Root Universal Eris Root for Dummies!

[erisuser1]

I'm afraid I'm stuck in a bootloop... followed the instructions, everything went swimmingly, flashed kaosfroyo 3.1, and now the screen is black with "android" in white and a sort of light scrolling by behind the letters (if that makes sense) for the past 40 minutes. I'm thinking I'll just go to bed and see what it looks like in the AM - but wondering what is the next step, assuming it's still stuck? Battery pull presumably, but then what?

thanks in advance, and g'night all...

(KaosFroyo V31, not v3.1, right?)

95 out of 100 bootloops seem to always be due a short list of things:

1) Failure to perform a "Wipe data/factory reset" immediately prior to flashing a new ROM file (from the SD card), or
2) A problem with the SD card of some sort, or
3) There was actually an error thrown during flashing and the person doing the flashing didn't take notice of it.

You can try doing either of these two alternatives; in both cases, please charge your phone up very well (100% is a good number!) before you begin:

(1)
- Reboot into the (Amon_RA v1.6.2) recovery, and:
- Wipe data/factory reset
- Flash the same ROM again
- Power the phone off
- Eject the SD card before you...
- ...power the phone back on

This first method eliminates the first two most common causes of bootloops; also, note that you should not need to wait 40 minutes. If your phone has not booted completely within 10 minutes, it is in a bootloop. If it boots successfully, go through an initial configuration of your phone, and then insert the SD card to see if it gets recognized.

(2)
- Reboot into the (Amon_RA v1.6.2) recovery, and
- Restore the Nandroid backup that you made.
- Reboot.

You did make a Nandroid backup, right?. This 2nd alternative allows you to use the phone OS and configuration that you are familiar with to download a different ROM (or re-try downloading/copying the same ROM), and proves to you that all is not lost - you can always get back to where you were if you have good backups (in a safe place).

eu1

 

[thoa]

n00bs here...
i want to ask, if i only want to root and not flashing into customize ROM what should i do.?
which part is different base on the first post.

thx

 

[erisuser1]

n00bs here...
i want to ask, if i only want to root and not flashing into customize ROM what should i do.?
which part is different base on the first post.

thx

The set of instructions in this thread - right up to the point where you have completed making a Nandroid backup and you would be getting ready to "wipe before you flash a new ROM" are identical. That (first) part of the instructions merely installs a custom recovery onto your phone, and doesn't touch the OS which is already installed.

What you do after that backup is a little bit different: rather than just "wiping and then flashing", you DO NOT perform a wipe - instead, you flash the "engtools3.zip" file which is mentioned in the "One Click" rooting method thread.

What that does is install only three programs into your OS: "su", "SuperUser.apk", and "flash_image". Everything else about your ROM remains the same. Note that while your ROM is "rooted", about the only thing you can do from there is to get a "root" shell via adb, or install apps which are root-aware, such as Root File Explorer (and others) - you will not be able to overclock, nor run a2sd. But, your phone will be rooted, and in such a way that none of your other settings or applications will get disturbed.

Good Luck

eu1

 

[thoa]

The set of instructions in this thread - right up to the point where you have completed making a Nandroid backup and you would be getting ready to "wipe before you flash a new ROM" are identical. That (first) part of the instructions merely installs a custom recovery onto your phone, and doesn't touch the OS which is already installed.

What you do after that backup is a little bit different: rather than just "wiping and then flashing", you DO NOT perform a wipe - instead, you flash the "engtools3.zip" file which is mentioned in the "One Click" rooting method thread.

What that does is install only three programs into your OS: "su", "SuperUser.apk", and "flash_image". Everything else about your ROM remains the same. Note that while your ROM is "rooted", about the only thing you can do from there is to get a "root" shell via adb, or install apps which are root-aware, such as Root File Explorer (and others) - you will not be able to overclock, nor run a2sd. But, your phone will be rooted, and in such a way that none of your other settings or applications will get disturbed.

Good Luck

eu1

Thx alot for the answer...
now i know what should i do...

can i ask another chain question....
if i flashing a customize ROM, then i want to change back to my original one. what should i do..?
you can ignore my question because is OOT to this tread.

