[probably stupid question] boot menu - Touch HD Windows Mobile ROM Development

ok, maybe im being stupid but think this should somehow be possible. as this is "kind-of-pc" is there such thing as a multi system boot loader? what i mean is for example i want to be able to install two different roms on two differnt ""partitions" and be able to choos which one to boot when i power on the phone. doable or am i just making up stories?

panjote said:
ok, maybe im being stupid but think this should somehow be possible. as this is "kind-of-pc" is there such thing as a multi system boot loader? what i mean is for example i want to be able to install two different roms on two differnt ""partitions" and be able to choos which one to boot when i power on the phone. doable or am i just making up stories?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was thinking about the same thing the other day actually.. but when it came to posting it i forgot what i was going to post.. hard times..

no, there isn't

why not? is it posible to make one?

Im sure they'd be a way of 'porting' grub to be able to do this?

There was a thread in Development and Hacking section regarding running OS from external storage (e.g. CF or SD), this is the closest to what you are looking for, AFAIK. It's still not working at this time though...
Grub was designed to run on PCs; boot process is completely different for mobile devices. No PC bootloaders are immediately portable.
A heavily patched SPL could probably make it possible to flash multiple OS images at once and choose which one to use at boot time, but this is by all means not a trivial thing and no such SPL is available up until now.
I'd say that multiboot capable SPL may appear for Blackstone once there's a fully working version of Android is available that many people would want to be able to run.

Related

how to flash a new room to an already rooted phone?

