Related
I've seen a number of requests for this functionality and recently it became necessary for one user who had a disabled Home Key to clear cache and data without the use of ClockworkMod. I have reserached two methods to address this issue. These instructions require some familiarity of android, computer and tablet terminology and usage. Feel free to ask for clarifications in comments. Here we go...
Method I - Stock Recovery Command File
Technical: Stock Recovery command file can be used to perform a few additional functions as well as to alter the path to update files. These commands will execute with all privileges available to recovery mode.
Advantages: Very easy to use. Very little technical knowledge required. No third party software is required for use.
Prerequisites: You will need a MicroSD card formatted FAT32 and a method for transferring files from your computer to the MicroSD.
Usage:
1) Prepare a text file named "command" (no file extension) with one of the following commands on a single line. The wipe data command will wipe both data and cache. Wipe cache will wipe cache only.
--wipe_data
--wipe_cache
2) Place the file in a folder named "recovery" in the root directory of your MicroSD card.
3) From a powered down state, insert the MicroSD card into your tablet and boot into recovery by powering it on while holding down the Volume Up key.
4) Allow the command to execute completely then the tablet should reboot (this may not occur automatically depending on firmware installed).
Method II - Updater Script
Technical: The attached "Updater Scripts" perform delete commands (recursively if necessary) on the named directory or file(s). The directories are mounted automatically by the system before the script executes but it could be easily revised to include that step if necessary. The partitioning, formatting and directory structure are left untouched. Only files are deleted.
Advantages: No third party software is necessary for execution. Relatively easy to modify for more surgical precision (i.e. leaving installed apps but clearing possibly corrupted system data). Included example: "Clear Battery Stats"
Prerequisites: You will need a MicroSD card formatted FAT32 and a method for transferring files from your computer to the MicroSD.
Usage:
1) Download the attached archive (ClearData.zip) to your computer.
2) Extract the files to your computer. You should then have a folder named "recovery" (which contains a file named "command") and an additional archive named "update.zip"
3) Place the recovery folder and the update.zip in the root directory of the MicroSD card.
4) From a powered down state, insert the MicroSD card into your tablet and boot into recovery by powering it on while holding down the Volume Up key.
5) Allow the script to execute completely then reboot the tablet (this may occur automatically depending on firmware installed).
This will become handy someday.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
You're welcome. One quick note... the new stock recovery adds a menu simiilar to ClockworkMod. These methods will still work since the recovery folder/command file are checked first but it really isn't as necessary any more.
Need Help
Tried both methods above but either way I get to the viewsonic splash with the message "Booting recovery kernel image" in the upper left and it just stays there, stuck there, I left it for a long time to see and it never leaves that screen.
Any ideas?
Me too
I can't get into clockworkmod either. My machine is running faster. I almost hate to mess it more.
lrgche said:
Tried both methods above but either way I get to the viewsonic splash with the message "Booting recovery kernel image" in the upper left and it just stays there, stuck there, I left it for a long time to see and it never leaves that screen.
Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's an indication that you may have more serious problems. nvflash will be required. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=861950
Once done you will likely need to install ClockworkMod and repartition your internal storage.
Loukoebel said:
I can't get into clockworkmod either. My machine is running faster. I almost hate to mess it more.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If your tablet boots properly but you can't get into CWM then it probably isn't installed properly (or at all). http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
Keep in mind that CWM is NOT compatible with all ROMs. Make sure the developer for your chosen ROM recommends it before installing it.
Does your method in opening post have to be run from external micro sdcard?
Both methods are performed with an external MicroSD card. They will work from internal also but it is a little more difficult to get the files in place if your tablet is not booting properly.
K J Rad said:
Both methods are performed with an external MicroSD card. They will work from internal also but it is a little more difficult to get the files in place if your tablet is not booting properly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so your method is a simple way to replace one of the main uses of Clockword MOD?--Plus you stay stock more or less.
That is correct. Method II can also be modified to be less intrusive (leave user apps installed) or embedded into update scripts to perform a wipe during new ROM installs.
K J Rad said:
That is correct. Method II can also be modified to be less intrusive (leave user apps installed) or embedded into update scripts to perform a wipe during new ROM installs.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe data does what--remove the apps installed?
