[Joseph Pruitt]

wfutch, on 12 October 2012 - 03:07 PM, said:

I am in the same boat too. I am bricked and have nothing to lose at this point. I am willing to be a tester too. I have been trying everything to get mine recovered and can not seem to get it going.

I figured out how to unbrick and.... how to install the 2011 stuff :-D

Now this is really risky so I don't recommend this for the feint of heart. What I did is flashed [link removed by moderator] in. Be really sure to follow the directions. Especially the part about removing the internal sd card. After flashing the screen will be black and won't display. Don't worry. Just patch mac1_131's recovery.img and kernel in via adb. If you get any errors about the /data path he gave just sub it for '/system/misc' which worked for me. After that, issue a reboot and good to go :-). I then noticed that the build version showed 2010 so I flashed KG's alternate OP thing and it worked just fine. I can't remember if I got a black screen or not that time around but I don't think I did. If you don't get a screen just flash the framework and kernel in and you should be fine. Oh, and be sure to factory reset after installing the stuff from that pandigital link to make sure the unit is squeaky clean before rolling forward with a custom rom.

Again, this may not work for you. I'd like to see some other folks that have nothing left to loose post their experience with this method way before it becomes a sticky of it's own or something.

[wfutch]

Joseph Pruitt, on 12 October 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

I figured out how to unbrick and.... how to install the 2011 stuff :-D

Now this is really risky so I don't recommend this for the feint of heart. What I did is flashed [link removed by moderator] in. Be really sure to follow the directions. Especially the part about removing the internal sd card. After flashing the screen will be black and won't display. Don't worry. Just patch mac1_131's recovery.img and kernel in via adb. If you get any errors about the /data path he gave just sub it for '/system/misc' which worked for me. After that, issue a reboot and good to go :-). I then noticed that the build version showed 2010 so I flashed KG's alternate OP thing and it worked just fine. I can't remember if I got a black screen or not that time around but I don't think I did. If you don't get a screen just flash the framework and kernel in and you should be fine. Oh, and be sure to factory reset after installing the stuff from that pandigital link to make sure the unit is squeaky clean before rolling forward with a custom rom.

Again, this may not work for you. I'd like to see some other folks that have nothing left to loose post their experience with this method way before it becomes a sticky of it's own or something.

I am very desperate to get this thing back going so I am going to give this method a try. What do I have to lose ... absolutely nothing! My screen is black and I have had no luck in using adb with mac1_131's method. When I push the files everything is fine, when I do the shell flash_image recovery command it tells me there is no such file or directory. Could I have screwed up my SDcard or something or what? I am completely lost now that I have no screen.

[Joseph Pruitt]

wfutch, on 12 October 2012 - 04:51 PM, said:

I am very desperate to get this thing back going so I am going to give this method a try. What do I have to lose ... absolutely nothing! My screen is black and I have had no luck in using adb with mac1_131's method. When I push the files everything is fine, when I do the shell flash_image recovery command it tells me there is no such file or directory. Could I have screwed up my SDcard or something or what? I am completely lost now that I have no screen.

Here's a pull from my console. I just happen to have that part still showing.

C:\Users\joseph.pruitt\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb push kernel /system/misc/kernel
709 KB/s (2210988 bytes in 3.044s)

C:\Users\joseph.pruitt\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb push recovery.img /system/misc/recovery.img
702 KB/s (487901 bytes in 0.678s)

C:\Users\joseph.pruitt\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb shell flash_image recovery /system/misc/recovery.img

C:\Users\joseph.pruitt\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb shell flash_image kernel /system/misc/kernel

C:\Users\joseph.pruitt\AppData\Local\Android\android-sdk\platform-tools>adb shell reboot

Try following that. With me there was something up with the /data partition so /data/misc didn't work for me. Notice the change to /system. That worked like a charm.

[edit]
To the best of my knowledge /system doesn't live on either the internal or external SD. That might be why it worked for me.

This post has been edited by Joseph Pruitt: 12 October 2012 - 05:19 PM

[wfutch]

Pushing the files works for me with /data/misc and /system/misc, BUT when I try to run adb shell flash_image or even just adb shell I get the following error message:

- exec '/system/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -

I have searched and searched using that error message and everything I find says click here and there and all this .. BUT I CAN'T! My screen is completely black, I can not see a thing. I am almost to the point where I want to put this thing in the trash and forget I even bought it.