Hi
I have flashed my G1 T-mobile following the the one-click process in here! i have now root access. The ROM is CyanogenMod-3.9.11.2
After all that i bought a trascend SDcard 8GB class 6, formatted about 600MB to EXT4 using gparted on a live cd, winxp and my G1.
The first thing i noticed is that the phone is slower to load up. it stays about 35secs on the G1 logo and then move to android for a total of about 1min to be ready.
Second thing my free space on internal memory went from 38MB to 68MB, i believe somehow the phone moved the cache on the sdcard...if i install new programs they get installed on the phone memory as far as i understand...however i could be wrong on this. i never started the phone without sdcard since, I'm not sure if this could damage the phone in some way.
I would like to have some feedback on this (the slow boot and memory thing) if someone has experienced a similar situation.
I'm thinking to flash my phone again and move to a stable version of Cyanogen so that i can use app2Sd and Cyanogen updater!!
- how can i flash a new room, considering that i have the latest radio but not HARDspl. (as far as i understand the oneclick method doesn't change the SPL)
I was looking at using again the small oneclick software and flash the Cyanogen 4.0 this time, would that make sense since i have already root access on the phone?
thank you for the help
kirk
update
After installing and unistalling few softwares i found out that all programs are actually on the SDcard however the Mobile uses still the internal memory for the cache. This doesn't bother me for now since i still have about 68MB free. Basically if you install CyanogenMod and you don't have a partitioned SDcard all software get installed on the internal memory however as soon as you put in an partioned card all programs get transfered automatically after the first boot. At least this is what happen to me. Somehow i got what i wanted and because of this i don't need to flash my phone anymore... maybe I'll flash it again when android 2 is out, if i don't have to change spl, image recovery or anythingelse too risky
I used the 1-click method as well, and I just download the latest cyanogen rom, rename it to update, boot into cm-recovery and apply the update.
One more thing, the latest versions of Cyanogen's rom have auto apps2sd built into the rom. It will automatically move all apps to the sd card as long as you have an ext2/ext3/ext4 partition on your sd card.
Your still going to have the same boot time. It's still going to take awhile to boot, just because you have a custom rom doesn't mean it will boot faster. And to load a new rom either rename to update.zip and update or if you have the newest recovery then you can just flash whatever rom without renaming because you can flash any .zip file.
In reading your post I think you said you wanted to use the small 1 click software to download cm4.0 You are done rooting your phone you no longer need to use the 1 click software.
Just copy new rom (cm4.0.4) to sd card
unplug phone from computer
turn off phone
boot into recovery (home and power at the same time)
flash new rom
when you use one root, it flashes cm-recovery 1.4 so there is no need to rename, just put on the root of your sd and flash from recovery
supremeteam256 said:
Your still going to have the same boot time. It's still going to take awhile to boot, just because you have a custom rom doesn't mean it will boot faster. And to load a new rom either rename to update.zip and update or if you have the newest recovery then you can just flash whatever rom without renaming because you can flash any .zip file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you aware of any reason for the slow boot after partition of the sdcard??
is it the stock 1GB sdcard?
Cause it has to read from the sd during boot up and it has to run the script for the apps2sd
Fingerlickin said:
is it the stock 1GB sdcard?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no is a transcend 8GB class 6.
gridlock32404 said:
Cause it has to read from the sd during boot up and it has to run the script for the apps2sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as i know i'm not using app2sd yet. I partitioned my SDcard ONLY after i flashed my phone. however like i said i think the phone is somehow using the ext4 partition for something.
You reckon this would be a normal boot time i mean it takes between 50secs and 1.05 min to be ready. Phone is stable as far as i can tell.
I myself am not concerned with the boot time, the ext4 is another filesystem that it has to read and recongize, you basicly have a little mini computer in your hands so how long does your pc take to load up, there are many files and system checks that it has to go through starting up not to mention all the settings and components it has to turn on
Bottom line, if you want something to boot up quickly than get a basic phone because there is a very good way to speed up a mini computer to do the same
gridlock32404 said:
I myself am not concerned with the boot time, the ext4 is another filesystem that it has to read and recongize, you basicly have a little mini computer in your hands so how long does your pc take to load up, there are many files and system checks that it has to go through starting up not to mention all the settings and components it has to turn on
Bottom line, if you want something to boot up quickly than get a basic phone because there is a very good way to speed up a mini computer to do the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well i'm aware of all this and i'm not concerned too much about the boot time. I'm only trying to gather information and learn a bit more from other ppl experiences. I come from windows mobile and android OS is all new world for me.
have you a similar configuration to my G1? Do you run app2sd? is yor boot time similar to mine??
maybeoneday said:
Just copy new rom (cm4.0.4) to sd card