Friendly Regards,

 

[erisuser1]

Thx alot for the answer...
now i know what should i do...

can i ask another chain question....
if i flashing a customize ROM, then i want to change back to my original one. what should i do..?
you can ignore my question because is OOT to this tread.

Friendly Regards,

You would restore your Nandroid backup.

Note the boldface in my post above - making Nandroid backups before you wipe and flash a new ROM is incredibly important for exactly the reason you mentioned. Don't leave home without a backup.

eu1

 

[mhseris]

(KaosFroyo V31, not v3.1, right?)

95 out of 100 bootloops seem to always be due a short list of things:

1) Failure to perform a "Wipe data/factory reset" immediately prior to flashing a new ROM file (from the SD card), or
2) A problem with the SD card of some sort, or
3) There was actually an error thrown during flashing and the person doing the flashing didn't take notice of it.

You can try doing either of these two alternatives; in both cases, please charge your phone up very well (100% is a good number!) before you begin:

(1)
- Reboot into the (Amon_RA v1.6.2) recovery, and:
- Wipe data/factory reset
- Flash the same ROM again
- Power the phone off
- Eject the SD card before you...
- ...power the phone back on

This first method eliminates the first two most common causes of bootloops; also, note that you should not need to wait 40 minutes. If your phone has not booted completely within 10 minutes, it is in a bootloop. If it boots successfully, go through an initial configuration of your phone, and then insert the SD card to see if it gets recognized.

(2)
- Reboot into the (Amon_RA v1.6.2) recovery, and
- Restore the Nandroid backup that you made.
- Reboot.

You did make a Nandroid backup, right?. This 2nd alternative allows you to use the phone OS and configuration that you are familiar with to download a different ROM (or re-try downloading/copying the same ROM), and proves to you that all is not lost - you can always get back to where you were if you have good backups (in a safe place).

eu1

Let's see...

1. Right, kaosfroyo31, not 3.1. I had a DOS flashback.
2. I did do the wipe/factory reset - was following directions VERY carefully (and thanks so much for putting together such a clear set of directions!)
3. Yes, I did a nandroid backup.

[I will admit I was watching the Red Sox game while doing this, so wasn't watching the screen the whole time while flashing the kaos ROM. So I could have missed an error.]

The phone charged overnight while bootlooping (if that's a word) - pulled the battery this AM. Results follow.

Rebooted into Amon_RA. Did another wipe/reset. Flashed PlainJane. Hit the reboot option. Took the dog out. Came back in - there's my nice new ROM, all waiting for me to set up the phone! Yay. I will admit the font isn't what I'm used to, but that's a separate issue. I will set up email, etc. on the train.

Thanks for the quick and helpful answers!

 

[Synchromesh]

Just wanted to say that it's the best freakin' root guide ever. It finally let me easily root my Eris because the stock firmware was driving me insane with freezes and bugs! So far new custom ROM is working great. Many thanks to OP who wrote the guide - it was easy to follow and generally well done.

 

[Uye]

Sigh.. I've done about every method to root my phone which is 2.1 OTA and this has been my last try to do so and nothing. I can never get it to work for me. I do every step as posted and nothing. Something up with my phone I can't root it? If anyone can help me

 

[erisuser1]

Sigh.. I've done about every method to root my phone which is 2.1 OTA and this has been my last try to do so and nothing. I can never get it to work for me. I do every step as posted and nothing. Something up with my phone I can't root it? If anyone can help me

If you want decent help, you need to actually describe what is happening when you attempt a given method.

Saying "can't get it to work" provides NO INFORMATION AT ALL.

Sorry for shouting, but after a while it gets exhausting playing guessing games with people. I can't see your phone, and neither can anybody else here.

If you want some help, go back an try it again, but this time:

- Compare your results step-by-step with what you see in the instructions,

- Write down on a piece of paper (or on the computer) what you notice that seems to be different than the screen shots.

- Report those things in a post, item by item - along with a description about how you satisfied every one of the prerequisites listed in the instructions (including any troubles you experienced do those things, too).


eu1

 

[Uye]

Well, it just does not work >.< it says everything installed perfectly but then I go to reboot everything and its the same old thing and I download Terminal from Market and do the su command and says permission denied so meaning I do not have root. Is there any specific detail I am missing here? This is why I didn't post any other detail because everything says it worked fine. No error of any sort. My firmware says its "2.1" and that's all. Sorry for not saying exactly what was wrong. If there is any other detail needed please let me know. I can do a step by step on what it says when I do it.

