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Help and Advice for First Time Attempt at Rooting

Hello XDA community, I am a 100% new noob who is interested in getting started with rooting. I am going to get right to the point with what I am working with, what I have done, and what I need some help with. May my journey with lovely pictures be a helpful guide for all those who follow me (I find it is easier to understand things with lots of images).
Used this thread to begin my journey on rooting an old Nook HD tablet.
Started with a factory reset but it automatically updated according to my settings page, so one of my question is; does it matter what software version my device is running before I root it?
Followed instructions in PeteInSequim guide and created an 8 GB Micro SD Card with all the files.
Green = CM-12.1_Installation_20150925 Instructions PDF
Light Blue = Files from NookHD-bootable-CWM-6046-for-emmc-BOOTFILES-rev0-(07.13.14)
Red = CyanogenMod 12.1 (No official release on their website)
Orange = ClockworkMod_Recovery (Couldn't find website for other versions)
Yellow = TWRP Recovery (They may have a newer version)
Purple = TK-GAPPS (Which I downloaded the STOCK package, and am not sure if that is compatible)
This is what I have done so far, and would like advise on what I should do before I advance, specifically around the TWRP VS. CWM with relation to the GAPPS packages. In the tutorial (PDF), I believe they use the CWM to install TWRP, I think TWRP is better and is the only of the two who will support my GAPPS package, but would like someone to help clarify so I don't make a permanent mistake. Also, should I use newer versions of anything? Should I even be attempting CM-12.1 if it is not officially supported? I don't want to have to keep making changes and not changing backgrounds or settings... should I go for the more stable CM-11, if so would I have to completely change my process?
Thanks for the help,
Buckaroo9
I'm a bit lazy when it comes to installing incremental releases, so I prefer to do simple "dirty installs". This means re-flashing without wiping the old installation, which can be done in seconds with no consequences.
But a dirty install will probably fail if you have made user-interface changes, even if you try to reverse out those changes before flashing. You can still install revisions any time you wish, but you must do the wipes first. This means you will have to go through the set-up procedure all over again, which takes a lot longer than a dirty install.
CM-12.1 for our Nooks should eventually be offered among the official nightly releases, and hopefully a milestone release now and then. I might consider UI tweaks after installing one of these, then settle down for a long quite period of no more updates.
If a stable CM-12.1 ever happens, we'll all be installing CM-13 by then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
PeteInSequim
Could you please explain this concept slightly more to me? How much would I be able to change and what would the consequences be? If I make changes would I always have to do a clean wipe, would that mean I would have to not make changes and constantly wait for updates? This uncertainty is kind of pushing me away from rooting...

Buckaroo9 said:
...
This is what I have done so far, and would like advise on what I should do before I advance, specifically around the TWRP VS. CWM with relation to the GAPPS packages. In the tutorial (PDF), I believe they use the CWM to install TWRP, I think TWRP is better and is the only of the two who will support my GAPPS package, but would like someone to help clarify so I don't make a permanent mistake.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The files you got look right, although I'd recommend using the smaller micro or even nano GApps packages as you can always add more apps later on.
Just use CWM to flash TWRP first, then boot to TWRP to wipe /data and flash CWM and GApps.
Also, should I use newer versions of anything? Should I even be attempting CM-12.1 if it is not officially supported? I don't want to have to keep making changes and not changing backgrounds or settings... should I go for the more stable CM-11, if so would I have to completely change my process?
...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM12.1 for the HD/HD+ is not officially supported and, more importantly, is no longer enhanced/maintained (its original developer has recently moved onto CM13). I've been using CM12.1 for about a month now: the apps' performance can be noticeably more snappy but not consistently so, on the downside couple of apps/features that used to work on CM11 no longer work.
If you're looking for a reasonably newer but stable CM version, I'd suggest you try CM11 (either M12 snapshot or one of the recent "nightly" releases).