And the partitions?
Your post is very interesting. It implies that you have a knowledge of the g-tabs partition structure. I have played with Linux off and on for the last 10+ years. When I began, I used Slackware and when you set it up you had to manually create partition tables using fdisk. You were only required to create two - the data partition and a swap partition but it was often recommended that you create several others - one to contain the home directory to prevent users from using all the disk space (in the days of small disks) for example. It appears that there are a lot of partition on the g-tab. Up to now, I have used various wiping tools like clockwork or calkulins wipe all on faith. I would really like to know what all the partitions are and what is in them. I have used terminal to get to the root folder and tried to do an fdisk to display the partitions but try as I might everything remains hidden. It would seem that a script like yours could be adapted to do many things but I would certainly want to understand the structure a little better before I did anything. I have searched and been unable to find that information. Can you point a way for the curious to learn more about the partition structure on the g-tab?
Wish I had a direction I could point you in. What I've found so far has mostly been stumbled upon while looking for something else. What I can tell you is this...
1) When using fdisk in Android you must specify the device to look at. Try something like: fdisk /dev/block/mccblk3 That should list the current partitions as defined by CWM or whatever was used originally.
2) Within one of those partitions in the list generated above are sub-partitions holding the bootloader, system, data, etc partitions. You can see how they're described in the .cfg files in the nvflash restores that are lying about.
lsu205 said:
Wipe data does what--remove the apps installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Removes user apps and their associated data as well as system related data and settings.
K J Rad - any idea if the partition size can be set with these methods (2048 & 0) in case I can't get clockwork installed?
CodeNamePapa said:
K J Rad - any idea if the partition size can be set with these methods (2048 & 0) in case I can't get clockwork installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm looking for a solution to that problem. Unfortunately these methods still require the ability to get into recovery mode which likely won't work if you're having trouble getting CWM installed.
If, however, you can get into recovery... then it is theoretically possible to create a script that would accomplish that. As soon as I have one I'll be adding it to the mix ;-)
Edit: I've found something I think will work. Will do some testing tonight. It will still require access to recovery.
I wasn't sure if you saw my other post but I am seeing no partition 0 when I NVFlash with a verifypartition.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=13059520&postcount=57
I haven't yet but I will. Let's try to keep this thread on topic. Thanks.
More thoughts:
because I went w/ cyan7 is it possible i have a "bad" kernel and that the stock bekit-1105 or the roebeet-3588 files are crashing w/ the kernel in place already?
I know custom ROMs can have a custom kernel applied separately, but I have no idea whether cyan7 loads it's own kernel...
I have yet to try the nvflash_gtablet_46 version, as I see the img files w/in are different from the original 1105 .zip
Also:
read on another thread that part 2 and part 3 aren't loading for other users when doing nvflash - I did notice that it pauses, runs some stuff, then starts loading part 4 through to the last part, then success. - do part 2 and 3 run for you?
edit: I see a 4349 downgrade.zip in another thread for those who got the OTA update but want to go back to stock 3588 prior to jumping off somewhere else - I can't expect that would help me as I can't do squat w/ recovery yet, but could that possibly "reset" any bad kernel problems? - again, I'm just thinking out loud.
This is well outside the scope of this thread but I find some of what you mention interesting so I'll address it and then end any further off topic discussions.
I did not build nor have I ever used Cyan7 so I have no basis for an opinion on the matter other than this... Each ROM comes with a kernel installed so if properly done an nvflash should overwrite any "bad" kernel.
Part2 and Part3 do indeed load, they are just displayed differently than the other Parts. Just minutes ago I flashed down from Mountain Laurel (4349 based with the new bootloader and recovery) with absolutely no trouble. I can, and have, read back those partitions after an nvflash to prove that point.
The 4349 downgrade will only work for you if recovery is working. Having never used it I don't know that it would "reset" the kernel but any subsequent flashing of a new ROM image would.
I am working on a stock recovery solution for partitioning but it isn't likely to help anyone who is stuck in an APX loop. I do have some ideas on what might help for that condition but I haven't been able to get my hands on one for testing and trying to help people here is like being a consulting mechanic for a car repair that's in someone else's shop having work done on it that you're not being told about.
