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Root ROOTING For Dummies

Ok... Problems from the start. I bought a used phone and it appears it has been rooted and returned to stock in the past. 4G works so I assume it is OK.

I had a Dinc and installed Unrevoked on it. I'm not sure what all needs to be removed from my PC to make it work but I deleted the 2 files that I am supposed to download for Unrevoked and redownloaded for Evo 4g. Something tells me this isn't enough.

I do not have HTC Sync installed. When I first plugged the phone into the pc, it recognized a 1.0 android device and "installed drivers".

I booted into hboot (.97 version, I believe) and went to USB Hboot as instructed. I went to properties and instead of saying "Android 1.0 device" is says "unrecognized device". I went through "update driver" as instructed and told it the folder... It says, "Windows cannot find a driver for this device."

This is where my rooting adventure ends.

Ideas?

Have you read through the Rooting for Dummies guide? Try and download the drivers linked in the Rooting guide. You might also try and install then uninstall HTC Sync.
 
Have you read through the Rooting for Dummies guide? Try and download the drivers linked in the Rooting guide. You might also try and install then uninstall HTC Sync.

I read through the guide a few times before and note this is my second rooting exercise on an HTC device using unrevoked. I went back through the PC and deleted everything I could find (again), then installed and uninstalled HTC sync to be certain I had the right drivers for the EVO 4G. I just went back into properties (while plugged in using hBoot .97 set on "hboot usb plug". The device manager still says, "Unknown Device" and doesn't proceed when I tell it where the drivers are.

Stuck... I think I'm going to try this on my laptop so there are no previous "issues" from the Droid Incredible and see if it will work there. Stay tuned...

***Update*** Moved to a laptop that hasn't been connected before and got S-off via unrevoked...
 
I read through the guide a few times before and note this is my second rooting exercise on an HTC device using unrevoked. I went back through the PC and deleted everything I could find (again), then installed and uninstalled HTC sync to be certain I had the right drivers for the EVO 4G. I just went back into properties (while plugged in using hBoot .97 set on "hboot usb plug". The device manager still says, "Unknown Device" and doesn't proceed when I tell it where the drivers are.

Stuck... I think I'm going to try this on my laptop so there are no previous "issues" from the Droid Incredible and see if it will work there. Stay tuned...

***Update*** Moved to a laptop that hasn't been connected before and got S-off via unrevoked...

Good! Glad you got it
 
Arrrrrgh! I need an eye patch. This phone was rooted before and obviously returned (almost) to stock. I didn't think much of it when I bought it but when I went to recovery while it was "stock", I got a black screen with the triangle and exclamation point in it. It locked there...
I finally got Unrevoked to run and got:

Supersonic EVT2-3 ship S-OFF
HBOOT 0.97.00
Microp-041f
touch panel0atmel224_16ab
Radio-2.15.00.09.01
Aug 19, 2010.14:29:08

I installed ROM manger (pro) and it tells me I don't have root... Titanium says same.

If I try to go into recovery from hBoot, I get the black screen still with the triangle containing an exclamation point. The will stay there forever - requires a battery pull.

The phone works perfectly otherwise...

I'm assuming the recovery is borked. Can I flash a new recovery through hboot by placing a file on the root of the SD card called pc36img.zip?

If so, which clockwork version should I image? If not, what is plan B?

Thanks!
 
Arrrrrgh! I need an eye patch. This phone was rooted before and obviously returned (almost) to stock. I didn't think much of it when I bought it but when I went to recovery while it was "stock", I got a black screen with the triangle and exclamation point in it. It locked there...
I finally got Unrevoked to run and got:

Supersonic EVT2-3 ship S-OFF
HBOOT 0.97.00
Microp-041f
touch panel0atmel224_16ab
Radio-2.15.00.09.01
Aug 19, 2010.14:29:08

I installed ROM manger (pro) and it tells me I don't have root... Titanium says same.

If I try to go into recovery from hBoot, I get the black screen still with the triangle containing an exclamation point. The will stay there forever - requires a battery pull.

