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[Q] DHD android most beginner know how

Finally I got my DHD, the time where everything is rolling out, from perm root, to recovery...
The good thing, I'm very happy with my DHD, the bad thing, I'm not familiar yet with android system.
I revised a lot of android and DHD threads, and I faced many new terminologies that belong to android where I like to have explanation for each.
Please let me understand the following issues the beginner way, allowing me to maybe make a simple guide answers for most new android users coming from winmo.
I-General questions:
1-DHD should be multitouch. Then why games like Gameloft are not multitouch like on ipod or iphone?
2-What are the buttons combinations for the different operations like hard reset & boot loader?
3-I read that android can’t share internet via USB for those with no WIFI at home or office. As I knew it’s due to ad hoc issue so it's impossible to get internet via USB cable from desktop. When I plugged my DHD, I choose internet pass through and I got internet on my DHD, is it a new feature implemented in DHD only, or is it a 2.2 update that will work on other devices?
4-Winmo gives the choice to install applications on either the device or SD card. Android have nothing like this, so when I install applications, where do they go, and is there a workaround to put everything on SD card, or maybe give choice to where to install?
5-My DHD comes with an 8 GB mini SD card where there are some folders and files on it. Are they necessary to run the system, what if I replaced this card with another formatted one, what will happen, or what if I format this card?
II-System info:
1-Baseband version (is it like the radio in winmo?)
2-Kernel version (is it one kernel for the entire device? Does it updates like rom or like radio?) e.g. (kAmMa's OC&GOV&BFS Kernel - Performance and Stability. Is this a rom or just kernel that will update some parts of the rom without losing data on the device?)
3-Build number (is this the firmware?) e.g. (i have 1.32.405.3 CLxxxxxx release-keys, what does release keys means?)
4-Software number (or this is the firmware?)
III-OTA ACE with radio:
1-OTA (is it a rom, does it mean over the air, if yes what does that mean? Can we update OTA with no root?)
2-ACE
On winmo (HD2), I know HSPL will let me unlock ISPL so I can install any custom or cooked rom, languages and applications...
For android, as far as I know there is no one click solution. From what I understand to do everything in android with no restrictions u need to do the followings:
IV-How to root Desire HD install h-boot (S-Off) and Clockwork recovery?
Please identify which one is just a process that we do it once in order to unlock it, which is a boot loader run application and which one is an android application:
1-Root (is it what gives access to the root folders of the system that maybe are hidden by default or encrypted?)
2-Hboot
3-S-off (is it security off? if yes, it is security off for what? installing applications, or read write to some encrypted partitions?)
4-Clockwork (is it something necessary to do in order to install custom rom, no adds, backup and so on, or is it something totally independent and related only to unlock the speed of the CPU where you can leave it intact if you won’t play with the CPU speed?)
5-Recovery (from what I understand it seems that recovery is a system shell command like dos or more like bios for android but named as recovery, what can we do with the recovery other than recovering the device?)
6-Recovery image (is it a rom backed on the form of image and provided by developers, so we can install it directly on the device using only the recovery shell?)
V-More things to know about:
1-What is adb?
2-What is busybox?
2-What is fast boot?
3-What is eMMC write?
4-What is ext2 or ext4 (is it like the partition type of the SD card based on UNIX system? if yes, why should we change or modify this ext)
5-Rom manager (is it a desktop pc application or android device application? is it something like I can put the RUU file of the rom on my SD card and using the rom manager I can install the rom from there, nothing more nothing less?)

vuedesprit said:
Finally I got my DHD, the time where everything is rolling out, from perm root, to recovery...
The good thing, I'm very happy with my DHD, the bad thing, I'm not familiar yet with android system.
I revised a lot of android and DHD threads, and I faced many new terminologies that belong to android where I like to have explanation for each.
Please let me understand the following issues the beginner way, allowing me to maybe make a simple guide answers for most new android users coming from winmo.
I-General questions:
1-DHD should be multitouch. Then why games like Gameloft are not multitouch like on ipod or iphone?
2-What are the buttons combinations for the different operations like hard reset & boot loader?
3-I read that android can’t share internet via USB for those with no WIFI at home or office. As I knew it’s due to ad hoc issue so it's impossible to get internet via USB cable from desktop. When I plugged my DHD, I choose internet pass through and I got internet on my DHD, is it a new feature implemented in DHD only, or is it a 2.2 update that will work on other devices?
4-Winmo gives the choice to install applications on either the device or SD card. Android have nothing like this, so when I install applications, where do they go, and is there a workaround to put everything on SD card, or maybe give choice to where to install?
5-My DHD comes with an 8 GB mini SD card where there are some folders and files on it. Are they necessary to run the system, what if I replaced this card with another formatted one, what will happen, or what if I format this card?
II-System info:
1-Baseband version (is it like the radio in winmo?)
2-Kernel version (is it one kernel for the entire device? Does it updates like rom or like radio?) e.g. (kAmMa's OC&GOV&BFS Kernel - Performance and Stability. Is this a rom or just kernel that will update some parts of the rom without losing data on the device?)
3-Build number (is this the firmware?) e.g. (i have 1.32.405.3 CLxxxxxx release-keys, what does release keys means?)
4-Software number (or this is the firmware?)
III-OTA ACE with radio:
1-OTA (is it a rom, does it mean over the air, if yes what does that mean? Can we update OTA with no root?)
2-ACE
On winmo (HD2), I know HSPL will let me unlock ISPL so I can install any custom or cooked rom, languages and applications...
For android, as far as I know there is no one click solution. From what I understand to do everything in android with no restrictions u need to do the followings:
IV-How to root Desire HD install h-boot (S-Off) and Clockwork recovery?
Please identify which one is just a process that we do it once in order to unlock it, which is a boot loader run application and which one is an android application:
1-Root (is it what gives access to the root folders of the system that maybe are hidden by default or encrypted?)
2-Hboot
3-S-off (is it security off? if yes, it is security off for what? installing applications, or read write to some encrypted partitions?)
4-Clockwork (is it something necessary to do in order to install custom rom, no adds, backup and so on, or is it something totally independent and related only to unlock the speed of the CPU where you can leave it intact if you won’t play with the CPU speed?)
5-Recovery (from what I understand it seems that recovery is a system shell command like dos or more like bios for android but named as recovery, what can we do with the recovery other than recovering the device?)
6-Recovery image (is it a rom backed on the form of image and provided by developers, so we can install it directly on the device using only the recovery shell?)
V-More things to know about:
1-What is adb?
2-What is busybox?
2-What is fast boot?
3-What is eMMC write?
4-What is ext2 or ext4 (is it like the partition type of the SD card based on UNIX system? if yes, why should we change or modify this ext)
5-Rom manager (is it a desktop pc application or android device application? is it something like I can put the RUU file of the rom on my SD card and using the rom manager I can install the rom from there, nothing more nothing less?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Congratulations. You win the "most questions asked in a single post" award.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

That is a ridiculous amount of questions, and the thread is in completely the wrong area of the forum. I'm sure you'd find the answer to pretty much all your questions if you looked hard enough, but to answer the one about multi-touch. It is multi touch and all the games I've played from your example 'Gameloft' are multi-touch, so I don't know what you're smoking buddy, but ease off.

1. Inb4 "search".
2. Wrong forum.
3. No really, try searching. At least 30% of that is googleable.
Sent from my Desire HD using XDA App

Ok guys, thank you all for your replies, and yes I knew that a war and flames will go on here, but seriously if you think this is ridiculous or newbie or most dumb questions, do not turn the way of the thread or flame me, my intentions are to make this as a one small guide for most new androids functions, it's not a bad thing to do, in fact I will learn as much as other new users here, no one is asked to answer all those ridiculous questions, just answer what you know about, guys please take it seriously and easy, saying look harder will not help the thread, it may help me personaly, but be sure that I did a lot of search, and it will not hurt to put everything in one place, and as you can see, I answered most of the questions up to what I gathered, you can correct me about my answers, put your thoughts or not answer at all, but please be constructive here, and if you all think that i'm in the wrong forum, or asking too much, or asking ridiculous questions, please moderator feel free to do what you think is better for the forum.
Sorry guys for bothering you. Thank you for your response.
N.B.: just to be more accurate, I tried the prince of persia pre installed on the phone by the dealer, and it was not multi touch, so you cant walk and use any of the right actions at same time.

