and by the way i already read like damm near all the threrads i could find so dont accuse me of being a lazy no good non reasearching az mf thanx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, if I understand you correctly, you wiped internal storage of your sdcard, so no backups to restore for safestrap.
But when wiping happened, you were on activated extra rom slot? So now safestrap cant boot there, because with internal storage you deleted image files for rom slots...
If you can boot into safestrap, can you switch to stock rom? And boot into it? If yes, and Fireos start normally, then nothing is lost, reinstall safestrap, you should have adb access, and do whatever you want to do next...
Did you disabled OTA updates on stock rom? If not, turn off wifi as fast as you can, when you boot into Fireos, so it cant update to nonrootable FW.
thats whats wierd i was on rom slot one but it wiped even my stock img as far as i can tell because it wont let me switch to it , and yes disabled ota with toolkit like a year ago and all was fine?
jamesh1979 said:
thats whats wierd i was on rom slot one but it wiped even my stock img as far as i can tell because it wont let me switch to it , and yes disabled ota with toolkit like a year ago and all was fine?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I installed safestrap on my working kindle, so I can check what else was deleted in the wiping, unfortunately there was a little config file where safestrap stored which slot was last active. This file no longer exist, so safestrap dont know from what to switch where.
The only thing we can try (AFAIK) requires working adb connection and it must be working from safestrap, so you can use adb sideload feature - so enter safestrap and connect kindle to your pc or laptop. Then start cmd window or terminal if you using linux, and try:
adb devices
it should return:
list of devices attached
xxxxxxxxx recovery
if you can achieve this, we can try with sideloading, if not I am sorry, dont know what else to do - actually there is one thing you can try - with working adb access you can recreate directory structure needed for safestrap config file and push it there (I will attach it later), then restart and see if it boot to stock rom
edit:
I was able connect through adb from windows to running safestrap, so it is possible (at least kindle is recognized in "adb devices")
ok guys i got the pc to see the kindle in recovery via adb!!! so what now push a rom to internal storage and flash it and then reinstall safestrap to get stock slot available or what????
jamesh1979 said:
ok guys i got the pc to see the kindle in recovery via adb!!! so what now push a rom to internal storage and flash it and then reinstall safestrap to get stock slot available or what????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great!
Now download this 13.3.1.0 (Kindle HDX 7") update - pure amazon FireOS so OTA updates enabled - do not connect to wifi/register your kindle if you want root and use of custom recovery after flashing this
A. Now, since I am not expert for adb installing pushing repairing etc., read this thread [HOWTO] Unbrick your device, especially this post (shows similar symptoms as your current problem)
B. If that for whatever reason wont work, you can try sideload update-kindle-13.3.1.0_user_310079820.bin (rename .bin to .zip before sideloading) through safestrap recovery, but because Safestrap is "only" TWRP based, I cant guarantee that this will work either (it should, but this is one way ticket, your working safestrap recovery will be destroyed in the process of update):
0. connect kindle to pc/laptop
1. enter Safestrap, tap Advanced -> ADB Sideload -> Swipe slider to start Sideload
2. on pc/laptop open cmd/terminal, type adb devices, you should see:
List of devices attached
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX sideload
3. type adb sideload update-kindle-13.3.1.0_user_310079820.zip
4. You will see a progress bar in the command prompt indicating that the Zip file is being copied to the device. Once the file is transferred, the Zip is automatically installed on your device.
C. You can consider also recreating deleted folder containing slot config file for Safestrap (active_slot file attached below (file is in archive, you need extract it)) through adb shell:
0. connect kindle to pc/laptop
1. enter Safestrap
2. on pc/laptop open cmd/terminal, type adb devices, you should see:
List of devices attached
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX recovery
3. type adb shell
4. type mkdir -p data/media/safestrap/rom-slot1
5. type exit
6. type adb push active_slot data/media/safestrap
7. reboot/reboot into recovery and see if you can switch/boot to stock rom (which is still there, otherwise safestrap will not be accessible)
C variant is a really long-shot, but relatively harmless (or maybe not who knows, I am not expert)
OK fingers crossed, I hope something will work, but things can go wrong, unfortunatelly from my side all above is just a theory, adb commands should works, I tested them all (except sideload), works on my side...
Thanx a lot guys I got I t back in action thanx for all the help
jamesh1979 said:
Thanx a lot guys I got I t back in action thanx for all the help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Care to share which method you use to recover your kindle?
anyone here? lol

Categories

Resources