Loading tweets...Installing ClockworkMod Touch & Stock Bootloader (1.2)
This guide was last updated 07/03/2012 by Ray
Warning!
See my video instructions at the bottom of this article.
NEW ClockworkMod Touch on gTab
Introduction:
The NVFlash tool (program) is the PRIMARY Starting Point for any major changes or software fixes to your GTab. If you are having ANY problems with your ViewSonic G-Tablet, this is THE guide to follow.
Important!
NVFlash - also called “APX mode” can be used for several essential functions. Regardless of your previous configuration, by using this guide, you should be able to perform the following operations:
- Regain control of your GTab after it is “bricked” or otherwise unresponsive (stuck in a loop at the “3 birds” or some other screen, etc). See Note1 (below) if you continue to experience loops even after flashing with this version of NVFlash.
- Increase the size of the system partition from 200Meg (stock) to 250Meg (this may explain some failed ROM flashes.)
Notice
Note1: Some of the newer ICS ROMs may be too large for your gTab even with a 250MB system partition (due to hardware issues on SOME gTabs). If you experience consistent boot loops when flashing a new ICS ROM to your gTab… TeamDRH has created another version of their great NVFlash package that will expand the system partition to 300MB. I do not recommend that you use it unless you are having problems. Still, click HERE to download that package. Use is exactly the same as the one we link below.- Return your GTab to a STOCK configuration with the 1.2-4349 Tap-n-Tap. (Recovery is NOT stock.)
- Change the bootloader version on your GTab from (old) 1.1bl to (new) 1.2bl. Note here that – for current ICS ROMs – the bootloader version is NOT significant. You can use new ICS ROMs on either bl. BUT, the system partition must still be expanded. So, we recommend that you use our 250MB NVFlash which will also convert to 1.2bl.
Warning!
WARNING:- This process will likely void your warranty.
- Assume that EVERYTHING on the GTab will be erased or deleted. However, that is not entirely true. NVFlash cannot erase anything on the SDCard (see this post). STILL, anything can happen.
- Any use of this guide (or anything on this website) is done SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK!
Neither Ray Waldo, this website, its owners, or operators take any responsibility for your actions related to the use of any article/guide on this site. You have been warned.
Notice
DOWNLOAD OUR FILES. Even if you have used NVFlash before and already have it installed on your computer, USE OUR VERSION instead:
DOWNLOAD: NVFlash with Stock ROM & CWMR Touch 5504 at the TeamDRH site here (or from us here.) This archive includes all the files that you will need (for both Windows & Linux) to install NVFlash and complete this guide. This guide will install both the Stock T-n-T operating system and the ClockWorkMod Recovery.
————————-
Using NVFlash:
Important!
Note: There are two modes of operation controlled by booting with the volume buttons:- You get into APX mode by pressing the power and MINUS button. The gTab will flash on then go black. When in that mode, the GTab appears dead but will respond to commands from the attached computer – using NVFlash. If you mistakenly get into APX mode, just hold the power button down for about 30 secs to power off and exit the APX mode.
- You get into RECOVERY mode by pressing the power and PLUS button. When in that mode, the GTab has a menu of options to allow you to flash an update, reset to factory, etc. No USB connection or computer is needed to use Recovery. To get out of Recovery mode, always click on the “Reboot to SYSTEM.”
Prerequisites:
Important!
If you have already successfully used this (NEW) guide, then you can skip to the PROCESS section.- Backup any data on the GTab that you wish to save and copy it to some external storage. These procedures potentially delete everything on your GTab.
- Charge the battery to at least 70%. It is also a good idea to leave the power cable connected during these operations.
- Power off the GTab & remove your external SDCard (if you have one in the device).
- Download the NVFlash file from above.
- Extract the archive and rename the extracted folder to nvflash.
- LINUX ONLY: You must make the nvflash file executable – Open the nvflash folder; right-click on the nvflash file; Properties; Permissions tab; Tic the box to run the file as a program. Then - Skip to the “PROCESS” steps below.
- WINDOWS ONLY: INSTALL the APX drivers located in the “Flash USB driver” folder.
- On the GTab, hold the Volume minus (“-”) button AND the power button until the GTab comes on and then goes BLACK (this is the APX mode
- CONNECT the USB cable between the GTab and your computer.
- When the gTablet is detected by Windows, and you are prompted for drivers, point the wizard to the ‘Flash USB Driver’ folder (inside the new “nvflash” folder.
- The driver install should complete normally and you will hear an audible connection sound.
- Power off gTablet by pressing the Power button for ~5 seconds.
Process:
Notice
Do not connect the USB cable to the GTab unless instructed to do so. Also, be sure to DISCONNECT the USB cable when the guide says to do so.- WINDOWS ONLY: If you have not installed the APX/USB drivers, then go back to the “PREREQUISITES.” Step and complete this step first.
- On the GTab, hold the Volume minus (“-”) button AND the power button until the GTab comes on and then goes BLACK (this is the APX mode).
- Connect the USB cable between the GTab and your computer. (If you continued from the previous section, the cable may already be connected.)
- On your computer, open a COMMAND PROMPT (or terminal), CD (change directory) to the nvflash folder & run the NVFlash program: Windows users, run the nvflash_gtablet.bat – Linux users, enter the command, “sudo sh ./nvflash_gtablet.sh” (without the quotes. – note the space after the “sh” and before the “./nvflash” characters.)
- Wait. The NVFlash tool will only take about two minutes to complete. Do not proceed until it reports that it is finished.
- Turn the GTab off by holding the power button until the line of text at the top of the screen disappears.
- Remove the USB cable (You are finished with the computer. Everything else is on the gTab.)
Partition the SDCard
Important!
From user Steve T.: The new CWM uses different navigation buttons than the previous version and now even has soft buttons at the bottom of the screen which makes it much nicer. The big difference I saw was that the ‘home’ button on the right side is now the UP arrow and the ‘menu’ button below the ‘home’ button is now the DOWN arrow. I think the select button is now the ‘search’ (magnifying glass) button.- On the GTab, start ClockWorkMod (CWM) RECOVERY: Hold the power and volume plus (“+”) buttons until the “recovery key detected” text appears at the top of the screen.
- Select “advanced” and press the Home/Enter button (arrow on the right side of the screen).
- Select “Partition Internal SD Card” and press Home.
- Select “4096M” and press Home – then select “0M” and press Home again. The GTab will report that it is “Partitioning Internal SD Card.” Do not touch the device until it reports “Done!” at the bottom of the screen.
- Repeat steps 3 & 4 but select “2048M” & “0M” (rather than 4096M & 0M).
- Select “+++Go Back+++” and press Home.
- Select “power off” and press Home.
Reboot into Stock
Notice
At this point, you will have the stock Tap-n-Tap operating system installed. It is a good idea to fully boot into T-N-T and assure that it is working before proceeding to flash a new ROM.If you wish to flash a new custom operating system, here is our list of viable candidates: ROMs for the GTab
Video Instructions for NVFlash & Installing ICS
———————————————–
To determine if your device has the LARGER system partition…
(if you did this NVFlash, then it DOES.)
To check the size of your SYSTEM partition, open the Terminal Emulator app (free on Play Store), enter “df” (without quotes). The “Filesystem” area is at the top of the list (either turn the GTab to portrait mode or scroll up to view the top of the list). Check the line that ends “/system”.
My device (with 250meg system) reads: /dev/block/mtdblock3 253696 216480 37216 85% /system
If your device shows something around 200000 instead of the 253696, then you probably have the smaller (200meg) system partition.
———————————————–
TELL US about your experience in the comments below.
———————————————–
- Why Would I FORMAT My GTab?
- How to Flash Honeycomb on a GTab
- Installing Honeycomb (Users Perspective)
- USB Keyboard on gTab
- GTab Sleep of Death
- Review – GTab Case & Keyboard
- GTab does HDMI
- NVFlash for Dummies
- Traveling with the gTab
- GTabCombOver
- Ice Cream Sandwich on G-Tab
- ICS Update
- NVFlash Update
- GTab Tip of the Day
- Jelly Bean on the GTab
- New Life for the G-Tablet
232 comments
Skip to comment form ↓
Jon Scheinman
June 12, 2013 at 1:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks for responding. My ViewsonicG worked on VegTab for 2 years, then on ICS 4.05 for 3 months. During a trip, somehow it bricked (possibly USB attached when asleep). No response to anything. I opened, made DRH in back, attached to PC, installed Nvidia software from TeamDRH_350M_Prep.zip , Batch file ran: Nvidia NVFlash_gTablet.bat. Repartitioned to 350 & Flashed CWM10, which went through, but then Power/Vol+ gave only white screen, no CWM. I repeated, after pushing reset through the DRH, with your NVFlash with Stock ROM & CWMR Touch 5504. same story. Repartitioned, finished, closed down, Still Power/Vo+ gives only a white screen. Am I missing something?
Ray
June 13, 2013 at 10:09 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sorry Jon, I haven’t worked with a gtab in several months and I don’t remember the odd issues. I tried to make the guides pretty much “goof-proof” so my suggestion is to use them.
Start fresh (as if you had never seen the device before) at the “New life for Gtab” article. Follow it exactly and do not skip any steps. You will be tempted to say, “I have already tried this..” but do it anyway. There may be some sequence of things that you may failed to accomplish at the correct time. Just do it.
Buster Hymen
June 14, 2013 at 1:15 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
thank you for writing the ONLY readable how-to on this niche topic. So many people who write tutorials are terrible at organizing information and presenting it in an easy to understand method!
Ray
June 14, 2013 at 5:16 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks Buster! That is the mission of the site. I appreciate your coming back to leave a comment.
Jim
June 6, 2013 at 2:48 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
First off, this is a great guide. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for me, and no matter what searches I do, I can’t quite find anything to help me. I recently had issues with the whole power connection on the gTablet. That is now resolved, and the gTablet charges up, no issues. However, during the down time, something bad happened software-wise. If I try to boot up normally, the gTab gets through “the birds”, and stays stuck at the load screen for CyanogenMod, which must have been the last ROM I put on it before my power issues started. If I try and do a “Power and Volume +” boot, the gTab stays at “the birds” screen, stuck with the text “Recovery key detected, Booting recovery kernel image”. It never gets into ClockWork Mod, which was installed on this previously.
The only thing I am trying to do is to start over – wipe everything out, and give me a ClockWork Mod menu to work with. I have tried various versions of NVFlash, I have tried using the actual reset button on the inside of the tablet, and nothing has changed anything.
When I run your process, this is what shows up in my Linux terminal:
sudo ./nvflash_gtablet.sh
[sudo] password for jrglynn2:
Flashing G Tablet with base images…
Done!
Unfortunately, my gTab never reboots, even waiting an hour. When I manually shut the gTab down and start it up, the old problems are there.
Do you have any suggestions? Any help is GREATLY appreciated.
Thanks,
Jim
Ray
June 7, 2013 at 6:38 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Actually I don’t have a gtab any more. I have given them all away. And I don’t recall the process exactly.
Also, you seem to be describing conflicting symptoms.
First, it sounds like an issue with starting the apx mode, correct? If so then you need to retry the key sequence until it works.
Second, I believe that you now have to install cwm as a separate action. If there is no recovery installed then you would remain stuck on the screen you mentioned.
Check back and let me know how it goes.
Jim
June 7, 2013 at 1:15 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thank you for the response. I actually figured it out…
I could get into APX mode, but it seemed like NVFLASH wasn’t doing anything at all. So today I decided to go through everything one more time, so I could document step-by-step for you what I did. Turns out, while I was changing the nvflash file to executable, I noticed the “!Linux Readme First.txt” file in the directory. I opened it up, and right there at the top it says:
“NOTE: Users with 64bit distributions may need to install 32bit C++ files to run NVFlash. At terminal run ‘sudo apt-get install lib32stdc++6′”
I ran that, and then went through your process, and voila, it worked!