@vuedesprit: Good thread, and thanks for taking all the criticism from the more experienced users.
@all chimers chiming the "use search, wrong forum" tune: c'mon guys, there's at least 2 of us reading this thread going, it's about time all this information got consolidated into one place! The easier it is to find this information, the easier it would be for more of us to get engaged in the process and thus further development, enhancement and adoption.
While our "friendly" mod is doing his best to keep the forums clean, they're as fragmented as ever and from time-to-time, it becomes necessary to consolidate the information into a single thread. I'm sure most of you started some place too and remember the time not so long ago when it was difficult to find even the most basic info? I think by sharing your knowledge, you will gain a much better following and the platform will gain much better adoption.
My 2 cents worth anyways...I've had my DHD for 3 days now and I too am struggling to perform even the most basic tasks.

We really need a questions and answers sub forum

Fair enough, maybe my first comment was a bit rash, but I didn't mean to appear rude. I shall try to answer some questions here:
GENERAL.
1. From my own experience all games advertised as multitouch are exactly that. I don't know about the version of PoP that you have installed from carrier, but I do find that odd.
2. Hard reset is a little perverse with the new "fastboot" hibernation feature that HTC have implemented. You have to go to MENU>SETTINGS>APPLICATIONS and disable "fastboot" (this is where confusion may arise as this is not the bootloader fastboot that allows images to be flashed)!! Now when you hold down the power button and get the option to power off, you will properly power off the phone. Next if you hold "VOLUME DOWN" and "POWER" buttons you will reboot into HBoot, from here the VOLUME UP/DOWN keys navigate the menu and POWER selects menu options.
3. Not sure about this one.
4. Since the release of FROYO you can go to MENU>SETTINGS>APPLICATIONS>MANAGE APPLICATIONS then select any app and move to either SD or to phone memory.
5. The folders on the SD card are mostly generated by the phone when you first insert it. The user guide and HTC sync software are there to move onto your PC for safe keeping. If you insert a freshly formatted SD card, the phone will make fresh folders such as DCIM for pictures, etc...
SYSTEM INFO.
1. Baseband is radio software.
2. Kernel is the linux kernel that is running below Android, this can be updated separately from the main ROM, radio etc. HOWEVER CAUTION IS ADVISED AS CERTAIN KERNELS WILL NEED NEW MODULES FOR HARDWARE TO FUNCTION CORRECTLY as you will see from the wifi modules bundled with the OC kernels.
3. Build number pertains to HTC's internal software version classification (some are built specific for carriers) they are generally released via RUU (ROM Update Utility aimed at windows) or OTA (Over The Air update received on phone [again sometimes carrier specific]). Release keys pertains to the fact that the firmware has been signed by HTC (I think).
4. Software number, basically as above.
OTA ACE with Radio.
1. As Above.
2. ACE: internal HTC name for Desire HD (also reportedly known as "SPADE")
ROOT DESIRE HD ETC.
Most of what you have written is pretty much correct.
MORE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT.
1. http://developer.android.com/guide/developing/tools/adb.html
2. http://www.busybox.net/about.html
3. http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fastboot
4. eMMC write basically means that you can write to the internal phone (normally protected) memory such as /SYSTEM, this is what S-OFF allows you to do whenever you want. However, the modules that allow the ENG HBoot image to be flashed are what really accomplish this in the first place so theoretically you could just run that module every time you wanted to write to /SYSTEM but that would become very tedious very quickly. I can't really explain further, as I don't have the knowledge.
5. EXT2 or EXT4 are filesystem structures just like FAT, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HFS+ etc, EXT4 is newer and more advanced than EXT2 and therefore is more efficient. (kinda general but you get the idea. NEWER=BETTER)
6. ROM manager, find this in the android market, it is free, you install it on your phone and with the addition of clockworkmod it gives you the ability of flashing ROMs etc. USE WITH CAUTION.
I hope that this answers or clarifies most of what you have asked or said, please feel free to cut and paste any of this info into your first post so that we can actually consolidate this.
P.S. I too am a complete android noob and this is my first android phone, I have picked this info up mainly from this forum so all credit for information goes to XDA-DEVELOPERS.COM and not me.
Cheers,
Dok

berek9999 said:
congratulations. You win the "most questions asked in a single post" award.
Sent from my desire hd using xda app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1111111111^2

1-DHD should be multitouch. Then why games like Gameloft are not multitouch like on ipod or iphone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
an application must support multitouch and other gestures. eg, opera doesnt support multitouch (ie you cant zoom in and out) but the browser that comes with the DHD does.
2-What are the buttons combinations for the different operations like hard reset & boot loader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
boot loader = turn phone off. then, volume down + power on.
4-Winmo gives the choice to install applications on either the device or SD card. Android have nothing like this, so when I install applications, where do they go, and is there a workaround to put everything on SD card, or maybe give choice to where to install?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
application must support running from /sdcard. When you install an app go to settings -> Applications -> manage applications. From here you can uninstall or move apps to the sdcard. Bear in mind if you have not rooted your phone you may not be able to uninstall some apps (eg amazon reader).
5-My DHD comes with an 8 GB mini SD card where there are some folders and files on it. Are they necessary to run the system, what if I replaced this card with another formatted one, what will happen, or what if I format this card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
some application data is stored on your sdcard, and apps are stored here if you have moved them by using the steps above. if you change sd cards this info is unavailable to the app but the app should still work. any settings you had need to be redone.
2-Kernel version (is it one kernel for the entire device? Does it updates like rom or like radio?) e.g. (kAmMa's OC&GOV&BFS Kernel - Performance and Stability. Is this a rom or just kernel that will update some parts of the rom without losing data on the device?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the kernel is not part of a rom or the radio. It is stored in the boot partition in the emmc (where fastboot(aka hboot)/splash images/boot(kernel)/recovery/ are all stored). It is generally included with but not required by a custom rom. ie, a custom rom builder may choose to include a specific kernel with his rom but it is not mandatory.
1-OTA (is it a rom, does it mean over the air, if yes what does that mean? Can we update OTA with no root?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes, you can do OTA HTC updates. but, there are no custom (non signed) updates delivered OTA. An unrooted rom will not be able to flash non signed updates (or roms).
How to root Desire HD install h-boot (S-Off) and Clockwork recovery?[/U][/B]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
there is a good thread here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=841076.
Please identify which one is just a process that we do it once in order to unlock it, which is a boot loader run application and which one is an android application:
1-Root (is it what gives access to the root folders of the system that maybe are hidden by default or encrypted?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
android application. eg, visionary+.
2-Hboot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hboot is also known as bootloader. it is the white screen with the skating androids when you do the volume-down + power combination when switching on your phone.
3-S-off (is it security off? if yes, it is security off for what? installing applications, or read write to some encrypted partitions?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
s-off stands for security off. you can check the status by doing the volume-down + power combo. At the top it will either say s-on or s-off. If you have s-on then your bootloader (hboot), boot (kernel) /system (android) and recovery (eg clockworkmod) partitions are all read only.
4-Clockwork (is it something necessary to do in order to install custom rom, no adds, backup and so on, or is it something totally independent and related only to unlock the speed of the CPU where you can leave it intact if you won’t play with the CPU speed?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
clock work is the recovery partition. you have 3 possible options before loading android when you do the volume-down + power on combo. hboot, then either fastboot or recovery. fastboot and recovery are both ways to flash images to your phone although through different ways (fastboot uses the fastboot command on your pc to send the image, recovery uses .zip's on your /sdcard). clockworkmod is a custom recovery image which you need to flash after achieving s-off. it's also where nandroid backups can be done. if you select recovery before doing this you will get the phone + red triangle icon. thats the stock recovery. the clockworkmod is the green menu selection one.
5-Recovery (from what I understand it seems that recovery is a system shell command like dos or more like bios for android but named as recovery, what can we do with the recovery other than recovering the device?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
see above.
6-Recovery image (is it a rom backed on the form of image and provided by developers, so we can install it directly on the device using only the recovery shell?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
clockwork mod can backup your phone's partitions (boot/userdata/system) so that if you mess up installing a rom you have a way to recover. this is known as a nandroid backup.
1-What is adb?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
adb is android debug something. It is a way to send commands to the android operation system from your pc (either windows or linux). eg, you can run a single command, or run a shell (terminal session). it is part of the android sdk under tools.
2-What is busybox?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
busybox is a single executable whihc runs under the android OS that provides standard linux commands (eg, ls, rm, cd) to any application. it is so that a script writer does not need to know the partiticular rom you have and then cater for it, but only that you have a certain version of busybox. eg, busybox 1.17.1 provides the same commands whether it is on a leedroid rom or a cyanogen rom.
2-What is fast boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
fastboot is a way to flash images to your phone. it is accessed via hboot. you need the fastboot exe from the htc developer site. it can flash the boot (kernel), recovery (eg clockworkmod) and the radio (i think).
3-What is eMMC write?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the emmc is the storage device which holds hboot, fastboot, recovery, /system, /userdata and (not sure about this one) radio. when you switch on your phone the emmc is read-only due to the s-on flag being set by hboot. you need to flash the engineering hboot which does not set s-on when you switch your phone on.
4-What is ext2 or ext4 (is it like the partition type of the SD card based on UNIX system? if yes, why should we change or modify this ext)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ext2 and ext4 are linux file system types. eg, windows is ntfs, linux has ext2/3/4 and others.
5-Rom manager (is it a desktop pc application or android device application? is it something like I can put the RUU file of the rom on my SD card and using the rom manager I can install the rom from there, nothing more nothing less?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rom manager is an android app available on the market place to help with the flashing process. it can flash recovery partitions (as long as your phone is s-off), make nandroid backups (as long as you have clockworkmod & s-off). it can also flash custom roms. it does not flash these from within the android OS (afaik) but it will reboot into (not sure on this one) the recovery partition and leaves it instructions to flash a particular rom.