This post has been edited by wfutch: 12 October 2012 - 05:27 PM

[Joseph Pruitt]

Oh! Your sh is missing. Here, have mine. Wasn't using it anyway Just unzip and 'adb push sh /system/bin'

After that continue rolling forward.

Oh, and don't get discouraged. ~20 days ago I joined slatedroid without the first idea of what to do with an Android. Now thanks to the good folks here at SlateDroid and their volumes and volumes of knowledge + a dash of Google-Fu I'm starting to figure things out. Even a little bit on my own lol. It's funny... I've posted a few topics on here and almost never got an answer with much assistance (except panengineer who's obviously a cyborg judging from his efficiency). I've been forced to solve things on my own. I get mad sometimes and have to leave my current project (usually angry birds or netflix) alone for a while. I get back to it later and things that I was struggling over become obvious and much easier to handle.

For all the young ones (like myself) on here... in short: Take it a step at a time and have patience. You'll amaze yourself at what you can learn/do.

Attached File(s)

•  sh.zip (53.81K)
  Number of downloads: 63

This post has been edited by Joseph Pruitt: 12 October 2012 - 07:17 PM

[wfutch]

Thanks for the sh file!

This is actually my first attempt at rooting/hacking a tablet .. I have done it many many times on phones, seems there are some similarities but more differences.


Put that sh file in and it still won't work. Tells me that /system/bin/sh is not a valid directory (20) when I try to adb shell now. Getting closer but still not working for me. I have been messing around with this thing all night and I am burned out on it right now. Gonna go to sleep and work on it a little more in the AM.

This post has been edited by wfutch: 12 October 2012 - 10:19 PM

[degarb]

I am reading this topic as a newbie. I understand people want to flash the firmware, but not why. Nor why rooting.

For me, it is simple, most apk will not parse, and so the goolge market place will not install. Nor can I get amazon appstore to install. Slideme lacks most sw.

Is this the case for others? Is rooting or trying to flash, the solution? or something more simple like formatting the sd card?

No phone support.



I have a clearview too here. It did parse the marketplace and install it. I couldn't get the the clearview to install amazon appstore. so, I leaning to returning the panditital to the store. There is no ethical reason to lock a device from installing marketplace, unless they like returns. My non technical wife picked up missing marketplace and a plethora of its app within 5 minutes of owning the device. She is begging me to take it back. but, I would rather just install it and be happy with the device.

[Fiftycaljake]

after hours and hours of mesiing with my PDN only to mess it up to the point of me not knowing how to fix it i took it back to wal-mart. i never could figure out how to use the ADB even after searching on this site and on google. so i gave up and am going to get a different tablet seeing that wal-mart offers other ones under 100 bucks and they have the android 4.0(ice cream sandwich). if you can take yours back i suggest you do so before you get stuck with a paperweight.

[Joseph Pruitt]

Fiftycaljake, on 15 October 2012 - 02:21 AM, said:

after hours and hours of mesiing with my PDN only to mess it up to the point of me not knowing how to fix it i took it back to wal-mart. i never could figure out how to use the ADB even after searching on this site and on google. so i gave up and am going to get a different tablet seeing that wal-mart offers other ones under 100 bucks and they have the android 4.0(ice cream sandwich). if you can take yours back i suggest you do so before you get stuck with a paperweight.

I've thought about taking it back. But I think it's a good learning tool for someone who wants to get familiar with the device. And it was within my budget. I'd like a nicer one but I'd need to find a job first. A good WAH job would be nice...

Anyway I'm glad that you were able to do the swap. Honestly it's probably for the best. If I could afford it, I'd get the Google Nexus.

[mac1_131]

wfutch, on 12 October 2012 - 05:26 PM, said:

Pushing the files works for me with /data/misc and /system/misc, BUT when I try to run adb shell flash_image or even just adb shell I get the following error message:

- exec '/system/bin/sh' failed: No such file or directory (2) -

I have searched and searched using that error message and everything I find says click here and there and all this .. BUT I CAN'T! My screen is completely black, I can not see a thing. I am almost to the point where I want to put this thing in the trash and forget I even bought it.