Thank you for your help, this guide was excellent, and I am so happy I can now play again (and brick it again LOL)
Thanks!
–Jim
Ray
June 7, 2013 at 3:59 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Congratulation! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Joe Harrison
June 2, 2013 at 6:29 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray – thanks for this info – I’ve run my gtab on vegan ginger for about 2 years – not used it much tho. When I decided to upgrade, I tried ICS – I guess you would say it soft-bricked, because I can run APX successfully, but it will not boot into recovery. So I followed your links and reflashed to full stock TNT. Again, everything seems to complete successfully, but when I try to boot into recovery by holding volume up and clicking power – it comes on & the pc sees it in device mgr, but the gtab screen stays blank. Several attempts at this over 3 days & no luck! Any ideas why it gives me blank screen when trying to boot into recovery? thanks JH
Ray
June 3, 2013 at 4:30 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sounds like you have not installed cwm recovery.
Joe Harrison
June 3, 2013 at 7:21 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Did not know it was not replaced by or included in nvflash – which seems to work great. If I want to go to jelly bean, should I install cwm10? Which JB rom do you recommend? thanks – Joe
Ray
June 3, 2013 at 7:17 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
http://raywaldo.com/2012/11/new-life-for-the-g-tablet/
This should answer your questions.
yzf1kguy@yahoo.com
April 18, 2013 at 2:09 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray,
Thank you for a wonderful site. I have had my Gtab a couple of years now and tried all of the mods out there. I used your latest Nvflash to restore it back to stock. The process worked flawlessly. There is a update to the stock 1.2 making it a 1.2.5699. When i tried doing this the Gtab kept booting up to the CWM menu. I did the Nvflash again to start fresh tried applying the update and again the Gtab keeps booting into Recovery mode CWM. Any ideas of what i can try here wol be very appreciated.
Thank you
Leroy
Ray
April 18, 2013 at 6:13 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Probably the NEW nvflash is not compatible with the update (partition sizes are changed.) That is not a problem for most folks since they are trying to remove the old os.
Only solution may be to search for an old version of nvflash.
Leroy
April 19, 2013 at 8:28 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I will give it a try if it does not work that will be fine I prefer the version of CWM and nvflash you have here the procedure is so much better than the older version. Thank you for your fast response.
Ray
April 19, 2013 at 11:44 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yeah, just use CWM to flash a new Jelly Bean ROM (see my article on that in the “series’ list.)
Janet
March 23, 2013 at 4:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I tried chmod ug=rwx-r,o=r Desktop/nvflash/nvflash but it still says cannot execute binary file. Thia also just change privilege from read and write to write only (drop box). Below is a copy of what i tried doing and still unable to execute file
Last login: Thu Mar 3 10:53:18 on console
jan-bs-macbook:~ janb$ chmod ug=rwx-r,o=r Desktop/nvflash/nvflash
jan-bs-macbook:~ janb$ cd /Users/janb/Desktop/nvflash
jan-bs-macbook:nvflash janb$ sudo sh ./nvflash_gtablet.sh
Password:
Flashing G Tablet with modified 1.2 4349 base image…
./nvflash: ./nvflash: cannot execute binary file
Done! Please power off gTab by holding power button and close terminal session
jan-bs-macbook:nvflash janb$
Ray
March 24, 2013 at 8:01 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I don’t use a Mac (or anything with the Apple name on it) but the problem is not with r/w. It is the EXECUTE property that you need to change. I am not up on the syntax but I believe that it is the x portion of the chmod command. In Ubuntu, it is all done via the graphic interface so I don’t recall the terminal commands.
Alternately, Do you have the Windows emulator for Mac? If so, just run the Windows version in that. Or, try it on a friend’s Win box. I don’t believe that the Mac/Linux version of NVFlash is kept updated.
Janet
March 22, 2013 at 11:11 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I tried to reset to factory settings because gtablet was not working or letting me download apps. I clicked restore on gtablet and some how ended up at the clockworkmod recovery screen with drop menu -reboot system now -apply sdcard;update.zip …. etc. i clicked factory reset and ever since im stuck in this screen gtablet wont work …..will NVFLASH help me ???
Janet
March 22, 2013 at 11:50 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
stuck in the clockworkmod recovery screen, i see the 3 birds then back to clockworkmod recovery screen
Ray
March 23, 2013 at 10:43 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
NVFlash fixes almost every loop problem with the GTab.
Ray
March 23, 2013 at 10:42 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The (settings/menu) “reset to factory” is flakey on a lot of devices/ROMs. When anyone speaks of a rooted device and says to “Reset to Factory” they are talking about the option in your recovery program (CWM or TWRP).
The only easy answer to ANY GTab problem is: Start over with NVFlash. It is not difficult (after the first time) and it will clean up almost any issue.
Janet
March 23, 2013 at 2:16 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
thanks
… im having trouble with nvflash number 6 of the prerequisties , im using a mac os x version 10.5.8 so im following the linux instructions but my laptop does not have properties section when i right click nvflash in the nvflash so im unable to get it to execute, i skip that step and the terminal tells be file is not executable but im not sure how to do that on my laptop.
Victoria
February 8, 2013 at 2:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Well, I’m confused because I downloaded the files from this site, twice actually on two different laptops. In my gtab under setting> About> it says 1.0. Is there somewhere else to check? I don’t have it here with me at work to give exact numbers. This is really bugging me. My OCD is maybe gonna freak out over this! LOL! I will try the Smoother Bean install when I get home and see how that goes, hopefully it will all work and then I can get on with enjoying my gtab!
Ray
February 8, 2013 at 2:45 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If you use the NVFlash that is linked with the articles, you will get the right stuff. I don’t recall whether I actually checked the bootloader version when I did this.
Remember the ad, “Just do it!”
Victoria
February 8, 2013 at 1:22 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Mr. Ray! I have read many of your tutorials and they are first class! I never have any trouble following them. My gtab was one that came with 1.0 bootloader. I have had it for about a year and half and have rooted and rom’d several times over. Lately I wanted to return to stock and allow all the OTA updates to happen. I know, stupid of me but I am tired of never having a stable system, there is always something glitchy or not working right. I thought going back to stock and doing the OTA updates might be more stable. Well that passed, sort of like gas you know, as of this morning I plan to go back to JB. Um… I made this decision after 10 minutes last night of messing around with the stock rom… OMG… I was ready to poke out my eyes and throw my gtab against the wall. Ok, now I’m getting to my point. As I said, my gtab came with the 1.1bl and about a year ago I upgraded it to the 1.2bl. Have installed a few different ICS versions and most recently JB. Well, after this whole stock rom debaucle, I found that my bl is back to 1.1, actually it says 1.0. I used the steps and files from the NVFlash for dummies article on this page. Shouldn’t it have upgraded the bl to 1.2, thats what it says it will do. Now I’m not sure if I need to find some way to get back to 1.2bl or just leave it alone and nvflash using the suggested file for the smoother bean rom that was updated 2/5/13. If I’m going with JB does the bl matter so much? I have read so many articles that it’s all running together in my head. Direction would be most appreciated.
Thanks!
Victoria
Ray
February 8, 2013 at 1:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
All of the nvflash files on this site (unless it specifically states otherwise) result in bl 1.2. However, it is my understanding that jb roms will work on either bl.
John
February 5, 2013 at 6:29 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Please ignore my question about Linux recognising the Gtab in APX mode. I tried a few more times and it just worked (don’t know why).
John
Ray
February 6, 2013 at 7:02 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Glad that you got it sorted out. I have never tried Mint but generally all versions of Linux “just work.”
John
February 5, 2013 at 6:03 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray,
Thank you for the great article. I am a new Linux user (and I’m trying to fix my Gtab). I have a laptop with Vista on it and it recognises the Gtab in APX mode, but I can’t get my Linux Mint laptop to recognise that the the Gtab is plugged in (this is only a problem in APX mode). Is there something special I have to do in Linux to get the Gtab to be seen when it’s in APX mode?
Regards,
John
Matthew Gallas
January 13, 2013 at 7:51 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey Ray! So I scanned through all the comments on this page and I don’t think you’ve addressed this problem yet. I followed your instructions for installing ICS to no avail (kept getting stuck at 3 birds) so I went ahead and ran the nvflash with the 300mb system partition and got JB loaded up. Everything was going along swimmingly and I was updating and downloading some apps. However, at some point, the tablet went to “sleep”. Now I’ve been messing with the gTab for a year or two now and I’ve experience SOD before but this is like… permanent SOD or something. The tablet won’t turn on at all. Won’t boot into APX, won’t boot into recovery, won’t boot into anything. I get the indicator light when I plug in the power cable, but other than that, it seems like it’s just dead. Any ideas how to proceed?
Ray
January 13, 2013 at 8:34 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Pop the back off and hit the reset button.
Matthew Gallas
January 13, 2013 at 9:04 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ah, I was afraid you were going to say that…
Matthew Gallas
January 13, 2013 at 10:15 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Well, did the internal hard reset and it booted back into JB but every time the screen turned off, it did the same lock-up/dead tablet issue and I have to hit the button again. That happened 2 or 3 times, but now on the last hard reset I’m stuck at 3 birds. I’m about to just chuck this thing in the trash!
Ray
January 14, 2013 at 7:30 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sounds like you have an error in the flash. Repeat the NVFlash using a smaller system size.
To tell you the truth, you can spend $200 on the Nexus 7 and have a FANTASTIC tablet and you will never turn the GTab back on – unless it is to show it to a potential buyer (grin).
Desikan Ramaswamy
January 1, 2013 at 12:32 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have installed different roms on my gTab and am not new to this. However, I recently upgraded my Windows desktop to Win 8 and since then I am unable to install the APX drivers. Is there something I am missing? The device just refuses to install…..Any help appreciated!!!! Thanks in advance!
Ray
January 1, 2013 at 2:10 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yeah, I dislike Windows also! That is why I use Linux.
Only suggestion is to connect the gtab, in device manager delete any drivers with “?” or “!” or say anything about the Android or tablet.
Disconnect the gtab and reboot.
Then set up nvflash completely new – even a new folder.
When you connect the gtab, FORCE Windows to use the drivers in nvflash.
ayres sallada
December 29, 2012 at 4:22 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I was working with Vegantab with bl 1.1 with no probs, but then I tried to install full stock touch and the gtablet wont boot anymore, only on APX. tried to install full stock 300mb, old roms such as cwm or old nvflash stock 1.1 rom, it goes all the way until tapntap logo but then it boots loops. When I turn off the gtablet just enters into APX no matter what rom I load. Im really stuck and don´t know what to do. please help! I wanna see the birds again!
George Mcnitt
December 28, 2012 at 10:46 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray, thanks for assisting, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you too! I have tried both of your packages and get the same error, regardless of what I nvflash to it (have tried numerous other d/l’s as well) : sending file: “system.img 131072/125207808 bytes sentdata send failed NvError 0×120002 command failure: create failed (bad data)”. It seems to always end with the (bad data) trying to send the system.img file. What next?
George Mcnitt
December 28, 2012 at 10:49 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Also, just so you know, I never see anything ion the screen anymore, no birds, no recovery options, nothing, the only way I know its ready for APX is I leave the device manager open and can see it come and go as I press vol – and power. It seems APX is all I got……
George Mcnitt
December 28, 2012 at 2:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
FYI…as hope for others, I spent the last 2 days messing with this. Turns out my perfectly good looking usb cable was bad….dohhhhhhhh…..oh well. it was fun….
Ray
December 28, 2012 at 3:18 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yep. that would sure do it. Sorry for the problem but glad you got it figured out.