I'll be happy to address any further comments or questions regarding your specific issue in an appropriate thread or via PM. Thanks.
I have been searching all morning for the answer to my issue, but evidently I am not using the correct words in my search. Either that or I am the first person to need to do this:
In an effort to try to get Netflix working on my Gtab running Vegan 5.1.1, I have been trying differing edits of the build.prop file. Since Netflix is working on my original version Droid, I have been using it as a model. All to no avail. So, last evening, fully aware that I might brick the gtab and willing to pay the price of a reflash if necessary, I copied the entire build.prop file from my Droid to my gtab and rebooted. Sure enough, won't boot.
I have backups of the original working build.prop but cannot access it by connecting my gtab to my pc through usb. I can access the files on the sdcard but cannot figure out how to get into the system folder so that I can replace the offending file with a good one. I thought that nvflash might be my friend, but after reading everything I can find on that tool it seems that it will just reflash to stock.
I can reflash my Vegan install, and may have to do so....but is it possible to just access the files in the system folder? If so, all I would have to do is to delete the current build.prop file and rename my backup file back to build.prop.
Anyone know how I can do this?
Joe
You can us ADB to push (or pull) files as well as accessing the command line on your gTab. ADB is a development tool, and is part of the Android development kit. You need to install the driver that comes with it, but first you need to edit the .INF file with a couple lines referencing the gTab. You can find additional information about ADB in other posts.
If recovery is working ok then you could reflash your ROM or craft a custom update to replace build.prop.
You could also nvflash just the system partition if you have an image for your ROM.
Lots of options.
Edit: Just looked at the Vegan 5.1.1 supplement update and it has a build.prop file in it. Reinstalling it would likely get you running again as long as you haven't made any other significant changes to the system files. It might revert a few system applications to older versions.
If you have adb set up and working, restoring your backed up build.prop would be trivial job. Let us know if you have adb working and then we can give you the commands you need to use.
As of right now, I do not have adb setup and working. Well, that's not quite true....I did set it up quite some time ago and used it on my Droid. Guess I need to reconfigure it for the gtab and then proceed from there?
Joe
Well, I resolved my issue by reflashing the VegaN rom, all is good now.
Joe
I apologize if this has been covered in another thread but I have been doing multiple searches on XDA and in google trying to find a solution but so far no luck. Long time reader of XDA but first time poster.
Details -
I successfully used NVFLASH, loaded Clockworkmod 0.8 and loaded Vega-Ntab gingerbread edition (stable RC1 I believe its called). I have been running this for a month or so with no major issues but I want to test out Vega-Ntab 5.1 and Brilliant Corners. Thinking of going with 5.1 for the hardware acceleration for gaming etc. Oh I also received my new Gtab with bootloader 1.2 and I downgraded that to 1.1 successfully before loading Vega-Ntab gingerbread. I think I can handle loading the new roms etc (may have to switch to 1.2 for Brilliant Corners I believe) but I want to do a full backup before doing so with clockworkmod so I can go back to gingerbread if I decide I liked it the best. But clockworkmod will not do a backup for me. I have tried multiple times and it always freezes/hangs at the same point. On the screen I see
ClockworkMod Recovery v2.5.1.1-bekit-0.8
SD card space free: 9697MB
Backing up boot...
Backing up recovery...
Backing up system... and here it will go no further
I have let it set at that point for hours but nothing changes. I checked the clockworkmod backup folder and it has a folder dated the current date of the backup but the contents is only boot.img and recovery.img and nothing else so I think that confirms it really isnt completing the backup.
I am unsure what the cause or solution to this is. I thought about reloading clockworkmod 0.8 but I don't think I can do this since it's already loaded. I thought about loading a newer version but from what I have read gingerbread and the other 1.1 roms will not work with anything but 0.8. I could just do a melt and repour and just go back to stock level and load 5.1 or Brilliant Corners but then I lose any apps I have loaded. I am not concerned about the majority of them but I have loaded a couple good ones as of late from Amazon that were the free app of the day and I am unsure whether I can "reload" these at a later date without being forced to pay. I have also paid for a couple games but I am assuming I can reload those without issue. I did back up all of the apps I paid for and amazon games that I loaded that I got for free (normally have to pay) with titanium backup. So assuming I can restore these with titanium backup after loading brilliant corners or vegan 5.1 then I guess the only thing that I lose by not being able to do a full backup/restore with clockwork is that if I want to go back to gingerbread then I have to start from scratch for reloading the rom.