I think it is really telling you that flash_image can't be found. If sh (the shell) were missing, you wouldn't be getting any shell access.

just type flash_image all by itself. If the program is found, it will return the syntax of the commend:
USAGE: flash_image partition file.img

if it isn't found, it will return:
flash_image: not found

if you get something else, then things are really screwed up

I do have a complete flash for it, which is a hybrid of the new images pulled from an untouched walmart WPDN, and some pieces of previous versions to make up a complete flash. THIS IS UNTESTED - but since you are hosed anyway, you might as well try it? I do think it will work as I know for sure the recovery and kernel are OK.

If your device is so hosed that you cannot put the flash on the external sdcard (/sdcard, NOT PD_Novel) then you might need to put the external sdcard in a computer or camera where you can copy the flash file to it, and see if it will flash.

the steps would be:
1. copy this firmware file to the external sdcard, whatever it takes to do that. you can do adb push to /sdcard, or try to use windows if it recognizes it with the usb cable plugged in (it is NOT PD_Novel - it is the unnamed volume just called Removable Disk) or worst case put the sdcard in a sdcard reader or a camera and copy the file to it that way
2. Then try to flash it by turning the unit on while holding on and the volume up buttons for 5 seconds or until the blue boot screen flashes once
3. You may have to flash it twice to get the user apps to flash. If the apps are missing after the first flash, flash it again
4. If you do this, please report back on your success or failure and how you did it

THIS IS UNTESTED. I THINK IT WILL GET IT CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL, BUT THE ONLY PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED ARE THE KERNEL AND THE RECOVERY

That said, kernel and recovery are the most important parts, that's why I *think* it will work.

There are two versions of this. One with clockwork recovery (recommended) and one with the standard (useless) recovery

All this would not be a problem if Pandigital would just release the darned original firmware that were in these things.

So here is my reverse-engineered full firmware (untested) for the WPDN model R7T40WWHF1. Only suggested for those who are bricked so bad they can't fix it.

Version with clockwork recovery
Version with standard recovery

Let me know if it works!

[Chazdel]

mac1_131, on 05 September 2012 - 10:09 AM, said:

thanks for the pin mrs burnout

I am looking for a beta tester to test a full flash for one of these units. I have something that I am pretty sure will work, but I am not willing to flash my unit because it is better that we have an untouched one for the time being

I have a version that puts in clockwork recovery, and one that puts in the standard (semi-useless) recovery

this may be a situation where you have to flash it twice to get the user apps to go in, due to the partitioning in half of the internal sdcard

the original firmware had a zip file in it that contained the user apps, and somehow it unpacked it during installation after the card was partitioned. but without access to the real original firmware, I can't see how they did that.

so I made a version that might do what the original did, in other words, it has a blank user data image (like the original) and it contains the zip file of the user apps in the cache image and hopefully it will magically extract the user apps like it is supposed to

if that fails, I have another version that does have the userdata image fully populated. that is the one that will likely have to be flashed twice, because the first time it is going to re-partition the card, and wipe out all the user data that just got flashed. the second time you flash it, it should see the card is already paritioned and leave it alone and not blow away all the user apps

so actually there are four flashes ready:

blank user data with standard recovery
blank user data with clockwork recovery
populated user data with standard recovery (flash it twice)
populated user data with clockwork recovery (flash it twice)

before I put these in the wild, I am looking for someone who I can pm or email the links to privately, and your willingness to test them all. my hope is the ones with the blank user data that only need to be flashed once will work correctly, then I can get rid of the ones have will need to be flashed twice. but that won't be known until someone tries them.

hopefully someone that was previously bricked and partially recovered will step forward to try these. these are what you need to get fully back to the original state.

if they work, then it will be safe to flash the gapps and the rest of the a la carte mods since we know you can flash back to original, and we can move forward again

of course, if Pandigital would just release the dang firmware none of this would be needed...

Where can I download populated user data with clockwork recovery file....can't seem to find them, I would love to try them out. I was bricked but was able to get it to reboot with the help you posted about using adb to fix kernel and recovery....Thanks for that!

[Giant Wookie]

@mac1_131, I'm new on the forums these last couple days with one of the Walmart R7T40WWHF1 devices. I'm reporting back with the results of using one of your "factory restore" firmware files along with a question. First, some background.

My original firmware was PDC1_20120323_B_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP and I was able to successfully flash CyanogenMod 7.2 following Joseph Pruitt's instructions here.

