Root Universal Eris Root for Dummies!

[erisuser1]

Announcing...

[SIZE=+3]Universal Eris Root for Dummies![/SIZE]

You're not dummies, of course.

But if you thought Jcase's spin on the new wag3slav3 rooting method was minimalist, this variation of it should help the fence-sitters and tech-intimidated join the world of Eris root.


- ZERO typing!

- NO SDK Installs!

- NO USB Driver Installs!

- NO Command Lines!

- [SIZE=+1]NO PC NEEDED! A Phone-only Rooting method![/SIZE]


Basically this is just a repackaging of the wag3slav3 method (as modified by jcase) into a form which allows you to do everything from the Eris without using a PC, and without any typing - just tap the Eris' screen in all the right places.

For experts who are already have successfully set up the SDK and USB drivers, and are comfortable with the command line and adb, it is probably faster to just use the manual method. This method was created for the folks who have had trouble with, or are intimidated by, those things. Or, for those times when you want to help someone root their Eris without schlepping a "dev station" to their location.

Credits:

- Amon_RA for the custom recovery which makes the world go round
- wag3slav3 for the "mid.txt" chmod/symlink rooting exploit
- jcase for exploit code de-obfuscation
- rogro82 for the Gscript Lite tool
- cast of thousands for providing good shoulders to stand upon.


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)

edit: please also reference this post http://androidforums.com/eris-all-things-root/127861-universal-eris-root-dummies-20.html#post3839877 for downloading the gscript.zip file; I've also updated the link (as of 8/27/2012) to have a new, alternate download link.

- 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.)


I have organized this walk-through as a picture-book in a couple of posts:

[SIZE=+1]0) Announcement[/SIZE] [SIZE=-2]( this post )[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]1) Setting Things Up with a File Manager[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]2) Rooting with Gscript Lite[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]3) Finishing Up[/SIZE]

These sections follow below in individual posts.


Before you get started, please review this checklist:

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?

2) Did you install from the market the free apps "Gscript Lite" and "EStrongs File Manager"?

3) Did you download the "gscript.zip" file (link above) using the phone's browser?


::Changelog::

2010.07.20 v0.1 Initial Release

2010.07.21 V0.2 Clean up "mid.txt" symlink at completion of part2

 

[erisuser1]

[SIZE=+2]Setting Things Up with a File Manager[/SIZE]

OK, this post is "long but vapid" - it's mostly pictures, in keeping with the "Dummies" theme. Pretty simple stuff for advanced users.

The objective of this post in the thread is to simply to unpack the "gscript.zip" file using a file manager, so that the rooting scripts end up in a folder called "gscript" underneath the root folder of the SD card. This example uses the free app "EStrongs File Explorer".

When we finish this step, we will have four files in place on the SD card like this:

/sdcard/gscript/root_part1.sh
/sdcard/gscript/root_part2.sh
/sdcard/gscript/tools/flash_image
/sdcard/gscript/tools/recovery.img

[SIZE=-1](NOTE: If you are familiar with a different file manager that can move files around and unzip .zip files, feel free to use that, but beware: the zip file must be unpacked so that it's contents end up in the folder "/sdcard/gscript")[/SIZE]

We start with the assumption that you are not using a PC, and have downloaded the gscript.zip file using the web browser on the phone, so that it will be located in the /sdcard/download folder of the SD card.

Launch the Estrongs File Manager (ES File Manager) app; it will look like the screen below (fig. 1)

[ fig. 1 ]

[ fig. 2 ]

[ fig. 3 ]

[ fig. 4 ]

[ fig. 5 ]

[ fig. 6 ]

[ fig. 7 ]

[ fig. 8 ]

[ fig. 9 ]

[ fig. 10 ]

[ fig. 11 ]

[ fig. 12 ]

[ fig. 13 ]

[ fig. 14 ]

[ fig. 15 ]

[ fig. 16 ]

[ fig. 17 ]

[ fig. 18 ]

 

[erisuser1]

[SIZE=+2]Rooting with Gscript Lite[/SIZE]

It turns out that rooting the phone will only take two taps... but a fair number of other "taps" or "long presses" are needed just to get the "Gscript Lite" tool set up to do those two taps.

So, let's get started. Launch the Gscript Lite app.

[ fig. 19 ]

Figure 19 shows the Gscript Lite app after it has been started for the first time. The first thing we want to do is to press the "Menu" softkey on the Eris.

[ fig. 20 ]

In fig. 20, we have pressed the Menu softkey on the Eris; now tap the "Add Script" button.