 

[scary alien]

First, go to my computer...

[sorry, couldn't resist!]

 

[erisuser1]

Well, it just does not work >.< it says everything installed perfectly but then I go to reboot everything and its the same old thing and I download Terminal from Market and do the su command and says permission denied so meaning I do not have root. Is there any specific detail I am missing here? This is why I didn't post any other detail because everything says it worked fine. No error of any sort. My firmware says its "2.1" and that's all. Sorry for not saying exactly what was wrong. If there is any other detail needed please let me know. I can do a step by step on what it says when I do it.

Again, be specific.

The first 3 posts in this thread ONLY INSTALL A CUSTOM RECOVERY - they do not touch the main OS on the phone.

I can't tell from what you just wrote whether or not you ever attempted to

- boot the recovery (Vol-Up+End)
- Make a Nandroid backup?
- Wipe & flash a new ROM (or no wipe + flash engtools3.zip)

If you successfully flashed a new ROM, then you certainly would not see the same thing after rebooting. If you didn't flash a new ROM, then you certainly WOULD still see the same ROM as the original. If you tried flashing a ROM and that failed a verification step, then you would be left with the original ROM - but reset back to "factory" state (assuming that you followed the instructions and performed a "wipe" before the ROM flashing step).

Based on the limited information that you provided, namely "same old thing", I can not deduce what you did.

More information please

eu1

 

[Uye]

First, go to my computer...

[sorry, couldn't resist!]

I've been at this for more then 10 hours now going everywhere trying to see if I am the only one with this issue. Also, I've done this through the whole SDK and Command screen way as well. I do the whole rooting thing then the flash part the rom you want and nothing. I even tried the whole PB000 thing whatever and it says I can't because I have a newer version installed on my phone already?

 

[Uye]

Again, be specific.

The first 3 posts in this thread ONLY INSTALL A CUSTOM RECOVERY - they do not touch the main OS on the phone.

I can't tell from what you just wrote whether or not you ever attempted to

- boot the recovery (Vol-Up+End)
- Make a Nandroid backup?
- Wipe & flash a new ROM (or no wipe + flash engtools3.zip)

If you successfully flashed a new ROM, then you certainly would not see the same thing after rebooting. If you didn't flash a new ROM, then you certainly WOULD still see the same ROM as the original. If you tried flashing a ROM and that failed a verification step, then you would be left with the original ROM - but reset back to "factory" state (assuming that you followed the instructions and performed a "wipe" before the ROM flashing step).

Based on the limited information that you provided, namely "same old thing", I can not deduce what you did.

More information please

eu1

Did all that. Also, I did this as well...

http://www.droid-eris.com/tutorials-corner/(tutorial)-how-to-root-your-leaked-droid-eris/30/

I did it that way as well. Not sure how much more specific I can get. Not much happened >.< Thanks for trying to help me out with my lack of info.

Ah, also I did all this as well..

http://theunlockr.com/2010/03/19/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-the-htc-droid-eris/

Did the rooting steps, ADB, and so forth.

 

[erisuser1]

Did all that. Also, I did this as well...

http://www.droid-eris.com/tutorials-corner/(tutorial)-how-to-root-your-leaked-droid-eris/30/

I did it that way as well. Not sure how much more specific I can get. Not much happened >.< Thanks for trying to help me out with my lack of info.

Ah, also I did all this as well..

How To: Load a Custom ROM on the HTC Droid Eris (Updated ? 04.08.2010) | TheUnlockr

Did the rooting steps, ADB, and so forth.

Well, I suppose I will just guess which one you did most recently.

If you got to Amon_RA's recovery menu, then the first part of rooting worked.

To refresh your memory, that initial screen (fig. 33) looks like this:

If you see that, the essential part of the "Dummies" rooting process worked correctly. The root exploit had to have worked correctly for Amon_RA recovery to get installed on to your phone

So, that leaves me to surmise that (probably) your flashing operation failed.

So, for the moment, I'll ask you to do a couple things.