Now, I wanted to go back to the original software and so I tried out your restore image posted here (the one with "standard recovery"). This seems to have me in some sort of loop. The initial blue "Pandigital Novel" screen is displayed when I power on the device, but it never gets past that screen.

I can use the "adb logcat" command to attach and check the logs which repeat the following output every 5 seconds or so:

D/AndroidRuntime( 4551): 
D/AndroidRuntime( 4551): >>>>>>>>>>>>>> AndroidRuntime START <<<<<<<<<<<<<<
D/AndroidRuntime( 4551): CheckJNI is ON
E/dalvikvm( 4551): Can't open dex cache '/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@core.jar@classes.dex': No such file or directory
I/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to open or create cache for /system/framework/core.jar (/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@core.jar@classes.dex)
D/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to process classpath element '/system/framework/core.jar'
E/dalvikvm( 4551): Can't open dex cache '/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@ext.jar@classes.dex': No such file or directory
I/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to open or create cache for /system/framework/ext.jar (/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@ext.jar@classes.dex)
D/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to process classpath element '/system/framework/ext.jar'
E/dalvikvm( 4551): Can't open dex cache '/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@framework.jar@classes.dex': No such file or directory

I/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to open or create cache for /system/framework/framework.jar (/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@framework.jar@classes.dex)
D/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to process classpath element '/system/framework/framework.jar'
E/dalvikvm( 4551): Can't open dex cache '/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@android.policy.jar@classes.dex': No such file or directory
I/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to open or create cache for /system/framework/android.policy.jar (/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@android.policy.jar@classes.dex)
D/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to process classpath element '/system/framework/android.policy.jar'
E/dalvikvm( 4551): Can't open dex cache '/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@services.jar@classes.dex': No such file or directory
I/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to open or create cache for /system/framework/services.jar (/data/dalvik-cache/system@framework@services.jar@classes.dex)
D/dalvikvm( 4551): Unable to process classpath element '/system/framework/services.jar'
E/dalvikvm( 4551): ERROR: no valid entries found in bootclasspath '/system/framework/core.jar:/system/framework/ext.jar:/system/framework/framework.jar:/system/framework/android.policy.jar:/system/framework/services.jar'
D/dalvikvm( 4551): VM cleaning up
D/dalvikvm( 4551): LinearAlloc 0x0 used 4100 of 5242880 (0%)
W/dalvikvm( 4551): JNI_CreateJavaVM failed
E/AndroidRuntime( 4551): JNI_CreateJavaVM failed
I/ServiceManager( 1837): service 'media.camera' died
I/ServiceManager( 1837): service 'media.audio_policy' died
I/ServiceManager( 1837): service 'media.audio_flinger' died
I/ServiceManager( 1837): service 'media.player' died
I/        ( 4552): ServiceManager: 0xad08
D/AudioHardwareInterface( 4552): setMode(NORMAL)
I/CameraService( 4552): CameraService started: pid=4552
I/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): Initialized ALSA PLAYBACK device AndroidPlayback_Speaker_normal
D/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): Set PLAYBACK PCM format to S16_LE (Signed 16 bit Little Endian)
D/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): Using 2 channels for PLAYBACK.
D/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): Set PLAYBACK sample rate to 44100 HZ
D/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): Buffer size: 1024
D/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): Latency: 23219
I/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger's thread 0x26130 ready to run
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 1.000000
E/AudioFlinger( 4552): reset AudioFlinger::setStreamVolume(float value) -value 0.920000
D/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): codecOff
W/AudioHardwareALSA( 4552): already idle off
E/keystore( 4557): chdir: /data/misc/keystore: No such file or directory

Looks to me like a number of expected directories under /data don't exist. There is currently nothing in /data on the device.

Now, I saw you comparing notes with sl_church here and I noticed that the mounted devices that I see when I run "mount" from within an adb shell are different from what you report. I get:

rootfs / rootfs ro 0 0
tmpfs /dev tmpfs rw,mode=755 0 0
devpts /dev/pts devpts rw,mode=600 0 0
proc /proc proc rw 0 0
sysfs /sys sysfs rw 0 0
tmpfs /sqlite_stmt_journals tmpfs rw,size=4096k 0 0
/dev/block/mtdblock5 /system yaffs2 ro 0 0
/dev/block/mtdblock6 /cache yaffs2 rw,nosuid,nodev 0 0

You have /dev/block/mtdblock7 mounted at /data. The error messages I was seeing above seem to indicate that an expected /data partition does not exist. I see the /data directory on the file system, but obviously nothing is mounted there so none of the expected subdirectories exist.