George Mcnitt
December 27, 2012 at 9:35 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hello, I have no idea what I did, but I am stuck in APX mode only, nothing else will come up, no birds, no recovery menu. I can run all of the nvflash files, but no matter what I run it winds up with “sentdata send failed NvError 0×120002″ on the system.img file. It was 1.1bl, went to 1.2bl, somewhere I messed it up. Any ideas? thanks…
Ray
December 27, 2012 at 1:01 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It may be that you used the larger (350MB) system partition and that your device will not support it (some evidently don’t). Start over with the 250MB version (see my links) and see if that works.
As long as you have APX working, you are not broken. If it truly gets STUCK in APX, just hold the power button until it powers off. Leave it for a while and then power on normally and see what happens.
Merry Christmas!
Luigi Stellon
December 7, 2012 at 10:16 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have a viewsonic g tablet (1.2) a couple of weeks ago i installed nvflsh with CWM since then it is stuck in APX mode I surched forums with what seem to be the same problem i was having. i tried drainning the battery, removed back cover and made a reset. Tried at different times to nvflsh with CWM and using specific part.img and when i am able to reboot in Viewsonic stock i never see the 3 birds it starts with the g tablet logo. I just finish trying with your post “NVFlash for Dummies” and same result everything is ok until i get to the part (1) to start ClockWorkMod Recovery by holding the power button and volume plus and that is where my problem it won’t go on to CWM recovery.
Please help
Let me know if you need any additional information
Ray
December 8, 2012 at 6:49 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
When you changed the partitions you probably got something messed up. I do not have any answers for such engineering issues. Sorry. Next time, come here BEFORE rather than after you do those unsupported things.
Ima Bricker
December 5, 2012 at 9:08 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray,
Installed the latest JB from where you recommended today(TeamDRH-JB-Alpha-5.3.zip). My 10 year old was playing a trivia game and the screen went blank. No amount of pushing the power button would make it come back to life. I pushed the power button by itself varying amounts of time from 5 seconds up to 1 minute in 5 second intervals. I also tried pressing & holding the volume – button, then pressing and holding the power button. Nothing. Tried holding the – button, then hold the + button, then press and hold the power button. Nothing.
I plugged the gtablet into the PC that I used to do the update and it starts to install a driver: MTP USB Device. It loads, but fails to install. The PC sees that something is out there, but is unable to connect.
Right now I’m bricked with a frowning 10 year old. I seem to remember a post a while back on drilling a hole to get at a reset button…
Any ideas on how to bring this thing back?
Ray
December 5, 2012 at 9:26 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
First of all, you evidently failed to read the disclaimer at the beginning of this post that says this is NOT the newest or recommended version!
It should not be necessary to drill a hole (but many people have done so). I have never needed to do anything but hold the power button consistently for about a minute. If you do need to do more, just open the back and remove the battery connector for a minute or so.
For all further questions, please post your comments on the page with the article that is related to your issue (in this case, you should have posted on the article where you found the ROM that you flashed.
Ima Bricker
December 5, 2012 at 10:05 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Remove the back? I can’t see any screw holes or obvious tabs. Is there a place to get this info? As it is, I think I might just see if over night will kill the battery and I can then maybe boot. I will keep the rest of my comments in the 5.3 version page until I have the CM10 (Smoother) ROM working and then I’ll move to that page. I’m a quick learner
Ray
December 6, 2012 at 6:28 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Remove the rubber “feet” and the 4 screws underneath. Then use a knife or credit card to separate the edges and the back wall pop off.
Ima Bricker
December 6, 2012 at 10:30 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I found the info at youtube. I should put a link here, but I’m not sure how. I have a beautiful “carbon fiber” cover on the back that I would have to cut holes in. I let it go all night, and it still had enough juice to make my PC want to install the MTP USB Device drivers. So now I have an old USB LED lamp plugged into to it. When it goes dark (it has been 3 hours already!) I will know the battery has finally died and I can plug it in to start the reboot! I will let it charge for a few hours so that it doesn’t run out of juice as I’m taking it back to stock. This will be the last post here, I will update the other thread when I can get it to reset. Thanks again.
Timothy
November 17, 2012 at 9:56 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray,
and i had a different situation.
I had issue with nexus 7 and when searching web for solution founded this video and that guide.
Unfortunately it’s for gtab
I was on bootloader 3.14 (stock 4.1 rom, trinity kernel) and then when android 4.2 i’ve tried to flash my bootloader with wub fresh nexus root toolkit. Seems like it flashed by then I can’t boot up. Google logo appears and then disappears for many times. I managed to get into APX mode. But nvflash doesn’t work for me. (tried to run on both – windows and linux) – after any nvflash command it returns message “Unknown device found” . [Linux see device because when I write lsusb at terminal it returns list of devices including 0955:7330 Nvidia Corp. device. ]
So, could you please tell me how could I flash back to 3.14 bootloader via nvflash or any other advice how could I return nexus 7 back to life?
Ray
December 5, 2012 at 9:30 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am sorry but I missed your comment on the 17th.
If you are still having issues, here is my Nexus 7 series of articles. http://raywaldo.com/series/nexus/ Hopefully, there is something there that will help.
Deo
November 14, 2012 at 4:53 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray,
Thank you for all your help. This is a lifesaver for the Gtablet.
The NVflash went great. After the update it is asking to install the newest over the air update (V1.2-5699), I tried it and it errors out:
Finding update package…
Opening update package…
E: signature verification failed
Installation aborted.
Do I need it?
Any ideas?
Thank you.
Ray
November 14, 2012 at 6:15 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Not unless you do not want a custom rom (you DO want a new rom, don’t you?).
Just ignore it and continue with flashing a new custom rom and enjoy the device as an ANDROID tablet – instead of the dumb tap-n-tap os.
Actually, if you want the newest (Jelly Bean) rom, you will need to redo the nvflash using the files associated with that ROM. The process is the same but you will replace the NVFlash files with a different set. and run it again. Once you have done it, you know how easy it is.
AK
September 11, 2012 at 11:05 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray,
I was on BL 1.1 and did NVFlash using your process. I then tried to install Calkulin+Clemsyn version 8 from XDA. Everything happened normally.
But when I did a system reboot after installation, the ROM just would not load. I got the “Nvidia Tegra II” screen and thereafter the screen was lit, but blank for a long time. Is this normal? What have I done wrong? Please help me out.
AK
Ray Waldo
September 12, 2012 at 6:09 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You have to match the nvflash to the rom/kernel or you may have problems.
Since I do not support that rom, I can only suggest that you either check xda for help or follow our guide and install jb.
In most cases, nvflash will clear the hang or boot loop.
Kelly
August 27, 2012 at 3:00 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray, with all the talk about Jelly Bean, I decided to finally try ICS first. But I’ve hit a snag from the beginning. I got to Step 7 of the Prerequesites above, went into the “Flash USB folder” and didn’t find anything about APX drivers. Here is what I found: two folders named “amd64″ and “i386″ and two set up info files named “android_winusb” and “NvidiaUSB.”
Kelly
August 27, 2012 at 3:19 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Nevermind, I just realized my mistake. Read this part over and over and just now realized that I was interpreting the step incorrectly. Just waiting for my GTab to charge and then will flash.
Mike
August 15, 2012 at 9:22 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have tried to do the above and the gtab does nothing when i connect to the computer after going into the apx mode. I tried to get it to load the nvflash before but it would not work and then i had to stop the process now the computer will not recognise the tablet in apx mode . What now Gtab is still working fine but computer can not see it in apx mode so i can not load the nvflash files
Ray Waldo
August 15, 2012 at 10:25 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You are almost certainly using Windows, correct? That is the problem. Windows has trashed your USB drivers and installed conflicting drivers. I don’t like Windows and don’t really support it.
Seriously, check my article on building a Ubuntu thumbdrive. You can use that to run Ubuntu on your Windows machine – without having to modify anything in Windows.
However, the process is to delete all of the offending drivers (in Device Manager) and then re-install the drivers from NVFlash.
Or, (better) install Ubuntu Linux and forget about driver problems.
Mike H
August 15, 2012 at 10:35 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You are amazing thanks for the prompt reply I have managed to use a windows 7 machine and went into looking for devices found it and then navigated through to install new drivers done that stage now going through the other instructions thanks for you great work. I was using my XP but looks like much easier on windows 7.
Bill Stricklin
August 3, 2012 at 12:18 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am running Linux Mint on my home computer. The software is a very recent acquisition, so I am very much a newbie. My gTablet has been “bricked” for months now and I have searched for some solution. I had an earlier version of the Android OS running but decided to upgrade to ICS. I used an app, I believe it was called Program Manager, to install the new OS and then calamity ensued. I’ve been trying the solution you have outlined using the terminal command ‘sudo sh ./nvflash_gtablet.sh’ and keep getting the message ‘sudo: ./nvflash: command not found’. All of the NVFlash file has been extracted into a folder named ‘nvflash’; all of the files within the ‘nvflash’ folder appear to be viable. Do you see anything awry in my process? Sure would like to see the tablet doing more than a paperweight!
Ray Waldo
August 3, 2012 at 2:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sounds like you failed to do #6 in the prequisites:
LINUX ONLY: You must make the nvflash file executable – Open the nvflash folder; right-click on the nvflash file; Properties; Permissions tab; Tic the box to run the file as a program. Then – Skip to the “PROCESS” steps below.
You should have no problem once you do that. BTW, the app that you used is probably ROM MANAGER. It works for some devices but it KILLS the gTablet. NEVER try it again on your gtab.
Vaudun
July 28, 2012 at 3:09 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
There is no “Preparations” step…
Ray Waldo
July 28, 2012 at 7:30 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sorry about that. It is repaired. It should have (and now does) read “Prerequisites”.
kevin j
July 15, 2012 at 7:47 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
HI! Followed directions, got linux going, keep getting message in terminal of cannot open ./nvflash_gtablet.sh… any ideas? thanks, mate
Ray Waldo
July 15, 2012 at 8:11 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You do not give me enough info to be able to help you. Probably, you failed to complete PREREQUISITES, Item 6 and/or PROCESS, Item 4. Read them and follow those steps exactly.
Will
July 15, 2012 at 8:46 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray,
I am trying to flash my gtab with no luck. I have an HP runing Windows7 Professional but ater I press power and -volume it will not load the gtab. Any suggestions????
Will
Ray Waldo
July 15, 2012 at 9:05 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Did you download OUR files in the link above? If not, then start over and follow our guide EXACTLY.
If you did follow our guide, then Windows drivers are the most common issue. I am not a Windows fan and the process to delete the offending/broken drivers is complicated. I suggest one of the following:
1. Google “fix windows USB drivers” and follow the suggestions online. Then start over & follow our guide.
2. Use a different computer and start fresh with our NVFlash files
3. Load a copy of Ubuntu Linux and use that operating system (it does not require the “drivers” like Windows does). Click the “How To / Ubuntu” tab in the header above to see some options – including booting it from a USB Thumb Drive (Your computer and Windows is unaffected).
William
July 12, 2012 at 10:26 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey Ray, its been having a problem trying to upload nvflash, and the ICS rom, each time i follow the directions and try to run the zip once its on the gtabs root, it attempts to apply and it says this.
Finding update package…
opening update package…
Installing Update…
Instrallation aborted.
I cant get it to load the updat,
I’m running CWM recovery 3.0.2.8 (gtab 1.2 and NI Adam rev5)
please let me know what I can do, thanks!
Ray Waldo
July 12, 2012 at 10:36 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You should follow my guide and use MY nvflash. You are using an outdated version of CWM and you need to extend the system partition. Read the guide.
Greg
May 15, 2012 at 11:18 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray, thank you!
Bought a gtab at a clearance sale just to be able to play with it. Your tutorial for nvflash is really super. Did the deed and now the machine has gone through the nvflash process and operating very nicely with the stock screens being displayed.
I also was prompted to do the update alert for 5669 but have chosen to ignore it. Do not want to mess up a good thing (for a least a couple of days), actually probably never will since I want to get ICS on the machine soon.