The phone works perfectly otherwise...

I'm assuming the recovery is borked. Can I flash a new recovery through hboot by placing a file on the root of the SD card called pc36img.zip?

If so, which clockwork version should I image? If not, what is plan B?

Thanks!

Sounds like Unrevoked failed to flash recovery. You can do a couple of things at this point. You can get a recovery image from here: http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/259446-clockwork-amon-ra-pc36img-files.html and follow the directions to get it flashed(Amon RA 2.3 recommended) or you can try and run unrevoked again to see if it will get your recovery flashed and root your rom. It did unlock Nand and give you s-off which is the major part of its job. The rest you can do manually.
 
Sounds like Unrevoked failed to flash recovery. You can do a couple of things at this point. You can get a recovery image from here: http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/259446-clockwork-amon-ra-pc36img-files.html and follow the directions to get it flashed(Amon RA 2.3 recommended) or you can try and run unrevoked again to see if it will get your recovery flashed and root your rom. It did unlock Nand and give you s-off which is the major part of its job. The rest you can do manually.

Unrevoked would not go through the whole process all the way to flashing the recovery so I downloaded a recovery image and flashed that through hboot. I verified it worked but still no root. I re-ran unrevoked and this time it went through the entire process. I think the recovery image was borked bad enough to break unreovked's process.

All seems well now. I have root, I've got a nandroid of my stock image, and I'm off to flash something... Now if I could just decide on sense or aosp.... perhaps both. Thanks, folks!
 
Glad you got it. Make sure to make a nandroid before making any changes. Try them all out and see what they are like. You will find something that grabs your attention sooner or later.
 
Hi everyone,

Have had my EVO since August of 2010, and I am preparing to step into the world of ROOT.

I have read through tons of posts (this being the best), and I have a couple of basic questions.

I have never taken any OTA updates, so I am still on the original 3.30.651.3 software. I assume I do not need to update before rooting even though I may try the current 2.3 rooted rom after rooting.

Most of my phone contacts are not Google contacts, how can I save all my contacts so I don't have to reenter them after rooting?

I have a couple aps that are no longer on the market, and I don't want to lose them ( I found if auto update was checked on aps and they are later removed, seems they get yanked off the phone as well, so I have most as manual update).

Is there a way to save to PC or similar so I can reload after rooting. I plan to format the SD card as suggested to clean up any orphan files that I do see lingering on the SD card (hints of windows inefficiency!).

This is by far the best resource I have found, and huge props to the OP for this tutorial.

One thing I was looking for and could not find anywhere was a basic compiled list of files/aps that one should use for each phase of various processes. It would help a newbie to understand better to see a simple list (maybe "required" and "optional" next to them). I know files/aps are listed in different sections and different threads, but a simple list would let somone further explore them before beginning the process.

Thanks again!
 
Hi everyone,

Have had my EVO since August of 2010, and I am preparing to step into the world of ROOT.

I have read through tons of posts (this being the best), and I have a couple of basic questions.

I have never taken any OTA updates, so I am still on the original 3.30.651.3 software. I assume I do not need to update before rooting even though I may try the current 2.3 rooted rom after rooting.

Most of my phone contacts are not Google contacts, how can I save all my contacts so I don't have to reenter them after rooting?

I have a couple aps that are no longer on the market, and I don't want to lose them ( I found if auto update was checked on aps and they are later removed, seems they get yanked off the phone as well, so I have most as manual update).

Is there a way to save to PC or similar so I can reload after rooting. I plan to format the SD card as suggested to clean up any orphan files that I do see lingering on the SD card (hints of windows inefficiency!).

This is by far the best resource I have found, and huge props to the OP for this tutorial.

One thing I was looking for and could not find anywhere was a basic compiled list of files/aps that one should use for each phase of various processes. It would help a newbie to understand better to see a simple list (maybe "required" and "optional" next to them). I know files/aps are listed in different sections and different threads, but a simple list would let somone further explore them before beginning the process.