I tried mounting manually and got this error:

# mount /dev/block/mtdblock7 /data
Usage: mount [-r] [-w] [-o options] [-t type] device directory

I can't tell whether or not mtdblock7 is a valid block device or not. Do you or anyone else have any suggestions as to how I should go about restoring the /dev/block/mtdblock7 partition mounted at /data?

Thanks for all the helpful info getting me to this point.

This post has been edited by Giant Wookie: 19 October 2012 - 08:30 AM

[Giant Wookie]

As a follow-up to my previous post, I was looking through the dmesg output (using 'adb shell') and I noticed the following:

<6>[    1.924151] OneNAND version = 0x0121
<7>[    1.927691] Chip support all block unlock
<6>[    1.995898] Scanning device for bad blocks
<4>[    2.344341] Bad eraseblock 742 at 0x05cc0000
<5>[    2.956721] Creating 8 MTD partitions on "onenand":
<5>[    2.956768] 0x000000000000-0x000000200000 : "bootloader"
<5>[    2.964927] 0x000000200000-0x000000a00000 : "kernel"
<5>[    2.969235] 0x000000a00000-0x000000b00000 : "id"
<5>[    2.973891] 0x000000b00000-0x000001500000 : "recovery"
<5>[    2.978996] 0x000001500000-0x000001800000 : "ramdisk"
<5>[    2.984111] 0x000001800000-0x00000e000000 : "system"
<5>[    2.989544] 0x00000e000000-0x000014400000 : "cache"
<4>[    2.990874] mtd: partition "cache" extends beyond the end of device "onenand" -- size truncated to 0x2000000
<5>[    3.003797] 0x000010000000-0x000010000000 : "userdata"
<3>[    3.005720] mtd: partition "userdata" is out of reach -- disabled

So something appears to be setup incorrectly in the internal flash memory, and perhaps the 'userdata' partition is not defined correctly? I found this dump of a WPDN running CM9 and it definitely has different address values for the "userdata" partition. The relevant portion:

<5>[    4.091621] Creating 8 MTD partitions on "onenand":
<5>[    4.091668] 0x000000000000-0x000000200000 : "bootloader"
<5>[    4.099836] 0x000000200000-0x000000a00000 : "kernel"
<5>[    4.104066] 0x000000a00000-0x000000b00000 : "id"
<5>[    4.108559] 0x000000b00000-0x000001500000 : "recovery"
<5>[    4.113823] 0x000001500000-0x000001800000 : "ramdisk"
<5>[    4.118838] 0x000001800000-0x00000e000000 : "system"
<5>[    4.124486] 0x00000e000000-0x000014400000 : "cache"
<5>[    4.129033] 0x000014400000-0x000020000000 : "userdata"

Does anyone know how I can modify the partitioning for my WPDN such that the "userdata" partition will be setup on address range 0x000014400000-0x000020000000?

[wfutch]

mac1_131, on 18 October 2012 - 10:50 AM, said:

I think it is really telling you that flash_image can't be found. If sh (the shell) were missing, you wouldn't be getting any shell access.

just type flash_image all by itself. If the program is found, it will return the syntax of the commend:
USAGE: flash_image partition file.img

if it isn't found, it will return:
flash_image: not found

if you get something else, then things are really screwed up

I do have a complete flash for it, which is a hybrid of the new images pulled from an untouched walmart WPDN, and some pieces of previous versions to make up a complete flash. THIS IS UNTESTED - but since you are hosed anyway, you might as well try it? I do think it will work as I know for sure the recovery and kernel are OK.

If your device is so hosed that you cannot put the flash on the external sdcard (/sdcard, NOT PD_Novel) then you might need to put the external sdcard in a computer or camera where you can copy the flash file to it, and see if it will flash.

the steps would be:
1. copy this firmware file to the external sdcard, whatever it takes to do that. you can do adb push to /sdcard, or try to use windows if it recognizes it with the usb cable plugged in (it is NOT PD_Novel - it is the unnamed volume just called Removable Disk) or worst case put the sdcard in a sdcard reader or a camera and copy the file to it that way
2. Then try to flash it by turning the unit on while holding on and the volume up buttons for 5 seconds or until the blue boot screen flashes once
3. You may have to flash it twice to get the user apps to flash. If the apps are missing after the first flash, flash it again
4. If you do this, please report back on your success or failure and how you did it

THIS IS UNTESTED. I THINK IT WILL GET IT CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL, BUT THE ONLY PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED ARE THE KERNEL AND THE RECOVERY

That said, kernel and recovery are the most important parts, that's why I *think* it will work.