So I shall be running this for a bit then do the ICS thing using your site again.
Just a small note: This was my first time at messing with a machine on this level and would not have been surprised if I created a “brick”, I am good at that kind of thing. Your steps were clear and precise; however, fearing the worst I was freaking out just before I removed the usb cord at the end. The instructions were very clear NOT to connect or disconnect the cable unless told to do so. I missed any place that told me to disconnect the cable, so had to do it with great anxiety, having not been told to do so. BINGO, it was fine, but I can imagine me still looking for the instruction to remove the cable while carrying the machine around with it dangling….
Fear causes such strange behavior!
best,
greg
N
Ray Waldo
May 15, 2012 at 3:36 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey, Glad to help. And thanks for the feedback. I will edit the article to :”remove the USB cable.”
Installing ICS (or any other gTab ROM (based on the 1.2bl) (after you have done the NVFlash) is SUPER simple to do. No Computer needed & (not counting the time to download the ROM) it will only take about 10 minutes!!
1. Use the gTab’s browser to download your choice of ROM. It will be saved to the device’s SDCard
2. Power Off the gTab
3. Power up to ClockWorkMod (Power & Vol + buttons)
4. Make a backup (optional)
5. Reset to Factory, Clear both Caches
6. Install Zip from SDCard / Choose Zip / find and select the ROM’s Zip file / Confirm “yes”
7. Reboot and setup the new ROM!
Here is the link for our suggested roms: http://raywaldo.com/2011/08/roms-for-the-gtab/
Greg
May 16, 2012 at 9:57 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Boy was that easy. Bouncing between the other sites referenced here, and following the step by step directions makes it very understandable and easy to do. Kudos to you all.
I also see that #8 on the NVFlash install steps has been alter to reflect the removal of the USB cable. I think it maybe helpful to others similar to me that are new to this and use a step-wise fashion to doing things, ie: install NVFlash – take a break to sit with the results for awhile before moving to the next step in an hour, day or a week later.
Having now completed the ICS install from your step by step full article, I can see why the cable would have been fine to have left in since step 3 refers to it still being connected. Had I gone from NVFlash directly to ICS install it would have been quite clear about the USB cable being left in. I wonder if step 3 ought to be re-edited because of NVFlash step 8 edit now?
Then again, it appears that things have evolved to the point of just using the gtab alone for ICS install? The ICS full article install on your site is how I did it, only to find out later that, while it was easy and worked well, it is even easier to install ICS now! Bless those folks at TeamDRH!!! They keep on rockin’ seems like every time I look again these past weeks things just get better and better.
best,
greg
ICS full on and loving this gtab.
Ray Waldo
May 16, 2012 at 1:36 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Glad that it worked so well!
Actually, RayWaldo.com is staffed ENTIRELY by yours truly. Occasionally, I have a guest writer and sometimes, users will respond to each other. But, by-and-large, it is I. Thanks for the compliment.
I did edit the steps (again) to clarify that if one is continuing from the prep steps, they will likely have the USB connected. However, on subsequent uses of NVFlash, you should not have to perform the USB driver install (and Linux users don’t have to do that at all.) Therefore, skipping the prep section may be common.
Keep leaving feedback and let us know if there are issues. DRH is sounding like they have a full-blown ICS in testing now. I hope to see it soon.
BTW, I don’t use either of my gTabs much any more. My “Go To” tablet is my 7″ Nook Tablet (8GB). I will be reporting on it and giving instructions here on “The Bishop.”
Timothy Horn
May 8, 2012 at 11:53 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am unclear whether you still stick by these steps as you have told me you no longer have a gtab (did you root it into nirvana?) and your last post was 3 months ago making me wonder if your playing with the system has ruined it. I am having problems with my original config even without doing these steps and am nervous about bricking my Gtab. Does CWM copy the system so you can recover your lost programs or will you have to re-download them from your appstore?
Tim
Ray Waldo
May 9, 2012 at 6:58 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I don’t know where you get the 3 months from. The line above the photo states that this article was updated on 4/27/12. That was just a couple weeks ago.
I now have TWO more gTabs. I personally worked out the steps in this guide on both of them. Everything works exactly as stated. It is a SIMPLIFIED guide.
CWM is included and you don’t need to add anything except a ROM. From here, you can restore a backup (not recommended because you may RE-introduce your existing problems) or start fresh with a new ROM. The ROM will determine what is automatically installed. Most ROMs run the Android setup that will restore all of your paid apps (and some? of the free ones) on the Play Store. Other apps can be installed from the Play Store or the Amazon AppStore (after side loading the AppStore application).
This guide is the PRIMO way to recover from practically any issues with the gTab.
BTW, my old gTab had hardware issues that began with the power jack going bad and my attempts to replace it. Too many repairs will break almost any electronic device eventually – especially one that uses non-standard, miniature parts.
Steve Tenbrink
May 3, 2012 at 1:46 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray,
I reflashed my gTab and it seems to be okay. Thanks for the suggestion yesterday…I don’t know what I did to mess up the gTab.
I have two comments for your instructions above:
For the Linux install: To avoid the error shown in line 10 of your instructions, it’s probably easier to just make the nvflash file executable by typing: chmod +x nvflash and then running the shell script in line 9.
Also, the new CWM uses different navigation buttons than the previous version and now even has soft buttons at the bottom of the screen which makes it much nicer. The big difference I saw was that the ‘home’ button on the right side is now the UP arrow and the ‘menu’ button below the ‘home’ button is now the DOWN arrow. I think the select button is now the ‘search’ (magnifying glass) button.
Thanks again!
Ray Waldo
May 3, 2012 at 2:45 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey Steve…
Glad you are working now!
Thanks for the tips. I didn’t think to check whether the file was executable or not! I (duh!)
And your observations about the buttons are correct. I will correct the text as soon as I have time.
MarkD
May 2, 2012 at 9:58 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
After booting in the stock, I noticed that it was prompting me to update to 5669. At this point, I thought, I would give that a try and use the stock from for a few days to see how stable it was. I just need to use my tablet to test some stuff in the browser and figured this would be good enough. However, after I download the update and the tablet rebooted, it kept on booting to the Clockwork screen and telling me that the update was signature was bad (or something like that. sorry, I’ve reset it since then and didn’t write down the exact message). Is this expected? Is the nvflash stock image not compatible with viewsonic’s update?
For now, I’ll give the ICS beta another try. I installed it two days ago and when I turned on my tablet today it gave an “Encryption” error and told me had had to reset my tablet. I would not go any further. So that’s what I’m doing now.
Ray Waldo
May 2, 2012 at 5:11 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am not certain what happened since I never tried it. However, it probably is due to CWM as opposed to the stock recovery. CWM has been adapted a LOT over the stock recovery.
If you really wanted to do a STOCK install, there are suggestions of how to do that on the XDA forums. I can’t imagine any reason why anyone would really want to do that. Some say, “To get it back to stock so that the warranty would remain valid.” However, in most cases, the only reason one might want to return their GTab is because it was broken some how. If it is broken, then you probably could not boot into the custom ROM -OR- the stock system. YMMV
Steve
April 28, 2012 at 10:33 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray Waldo,
I just want to notice you that the zipped files, which is stored at your host is corrupted (unable to extract)
( http://raywaldo.com/file/Full_Stock_NVFlash_CWM_5504_Touch.zip )
Though the file at team DRH site is ok.
( http://teamdrh.com/DRH-Downloads/Full_Stock_NVFlash_CWM_5504_Touch.zip )
Thanks for your great works.
Ray Waldo
April 28, 2012 at 12:01 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks. It is ok now. Actually, I only mirror these files for the occasional problem with the main site. My hosting plan does not support a lot of downloads so it is pretty slow. (It took me 5 minutes to upload the file and 50 minutes to download it again!)
Aaron
April 7, 2012 at 12:38 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Mr. Waldo, I’m sure i am missing some very imperative step, but i cant seem to get my Gtab to be recognized in APX mode by my laptop. I’ve tried 2 laptops, one Vista and one windows 7, and neither will recognize the tablet in APX. I go to home and hold down Vol – to get into APX until the tablet goes blank then connect the USB cable and…nothing happens. Any help you could give would be very appreciated. I’m very eager to update to 1.2 to try out the Honeycomb and ICS roms! Thanks for any help you can give!
Ray Waldo
April 7, 2012 at 2:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You are “missing” something with the USB / APX drivers. ALL Windows versions are flakey about USB drivers.
Possible solutions:
I hope you find a workable solution. The change in your GTab is DRAMATIC and well worth the time and effort required. BTW, the only DIFFICULT thing is the USB drivers. After you get NVFlash working, it is a breeze. When you have ClockWorkMod installed, you can download a new ROM (using the GTab browser) and install it WITHOUT a computer. You can do full system backup and restore so if you don’t like a ROM, you can easily switch back to exactly where you were and not miss a lick!
Please keep us advised on your progress.
Timothy Horn
March 16, 2012 at 10:20 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
ok this scares me. My GTAB is not bricked and I think I recall Android is a modification or adaptation of Linux. So should I use that instruction set? Sorry but Im as dense as brick about this.
Tim
Timothy Horn
March 16, 2012 at 11:40 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
ok I now think you mean what your PC OS is instead of the OS on the pad so since I have Windows Vista home premium I guess I should use that menu set. See these are problems with you techies making assumptions about what is going on esp when dealing with 2 diff OS’s on the PC and the tab. You could make this clearer.
Tim
Ray Waldo
March 17, 2012 at 11:29 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks for the insight into possible misunderstanding in the instructions. I will try to fix that when the current crisis has cooled off.
You are correct that the question is whether your computer is running Windows or Linux. Actually, since the Linux instructions are so much easier to use, some people set up a thumb drive to run Linux on their Windows machine. You should check out http://ubutu.com for help with such things.
Matt
March 5, 2012 at 3:46 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have downloaded all new files and used them correctly, my issue is now the gTab boots up and shows the Tap-N-Tap logo, then goes to just the N, then repeats. It never loads up into the original software. This happened once before and I do not remember what I did. Any suggestions?
Ray Waldo
March 5, 2012 at 6:39 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Although there are some direct fixes for certain looping issues, the simplest and easiest solution is to repeat the NVFlash procedure. Since you have it set up, it is a quick and easy fix.
Just start at the “Using NVFlash” portion.
Phillip
February 20, 2012 at 12:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’ve followed all the steps exactly. Files in folders as required.
Usb driver installed and working.
When I double click the .bat file, it says it can’t find my device.
I can’t get past this.
Any help?
Ray Waldo
February 20, 2012 at 2:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yep! I can help. Trash M$ Windoze, load up a copy of Linux and everything will just work! No drivers needed!
You are having trouble with the USB drivers for Windows. If you have a teenage kid that lives nearby, take your device over there and let THEM follow my guide. Almost absolutely, they will make it work!
But I can’t help you much with the Windows problem since I try to not use it. Also, my GTablet is physically broken and I do not have a prototype to work with (anyone care to donate your G-Tablet for a good cause?)
I do know that you should delete any drivers in Windows/ControlPanel/DeviceManager/ if they have a red X, or an exclamation mark. Also, if they SOUND like they are related to your GTablet, NVidea, or anything related to APX. You should do this with the GTab connected via USB and then again with it removed. After that, start over on the instructions and be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that you read each step and follow it exactly.
BTW, if you have a friend that happens to use Linux, have them do the steps for you. Or, download Ubuntu/Linux and (iso file) and flash it to a thumb drive. You can then boot your computer to run from the thumb drive (no change to your Windows config). Then, you could do it yourself. Just visit http://ubuntu.com for the free download and instructions.
Phillip
February 20, 2012 at 2:25 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yeah, its a USB issue. I went into device manager and tried to manually update the driver but it keeps saying its up-to-date. I know how to flash android devices. I’ve got the latest .902 build rom on my Droid Bionic.
