Database Develop

Unmodified gTabs

Not only am I a newbie, but I am also a timid newbie. I am reluctant to mess around with the stock software, and OS that came with my gTab. Most of the great apps, and advice on this site requires you to either flash the tablet, or root the device, etc. I am WAY too chicken to try this. I would love to be able to get to the usual Market as I can on my phone. I would also like to use Swype. Is there any way to "open" up the tablet to these without "major" surgery? I think a list of apps that can be manually installed would be helpful to inexperienced "chickens" like me. Or any add ons, that might improve our new baby would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Search is a wonderful thing, everyone should try it...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858136
Warning, if you stick stock you may end up returning it
Flashing a room is not difficult if you read/search/research.

copc said:
Search is a wonderful thing, everyone should try it...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=858136
Warning, if you stick stock you may end up returning it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't be ridiculous, it is fine with a few tweaks.
Flashing a room is not difficult if you read/search/research.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is like buying a brand new car, and then replacing the engine. Fine for some, but really not necessary.
Reggie777: I am going to apply the newest update to my stock g-tablet. This usually wipes out all user changes, including installed apps. I will actually follow my own post about doing the changes. I can't remember everything!

wasserkapf said:
Don't be ridiculous, it is fine with a few tweaks.
That is like buying a brand new car, and then replacing the engine. Fine for some, but really not necessary.
Reggie777: I am going to apply the newest update to my stock g-tablet. This usually wipes out all user changes, including installed apps. I will actually follow my own post about doing the changes. I can't remember everything!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny I had to pull nothing out of my gtab? LOL
Why would I pull the Tegra out just to flash a rom?
PS there is a reason that thread was on page 3 as there are fewer that are not flashing roms.
Plus the original point was that the "SEARCH" was a wonderful thing.

wasserkapf said:
Reggie777: I am going to apply the newest update to my stock g-tablet. This usually wipes out all user changes, including installed apps. I will actually follow my own post about doing the changes. I can't remember everything!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just did the 1.0.1-3053 update, and it appears all previous changes remained. I did have to re-root it with the z4root app. Those complaining of problems after this update seem to be running a customized ROM. You won't have these problems unless you flash a customized ROM.

wasserkapf said:
Don't be ridiculous, it is fine with a few tweaks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This whole argument is ridiculous. Not a single rom has done a single thing to the underlying "Stock" structure. They are all based from the original "Stock" stuff. The only thing they do is either add or subtract from the original base software.
There is no magic here. If you buy a new car and put shiny new wheels on it you have done the same thing. The car still has the stock engine, and basic structure. If you bought a house that was painted pink and didn't like how it looked you might paint it. Same house, just a new look.
So, your stock with tweaks is essentially the same as my stock with tweaks. I just choose to install the majority of the tweaks at one time with a simple rom update. You do yours one by one..
I don't care what anyone does with there tablet as long as you don't use it to start World War III. But the my mods are better than your mods argument is kind of silly.
Do whatever makes you happy. All I can say is that pretty much no matter what you do it can be put back to original in about 5 minutes. Boot loops, hangs, funky looking screens.. All part of the learning process. Some people seem to be more prone to it. Most of the issues I see people have come from them getting in a big hurry, not thoroughly reading the instructions given with almost every mod, and then flashing away. Slow down, read, and understand what you are doing and it will all typically go just fine.

Sprdtyf350 said:
This whole argument is ridiculous. Not a single rom has done a single thing to the underlying "Stock" structure. They are all based from the original "Stock" stuff. The only thing they do is either add or subtract from the original base software.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not true.
Some of the mods are based on the zpad image, a completely different image than the g-tablet. My only objection is people saying flashing custom ROMS is a must. That is nonsense, and I will say so every time I see someone post that.
The more updates that ViewSonic put out, it seems the fewer "tweaks" that will be needed.

Can we keep the trolling to World of Warcraft?
There are minor to major changes that can be done ROM wise. What is important IMHO is to give choices to someone that is just starting.
I have the impression the op would like TnTLite version vs Vega or Cyanogen or even ZPad.
I did start like you... almost happy with stock. But the more basic things I needed I noticed the original TnT wasn't good enough. I have changed to TnTLite myself and couldn't be happier.
Just check that thread. Its one stop and change.
Good luck

Bingo! Choice is king, if you don't like the choice you choose go back to stock. But atleast show all your choices, we are not all wanting the same build, hence we are not talking IPADS.

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I gather that rooting the gTab is not such a big deal after all? I had started with the impression that rooting and flashing the rom were similar, and equally "dangerous". I DID find the thread that copc referred me to after my starting this thread. We all have to start somewhere as newbies. Thanks too to Wasserkapf for his help.