[ fig. 21 ]

Note that the screen that comes up next is nearly blank. Make sure to uncheck the checkbox labeled "Needs SU?". Clearly, we don't have root yet, so this should be de-selected for both of our scripts - they won't run at all if you leave that option checked.

[ fig. 22 ]

Tap the "Load file" button (fig. 22).

[ fig. 23 ]

If you previously unpacked the "gscript.zip" file in the correct location ( /sdcard/gscript ), you should see our two root scripts listed. If you don't see them listed, you didn't unzip them to the correct location. ( Gscript Lite does not allow you to browse around for files - they must be in that /sdcard/gscript folder. )

Tap on "root_part1.sh"

[ fig. 24 ]

Fig. 24 looks intimidating, but all we are going to do here is tap the "Save" button. Before you do that, though, double check to make sure the "Needs SU?" checkbox is turned off. Do NOT click on the script or edit it in any way - if you are curious what is in it, look at them with a text file viewer, NOT HERE. It is simply asking for trouble for you to use the text widget to scroll around inside that text entry box - there is a good chance you will accidentally break the script. Just make sure that "Needs SU?" checkbox is turned off, and tap the "Save" button.

[ fig. 25 ]

Fig. 25 shows that Gscript Lite now shows that it is aware of the root_part1 script. (Again, note that it does NOT require root - "Needs SU: false")

At this point, please repeat the prior steps (starting with a tap of the Menu softkey, followed by "Add script") to load the second script "root_part2.sh" into Gscript Lite.

[ fig. 26 ]

Just as before, simply tap the "Save" button after checking that "Needs SU?" is de-selected.

[ fig. 27 ]

Good news! We are just about ready to root.
First, we are going to triple-check that "Needs SU?" thing one more time. Inspect your screen; it should look like Fig. 27. Note that both scripts are listed, and they both say "Needs su: false".

[SIZE=+1]CAUTION![/SIZE] If you should make a mistake, you can delete the entries you just performed by LONG PRESSING the affected entry, and selecting the "delete" option from the pop up menu. PLEASE BE AWARE that if you "tap" the script name, rather than LONG PRESSING, the script will execute immediately.

The good news is that these scripts are (surprisingly) almost harmless, and also nearly idempotent - you can re-run them if you have a problem. Also, because of the way that Gscript Lite works, if you delete the entry, you are NOT deleting the file on the SD card.

[ fig. 28 ]

Are you ready to start rooting? Carefully tap the "root_part1" script.

[ fig. 29 ]

Fig 29 shows you what you will see in part one. I added a battery check - please make note of the charge % of your phone in the first line! Note that no ROM flashing takes place in part one, so it is completely safe to perform no matter what the battery state is. On the other hand, DO NOT RUN part2 until you have a good charge on your battery. HTC says 40%, but I'm not comfortable with that - you should have lots and lots of headroom above that - say 70% charge or higher.

Now, power your phone off, and then turn it back on again.

[ fig. 30 ]

After the phone completely reboots, re-start Gscript Lite.

Now we are ready to do part2 of the rooting process - the part that installs the Amon_RA recovery.

Figure 30 reminds you that you merely need to tap on the "root_part2" entry to complete the custom recovery installation.

Once again, I'll remind you: DO NOT RUN part2 until you have a good charge on your battery. Note that there is no "hurry" to do this: there are no race conditions, the rooting process is completely deterministic. Bottom line: you have plenty of time available to you to charge the phone after part1 has run, and you can continue to use your phone normally in the meantime while waiting for it to charge. DO NOT FLASH ROMs WHEN YOUR BATTERY IS NOT WELL CHARGED.

When you are ready, tap the "root_part2" script in the Gscript Lite app to install the Amon_RA recovery.

[ fig. 31 ]

Figure 31 shows you what the display will look like after it completes.

CONGRATULATIONS! You have installed a "custom recovery" (Amon_RA v1.6.2) on the Eris, and you are only two or three steps from having a custom ROM on your phone.

If you see a "clean" display like this, you can proceed to the next steps - using Amon_RA recovery boot. To get there, power your phone off, and then power it back on by pressing and holding Vol-Up & End/Power at the same time.

Hopefully, this is what you will see:

[ fig. 32 ]

 

[erisuser1]

[SIZE=+2]Finishing Up[/SIZE]

In this last step, we are going to do three things:

- Make a Nandroid Backup of your current ROM
- Wipe the Eris to prep for a new ROM install
- Install the new ROM (of your choosing)

You have powered down your phone, and restarted it by simultaneously holding down the Vol-Up & End/Power buttons. YOU NEED TO CONTINUE TO HOLD BOTH OF THEM DOWN UNTIL THE SCREEN LIGHTS UP AND YOU SEE THE 3 SKATEBOARDING DROIDS.***. This starts up the custom recovery you just installed.

