Root Universal Eris Root for Dummies!

[doogald]

I must be the real dummy!

I downloaded gscript.zip, but when I get to FIG.11 I get an error message that reads (bad .zip file)

Any help?

I'd try erasing and downloading the zip file again.

You can also download using a PC browser, connect the phone using USB to your computer, and copying the gscript.zip file over to the SD card on the phone, rather than downloading using the phone's browser.

 

[Wolf Howl]

So to change the ROM I installed, would I need to do a wipe again or just install the other ROM from the Recovery screen?

 

[scary alien]

So to change the ROM I installed, would I need to do a wipe again or just install the other ROM from the Recovery screen?

Mostly yes. There are some circumstances where you don't have to do a wipe, like when changing / updating from one minor version of the same ROM, but for the most part, you will always want to do a wipe.

The "cycle" of steps usually looks like this:

1. Nandroid backup
2. Wipe (I usually do both "Wipe data/factory reset" and "Wipe Dalvik-cache")
3. Flash your new ROM
4. Reboot and enjoy!

You should also read the dev's ROM thread very carefully to any special / specific installation instructions (that's where they will typically recommend any special wiping procedures).

Forgeting to wipe is usually the cause of folk's bootloops.

Good luck (don't forget the Nandroid backup ).

Cheers!

 

[Wolf Howl]

Great, thanks for the quick response. Just rooted the wife's Eris (first root in this household). She likes it so far but was curious in case she wanted to try another ROM. Another question, will doing the backup replace the previous version backed up?

Also, learning experience for us on this first one, backup your Contacts to the SD card first. Oops.

 

[scary alien]

Great, thanks for the quick response. Just rooted the wife's Eris (first root in this household). She likes it so far but was curious in case she wanted to try another ROM. Another question, will doing the backup replace the previous version backed up?

Also, learning experience for us on this first one, backup your Contacts to the SD card first. Oops.

No, each Nandroid backup will be uniquely named. The naming format is like this:

/sdcard/nandroid/HTxxxxxxxxx/BDS-ccyymmdd-hhmm

where the ccyymmdd is the current date and hhmm is the current time (GMT, I believe).

There will be a boot.img, data.img, system.img, and a nandroid.md5 file in each directory.

Also, if you did make your Nandroid backup when you first rooted (like this thread instructs you to ) that would have contained your contacts, you can restore it and grab your Contacts off from the point and re-restore your newest ROM.

So, you could make a Nandroid backup of your current ROM, restore the one that has your contacts, extract your contacts, and then restore the most recent Nandroid backup. Note: you don't have wipe when doing a Nandroid restore, although it certainly doesn't hurt to do this.

Good luck and cheers!

edit: by the way, you can carefully rename your BDS-ccyymmdd-hhmm folders to be a little more meaningful--just don't use anything other than "regular" letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores (some characters are special to the custom recovery and could be misinterpreted when trying to do a restore). Also, don't rename the HTxxxxxxxxx folder name (that's the serial number of your phone) and the custom recovery uses that to find your Nandroid backup folder.

 

[doogald]

Great, thanks for the quick response. Just rooted the wife's Eris (first root in this household). She likes it so far but was curious in case she wanted to try another ROM. Another question, will doing the backup replace the previous version backed up?

No, backups are saved in folders with a naming scheme like this:

BCS-yyyymmdd-hhmm

where yyyymmdd is the date and hhmm is the time in UTC at the time the backup was run.

Also, learning experience for us on this first one, backup your Contacts to the SD card first. Oops.

If you make all of your contacts Google contacts (as opposed to phone contacts), they will be resynced when you install a new ROM from your Google account.

 

[Wolf Howl]

If you make all of your contacts Google contacts (as opposed to phone contacts), they will be resynced when you install a new ROM from your Google account.

Yes, we noticed how a few of her's did pull over when we put Google Apps back on the phone. How do we take the contacts we'll back over from the previous backup ROM (thanks for that tip/reminder!) and make them Google contacts? I have my Thunderbolt and I'm sure mine aren't setup that way but I'd like to. Thanks for the help!

 

[Wolf Howl]

No, each Nandroid backup will be uniquely named. The naming format is like this:

/sdcard/nandroid/HTxxxxxxxxx/BDS-ccyymmdd-hhmm

where the ccyymmdd is the current date and hhmm is the current time (GMT, I believe).

There will be a boot.img, data.img, system.img, and a nandroid.md5 file in each directory.

