In the spirit of due diligence, I suppose we should also check the initial state of the phone, too:
- Was there any evidence that the phone was previously rooted?
- What is the existing software version on the phone? (Settings -> About phone)
- Did you confirm the bootloader version # (that I presumed)? It is on the screen when the phone enters HBOOT mode.
Not sure if it was rooted. Any idea how to tell? Would the radio software be different?
When holding the dn / pwr, it flashed to hboot, stops at hboot screen with options to fastboot, recovery, clear storage, and simlock. Up vol only moves between selections. Have to hit end/pwr to select an option.
I get to fig. 31 on Dummies and all is well, I get the message I have root.
It all stops when I have to do the recovery action on boot up.
Not sure if it was rooted. Any idea how to tell? Would the radio software be different?
When holding the dn / pwr, it flashed to hboot, stops at hboot screen with options to fastboot, recovery, clear storage, and simlock. Up vol only moves between selections. Have to hit end/pwr to select an option.
I get to fig. 31 on Dummies and all is well, I get the message I have root.
It all stops when I have to do the recovery action on boot up.
Well, I guess you have two alternatives -
(1)
Because you have the 1.47.0000 bootloader, it is possible that you could just root the phone the old-fashioned way - apply the "Root" PB00IMG.ZIP file using HBOOT. This does not install a custom recovery, but does install the engineering bootloader. I believe that a shell launched from ADB with that (HTC Engineering) ROM is already rooted, so you could either use the old-fashioned rooting technique where you flash Amon_RA's recovery from a shell using "flash_image", or (more simply) just flash the recovery the PC using fastboot. ("fastboot flash recovery recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img")
The symptom you are experiencing is a little unusual - almost as if there is nothing unusual happening during the flashing the recovery partition, but something weird happens when the bootloader tries to load the recovery.
(2)
I know what I would do if I had your phone in hand - I would extract a copy of "flash_image" from Amon_RA's recovery, push it to the phone someplace in /data/local, chmod 755 it so it is executable, and then attempt to write the recovery file by hand to see if errors are occurring during that write step.
Because the /dev/mtd/mtd1 has already been "chmod'ed" to mode 777 by the prior rooting attempts, you should be able to write Amon_RA's recovery directly to the /dev/mtd/mtd1 device, e.g.
flash_image recovery recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img
Doing that manually might indicate if write errors are occuring during this process which do not trigger an error return by the program "flash_image"
The above obviously requires some Unix/Linux command-line familiarity; you might not feel comfortable doing that.
(The reason that I had you look at the step in figure 31 is that the script "part_2.sh" checks the return value of the "flash_image" program - so in principle, if it failed in a way that produced an error code, the script would have produced a different output. That's what makes this so mystifying - it appears that everything is working correctly until the time comes to boot the newly installed recovery.)
I realize the above post is a bit of a ramble - but the older rooting threads are still available, and indexed in the sticky post. Let us know if you can't decipher something.
eu1
__________________
Please don't send me PMs - post your questions so others may benefit from any answers given.
Last edited by erisuser1; January 10th, 2011 at 09:40 PM.
I realize the above post is a bit of a ramble - but the older rooting threads are still available, and indexed in the sticky post. Let us know if you can't decipher something.
eu1
I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I will give it a try. I am a former SGI / unix user from the 90's so while I am rusty, it isn't too unfamiliar, and I have been dabbling in linux.
I really appreciate you taking the time to help me. I will give it a try. I am a former SGI / unix user from the 90's so while I am rusty, it isn't too unfamiliar, and I have been dabbling in linux.
Please make sure to verify the MD5 checksums of any ROM or image files you transfer to your SD card prior to flashing them - you can use scary alien's free "AFV" app (in the Market) to do that. File lengths and MD5s are given in the links above (excepting the flash_image prog, but it's not an image).