So is the problem I am having running the back up successfully a known issue that I just can't seem to find a discussion thread about?
Thanks in advance for any help or advice.
Boot into ClockworkMod Recovery and get me a dmesg output (kernel messages) using adb. See this post for how.
Attach the dmesg.txt to your next post.
thanks for the reply. Unfortunately I am not having any luck getting the dmesg.txt file for you. I downloaded the iso image for Knoppix 6 but when I boot off the disc it starts processing everything but then it gives an error "the file /mnt-system/knoppix/knoppix is broken. then after about 30 secs it gives the following
/sbin/init: line 76: syntax error near unexpected token '/usr/share/fonts/type1/gsfonts/a010013l.pfb'
/sbin/init: line 76: '/URWGothicL-Book (usr/share/fonts/type1/gsfonts/a010013l.pfb);
I will try and download the iso from a different site and burn another disc.
I also tried a different route and loaded SDK manager to get to ADB by that route. I am running windows 7 if that makes a difference. I am not 100% sure when I am supposed to run the adb command line you listed. Do I have my gtab running clockworkmod and then mount USB so it will show up on my pc? Do I have to try and perform a backup and then run the adb command when it freezes? I don't think I can do that because if I navigate away from the mount USB it automatically unmounts it. Anyway adb doesn't appear to be seeing the gtab anyway. When I run the SDK manager it does not find any android devices. If I run the "adb devices" command it comes back with no devices. So I am not sure what basic thing I am missing to get adb or SDK to recognize the gtab.
I apologize for my lack of knowledge on adb. Your first link says if I have adb already set up to run adb shell dmesg > dmesg.txt while in clockworkmod so I am assuming I do this after mounting USB to get the pc to recognize the gtab.
I will try download and burn another iso image from a different location and see if I can boot off a disc. Assuming this time it is successful do I run the ADB command you listed in the second link while the GTab is mounted to USB and recognized by the pc? Hopefully ADB will see it if I can get this to work.
*update* I downloaded the ISO image from a different location. When I went to the folder it was downloaded to I noticed that the first ISO image I downloaded was only approx 100MB in size instead of 700+ mb. So I am re-burning another disc. Hopefully this will allow me to boot properly.
*update #2* I was able to successfully boot off of the new disc. Now I just need to figure out how and where to enter the adb command line in your link ($ sudo ./adb shell dmesg > dmesg.txt) i tried this using the Shell option but it says command not found. If I choose the File Manager option and navigate to where the adb file is that was in your linked zip file it just prompts me to edit/copy/move/rename or delete the file. I am out of time tonight so I will work on it more tomorrow. The good news though is that when I use File Manager the Gtab is listed so it is at least recognized. Now I just need to figure out how to get the dmesg.txt file you request but making some progress... I think
ashton555 said:
*update #2* I was able to successfully boot off of the new disc. Now I just need to figure out how and where to enter the adb command line in your link ($ sudo ./adb shell dmesg > dmesg.txt)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Step by step instructions in this post.
thanks a bunch. Those instructions were easy to follow and made sense. I have never used linux before but alot of it reminded me back of my old unix days (terminal commands that is).
Anyway I think I did everything correct and I am now attaching the txt file.
Thanks again for your help and patience with this Linux newbie let me know if I need to provide any additional information.
ashton555 said:
Anyway I think I did everything correct and I am now attaching the txt file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did indeed. And I can't see any obvious problems with the NAND-flash device, judging from the kernel messages.
Since you've already tried to take backups using CWM before, that action should've created a log file. This file might be useful. Retrieve it. Inside an xterm window on Linux, run:
Code:
hostpc$ [B]sudo ./adb pull /cache/recovery/log recovery.log[/B]
Attach this "recovery.log" file.