digixmax said:
Just use CWM to flash TWRP first, then boot to TWRP to wipe /data and flash CWM and GApps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any reason TWRP can't flash itself?
digixmax said:
I'd recommend using the smaller micro or even nano GApps packages as you can always add more apps later on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there any downside to using a larger GApps, and if I can always add more, does that mean I can mix and match, are the essentially just packages of Apps that I am side-loading?
digixmax said:
If you're looking for a reasonably newer but stable CM version, I'd suggest you try CM11 (either M12 snapshot or one of the recent "nightly" releases).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am definably leaning towards more stable, but in your opinion, what features would I loose from CM12 (Android 5.0 Lollipop)? Someone made a good point that, the most advanced, newest, and coolest software will always be unstable. You have to trade off the cutting edge for reliability and support.
As a new member to rooting, I think I may start with more stable things, and then work my way up.

Buckaroo9 said:
Is there any reason TWRP can't flash itself?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The TWRP flashable zip file you have contains a TWRP image that is compiled for internal EMMC. Once installed, it can be used to flash CM, GApps, or another version of CWM or TWRP to replace itself.
To flash from SD you need to find and use a TWRP recovery image that is compiled for SD.
Is there any downside to using a larger GApps, and if I can always add more, does that mean I can mix and match, are the essentially just packages of Apps that I am side-loading?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can use a Zip archive program like 7-zip to open up and browse the content of these GApps zip packages to see and compare their particular mixes of apps.
I am definably leaning towards more stable, but in your opinion, what features would I loose from CM12 (Android 5.0 Lollipop)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This depends on your particular use and choice of apps for the tablet, but as examples, the Hulu app and USB Host feature which work on CM11 don't work on CM12.1.

Just got a device running 5.1.1, what are my options?

What are my options for root?

DELETE

Can my device be rooted with the super tool?

AntDeek said:
Can my device be rooted with the super tool?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. I rooted my 5.1.1 and installed SlimLP 5.1.1 following the last two videos in this post. Very easy

Giorgi-geo said:
Yes. I rooted my 5.1.1 and installed SlimLP 5.1.1 following the last two videos in this post. Very easy
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the tutorial does work to root device and install SlimLP rom... but I will say that the UI keeps crashing and make the device unusable for me at the moment. I've read that SlimLP is stable, so i guess i'm a little unlucky that I've encountered this problem. I'm going to restore the device to stock and do it all over again. Anyway, just a word of warning!

DrewFerg11 said:
the tutorial does work to root device and install SlimLP rom... but I will say that the UI keeps crashing and make the device unusable for me at the moment. I've read that SlimLP is stable, so i guess i'm a little unlucky that I've encountered this problem. I'm going to restore the device to stock and do it all over again. Anyway, just a word of warning!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You did a clean flash, right? Wipe dalvik cache, cache, data and system.
Are you using Layers? They don't play well with Fire's screen. In fact the dev mentioned discontinuing Layers support. Anyone on 5.1.1 should definitely never use Layers.
I've been on SlimLP since it was released (I upgrade to each new version as it comes out). No crashes at all.

blueberry.sky said:
You did a clean flash, right? Wipe dalvik cache, cache, data and system.
Are you using Layers? They don't play well with Fire's screen. In fact the dev mentioned discontinuing Layers support. Anyone on 5.1.1 should definitely never use Layers.
I've been on SlimLP since it was released (I upgrade to each new version as it comes out). No crashes at all.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep, I did a clean install, wiped, and stayed away from layers (never used it before anyways). The 'System UI' constantly crashed and therefore made it impossible to do anything, besides restart the device. I was changing the Date/Date Style configurations in Settings.
Settings -> Interface -> Status Bar -> Clock and Date
Messing with the Date Style and Position, and then an alert appeared saying the UI crashed. I was able to restore my device to stock 5.1.1, re-root, and re-flash SlimLP. So far so good.... Whats weird is after the fresh re-flash I did mess with those same settings again, and the UI did crash again. Unlike last time where it would then crash constantly making it unusable, it crashed to the lock screen and then has been fine since (knock on wood). I've been using my device for about an hour now, haven't touched those settings, and everything seems to be fine for the moment :fingers-crossed:.