unplug phone from computer
turn off phone
boot into recovery (home and power at the same time)
flash new rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a quick question for future reference...
do i need to put Cyanogen recovery image on the root of the sd card when i boot into recovery mode?
thank you
Kirk
Why did you root your phone? You have no desire to search to even do one of the most well documented things to your phone in these forums. What you need to do is take a DREAIMG.nbh file and put it in the root of your sdcard (or in no folders), then open up terminal emulator and type su then reboot bootloader once that happens wait for it to flash that image. Then you will have the most pimping room on your phone. Also you have amazing boot times. Everything you want.
david1171 said:
Why did you root your phone? You have no desire to search to even do one of the most well documented things to your phone in these forums. What you need to do is take a DREAIMG.nbh file and put it in the root of your sdcard (or in no folders), then open up terminal emulator and type su then reboot bootloader once that happens wait for it to flash that image. Then you will have the most pimping room on your phone. Also you have amazing boot times. Everything you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi David
I had specific reason to root 2 different G1 and this is not to play with it or try a new ROM or even experiment new things. I may change my ROM again when a major relase is out (i.e. Android 2 if it has something that i need)
Going back to reflashing the phone.
You now suggest me to use DREAIMG.nbh which is actually mentioned on the guide "hoe to downgrade-root-flash your phone" here
....am I missing something here?? thank you for taking the time to reply anyway.
..I have read quite a bit on this forum and i decided to use the one-click method (because is the quickest and safiest one). I thought reflashing should be as easy. go in safe mode wipe and reflash it. Anyway for my nature i tend to ask/investigate one thing before go and actually do it. My questions are:
- if i press home power right now, considering that i have nothing on my sdcard would it take me to the safemode screen?
- Consequently do i need to have Cyanogen image revovery together with the ROM on my sd card in order to flash a new version of CyanogenMod?
Thank you
Kirk
you can boot into recovery at any time by pressing home and power when the phone is powered down. it will go into recovery no matter what is on the sdcard.
Also the recovery image you have on your phone does not determine what rom you can flash.
wow... i am at a loss for words...... do you even know why you did any of the things you did? did you even read the release notes for cyan's rom's? ALL OF THE ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS ARE THERE...
if you have an ext partition on your sd card....it WILL AUTOMATICALLY be used for apps2sd with 80%-90% of the ROM's out there today... ITS IN ALL OF THE ROMS' CHANGE LOGS/RELEASE NOTES
I had specific reason to root 2 different G1 and this is not to play with it or try a new ROM or even experiment new things. I may change my ROM again when a major relase is out (i.e. Android 2 if it has something that i need)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you didnt root to try a new rom or experiment with new things, your better off with the stock firmware...which is why david suggested you flash DREAIMG.nbh
go in safe mode wipe and reflash it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
going into safemode wont flash anything.... i suggest you search and find out what exactly safemode is, especially since there was a thread only a few threads below yours detailing it.
All you need to flash a new ROM is the rom on your sd card and a working recovery, as well as anything that the ROM your installing has required which are noted in the changelog/release notes....
nothing else is needed on your SD card, except maybe specific partitioning, which will be noted in the ROM's requirements.
I try to help out here as much as i can when i have time (most of my posts are in Q&A helping out people) but it seems as though no one even bothers to look at the actual forums anymore. They just create an account, create a thread, bug people till a simple question is answered, and disappear forever.....
I came to this site simply to get roms, but i stayed because there was so much to learn and i created an account to help out people as well...i did all of my major modifications without asking any questions....all the questions are already answered somewhere...
i understand its hard to go through all the clutter, but it is starting to look as if no one even cares anymore
@B-man007 i am starting to feel like you do, i had my phone rooted and all that good stuff at least a month before i made an account just to download something uploaded to the forum. I wish i could see how many post i have in a ceratin forum bc i imagine at least 450 or 500 of them would be in this one helping people. Its getting to the point where i no longer care to help people and i thought i had a lot of patience. I porbably do but people are sinking to new lows with the questions they ask...
I think I have maybe 5 posts in dev, most of my posts are q&a and general, but then again half of those posts are from hijacking threads. I just got tired of answering the same questions over and over and over
gridlock32404 said:
I think I have maybe 5 posts in dev, most of my posts are q&a and general, but then again half of those posts are from hijacking threads. I just got tired of answering the same questions over and over and over
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u hijack the hell outa threads. there should some type of entrance exam for xda. like do u know how to search, can u read do u have a brain. i mean god i actually helped a guy who couldnt open the terminal