***[SIZE=-1]( A number of people have reported that the Vol-Up + End/Power key combination does not boot the custom recovery, but instead just boots the normal phone O/S. If this happens to you, instead, use Vol-Down + End/Power to boot into HBOOT mode, and then press Vol-Up to start the Amon_RA Recovery )[/SIZE]

[ fig. 33 ]

Figure 33 shows the Main menu of the custom recovery (Amon_RA v1.6.2.)

Navigation is performed by using a the trackball, the Vol-Down button, and the End/Power button. In general, these are set up on the Eris as follows:

Trackball Scroll Up/Down -> move up/down in a menu
Trackball Click -> select a new menu or start an action
Vol-Down -> Escape from the pending action, or go up one level in the menu.

Let's start by making the Nandroid Backup.

[ fig. 34 ]

Using the trackball, scroll down to the menu item "Backup/Restore". Click on this menu item with the trackball.

[ fig. 35 ]

Click on "Nand Backup" with the trackball (fig. 35)

[ fig. 36 ]

Amon_RA will ask you to confirm your choice (fig. 36).
Click on the Trackball to confirm.

[ fig. 37 ]

The Nandroid backup will show progress by painting dots along the screen as it works. Please be patient and wait; it will print a message "Backup complete!" when it has finished.

At this point, press the Vol-Down button to escape out of the Backup menu and return back to the main menu (fig. 33)

[ fig. 38 ]

Scroll down with the trackball to the "Wipe" menu item in the main menu (fig. 38), and press the trackball. This will take you
to the Wipe sub-menu shown below.

[ fig. 39 ]

We want to select the first action in the list: "Wipe data/factory reset"

With this item highlighted, click with the trackball.

Amon_RA will ask you to confirm this choice - click with the trackball again to confirm, and wait for the wipe to occur.

When finished, press the Vol-Down button to return to the main menu (fig. 33)


Scroll down in the main menu and click on the 4th item: "Flash zip from sdcard"

[ fig. 40 ]


You will see something similar (not identical) to figure 40 above.

Amon_RA recovery will list every ZIP file it finds in the root of the SD card (Just because it is listed does not mean it works as an update! In particular - PB00IMG.ZIP files can not be installed as "updates").

Scroll Down and Choose the ROM (.zip) file that you transferred to the root folder of your SD card at the beginning of this process. Click with the trackball once, and then click again to confirm and install the ROM.

Be patient! Many ROMs are quite large - 100+ MBytes, and it takes over one minute to flash the complete ROM file.

When the ROM is installed, press the Vol-Down button to return to the main menu.

[ fig. 41 ]

With the Reboot system now entry highlighted, click using the trackball. This will reboot your phone without requiring a second (confirmation) click.



Many ROMs take a number of minutes to completely boot the first time - this is because the Dalvik cache needs to be populated, and some ROMs also perform other one-time, time consuming tasks.

PLEASE BE PATIENT THE FIRST TIME YOUR ROM BOOTS UP! When in doubt, let the phone sit for as much as 20 minutes before you decide that it is "hung". (If you want, you can plug it in to a charger or USB so the battery won't drain further).




[SIZE=+2]Some Final Thoughts[/SIZE]

Providing an "easy to use" rooting method is a bit like cutting the locks off the doors to the local dynamite factory, and setting up a billboard announcing the fact - there's probably gonna be some teenagers who get hurt.

Root privilege gives you the power to create - and also to destroy. The fact that an "easy" path to rooting is available does not mean that no learning needs to take place for you to use root safely. If you start doing things to your phone without understanding, there is a chance you could brick your phone. By reading this sentence, you agree that all further activities with the phone are "on your own head".

I think it is a really good idea to get the engineering bootloader installed on the device (thanks jcase!), as a backstop to accidents that could take out the Amon_RA recovery. I didn't include instructions in this thread because the method currently uses ADB/fastboot with a PC, and I want the instuctions in this thread to only include methods that do not require a PC. (I think it is possible to package it up as an "update.zip"/ROM-style install)

Note that the wag3slav3 method actually "damages" the factory installed recovery partition (by writing 16 bytes to it) - if you perform "part1" of the method, without doing "part2", your phone is actually worse off than if you never did anything at all. If you do "part1", you really should also complete "part2".