Rooting will still allow you to get all VS updates. Same with doing the Market install.
Flashing a ROM can be scary, especially if you have lots of stuff on your tablet. I found that investing in Titanium Backup (requires root) was a great idea. I do a full backup every time I flash my ROM and restore apps and data afterwards; I have never lost data nor settings.
If you decide to flash TnT Lite or VEGAn (which is coming along nicely and really brings the tablet to life IMO), there are not only many posts but many friendly folks who are here to help you out.
I am very happy with my G Tablet and this community has been immeasurably helpful in making it so useful.
-=Sent from my ViewSonic G Tablet (VEGAn) using Tapatalk=-

Reggie777 said:
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. I gather that rooting the gTab is not such a big deal after all? I had started with the impression that rooting and flashing the rom were similar, and equally "dangerous". I DID find the thread that copc referred me to after my starting this thread. We all have to start somewhere as newbies. Thanks too to Wasserkapf for his help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly we all start as newbies, and it's places like this that are great help.

Good News, everyone. I used z4root, and was able to root my gTab. I also was able to install Launcher Pro, so that now when I turn it on, I get the option of going to the old familiar Android layout as on my Droid. Thanks for the encouragement from you'all. The sky did not fall. Yeah!
I do have some questions, though.
1. If I accidentally load in the TapnTap home screen, I cannot get back to the launcher pro. I cannot find it on the tablet to run it. I can find the apk and it offers to install it again. So, can anyone tell me where it is hidden?
2. I downloaded the vendors apk in an attempt to get the old android market place as on my phone. But it will not install. I am sure I am doing something wrong.
3. There are some icons to the right, the web, messages, and the phone. Is there a way to remove the ones that do not work? Only the web works. I understand that the phone would not, and even the messages. But how can I remove them?
Again, thanks for the moral support and encouragement. I still find the structure of the tablet confusing. Internal SD, external SD, root, etc. Anyone out there with the technical know how could make quite a few dollars by writing a book explaining the wonders, procedures, and pitfalls of our new tablet.

Reggie777 said:
Good News, everyone. I used z4root, and was able to root my gTab. I also was able to install Launcher Pro, so that now when I turn it on, I get the option of going to the old familiar Android layout as on my Droid. Thanks for the encouragement from you'all. The sky did not fall. Yeah!
I do have some questions, though.
1. If I accidentally load in the TapnTap home screen, I cannot get back to the launcher pro. I cannot find it on the tablet to run it. I can find the apk and it offers to install it again. So, can anyone tell me where it is hidden?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On my tablet, just hitting the Home icon in the upper-right corner will do that. It is the second one from the top, on the bezel of the screen.
2. I downloaded the vendors apk in an attempt to get the old android market place as on my phone. But it will not install. I am sure I am doing something wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is the second thing on my list of tweaks. You need to download and install several files. Please follow the instructions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=827209
3. There are some icons to the right, the web, messages, and the phone. Is there a way to remove the ones that do not work? Only the web works. I understand that the phone would not, and even the messages. But how can I remove them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should be able to drop a different icon, from the main screen 'Desktop' on top of it, essentially replacing it. To get different icons on the main screen, open the app drawer, and tap and hold an icon. To remove it from the main screen, tap and hold, and move it to the trash can on the right.

I got as far as downloading the zip file, unzipping it. But I am not sure what "mount as R/W" means. I am also not up on the structure of the storage of the Gtablet, and my computer sees .android_secure, Android, Backgrounds, backups, DCIM, download, and Lost.Dir. As a result, I am not sure where to copy the new files to. I moved the unzipped file to the download folder on the tablet. But I am not sure where to go from here. Being a newbie bites.

Reggie777 said:
I got as far as downloading the zip file, unzipping it. But I am not sure what "mount as R/W" means. I am also not up on the structure of the storage of the Gtablet, and my computer sees .android_secure, Android, Backgrounds, backups, DCIM, download, and Lost.Dir. As a result, I am not sure where to copy the new files to. I moved the unzipped file to the download folder on the tablet. But I am not sure where to go from here. Being a newbie bites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I thought that the instructions were as clear as anyone could make them.
3. Using AndRootFile or any other file manager that supports root access, mount as R/W, and copy the contents of G Tablet\permissions to System\etc\permissions.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That means to use a file manager that supports root browsing. The stock one doesn't, so you will need to install one. The link in the original post will get you the AndRootFile app, that should work. I purchased RootExplorer from the Android Market, so that is what I use. It has a "Mount R/W" button at the top, and I assume AndRootFile has something similar.
Oh, and root is to Unix/Linux/Android that Administrator is to Windows. You need root permissions to make system changes.
Once you have mounted it in R/W mode, copy the files to the folders that it says to. When done, don't forget to re-mount it in R/O mode before exiting.