Note that the fastest route to rooting - if you can't use either One Click or Dummies - is to try an avoid installing the Google SDK. That route looks like this, assuming you don't encounter "Main Version is Older!" problems:
fastboot flash recovery recovery-ra-eris-v1.6.2.img -> installs the recovery using the "fastboot" tool on the PC, with the (aforementioned) S-OFF bootloader running in "fastboot mode" (power the phone up by holding down Send+End, making sure to press the Send key first)
The pre-requisites for the second step are:
- Install a fastboot-compatible USB driver on the PC, for instance by installing the HTC Sync for Eris (PC) application from HTC
- Downloading a copy of "fastboot.exe" for the PC from HTC
eu1
Last edited by erisuser1; January 10th, 2011 at 10:00 PM.
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fastboot flash recovery recovery-ra-eris-v1.6.2.img -> installs the recovery using the "fastboot" tool on the PC, with the (aforementioned) S-OFF bootloader running in "fastboot mode" (power the phone up by holding down Send+End, making sure to press the Send key first)
eu1
Well, I want to work through this but I have already hid a few road blocks.
Grdlock's website won't load right now. Downloaded the other files/checked checksum.
I cannot move the flash_image file to /date/local - Permission denied. Same for Chmod'ing it.
I have fastboot in a terminal window, but it doesn't see the phone. I have data debugging enabled on the phone.
Grdlock's website won't load right now. Downloaded the other files/checked checksum.
I just checked that link a little bit ago. Go to android.grdlock.net, and then browse to HTC Eris ROMs, and then to PB00IMG ROMs
Quote:
Originally Posted by afaivre
I cannot move the flash_image file to /date/local - Permission denied. Same for Chmod'ing it.
The idea is to get the file someplace else besides /sdcard which is not mounted with the "noexec" option, and is writeable by the non-privileged user account that you are logged in as. I'm doing this from memory, but check the locations /data/local/tmp or /sqlite_statment_journals (or something to that effect) to see if you can plop files in there and chmod them. (iirc, /data and /sqlite_blahblahblah are not mounted "noexec" - you can check by running the "mount" command with no arguments).
Quote:
Originally Posted by afaivre
I have fastboot in a terminal window, but it doesn't see the phone. I have data debugging enabled on the phone.
If you issue the command "fastboot devices", a the phone will only show up if it is in fastboot mode (not with the regular O/S booted).
I infer from your mention of /data and permissions errors that you already have the SDK installed, and that you do have ADB working correctly, and can log via "adb shell"? If so, run the command
"adb shell ls -l /dev/mtd/mtd1"
and let me know if that partition does not have permissions crwxrwxrwx.
No, don't have SDK installed. I was going to install, but your earlier instructions said to avoid installing the SDK from Google. I downloaded it from developer.android.com/SDK, I assume that is the google sdk.
Oh duh, I don't have the phone in hboot mode, it is regular boot,
Just to be precise, I think you mean "fastboot mode", yes?
In addition to being able to launch (boot) either the regular OS or the recovery partition (mini-OS), the bootloader itself can operate in 3 primary modes:
- hboot (Vol-down+End)
- fastboot (Send+End)
- RUU (get there with "oem" commands in fastboot or specialized reboot progs)
There is a limited ability to get from one mode to another using the menus in the first two modes, as you have seen - you can start HBOOT mode from within fastboot mode, (but not the reverse) and you can start the recovery boot from within HBOOT mode. (RUU mode has no menus)
If you use the PB00IMG.ZIP+HBOOT method of applying the HTC engineering ROM, and then follow that up by using the fastboot program on the PC, you should not need to install the SDK. (But having it around can be mighty handy, and it is a good idea for rooters to be familiar with using adb)
So, try this sequence:
- charge your phone well (and don't let it sit in HBOOT or fastboot mode unnecessarily - the battery will discharge rapidly, even if plugged in when the phone is in those modes)
- review the instructions in Visual Example: The PB00IMG.ZIP update method
- copy the PB00IMG.ZIP file to the top-level folder of your SD card
- verify it's MD5 file signature using the AFV (Android File Verifier) app
- install the ROM using the HBOOT method (see "Visual Example" instructions)
- verify the MD5 file signature of "recovery-ra-eris-v1.6.2.img" on the PC
- put the newly installed bootloader into fastboot mode (coldstart w/ Send+End)
- verify that the fastboot program can communicate with the phone with the command
Then, remove or rename the PB00IMG.ZIP file on the root folder of the SD card so that it will not interfere with using the HBOOT mode.