Also, if you did make your Nandroid backup when you first rooted (like this thread instructs you to ) that would have contained your contacts, you can restore it and grab your Contacts off from the point and re-restore your newest ROM.

So, you could make a Nandroid backup of your current ROM, restore the one that has your contacts, extract your contacts, and then restore the most recent Nandroid backup. Note: you don't have wipe when doing a Nandroid restore, although it certainly doesn't hurt to do this.

Good luck and cheers!

edit: by the way, you can carefully rename your BDS-ccyymmdd-hhmm folders to be a little more meaningful--just don't use anything other than "regular" letters, numbers, dashes, and underscores (some characters are special to the custom recovery and could be misinterpreted when trying to do a restore). Also, don't rename the HTxxxxxxxxx folder name (that's the serial number of your phone) and the custom recovery uses that to find your Nandroid backup folder.

Would I need to move that file back out to the root folder so I'm able to restore it back? Guessing so since I don't think you can navigate directories?

 

[Bob Cat]

Would I need to move that file back out to the root folder so I'm able to restore it back? Guessing so since I don't think you can navigate directories?

Those files are in a folder called nandroid and it is located in the root directory of your SD card. When you go into recovery there will be an option for backup/restore and the nand backups are there.

 

[doogald]

Yes, we noticed how a few of her's did pull over when we put Google Apps back on the phone. How do we take the contacts we'll back over from the previous backup ROM (thanks for that tip/reminder!) and make them Google contacts? I have my Thunderbolt and I'm sure mine aren't setup that way but I'd like to. Thanks for the help!

I think that there may be a way to back up the contacts to the SD card using the People app, but I know for sure that there is an app called UiA Backup Contacts that will back up your phone contacts to a .csv file to your SD card. You can then take that .csv file, copy it to a PC, and go to http://google.com/contacts and import the .csv file into your Google contacts.

So, as long as you created a Nandroid backup of your phone as it existed just after you rooted, and before you wiped data, you could do the following:

- Nandroid backup what you have now.
- Nandroid restore your old backup, which has the old phone contacts
- Restart the phone and install UiA Backup Contacts and run the backup
- Import that .csv file into Google contacts
- Restart in Recovery and Nandroid restore the backup you made in the first step

That should do it.

 

[Wolf Howl]

That doesn't look too bad. I'll ask her and see if that's what she wants to do. I think I will get that utility on my Thunderbolt now and import my contacts into Google to have them there. Thanks for that tip!

 

[JWeber15]

"1) Did you choose a ROM, download it to your SD card, and check the MD5 signature/file length on the copy of the file on your SD card?"

How do I do this? I am a true "dummy" when it comes to this.

 

[scary alien]

"1) Did you choose a ROM, download it to your SD card, and check the MD5 signature/file length on the copy of the file on your SD card?"

How do I do this? I am a true "dummy" when it comes to this.

Welcome to the AndroidForums, JWeber15.

Well, let's take this one step at a time:

1a) Did you choose a ROM:

Most ROMs are available over at XDA in this sub-forum for the Eris:

Droid Eris Android Development - xda-developers

and some are also featured here, such as CondemnedSoul's excellent CM7:

http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/318705-condemned-cm7.html

Others here at AF:

http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/400630-rom-aosp-08-21-11-evervolv-grj90-android-2-3-5-eris-v1-2-0b2-new-beta.html

http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/279220-gingershedbread-gsb.html

You'll probably find that all that (^^^) is a little daunting. It might be good to simply download a good starter ROM such as

- xtrSENSE ([ROM][GPL][3/15/2011] xtrSENSE5.0.1 [cache2cache,apps2sd,oc,jit]-HTC Sense - xda-developers),

- xtrROM ([ROM][GPL] xtrROM5.0.1 odex,cache2cache,apps2sd,jit,lwp,oc[3/29/2011] - xda-developers),

- GSB ([ROM][7/27] GSB v3.8 | CyanogenMod7.1.0 RC1 [2.3.5 GingerBread NIGHTLY] - xda-developers),

- or Condemned CM7 ([ROM] 9/8/11 Condemned CM7 V18.2 (2.3.5) - xda-developers).

You'll need to read through the first few posts in each thread, paying special attention to the installation instructions.

1b) Download it to your SD card:

Since one of the main points of this whole thread is to show you how to root your phone entirely on your phone (without having to use a PC, etc.). So, when you've chosen your ROM (discussed above ), you'll do the download from your phone like you would download other files (click on the download link in the dev's ROM thread) and the file will (most likely) be downloaded to your SD card's /sdcard/download or /sdcard/downloads directory (folder).

