Manual Rooting

[Fonefixer]

Originally posted by bdb in this thread.

Unlike phones, tablets are not protected; so root can be easily enabled without resorting to exploits.
The ADB service runs as root on the scroll, rather than as a user, so if you connect through ADB you will already be root.
So,
download + install the andorid SDK
connect your scroll to your PC with a USB cable
from dos:
> adb devices
> adb shell
you should now be rewarded with a shell prompt - # (indicating root) rather than $ (user)
you can now make a small tweak manually to allow you to switch to root from the android itself.


You will need 2 files from 'tnet
su
Superuser.apk
these can be found all over the place; e.g. here

a new 'su' is needed as the built in one will not run as a user.
Superuser.apk allow you to control any apps that request root access - this can be installed as any other app.

To install 'su' (google 'android manual root'):
Copy it to your sdcard (tflash/Android/data/su)
> adb push su /mnt/sdcard/tflash/Android/data/su
Connect to the Scroll
> adb shell
Make /system writable (it will revert to read only on reboot)
# mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock2 /system
Backup your original 'su'
# mv /system/xbin/su /system/xbin/xsu
Copy 'su' to /system/bin
# cp /mnt/sdcard/tflash/Android/data/su /system/bin/su
Create a link to the new 'su'
# ln -s /system/bin/su /system/xbin/su
Set the permissions to allow you to run su as a user
# chmod 06755 /system/bin/su
# chmod 06755 /system/xbin/su
Give it a kick
# sync
# reboot
(install Superuser.apk)

take care with root access ...
back up your /boot, /recovery partitions first
# dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd0 of=/mnt/sdcard/tflash/Android/data/mtd0_boot.img bs=4096
# dd if=/dev/mtd/mtd6 of=/mnt/sdcard/tflash/Android/data/mtd6_reovery.img bs=4096
keep a copy safe of the latest update.zip from the storageoptions site.

bdb

[edit 29/06/2011 - typos]
Last edited by bdb on 29 Jun 2011, 22:06, edited 2 times in total.