This thread is amazing!!
We had a lot threads like this in the HTC Blackstone Board of pocketpc.ch....
Hope to get more threads like this in every device category....
Thumbs up
Perhaps Threadstarter can write the answers in the first post...??

50chickens said:
an application must support multitouch and other gestures. eg, opera doesnt support multitouch (ie you cant zoom in and out) but the browser that comes with the DHD does.
boot loader = turn phone off. then, volume down + power on.
application must support running from /sdcard. When you install an app go to settings -> Applications -> manage applications. From here you can uninstall or move apps to the sdcard. Bear in mind if you have not rooted your phone you may not be able to uninstall some apps (eg amazon reader).
some application data is stored on your sdcard, and apps are stored here if you have moved them by using the steps above. if you change sd cards this info is unavailable to the app but the app should still work. any settings you had need to be redone.
the kernel is not part of a rom or the radio. It is stored in the boot partition in the emmc (where fastboot(aka hboot)/splash images/boot(kernel)/recovery/ are all stored). It is generally included with but not required by a custom rom. ie, a custom rom builder may choose to include a specific kernel with his rom but it is not mandatory.
yes, you can do OTA HTC updates. but, there are no custom (non signed) updates delivered OTA. An unrooted rom will not be able to flash non signed updates (or roms).
there is a good thread here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=841076.
android application. eg, visionary+.
hboot is also known as bootloader. it is the white screen with the skating androids when you do the volume-down + power combination when switching on your phone.
s-off stands for security off. you can check the status by doing the volume-down + power combo. At the top it will either say s-on or s-off. If you have s-on then your bootloader (hboot), boot (kernel) /system (android) and recovery (eg clockworkmod) partitions are all read only.
clock work is the recovery partition. you have 3 possible options before loading android when you do the volume-down + power on combo. hboot, then either fastboot or recovery. fastboot and recovery are both ways to flash images to your phone although through different ways (fastboot uses the fastboot command on your pc to send the image, recovery uses .zip's on your /sdcard). clockworkmod is a custom recovery image which you need to flash after achieving s-off. it's also where nandroid backups can be done. if you select recovery before doing this you will get the phone + red triangle icon. thats the stock recovery. the clockworkmod is the green menu selection one.
see above.
clockwork mod can backup your phone's partitions (boot/userdata/system) so that if you mess up installing a rom you have a way to recover. this is known as a nandroid backup.
adb is android debug something. It is a way to send commands to the android operation system from your pc (either windows or linux). eg, you can run a single command, or run a shell (terminal session). it is part of the android sdk under tools.
busybox is a single executable whihc runs under the android OS that provides standard linux commands (eg, ls, rm, cd) to any application. it is so that a script writer does not need to know the partiticular rom you have and then cater for it, but only that you have a certain version of busybox. eg, busybox 1.17.1 provides the same commands whether it is on a leedroid rom or a cyanogen rom.
fastboot is a way to flash images to your phone. it is accessed via hboot. you need the fastboot exe from the htc developer site. it can flash the boot (kernel), recovery (eg clockworkmod) and the radio (i think).
the emmc is the storage device which holds hboot, fastboot, recovery, /system, /userdata and (not sure about this one) radio. when you switch on your phone the emmc is read-only due to the s-on flag being set by hboot. you need to flash the engineering hboot which does not set s-on when you switch your phone on.
ext2 and ext4 are linux file system types. eg, windows is ntfs, linux has ext2/3/4 and others.
rom manager is an android app available on the market place to help with the flashing process. it can flash recovery partitions (as long as your phone is s-off), make nandroid backups (as long as you have clockworkmod & s-off). it can also flash custom roms. it does not flash these from within the android OS (afaik) but it will reboot into (not sure on this one) the recovery partition and leaves it instructions to flash a particular rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much.