With the new bootloader in place, you should be able to cold start directly into the recovery boot using Vol-Up+End (make sure to hold both buttons down until the screen lights up)
eu1
Last edited by erisuser1; January 11th, 2011 at 07:35 AM.
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That did it! I have Ra recovery screen up as I type.
Thanks for your help.
When you said "SGI and the 90's", I had full confidence this would be the outcome, although I am mystified why your phone got stopped out with the "easy" methods - the rooting method involved is so dead simple it is shocking.
I fooled around with a couple of those SGI boxes in the same era - for the time, SGI had a kickass multiplayer flight simulator. A six-pack of beer and a worthy opponent made for some good times.
One more thing occurred to me: since you flashed the Root ROM, you have a fairly old radio now (Baseband v2.40.00.01.22).
It's not urgent that you do anything about it, but there have been three or four more recent radio releases in the Eris OTA updates which post-date that (older) version - and none of the developers include radio firmware updates in their ROMs. So, you will be stuck with that old radio if you don't explicitly do something about it. (As I mentioned, it is *not* critical for you to do anything about it right away - feel free to do some more reading)
Just as with the recovery flashing using the S-OFF bootloader, you can flash a radio using fastboot, e.g.
Code:
fastboot flash radio radio-image-name.img
All the precautions which apply to using fastboot certainly apply here also, especially including verifying the MD5 sig of the "radio.img" file that you are extracting - you can find MD5 sigs for various radio.img files in this post:
The last (July 2010 OTA) radio for the Eris was v 2.42.01.04.27
Some people - including me - are running a radio from the Sprint Hero CDMA phone (it has the identical MSM7600 processor as the Eris); that one has version 2.42.02.10.29, and the radio image file has a MD5 sig of
I have tried to do this, but when I get to step 3 (I have to push DOWN and power simultaneously) and choose "RECOVERY", I get the little line of Android guys, then it goes to the error screen discussed here (the first one) and I have to take the battery out to do anything: Is it bad my recovery comes up with a red exclamation mark?
I do also notice that it says there is nothing found on the SD card when I reboot this way. I've run the app and pressed all the 'agree' buttons. It seems that Amons_RA is maybe not installed, but it also seems like it should be installed as part of this one-click deal, right? (Otherwise, it would not be so much one-click??)
I have tried to do this, but when I get to step 3 (I have to push DOWN and power simultaneously) and choose "RECOVERY", I get the little line of Android guys, then it goes to the error screen discussed here (the first one) and I have to take the battery out to do anything: Is it bad my recovery comes up with a red exclamation mark?
I think that you are mis-reading step 3. Step 2 is to run the 1-click app. Step 3 is restart your phone, period. Do not restart to Recovery in this step - restart the phone as if you wanted to call somebody. Step 4 is where you shut down your phone and restart in recovery.
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I think that you are mis-reading step 3. Step 2 is to run the 1-click app. Step 3 is restart your phone, period. Do not restart to Recovery in this step - restart the phone as if you wanted to call somebody. Step 4 is where you shut down your phone and restart in recovery.
Exactly. After running the app (which you do not need to do, since you have already done that) just boot your phone up normally, shut it down normally, and THEN boot into recovery, and there you will find Amon_RA.
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Exactly. After running the app (which you do not need to do, since you have already done that) just boot your phone up normally, shut it down normally, and THEN boot into recovery, and there you will find Amon_RA.
eu1, by the way, I think I told you before that jcase's app will keep re-installing Amon_RA's custom recovery after each reboot in which the app was still installed.
That was incorrect -- jcase put a semaphore in (the string "test" echoed to the /data/local/rights/flashed.log file) to indicate when/if the recovery has already been installed. The app also checks that the /dev/mtd/mtd1 partition has been successfully re-secured to "crwxrwxrwx" before attempting the recovery flash. So, he did a brilliant and thorough job.
