Root Universal Eris Root for Dummies!

Bob Cat · Jun 3, 2011

noirtest said:
I hit a brick wall when using ES File Explorer to unzip GScript. It doesn't produce the "Tools" folder and two shells- just a single file named "GScriptLite.apk". Shucks. Are these instructions outdated somehow?

Many many people use this method to root their eris with. You over looking something. Reread and reread again. It should go smooth as glass.

doogald · Jun 3, 2011

noirtest said:
I hit a brick wall when using ES File Explorer to unzip GScript. It doesn't produce the "Tools" folder and two shells- just a single file named "GScriptLite.apk". Shucks. Are these instructions outdated somehow?

You do not unzip the Gscript.apk file. The first post in this thread has a link to a file called gscript.zip. (It's toward the bottom of the post, under a section labeled "prerequisites".)

If you download it to your phone, it should be copied to a folder called /download on your SD card, as described and shown in the first two posts of this thread. If you download it with your PC and copy it to your SD card by connecting by USB, the Gscript.zip file should already be in the root directory of your SD card, and not in the /download directory.

(Note that the "root directory" does not mean a directory - or folder; they mean the same thing - called "root" on your SD card. It is the very top location in your SD card, where all other directories, or folders, are stored.)

erisuser1 · Jun 3, 2011

doogald said:
To summarize what happened:

vanman also had 1.46.0000 HBOOT. Neither this method nor the 1-click app method would successfully root the phone - it had the same problem that you are reporting - the Recovery boot getting stuck at the skateboarding Androids. Even trying to start the phone in HBOOT (by powering up while holding VolDn) and then pressing VolUp to start Recovery would not work.

Interesting. I was not aware of this issue with the v1.46 bootloader.

During my release testing, I tested against v1.5 (1.17.605.1) and all the leak versions of 2.1 which were extant at the time; but while I honestly can't recall what bootloaders I tested against, I am 100% sure I didn't test against the v1.46 bootloader - that hasn't been on my phone since the MR1 (Jan 2010).

I don't think that it is exactly true that "you can't go back to 1.5", although I suppose I would be reluctant to use any of the Flashback ROMs with a 1.46 bootloader on the phone - as they also have not been tested against v1.46.0000.

Shouldn't be a problem with any of the other bootloaders (1.47.0000, 1.49.0000, or 1.49.20000) installed, though. ( FWIW, I never tested the "battery pull trick" for transitioning from 1.46.0000 -> 1.49.2000, either. )

eu1

doogald · Jun 4, 2011

erisuser1 said:
I don't think that it is exactly true that "you can't go back to 1.5"

Right, though I was just pointing out where the instructions for installing the leak PB00IMG.zip began in that post. At the time that post was written it was true.

noirtest · Jun 5, 2011

I absolutely did NOT unzip the gscript.apk file. gscript.apk is the file I get AFTER unzipping gscript.zip.

I did everything exactly as you are saying I should have. It just seems like so much time has passed since this method was developed that the gscript.zip that I downloaded is not the same as the gscript.zip that existed back then.

Does anyone have a link to the correct gscript.zip that I need?

doogald · Jun 5, 2011

noirtest said:
I absolutely did NOT unzip the gscript.apk file. gscript.apk is the file I get AFTER unzipping gscript.zip.

I did everything exactly as you are saying I should have. It just seems like so much time has passed since this method was developed that the gscript.zip that I downloaded is not the same as the gscript.zip that existed back then.

Does anyone have a link to the correct gscript.zip that I need?

I just followed the link and I got the proper gscript.zip file.You may want to try downloading to your PC and copying the gscript.zip file over to the phone after connecting by cable.

But, here is a link to the file I downloaded by following the link in the first post, in case this helps: https://www.sugarsync.com/pf/D71034_157223_639436

erisuser1 · Jun 5, 2011

noirtest said:
I absolutely did NOT unzip the gscript.apk file. gscript.apk is the file I get AFTER unzipping gscript.zip.

I did everything exactly as you are saying I should have. It just seems like so much time has passed since this method was developed that the gscript.zip that I downloaded is not the same as the gscript.zip that existed back then.

Does anyone have a link to the correct gscript.zip that I need?