Trying ot get andriod on a phone for a friend...

After munging about in the forums, lurking and trying to absorb your knowledge, I'm still mysified by how to non-destructively put android on my friend's phone.
It's ether I can't find the files/the info is outdated, or it simply doesn't work.
Here is the skinny -
I own a reflashed and rooted Motorola droid, so flashing a phone isn't that much of a mystery to me.
My friend has a U.S. Vogue CDMA, however it is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL that we do not touch the nand. He uses it for development and has a few hundred dollars in apps that he has purchased for WiMo. We would like a stright boot directly from the flash card.
SO I guess, here is a run down of what I'm looking for
What files do I need to boot 2.1 off of a flash card? A file manifest with a decent description of what the files do would be helpful. I'll give an example..
Step one:
If you do not have dzo's latest nbh get it from here:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think that sentence is in English. I just can't parse it. What is an nbh and what does it do. Is it a bootloader? What is it's payload? Now this is from the tutorial to flash the nand, which is not what I want to do, but it's giving an example of what I'm finding.
I'm under the instructions of "you can put android on my phone, just don't screw anything up", so clear and full explanations would be very helpful...
Any particular reason why you guys just don't package this? On my droid, the whole OS is on a simple update.zip file I have to run with a loader. Are not at that point yet?
There are plenty of guides for installing and running android from the sd card.
Just like on your 'droid' forums all you have to do is search
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=5579562&postcount=15
And as for packaged compared to the update.zip's you use. It's apples and oranges man
You need to be looking at this post. There isn't a way to boot straight to Android on the Vogue without nuking your WinMo installation.
To install 2.1, you're going to need "haretinstall.zip" and "zImage-eclair" from the Sourceforge page linked in that post. Unzip haretinstall.aip to /sdcard/andboot and replace zImage with zImage-eclair.
Still at Sourceforge, you need to go down to the "2010-01-29" folder and download "eclair.zip". This should contain a file called "androidinstall.tar". Put that file in the andboot folder, but don't extract it. After this, you should be able to follow the instructions I linked.
Any particular reason why you guys just don't package this? On my droid, the whole OS is on a simple update.zip file I have to run with a loader. Are not at that point yet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is pretty much all you're doing - you just have to jump through a few hoops to get the loader installed since this phone came out about a year before Android was even announced.
Also, make sure he's not expecting this to work perfectly or be super-fast. Bluetooth doesn't fully work with Eclair yet and the Vogue is working with about 1/4th the processing power of the Droid and N1.
you can use y gen dual boot to bring you up to a nice gui to pick what u want to boot into on reset if you would like. Almost like a boot loader. Get it here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=623792