/ve had the honeycomb rom on my gtablet for months but I wanted to update my cw.
None of the USB drivers ever displayed a yellow or red marking. It installs, but doesn’t say anything about nVidia.
I’ll try the thumb drive trick b/c I don’t know anyone that uses Linux.
Thanks for the swift reply.
I don’t have any problem flashing 1.1 roms….I just want to be able to flash the newer 1.2 roms
Ray Waldo
February 20, 2012 at 5:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yes. All newer builds are on 1.2bl.
If you know how to create a bootable flash drive, you will be blown away with how Ubuntu works – on your hardware without any changes to your config. It is the ultimate in PRIVATE browsing since you take the entire computer with you – in your pocket!
You will likely feel that Ubuntu is as fast and responsive (from the thumb drive) as Windows is on your harddrive! Also, the thumbdrive is all you need to install Ubuntu as a dual boot using the UNUSED portion of your existing harddrive (should you choose to install it permanently.)
Ray Waldo
February 6, 2012 at 8:18 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Glad to help. (Psssst… don’t tell anyone that I answered the phone!)
Post a comment here telling us how far you got on the steps in the article above. Then tell us what happened, what is on your computer screen, or on the GTab, etc. We can make it work.
Casey
February 5, 2012 at 9:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
So… Mr. Waldo… Thanks for ALL your help this evening. I am still having trouble, getting it to work properly. Not sure why, will have to finish working on it later. I have become to tired to process.
I will comment and donate after completion. Thanks again, you have been very helpful!
Asiya
February 2, 2012 at 1:40 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You guys are life savers! I new to using the gTab and you have made the directions to recover from being stuck in a loop so easy to follow. Great work to you all
Ray Waldo
February 2, 2012 at 2:04 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks Asiya! And, thanks for the donation.
BTW, it is not so much “guys” (plural) as it is “guy” (singular). I do most of the work related to this site. Sometimes, users are able to provide help (as is the case with this article) and users often provide comments that offer feed back or other assistance.
I consider your remarks as a compliment – that this site looks like, provides help like, and generally seems to be, a commercial or multi-person site! Thanks.
Jason B
January 10, 2012 at 9:48 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Have 2 G-tabs. Was attempting to flash one of them and could not get either of my two Windows 7 laptops to recognize the USB device (from the volume – power, then plug in cable method). Plugged USB cable in first, then booted in APX mode, and it worked just fine. Just putting this out for anyone struggling.
Ray Waldo
January 10, 2012 at 3:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Maybe you misread “Using NVFlash” step 3.
“Hold down the “power” and “volume – (minus)” buttons simultaneously until your GTab comes up and then goes back to a black screen. The black screen means it is in APX mode and it is waiting to display the flashing process.”
Notice that it says to hold the power and volume “minus” button. That *IS* apx mode. Power and the Volume PLUS button boots into Recovery mode (CWM).
Whatever happened, I hope the rest of the process went well?
SL
January 6, 2012 at 1:03 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have used nvflash before on my g-tab with no problems. This time, after running nvflash_gtablet.bat to completion, the tablet stuck on a black screen with a message like “entering flash recovery mode” or similar… I powered it down, and subsequently I am unable to get into APX or Recovery. No logo, no message. Dead. Nothing… Ever been there? Was i supposed to wait longer(first time I did this was pretty quick)?
SL
January 6, 2012 at 1:16 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Actually is stuck in ATX mode. wew! Still working on getting it back, nvflash pointed out a missing .img file. That I can fix, if it’s true. I tripple checked, but ya know…
SL
January 6, 2012 at 1:22 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ok, I was missing part8.img. Re-extracted it and ran nvflash successfuly. Moving on.
Ray Waldo
January 6, 2012 at 1:34 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey, we all make mistakes! Glad it worked for you. Be sure to try FlashBack 10.3 (Honeycomb). It makes the Gingerbread interface look bad.
SL
January 6, 2012 at 5:19 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Installing Flashback as we speak…
ryan
December 29, 2011 at 6:43 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hello Ray
I am in the process of flashing my g tab to flashback. I am having some trouble at the part where you are supposed to run the bat file. I found something called nv_flashgtablet and it is a batch file so I tried to run it and command box came up and it says at the bottom that the files could not be found and it says press enter to continue and it takes you out. I redid everything in the list yet have the same problem.
Thanks
ryan
December 29, 2011 at 7:11 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
actually I found my mistake and got it to work, but my new problem is i finished and when I turned it on, it went to the tapntap interface and you know how it shows you”tapntap” then only goes to the n with the loading on top. Well it keeps going back and forth between those two. I tried to go to clockworkmod and it showed recovery ket detected and it has not changed from that screen for a while.
Ray Waldo
December 30, 2011 at 7:32 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Repeat from “using nvflash. “
Kevin
November 21, 2011 at 3:59 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have already nvflashed installed bl 1.2 and flashback 10 on my gtab using your instructions and had absolutely no problems. I’m trying to do the same to another gtab running bl 1.1 and Vegantab 7.0. My problem is on the going to device manager and the APX is not there for me to update to driver. I’m at a loss. I’ve powered on and off a hundred times and still no go.. power+ vol- takes me to black screen and apx just never appears in Device manager… your thoughts???
Kevin
November 21, 2011 at 7:14 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Nevermind,,, Windows must have installed it.. I rolled the dice and just tried to run the .bat file and it worked……
Ray Waldo
November 21, 2011 at 8:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Actually, it was probably connected all the time. Windows does not always make such connections evident. Glad it works!
Mark
November 18, 2011 at 1:49 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have been able to successfully do the NV Flash, but for some reason I cannot power off. When I do, the only way I can turn my gtab back on is to flash again. Any thoughts?
Ray Waldo
November 18, 2011 at 3:46 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
That doesn’t compute!
You are not giving me all the facts. You cannot nvflash when the gtab is powered off.
1. How do you power off? Try to just touch the power button. Is the gtab going into the sleep of death?
2. Can you get to cwm?
3. What happens when you do power & vol-? Or, power & vol+?
4. Do you see a flash on the screen?
Give me more details and I might have an answer.
Mark Cagle
November 18, 2011 at 11:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
How do I power off?
1. I press the off button and the screen comes up with tablet options and I press power off and the machine seems to shutdown.
2. I guess it must be going into the sleep of death.
3. I cannot get to cwm.
4. When I power & vol- nothing happens. When I power & vol+ nothing happens.
5. I do not see a flash on the screen.
Hope this helps.
Ray Waldo
November 19, 2011 at 7:45 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks. It still doesn’t make sense though. The power & vol+ sequence must be setting the device into apx mode or you could not do nvflash.
What happens when you just tap the power button? It should put the device to sleep. Pressing the button again – quickly – should wake it up (after a few seconds).
It sounds like you’re stuck in apx mode but nvflash should clear it. Try other ways to shut down and see what happens.
Mark Cagle
November 19, 2011 at 9:12 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
When I tap the power button quickly it does go to sleep, and then when I tap the power button again it does wake up.
If I’m stuck in apx mode, how do I get out of that?
The only other way I’ve tried to shutdown is to let the battery run down, recharge the gtab and then try to power back up. Nothing.
Ray Waldo
November 19, 2011 at 2:43 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hold the power button down (30 secs or longer) until the GTab shuts off. Then continue holding it down until it reboots (3 birds) then release and let it boot up normally.
Ray Waldo
November 21, 2011 at 8:52 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Did you discover the problem with your GTab not shutting down properly? Tell us the “rest of the story.”
DanA
November 14, 2011 at 10:57 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray – Thx for this guide. I have been running a honeycomb rom based on bl1.1 for a while now but I want to try some of the newer stuff happening on 1.2. But since ive been using this a while I also want to make sure I don’t lose data, files, and installed programs and game saves. I do have Titanium backup, but honestly don’t know how to use it fully (I was able to fumble through it once successfully on a previous from upgrade). If I flash to 1.2 and then start using one of the new roms, how can I make sure I can keep this stuff so I don’t have to start fresh. Just want to make sure I know what I’m getting in to before I start.
Ray Waldo
November 15, 2011 at 8:19 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am not a expert (or even a fan) on TB.
1. The Android Market will restore all paid apps and most free ones as well. But it will not restore the settings and game saves.
2. If you go through TB and assure that you have good backups on each app, then you can restore them on the new ROM. However, my recommendation is to NOT restore the apps until you have the new ROM operating correctly. Otherwise, you may introduce problems into the installation.
Sheng
November 14, 2011 at 12:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I went through the process and the tablet works afterwards. However, I turned the power off, then It seems dead again, it will not boot, it shows black screen and no splash screen at all.
I repeated several times. After the nvflash, it works until the power is turned off.
Please help!
Ray Waldo
November 14, 2011 at 2:31 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The Sleep of Death (SOD) sometimes appears as if the device has died and will not awake. However, if you hold the power button down for a couple seconds, the screen will flash and the device will boot up.
Also, it sounds like you may be holding the power button too long when you intend to blank the screen. If you hold the button more than just a fraction of a second, it will actually power off the device.
To blank the screen, just TAP the power button lightly. If the screen does not blank, extend the time by as little as possible until you get a “feel” for how long you need to hold the power button for each function.
Richard
November 10, 2011 at 12:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi anyone can help me. I would like to install Flashback-Honeycom 10 over Brilliant Corners rom. I have clockworkMod Recovery V.3028 G-Tab 1.2 and NI Adam rev5. Do i need to NVFlash first.
Thanks
Ray Waldo
November 10, 2011 at 4:33 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You probably do not need to NVFlash. FB requires an enlarged (250meg) system partition but Robeet did that for his version of NVFlash.
In CWM, reset to factory, clear cache and dalvik and then flash the FB10 ROM. Then repeat the reset and clear caches.
When you reboot, it should be fine but it will take about 5 minutes to boot the first time.
If it fails, just NVFlash – it is not difficult or dangerous. My guide includes the larger system partition so if you use it, you will be set for any 1.2bl branch ROM.
Richard
November 12, 2011 at 11:58 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
How do I check if i have (250meg). Is the stock Rom 1.2. Branch zip with CWM pre-installed version on NVFlash for dummies has 250meg.
Thanks
Ray Waldo
November 12, 2011 at 12:34 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
To check the size of your SYSTEM partition, open Terminal Emulator app (free on Market), enter “df” (without quotes).
The “Filesystem” area is at the top of the list (scroll up to view it). Check the line that ends “/system”.
My device (250meg) reads:
“/dev/block/mtdblock3 253696 216480 37216 85% /system
Richard
November 12, 2011 at 4:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
when I open Terminal Emulator I see
$ export PATH=/data/local/bin:$PATH
$
Can you show me how to enter “df”
Thanks
Ray Waldo
November 12, 2011 at 7:59 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
When I open it, I just click there and when the keyboard appears, I start typing.
Richard
November 12, 2011 at 5:41 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
when I enter “df” I did not see /system.my device (250meg)reads: “dev/block/mtdblock3 253696 216490 37216 85% /system I only see:
/system: 253690k total 146796k used, 106900k available (block size 4096). It that mean I don’t have 250meg in my tablet.
Thanks
Richard
November 12, 2011 at 6:31 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I check but I did not see “/system”.
My device (250meg) reads:
“/dev/block/mtdblock3 253696 216480 37216 85% /system
Here is what I have on my divice.
/dev: 223380K total, ok used, 223380K available (block size 4096)
/mnt/asec: 223380K total, ok used, 223380K available (block size 4096)
/system: 253696K total, 146796K used, 106900K available (block size 4096).
Can you please tell me what all of that mean. Is that mean I don’t have (250meg) on my device.
Thanks
Richard
Ray Waldo
November 12, 2011 at 8:07 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You can scroll back to see the beginning of the report. You may just rotate to portrait mode to see the top.