I also downloaded (just now) the gscript.zip file from the link given in the OP.

It has an identical md5 checksum as the value stated in the OP and unpacks to the same files as the original. My "gscript.zip" file has never contained any .apk files.

This example illustrates precisely the reason for using md5 checksums - you know immediately if you have the wrong file.

eu1

waiter · Jun 17, 2011

IT WORKS - I've been agonizing over this for weeks, but it works

The only problem I had was, I downloaded the xtrSense.ZIP on my PC and moved it over to the "Downoad" folder on the SD card.

When I went to flash the ROM there was no zip file to flash. The HowTo doesn't say to move, or make sure your rom ZIP file is in the /SDcard/ folder. OK, I figured that one out on my own, moved the file over, and then the flash went off without a hitch.

ALSO - my trackball doesn't move up (down only) BUT - it may have already been like that because I have never used the track ball.

THANKS - John Mc

scary alien · Jun 17, 2011

waiter said:
ALSO - my trackball doesn't move up (down only) BUT - it may have already been like that because I have never used the track ball.

THANKS - John Mc

John,

Glad this worked for you! eu1 created a great guide, didn't he?

Sounds like your trackball might have partial functionality...there's a couple of ways to clean it too (http://androidforums.com/eris-tips-tricks/114731-trackball-cleaning.html).

If this isn't succesful, head on over to this thread: http://androidforums.com/eris-all-t...2-custom-recovery-trackball-not-required.html
for information about how to replace/update your Amon_RA custom recovery with one that doesn't need a trackball (I know the guy

).

Look at the "Scenario 3" installation instructions since you are now rooted.

They probably look more intimidating than they are...I just put a lot of details in there so you follow each step. Hit us up over in that thread if you have any questions. Scotty, BC, doogald, and others can also all help you too if you have any questions.

Cheers!

By the way, welcome to AndroidForums!

doogald · Jun 17, 2011

waiter said:
When I went to flash the ROM there was no zip file to flash. The HowTo doesn't say to move, or make sure your rom ZIP file is in the /SDcard/ folder. OK, I figured that one out on my own, moved the file over, and then the flash went off without a hitch.

I'm glad that you were able to figure it out. But, just to be complete, the instructions do say that you should have the .zip file on the root of your SD card. From the first post:

Prerequisites:

- Eris w/ any HTC/VZW release (including 1.5, all leaks V1-V3, & root-ROM)
- Install free Market app Gscript Lite (PinkVenture)
- Install free Market app EStrongs File Explorer
- Download gscript.zip (MD5 92796a8c6e61e8f1ee36e315c0acae7d)
- The ROM of your choice downloaded onto your SD card in the root folder. (T2noob's PlainJaneT2 V2.0 looks good - includes the July 2010 updates.)

It's surely easy to miss, though.

ALSO - my trackball doesn't move up (down only) BUT - it may have already been like that because I have never used the track ball.

If you can stand doing one more thing, might I suggest installing the alternate version of Amon_RA Recovery, wich does not require the trackball?

http://androidforums.com/eris-all-t...2-custom-recovery-trackball-not-required.html

Use Scenario 3 in that post. Since you have xtrSENSE installed, you already have GScript on the phone, by the way.

waiter · Jun 17, 2011

THIS IS SO COOL - I just checked the tether both wired and wireless work perfectly.

THANKS - You folks that pulled this off are the greatest.

John Mc

cjcross22 · Jun 24, 2011

Such a good write-up!!

I just grabbed my friends old Eris and sat down and did all this now I got it rolling Condemned CM7!

Thank's again for the awesome tutorial!

redroster · Jul 3, 2011

track ball wont navigate recovery menu. can someone tell me what needs to be done?

scary alien · Jul 3, 2011

redroster said:
track ball wont navigate recovery menu. can someone tell me what needs to be done?

Hey, redroster, welcome to AndroidForums!

Can you tell us how you've rooted your phone? If you used this rooting method, then it should be a piece of cake to install my trackball-optional version of Amon_RA's recovery:

http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/214240-amon_ra-1-6-2-custom-recovery-trackball-not-required.html

Let us know how you rooted and what ROM you are currently running.