Can anyone tell me what´s the difference if i get a device with 5.0.1 or with 5.1.1 from amazon? Will the root or flashing of custom rom be somehow more difficult or unable?
If i get a 5.1.1 device, will i have something not working, while it would be working if i would get a 5.0.1 device?

With 5.1.1 you can't load twrp recovery to flash custom roms. Only way to currently flash roms in 5.1.1 is via FlashFire. This is far from ideal. SlimLP seems to work ok via FlashFire but there are reports that you can't flash RR or CM12.1 at the moment. And if your rom gets into a bootloop, you need to start over. Reinstall stock OS > root > install FlashFire > wipe & flash rom.

Currently 5.1.1 devices aren't as capable at flashing custom roms, rooting is simple to the end user on either now.
5.1.1 can't use the tethered twrp and thus far can't use Flashfire to install CM, though has had some success at going to SlimLp and RR roms.

Pond-life said:
Currently 5.1.1 devices aren't as capable at flashing custom roms, rooting is simple to the end user on either now.
5.1.1 can't use the tethered twrp and thus far can't use Flashfire to install CM, though has had some success at going to SlimLp and RR roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can now flash CM on 5.1.1 devices. See this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=64456287&postcount=969

DualBootPatcher

I was looking into multi-boot on my xt1060. Not important, just a project. Looking around, I saw a pretty cool project here on XDA called DualBootPatcher and started digging around into whether or not it would work for our device. Maybe not even the xt1060, but any variant of the device. Turns out, as of January 8th 2016, our device (all) is supported by DualBootPatcher: https://github.com/hankching/DualBootPatcher-1/wiki/[Devices]-Motorola and https://forum.xda-developers.com/android/development/list-support-devices-dualbootpatcher-t3278937
Anyone used it? I have an unlocked bootloader and I'm running 5.1, however my device has never been OTA'd past 4.4.2. I think it'd be pretty nifty to dual boot into a non-stock ROM for testing or just to give it a try before you fully commit. I'm also kind of impatient and make weekly backups, so I plan on giving it a shot tonight and will report back how it goes.

Tried
I did try this app on Kitkat 4.4.4. I installed Xperience 7.1 and Gapps Nano, I installed it on data partition, but the phone won't turn on, it only vibrates 5 times.
What I did to restore is installing the utilities.zip from TWRP and changing back to my primary rom.

Sidd24 said:
I did try this app on Kitkat 4.4.4. I installed Xperience 7.1 and Gapps Nano, I installed it on data partition, but the phone won't turn on, it only vibrates 5 times.
What I did to restore is installing the utilities.zip from TWRP and changing back to my primary rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same result. Damn. I might keep digging into it if I can find the time.

Problem with lockup / display not turning on across various roms, rooted droid

I successfully rooted my droid (that came with lollipop), using this guide
https://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/general/guide-how-to-unlock-bootloader-install-t3292684
installed twrp backed up the stock OS and installed resurrection remix lollipop rom. I did not install any different modems or radios as I planned to stay on lollipop.
Everything worked great yet after a day or two the display/phone would appear to lock up. I can press power, the display doesn't come on and when (usually) moving the the volume up/down I do hear sounds. Sometimes at this point it will reboot by itself, other times I have to reboot it.
When it comes up it goes through the android is upgrading thing, and sometimes works fine after, sometimes not, regardless eventually this problem repeats.
Thinking it was perhaps RR I tried straight Cyanogenmod, and eventually the rooted stock OS, both have this same problem.
I've tried using it with very minimal installed in the way of apps, same issue.
I've tried saving the log to SD to peer at later, but going through it I don't really see anything obvious to show what the problem is.
I"m wondering if there's a problem with the phone itself (it's a refurb) and am considering unrooting it and returning it.
Anyone seen this or thoughts on what might be the issue?
p.s.
if you happen to have a good link handy to an unrooting guide you might shoot it my way thanks.
thanks in advance!