Richard
November 12, 2011 at 9:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
On the top I have
$export PATH=/data/local/bin:$PATH:.
$df
/dev: 223380K total, ok used, 223380K available (block size 4096)
/mnt/asec: 223380K total, ok used, 223380K available (block size 4096)
/system: 253696K total, 146796K used, 106900K available (block size 4096). and so on, but there is no“/system”.
My device (250meg) reads:
“/dev/block/mtdblock3 253696 216480 37216 85% /system. I rotate to portrait mode but still can not see it.
Thanks
Richard
Ray Waldo
November 12, 2011 at 10:13 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Don’t know. That may be the way the 200meg system looks. Since my system is larger, I cannot say. If you are having problems, use NVFlash to fix it.
If you are NOT having problems, don’t worry about it. If you want to flash a new ROM and it fails, it may mean that you have the smaller system. Again, use NVFlash to fix it.
Richard
November 13, 2011 at 11:29 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If it fail can I go back to Brilliant Corners rom. Because I don’t want to do NVFlash.
Thanks for your help.
Richard
Ray Waldo
November 13, 2011 at 8:27 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You can do a cwm backup. Then flash ONLY a rom based on the 1.1bl – If you don’t like the rom, just restore the backup.
Bryan
November 4, 2011 at 8:23 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey,
I’m using windows7 and when try to install the driver (exactly how the instructions say) it doesn’t recognize that there is a driver in the USB folder. Windows just comes back saying that the drivers are up to date and it stays as “Unknown device.” Do I need to do something different for win7?
Thanks,
Bryan
Ray Waldo
November 4, 2011 at 11:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Others have used the same instructions on win7 with no problem. I can’t help you with windoze problems – I use Ubuntu Linux.
My suggestion is to delete (in device manager) any device that appears broken. Then start over on these instructions.
alexander keyserlingk
November 3, 2011 at 6:46 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I followed all the steps down to
nvflash_gtablet.bat in gtab.nvflash.1.2.branch.20110617.zip
The machine ran for 5 minutes downloading all sorts of files. At the end, I pulled the usb connection. shut down the tablet. When I now reboot I get the two messages
Application email Precess.com.android.email
and
android. process.acore has stopped unexpectedly.
When I force close the android.process.acore it comes back again and again. I cannot use my tablet. Help.
Ray Waldo
November 4, 2011 at 6:15 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Unless you complete the process it will fail. Start over and allow the process to finish each step before you move forward. The entire process can take up to an hour (depending on how easily you read and understand the steps.)
JohnCS
October 20, 2011 at 11:22 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray:
Recently I bought Gtablet with Andriod 2.2 and Bootloader 1.2.
I want to progressively update it to eventually run Honycomb.
I have read your excellent article (above) and many others and I think I understand the process (I have worked with computers for 40 years), but I simply cannot identify STEP 1.
It seems I need to wipe memory before re-installing the 1.2 bootloader with larger partition (for Honycomb), but I need CWM in order to wipe the memory, but I need to root before I can install CWM, but I should not try to root with the factory 1.2 bootloader. Round and round I seem to go. Please advise how I can break out of this loop and BEGIN the process.
JohnCS
October 20, 2011 at 12:55 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray:
Since my earlier message I decided to bite the bullet and follow your instructions. It worked, so I now on my way to Honycomb! One small point: Prior to doing this I attached the USB to download backup copies of the Gtab to my PC. Windows kindly loaded the NV driver for this, but when I attached again for your procedure, the USB driver failed. So I replaced it with the one you advised and it then worked OK. Clearly each driver is tailored for different applications.
Many thanks.
Ray Waldo
October 20, 2011 at 2:57 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The drivers that you now have installed will work for anything you need to do with NVFlash.
Sorry about the confusion that you were experiencing (in the previous comment). I just got in and read my messages. However, as you discovered, the best way to do it is to just jump in and do it. To try to wrap your mind around it is a bit confusing UNTIL you try and see how easy it really is.
Once you have NVFlashed (our version) of 1.2-4349 stock Tap-n-Tap, visit http://raywaldo.com/2011/07/clockworkmod-1-2bl-honeycomb-on-gtab/ to finish up and you are ready to enjoy your NEW TOY!
JohnCS
October 21, 2011 at 12:31 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
HiRay:
Many thanks. I loaded and ran CWM, wiped and re-partitioned the memory and loaded GtabComb 3.3 plus the Ice Cream version of Market. Everything seems very fast and stable. But like many others I am disappointed by the Flash support. Do you think Android 3 or 4 will ever have video acceleration?
Cheers,
JohnCS
Ray Waldo
October 21, 2011 at 12:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Glad to hear that it went well, John!
Google showed off the first ICS (Android 4) device this week. The news release said that ICS should work on any device that ran 2.2 or greater (should include the GTab). They hinted that it would be out around the end of the year.
At that point, everyone (running ICS) will be on equal footing and only the hardware will be different. And, the GTab’s hardware is up with some of the best.
pr
October 18, 2011 at 9:36 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It seems that there is no nvflash_gtablet.bat in gtab.nvflash.1.2.branch.20110617.zip . I checked and rechecked. Any ideas? Thx!
Ray Waldo
October 18, 2011 at 10:32 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You are absolutely correct! That’s because it is not supposed to be in that zip.
Perhaps you did not read the instructions (above) closely enough. You need three archives. 1) the NVFlash files (for either Windows or Linux), 2) -assuming Windows – you need the APX drivers, & 3) the IMAGE archive (which you have).
Please return to the TOP of this guide and follow ALL steps, download all the required files and do not skip any steps and you should be fine!
Regards,
Ray Waldo
October 18, 2011 at 5:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
From STEVE on another article…
“I’m running 7.03 on my gtab and see there is a stable version of 7.1.
I’m not seeing instructions to just step up one build, rather than wipe everything and start over. Do you have to wipe everything and reinstall all my apps after every build, or am I missing something?
I was hoping its as simple as a Firefox update, but I’m guessing thats just wishfully thinking. Don’t really want to reinvent the wheel if I don’t have to.
thanks again sir.”
Ray Waldo
October 18, 2011 at 6:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey STEVE: You are evidently commenting about CyanogenMod? I no longer use (or recommend) CM7 so I can only assume the answer. As long as you download the correct version (to match your boot loader), then you should be fine to just clear both the main and dalvik caches and flash CM7.1 over CM7.0.3. In that case, you will not lose any configuration or apps.
You may wish to consider flashing one of the various HoneyComb roms for GTab. If you wish to try HoneyComb, read the article above and you can make your choices along the way. BTW, my present choice is Flashback version 10.0.
Alex Ross
October 11, 2011 at 6:29 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ive spent all night reading every post and every line written… and wanted to tell you…. I am about to start the whole process…. flash…. nflash, root.. everything. Will let you know how it turned out…
allen
September 29, 2011 at 12:23 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
killer guide. You just unbrick my gtab. I bricked it in the first place cuz I was following other guides on the web. I should’ve came here first!
Ray Waldo
September 29, 2011 at 8:44 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Glad that you got it going! Which rom did you flash?
allen
October 1, 2011 at 7:31 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
the other guides were outdated, and didn’t mention anything about checking the bootloader version. (Mine’s 1.2bl.)
I ended up getting HoneyComb. I love it!
Ray Waldo
October 1, 2011 at 8:10 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
That is why this site exists – to make the technical stuff simple enough for common people. Glad it worked for you.
Toby Koenig
September 28, 2011 at 4:34 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Quick question. May be a newbie one… I got to the point where i am in apx mode, but the drive isnt showing up on my laptop (win7 32 bit). I went through the manual install for device driver, installed successfully, but still shows Unknown Device for the child. I can see NVIDIA USB Boot-recovery driver for Mobile devices in my USB controllers group in device manager, and that appears to be fine. Recycled several times into APX and just cant seem to get it to show up as a drive.
Ray Waldo
September 28, 2011 at 5:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Did you install the apx drivers per the “prepare ” step 6?
Since I don’t use (or recommend) windoze, I can’t help you there.
Best advice – install Ubuntu Linux. You will not have the problem then. Actually, I am serious. You can get it free and install it with windows still intact.
mATT
September 28, 2011 at 11:04 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Where is the “tips” article, I can’t seem to find it.
Ray Waldo
September 28, 2011 at 11:22 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Try typing tips into the search box at the top
http://raywaldo.com/2011/07/tips-for-android-users/
Matt
September 28, 2011 at 5:47 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Good Morning Ray,
I spoke with you last Friday on a land line when I was having trouble using NVFlash, my tablet was stuck on the Tap-N-Tap logo and would not go any further. I was able to get the tablet to work correctly using one of the selections in the original blue recovery screen. Once I got the original Tap-N-Tap reloaded, I hooked up the USB and noticed that I WAS missing the update.zip file on the gtab. Anyway, it only seemed to set me back a few minutes.
I loaded GTabComb beta 3.3 to run and I noticed I have trouble that I did not used to have when I ran VEGAN-TAB. Netflix works perfectly and so does youtube, but other video does not play properly. Some of the videos I click on play the audio but not the video and this was not the case with my older ROM. Also some sites now recoginize the tablet as a mobile device and I can only access the mobile portion of the website instead of the whole webpage. I watch a lot of video on crooksandliars.com and now it will only play audio with no picture, is there a way to fix this and to have websites see the tablet as just another computer instead of a mobile device? Thanks for your help with this. – Matt
Ray Waldo
September 28, 2011 at 7:34 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You need to change the settings for the browser to have the “user agent ” be desktop.
That will not fix a lot of video since it is an issue with flash from Adobe. See the ” tips ” article for possible solutions.
Dan
September 25, 2011 at 8:56 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi Ray,
Thanks for this guide. I’m in the process of preparing to NVFlash to increase the size of my system partition, which is a requirement for flashing Honeycomb into my gtab. I have a question on step 3 under the heading un-zip the files. The gtab.nvflash.1.2.branch.20110617.zip file contains the same file names as the files in the nvflash_windows_20100500.zip. Do we just override the files from the nvflash_window zip file or do we make make a copy of them, since the instruction says to download the two zip files into the same folder, into the NVFLASH folder? If we override these files, then would there be any files left from the nvflash_window zip file, though under the checkpoint heading there are supposed to be files from this zip file.
Thanks,
Dan
Ray Waldo
September 25, 2011 at 12:49 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Good question Dan!
I had updated the files but I still have not completely updated my guide (need to do that).
In the mean time, I am certain that you can just overwrite any existing files with the ones from the gtab.nvflash.1.2.branch.20110617.zip file.
Actually, I think that file includes everything you need for the basic NVFlash to 1.2bl.
Could you help me with this? If so, try using JUST that one file and see what happens. If you will give me the notes, I can update my guide for others. I would certainly appreciate it.
Dave532
September 24, 2011 at 8:33 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You should put ads on your site so people can click on them when you help them… Thank you for this!
Ray Waldo
September 25, 2011 at 1:52 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have considered adding some (few) ads to help fund this site. The fact that you guys are commenting about the usefulness of the site makes me happy!
philip
September 19, 2011 at 11:53 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
hi, just to let you know i tried 2 more times and finally got it to go. once again thanks for having patience with me. ready to flash honeycomb. i will need to donate after all this..
Ray Waldo
September 20, 2011 at 7:05 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Sounds like patience on your part was the key! Glad to hear it works.
Flashing a new rom is a piece of cake now!
philip
September 19, 2011 at 11:18 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
hi ray. need help. trying to get to bl 1.2. when i get to Flash Tap UI to the GTab, and it says, If using Windows, run the nvflash_gtablet.bat file (double click the file – which is in the “NVFlash” folder. i did that and says file not found? not sure where i went wrong??
Geary Lyons
September 19, 2011 at 10:47 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am getting the following error messages after:
Reset to Factory
7. Use the volume keys to select “Wipe Data/Factory Reset” – Use the POWER key to select – use the volume keys to select “Yes” and then press the POWER button again.
