[HOW TO] Install ClockworkMod Recovery and Root

[mcl630]

In order to do this, you need to have your bootloader unlocked and fastboot working. If you haven't already see here:
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum...52434-howto-unlocking-bootloader-windows.html


Files to download:

Works with both ICS and JB: A2109_CWMrecovery-6.0.2.8a.img Dev-Host - A2109_CWMrecovery-6.0.2.8a.img - The Ultimate Free File Hosting / File Sharing Service
MD5: e7501de26fe8a9fc453773f5710675fa

(Edit: the A2109_CWMrecovery-6.0.2.8a.img file goes on your PC, not the A2109)

If you need to root, also download: Superuser-3.1.3-arm-signed.zip http://downloads.noshufou.netdna-cdn.com/superuser/Superuser-3.1.3-arm-signed.zip
Copy Superuser-3.1.3-arm-signed.zip to your A2109. It can go on either the internal or external sd card (you can put it in a folder if you want).


Connect your tablet to your PC. On your PC, open a command prompt window (or terminal for Linux). Reboot into the bootloader by typing:

adb reboot bootloader

Once you're in bootloader/fastboot mode, flash ClockworkMod recovery with this command:

Windows:

fastboot flash recovery A2109_CWMrecovery-6.0.2.8a.img

Linux:

fastboot -i 0x17ef flash recovery A2109_CWMrecovery-6.0.2.8a.img

If it worked you should see something like this:

sending 'recovery' (6326KB)... OKAY [ 1.096s]
writing 'recovery'... OKAY [ 0.448s]
finished. total time: 1.545s

Now you need to reboot into recovery. At your command prompt (terminal), type:

For Windows:

fastboot reboot

For Linux:

fastboot -i 0x17ef reboot

Immediately start tapping Volume Up until the tablet's screen says "Booting Android Recovery".

If you didn't press Volume Up quickly enough, it will boot into Android and overwrite CWM recovery, so you'll have to go back to fastboot and reflash.

If you did it right, CWM recovery should start. In CWM recovery, you use Volume Up and Volume Down to move the highlight up and down, and the Power button to select options.

If you need to root:

1. Select 'install zip from sdcard'
2. Then select 'choose zip from sdcard' or 'choose zip from external sdcard' depending on where you placed the Superuser zip file.
3. Now navigate to your Superuser-3.1.3-signed-arm.zip and select it
4. Choose 'Yes Install Superuser-3.1.3-signed-arm.zip'

Go back to the main menu and choose 'reboot system now' to restart android. You should now be rooted.

To test it out, when the A2109 finished booting, try this at the command prompt:

adb shell
su

If you've rooted successfully, the prompt should change from a $ to a # (meaning you have root access).
Type 'exit' twice at the command prompt to leave the adb shell.


If you are running the stock firmware, each time you boot into Android it will overwrite ClockworkMod recovery with the stock recovery. You can prevent this by renaming the recovery-from-boot.p file in your /system folder to something else. You can do this in ES File Explorer:

1. In ES File Explorer under Setting, choose 'Root Settings' and make sure that 'Root Explorer', 'Up to Root', and 'Mount File System' are all checked.
2. Navigate to the /system folder
3. Long press recovery-from-boot.p and choose Rename
4. Rename it to something else, like recovery-from-boot.p.bak
5. Go back to Settings -> Root Settings and uncheck 'Mount File System' to put the system partition back to read-only.

After renaming the recovery-from-boot.p file, you'll have to go back into fastboot and reflash ClockworkMod recovery one more time, but now it will "stick".


Let me know here if you have any questions or need anything clarified.

 

[FloRider]

Hi mcl630,
How are you?
I struggling with understanding the method and the "basic of the basis".

This is the ROM (your rom!!!) that i have currently:
Android version: 4.0.4.
Kernel version: 3.1.10
Build-svr-a@build-svr-a#1
SMP PREEMPT Thu Oct 18
Build number: MCL0103_IL
Hardware info: 0.SS16.

I pay'd to someone to flash this mod on my Lenovo IdeaTab A2109...i really want to know doing this by myself.

I would like to ask you few questions regarding youe ROM ... hope that your answers will help me complete this task:

1) If i already have a custom rom installed on my IdeaTab - do i have to do the bootloader unlocking ?

2) If i have the ICS rom - which from the two img's i need to use? 6.0.1.9c.img OR 6.0.1.9d.img ???