1) F*ck those other methods; I don't care. Let's focus on one thing at a time.
2) Tell me what ROM you are attempting to install, how many bytes long it is, and what it's MD5 checksum is.
3) Charge your phone well (> 80%) and boot into Amon_RA (Is it still there?)
4) Attempt to perform the Wipe data/factory reset and Flash ROM from SD card,

paying close attention to whether you see any message on-screen which start with "E:" (those are error messages)**

** Note that you do not perform a wipe if you are planning on installing just a few root tools (e.g. engtools3.zip) in order to preserve your current ROM. I am guessing that you are not doing that, but you haven't told me otherwise. (Again, a guess).

eu1

 

[nyccharlie]

ok i like the stock sense rom. if i did this, then downloaded superuser permissions, could i use an app2sd gscript from xtrom and would it install the apps to my sd card??

 

[scary alien]

I've been at this for more then 10 hours now going everywhere trying to see if I am the only one with this issue. Also, I've done this through the whole SDK and Command screen way as well. I do the whole rooting thing then the flash part the rom you want and nothing. I even tried the whole PB000 thing whatever and it says I can't because I have a newer version installed on my phone already?

Trust me, Uye, you've got the attention and are getting help from the best person on this forum possible, erisuser1. You are in excellent hands.

I wasn't trying to be flippant to you per se, just making a reference to another recent post by eu1. I apologize if I gave offense.

There must be something strange going on here, because eu1's method is usually pretty straightforward. I don't want to get in the way here other than assuage your fears--if there's a way to solve your problem, there's none more qualified and helpful than erisuser1. He will help you get to the bottom of things.

 

[Uye]

Well, I suppose I will just guess which one you did most recently.

If you got to Amon_RA's recovery menu, then the first part of rooting worked.

To refresh your memory, that initial screen (fig. 33) looks like this:

If you see that, the essential part of the "Dummies" rooting process worked correctly. The root exploit had to have worked correctly for Amon_RA recovery to get installed on to your phone

So, that leaves me to surmise that (probably) your flashing operation failed.

So, for the moment, I'll ask you to do a couple things.

1) F*ck those other methods; I don't care. Let's focus on one thing at a time.
2) Tell me what ROM you are attempting to install, how many bytes long it is, and what it's MD5 checksum is.
3) Charge your phone well (> 80%) and boot into Amon_RA (Is it still there?)
4) Attempt to perform the Wipe data/factory reset and Flash ROM from SD card,

paying close attention to whether you see any message on-screen which start with "E:" (those are error messages)**

** Note that you do not perform a wipe if you are planning on installing just a few root tools (e.g. engtools3.zip) in order to preserve your current ROM. I am guessing that you are not doing that, but you haven't told me otherwise. (Again, a guess).

eu1

The order I did everything was backward the way I posted. So, the way you are showing last and so forth. I do get to that screen and I have tried to install the

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=685594 KaosFroyo

and

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=690902 Buufed ROM

I will redo everything and see if I get an E: on my screen. Also, phone is 100% charged. I do do the Wipe then flash from SD Card.

 

[nyccharlie]

Did all that. Also, I did this as well...

http://www.droid-eris.com/tutorials-corner/(tutorial)-how-to-root-your-leaked-droid-eris/30/

I did it that way as well. Not sure how much more specific I can get. Not much happened >.< Thanks for trying to help me out with my lack of info.

Ah, also I did all this as well..

How To: Load a Custom ROM on the HTC Droid Eris (Updated ? 04.08.2010) | TheUnlockr

Did the rooting steps, ADB, and so forth.

Uye go here Index of /shipped/Desire click the bottom link as that is the stock 2.1 rom from verizon. run it, and you'll be on stock, then run the rooting process again. I almost bricked my phone once and this helped out alot.

 

[erisuser1]

I will redo everything and see if I get an E: on my screen. Also, phone is 100% charged. I do do the Wipe then flash from SD Card.

Make sure you report the file length of the ROM file and if possible it's MD5 sum.

I would say that (conservatively) more than 90% of the "problems" flashing ROMs which are reported by people here and on XDA is corruption of the ROM file - before or during the time it gets placed on the SD card.

Look out especially for anything that says:

E:Verification Error

 

[erisuser1]

Uye go here Index of /shipped/Desire click the bottom link as that is the stock 2.1 rom from verizon. run it, and you'll be on stock, then run the rooting process again. I almost bricked my phone once and this helped out alot.