Next, try to read, one by one, the NAND flash partitions that CWM usually backs up. Here's an example run on my gTablet:
Code:
hostpc$ [B]sudo ./adb shell[/B] [I]Get into the shell in CWM[/I]
~ # [B]dump_image boot /dev/null[/B]
~ # [B]dump_image recovery /dev/null[/B]
~ # [B]dump_image system /dev/null[/B]
mtd: read error at 0x029a0000 (I/O error)
mtd: read error at 0x02da0000 (I/O error)
~ # [B]dump_image cache /dev/null[/B]
~ #
Type in only the commands in bold.
As you can see, my "system" partition on the NAND flash has errors (and the kernel also report this when it boots), but, the command will not hang. According to the kernel message that you just supplied, you don't have any errors on your onboard NAND flash, so, theoretically, you shouldn't get any errors at all. But, we'll see if the dump_image command hangs when reading system just like CWM does.
And if the dump_image command does hang somewhere, we can see if formatting just that system partition will get it working again. There is a utility on this board which we could use for doing that, though I've never tried it.
I successfully completed the next two tasks. I am attaching the recovery.log file. Note I had an issue copying the .log file to where I could access it in win7 (for some reason I cant attach a file while in linux). I opened it with a word processor and then saved it to my c drive which messed up the formatting. So I opened it in Word to get the formatting correct and saved it as a txt file so thats why the attached file is recovery.txt. Let me know if it messed it up to where its not useable.
On the second task
~ # dump_image boot /dev/null
this worked fine and quick
~ # dump_image recovery /dev/null
this worked fine and quick
~ # dump_image system /dev/null
this worked but took maybe 10-15 seconds
~ # dump_image cache /dev/null
this one gave an I/O error but completed the dump
mtd: read error at 0x00080000 (I/O error)
ashton555 said:
Let me know if it messed it up to where its not useable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The file is just fine... and I can't see any error messages in it.
~ # dump_image system /dev/null
this worked but took maybe 10-15 seconds
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is normal -- "system" partition is ~200MB.
~ # dump_image cache /dev/null
this one gave an I/O error but completed the dump
mtd: read error at 0x00080000 (I/O error)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This also looks like normal behaviour, but, I'm puzzled that the kernel did not report any bad blocks on this partition. Check if this is a transient error:
1. Repeat the "dump_image cache ..." command a few times and see if the I/O error location is the same.
2. Try to "fix" the error on the cache partition by using the "wipe cache partition" menu item in CWM. Do this a couple of times.
3. Run the "dump_image cache ..." command again.
4. Attempt another full system backup using CWM.
If step 4 fails, we'll see if the writing of the backup to the sdcard is the problem, because the reading seems to be completing without any hangs as of now.
BTW, the most important partitions are all being read fine. The "cache" partition is not that important -- it can be empty (but not corrupt) each time the system boots and only the initial bootup might go a little slower.
And, if, in the end of all this, you can't use CWM at all, you can still make a full system backup using nvflash and a few Unix commands.
1. Repeat the "dump_image cache ..." command a few times and see if the I/O error location is the same
....i did the dump 4 times and it always gave the same I/O location
2. Try to "fix" the error on the cache partition by using the "wipe cache partition" menu item in CWM. Do this a couple of times
.... I wiped the cache 4 times successsfully
3. Run the "dump_image cache ..." command again.
.... same I/O error location
4. Attempt another full system backup using CWM
.... still freezing at backing up system
So I guess I need to try and do the backup with NVFlash and unix/linux commands? If you have a link on how to do that I will give it a try or I can search for it and see if there is a discussion thread on it.
Thanks again for your help and trying to resolve this
Question - if I started over from scratch and went back to stock and then loaded vegan gingerbread would this issue possibly correct itself? Also more importantly if I back up some apps using titanium backup before I go back to stock can I then restore them with Titanium once I have vegan ginger back loaded? Also if I loaded vegan 5.1.1 could I restore the same apps I backed up in vegan ginger? Hopefully that made sense. I don't mind starting from scratch if I need to I just wasnt sure if I would permanently lose certain apps I have loaded. It's only about 10 apps I care about
*update* - well I think I am going to be forced to start over anyway. After wiping the cache a couple times and attempting another backup (froze again at backing up system) I now can't get the gtab to boot completely. It is stuck at the flashing vegan ginger edition screen. It flashes for awhile then the screen goes black then it goes back to the flashing screen again. I know you said it would take longer to boot up the first time after wiping the cache but was doing the flash cycling for over an hour which I assume is too long? I tried wiping the cache again and I also wiped the davlik cache as someone suggested in another thread but it is back to being stuck in the flashing screen loop. Assuming I do have to start over can I at least boot to CWM, mount ext USB and copy off the titanium backup files I made so I can restore some of the paid for apps?