Cheers!

grgtylr1112 · Jul 18, 2011

my track ball doesnt work :[ ive been stuck on the last verizon update for a year. no warranty on phone cant get new trackball :'[ im gonna cry

kikofosho · Jul 23, 2011

HELLO.

I got an error message after trying to flash a ROM. It said:

Installing update...
assert failed: write_raw_image("
/tmp/boot.img", "boot")
E:Error in /sdcard/CCM7_V14_Vanilla.zip
(Status 7)

Installation aborted.

I was trying to flash CCM7 on my sister's phone. I flashed this same ROM on my phone a few days ago and it worked. I also have to note that I wiped the dalvik cache.

Please help!

erisuser1 · Jul 23, 2011

kikofosho said:
HELLO.

I got an error message after trying to flash a ROM. It said:

I was trying to flash CCM7 on my sister's phone. I flashed this same ROM on my phone a few days ago and it worked. I also have to note that I wiped the dalvik cache.

Please help!

Could you unzip the CCM7_v14 ROM (.zip) file and let us know how large the "boot.img" file is? (The exact number of bytes)

Here is the reason that I ask:

The boot partition on the Eris is only slightly larger than some of the dev ROM boot image. Normally, this is not a big deal... unless you have a phone that happens to have a bad page or two in the boot partition. When this happens, an entire "eraseblock" is marked invalid - and an eraseblock is 128 kB (roughly 64x as large as a single bad page).

Because the entire boot partition is only 20 eraseblocks, if you have a single bad page, then there are only 19 eraseblocks available, or 95% of the full size of the partition. Unfortunately, some of the dev ROMs have boot images which are 97-99% of the size of the full partition.

The fact that the install got past the verification stage, and into the installation stage indicates that the ROM file is not corrupted.

What you might want to try is to install a 2.1 ROM - some of them have boot.img files that take up less than 90% of the boot partition.

eu1

kikofosho · Jul 23, 2011

erisuser1 said:
Could you unzip the CCM7_v14 ROM (.zip) file and let us know how large the "boot.img" file is? (The exact number of bytes)

Here is the reason that I ask:

The boot partition on the Eris is only slightly larger than some of the dev ROM boot image. Normally, this is not a big deal... unless you have a phone that happens to have a bad page or two in the boot partition. When this happens, an entire "eraseblock" is marked invalid - and an eraseblock is 128 kB (roughly 64x as large as a single bad page).

Because the entire boot partition is only 20 eraseblocks, if you have a single bad page, then there are only 19 eraseblocks available, or 95% of the full size of the partition. Unfortunately, some of the dev ROMs have boot images which are 97-99% of the size of the full partition.

The fact that the install got past the verification stage, and into the installation stage indicates that the ROM file is not corrupted.

What you might want to try is to install a 2.1 ROM - some of them have boot.img files that take up less than 90% of the boot partition.

eu1

boot.img is 2,459,648 bytes

erisuser1 · Jul 23, 2011

kikofosho said:
boot.img is 2,459,648 bytes

Partition size is 2,621,440 bytes.

2459648/2621440 = 93.82 % of full size

That suggests you might have a phone with more than one bad block, and - even worse - located in independent eraseblocks.

18 eraseblocks * 128 kB = 2,359,296 bytes.

Try installing a ROM with a boot.img file which is smaller than that. I don't know what the numbers are, but I can take a look at a couple - check back in a few minutes.

eu1

erisuser1 · Jul 23, 2011

Here's a couple of examples that show how much of the boot partition can be used by the "boot.img" file:

Root-ROM PB00IMG.zip boot.img : 2,260,992
CELBFroyo4.3 boot.img: 2,357,248
xtrSENSE5.0.1.zip boot.img: 2,265,088
GSB3.6-Odex.zip boot.img: 2,459,648

Just as an experiment, try flashing xtrSENSE5.0.1 and see if that "takes" on the phone.

DON'T FORGET TO DO A FULL WIPE FOR THESE INSTALLS

Note that even if you don't have a working ROM on that phone right now, you can use the "Toggle MS-DOS USB" menu item of the Amon_RA recovery to transfer files to the SD card from your PC.