[CONCLUSIONS] S-OFF with Unlock/Lock Bootloader

Hi everyone!
What we need:
A kernel hacker!
Why?
Because of this:​
no.human.being said:
Yep this is great. This routine will definitely play a key part for our further investigation. The plan I have is the following ...
I'd like to dump the device's Flash memory (physically, via JTAG), disassemble its contents (e. g. with objdump, as I'm not familiar with IDA and it actually looks quite "advanced") and find where the ARM starts execution. This is probably a fixed address, might find it in the processor's datasheets. There are no datasheets available for the MSM7227, however, it is a replica of the ARM1136EJS for which there are no datasheets either, but there are extensive datasheets for the ARM1136JS, which is probably similar. Just search for the document "ARM DDI 0211K" on your favourite search engine. It's very extensive, so there's really not much that should be "undocumented" about this processor.
Once we know where execution starts, we should try to analyze the "initialization routine" of the processor's firmware, which initializes the uC, loads the vendor specific firmware (Radio, HBOOT) into memory and starts execution. This routine will load the firmware from persistent (Flash) into volatile (RAM) memory and it will probably "pull together" the RAM contents from different parts of the Flash. (Might it already set up some page tables for the MMU at this point?) This is probably why you don't see the "jump table" in the HBOOT image. It's probably not part of HBOOT at all, but from a section that just gets "loaded near HBOOT" into volatile memory during the controller's initialization. (Might it be part of the Radio?)
When we trace the code further through the "jump table" (I'd love to do this on the actual physical device so I really hope that the processor supports single-stepping), we'll hopefully find the actual physical address of the secu_flag. As soon as we have it, the most obvious thing to do is just flick it via JTAG and check whether the device is S-OFF afterwards.
Finally, when we know where the secu_flag resides on the WFS (which means we know its physical address), we can try to find a way to access it from within Android. There's almost certainly some more protection in place, possibly protection via MMU, so we might have to modify Android to set up different page tables during boot process, but once we got that far, this should not be what stops us.
If you have any questions/suggestions, just feel free to ask/propose them.
At least the...
Code:
fastboot -c "mtdparts=msm_nand:0x..." boot recovery.img
... works and it does not require S-OFF! However, the ...
Code:
fastboot oem listpartition
... fails ...
Code:
... INFO[ERR] Command error !!! OKAY [ 0.000s] finished. total time: 0.000s
So yes, we can change the mapping of memory to mtd devices, but we cannot find out how the partitions are laid out on the device (at least not via fastboot, can't we ask the operating system somehow?).
...
Now stop a moment and take a deep breath!
...
Wait! What have we just found out? We can load an arbitrary OS image (kernel + initrd) via fastboot into the device's RAM and execute it! This sounds like the key to total awesomeness, doesn't it? Can't we build an OS image that has just one purpose which is S-OFFing the device (either by asking the Radio to do it, remember it is OUR custom kernel we're executing here so WE can talk to the Radio, or by mapping the memory the way we need it, then doing it directly)?
This may turn out to be easier than we expected it to be. Any kernel hackers here that could aid us in building a kernel that maps the entire memory of the device (this will include the Radio where secu_flag resides) and sticking an initrd to it that does the S-OFF? Of course we'll still need to find the flag in memory, but at least we now have a concrete plan how we can map the memory in. This will also enable us to build a very "user friendly" utility for S-OFF. No more zergRush, no more privilege escalation. The S-OFF utility is a self-contained OS image. You boot it, it does all the work and reboots the phone when done. How cool is that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
​
You probably still remember me for my famous "S-OFF without XTC-Clip conclusions" thread. We all know that now, HTC has given us the privilege of unlocking our Bootloaders using HTC-Dev. This allows us to Root and flash Custom ROMS, and all that; so we're all happy with that. But there are others out there, like me, who want to take even more advantage of this, and still get S-OFF, just like before. Now, we have a deeper understanding of our WFSs, so S-OFF is now much, much easier. If we get S-OFF, then we will have many more privileges on our phones.
With S-OFF, we can get:
Our warranties back
The ability to resize our system partitions.
The ability to flash different HBOOTs.
And many other things!
Be sure to visit *se-nsei.'s campaign, click here!
no.human.being posts his latest findings there.
My thoughts on this is:
from another thread, I've seen that when the HTC-Dev RUU was flashing HBOOT, it froze, but it still managed to flash rom_01.zip. This means, that when flashing HBOOT, the phone needs to be made S-OFF, then, when rom_02.zip is flashed, it finishes flashing HBOOT, and finally changes the security flag on, again.
So, I did some experimenting of my own. I flashed rom_01.zip using many methods, but all my attempts miserably fail. Why? Because the file is not signed properly. This got me thinking, if it's an HTC ROM, then why won't it flash?!?! Probably, because HTC made it in such a way, that the phone rejects it, or it won't work properly without the other files, that maybe reside in the RUU.
Maybe, someone can look into it, and find the function that S-OFFs the phone.
Perhaps, it might flash if it's on a Goldcard, so we'll have to do some more experimenting.
There is a possibility though, that using no.human.being's C code that he made earlier, we could S-OFF the phone, as it will be able to access more "sections" of the phone. We'll just have to compile/convert it and run/flash it.
Like before, if you have any suggestions, please tell me (by posting in this thread, please only PM if you think it's a very close solution, or if it's very important)
Good Luck everyone!

Isn't anyone going to post here!
no.human.being, eoghan2t7, are you there!?!

I think you might want to try extracting the img file and use fastboot flash radio radio.img.

yjwong said:
I think you might want to try extracting the img file and use fastboot flash radio radio.img.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I have tried this though, but I didn't rename it to radio.img. Perhaps I'll ry this if I got some time (I'm still in High School, and they give me way to much homework. They are so annoying!)

Ideas! Anyone!

Is there a similar way to boot into ENG-HBOOT(unsecured)
like fastboot -c "mtdparts=msm_nand:0x..." boot unsecuredhboot.img ?
Then if unsecuredhboot.img wil be on sdcard we have possibility to flash s-offed hboot.

Somebody help this guy....... This is not my level. I'm a bit lower. I doubt it will work though.
Sent from my HTC Wildfire S A510e using XDA

slavislavi said:
Is there a similar way to boot into ENG-HBOOT(unsecured)
like fastboot -c "mtdparts=msm_nand:0x..." boot unsecuredhboot.img ?
Then if unsecuredhboot.img wil be on sdcard we have possibility to flash s-offed hboot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, that won't work. The "boot" command takes an Android image, which consists of a kernel, an initrd and a special header. The header tells the bootloader of the phone where to load the kernel in memory, etc. It won't be present in an ENG-HBOOT image, so the phone's bootloader won't be able to boot it.
Furthermore, HBOOT expects the controller to be "uninitialized" and will then initialize it. When the kernel is executed via Fastboot, the controller has already been initialized by HBOOT, after all that's the actual purpose of a bootloader. The ENG-HBOOT probably won't behave correctly if it finds the controller already initialized by a "lower level" bootloader.
Last but not least, the "mtdparts=..." is a kernel parameter. Basically it's just a string (character sequence) that is passed to the kernel. What the kernel does with it is principally the kernel's thing. It's just that "mtdparts=..." can be used on an embedded Linux kernel to change the partition mapping. I doubt that HBOOT can take parameters, since it's not designed to be loaded by anything else (apart from possibly an extremely low-level processor-specific firmware that most likely won't have a facility for passing parameters).

[Q] Full backup of Gnex

Hello everyone,
First I will apologize if this information has already been posted / asked, however my searches on google and the forums did not exactly answer my question.
I would like to know how to make a full backup of the phone. What I mean is to have an img file for each partition.
For those who might quickly shout "Nandroid...", been there done that. That is actually what prompted me to start looking into this, when I read (after reflashing the phone) that CWM does not backup things like the radio (again, np, I have grabbed the original imgs from the excellent threads, but it made me want to be able to do it myself in the future).
I have seen the posts regarding backing up the EFS partition with ADB and that the method can be applied to copy of the of the partitions, however it requires root access on the phone.
It seems odd to me however that with a tool like fastboot, that we can not back up the entire phone when in this state. The only thing I can think of as to why not, is that the fastboot mode only allows access to certain partitions w/ full permissions (read/write), or it only mounts certain partitions thus making the other ones unaccessible.
I would prefer to backup the phone without rooting it if possible. I am not opposed to the idea of rooting, however I have not really read up on it. As a linux user, I have np with the idea of it and honestly would have loved it if Android had a similar user structure right out of the box. My concern is (and possibly unfounded) that gaining root access could leave security holes in the OS to be exploited.
I also would prefer a "manual" method, not a fan of the idea of a toolkit.
Sorry if this is in the wrong section, however most of the search results yielded threads from this one.

Well, you could always just individually dump any partition with the dd command.
For example, to dump the entire contents of the radio partition to an .img file:
Code:
dd if="/dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/radio" of="/sdcard/radio.img"
To restore that radio.img:
Code:
dd if="/sdcard/radio.img" of="/dev/block/platform/omap/omap_hsmmc.0/by-name/radio"
Simply run that through ADB Shell or a Terminal emulator from the Play Store. Of course, you will have to be rooted and have BusyBox installed. It's really not that difficult. Now you can unlock the bootloader without wiping /data, it's a simple matter of rooting and running the commands. If you wish, you can then unroot and relock the bootloader.
Mandatory Disclaimer: I've been awake for about thirty hours now, so you might want to get someone else to check over those commands before you give them a shot. Read up a bit on rooting in general, it will help you in the long run. Also, be careful. Just remember that if you accidentally flash a radio.img on the boot partition, or whatever, you're gonna have a bad time. I'm not responsible if you brick your phone, or if it explodes, or even if it boots into Apple's iOS.

Questions go in Q&A
Please read forum rules
Thread moved

Are you aware of a way to do it without rooting?
My boot loader is already unlocked and I have left it that way.
I have seen in fast boot documentation a "backup" command for fast boot. I am curious if it can be used to flash the radio, why can't it back it up.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Sorry, without root, this is the best you're going to get, and I'm pretty sure it's not what you're asking for:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420351

[Q] Root available for ASUS MeMO Pad 10 (ME103K)?