> 95% chance that doing that will merely prolong his agony. He already has a rooted phone, but is just having troubles flashing a ROM.

eu1

 

[Uye]

So, I tried a different Buuf download and it actually worked this time. Also I noticed the Kaos ROM was like only 3 KB. So I take it I had messed up ROM's. Thanks a lot! Now I know to notice the size very well >.<

 

[erisuser1]

So, I tried a different Buuf download and it actually worked this time. Also I noticed the Kaos ROM was like only 3 KB. So I take it I had messed up ROM's. Thanks a lot! Now I know to notice the size very well >.<

Whew. Welcome to Root. Please Press the Thank You button over there ==>

There have been multiple ways that folks got their ROM downloads corrupted; these are the most common:

1) Download to PC (or phone) times out. Short file.

2) Transfer from PC using "Disk Drive Mode" & USB where the user incorrectly disconnects the phone. The proper procedure is to:

- Copy the file from the PC to the mounted drive (E:, F:, G:, whatever)
- Wait a litle bit
- Use the "Safely Remove Hardware" control in the system tray to disconnect the phone - wait for a balloon to pop up saying "OK to remove" or similar
- Turn off "Disk Drive Mode" on the phone.

3) Using Safari to download the file (may automatically unzip the file)

4) Unzipping and re-zipping the file

5) Bad SD Card (least likely)


In EVERY ONE OF THESE CASES, the Amon_RA recovery will issue an error message on the screen. The error messages always start with "E:".

Keep your eyes peeled for errors when using Amon_RA.

You can take steps to avoid these problems to begin with by Verifying your Download files with checksums (Thanks to scary alien for that excellent write-up and his free App, too!)


If you flash a new ROM and you get an error, and you decide

"Dang, I would really like to boot my phone up to download another file or perform other checks", you do not need to boot your phone up with the ROM that just had it's /data partition (settings & apps) wiped in the previous step. (You would need to wait for a long configuration boot and re-configure your phone if you just boot it up after a wipe) Just perform a Nandroid restore operation with the Nand backup that your made right before the wipe operation, and your phone will be back to where it was before you started fooling around with ROM flashing.


I would encourage you - RIGHT NOW - to get familiar with Nand backups and Restores (or maybe after you go to bed following your 12-hour battle with your phone). They will save your ass, more than once.


eu1

 

[Uye]

LOL, alright, thanks! Now I'ma try different ROM's

 

[erisuser1]

nyccharlie,

I will answer your question - reluctantly, but first, yet another cranky complaint from eu1: your question is off-topic, and would be better placed in either a more relevant thread, or a new topic that you start. Don't be afraid to start your own threads - just make sure to give them a title which relates to the question you are asking.

ok i like the stock sense rom. if i did this, then downloaded superuser permissions, could i use an app2sd gscript from xtrom and would it install the apps to my sd card??

Yes and no.

If you try it the way you describe it, no. The reason for that is that the baked-in goodness/badness of apps2sd starts during the booting process - so you need things inside the boot partition to make it all hang together correctly so it will start correctly from boot-up.

Also, you will need to carefully review the script to make sure that all the dependencies it needs are satisfied - my bet is that may require a version of busybox to be installed on the phone, too.

It is possible, however to preserve your existing OS and slip in a different boot image right underneath it. You might want to do this anyway, as it would give you an opportunity to use a new kernel with overclocking (The kernel is part of the "boot.img" file). Just make sure that you use an Android 2.1 ROM for the source of your apps2sd/a2sd scripts and "boot.img"

If you try this, make absolutely sure that you create good Nandroid backups before you begin. What I would recommend is that you use a2sd/apps2d and a boot image from the same ROM.

You can manually install a new boot image (after you make a Nandroid backup!) via adb with Amon_RA booted:

- boot Amon_RA, then:

adb shell mount /sdcard
adb push boot.img /sdcard/new_boot.img
adb shell md5sum /sdcard/new_boot.img
( do not proceed if the MD5 signature is not valid )
adb shell flash_image boot /sdcard/new_boot.img
adb shell rm /sdcard/new_boot.img
adb shell umount /sdcard

Maybe I will put together a related post about doing similar things - in an easier way (not apps2sd specific, though)

eu1