Thanks again!

1.you are correct in that you do not need to do anything as far as updating goes. rooting with unrevoked should work with your software version.

2. the only thing that i can think of as far as saving your apps and your contacts is to use z4root app found here:[APP] z4root - root android in one click from an app - xda-developers. it is only a temporary root and it only allows apps root access and nothing else. so you can temp root with z4 then download and install titanium backup to backup your apps (and in this case your system file as well. the system file you want is [Contacts/Calls...cts Storage2.3.3]). after you finally root then re-download titanium backup you can then restore your apps. with the system app do not restore it. your rooted rom will already have it, so you only need to restore system data for it. just be careful when you restore any system data because if you decide to flash different roms, it could cause your current rom issues as the sysetm data will contain bits of the previous rom. you are going to find out that really the easiest way to save contacts is to save it under google. that way when you get the flashing bug like most of us here, all you would have to do is log in to google and your contacts are there.

3.if you do move your files from the sd card to your pc make sure that you do it after you backup your apps with titanium backup. it saves them on the card.

hope that helps
 
I flashed the newest stock ROM for Gingerbread this morning and it's working great. However, I seem to be unable to update my radios, PRI, etc.

When I try to flash my radios I get a message:

"Amend scripting was deprecated by Google in Android 1.5.
It was necessary to remove it when upgrading to the ClockworkMod 3.0 Gingerbread based recovery.
Please switch to Edify scripting (updater-script and update-binary) to create working update zip packages.
Installation Aborted."


The PRI, Wimax and NV ran through some text faster than I could read it and went back to the ClockworkMod Recovery screen, so I had assumed they installed. When I checked my PRI it was still on the old version, though. I don't know how to check my Wimax and NV version.

Can somebody point me in the right direction? I'm using CWM v3.0.0.5.
 
I flashed the newest stock ROM for Gingerbread this morning and it's working great. However, I seem to be unable to update my radios, PRI, etc.

When I try to flash my radios I get a message:

"Amend scripting was deprecated by Google in Android 1.5.
It was necessary to remove it when upgrading to the ClockworkMod 3.0 Gingerbread based recovery.
Please switch to Edify scripting (updater-script and update-binary) to create working update zip packages.
Installation Aborted."


The PRI, Wimax and NV ran through some text faster than I could read it and went back to the ClockworkMod Recovery screen, so I had assumed they installed. When I checked my PRI it was still on the old version, though. I don't know how to check my Wimax and NV version.

Can somebody point me in the right direction? I'm using CWM v3.0.0.5.

you need to either downgrade your clockwork mod to cwm 2.6 or switch recoveries to amon ra 2.3(i really recommend amon ra 2.3). there are two basic types of scripting that most flashable file use, amend or edify (most of the files actually use amen). cwm 3 supports only edify scripting. while cwm2.6 and amon ra 2.3 supports both types of scripts.

you can get them here:http://androidforums.com/evo-4g-all-things-root/259446-clockwork-amon-ra-pc36img-files.html
here are the steps:
1. download the file and rename it. basically you need to rename it by erasing everything in the title but "PC36IMG" in the name. just do not add an extra ".zip" as windows hides extensions
2.transfer the file over to the root of the sd card (no folders)
3.go to hboot(bootloader); power off then press and hold power+vol down
4.hboot will automatically scan for the file. it should see the file if it is named correctly and placed on the root of the card.
5.select yes to update
6. dont reboot as you should make a nandroid backup as cwm nandroids are not compatible with amon ra2.3.

now you can flash the radios if you want to.
 
ocnbrze -

I found on Google where someone said reverting to an older ClockworkMod might fix the issue, so I took it back to 2.5.something. I then flashed my radios, which seemed to work. The other things (PRI, Wimax & NV) would not install. I was getting an aborted message and something about already having firmware. I wiped the cache and dalvik cache and rebooted into CWM Recovery. I tried to install them again but again it failed. I reflashed the radios because it was still showing me the old version, though after I relized that the phone probably needed to be all the way rebooted before they would take effect.