Greetings!
First of all, I am sorry if this is on the wrong section of the forum. Nevertheless i've tried few rooting applications which are stated to be compatible with this ME103K model, but with no results.. Also many fake sites trying to lure you to purchase something.
Is there anyone who could provide me information on how to root my ASUS ME103K tablet? Should I also try every rooting application available out there or is this useless? Can I verify if they are compatible without all the way installing and running them on the device? (Sorry don't know much about this stuff =)! )
Thank you very much in advance

I rooted ME103K on my own - by compiling a custom kernel
Executive summary: Go to youtube and watch video with ID "gqubgQjqfHw" (I can't post links yet, sorry! ) - or search Youtube for "Rooting MemoPAD10 (ME103K) with my custom compiled kernel"
Analysis:
I hated the fact that my recently purchased MemoPAD10 (ME103K) tablet had no open process to allow me to become root. I don't trust the closed-source one-click root apps that use various exploits, and require communicating with servers in.... China. Why would they need to do that? I wonder...
I therefore decided this was a good opportunity for me to study the relevant documentation and follow the steps necessary to build an Android kernel for my tablet. I then packaged my custom-compiled kernel into my custom boot image, and the video shows how I boot from it and become root in the process.
Note that I didn't burn anything in my tablet - it's a 'tethered' root, it has no side-effects.
If you are a developer, you can read in detail about the steps I had to take to modify the kernel (and su.c) and become root - by reading the questions (and answers!) that I posted in the Android StackExchange forum ( can't post links yet, see the video description in Youtube ).
If you are not a developer, you can download my custom boot image from the link below - but note that this means you are trusting me to not do evil things to your tablet as my kernel boots and my /sbin/su is run
Honestly, I haven't done anything weird - I just wanted to run a debootstrapped Debian in my tablet, and succeeded in doing so. But I am also worried about the cavalier attitude I see on the web about rooting your devices - if you want to be truly safe, you must either do what I did (and recompile the kernel yourself) or absolutely trust the person that gives it to you. I do wish Google had forced a UI-accessible "become root" option in Android, just as Cyanogen does (sigh).
The image I created and used in the video to boot in rooted mode, is available from the link show in the Youtube video details.
Enjoy!

ttsiodras said:
Executive summary: Go to youtube and watch video with ID "gqubgQjqfHw" (I can't post links yet, sorry! ) - or search Youtube for "Rooting MemoPAD10 (ME103K) with my custom compiled kernel"
Analysis:
I hated the fact that my recently purchased MemoPAD10 (ME103K) tablet had no open process to allow me to become root. I don't trust the closed-source one-click root apps that use various exploits, and require communicating with servers in.... China. Why would they need to do that? I wonder...
I therefore decided this was a good opportunity for me to study the relevant documentation and follow the steps necessary to build an Android kernel for my tablet. I then packaged my custom-compiled kernel into my custom boot image, and the video shows how I boot from it and become root in the process.
Note that I didn't burn anything in my tablet - it's a 'tethered' root, it has no side-effects.
If you are a developer, you can read in detail about the steps I had to take to modify the kernel (and su.c) and become root - by reading the questions (and answers!) that I posted in the Android StackExchange forum ( can't post links yet, see the video description in Youtube ).
If you are not a developer, you can download my custom boot image from the link below - but note that this means you are trusting me to not do evil things to your tablet as my kernel boots and my /sbin/su is run
Honestly, I haven't done anything - I just wanted to run a deboot-strapped Debian in my tablet. But I am also worried about the cavalier attitude I see on the web about rooting your devices - if you want to be truly safe, you must either do what I did (and recompile the kernel yourself) or absolutely trust the person that gives it to you. I do wish Google had forced a UI-accessible "become root" option in Android, just as Cyanogen does (sigh).
The image I created and used in the video to boot in rooted mode, is available from the link show in the Youtube video details.
Enjoy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello ttsiodras,
I had the same problem as OP and didn't want to go the "chinese route" either, especially since there seem to be conflicting reports on whether it works on the ME103k or not so I tried your solution - with mixed results...
Disclaimer: I'm totally new to Android (colour me unpleasantly surprised) and have little experience in Linux, so for further reference I would consider myself an advanced noob. Please keep this in mind when evaluating my claims or judging what I have done so far or am capable of doing by myself in the future.
What I did:
- become developer in the ME103k by tapping the system build repeatedly, then allowing debugging via USB
- use ADB to boot into the bootloader
- use fastboot to boot your boot.rooted.img
What happened:
- I did get root access
- the tab now always boots into the bootloader, even when told via ADB or fastboot to boot normally or into recovery. Pushing buttons etc doesn't seem to work either
- my attempts to do a recovery via the vanilla Asus method has failed due to the same fact that boot never gets past fastboot
Since you claimed in your description that there would be no side-effects since it is a tethered root I am somewhat puzzled as to what exactly happened. From what I understand - which admittedly isn't a lot - what should have happened is that your boot image is loaded, giving me root access until the next reboot without changing anything about the default boot process or image. I read somewhere else that this is how people test out different kernels with fastboot before deciding on which one they want to use on their devices. The whole boot process being changed and corrupted in a way that makes the tablet non-rebootable without having the cable and an adb- and fastboot-capable machine nearby is not really what I would have expected going by your description.
Of course it is entirely possible (and probably even rather likely) that I got something wrong along the way or there is a simple fix to my problem I am not aware of.
As for possible steps maybe you or someone else in the forum could point me to a way to return my tablet to factory settings before risking damaging it beyond repair. I'm assuming that it should be possible and rather straightforward to recover the original setup with the firmware provided by Asus (downloaded the newest version from the homepage) but to be honest I'm a bit scared to go ahead with it before knowing for sure how to do this safely.
One thing seems certain: I won't be able to do it the way Asus says I should unless I can somehow get into normal or recovery boot modes again. I do however still have root access and am able to run fastboot and ADB including shell on the tablet, so it should be possible.
I would certainly appreciate any help very much
Thanks

drsiegberterne said:
. . . From what I understand - which admittedly isn't a lot - what should have happened is that your boot image is loaded, giving me root access until the next reboot without changing anything about the default boot process or image. I read somewhere else that this is how people test out different kernels with fastboot before deciding on which one they want to use on their devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your understanding is correct - that's exactly what should have happened.
I can assure you that the kernel I compiled is formed from the Asus sources with the 2 patches I made that have *nothing* to do with the bootloader - they patch the way that the kernel allows dropping privileges and thus allowing root level access.
Something else must have happened - did you by any chance "burn" the image? i.e. `(DONT DO THIS) fastboot flash boot boot.rooted.img` instead of `fastboot boot boot.rooted.img`?
I did not advocate for burning precisely because it is unpredictable - manufactures sometimes require signing images with their private keys before allowing a boot image to boot (AKA "locked bootloaders") which means that any attempt to burn may lead to weird configurations. . .
If you did burn it, maybe you can try burning the original "boot.img" from the Asus OTA (Over the Air) update .zip file (avaible as a big download at the ASUS site - "UL-K01E-WW-12.16.1.12-user.zip" )
I know of no way to help you with the current state of your tablet, except to "ease the pain" by saying that rebooting to fastboot is always "recoverable" - you can always boot into my own (rooted) kernel or the original (from the ASUS .zip file) with `fastboot boot <whatever_image>`. No "harm" can happen from this - as you correctly said, it's the way to try new kernels and images.
UPDATE - after more reverse engineering:
I had a look into the contents of the boot loader running inside the ME103K, and I am pretty sure that if you execute this at fastboot...
# fastboot oem reset-dev_info
# fastboot reboot
... you will get back to normal, un-tethered bootings of your ME103K.
Thanassis.