ashton555 said:
3. Run the "dump_image cache ..." command again.
.... same I/O error location
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Looks like a permanent I/O error in the cache partition, then. But, I don't understand why it is "system" which is hanging on backup.
4. Attempt another full system backup using CWM
.... still freezing at backing up system
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Get me the recovery.log.
So I guess I need to try and do the backup with NVFlash and unix/linux commands?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll think this over during the weekend. In the mean-time, read through this thread. You can safely take a complete backup of your tablet while I do a bit of experimentation on a clockworkmod-like solution. But, I suspect that you may not be able to backup "cache" using nvflash going by the I/O errors. I have errors on my "system" partition and a nvflash backup fails on it, but CWM doesn't have any problems backing up and restoring.
Question - if I started over from scratch and went back to stock and then loaded vegan gingerbread would this issue possibly correct itself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Probably not. But, see this thread. It shows you how to wipe all the partitions on the NAND flash device. We don't need to format the entire NAND flash. We can see if doing a few repeated formats of the "system" and "cache" partitions gets CWM working again, if you're willing to wipe "system"--you will have to load Vegan-Ginger right after this.
Also more importantly if I back up some apps using titanium backup before I go back to stock can I then restore them with Titanium once I have vegan ginger back loaded? Also if I loaded vegan 5.1.1 could I restore the same apps I backed up in vegan ginger? Hopefully that made sense. I don't mind starting from scratch if I need to I just wasnt sure if I would permanently lose certain apps I have loaded. It's only about 10 apps I care about
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't used Titanium backup so I can't say how well it works, but, judging from the reports that other users have made, what you're suggesting should work without any problems. User downloaded applications are stored either on /data or on /mnt/sdcard (for apps moved to SD card). Since your SD cards don't seem to be affected, you can go ahead with Titanium backup.
ashton555 said:
Assuming I do have to start over can I at least boot to CWM, mount ext USB and copy off the titanium backup files I made so I can restore some of the paid for apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, copy the files in CWM, then just do a "wipe data/factory reset" and see if it boot loop goes away.
But, before you do that, gimme a half-hour and I'll send you commands which you can use to save the files in /data and /sdcard. I just have to compile and test a new version of busybox. The tar command already present in CWM doesn't seem to work properly for me.
Attaching the recovery file
I am running the nvflash back up right now.
It successfully did part-1.img through part-11.img with no errors. The last thing it said though is
"rem CACHE PARTITION BACKUP NOT NEEDED
"nvflash.exe" -r --read 12 part-12.img
press enter to continue
Is this maybe because I wiped the cache and it's empty?
I looked on my ext SD card and the titanium backup files are there (except for a couple I had forgotten do ....) so I think I am okay for going back to square one if need be.
I will go ahead (tomorrow probably) try doing what is described thread about wiping partitions on the NAND device and just formating the system and cache partitions. I am assuming that at this point I guess its okay to go ahead and try to load vegan tab 5.1.1 instead of ginger again since I wanted to try out 5.1.1 anyway or if you have any experience with it would you recommend Brilliant Corners instead since its a newer rom. I think I will have to reload the 1.2 bootloader which is okay.
ashton555 said:
Attaching the recovery file
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No errors in there.
The last thing it said though is
"rem CACHE PARTITION BACKUP NOT NEEDED
"nvflash.exe" -r --read 12 part-12.img
press enter to continue
Is this maybe because I wiped the cache and it's empty?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think so. The cache partition isn't that important anyway, so it can be skipped.
I will go ahead (tomorrow probably) try doing what is described thread about wiping partitions on the NAND device and just formating the system and cache partitions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would suggest that you copy the Titanium backed-up apps safely away immediately, then format just the system and cache partitions as per that thread. You will need to be in APX mode to use nvflash.