When I rebooted it again it came up with the icon of the Android coming out of the box. I didn't know how to get out of it, so I pulled the battery expecting to be able to reboot into Recovery again.

Nothing happens now when I push the power button.

:(
 
try press and hold power+vol down. hopefully you can get to hboot. if you can then all is good we can still get you to a working form from there.
 
man i'm not sure what else you can do. that is the one thing that you have to be really careful with when you mess with your radios. the screen with the android coming out of the box just means that it is installing the radios. you should never pull the battery during that process. you might have to take in to a sprint tech and see what they can do for you. my suggestions is do not lie or do anything deceitful. just tell them that you cant get it to boot up anymore. hopefully, they will just send you a new one (or a refurbished one) and not know that it was rooted.
 
Thanks for the help. The Sprint stores are closed here right now, I'll have to try tomorrow.

I thought the 'Android coming out of the box' icon was what you get when you first activate an EVO, so I thought I had already screwed something up when I saw it.
 
I have searched and have not found answers to my current problems so I am reaching out for help!

1. I used unrevoked back in jan 2011 to root my Evo.

2. I went to unroot my phone but I did not flash the unrevoked-forever-son.zip tool. (the guide I was using told me that if I did not use "unrevoked forever" i should skip to the next step so i did) I skipped to the PC36IMAGE.zip and it worked but i fear it messed me up.

3. I removed the PC36IMAGE.zip from my SD card and then was fully functional since march 2011.

4. I recently flashed CM7 and I liked it but was having the GPS issue so I tried to create a backup using Rom Manager w/CW recovery and it would not work. It would say "go to rom manager to report the issue" so I reported the issue...

5. I managed to loose my stock backup that I made before and now have CM7 backed up. I flashed Fresh Evo in order to do the GPS fix (that didnt work either) and now I am sitting with Fresh and only have a CM7 back up.

I want to revert everything back to stock and start over so I can have a clean slate. What is the best way to do that? my apps are all backed up on Titanium so im not worried about that.
 
I have searched and have not found answers to my current problems so I am reaching out for help!

1. I used unrevoked back in jan 2011 to root my Evo.

2. I went to unroot my phone but I did not flash the unrevoked-forever-son.zip tool. (the guide I was using told me that if I did not use "unrevoked forever" i should skip to the next step so i did) I skipped to the PC36IMAGE.zip and it worked but i fear it messed me up.

3. I removed the PC36IMAGE.zip from my SD card and then was fully functional since march 2011.

4. I recently flashed CM7 and I liked it but was having the GPS issue so I tried to create a backup using Rom Manager w/CW recovery and it would not work. It would say "go to rom manager to report the issue" so I reported the issue...

5. I managed to loose my stock backup that I made before and now have CM7 backed up. I flashed Fresh Evo in order to do the GPS fix (that didnt work either) and now I am sitting with Fresh and only have a CM7 back up.

I want to revert everything back to stock and start over so I can have a clean slate. What is the best way to do that? my apps are all backed up on Titanium so im not worried about that.

do you have s-on or s-off? what is your current hboot? do you want to unroot or do you want just a stock but rooted rom? you do not need to unroot your phone. and if you do, do not accept the ota as you can't re-root afterwards.
 
Can I use this tutorial for my verizon LG ally? (probably a dumb question) but I have been looking everywhere for step by step help for rooting my phone in a "language" I can understand.. :/
 
Can I use this tutorial for my verizon LG ally? (probably a dumb question) but I have been looking everywhere for step by step help for rooting my phone in a "language" I can understand.. :/

welcome to the forums!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
some of the basics prior to rooting might apply. i do not know much about the ally. have you looked at the Ally - All Things Root - Android Forums?
here is the sticky guide to rooting:
http://androidforums.com/ally-all-things-root/162822-lg-ally-rom-root-guide-faq.html

any questions i would post over there.
 
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