ttsiodras said:
Your understanding is correct - that's exactly what should have happened.
I can assure you that the kernel I compiled is formed from the Asus sources with the 2 patches I made that have *nothing* to do with the bootloader - they patch the way that the kernel allows dropping privileges and thus allowing root level access.
Something else must have happened - did you by any chance "burn" the image? i.e. `(DONT DO THIS) fastboot flash boot boot.rooted.img` instead of `fastboot boot boot.rooted.img`?
I did not advocate for burning precisely because it is unpredictable - manufactures sometimes require signing images with their private keys before allowing a boot image to boot (AKA "locked bootloaders") which means that any attempt to burn may lead to weird configurations. . .
If you did burn it, maybe you can try burning the original "boot.img" from the Asus OTA (Over the Air) update .zip file (avaible as a big download at the ASUS site - "UL-K01E-WW-12.16.1.12-user.zip" )
I know of no way to help you with the current state of your tablet, except to "ease the pain" by saying that rebooting to fastboot is always "recoverable" - you can always boot into my own (rooted) kernel or the original (from the ASUS .zip file) with `fastboot boot <whatever_image>`. No "harm" can happen from this - as you correctly said, it's the way to try new kernels and images.
Thanassis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Thanassis,
thanks for your quick reply and your efforts. I'm actually around 85% sure I did not flash the image but since I had no Linux on my computer at the time (I know shame on me) I used a Mac and the command line was a bit different. Since I had never used ADB or fastboot I relied on some guide that explained how to even get into the bootloader and might have gotten something wrong.
On the other hand I later read out the commands I used in the Mac shell and couldn't find anything other than the things I should have done and described earlier, so as far as I can tell this all should never have happened. It may be interesting to point out here that the "stuck in fastboot" mode happened immediately after the first time I loaded your kernel and I most definitely just wrote fastboot boot boot.rooted.img at that point.
As for fixing the problem now it's not only about the inconvenience of the whole thing. I also later (after I was already stuck in fastboot mode) installed some apps for helping me manage privileges of different apps (xposed framework and xprivacy) which turned out to not be compatible in some way or another. So now not only is my tablet not booteable in a normal way but its also cluttered with even more useless stuff than before and I would really like to just reset it before thinking about any other possibilities.
If I flash boot the original ASUS boot image found in the file you described and which i dowloaded already, shouldn't that fix the problem if I accidentally did flash your boot image? Or will there be even more trouble?
Alternatively isn't there a manual way to flash the whole zipped recovery image or am I misunderstanding what this ASUS file actually contains?
And which of the two options is safer to try first or in other words - which one might break the tablet once and for all?
Thanks again and sorry for my incompetence

drsiegberterne said:
Hi Thanassis,
If I flash boot the original ASUS boot image found in the file you described and which i dowloaded already, shouldn't that fix the problem if I accidentally did flash your boot image? Or will there be even more trouble?
. . .
Alternatively isn't there a manual way to flash the whole zipped recovery image or am I misunderstanding what this ASUS file actually contains?
. . .
Thanks again and sorry for my incompetence
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, don't be sorry We are all either choosing to learn in this world (i.e. make mistakes and learn from them), or choose to remain stuck in ignorance. I applaud your efforts in properly rooting the tablet. . .
To the point - remember, you are root now ; whatever apps you installed, you can definitely uninstall them. You don't necessarily need to wipe it.
If you do want to, I'd suggest booting in recovery and doing it the normal way that Asus recommends. Since you said "buttons don't work", you may want to try using the original recovery .img - i.e. "fastboot boot recovery.img". I'd love to suggest a link from ASUS, but they don't host it (which is bad - they really should) - so instead go to "goo" dot "gl" slash "noegkY" - this will point you to a discussion where a kind soul is sharing his ME103K recovery.img.
Booting from the recovery will allow you to install the ASUS OTA update - and probably try cleaning cache partition, etc
Good luck!

ttsiodras said:
No, don't be sorry We are all either choosing to learn in this world (i.e. make mistakes and learn from them), or choose to remain stuck in ignorance. I applaud your efforts in properly rooting the tablet. . .
To the point - remember, you are root now ; whatever apps you installed, you can definitely uninstall them. You don't necessarily need to wipe it.
If you do want to, I'd suggest booting in recovery and doing it the normal way that Asus recommends. Since you said "buttons don't work", you may want to try using the original recovery .img - i.e. "fastboot boot recovery.img". I'd love to suggest a link from ASUS, but they don't host it (which is bad - they really should) - so instead go to "goo" dot "gl" slash "noegkY" - this will point you to a discussion where a kind soul is sharing his ME103K recovery.img.
Booting from the recovery will allow you to install the ASUS OTA update - and probably try cleaning cache partition, etc
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The problem here is that he doesn't seem to have the same version as on my tablet. I have the newest version with Lollipop while this seems to be at least a couple of patches earlier with a completely different version of Android. Won't I risk breaking things even more if I try to apply this - as in trying to recover a recovery that is not on my tablet since certainly the recovery.img doesn't contain all the information needed since it's only 10 MB.
As you can probably guess the whole discussion in your link about what part of the system is broken and how to fix it goes right over my head. It also seems like they did not find a satisfactory solution in the end (short of sending the tablet to ASUS). As you can imagine I'm at quite a loss what to try and what not out of fear to make things worse. At least for now I can still use the tablet to do the things I need it to do.
Thanks for your help anyway, I will try to read up more on the topic and decide what to do next.

drsiegberterne said:
The problem here is that he doesn't seem to have the same version as on my tablet. I have the newest version with Lollipop while this seems to be at least a couple of patches earlier with a completely different version of Android. Won't I risk breaking things even more if I try to apply this - as in trying to recover a recovery that is not on my tablet since certainly the recovery.img doesn't contain all the information needed since it's only 10 MB.
Thanks for your help anyway, I will try to read up more on the topic and decide what to do next.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand how you feel - your tablet is operational now (OK, with the annoyance that you need to boot it in "tethered mode") - so you rightfully fear that you may mess things up with further steps.
Just to clarify something - the recovery img is something that works on its own ; it has no dependency on what kind of Android image is installed in the /system partition.
If you do decide to do it, "fastboot boot recovery.img" will bring you to a spartan menu, showing options that allow you to apply an update (i.e. the ASUS update you downloaded!), clean the /cache partition, etc.
Choose "install update from SD card" (use volume up/down to choose, power btn to select), and navigate to your SD card, where you will have placed the big .zip file from ASUS.
The recovery process will begin, and your tablet will be "wiped" with the image from ASUS. Reboot, and be patient while the tablet boots up - it will be just like the first time you started it (i.e. install from scratch).
Whatever you decide - good luck!

ttsiodras said:
I understand how you feel - your tablet is operational now (OK, with the annoyance that you need to boot it in "tethered mode") - so you rightfully fear that you may mess things up with further steps.
Just to clarify something - the recovery img is something that works on its own ; it has no dependency on what kind of Android image is installed in the /system partition.
If you do decide to do it, "fastboot boot recovery.img" will bring you to a spartan menu, showing options that allow you to apply an update (i.e. the ASUS update you downloaded!), clean the /cache partition, etc.
Choose "install update from SD card" (use volume up/down to choose, power btn to select), and navigate to your SD card, where you will have placed the big .zip file from ASUS.
The recovery process will begin, and your tablet will be "wiped" with the image from ASUS. Reboot, and be patient while the tablet boots up - it will be just like the first time you started it (i.e. install from scratch).
Whatever you decide - good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, a little update from the battlefront:
I tried the recovery image and did get into the menu, however the recovery failed with the same two error messages as in your earlier link ("footer is wrong" and "signature verification failed"). My output from fastboot getvar all is also very similar to the one from that guy except I have a different bootloader version than him (3.03).
Another thing I noticed is that if I boot the standard boot.img found in the ASUS zip it will recognize the internal sdcard normally, however when I boot your rooted image the internal memory doesn't seem to be recognized, at least not through the pre-installed file manager. Downloading a file to the internal storage also failed while rooted but all the apps and the OS itself so far seem totally unaffected otherwise.
My last resort at the moment is the fastboot flash boot boot.img but I have little hope it would change anything since in the thread you linked they proposed just that and if it had worked they probably would have mentioned it.
Can it theoretically break the tablet even more? I would hate to have to send it in because I completely bricked it...

