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Firmware switch

Lanman

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2013/04/24

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2013/05/03 - 13:02

...stumblin' in...

Since my request for help concerning my GBook @: http://www.arctablet.com/blog/forum/arnova-gbook/internal-sd-card-got-lost-and-no-usb-drive-while-connected-to-pc/ is not turning up any results i'm ready to try a different approach by asking you folks if the firmware of an alternate Arnova tablet is Compatible with the GBook. Maybe the Childpad Firmware? Any other one?

The Gbook is really giving me a hard time and Arnova support only response is "turn it in. We will fix it for Cash." I don't have a problem with pay for service but since i know how to download and install software i just feel ripped off by not providing a proper firmware for my tablet. Instead it looks like adding mail fees on top of a checking fee without even repairing it. Arnova is not giving me a price tag up front so i'm up for an adventure that will probably cost me more than an new one.

Sorry for the rant, but i'm getting pretty frustrated with my tablet.

Thanks for ANY advice.

Lanman

globula_neagra

Birmingham

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2013/05/03 - 13:38

None of the other firmwares will work, the only approach that we can suggest is to dump the firmware using this method
http://www.arctablet.com/blog/forum/firmware-development/dumping-firmware-on-arnova-g2-arnova-g3-and-other-rockchip-based-tablets/

We don`t have funds to buy all the tablets, therefore we can not provide firmwares for all of them, this is where the community should step in and provide some support.

THE FLASH/UNBRICK PROJECT

Lanman

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2013/05/03 - 17:16

Thanks,

i will try to setup my Ubuntu box tonight. So if everything works out i will have a Dump by tomorrow. I am not expecting you to work on it over the weekend. I am nuts enough to put in extra time. So thanks again and have a nice WE and will talk as soon as you can share some time.

Cheers

Lanman

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2013/04/24

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2013/05/04 - 22:11

Well... business as usual.

Using your instructions i could produce following result:

Using Ubuntu 13.04 i actually got nothing to send you. rkflashtool gives following errors in flashmode:

rkflastool: fatal: cannot open device

Switching to USB Debuging Ubuntu gives me an errorbox:

Arnova cannot be connected
Can't open MTP-Device usb:001,011

I did not try the Windows instructions because i would need root for that which i don't have.

As you can read in my first post in this Forum my main problem is the "missing" internal SDCard an the resulting misconnections via USB to any device because it seems the Connection order is out of place. What i need to do first before anything else seems to be based on reviving my internal SDCard. In general you can do this real easyby editing your mount points (at least it looks like the most logical step). BUT I SIMPLY LACK THE RIGHTS. Sorry i don't want to be rude but what's the point of dealing out faulty systems and then denying the option to help yourself other than cashing in on support costs. It is just frustating.

Sorry, but is there any other way to solve my problem.

Lanman

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2013/05/11 - 15:31

...no solution or idea anybody???

globula_neagra

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2013/05/11 - 18:19

There is another way to do it via linux

rkflash tool source code is here, get it
http://sourceforge.net/projects/rkflashtool/

Install libusb-1.0-0-dev and compile:
sudo apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev
gcc -o rkflashtool rkflashtool.c -lusb-1.0 -O2 -W -Wall -s

Read the partition layout
sudo ./rkflashtool r 0x0000 0x2000 > /tmp/parm

in the parm file you will find the cmd line which defines the partition layout

Lets take the archos 80 titanium cmd line

CMDLINE: console=ttyFIQ0 androidboot.console=ttyFIQ0 init=/init initrd=0x62000000,0x00800000 mtdparts=rk29xxnand:0x00002000@0x00002000(misc),0x00004000@0x00004000(kernel),0x00008000@0x00008000(boot),0x00008000@0x00010000(recovery),0x000C0000@0x00018000(backup),0x00040000@0x000D8000(cache),0x00002000@0x00118000(kpanic),0x000E0000@0x0011A000(system),-@0x001FA000(userdata)

To dump the files, i used

sudo ./rkflashtool r 0x0011A000 0x000E0000 > /tmp/system.img
sudo ./rkflashtool r 0x00008000 0x00008000 > /tmp/boot.img
sudo ./rkflashtool r 0x00010000 0x00008000 > /tmp/recovery.img
sudo ./rkflashtool r 0x00018000 0x000C0000 > /tmp/backup.img

Those parameters differ from tablet to tablet, don`t use the exact values from above because it will not work on the Gbook

What`s the point in buying a tablet, from which other lets say 200 will profit and you will use that device only for a developing purpose, from those 200, only 20 will say thank you and only one will donate a fiver, personally i spent arround 10 hours to find a way to dump the firmware from the Archos 80 Titanium, on the Archos Cobalt, i spent another 5, On the Arnova 7c g3, i spent around 60 hours to create a CWM, make a new rooted ROM that had full integration of Play Market, another 3 hours to enable the phone function. I could do those things, because i had the tablets, no tablet no firmware, and even when i made the thins available the people are complaining that I don't help more.

THE FLASH/UNBRICK PROJECT

Lanman

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Forum Posts: 7

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2013/04/24

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2013/05/11 - 21:13

First and most important thanks for your reply and your Help!

I will do as you said as soon as i got time. I got an important project at my job place to take care of. So it will take me probably another week.

Just to make sure:

It was not my intention to complain to you about your way of handling it. Instead I am very glad that you lended me some advice. Writing an answer right after failure wasn't a good idea i guess. Sorry for apearing so rude. I will try to me more polite i the future .