My bad. I had used z4root to do the rooting. I'll try it with the one you suggested. Thanks.

Actually z4root should work for rooting the tablet. But it isn't a file browser with root access. That is where the other apps come into play.

OK. Here is my adventure so far. I got AndRootFile, and installed it. It is now working. But when I try to copy a file to another location, it does not want to copy the file. features.xml is an example of one that it shows the check box for copying, but when I get to the destination, there is nothing to paste. Frustrating. I also tried Rootexplorer, and have the same result. Now it looks as if the other new file in the new permissions folder copies, since it says it exists and do I want to overwrite. I said yes. But the second file, features does not show up even after I try to paste it. The good news is that I am figuring out the structure of the Beast, and so can move around much easier with AndRootFile, and RootExplorer. Thanks for your ongoing patience, and support.

It doesn't sound as if you are first mounting the file system in R/W (Read/Write) mode. And when finished, make sure you mount it back into R/O (Read/Only) mode before exiting.

USB ADB or file mgr & sd to install apps?

Can someone make a recommendation? I basically want to sideload some apk's & pictures, videos & books. I was using Calibre for sideloading non B&N books with Win Explorer for wallpaper. I was partially successful at getting USB ADB working, got driver working, but realized that Windows now does not see the NC as a mass storage device & Calibre will not ID it. Am I better off just putting apk's on the sd card & installing via Astro file mgr? Any insight on this subject is appreciated.
Thanks,
kev

I had that issue until I realized that
Sent from my LogicPD Zoom2 using XDA App

I had that issue until I realized my nook was not awake. Once I woke it up ut worked like a charm.
Sent from my NookColor using XDA App

bugeyed1 said:
Can someone make a recommendation? I basically want to sideload some apk's & pictures, videos & books. I was using Calibre for sideloading non B&N books with Win Explorer for wallpaper. I was partially successful at getting USB ADB working, got driver working, but realized that Windows now does not see the NC as a mass storage device & Calibre will not ID it. Am I better off just putting apk's on the sd card & installing via Astro file mgr? Any insight on this subject is appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me... Got my NC for Christmas ! I followed the BN instructions to download and update my NC to 1.0.1. I then followed the instructions for using Auto-Nooter and then these for setting up the USB drivers in Windows:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=882751
And it works for all cases. I can use ADB, Windows sees it as a mass storage device and Calibre connects to it. Something could be wrong with your USB setup. Try checking out the thread I used.

OK, as long as Win. still sees it as before & Calibre still works, I will try to get ADB working over USB. Right now Windows "computer" doesn't see it, but it shows in Device Mgr as Android Phone/Android ADB interface. The NC is ON & displaying the USB mode screen. Since explorer doesn't see it, I can't eject it. As I said, I will back up & try the ADB setup again. If anyone knows what I did wrong, please speak up. I will be working on this this afternoon. Should I remove the ADB driver & start from the beginning?
Thanks,
Kev
Update: Got it working. At least it reported the serial number when I ran "adb devices". I can now see the NC in explorer & device mgr shows the device. I now need to learn to use these new adb tools. Any helpful instructions I can read?
Thanks,
kev

If using my computer and I find an apk. I want to install, I use dropbox. I then open dropbox on the NC download the apk and install it.
Also the Wireless ADB app works well too.

I honestly have no clue why so many people are mucking around with ADB and command lines. If people like doing things the hard way, fine, install apps via ADB, but there are much simpler ways to do things.
Yes, there are a handful of things that need to be done by ADB, but installing standard apps is not one of them.
EDIT: Reworded for clarity of target.

RoboRay said:
I honestly have no clue why so many people are mucking around with ADB and command lines. If you like doing things the hard way, fine, install your apps via ADB, but there are much simpler ways to do things.
Yes, there are a handful of things that need to be done by ADB, but installing standard apps is not one of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I did ask for recommendations in the OP! Care to make one?
Cheers,
kev

Oh, certainly, what I meant was a file manager is great for it, as it's the other method you mentioned. Dropbox is by far the easiest way I've found to move things from your PC to your Android device, too.
My comment about people "doing things the hard way" wasn't specifically directed at you, either, although upon looking back it does seem to come off that way. I'll fix it. Anyway, what I meant was that everywhere I go I see people posting very long sets of commands for people to type in to ADB or the Terminal so that they can accomplish things that are easily done with the push of a button or two in the appropriate app. And then I see lots of people responding with "It didn't work" which usually means they typed something wrong.
The command line is wonderful because it's so powerful and precise, but that doesn't mean it should be used for every simple task.