Just make sure you follow the appropriate steps:

- connect usb cable
- toggle MS-DOS USB on (in Amon_RA)
- copy file from the PC
- wait 30 seconds or so after the (big) ROM file appears to have been copied
- use the "Safely Remove Hardware" Control on the PC
- turn off the "toggle MS-DOS USB" in Amon_RA

eu1

PS
Note that there is a (very) remote possibility that the problem is that the SD card itself is flaky (rather than a bad block issue in the boot partition of the phone). In this case what happens is that the whole ROM file is read successfully during the verification pass performed by Amon_RA, but on the following pass where it is being flashed to the phone, a read error occurs.

Until we have a little more data from you, I think the bad block issue is more likely - try flashing a ROM with a boot.img file which is smaller than 2,359,296 bytes (18 eraseblocks) and let us know how that goes.

erisuser1 · Jul 23, 2011

PPS I am going to bed now (4:16am EDT). I'll check this thread tomorrow.

eu1

scary alien · Jul 23, 2011

eu1,

Cool information about the eraseblocks from the above posts (thank you again for that

.

Hey, when / if you get a chance, take a peek over at the trackball-not-required thread, starting at this post: http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/214240-amon_ra-1-6-2-custom-recovery-trackball-not-required-4.html#post2985131.

The OP, wolfdog54, is unable to successfully boot into custom recovery after flashing via my Gscripts script (he gets stuck on the skating Androids...). MD5 checks-out, the flash appears successful according to the log file that my script produces and he tried both the 1.6.2 and the 1.7.1 versions that I built.

But he is able to successfully re-flash the original custom recovery using jcase's 1-click app... :thinking:

.

When I saw your posts above, I initially thought that maybe wolfdog54 was encountering the same issue that kikofosho might be with the boot.img file (i.e., my recoveries were bigger than the original?). But I don't think that's the case...here's the sizes of the three recoveries:

Code:

recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2.img				(3,926,016 bytes)
[COLOR="Blue"]recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2-trackball-not-required.img	(3,923,968 bytes)
recovery-RA-eris-v1.6.2-trackball-optional.img		(3,926,016 bytes)[/COLOR]

and you can see that my versions are either the same size or actually a little smaller.

I was actually contemplating re-packing jcase's 1-click app with one of my recoveries just for the wolfdog54 to try to see if there's really any magic going on that I cannot decipher (although we are all using the basically the same flash_image commands...the only differences are really the recoveries themselves).

Anyway, if you are so inclined, hop over to the other thread and lend us your esteemed opinion. Apologies for cluttering-up your thread, but I was thinking / hoping there was a linkage here from the above recent posts.

Thanks as always!

Cheers!

kikofosho · Jul 23, 2011

Hi everyone,

Thank you for your help! I instead used the xtrSENSE5.0.1, flashed it, and my sister's phone now works! I really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

erisuser1 · Jul 23, 2011

kikofosho said:
Hi everyone,

Thank you for your help! I instead used the xtrSENSE5.0.1, flashed it, and my sister's phone now works! I really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

Great!

It looks like my hypothesis (about the boot partition) might have been correct. If it is, that might mean you are sort of restricted in what you can put on your sister's phone - a lot of the GB and Froyo ROMs have pretty big "boot.img" files; but usually the Eclair ROMs with zanfur's kernel are small enough to fit in less than 90% of the full partition.

I think there is a way to verify this - if you don't mind (and your sister will still let you mess around with her phone). It won't do anything destructive to your phone.

There is a "flashable" .zip that I put together some time ago, which actually doesn't flash anything at all, but runs a program to produce a "bad block" report for your phone. It leaves that report file ("MTD_Inspect.txt") on your SD card. You run it the same way you "flash a ROM", except there is no need to wipe or backup or any of that stuff, since it doesn't really touch anything in your existing ROM.

Here is a link to that post on XDA - the .zip file is named MTD_Inspect_v0.9.zip.

I would appreciate it if you would consider running it, and posting up the result file.

eu1

hslee45 · Jul 23, 2011

I was following the instruction and just before I was about to flash the new ROM, I partitioned my SD card and now everything is screwed up.

Is there anyway I can start over from the beginning?

PLEASE HELP!

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