What versions of the other ROMs did you use? Lollipop also, or Marshmallow? Nougat? For rooted stock ROM did you upgrade to Marshmallow? None of the Lollipop ROMs are supported anymore, so hard to answer for those.
There are ways to grab logs after a reboot, but here's another suggestion...
I use Auto Reboot app (needs root) to schedule a reboot my phone every day while I'm asleep.
This seems to keep the cobwebs cleared out, so the phone runs better. I know you want to find the issue, but maybe it's an accumulation of apps not releasing RAM orb something. This might help prevent that.

thanks for the reply
ChazzMatt said:
What versions of the other ROMs did you use? Lollipop also, or Marshmallow? Nougat? For rooted stock ROM did you upgrade to Marshmallow? None of the Lollipop ROMs are supported anymore, so hard to answer for those.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried the last released CM lollipop snapshot, as well as the last nightly.
For RR it was last released, "ROM OS Version: 5.1.x Lollipop"
ChazzMatt said:
There are ways to grab logs after a reboot,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh I've been saving it to the SD so I can view it after a reboot, I've looked at 4 or 5 of them after the problem occurred and at least to me nothing really stood out
ChazzMatt said:
but here's another suggestion...
I use Auto Reboot app (needs root) to schedule a reboot my phone every day while I'm asleep.
This seems to keep the cobwebs cleared out, so the phone runs better. I know you want to find the issue, but maybe it's an accumulation of apps not releasing RAM orb something. This might help prevent that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeh I expect it might periodically need a reboot but if it's just unpredictiably locking up or rebooting on its own it's not very usable.
I think I'm just going to have to try to unroot and return, maybe I'll go with a LG V20 as I don't want to have pay to re-root another one of these and possibly have same issue. Also the whole pay to have some app do something secret to my phone does leave me a bit uneasy.
Kind of a bummer as I'm actually pretty impressed with this device, fast, good battery, takes nice photos, only drawbacks for me are no removable SD and lack of LED notification, but I was willing to live without those given how good everything else was.
thanks

Same here,
I tried with different Roms 7.X, still blocking and display not turning on.
I'd appreciate some help.
Thanks!
Android Version: 7.1.2
Current Rom: AOKP
Kernel: 3.10.107-Stock-bhb27-nougat-kerneL

MrN00b said:
Same here,
I tried with different Roms 7.X, still blocking and display not turning on.
I'd appreciate some help.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FWIW and in case it helps you or someone else, I seem to have fixed mine finally, here's what I did.
First I installed latest twrp (mod 4) https://androidfilehost.com/?w=files&flid=39562 (there's a thread on this twrp if you want tor read on it). That in itself didn't fix the issue but did finally let me format and got rid of an 'mkfs.f2fs: invalid option -- r, ERROR=1' type error I used to get.
I installed this stock zip from twrp as described in thread:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/development/rom-su4tl-49-100-stock-t3390041
It would never actually boot it would shut my phone off not long after showing the boot screen, and I'm not sure if doing that was necessary or not.
Taking some suggestions from here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/droid-turbo/help/help-request-custom-rom-phone-unlocked-t3767070
I dug up the last official CM 13 snapshot:
https://www.google.com/search?q=cm-13.0-20161221-SNAPSHOT-ZNH5YAO3Y5-quark.zip
sha1: 9a219dd487c27e51b0c5c4922812838f394099c5
Wipe and installed with no gapps and voilà it would boot consistently. Without reinstalling I tried installing pico gapps and it would still boot though it took maybe 15 mins initially.
I want Nougat so I wiped and installed lineage-14.1-20180612-UNOFFICIAL-quark.zip from https://forum.xda-developers.com/moto-maxx/development/rom-t3494646 again no gapps and it also booted fine, whereas previously it would hang on booting. Without reinstalling ROM I tried installing opengapps nano and it would just hang.
I could then no longer get it to boot again, so I reinstalled CM13 no gapps, which booted fine, wipe and install lineage-14.1-20180612-UNOFFICIAL-quark.zip no gapps, and now it boots fine though currently it's taking a while.
I should perhaps note I took twrp backups inbetween steps whenever I had a working boot, (ex before installing gapps), but once the phone went back to hanging on boot, those restores didn't help. Only reflashing CM13 seemed to clear things up.
My ultimate goal is a LOS ish Nougat/Oreo ROM with no gapps using microg, and running tmobile, I'll see what I end up with.