development to get around all the security in 4x

Lets see if we can get
- Locked bootloader
- Custom rom security issues
and maybe other security related problems in one development thread and how we make apps to get around this
I take the lead for now, since i started testing custom roms (JellyBean) right now.
and the DRM check at bootup is important to get around, otherwise we end up, having to restore a v10 image again and again, too often.
i suspect that it can be done using a bind folder. but lets see where this takes us.
just update with other issues seen.
Dexter_nlb said:
Lets see if we can get
- Locked bootloader
- Custom rom security issues
and maybe other security related problems in one development thread and how we make apps to get around this
I take the lead for now, since i started testing custom roms (JellyBean) right now.
and the DRM check at bootup is important to get around, otherwise we end up, having to restore a v10 image again and again, too often.
i suspect that it can be done using a bind folder. but lets see where this takes us.
just update with other issues seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds little bit like Chinese for me but hope you can get a break through and goodluck for all who trying to make it for us an even great phone
ok, i have had my jellybean semi running and oneX rom running, both not very functional, as most hardware did not work well.
the lgdrmserver kept crashing on me as well, but probably less important.
the solution i made was the early boot used the original libraries from /lib from and vendor/lib , so i simply mapped the 2 files in /lib with a symlink to the /system/drm folder and ran the wallpaper binary and it worked fine.
secondly changed a vold binary to be a little script, that
1: bind'd new libraries for drm in drm2 folder (mount -obind drm2 drm) so the new booting os would get related files.
2: start vold
and the workaround seemed to do just fine for the drm security check.
IF it fails during regular boot if you unintentionally copied over the files, do not worry. booting into safe mode (keep VOL UP pressed and press power) you can connect with a shell and bypass the check, and fix your failure and reboot.
Hi
Is DRM checking forced from kernel?
Can we live without it?
no, its called from init.d
Dexter_nlb said:
Lets see if we can get
- Locked bootloader
- Custom rom security issues
and maybe other security related problems in one development thread and how we make apps to get around this
I take the lead for now, since i started testing custom roms (JellyBean) right now.
and the DRM check at bootup is important to get around, otherwise we end up, having to restore a v10 image again and again, too often.
i suspect that it can be done using a bind folder. but lets see where this takes us.
just update with other issues seen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is allways exciting to see people like you fellow.
Curious, courageous, openminded, wise and most of all doing all without expecting anything.
Success on your way..:good:
Dexter_nlb, You're a hero :good:
When will be released some beta?
since we have root, shouldnt init.d be accessable and easily modifyable?
The Troll said:
since we have root, shouldnt init.d be accessable and easily modifyable?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its part of the boot.img (ramdisk), so not really, but the 2nd-init makes it possible to make a new ramdisk and start it. but its only ramdisk, not the kernel, which remains static.
downgrade mode?
sorry, im a htc user thinking of buying this phone.. *since s3 isn't tegra, not thd games and one x kinda sucks with the lack of sd card and stuff..*
but htc has a dorwngrade mode.. 2 exposed connectors close to the camera.. short circuit them to access downgrade mode.. and then flashable though linux..
if im right, that should give u open access to bootloader..
evo 3d cdma used this method to get s-off.. as in bootloader unlocked and accessable with all write restrictions removed on all partitions..
oh forgot to meantion, this can brick ur device.. actually downgrade mode itself is a bricking method.. so i'd be careful *assuming this method is true for gs as well*
The Troll said:
downgrade mode?
sorry, im a htc user thinking of buying this phone.. *since s3 isn't tegra, not thd games and one x kinda sucks with the lack of sd card and stuff..*
but htc has a dorwngrade mode.. 2 exposed connectors close to the camera.. short circuit them to access downgrade mode.. and then flashable though linux..
if im right, that should give u open access to bootloader..
evo 3d cdma used this method to get s-off.. as in bootloader unlocked and accessable with all write restrictions removed on all partitions..
oh forgot to meantion, this can brick ur device.. actually downgrade mode itself is a bricking method.. so i'd be careful *assuming this method is true for gs as well*
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nah, we haven't nothing to lose... someone should try it
The Troll said:
but htc has a dorwngrade mode.. 2 exposed connectors close to the camera.. short circuit them to access downgrade mode.. and then flashable though linux..
if im right, that should give u open access to bootloader..
evo 3d cdma used this method to get s-off.. as in bootloader unlocked and accessable with all write restrictions removed on all partitions..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i believe you reference a different hardware platform not Nvidia based. o4x is nvidia tegra3 and different from omap and other platforms security wise.
can you link to the tegra fuse , you reference here? (fuse is a connector which will break the firmware open and full access granted, but can also cause firmware to not load, since fuse is broken)
reas0n said:
nah, we haven't nothing to lose... someone should try it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
flash image GUI..
someone rooted should try that first..
also, unlimited.io <--- website.. for details of the downgrade mode trick..
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1547695
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1491107
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1563342
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1627917
the basic idea of this is 2 connectors close to the camera.. short circuit them to switch the phone to downgrade mode *QHSUSB_DLOAD*.. bricking the device and mounting all partitions as read and writable.. then using linux to find the right partition to flash/dump the hboot *the bootloader*
at the end, if it uses fastboot/adb, i dun think this will be too different from the evo 3d..
try it.. but dont say i didnt warn you..
im not sure its a fuse, its more of a reset?
also, i dont exactly have the phone *yet* so i cant tell..
but for the 3d, its exposed.. 2 holes in the back under the cover, next to the camera..
http://unlimited.io/juopunutbear-public-beta-0-1/instructions/evo-3d-cdma-shooter/
or you can find a schematic of the phone itself..
if you dont mind me asking, whats the reason for the lack of devs?
this is an excellent phone..
is it the extreme security?
iphone got a jailbreak too :/
ok, this is a QUALCOMM solution, not for our tegra3 based platform
Dexter_nlb said:
ok, this is a QUALCOMM solution, not for our tegra3 based platform
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
how did one x get the kernels running?
**edit.. nvm.. htcdev.. forgot..
Hope you guys can pass by all that anoyeingsecurity. Would like to buy that phone but without real controll over the hardware aand custom rom community i would seariously reconsider buying it...
Dexter, the One X solution is for Tegra3 devices. The QUALCOMM-Device is called HTC One XL. So if the chipset is nearly the same, there must be a solution? If I could code anything, I would. But I cannot
Hilmy said:
Hope you guys can pass by all that anoyeingsecurity. Would like to buy that phone but without real controll over the hardware aand custom rom community i would seariously reconsider buying it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Instead of trying to bypass, people should be asking LG for an unlock mechanism. I've been talking to them about this for over half a year, and today they still feel there is no demand for it (unlock tools)
Show of hands: How many people here have actually e-mailed LG asking for an unlock procedure, for this or any other of the current locked generation?
aremcee said:
Instead of trying to bypass, people should be asking LG for an unlock mechanism. I've been talking to them about this for over half a year, and today they still feel there is no demand for it (unlock tools)
Show of hands: How many people here have actually e-mailed LG asking for an unlock procedure, for this or any other of the current locked generation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
do you have the mail address we can use? then we can engage a mailrobot to send them 10000s of mails regarding the unlocker, and maybe they will follow asus and motorola/google on this one.
Dexter_nlb said:
do you have the mail address we can use? then we can engage a mailrobot to send them 10000s of mails regarding the unlocker, and maybe they will follow asus and motorola/google on this one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd rather not forewarn them by asking for a contact for this
My personal opinion: a mailrobot would be a bad idea, they'd just filter it out. Actual users, with actual devices (serial numbers in the message and all that) would carry much more weight than just generic "gimme". From experience... petitions don't work, either, unless they hit visible news outlets;
My suggestion would be to hit a support contact, consistently (instead of dispersing the message to random contacts); most companies will escalate any issue given enough occurrences of it. On the other hand, I can't find contacts besides the country-specific ones at http://www.lg.com/global/supports/service-sites.jsp ...