drsiegberterne said:
Okay, a little update from the battlefront:
Another thing I noticed is that if I boot the standard boot.img found in the ASUS zip it will recognize the internal sdcard normally, however when I boot your rooted image the internal memory doesn't seem to be recognized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not the case for me - everything works fine (including internal and external sdcard), so it's definitely not my kernel causing this.
drsiegberterne said:
My last resort at the moment is the fastboot flash boot boot.img but I have little hope it would change anything since in the thread you linked they proposed just that and if it had worked they probably would have mentioned it.
Can it theoretically break the tablet even more? I would hate to have to send it in because I completely bricked it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing is always dangerous (from what you've said, I actually theorize that you did, actually, flash already...)
I doubt this will solve the boot issue, to be honest - if I were you, I'd continue to boot tethered (with my image when you need root access, and (maybe) the Asus image when you don't). Myself, I always boot my own bootimage, since I have zero problems with it, and it allows me to run a complete Debian distro in a chroot (thus making my tablet a full-blown UNIX server - e.g. I run privoxy on it to filter all stupid ads in all apps on the tablet, etc).
No matter what you decide, good luck!
Thanassis.

ttsiodras said:
Not the case for me - everything works fine (including internal and external sdcard), so it's definitely not my kernel causing this.
Flashing is always dangerous (from what you've said, I actually theorize that you did, actually, flash already...)
I doubt this will solve the boot issue, to be honest - if I were you, I'd continue to boot tethered (with my image when I need root access, and (maybe) the Asus image when I don't). Myself, I always boot my own bootimage, since I have zero problems with it, and it allows me to run a complete Debian distro in a chroot (thus making my tablet a full-blown UNIX server - e.g. I run privoxy on it to filter all stupid ads in all apps on the tablet, etc).
No matter what you decide, good luck!
Thanassis.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I already tried to flash the original boot.img yesterday but it didn't change anything as you correctly assumed so I guess for now there is nothing more to do. I might write to the Asus support and maybe send the tablet in if it is free of charge for me (which I doubt). The only other option is to spend the next months to get sufficiently versed in Android to actually fix the problems myself but even for that I would probably need some files or source code from Asus. I find it rather disappointing the way these "closed" systems work nowadays, with the advancement of Linux and Open Source I really would have expected the opposite to be true but apparently people care more about convenience than actually being able to use the tools they buy in the way they want to.
Getting these Android devices like buying a hammer that can't hammer things in on Sundays.

drsiegberterne said:
I find it rather disappointing the way these "closed" systems work nowadays, with the advancement of Linux and Open Source I really would have expected the opposite to be true but apparently people care more about convenience than actually being able to use the tools they buy in the way they want to
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I share the sentiment - it's really sad.

Undoing the tethered root
drsiegberterne said:
I already tried to flash the original boot.img yesterday but it didn't change anything as you correctly assumed so I guess for now there is nothing more to do. I might write to the Asus support and maybe send the tablet in if it is free of charge for me (which I doubt). The only other option is to spend the next months to get sufficiently versed in Android to actually fix the problems myself but even for that I would probably need some files or source code from Asus. I find it rather disappointing the way these "closed" systems work nowadays, with the advancement of Linux and Open Source I really would have expected the opposite to be true but apparently people care more about convenience than actually being able to use the tools they buy in the way they want to.
Getting these Android devices like buying a hammer that can't hammer things in on Sundays.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi drsiegberterne - I had a look into the contents of the boot loader running inside the ME103K, and I am pretty sure that if you execute this at fastboot...
# fastboot oem reset-dev_info
# fastboot reboot
... you will get back to normal, un-tethered bootings of your ME103K.
Hope this solves your problem!
Kind regards,
Thanassis.

adb restore 'ended' without restoring

OK so first of all, if this is the wrong place for this I'm sorry, it's quite late for me and I've been researching how to fix this for about two days and running up with nothing.
I recently upgraded to a Pixel 2XL, loving the device but unfortunately a couple of my apps save data into the data/data part of phone. The only way to then move that over and preserve the data is to use something like adb backup and restore. The backup seems to work fine, but so far every time I try to use restore on my pixel 2xl it 'ends' without actually adding the missing app data across.
I've tried using usb 2 and 3, no difference. I've made sure the usb debugging is on and that my phone is unlocked. I also made sure to try using the commands through both cmd and powershell and that both were in admin mode. I've also tried looking into other options like a friend suggested using es file explorer manager to change the download location, but I wasn't able to puzzle out a way to make something that was in data/data save elsewhere.
My phone isn't rooted, and I'd rather not go that far if I can help it. Any advice or ideas?

Aahhh,"...your phone isn't rooted..."that's probably it/key. I'm unsure whether any kind of "restore" works without root access -- backup of course works because that simply involves "copying" and "storing" files (essentially the basic process of backing up) and, as the system needs to be able to read and access the data, you pretty much have the "read access" to it. Restore on the otherhand, for those who are unaware, are essentially "copying" those stored files and "overwriting" the existing files -- which require "write access". The process of "rooting" is to acquire "root access" which allows both "read/write access" (therefore: "r/w access"). *again, for those who are unaware.
Sorry for just blabbering on about that, I guess I got carried away. In any case, basically (all in all, the reason why I blabbered on) I don't think you're going to go far without root access -- or "rooting" as you say -- but there is one thing I can suggest. When using adb, try running this command first before running any other adb command (i.e. restore):
Code:
adb root
It might just give you enough of that "root access" I was blathering about...
Also, among the all the things you made sure to do and include you made sure of, one thing you didn't mention is making sure you have the most up to date platform-tools (r28.0.1 *at least last I personally saw a few weeks ago).
Good luck to you, hope I made these things somewhat understandable, and hope this helped as well....

Thank you for the suggestions, tried it but no dice sadly. I kinda am hairy on rooting it too as I just got the phone and it's been a long time since I've done android dev work. If you have any other ideas I'd be welcome to hearing them but again thanks for trying.
simplepinoi177 said:
Aahhh,"...your phone isn't rooted..."that's probably it/key. I'm unsure whether any kind of "restore" works without root access -- backup of course works because that simply involves "copying" and "storing" files (essentially the basic process of backing up) and, as the system needs to be able to read and access the data, you pretty much have the "read access" to it. Restore on the otherhand, for those who are unaware, are essentially "copying" those stored files and "overwriting" the existing files -- which require "write access". The process of "rooting" is to acquire "root access" which allows both "read/write access" (therefore: "r/w access"). *again, for those who are unaware.
Sorry for just blabbering on about that, I guess I got carried away. In any case, basically (all in all, the reason why I blabbered on) I don't think you're going to go far without root access -- or "rooting" as you say -- but there is one thing I can suggest. When using adb, try running this command first before running any other adb command (i.e. restore):
Code:
adb root
It might just give you enough of that "root access" I was blathering about...
Also, among the all the things you made sure to do and include you made sure of, one thing you didn't mention is making sure you have the most up to date platform-tools (r28.0.1 *at least last I personally saw a few weeks ago).
Good luck to you, hope I made these things somewhat understandable, and hope this helped as well....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Where your bootloader is apparently unlocked, download a TWRP recovery image to the directory fastboot is in and boot it using the fastboot command "fastboot boot twrp.img". From there, take a nandroid backup of your device. Restoring is done in the same fashion. AND, since TWRP is memory resident when booting it this way, the stock recovery remains untouched.

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
Where your bootloader is apparently unlocked, download a TWRP recovery image to the directory fastboot is in and boot it using the fastboot command "fastboot boot twrp.img". From there, take a nandroid backup of your device. Restoring is done in the same fashion. AND, since TWRP is memory resident when booting it this way, the stock recovery remains untouched.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great idea! And that's why veterans and those with experience are the best to go to...!