There are two versions of this. One with clockwork recovery (recommended) and one with the standard (useless) recovery

All this would not be a problem if Pandigital would just release the darned original firmware that were in these things.

So here is my reverse-engineered full firmware (untested) for the WPDN model R7T40WWHF1. Only suggested for those who are bricked so bad they can't fix it.

Version with clockwork recovery
Version with standard recovery

Let me know if it works!

Not sure if my machine is just totally screwed or if there is some steps involved in flashing via recovery. My screen is completely black so I can not see if anything is going on on the display. It is not even lit a little bit. I have checked status via adb and it has been in recovery status for like 10 minutes which seems a little ridiculous to me, I am beginning to think there is some steps I am missing or something for this recovery thing.

[BradHoward]

mac1_131, on 02 September 2012 - 12:40 PM, said:

OK I think I may have successfully reverse engineered the C1SL20_20120224_B_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP.zip firmware. It was a major pain, having to go into the unit I bought and snatch all the block images, then try to figure out where inside the flash ram block the images really ended, use a hex editor to trim the files, get them saved off to files, and finally use them to build a new ROM.

I can't guarantee it will work, but if you are bricked anyway, you really don't have anything to use.

I would prefer to get someone to test it out before I put it out in the wild. I do have one copy of the kernel only posted, and am waiting to hear back if that works or not.

I made two versions of this - one with the regular recovery and the other with the clockwork recovery.

So stay tuned, hopefully help is on the way soon. If someone that is bricked but thinks their unit may not be totally bricked wants to try one, speak up and I will give you the link. Once a couple people can confirm it works, I will post the link here.

In order to even try this, you will either need to have ADB working, or possibly have an external sdcard that you can put the flash on and hope your unit works enough to find the file. I think they might, because at least one person got clockwork recovery to flash, which is a real good sign. It may be that most of the bricked units are just not finding any file to flash because there isn't one, and with a messed up flash and no flash found to try to recover to, they just aren't doing anything.

Okay let me say at the beginning I am a first time poster/replier, just registered today, so bear with me if I'm not doing this right. I have a Walmart PDN the white one just like you. Picked up two yesterday for the kids for Xmas and after fiddling with one for a little while me and the wife are thinking we might like a couple ourselves (she likes facebook) although I know I want to root mine and get Google Play access which is how I found myself searching this thread. So to the point, I'll be your guinea pig. I did notice another post during my browsing about the Open Platform Kit released recently by Pandigital, and have downloaded it though before I try anything I wanted to get some direction from someone who knows what they are talking about. I probably would use mine in the future to get into development and I am a quick study when it comes to tech stuff and eager to experiment, especially since all I'm risking at this point is $60.

So to the specifics so you know what I've got:

Under "About Device" it reads

Model Number: PD_Novel
Firmware version: PDC1_20120323_B_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP
Kernel version: 2.6.29 cl1row@ubuntu BSP_3_01_005_20120323 Fri Mar 23 19:21:11 CST 2012
Build number: PD_Novel 2012.03.23
Device ID: 7020000412704245

I have second PDN of the same type that I will leave untouched for comparison purposes. I am happy to do this via PM or email if that's quicker and you can post updates in the forums for everyones benefit.

[Joseph Pruitt]

mac1_131, on 18 October 2012 - 10:50 AM, said:

Spoiler

I think it is really telling you that flash_image can't be found. If sh (the shell) were missing, you wouldn't be getting any shell access.

just type flash_image all by itself. If the program is found, it will return the syntax of the commend:
USAGE: flash_image partition file.img

if it isn't found, it will return:
flash_image: not found

if you get something else, then things are really screwed up

I do have a complete flash for it, which is a hybrid of the new images pulled from an untouched walmart WPDN, and some pieces of previous versions to make up a complete flash. THIS IS UNTESTED - but since you are hosed anyway, you might as well try it? I do think it will work as I know for sure the recovery and kernel are OK.