Newbie here with newbie questions

I come from the Samsung world. My SGS3 became physically non functional (broke screen including digitizer & LCD), so I bought a DROID Bionic off eBay to hold me over until contract renewal/upgrade time. It has the latest update on it.
I've been reading various threads and trying to figure out this new world, but I'm still a little confused. Or maybe just unsure of a few things and not sure what is still relevant information. A lot of the guide and how-to posts assume a knowledge of terminology that I don't have yet. I understand the concept of booting from different "slots" I SafeStrap, but I'm unsure quite how to get there.
Is Root required before installing SafeStrap?
Is the Motoshare method of rooting still the way to root? http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/16518-root-motoshare-2-old-bug-new-exploit/
Is that any different from Easy Root? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2256439
What is House Of Moto? I found instructions for installing it, but I still don't know what it is.
Once I have SafeStrap and a custom rom in one of the slots, will I be able to boot automatically from the rom of my choice? Or will I have to choose it from a boot menu each reboot?
I'll probably have more stupid questions.
HeathicusF said:
Is Root required before installing SafeStrap?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you need root to install SafeStrap.
Is the Motoshare method of rooting still the way to root? http://www.droidrzr.com/index.php/topic/16518-root-motoshare-2-old-bug-new-exploit/
Is that any different from Easy Root? http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2256439
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Motoshare doesn't work on Windows. That "Easy Root" is just a small Linux virtual machine with Motoshare for those who are running Windows. There is also Safe Root, which works on a variety of devices up to Android 4.3, including the Bionic.
What is House Of Moto? I found instructions for installing it, but I still don't know what it is.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a collection of tools, though as far as I know the only useful one on it for the Bionic is the one for restoring your phone firmware without clearing your data if you mess something up.
Once I have SafeStrap and a custom rom in one of the slots, will I be able to boot automatically from the rom of my choice? Or will I have to choose it from a boot menu each reboot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you can pick which system to boot up by default, stock or one of the slots. You do need to go back into SafeStrap to change the current slot if you want to boot a different one - it doesn't give you a choice during boot.
ShadyDreamer said:
Yes, you can pick which system to boot up by default, stock or one of the slots. You do need to go back into SafeStrap to change the current slot if you want to boot a different one - it doesn't give you a choice during boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Slight nitpick. At boot Safestrap gives you a 10 second window where you can hit a key to boot into safestrap instead of the "default" boot ROM. (or you can hit a key to boot the ROM without the wait)
kschang said:
Slight nitpick. At boot Safestrap gives you a 10 second window where you can hit a key to boot into safestrap instead of the "default" boot ROM. (or you can hit a key to boot the ROM without the wait)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, you have to boot into Safestrap to change which will boot; it does not give you a choice to boot a different installed ROM during boot without waiting for Safestrap recovery to boot, changing which slot to boot, then rebooting - which was my point. I didn't mean that it doesn't give you any choices at all, just not a choice of which ROM slot during boot.

Delete all files and re-partition all?