I find that the majority of things that I need to do can be done with Root Explorer.

[Q] Xoom Application to let me share it as a drive over WiFi?

Used to be able to do this on my iPad with GoodReader, and looking for something similar for the XOOM. Basically something that lets me make the Xoom available as a drive on the local network so I can copy files back and forth to it from my computer without having to go through the whole USB cable mess.
I know that several Android file apps let me connect to a shared drive on my network, but I'm looking for the capability to go the other way around.
TIA!

EwanG said:
Used to be able to do this on my iPad with GoodReader, and looking for something similar for the XOOM. Basically something that lets me make the Xoom available as a drive on the local network so I can copy files back and forth to it from my computer without having to go through the whole USB cable mess.
I know that several Android file apps let me connect to a shared drive on my network, but I'm looking for the capability to go the other way around.
TIA!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not what you want but might help till you get it. Grab a droxbox account. Drag and drop crap into the folder on your PC and grab it from the dropbox app on your xoom. Goes both ways too.
Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk

WiFi File Explorer should do the trick. You run the app then type in the IP address in your web browser. It will show the storage and you can copy, delete files.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.funkyfresh.samba&feature=search_result
Samba Filesharing is exactly what you want, enjoy.

File Expert has a Mount extension that does this too...but as far as I know, all such apps require root access...which means you have to root first.

Websharing Lite

angryclubs said:
Websharing Lite
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Works well for non-root. Thanks.

[Q] Install Google Music Manager on device?

Okay, I am a complete noob, as my problem will prove, so I apologize for surely misusing standard terms. Here we go...
I have a Google Music account on my cm7 nook and need a way to run their Music Manager. I don't own ANY type of other hardware (PC, Mac, nothing) but have several sd cards worth of music I want to upload to the cloud locker.
I have downloaded the app in several formats (.exe, .rpm, .deb) and failed to install before realizing the inherent infeasability of running a .exe on an android device.
The only possible way I think I may have found is to install ubuntu on the device (through adb?) and installing the debian package of the Manager. From what I saw on the ubuntu thread I think I may need a PC to burn the ubuntu image.
My question is can anyone tell me how to run the Music Manager on my nook? The easier the better, but I am willing to learn...
Thanks!
Running a rooted nook color, cm7.1.

I would check out the nookbuntu thread on how to put it on your nook. I suppose you will be able to put music manager on there by getting the .deb However i havent had much luck in the past getting ubuntu on the nook working, and im not sure if you have access to your SD card from the Ubuntu environment.
If you don't have a computer, where is all your music stored?
This looks like its going to be a lot of hassle every step of the way and might not work, honestly if i were you I'd find a friend you can put music manager on their computer, Put all your music on an external HDD or something, and see if they will patiently let it upload.

All of the music is stored on micro sds. I have tried to accomplish the tracks in a variety including dropbox w/dropsync among others but while I have succeeded in getting the tracks on the cloud, I can't get it onto google's specific locker, which is, of course the whole point.
The Music Manager, in and of itself, isn't the objective. Any method of getting the tracks uploaded would suffice.
I may indeed have to through myself upon the kindness of strangers and try to use someone else's PC. I haven't had a computer since the Love Bug. Yeah, seriously.
I am not sure if these are at a premium anymore, but anyone who can help me accomplish this, or even makes a good faith effort is welcome to an invite to Google Music. I have a couple extra.
Hopefully that doesn't break any forum rules. If so, apologies.

Hey, good news everybody.
I talked with Google, and thanks to my powerful connections, you are ALL now invited to Google Music! Keep it quiet, and don't trip over each other trying to thank me all at once!
It sure makes me feel slightly less special for them to launch publically two days after I got my invite.
Help with the upload still being looked for, even if Google gave away my only incentive...

Public library?
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium

Well, I doubt that would work since I understand there upload process pretty much takes days. it looks like I will just have to find av friendly PC owner and do this the old fashion way.
I just was refusing to believe that this fabulous machine, that has pretty much done everything I have asked of it, cannot accomplish a simple thing like run a program written by the same company as its OS.
I have seen solutions to some pretty far out problems on these forums, and I was taking the chance that someone would know a method.
I may be one of the only rooters without some sort of desktop computer, but I just doubt I am the only person who would verymuch like to upload straight from my tablet. it seemed worth a shot.