If your device is so hosed that you cannot put the flash on the external sdcard (/sdcard, NOT PD_Novel) then you might need to put the external sdcard in a computer or camera where you can copy the flash file to it, and see if it will flash.

the steps would be:
1. copy this firmware file to the external sdcard, whatever it takes to do that. you can do adb push to /sdcard, or try to use windows if it recognizes it with the usb cable plugged in (it is NOT PD_Novel - it is the unnamed volume just called Removable Disk) or worst case put the sdcard in a sdcard reader or a camera and copy the file to it that way
2. Then try to flash it by turning the unit on while holding on and the volume up buttons for 5 seconds or until the blue boot screen flashes once
3. You may have to flash it twice to get the user apps to flash. If the apps are missing after the first flash, flash it again
4. If you do this, please report back on your success or failure and how you did it

THIS IS UNTESTED. I THINK IT WILL GET IT CLOSE TO THE ORIGINAL, BUT THE ONLY PARTS THAT HAVE BEEN TESTED ARE THE KERNEL AND THE RECOVERY

That said, kernel and recovery are the most important parts, that's why I *think* it will work.

There are two versions of this. One with clockwork recovery (recommended) and one with the standard (useless) recovery

All this would not be a problem if Pandigital would just release the darned original firmware that were in these things.

So here is my reverse-engineered full firmware (untested) for the WPDN model R7T40WWHF1. Only suggested for those who are bricked so bad they can't fix it.

Version with clockwork recovery
Version with standard recovery

Let me know if it works!

Ok, mac1_101 I'll give it a whirl next time I brick it or if/when I get bored. I'm going to try to compile a similar looking kernel with newer linux version intended for gingerbread. I'm sure there's a good chance I'll brick it then so patience :-). People looking for ways to help, try Mac's flash and shoot us a reply on your results.

[Giant Wookie]

So I tried both the recovery files from mac1_131:

MAC1_C1SL20_20120224_B_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP.zip
MAC1_CWM_RECOVERY_C1SL20_20120224_B_PD_INX7E_ENG_6410POP.zip

Unfortunately, I'm still getting stuck at the initial blue "pandigital novel" screen (which says "Contains Reader Mobile technology by Adobe Systems Incorporated" at the bottom of the screen) for both the recovery files.

I can connect "adb logcat" and I am still seeing the issues I reported earlier. It looks like people who have "bricked" their devices like me may have somehow fouled up the mtd device partitions. I'm not sure how to reset them. Can someone who has a factory-fresh R7T40WWHF1 connect using the adb shell and run:

adb shell cat /proc/mtd

and post the output? Thanks.

[bluefox]

Worked great for me. I had the black screen and only knew it was still working by the light coming on when I plugged the power cable in. Copied the version with clockwork recovery using usb cable. Only required one flash and works perfectly. Thanks so much for your hard work.

[mac1_131]

bluefox, on 25 October 2012 - 12:52 AM, said:

Worked great for me. I had the black screen and only knew it was still working by the light coming on when I plugged the power cable in. Copied the version with clockwork recovery using usb cable. Only required one flash and works perfectly. Thanks so much for your hard work.

Bluefox what model pdn do you have?

I was alarmed to see others having problems but it worked for you.

I am out of the country for a few days but I am monitoring the developments here and will look in to the issues others have posted as soon as I can. If you flashed this and had problems please include your exact model of PDN. Thanks.

Sent from my PD_Novel using Tapatalk 2

[bluefox]

mac1_131, on 25 October 2012 - 06:40 AM, said:

Bluefox what model pdn do you have?

I was alarmed to see others having problems but it worked for you.

I am out of the country for a few days but I am monitoring the developments here and will look in to the issues others have posted as soon as I can. If you flashed this and had problems please include your exact model of PDN. Thanks.

Sent from my PD_Novel using Tapatalk 2

R7T40WWHF1 Well it turns out it was almost perfect. The only problem I have encountered though is that clockwork is not working properly. It will not let me select any options other than to simply reboot system. Hoping that a second flash may fix this. If I can get it to do it since I can not select the boot from sd/flash option in clockwork and the fact that it boots straight to clockwork when using the normal flash method. But hey the tab works again so thats a big plus!