1c) Check the MD5 signature/file length on the copy of the file on your SD card

Checking the MD5 checksum of your file allows you to ensure that you downloaded the entire file and that it is whole and uncorrupted. Since the ROMs are usually 65MBs to 100MBs in size, you certainly want to make sure that you got all of the file properly downloaded to your phone so that it will install and function properly.

The ROM developer should be publishing an MD5 checksum for you to use to compare and validate. If they don't, look for your ROM elsewhere since its a sign of a responsible dev that publishes a file's size and MD5 checksum (note: file size is nice to have, but the MD5 sum will certainly suffice).

To check the MD5 checksum, using something like my app (AFV (free in the Market)) or Astro File Manager. For my app, just use the "Select File" button to navigate to your downloaded file, long-press the filename, and select "MD5 Checksum". For Astro File Manager, navigate to the file's location, long-press the file name, select Details, and wait for the MD5 checksum to be displayed.

Compare the output produced by either of the above tools to make sure that they match.

---------------------------

Anyway, there is a lot to learn about rooting, but most of it makes sense after you've done a little reading and research.

Fortunately, you've encountered the best thread possible for teaching you how to root your Eris, since the OP's knowledge about this is unsurpassed.

Good luck!

 

[retnavychief]

Unable to get a good download of this file. It completes at 23.4KB. No download file limit that I know of.

 

[Skidoo03]

Hey guys I'm trying to root an Eris and I followed every step and it said congratulations that I was rooted but I tried flashing SU through recovery but it kept saying installation aborted? Any idea what to do?

Thanks in advance.

 

[retnavychief]

Can't get a full download of gscript.zip it completes at 23.40KB

 

[doogald]

Can't get a full download of gscript.zip it completes at 23.40KB

This happens on your PC on or your phone? If it is on your phone, what happens if you download on your PC and copy over to the phone by connecting via usb cable?

 

[doogald]

Hey guys I'm trying to root an Eris and I followed every step and it said congratulations that I was rooted but I tried flashing SU through recovery but it kept saying installation aborted? Any idea what to do?

Thanks in advance.

"Tried flashing SU through recovery."

Please explain this in some more detail. Where did you get this version of SU? Are you sure that it is supposed to be flashed in recovery?

A link that shows where you got SU with the installation instructions would be good.

 

[Skidoo03]

Sorry about that, here is the link, [APP] Superuser 2.3.6.1 - Now on the Market [2010-09-05] - xda-developers

I tried downloading the app from the market but when I did it said I needed to update it through recovery, here's what it says when I try to update through SU: "An error occurred and su was not updated. A zip file (su-2.3.1-bin-signed.zip) has been placed on your sdcard, please reboot into recovery mode and flash it to update your su binary."

That is why I tried to flash in recovery.

Thanks so much for the quick response!

 

[doogald]

Sorry about that, here is the link, [APP] Superuser 2.3.6.1 - Now on the Market [2010-09-05] - xda-developers

I tried downloading the app from the market but when I did it said I needed to update it through recovery, here's what it says when I try to update through SU: "An error occurred and su was not updated. A zip file (su-2.3.1-bin-signed.zip) has been placed on your sdcard, please reboot into recovery mode and flash it to update your su binary."

That is why I tried to flash in recovery.

Thanks so much for the quick response!

Aha.

Try downloading this file, engtools3.zip: Multiupload.com - upload your files to multiple file hosting sites!

Copy that file to your SD card.

Restart the phone in Recovery [edit], do a Nandroid backup (go to the Backup/restore menu, choose Nand backup) [/edit] and then flash that zip file. When you restart the phone, you should have a working SU application.

 

[JennRN]

OK,I'm a noob when it comes to phones. I've only have my Eris for 2 weeks now and decided to root it after I read you can't move apps to SD card and I just wanted it to work faster. Anyway, I used the Universal 1 Click Eris Root app, and that was successful. I then tried to install Froyo v39. All was going well but I decided not to wipe it. Of course now I totally regret it and I am stuck in a reboot loop for > 1 hour. The screen is black and just flashes 'Android'. I've searched everywhere and all I get is that I need to wipe and flash the rom. Ok, I'm a newbie and I can't get out of this screen. I tried holding the phone, power and up volume buttons together. It does go into the green robots with a white background screen you see when you start up. But it only lasts for 30 secs. Please help me. Thank you. It's my only phone. I really need it. Thanks again

I decided to take out the battery and did a clean wipe, it's rebooting now. Hopefully this'll work