If you ever had loaded into recovery in temporary TWRP you'll note that even after formating /data/ and doing an advance wipe (selecting everything), then enter the file manager there is still a bunch of folders and some files throughout your device.
Is there a way to wipe out everything and start completely 100% fresh?
DO NOT DO THIS --- OR --- DO but do not cry about it
I have an answer to my question and it is as I suspected. The short and more official answer is, no. The longer answer is, yes, technically. -- But you should not try it unless you are 100% sure you can live without your phone (forever).
As it turns out no one had a full 100% flash for the whole device and its complete file system structure (except for Motorola). But as it turns out without a manufacturing cable it would be useless anyway. This is because part of your phone is protected and cannot be wiped clean and flashed so blindly... ie... Unlike your desktop computer. But if you're like me you have noticed some orphan files (a few logs).
Is it worth taking the risk just to clear some orphan files? Probably not. But since you do not have a manufacturing cable and technically, your phone can recover, what you can do is the following.
Do NOT use the TWRP installed on your phone. Rather use it in memory
Code:
sudo fastboot boot twrp-3.3.1-0-payton.img
Load TWRP and format DATA
Reboot, go to advance wipe, wipe everything.
Reboot to TWRP (again)
In TWRP via the terminal type in
HTML:
rm -r -f *
You will see a lot of things that cannot be deleted. This is because you do not have permission to do so. What little is removed will likely be restored after reboot from the master rom hidden somewhere on your phone which cannot be played with unless you have a manufacturing cable (so I am told). ---- If you have such a cable --- DO NOT DO THIS. --- If you suspect you have such a cable --- Do NOT do this. -- I did this with just my normal charging cable.
After you have run the command which will take forever. Tell TWRP to reboot to bootloader. You will now have a BLACK screen. This is where I panicked. I waited a while and long pressed down the power button (presumably turning off my device). Then I pressed down the power button and the lower volume button. -- Keep holding the buttons. -- It will take longer than you like but your phone will boot up. And low and behold everything that was in the master rom (chip?) has been restored and you will now see the bootloader screen (finally). Load TWRP and install your ROM of choice.
How many times have I done this successfully? 2x
Does this mean this is dependable? Unlikely
Do I recommend this? No.
Should you depend on this? No.
Are you taking a large gable? YES
Can this brick your device? YES, more than likely.
Should you do this if you have any doubts? NO.
Will you get any help if this goes wrong? NO.
So why did I do it? As I look to possibly upgrade my phone in the future I feel a little more daring and can afford to do so. lol
you say "yes, technically", but I have yet to see someone get back to a fully operational stock. The best they can do is get to a mostly operational custom ROM. I (and a bunch of other folks here) would love to be proven wrong.
KrisM22 said:
you say "yes, technically", but I have yet to see someone get back to a fully operational stock. The best they can do is get to a mostly operational custom ROM. I (and a bunch of other folks here) would love to be proven wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After performing this I installed only the official firmware. No additional ROM or GSI. The firmware itself includes the stock software.
A word of caution. --- I did this on 3 phones now. 2 work just fine. But 1 does not. The one that does not reports my IMEI as 0. This means it boots, it loads, it will play games and apps and update via Google Play Store, but it will never make a single phone call ever again. --- Food for thought.
Thanks. That got me thinking - I wonder if you took the one with no IMEI and plugged it to Moto's Smart Assistant, would it recognize it? Would it allow you to force flash it?
KrisM22 said:
Thanks. That got me thinking - I wonder if you took the one with no IMEI and plugged it to Moto's Smart Assistant, would it recognize it? Would it allow you to force flash it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The world will never know. lol --- I'm a Linux user and their app doesn't seem to like Wine. I suppose I could set up a virtual machine with Windows and hope to connect through that. But I was once informed you really cannot do that via a virtual machine. Unless I was misinformed?! In any case, flashing the phone is not a problem. I can wipe it and reinstall any ROM or GSI at the moment. Or I can repeat my process too back to stock under a full wipe. The results appear to be the same.
I already have ordered a cheap Moto G7 from Google as a replacement. My current plan will be to find a very light (small), bare-bones ROM / GSI and install it onto this Moto X4. From there I'll load it up with games and such and let the kids play with it. Figure since it cannot make or receive calls anymore (or text messages either) it will make for a fun little toy.