Zenfone Go Oreo help

Hi someone with an account on 4dpa with 30 posts could please download this rom and share it here? I don't know Russian so it's impossible for me to write 30 posts.
I have a Zenfone Go (Z00VD) and the stock ROM it's terrible (crash in the camera, 1 Gigabyte of app space already full....)
In case you can't, could you provide an alternative ROM with as less bugs as possible?
Thank you
Original Thread 4pda
Translated Google

Guess we're on the same boat buddy. Have you tried the other ROMs on their forum like the nougat ones? They seem nice.
I personally prefer to use the RR 5.5.9 lollipop rom provided by 4pda since for some reason the nougat and marshmallow roms on their site just give me bootloops. It may be different for you though.

JustAnormalGuy said:
Guess we're on the same boat buddy. Have you tried the other ROMs on their forum like the nougat ones? They seem nice.
I personally prefer to use the RR 5.5.9 lollipop rom provided by 4pda since for some reason the nougat and marshmallow roms on their site just give me bootloops. It may be different for you though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, not yet, it's not my phone so I'm searching a stable ROM. I saw the nougat thread here but it's not very clear what works and what not, there seems to be a nougat rom on 4dpa which should work well except the videocamera with the stock app, but the Oreo one seems almost bug free although more complex to install. Unfortunately I can't access it.

Hello,
From what I can tell, both Oreo and Nougat ROMs were unstable and/or sluggish for me, so I'd recommend to stick to Marshmallow based ROMs(for now). My personal preference is ResRemix 5.7.4, but if you decide to try any of them, keep in mind that ROMs with kernel 3.18.19(as far as I've seen most of ROMs in that thread) all have these two issues that I was able to find so far:
Notification LED doesn't work
Bluetooth audio doesn't work either
Other than that, the ROM is super-stable and somehow better than 5.1.1 ROMs from official dev thread there.
And for JustAnormalGuy, bootloops in later ROMs seem to happen because of unwiped internal storage(basicly needs entire /data partition wiped somewhy). Try marking the 'Internal SD' option when wiping partitions for ROM installing.
Good luck!

aurismat said:
Hello,
From what I can tell, both Oreo and Nougat ROMs were unstable and/or sluggish for me, so I'd recommend to stick to Marshmallow based ROMs(for now). My personal preference is ResRemix 5.7.4, but if you decide to try any of them, keep in mind that ROMs with kernel 3.18.19(as far as I've seen most of ROMs in that thread) all have these two issues that I was able to find so far:
Notification LED doesn't work
Bluetooth audio doesn't work either
Other than that, the ROM is super-stable and somehow better than 5.1.1 ROMs from official dev thread there.
And for JustAnormalGuy, bootloops in later ROMs seem to happen because of unwiped internal storage(basicly needs entire /data partition wiped somewhy). Try marking the 'Internal SD' option when wiping partitions for ROM installing.
Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Those 2 bugs are not a deal breaker for me, would you mind linking to the ResRemix 5.7.4 rom that you used?

Sure, buut since I can't post links(thanks XDA for 10 post restriction, love ya!), I'll have to send one another way.
PM me your Discord handle(if you have one) or something else. I should be able to send you the link there.

aurismat, and what version of twrp do you use ?

I use TWRP 3.0 by Jemmini. It's been a *long* time since I installed it though, so if you have something different, I'm afraid I won't be of much help unless I'll be able to pull my recovery .img file.

Actually, i use the same version. Problem is most probably my method of root. The common method of rooting for our device didn't include any flashing with sp flash tool. But for my situation, my bootloader is locked even after downgrading. So i did the other method (also found on the forum) in which includes flashing.