3) The Superuser-3.1.3-arm-signed.zip combine the ROM & ROOT? if do, i just need to flash it and it install the ROM and make the ROOT too at the same time?
If not...where is the ROM ?

I would appreciate your help so much!
I realy want to learn how to do it...
All best!

Seeing that you're running the MCL ROM, I know that you've got the bootloader unlocked, a new recovery image (e.g. clockworkmod) flashed, and root access through Superuser (I believe this is necessary). According to your info, you have the ROM already installed. Do yourself a favor -- push power and volume up at the same time, when your tablet is off, for five seconds or so. You'll see which version of clockworkmod (cwm) you are running. Hopefully it is 6.0.1.9c. You can easily reboot from that menu.

 

[mcl630]

Hi mcl630,
How are you?
I struggling with understanding the method and the "basic of the basis".

This is the ROM (your rom!!!) that i have currently:
Android version: 4.0.4.
Kernel version: 3.1.10
Build-svr-a@build-svr-a#1
SMP PREEMPT Thu Oct 18
Build number: MCL0103_IL
Hardware info: 0.SS16.

I pay'd to someone to flash this mod on my Lenovo IdeaTab A2109...i really want to know doing this by myself.

I would like to ask you few questions regarding youe ROM ... hope that your answers will help me complete this task:

1) If i already have a custom rom installed on my IdeaTab - do i have to do the bootloader unlocking ?

2) If i have the ICS rom - which from the two img's i need to use? 6.0.1.9c.img OR 6.0.1.9d.img ???

3) The Superuser-3.1.3-arm-signed.zip combine the ROM & ROOT? if do, i just need to flash it and it install the ROM and make the ROOT too at the same time?
If not...where is the ROM ?

I would appreciate your help so much!
I realy want to learn how to do it...
All best!

1) You're already running my MCL0103 ROM, so your bootloader must already be unlocked.
2) 6.0.1.9c
3) My MCL ROMs include root, you don't need to install superuser. That's only used to root the stock roms.

 

[FloRider]

Look at the thread on Lenovo. My post tells you exactly what to do. If you still don't understand, forget everything in your head and read it again.

 

[FloRider]

You helped me a lot in Lenovo's forum!
Thanks!

Sure thing .

 

[mza]

I encountered a speedbump when trying to follow the original instructions from the Lenovo forum. I don't have ES File Explorer so I tried to make CWM stick using adb. Apparently, the Linux Android SDK version of adb is unwilling to run as root, saying:

# ./adb root
adbd cannot run as root in production builds

# ./adb remount
remount failed: Operation not permitted

Here is a summary of the steps I took to get past this:

1. Re-flash CWM.
2. Boot into recovery.
3. On the tablet (in CWM) select 'mounts and storage' and then 'mount /system'.
4. Then, on the PC, execute 'adb shell' and do the following:

~ # df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                   497372        48    497324   0% /dev
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/CAC
                        774064     12348    761716   2% /cache
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/APP
                        645056    581904     63152  90% /system
~ # cd /system
/system # mv recovery-from-boot.p recovery-from-boot.p.bak
/system # ls -al
drwxr-xr-x   14 root     root          4096 Jan 12 18:42 .
drwxr-xr-x   17 root     root             0 Jan 12 18:41 ..
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan 12 17:52 app
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     shell         4096 Jan 12 17:52 bin
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          2444 Aug  1  2008 build.prop
drwxr-xr-x   11 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 etc
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:45 fonts
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 framework
drwxr-xr-x   10 root     root          8192 Jan  5 22:44 lib
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan  1  1970 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x    4 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 media
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root        321196 Aug  1  2008 recovery-from-boot.p.bak
drwxr-xr-x    3 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 tts
drwxr-xr-x    8 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 usr
drwxr-xr-x    5 root     shell         4096 Jan  5 22:45 vendor
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     shell         4096 Jan 12 17:52 xbin
/system # exit

5. reboot the tablet.
6. Finally, re-flash CWM for the third time.

 

[vampirefo.]