[Q] Is there a shortcut to unmount a USB OTG device?

Hi!
I just got my USB OTG cable and it works great. Is there an easier way to unmount the USB storage? Do I have to go into settings>storage every time to unmount the USB device safely?
Thanks!

You can install stickmount free app or donate version. Will put a mount/unmount in the notification bar.

gunnyman said:
You can install stickmount free app or donate version. Will put a mount/unmount in the notification bar.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
I installed stickmount but it doesn't seem to work. After I unmount the USB drive from StickMount, it's still visible in "settings>storage" and I have to unmount from there again. Am I missing some thing here?
I am rooted on ElementalX kernel.

I'm sorry. I thought it would work.
Try otg helper https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.shajul.usbotg

I'm using Paragon NTFS but it also doesn't seem to be working as You would like. It kind of unmounts but after connecting some other device, Settings>Storage shows stats of previous one. So I need to unmount and mount again. But it's still a low price for possibility of connecting NTFS devices.

I may be wrong, but I'm of the opinion that the HTC One actually mounts the USB/OTG itself and the other programs attempt to re-mount it to another location (which thy know about) hence, when you unmount it, you only unmount 'their mount' .. the 'HTC mount' is still in place ... hehce the One still thinks that it's mounted ... which it is.
It shouldn't be beyond the kind of devs we have on here to produce a notification for a USB/OTC (click to unmount/mount) once it's detected ad present.

Bump
I would very much like this as well and after a couple of weeks of searching, with detours, side tracks, and no solutions I've finally decided to post about it. The best solution would have been if hTC or Google (?) had included a shortcut to unmount from the settings, so that the user could create a shortcut on the home screen or in their favourite widget (I'm quite liking multicon and widgetsoid, between the two I can open or toggle almost anything from the home screen); as it is it's not even possible to shortcut to the storage page.
The hunt for a solution took me first to the apps store, to find a bunch of root only apps; so naive me (this is my first android phone, indeed my first smart phone) I googled and followed the root instructions from cnet. And it seems I've probably lost all hope of ever returning to stock, PLUS the htcdev bootloader unlocking process actually deleted the stock calculator and flashlight. Silly me, I thought "factory reset" meant what it sounds like, e.g. a factory reset; oh well, I prefer to cross my fingers and ignore warranties anyway :silly:. Then I found out that those apps weren't useful anyway because the stock automount still happens and you actually have to unmount the stock mount point in order to mount with any of them (e.g. stickmount). Stickmount was the closest I got, if I recall correctly nothing else I tried would even mount - I probably didn't try that many, I cottoned on pretty quick that the automount wasn't going to let me go this route anyway. At this point I got side tracked and started playing with other root required apps, but my ham fisted stock + root thing acted funny, with many random root apps I installed to play with unexpectedly restarting the phone. Then I found XDA and I've been lurking, though probably not doing as much reading as I should: thousands upon thousands of pages are a tad intimidating. Now I've got ARHD 71.1, with the toolbox & exposed & XSBM more or less tweaked to my liking and everything running smooth. Stickmount gets closer now: it can mount as well as the system. I started thinking about custom kernels, ntfs support, etc; but with no clear info searching whether kernel ntfs support would even automount, and it still doesn't get me what I want so I think I've had enough poking the system files for now. I just tried 'su' then 'umount /storage/usb/', it appears to unmount but I still get 'USB storage unexpectedly removed' when I unplug, and I can't find a way to create a shortcut without the window persisting (android terminal emulator). Also tried scripter, no idea if it can create shortcuts and it couldn't even run the scripts it created so I uninstalled it pretty quickly.
It comes down to: can I get a shortcut to dismount the stock OTG or can I disable the stock mount to properly use an alternative instead of doubling up? And (looking at you hTC and Google, NOT the XDA community which I greatly appreciate), if not why not? This thing is basically a computer so why is android so limited out of the box?
(Sorry for the long noobish ramble, hopefully I got across what I've tried and why it doesn't work. I'm too tired to reread it again. Perhaps at least this has cautionary tale value?)

Found the widgetsoids command option which works silently, unfortuneately it also fails silently too leaving usb mounted if there's any file operations. Maybe there's a more complicated command I could use then 'umount /mnt/usb/'? I have zero idea where to start, but at this point I want to make an app that can hook into the native process and either send it commands or disable it. I don't suppose there's a newbie guide to figuring out what service is responsible for something and then hacking it?

i tried stickmount on a rooted huawei GR5
it works perfect thank you