Hmm, it *may* be the root method, may be also the locked bootloader.
If I recall right(and this might be THE common way), I used the fastboot method from XDA, and I knew it'd work cause I rooted more phones that way. I remember downgrading the stock ROM down to version 39(i think that one still had the bootloader check in dev options) and then trying to unlock the bootloader and obviously go through flashing the recovery image.
Dunno what might be the issue with your way of flashing, though. AFAIK might be anything from leftover files to bootloader giving the finger.

@aurismat i think the problem might be that i used the "format all + download" option on sp flash tool. Does that affect the phone in any way that deprives my phone from using 6.0 - 7.0 roms? (Besides the "null" imei effect)

@JustAnormalGuy I don't think it should be a problem, because the ROM .zips install their own stuff to the partitions AFAIK, so even if Flashtool wipes everything, it should still be fine. Try doing one of them ROMs(previously said ResRemix worked for me), but remember to wipe the Internal Storage partition if you can.
Oh and remember to take a backup of your current ROM, should it bootloop again at least you won't have to do the hassle of reinstalling everything back(learned that the hard eay haha).
EDIT: was it just Nougat ROMs that you were trying or was it both Nougat and Marshmallow? Not sure what might be the cause, but the ROMs developed under the same kernel from ska-vova in 4PDA worked for me. Just a thought.

well actually i already tried various roms from Marshmallow to Nougat all of which gave me bootloops. I've already followed the steps of installation as written. However, i tried once installing a Marshmallow rom from the facebook group named "ASUS Zenfone Go Indonesia" and it surpisingly worked for me (numerous bugs present however), as well as most of the marshmallow (and only marshamallow roms) on their group.
The thing is I also might think one of the reasons why i get the bootloops in the roms from the 4pda forum is the kernel used in them. (just speculation) Should it be correct to assume that ?
As I recall:
Working rom shows "kernel version > [email protected]"
Not working rom - "kernel version > [email protected]"

Hmm, I'm using [email protected] kernel version 3.18.19.
All the ROMs there seem to be by mosly nik-kst's kernel. ska-vova seems to just build ROMs with the kernel.
Besides, take note from the working ROM - it's also from 4PDA.
Only thing I can speculate is that your device is somewhat different(maybe different hardware, not sure) and hence why it gives you BLs.
Dunno, this case is a tough cookie to be honest - only thing I can recommend at this point is to flash literally EVERYTHING back to stock and try using fastboot method to get recovery and root back.

Hey @Darkorn,
Over the span of a few days, I've tried installing 4PDA's Oreo ROM.
It took me a good couple of headaches to make out what translated Russian meant in the instructions, but I've managed to repartition the entire device to the guide.
Seems to work properly so far, hell even Bluetooth and Notification LED issues from older ROMs seem to be fixed!
Though one thing that annoys me *personally* is that it's impossible to install SuperSU, so you're stuck with Magisk. It's not the end of the world, though, as long as you don't care about SafetyNet's BS.
Oh and @JustAnormalGuy, try repartitioning your device according to the Oreo instructions in 4PDA, that might be the solution for ya.
If I ever get up to 10 posts I'll ask those guys permission to let me post the tutorial here with all the links(hopefully).
Until then, good luck to both of ya!

aurismat said:
Hey @Darkorn,
Over the span of a few days, I've tried installing 4PDA's Oreo ROM.
It took me a good couple of headaches to make out what translated Russian meant in the instructions, but I've managed to repartition the entire device to the guide.
Seems to work properly so far, hell even Bluetooth and Notification LED issues from older ROMs seem to be fixed!
Though one thing that annoys me *personally* is that it's impossible to install SuperSU, so you're stuck with Magisk. It's not the end of the world, though, as long as you don't care about SafetyNet's BS.
Oh and @JustAnormalGuy, try repartitioning your device according to the Oreo instructions in 4PDA, that might be the solution for ya.
If I ever get up to 10 posts I'll ask those guys permission to let me post the tutorial here with all the links(hopefully).
Until then, good luck to both of ya!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nice! Resurrection Remix is working too well to bother, but who knows in a few months!

That would be great man, thanks !!