I encountered a speedbump when trying to follow the original instructions from the Lenovo forum. I don't have ES File Explorer so I tried to make CWM stick using adb. Apparently, the Linux Android SDK version of adb is unwilling to run as root, saying:

# ./adb root
adbd cannot run as root in production builds

# ./adb remount
remount failed: Operation not permitted

Here is a summary of the steps I took to get past this:

1. Re-flash CWM.
2. Boot into recovery.
3. On the tablet (in CWM) select 'mounts and storage' and then 'mount /system'.
4. Then, on the PC, execute 'adb shell' and do the following:

~ # df
Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs                   497372        48    497324   0% /dev
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/CAC
                        774064     12348    761716   2% /cache
/dev/block/platform/sdhci-tegra.3/by-name/APP
                        645056    581904     63152  90% /system
~ # cd /system
/system # mv recovery-from-boot.p recovery-from-boot.p.bak
/system # ls -al
drwxr-xr-x   14 root     root          4096 Jan 12 18:42 .
drwxr-xr-x   17 root     root             0 Jan 12 18:41 ..
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan 12 17:52 app
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     shell         4096 Jan 12 17:52 bin
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root          2444 Aug  1  2008 build.prop
drwxr-xr-x   11 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 etc
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:45 fonts
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 framework
drwxr-xr-x   10 root     root          8192 Jan  5 22:44 lib
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     root          4096 Jan  1  1970 lost+found
drwxr-xr-x    4 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 media
-rw-r--r--    1 root     root        321196 Aug  1  2008 recovery-from-boot.p.bak
drwxr-xr-x    3 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 tts
drwxr-xr-x    8 root     root          4096 Jan  5 22:44 usr
drwxr-xr-x    5 root     shell         4096 Jan  5 22:45 vendor
drwxr-xr-x    2 root     shell         4096 Jan 12 17:52 xbin
/system # exit

5. reboot the tablet.
6. Finally, re-flash CWM for the third time.

adb remount has been disabled in JB, you can have several choices.

1.enable adb remount
2.adb shell to remount system as rw.

To enable adb remount you need to make this an insecure boot.img, by splitting the boot.img replacing the adbd with one from ICS boot.img, then edit the default.prop repackage boot.img and flash.

or you can

adb shell

mount -o remount,rw /system

This is same thing as adb remount, but doesn't require any modifications to boot.img

I use choice one as I always modify boot.img for reason or other.

 

[Davy49]

Has anyone tried this to root their A2109 ? Android Root Unlock | Free software downloads at SourceForge.net

David

 

[vampirefo.]

Has anyone tried this to root their A2109 ? Android Root Unlock | Free software downloads at SourceForge.net

David

I doubt it, seeing rooting this tablet is one of the easiest methods out there.

 

[Davy49]

vampirefo. ,
It may be easy for you...I guess I'm just brain dead or something..especially since I've been able to root previous android device's.
David

 

[vampirefo.]

vampirefo. ,
It may be easy for you...I guess I'm just brain dead or something..especially since I've been able to root previous android device's.
David

Well give the link you posted a shot, if it works great if not, you are no worse off.

 

[mza]

adb remount has been disabled in JB, you can have several choices.

1.enable adb remount
2.adb shell to remount system as rw.

To enable adb remount you need to make this an insecure boot.img, by splitting the boot.img replacing the adbd with one from ICS boot.img, then edit the default.prop repackage boot.img and flash.

or you can

adb shell

mount -o remount,rw /system

This is same thing as adb remount, but doesn't require any modifications to boot.img

I use choice one as I always modify boot.img for reason or other.

I recall trying option 2 but it didn't work so I didn't mention it. The command appeared to work and the filesystem showed up as rw but it still could not be written to. I don't recall the exact error message any more.

 

[Thor821]

Thanks for yours How to.

 

[cordoba]

OK. I feel a bit foolish. I'm using a mac, but the Linux instructions should work, right? Everything is fine until I get to this step:

For Linux:
Code:

fastboot -i 0x17ef reboot
Immediately start tapping Volume Up until the tablet's screen says "Booting Android Recovery".

And then, I can't seem to tap Volume Up fast enough. It just boots into android again. (it says "cold booting linux" right before). Is there some other way to boot into CWM? I think my reflexes are just old...

EDIT: I got it! Thanks.

I followed the steps to unlock the bootloader, and that worked (I think -- how would I check it?)

 

[doomboss]

OK. I feel a bit foolish. I'm using a mac, but the Linux instructions should work, right? Everything is fine until I get to this step:



And then, I can't seem to tap Volume Up fast enough. It just boots into android again. (it says "cold booting linux" right before). Is there some other way to boot into CWM? I think my reflexes are just old...

EDIT: I got it! Thanks.

I followed the steps to unlock the bootloader, and that worked (I think -- how would I check it?)

Actually, dont tap it, hold it instead until you see the little line of text on the top left of the screen and then immediately release it