I think that you are mis-reading step 3. Step 2 is to run the 1-click app. Step 3 is restart your phone, period. Do not restart to Recovery in this step - restart the phone as if you wanted to call somebody. Step 4 is where you shut down your phone and restart in recovery.
Ugh thank you! Yes, that was it. I read the instructions a million times and never read them that way. Maybe that could be a little more clear? (Or maybe I am stupid!)
Ugh thank you! Yes, that was it. I read the instructions a million times and never read them that way. Maybe that could be a little more clear? (Or maybe I am stupid!)
No, I agree that they could be more clear. This is part of the reason why I like to direct people to the more involved but far better documented Universal Root for Dummies thread (which includes follow-up instructions on how to flash your first custom ROM.)
rooto I use my volume buttons to choose a option in the recovery menu? If so it's not working.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jcase
Preface, This is not a free app, its a try before you buy app. If this app works for you, and you are happy with it. You are required to donate a meal to a homeless youth, or any amount of money to a youth outreach type program.
This is a TeamAndIRC production. The source code is available on request, if good reason exists.
I got bored and whipped this up tonight with ECLIPS3. This will root your Droid Eris running 2.1 with 1 click.
This does NOT erase anything off your phone.You can keep you data/apps with this root!
If something doesn't work, don't freak just contact me. Tested working on latest RUU.
rooto I use my volume buttons to choose a option in the recovery menu? If so it's not working.
mills23,
Your post was a little sparse on the details...
Just to make sure we are on the same page,
1. You have an Eris, right? (I see a reference to the Incredible in your device info)
2. You've successfully used this one-click app to install Amon_RA's custom recovery, and now you can't navigate the recovery menus with your trackball?
If the answers to the above are both "yes", then have a peek at this thread:
You would want to use the "Scenario 2" installation method.
Read the thread carefully...it's really not so complicated, I just put in a lot of the details for everyone so that most of your questions are answered.
1. You have an Eris, right? (I see a reference to the Incredible in your device info)
2. You've successfully used this one-click app to install Amon_RA's custom recovery, and now you can't navigate the recovery menus with your trackball?
If the answers to the above are both "yes", then have a peek at this thread:
You would want to use the "Scenario 2" installation method.
Read the thread carefully...it's really not so complicated, I just put in a lot of the details for everyone so that most of your questions are answered.
Cheers!
I had a incredible. I did follow it but my trackball or volume rockers won't navigate the menu.
I had a incredible. I did follow it but my trackball or volume rockers won't navigate the menu.
Yeah, I don't have any experience with the Incredible. I know its an HTC phone, but this custom recovery is specific to the HTC Droid Eris.
It also doesn't have alternate keys for the volume-down button (i.e., to return to the prior menu screen), just for the functions normally used for the trackball.
I assume you've asked in the Incredible all-things-root sub-forum?
Yeah, I don't have any experience with the Incredible. I know its an HTC phone, but this custom recovery is specific to the HTC Droid Eris.
It also doesn't have alternate keys for the volume-down button (i.e., to return to the prior menu screen), just for the functions normally used for the trackball.
I assume you've asked in the Incredible all-things-root sub-forum?
I HAD a incredible and i rooted it fine. This eris I have now won't let me use the trackball. Plus it just sux as a phone.
I HAD a incredible and i rooted it fine. This eris I have now won't let me use the trackball. Plus it just sux as a phone.
Aha, sorry I mis-understood...
Well, my tweaked custom recovery for the Eris will replace the trackball functionality, but not the volume-rocker issue you've reported.
There is a very technical alternative involving using the Android SDK and the adb utility, but its not really for the faint-of-heart, LOL... It involves issuing the wipe and flashing commands from the adb shell...
Let me know if you want me to point you in that direction (I'd have to dig-up the thread, but be warned that I'm not the author of that particular method and can't do much more than direct you to it...it makes quite a few assumptions about your proficiency with the SDK and boot-level operations...).
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The HTC Droid Eris launched for Verizon Wireless on November 6th in part as the carrier's first Android Phone. However it was overshadowed by the other member of the inaugural Verizon Droid duo - the Motorola Droid. The Droid Eris might look fa... Read More