E:Can’t mount/dev/block/mmcblk2 (no such file or directory)
E:Can’t mount SDCard2:recovery command
Complete steps 8-10, then loops at TnT logo then sleeps
Reloaded everything at least 4 times, no change. you thoughts on resolving?
Regards,
Geary
Ray Waldo
September 20, 2011 at 7:08 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
that is normal. You took the external sdcard out (sdcard2) and the other block is not used.
Sounds fine. Keep going.
philip
September 19, 2011 at 10:09 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
HI RAY,nvflash for dummies, i am he..hope you can bear with me. i think i have most of your instructions BUT i always want to be clear before i attempt this.Prepare to use NVFlash[no.4 and5] in the dropbox there r 3 files. when u mention linux and windows do you mean if you are using a windows pc i ask because the 3rd file is a gtab file..just want to be sure. sorry for taking up your time.
philip
September 19, 2011 at 8:49 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Prepare to use NVFlash. step 7 says download download the Tap-n-Tap UI image. do i need to and if yes where from. or is do i get it when i download new rom. tks
Ray Waldo
September 19, 2011 at 9:25 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The link is in the same area – be sure to get the 1.2-4349 image.
Turner
September 19, 2011 at 2:32 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I followed direction for NVflash but my tablet will not go past the tap screen…it looks as if it’s in a loop. It goes from tap screen to black screen then to tap screen. I’ve repeated the process 6 or 7 times to no avail. I know I did something wrong I just don’t know what.
thanks
Ray Waldo
September 19, 2011 at 5:08 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Not to worry, it is a bit more work but you can still recover!
NVFlash the 1.2-4349 stock rom and it should work.
After that, be certain that you use ONLY a rom based on the 1.2 bootloader branch. There are two branches: 1.1bl and 1.2bl. Almost everything now is headed to the 1.2bl branch. Either branch will work fine but the ROM branch MUST agree with the boot loader branch or you get a boot loop (what you are seeing).
BTW, since it may be confusing to have instructions for BOTH boot loaders, I have dashed-out the parts related to the 1.1bl since I do NOT recommend it. I hope it is easier to follow now.
Turner
September 19, 2011 at 11:22 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I followed the new, simpler directions and I’m still getting the same thing. I cannot do anything when tapntap screen comes up. It is running in a loop I think…I tried to press (power and volume+) but nothing happens….all I can do is turn it off and on…when I turn it on I just get a black screen. The only way I know it’s on is to look on computer in device manager and see it appear and reappear…I know I’m missing something simple…
Thanks
Ray Waldo
September 20, 2011 at 7:26 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Not much information to work with. My best guess is that you are getting impatient and not allowing the processes to finish.
As you see from the other comments here, people repeat the process and realize that they missed something and then it works!
Just keep trying – you can do it!! Be sure to download the 1.2-4349 image again. It may be corrupted.
Turner
September 20, 2011 at 10:20 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I will keep pushing on…I know it’s something simple…I’ve done this before..lol. I’ll keep you posted.
Thanks
Turner
September 20, 2011 at 2:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It looks like I’m stuck in APX mode. How do I get out of it? Or can I/
Thanks again…
Ray Waldo
September 20, 2011 at 2:19 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
See my comment below (published a couple hours before your last
Just in case, here is the link: http://raywaldo.com/2011/01/nvflash-for-dummies/comment-page-2/#comment-6990
Ray Waldo
September 20, 2011 at 12:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The black screen sounds like you are in APX (or debug) mode. The only thing you will see is a BLANK SCREEN.
Disconnect the USB cable. Hold the power button until the GTab powers off. (If you cannot tell, just hold it until the GTab flashes. Then if it powers up, just power back down again – if it does not work correctly). Leave it off for a minute or two and then just touch the power button for a second. See if it powers on correctly.
You get into APX mode by pressing the power and MINUS button (could easily hit the minus – rather than the plus). When in that mode, the GTab appears dead but will respond to commands from the computer.
Also, unless SPECIFICALLY directed to have the USB cable connected, it should be disconnected when you are powering up.
Power & Vol - is the APX mode (blank screen – only talks to computer via USB)
Power & Vol + is the RECOVERY mode (menu of options)
Turner
September 20, 2011 at 2:19 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I tried and nothing happened…the only way I can tell it’s on is if I connect it to the computer…
thanks
Rob Escott
September 15, 2011 at 4:17 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Well thanks for the great instructions. I reckon I’ve followed them (I’ve re-run the process twice) after I bricked by installing a bad ROM. I’ve flashed from windows and it seems to work (creates the partitions and copies the files across before rebooting) but on reboot it freezes on the gtablet splash screen. It doesn’t get to the TNT screen at any point. When I boot by pressing down the + button it boots into an open box animation and then reboots to the same gtablet screen. I am CLUELESS as to how to progress. Any ideas????? Many thanks.
Rob Escott
September 15, 2011 at 4:19 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
oh, and by the way, I do not get any sort of menu when I boot with the volume up button selected
Ray Waldo
September 20, 2011 at 2:27 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
With the GTab powered off, press – and hold – the Volume PLUS button. Then press the power button until the GTab flashes.
Release the power button and continue to hold the Vol+ until you see a couple of lines of fine print in the upper left corner of the gtab.
Release the Vol+ button and in a couple of seconds you should see the recovery menu.
If the menu text is blue, you are probably looking at the STOCK recovery. If the menu text is yellow (or orange), then it is probably ClockworkMod Recovery.
Turner
September 21, 2011 at 9:56 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am now able to press “power and volume+” and get the tablet to come on. I see the first two lines of code but cannot do anything as it skips to Android screen then gtablet, then goes to tapntap loop…
just keeping you informed on prgress
Ray Waldo
September 21, 2011 at 2:03 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Well, that is SOME progress!
Are you releasing the keys in the order that I described in my response to you yesterday (above http://raywaldo.com/2011/01/nvflash-for-dummies/comment-page-2/#comment-6990)?
If so, then you need to repeat the NVFlash the 1.2-4349 image one more time. Here are links to two different files. Either should work. Try the one that you did NOT try previously:
http://raywaldo.com/file/nvflash4349rev4.zip (from above, includes all NVFlash files for Windows)
http://raywaldo.com/file/gtab.nvflash.1.2.branch.20110617.zip (from our ROMS article, includes only the 1.2-4349 image)
Ray Waldo
September 15, 2011 at 7:26 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I am sorry that you are having problems. However you have not given me enough information to diagnose the problem.
Best guess – start fresh and do everything by the book. Step by step, be very careful to do each step. If a step fails, repeat it. If you still cannot make it work, report where you run into problems.
Steven O'Dell
September 15, 2011 at 12:50 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray,
Thanks for all of your user-friendly writings. I just installed 1.2bl and gtabcomb…I love the honeycomb…your instructions are incredibly helpful…so I finally hit the tip jar…you deserve it and so much more…
Thanks! Steve O
Ray Waldo
September 15, 2011 at 5:13 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks Steve. Glad to help.
Krieger
September 8, 2011 at 2:54 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Awesome guide. I just used it to switch to the 1.2 dev tree and to install Flashback 8.0. I got worried for a second when my tablet rebooted to only a black screen but I quickly found your steps on how to reset it and was back on track. Thank you for taking the time to make your guides and sharing your knowledge.
God Bless.
Ray Waldo
September 8, 2011 at 5:55 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Always pleased to hear a positive report! If there was anything that was, at first, confusing but you were able to overcome it…. Please comment about it and how we can make it clearer.
mrj62
August 29, 2011 at 5:25 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hey Ray,
Awesome guide, at first glance it’s like yikes but after reading through it a few times it’s like “yeah I can do this” then it’s “if I don’t I’ll be stuck with stock rom” which for me wasn’t an option. The whole reason I got the tab was to mod it out with the GTAComb rom. I have to say that with not knowing to much about the android op system and diving in head 1st within 24 hours of getting my gtab using your guide the whole experience was a breeze. Keep in mind, my gtab from Woot came with a 1.2-4349 stock boot loader, yup a 200mb partition, not knowing that, well now I do, I needed 250mb for GTAComb. Using your guide I got nvflash in, in a flash with no prob. I did however play around after that and I soft bricked my tab somehow, I simply did the nvflash again and bam…back to where I was with TnT. I did install Clockwork mod and GTAComb (1.2bl)using your guide as well and within 15 minutes (actually less) I was looking at GTAComb. That mod is fast and looks awesome. Thank you so much for the info, the guides are great. If there are any newbies out there, just follow the guides to the letter and it’ll work for you.
Ray Waldo
August 29, 2011 at 5:33 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
That is fantastic!
NicksGTab
August 29, 2011 at 12:45 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Why do ou ask to make 2 folders when all the zips are unzipped in the NVFlash folder. A bit confusing but thanks for putting it all together.
Ray Waldo
August 29, 2011 at 6:55 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Not sure what you are asking. Hundreds of users (including me) have followed the guide and you are the first to mention that. Are you sure that you followed it exactly? At any rate, I assume that you were successful?
Andy F
August 21, 2011 at 3:24 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Trying to NVFLash to 4349. I have no problems with this process until after the NVFlash is done – when my gtab restarts, it hangs at the ‘g tablet’ bootscreen, never proceeds to the TnT animation. When I shut it off I can restart it into recovery to try to reset to factory defaults, but it hangs during that wipe as well, either with the green progress bar animation frozen or disappearing after anywhere from 3 to about 30 seconds of wiping. If I do a hard reset again into recovery, i usually get one of various error messages such as “E:Missing bitmap icon_not_touch (Code-6)” and if I try to boot normally after this, the white ‘g tablet’ bootscreen sometimes shows up very distorted and still hangs.
I can re-NVFlash back to 3588 just fine, but really would like to get HC running on this thing. Ideas?
Ray Waldo
August 21, 2011 at 3:59 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I would use the nuclear option. Go here : http://raywaldo.com/2011/07/format-the-gtab/ for our format guide. Follow all steps closely. It is safe and easy. It is also 99% certain to fix any weird issues.
Brian J.
August 17, 2011 at 6:12 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’ve got a problem. Step 6 in the Prepare to Use NVFlash section. I download the SystemUSB.zip file but whe I unzip it I have 7 files but no folder named USB. What am I missing here?
Thanks.
Ray Waldo
August 17, 2011 at 7:04 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I believe that you unzipped the file one step too far. You opened the USB folder (which was in the zip). Just try it again. The USB folder *is* in the archive. The seven files should be inside the usb folder.
Ray Waldo
August 17, 2011 at 4:49 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
To @fliny00 and other users in the same situation:
When using the STOCK recovery (blue text), the selection button is NOT the home key but the POWER key.
This is CLEARLY stated (several times) in the “Reset to Factory” portion of the guide.
Local Stain
August 16, 2011 at 11:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Just wanted to say thanks. I wrestled with my gTab, NVFlash and every tablet forum you can think of yesterday. Found this an hour ago and 1,2,3… CM7.
Cheers.
Local Stain.
Ray Waldo
August 17, 2011 at 10:12 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Fantastic! Glad it is working well for you. Why didn’t you jump on the Honeycomb wagon? I have been using HC for a few weeks now and I like it a LOT better than CM7. I used GTabComb b3.3 and now have Flashback a7.2. Both are very nice and I have not found a lot of difference in the two. I would recommend either. BTW, you can load GTabComb on a device with either bl1.1 or bl1.2 (just get the correct version) but Flashback requires bl1.2. So, I recommend that users convert to bl1.2 to give them flexibility.
fliny00
August 16, 2011 at 4:50 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Also, I see there’s a GtabComb 3.2 for 1.1bl… how do I install this ROM with CWM ? Must I go to 1.2bl if I only want to try GtabComb ?