This also means that if you use the current method, and then afterwards run "part1" only (for instance, to show a friend) - you might render the Amon_RA custom recovery unbootable. This puts you in a precarious place, especially if something goes wrong with your ROM. It is probably a good idea to remove the scripts in the "/sdcard/gscripts/" folder on your SD card, and also remove the Gscript Lite app from your phone. You have been warned.


enjoy

erisuser1

 

[erisuser1]

reserved for later use

 

[OfTheDamned]

I can't believe this actually became easier. Very nice work from all involved. Nice guide EU1.

 

[Papadroid]

EU1, this looks awesome!! It will definitely help those that either 1) can't get the sdk to work or 2) get confused with the command lines. Once again your work in the community is very much appreciated!

 

[xx_bishop_xx]

Damn bro, that's a killer. Nice.

 

[surgeon0214]

That made my write up look like crap.. thanks. haha jk bro VERY NICE!

 

[erisuser1]

I can't believe this actually became easier. Very nice work from all involved. Nice guide EU1.

Wow!

From post to sticky in 6 minutes!

You are - by far - my favorite vampire on this board

eu1


PS I hope to improve this, but I will be AFK for some activities IRL (fishing in the Sierras) until early next week.

 

[xx_bishop_xx]

It's amazing how far we've come in such a short time. From "no root for leakers" to this. Thanks to all of the trailblazers for the time/knowledge/talent. It seems like just yesterday we were watching a live broadcast of tereg in his v-neck and the "timing step".

Many thanks to all involved, everyone knows it's not easy to develop this stuff. And you did it all for the Eris users/community. Thank you.

 

[kobel1up]

That was awesome. I wish it worked on leak v3 and that I hadn't already rooted. I will pass this along to some of my friends.

 

[scary alien]

+1^infinity! This is awesome! Thank you again, eu1, for all of this!

 

[Frisco]

It works on leak v3, according to ...

Eris w/ any HTC/VZW release (including 1.5, all leaks V1-V3, & root-ROM)


... in the OP.

 

[doogald]

eu, you may want to add a standard disclaimer that people should do this at their own risk, that you won't take responsibility if they brick their device, etc.

 

[DDustiNN]

Incredible post.

 

[alprazolam]

Wow! Amazing work EU1!

 

[erisuser1]

That was awesome. I wish it worked on leak v3 and that I hadn't already rooted. I will pass this along to some of my friends.

It does work on Leak-V3.

I personally tested it on

- 1.5 (1.17.605.1)
- the "root-ROM"
- Leak-V1
- Leak-V3
- OTA-2.1
- OTA-2.1+July OTA

shoot me for not trying it on Leak-V2, but I'm pretty sure it works there too

 

[erisuser1]

eu, you may want to add a standard disclaimer that people should do this at their own risk, that you won't take responsibility if they brick their device, etc.

By reading this sentence, you agree that all further activities with the phone are "on your own head".

LOL.

When you buy a car, the dealer doesn't warn you that you might run over an infant with it.

 

[bjanow]

Only one word comes to mind. "This is an incredible post" ! OK 5 words. I don't know how long it took you to do this but it's a monumental effort. Great work.

 

[Frisco]

..it's a monumental effort..

That very thought came to my mind.

I'm sure it'll be copy-pasted to various forums around.

 

[alprazolam]

I know that this is the root forum and it's where people are supposed to go to learn about root, but I think many people may shy away from it because a) they don't realize that there is now an easy root method or b) they are intimidated. Something like this should be stickied in main Eris forum. Surgeon and I wrote a Mac and PC tutorial...there are always a lot of questions that don't even pertain to the phone. I will be interested to see any roadblocks that people run into with this method. You just follow the pictures!

 

[wpetering]

I can't wait to make my Eris a device I actually want to use (again)!

One question: There was tons of talk about using a SLOW SD card before you rooted. I believe that was during the "old" methods of rooting. Perhaps that is a moot topic now?

 

[erisuser1]

I can't wait to make my Eris a device I actually want to use (again)!

One question: There was tons of talk about using a SLOW SD card before you rooted. I believe that was during the "old" methods of rooting. Perhaps that is a moot topic now?

Correct - that was based on a rooting method that has been abandoned. "Old" in the sense of two or three weeks ago, LOL.

Root away!

 

[kobel1up]

Ok, I rooted my phone with the new version that came out a week ago. For the leakers. I can't get the boot loader engineering thing to work. the "S" is still on. Now am I rooted, or should I do this to finish and get the "S" off. So much info and so many places to find it, I got lost in the process.