MotoX4 said:
The world will never know. lol --- I'm a Linux user and their app doesn't seem to like Wine. I suppose I could set up a virtual machine with Windows and hope to connect through that. But I was once informed you really cannot do that via a virtual machine. Unless I was misinformed?! In any case, flashing the phone is not a problem. I can wipe it and reinstall any ROM or GSI at the moment. Or I can repeat my process too back to stock under a full wipe. The results appear to be the same.
I already have ordered a cheap Moto G7 from Google as a replacement. My current plan will be to find a very light (small), bare-bones ROM / GSI and install it onto this Moto X4. From there I'll load it up with games and such and let the kids play with it. Figure since it cannot make or receive calls anymore (or text messages either) it will make for a fun little toy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Yeah, in the past I have been a lot on Ubuntu and stuff like this is not forgiving for wine.
It's a darn shame that we can't just send these phones to Moto with $25 and get it fixed. Oh well!
KrisM22 said:
Thanks. That got me thinking - I wonder if you took the one with no IMEI and plugged it to Moto's Smart Assistant, would it recognize it? Would it allow you to force flash it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moto smart assistant can`t recognize the phone in rescue mode..
St.Noigel said:
Moto smart assistant can`t recognize the phone in rescue mode..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it can't on yours, and most folks with this prob. I was wondering about MotoX4's case. But thanks for trying it!
I had high hopes for that smart assistant when I discovered it, but no joy. When we lost RSDlite, we lost a lot - unless they upgrade it...
KrisM22 said:
I know it can't on yours, and most folks with this prob. I was wondering about MotoX4's case. But thanks for trying it!
I had high hopes for that smart assistant when I discovered it, but no joy. When we lost RSDlite, we lost a lot - unless they upgrade it...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
RSDlite? Lost? Is this what you seek? https://rsdlitetool.com/
MotoX4 said:
RSDlite? Lost? Is this what you seek? https://rsdlitetool.com/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
6.2.4 won't recognize a Moto X4 after it is upgraded to Pie.
I used RSDLite since the times of the P2K and MAGX (Linux)... but since it's easier to use fastboot commands...
I have a stock X4 Android One around, if I want to flash Pixel Experience, can I go back to stock in the future?
joel_sinbad said:
...snip...
I have a stock X4 Android One around, if I want to flash Pixel Experience, can I go back to stock in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In all probability, NO.
Then I'm gonna stay on Stock Rom, so... If I want to flash custom Roms, there's not way back...
joel_sinbad said:
Then I'm gonna stay on Stock Rom, so... If I want to flash custom Roms, there's not way back...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you read a lot on this forum, that's the message I see.
I agree, NO going back. You can, I have... flash any factory Pie rom . All will flash fine and no IMEI, wifi. Radios are gone. I use Google Fi and cell data services go wierd on custom roms, if you want carrier switching.
This makes me think that the Moto X4 is more dangerous than the back then Atrix 4G with their Tegra 2 chipset...
joel_sinbad said:
This makes me think that the Moto X4 is more dangerous than the back then Atrix 4G with their Tegra 2 chipset...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't recall thinking that the Moto Atrix 4g was at all dangerous when I had one - a rather nice phone imho, though that was a very long time ago. I don't think of the Moto X4 as "dangerous" - it is simply that there is not a correct understanding of the Pie file structure by the custom ROM devs such that their ROMs would not so change the file structure of the phone as to prevent it from being flashed back to stock.
Users need to recognize that, with this phone, you can't get back to stock if you flash any custom ROM.
afaik.
This change happened with the file structure and boot structure changes of the Pie update. Prior to that, folks could get away with all manner of mods. Devs for this phone need to approach modifications with the idea of assuring that any mod can be flashed back to stock, BEFORE it is released. That has not happened. And likely won't. User beware!
KrisM22..... Thank you for stating what I could not do as well.
kkjb said:
KrisM22..... Thank you for stating what I could not do as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
we ALL do it, and CAN do it - all in hopes of saving some newbie from disaster!

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