 

[scary alien]

OK,I'm a noob when it comes to phones. I've only have my Eris for 2 weeks now and decided to root it after I read you can't move apps to SD card and I just wanted it to work faster. Anyway, I used the Universal 1 Click Eris Root app, and that was successful. I then tried to install Froyo v39. All was going well but I decided not to wipe it. Of course now I totally regret it and I am stuck in a reboot loop for > 1 hour. The screen is black and just flashes 'Android'. I've searched everywhere and all I get is that I need to wipe and flash the rom. Ok, I'm a newbie and I can't get out of this screen. I tried holding the phone, power and up volume buttons together. It does go into the green robots with a white background screen you see when you start up. But it only lasts for 30 secs. Please help me. Thank you. It's my only phone. I really need it. Thanks again

Welcome to the AndroidForums and to rooting your Eris .

Yeah, sounds like you need to do a wipe after all. Not to worry, some phones can't boot into custom recovery using the volume-up and pwr/end button combo.

Try powering your phone off (I'm guessing a battery pull will be in order). Then, re-insert the battery and press both the green call and the red pwr/end buttons (i.e., the two chrome hard buttons on the bottom front of your phone) at the same time until you see a screen appear.

You should see the "FASTBOOT" screen which will give you the option to press <VOL DOWN> to take to you HBoot Mode. You'll be then presented with a the HBOOT screen that will allow you to press the <VOL UP> toggle to take you back in to Amon_RA's custom recovery (so you can do your wipes and reboot).

Since you are posting here in this thread but didn't use the erisuser1's method for rooting your phone, you'd be well-advised to read through at least post #4 (http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/127861-universal-eris-root-dummies.html#post1186824) to get a feel for the proper rooting steps (this is really the best tutorial out there).

Good luck and hope this helps.

Cheers!

P.S. / edit: Nandroid backups are your friend

 

[JennRN]

It's me again. Well I've tried removing the battery and rebooting and am stll stuck in the boot loop. I wiped it clean, and tried to flash Froyo v39. I'm so confused right now. I can't even get into the phone. I want to know if there is another rom that I can try, if someone could recommend? But I don't know how to stop this phone. I'm really upset now. Can someone help me? Baby steps , please

OK, I managed to get into usb toggle. I downloaded xtrasenses 5.0.1 onto the computer and then onto the phone. Rebooting now

Success! I'm so happy! good night!

 

[scary alien]

It's me again. Well I've tried removing the battery and rebooting and am stll stuck in the boot loop. I wiped it clean, and tried to flash Froyo v39. I'm so confused right now. I can't even get into the phone. I want to know if there is another rom that I can try, if someone could recommend? But I don't know how to stop this phone. I'm really upset now. Can someone help me? Baby steps , please

OK, I managed to get into usb toggle. I downloaded xtrasenses 5.0.1 onto the computer and then onto the phone. Rebooting now

Success! I'm so happy! good night!

LOL, Jenn, I was going to recommend xtrSENSE 5.0.1, too, but you found it yourself!

I was waiting to hear back from you before piling too much on you at once.

FYI, the normal steps for you to follow are:

1. Make sure you have a good, full charge on your battery before starting (and plenty of space on you SD card (at least 300MB of free space for a new Nandroid backup))

2. Research and download the ROM you have in mind, paying attention to the dev's ROM thread's installation instructions; place the ROM on the top-level of your SD card's folder (i.e., /sdcard); it also wouldn't hurt to check the MD5 sum of the ROM you are about to flash to make sure you got the entire, uncorrupted file on your phone before you try to flash it

3. Boot into custom recovery

4. Make a Nandroid backup of your current setup

5. Perform your wipes (I usually do both 'Wipe data/factory reset' and 'Wipe Dalvik-cache')

6. Flash your selected ROM

7. Reboot and enjoy!

Good luck and glad you are up and running again.

Cheers!

 

[JennRN]

Thanks so much for your help. I do have another question regarding Xtrasense. I just don't notice any difference in speed. I also keep getting an error message "The process com.google.process.gapps has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again." I can't connect to the app market but I can connect to internet using Dolphin browser.
I have AppMonster, I was hoping to move my apps to the SD card, which is new. It says they are moved there but I didn't see a increase in my phone's memory. It says it backed up the apps to the SD card but I see my SD card as almost full, except for 2 photos I transferred there.
I'm also using Go Launcher. I like it but would it make a difference to use a different one?

Again thanks for your help. I'm just so happy my phone is up and running again