OK so first, thank you so much for all the advice. I've taken awhile to get back to you because this took some time to parse. I'm admittedly kind of a novice at this. So I've used the instructions here https://www.xda-developers.com/how-to-install-twrp/ to try and install twrp. I think I did it right, had the zip contents and img file in the same directory that adb is in, then ran the command...and this is what I got back.
N:\platform-tools>fastboot flash recovery twrp-3.2.3-1-taimen.img
Sending 'recovery' (40960 KB) OKAY [ 1.203s]
Writing 'recovery' FAILED (remote: 'Flashing is not allowed in Lock State')
Finished. Total time: 1.219s
as the 'fastboot reboot' command appeared to bring me right back to normal operating for the phone I'm guessing the failed stopped me with that 'flashing not allowed in lock state' there. Am I missing a step?

close, but not exactly right...
you got the downloading platform tools right, and putting the necessary files in that same folder that fastboot.exe resides in also right (you wouldn't believe how many novices actually make the mistake of not doing this)...
but you don't ever (underlined and emphasized not really for you AshtonHunter, but for any who are under the wrong impression; it's caused endless headaches and has even been complained by developers on Twitter...) "fastboot flash" TWRP with Pixels (any; and AFAIK any a/b slotted devices). You boot the twrp .img file. Also, for those who do not know and for future reference, there is no "recovery" for fastboot to "flash" to on Pixels (any), as there no longer is a separate partition for recovery; recovery resides in the boot partition. All in all, the command should be exactly this:
Code:
fastboot boot twrp-3.2.3-1-taimen.img
Immediately afterwards, you'll see your Pixel 2 XL restart and load up TWRP...
Good luck to you and hope this helps...

Hey everyone. So I tried this but it also didn't work. Same error 'cannot in locked state' when trying to run the command. I do notice there's a green 'locked' on my phone when it's in the screen after the 'adb reboot bootloader' command. Any ideas?
simplepinoi177 said:
close, but not exactly right...
you got the downloading platform tools right, and putting the necessary files in that same folder that fastboot.exe resides in also right (you wouldn't believe how many novices actually make the mistake of not doing this)...
but you don't ever (underlined and emphasized not really for you AshtonHunter, but for any who are under the wrong impression; it's caused endless headaches and has even been complained by developers on Twitter...) "fastboot flash" TWRP with Pixels (any; and AFAIK any a/b slotted devices). You boot the twrp .img file. Also, for those who do not know and for future reference, there is no "recovery" for fastboot to "flash" to on Pixels (any), as there no longer is a separate partition for recovery; recovery resides in the boot partition. All in all, the command should be exactly this:
Code:
fastboot boot twrp-3.2.3-1-taimen.img
Immediately afterwards, you'll see your Pixel 2 XL restart and load up TWRP...
Good luck to you and hope this helps...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

AshtonHunter said:
OK so first of all,
if this is the wrong place for this I'm sorry, it's quite late for me and I've been researching how to fix this for about two days and running up with nothing.
I recently upgraded to a Pixel 2XL, loving the device but unfortunately a couple of my apps save data into the data/data part of phone. The only way to then move that over and preserve the data is to use something like adb backup and restore. The backup seems to work fine, but so far every time I try to use restore on my pixel 2xl it 'ends' without actually adding the missing app data across.
I've tried using usb 2 and 3, no difference.
I've made sure the usb debugging is on and that my phone is unlocked. I also made sure to try using the commands through both cmd and powershell and that both were in admin mode. I've also tried
looking into other options like a friend suggested using es file explorer manager to change the download location, but I wasn't able to puzzle out a way to make something that was in data/data save elsewhere.
My phone isn't rooted, and I'd rather not go that far if I can help it. Any advice or ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
AshtonHunter said:
Hey everyone. So I tried this but it also didn't work. Same error 'cannot in locked state' when trying to run the command. I do notice there's a green 'locked' on my phone when it's in the screen after the 'adb reboot bootloader' command. Any ideas?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You would only get this error if your device isn't "unlocked"... I/we were all under the impression that (which is why I quoted) your device is "unlocked"... So maybe some clarification is in order...
There are two types of "unlocking" that can be attributed to the device; 1) your device can be "locked" to a carrier or global region, and it can be "unlocked" so the device can be used on any network anywhere, and 2) all Pixel's (and all smartphones AFAIK) have their bootloader in a locked state, and in order to do any kind of "rooting" or data restore/recovery or modification down to the system level you have to "unlock" the bootloader or have it in an "unlocked" state.
*BEWARE! Before running these commands, please note that running critical will erase/wipe EVERYTHING -- I am pretty sure running both will actually cause this to happen.
Considering all of this, when you said your "...phone is unlocked", you are speaking in terms of #2 I listed above, correct? Basically, you have run the command -- while in Bootloader Mode -- "fastboot flashing unlock" & (just as important, imho) "fastboot flashing unlock_critical", right? Because, if you haven't done these, then your device was never "unlocked" (in the sense that most relates to us and what you are intending) as well as without having one these commands, you had no chance at restoring your /data folder or partition "data" (pun not intended).
After clearing any misunderstanding and/or issues of these type, we might be able to better help after that point...but it is looking like you may need to root or at least do the same steps towards that end to accomplish what you are seeking...
So, get back to me/us on this, and hope this all helps...

Ok! So after confirming I could do it without any issue and having a day of time to work on it, my phone's bootloader is now unlocked and I've managed a backup using TWRP. Only thing now is I'm not entirely sure what I should be looking at and how in here. Advice is welcome but I'm going to be digging into it myself to see if I can puzzle it out with some friends of mine online. Also just again thank you all for all the assistance. I would have never gotten this far with it without you all!

AshtonHunter said:
Ok! So after confirming I could do it without any issue and having a day of time to work on it, my phone's bootloader is now unlocked and I've managed a backup using TWRP. Only thing now is I'm not entirely sure what I should be looking at and how in here. Advice is welcome but I'm going to be digging into it myself to see if I can puzzle it out with some friends of mine online. Also just again thank you all for all the assistance. I would have never gotten this far with it without you all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What exactly are you wanting to do now that your bootloader is unlocked, and you have twrp? Can I assume you want to root it?

AshtonHunter said:
Ok! So after confirming I could do it without any issue and having a day of time to work on it, my phone's bootloader is now unlocked and I've managed a backup using TWRP. Only thing now is I'm not entirely sure what I should be looking at and how in here. Advice is welcome but I'm going to be digging into it myself to see if I can puzzle it out with some friends of mine online. Also just again thank you all for all the assistance. I would have never gotten this far with it without you all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm glad you were successfully able to get it done! (clicking a "Thanks!" would be all I would welcome in return)
So, now, you might be able to successfully do what you originally did and restore through adb if you wish...I mean, if you simply have a /data folder that's been backed up, there might not be too many options available for you. Another thing you might try is running a custom recovery (TWRP I believe is the best or only) and restoring -- and/or backing up from your old device/phone, wiping everything, setting phone up, then use that TWRP backup to restore -- but you can only really run a restore if it was a TWRP backup to begin with... One other good way is running a Titanium Backup backup and restoring that way...
Good luck and hope this helps...

please help
simplepinoi177 said:
Aahhh,"...your phone isn't rooted..."that's probably it/key. I'm unsure whether any kind of "restore" works without root access -- backup of course works because that simply involves "copying" and "storing" files (essentially the basic process of backing up) and, as the system needs to be able to read and access the data, you pretty much have the "read access" to it. Restore on the otherhand, for those who are unaware, are essentially "copying" those stored files and "overwriting" the existing files -- which require "write access". The process of "rooting" is to acquire "root access" which allows both "read/write access" (therefore: "r/w access"). *again, for those who are unaware.
Sorry for just blabbering on about that, I guess I got carried away. In any case, basically (all in all, the reason why I blabbered on) I don't think you're going to go far without root access -- or "rooting" as you say -- but there is one thing I can suggest. When using adb, try running this command first before running any other adb command (i.e. restore):
Code:
adb root
It might just give you enough of that "root access" I was blathering about...
Also, among the all the things you made sure to do and include you made sure of, one thing you didn't mention is making sure you have the most up to date platform-tools (r28.0.1 *at least last I personally saw a few weeks ago).
Good luck to you, hope I made these things somewhat understandable, and hope this helped as well....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry in advance, I'm not very familiar with this webiste.
Im in a similar situation where it wont let me restore my adb backup, I am rooted and the bootloader is unlocked (though twrp is not installed). could you please help, i beg you.