Immediately after the nvflash, (since the system partition is now gone), boot into CWM, then do a factory reset, repartition the internal sdcard, copy the Vegan-5.1.1 update file onto the now clean sdcard through the PC and then flash it. This should give you a clean slate.
Then check if you can do a backup using CWM. If you still can't, then I'll see if a solution can be devised to do partial backups.
And, I have tried neither Vegan* nor Brilliant Corners, so the choice is up to you.
Sorry, my test commands aren't working so I can't send you those commands I promised to back up your /data and /system--I suspect a bad USB cable.
I am sorry. I just cannot quite understand the partitions for gtablet, explained here
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/repartition.htm
When you do a nvflash, do you need to re-partition? Do you need to remount these partitions manually before reformatting before a flash? Do you need to remount before flashing a rom? a kernal?
Why do the default instructions suggest making one of the partitions 0 size?
klaberte said:
I am sorry. I just cannot quite understand the partitions for gtablet, explained here
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/repartition.htm
When you do a nvflash, do you need to re-partition? Do you need to remount these partitions manually before reformatting before a flash? Do you need to remount before flashing a rom? a kernal?
Why do the default instructions suggest making one of the partitions 0 size?
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No need to repartition just for NVFLASH. Repartitioning normally necessary only once (unless you get a corrupted data area like I did).
The repartitioning is done within CWM. It only repartitions the user data area. No remounting necessary. Just follow the step by step and you will be good to go.
Do you need to remount these partitions manually before reformatting before a flash? Do you need to remount before flashing a rom? a kernal?
klaberte said:
Do you need to remount these partitions manually before reformatting before a flash? Do you need to remount before flashing a rom? a kernal?
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When you do the reparition using the option within Clockwork Mod (CWM), nothing is unmounted and there is no need to remount anything.
If you read the Dummies site by 'good intention', it says there is a incompatibility between the stock partition and the software & that repartitioning is recommended once (sooner rather than later) to prevent a problem in the future. So, assuming your gTab is new, you would first install CWM, then install the ROM you want & then Repartition (see Code Green).
As long as you do not have corruption in the user data area, that would hopefully be the ONLY time repartitioning is needed.
In my case, I had corruption (all directory/file entries were random characters & attempts to run any app resulted in app no found), so I had to reparition mine a second time.
Al
still not getting it...
Thanks for your timely response. I have read the dummies web site several times, as well as several guides from xda-forums. However, there are sometimes inconsistencies with these different sets of directions. For example, please see Part 2, step 8 of
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
This clearly instructs you to (re)mount these partitions before flashing a new ROM.
However,
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/rom.htm
makes no mention of checking or mounting these partitions.
I can certainly follow a cookbook set of instructions, but I am trying to actually understand the "why" behind these instructions.
Specifically, which partitions are changed when you do a nvflash? reflash a ROM? flash a new kernel?
klaberte said:
Thanks for your timely response. I have read the dummies web site several times, as well as several guides from xda-forums. However, there are sometimes inconsistencies with these different sets of directions. For example, please see Part 2, step 8 of
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
This clearly instructs you to (re)mount these partitions before flashing a new ROM.
However,
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/rom.htm
makes no mention of checking or mounting these partitions.
I can certainly follow a cookbook set of instructions, but I am trying to actually understand the "why" behind these instructions.
Specifically, which partitions are changed when you do a nvflash? reflash a ROM? flash a new kernel?
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The first post was back in Dec 2010. That was back when the only bootloader was the 1.1 branch. Part 2 Step8 is flashing the ROM, not repartitioning. It looks like they are having you unmount /system & /data before flashing the rom & then remounting it after you flash the rom. Don't know why thy did it that way back then since you aren't running on those paritions (/system & /data) while in CWM. Maybe back then they thought it was safer to do it that way.
What I can tell you is that I have flashed roms/configured four gTablets (everyone in the family wanted one) using the dummies instructions & they work correctly & are up to date for both bootloader branches.
Read through these 2 posts where I've gone into some detail regarding the partition and SD card structure and contents on the gTablet:
SD card on gTablet
Android partitions on gTablet
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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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!
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.