Ray Waldo
August 16, 2011 at 5:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The current version is b3.3. There are b3.3 versions for each boot loader. So you would want to download the b.3.3 for bl1.1 if you do not want to switch bootloader. To flash it, you would just copy the zip file to your GTab’s internal SD Card. In CWM, reset to factory, clear both caches and install. It will take about 5-7 minutes to boot the first time.
fliny00
August 16, 2011 at 4:37 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
well… I have previously ROM’ed to VeganTAB, so my Gtablet shows 1.1bl. I want to go to 1.2bl with GtabComb.
So I tried to NVflash as instructed… When USB connected, the G: shows up in Windows Manager. When I press “Power and (vol.-)”, Windows loses it and it is no longer recognized by Windows. So of course, when I batch run “nvflash_gtablet” it finds nothing?!?
Also I’m on Win7-64bit… using Intel proc., but the drivers in the USB folder are “i386″… so does this mean I need to try this again on a machine with 32bit version of windows ?!?!
HELP !!
Ray Waldo
August 16, 2011 at 5:27 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
It appears that you are not following the process in the same order that I specified.
Start over and follow each step — in order — and it should work. If you were able to use NVFlash before, you should be able to do so now. Unless you have changed computer or something. In that case, just follow the guide for downloading and installing all the proper files.
Sorry but I cannot give you much assistance on M$ Windows. I am fully engaged with Ubuntu/Linux. It is faster, cleaner, more secure, looks better and it is FREE (OS and the software). On top of all that, it just WORKS in cases like this – no driver needed.
fliny00
August 17, 2011 at 10:27 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Firstly, THANKS for the reply and MUCHO thanks for posting this. MUCH appreciated !
I figured out I needed to mount “Mass Storage Device” under CWM, to copy files to the internal SD volume. So now I have b3.3 on bl1.1.
But I still want to NVFlash to bl1.2 because all the later ROMs will probably be using it instead of bl1.1.
The above shows I have USB connectivity to the Gtab.
I’ve placed NVFLASH on C’s root. So it is C:NVFLASH. The USB folder (with content) is inside, as well as the nvflash_gtablet.exe with all files from its zip file, as well as those from gtab.nvflash.1.2.branch.20110617.zip.
So I am stuck at step 3 of “Flash Tap UI to the GTab”, running nvflash_gtablet reports a “USB device not foundPress enter to continue:” error.
What is worrying me is whether I did “POWER/-” correctly? But I can’t tell since the screen goes black(!)… I can clearly do “POWER/+” since I have successfully loaded b3.3 on the current bl1.1.
So I’m not where to go from here? Any suggestions very much appreciated !!!
Alternatively… if there’s a way for me to NVFLASH off a MicroSD, or even through the internal SD… that may be easier for me. (which would be independent of an OS… Linux or otherwise
Ray Waldo
August 17, 2011 at 11:02 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You are welcome.
First, the APX mode is done by holding the Power button and the Volume MINUS (-) button until the GTab flashes and goes black. It appears that it is entirely turned off. It is possible that you are holding the power button too long and ACTUALLY turning it off. That would explain your symptoms.
I really cannot help you with Windows since I don’t use it. Perhaps you could try it on a different computer with WinXP or something. I know the drivers work on it.
Or, perhaps, there are other Win users here who may be able to point out the problem.
Lastly, visit http://ubuntu.com and download the OS to use on your computer. You can run Ubuntu from a Thumbdrive and not make any changes to your Windows computer – or, install for dual-boot. That way, there will be a menu come up when you first turn the computer on. You select whether you want Windows or Ubuntu. BTW, Ubuntu will split the unused disk space for you so it has room to install – slick.
fliny00
August 17, 2011 at 11:25 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
What I get is first the ‘viewsonic’ screen. It then goes away quickly. After that the ‘viewsonic screen comes up again, and then it goes blank… and stays blank. Does this sound right to you ?
I’ve found a early post whose poster is on Win7(64) and reports success by discovering the “adventvega.co.uk” USB drivers. So these drivers must work ! I’m leaning towards thinking it’s probably my system specifically, because I’m not seeing the APX device category in my device manager.
But your UBUNTU-on-a-stick suggestion is good. I can try that as a last resort. THANKS !
Ray Waldo
August 17, 2011 at 1:06 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
No, your description does not sound right.
Hold the Vol- & Pwr keys until the three birds appear. Then release just the POWER button. Continue holding the Vol- button until the screen blanks and then release it. At that point, you should be in APX mode.
You should NOT see any screen other than the three birds and it should only display once. (At least that is the way it works on my GTab.)
BTW, The UK drivers are the ones that we include in our guide (above).
fliny00
August 17, 2011 at 2:21 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thx for that !!!
I was able to get much further.
I did 2 things.
1. make sure the ‘USB’ driver installs for the ‘Nvidia Harmony’ device.
2. and release the POWER button when doing the “POWER/-” sequence.
The NVFlash’ing went by with no errors…
and I can seeing it boot into the “Gtablet” logo, and the “Tap N Tap” logos.
HOWEVER !
I’m now in the dreaded ‘boot loop’… And when I attempt to Recover, it says:
“Can’t Mount /dev/block/mmcblk2, (No such file or directory), Can’t mount SDCARD2:recovery/command.
And all the options (including ‘Reboot System Now’) are in BLUE lettering, and ALL of them leads to a blank screen with a ‘wrench/srewdriver’ symbol… And all I can do is reboot using the power button ?
HELP !
Ray Waldo
August 17, 2011 at 2:32 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
You just need to stick with the GUIDE. Read the section “Flash Tap UI to the GTab” (above) and start at step 8 or 9.
Follow the guide. It is designed to (hopefully) be a guide in each situation. I cannot always be available for every question.
fliny00
August 17, 2011 at 2:54 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have.
And I have attempted to go beyond Step 9 of the “Flash UI” and onto the ‘Reset to Factory’, but as I was trying to describe, NONE of the factory reset options work for me. ALL options on the CWM recovery screen when pressed goes to a “screwdriver/wrench” image.
I have already tried reflashing, and I am stuck here. With it looping through to the ‘Tap n Tap’ until it eventually goes blank… and where no options of the recovery menu does anything.
fliny00
August 17, 2011 at 3:49 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I’m on bl1.2 !!
What happened was that while in the Recovery menu, the button to activate the option is NOT the ‘home’ button… but rather the ‘POWER’ button.
I only stumbled upon this accidentally, after some interesting side research.
Once I was able to “Wipe data” and “Wipe cache”, ‘Tap n Tap’ came up and I’m in bl1.2.
Thanks Ray Waldo, for taking the time and caring enough to put up such an excellent helper site. And for sharing your time to prod me along.
Cheers ! …now… onward ho to GtabComb or Flashback…
philip
August 14, 2011 at 7:58 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
hi vista does not download driver for apx/ what next tks
Ray Waldo
August 14, 2011 at 8:51 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If it does not download the file, it is a problem with Vista. There are two download locations, try the other. If it still refuses to download the file, then I suggest you get another OS.
Actually, you could use another computer and copy the files to a thumbdrive to transfer to your computer.
I am pretty sure that some users with Win7 were able to get the driver files ok. It suggests that you really have some problems with Vista. I can’t help with that. I run Ubuntu/Linux and I don’t have a copy of Vista in my house.
Lanna Manalo
August 4, 2011 at 10:56 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi,
I’m trying to download the nvflash_windows_20100500.zip file but every time I do it shows the file name as nvflash_windows_20100500_zip with various letters on the end and it won’t download. Does anybody have the file or a different place to download it from? I desparately need it..
thanks,
Lanna
Ray Waldo
August 5, 2011 at 1:44 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
That is a dropbox link and Roebeet says that it is intermittent. Just keep trying. I tried it just now and it works.
I have now included alternate links to all the necessary files on my site. See the “also available here” links above.
Lanna Manalo
August 6, 2011 at 1:15 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thank you so much – it worked beautifully – tablet saved!!
Lanna
Ray Waldo
August 6, 2011 at 6:34 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Great! Always like hearing good reports!
Did you install CM7 or Honeycomb? Bootloader 1.1 or bl1.2?
Did you experience any confusion in the guide? I spent some time yesterday trying to smooth some things out and clear up some confusion.
Logan W
July 31, 2011 at 11:43 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Ray,
Again, I think I am completely stumped. I took my tablet new out of the box, checked the version (mine is a 1.2) then used all of your instructions to try and install Honeycomb on my Gtablet. I started with the NVFlash one and then got the clockwork installed and working. I followed the steps exactly and it froze on the “g tablet” screen. I tried using NVFlash to recover and had no luck. I also tried installing other ROMs and had no luck. Each time i restart my tablet, when I think a ROM is installed correctly, it shows the “Booting recovery kernel” in the upper left hand corner and boots into the clockworkmod.I cannot get it to actually try too boot into anyhting other then the birds screen… I have been reading and reading trying to figure this problem out. I am hoping I can get this fixed considering the tablet is 48 hours old… Thank you
louis
July 29, 2011 at 10:40 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Hi, I successfully downgraded my 1.2bl gtablet to 1.1bl.I also installed zyhong 3.3 HC.
Now I want to go to the 1.2bl as you recommended.
When you say to create 2 folders, do I have to put the nvflash_prep inside the nvflash folder ?
Thank you in advance from Montreal
Ray Waldo
July 29, 2011 at 10:48 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
The upgrade process is the same as the downgrade. The only difference is the image file that you use. Still, it will probably go easier if you start fresh with nvflash. Just follow the guide.
Vaudun
July 21, 2011 at 9:52 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I have no idea what I’ve done, but my gtab is totally FUBAR. Well, I do have SOME idea what I did: I Z4Rooted the tablet, installed ROM Manager, and was trying different versions of Cyanogen. After the last one I installed (don’t know which one it was), things started to fall apart.
Whenever I rebooted, pressing power and volume+ buttons, it loaded to the Viewsonic birds screen and says “Booting recover kernel image” on the top right corner of the screen and stopped. If I simply powered the table down and powered it back up again, it would boot to the TnT desktop, but I still couldn’t get to the recovery menu.
That’s when I had the bright idea to do a factory reset. And THAT’S when the wheels came off.
Now, whenever I power it up, or power and volume+, it just goes to the Viewsonic birds screen, and says “Booting recover kernel image”.
I’ve tried NVFlash, but the gtab won’t go into USB mode. When I plug it in to my PC (Windows 7, 64 bit), it just shows up as an “unknown USB device”. It does not show up with the yellow icon in Device Manager, so I can’t install the USB drivers for it.
Is there any hope for me? Or am I the rare case who has well and truly bricked my gtab?
TIA,
Vaudun
Ray Waldo
July 21, 2011 at 10:07 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
If you have indeed permanently bricked your GTab it will be the first I have ever heard of. Visit our “When Things Go Wrong ” page to find the solutions.
Vaudun
July 22, 2011 at 12:35 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Actually, immediately after posting this message last night, I did get it to work. I had previously missed the subtle difference between “power and volume+ buttons” and “power and volume- buttons”. Once I hit the correct button combo, the table DID go into USB mode, and I did successfully NVFlash it back to life.
Thanks!
Ray Waldo
July 22, 2011 at 6:05 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thanks for clearing it up. So far, I have no knowledge of anyone permanently bricking a GTab.
Terry
July 7, 2011 at 12:07 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thank you! I had Cyanogenmod 7.0.3 running successfully and decided to “experiment”. All that accomplished was a soft-brick. Your instructions worked perfectly.
Pmgmr2
June 15, 2011 at 10:15 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thank you for your wonderful guide; I bought a gtab on woot with bootloader 1.2. I have a question, though. I didn’t find your guide until I failed at the process described here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2010/12/29/viewsonic-g-tablet-from-drags-to-riches-an-owners-guide-to-making-the-best-of-a-great-tablet/
Basically, my gtab is ROOTED, but still has the 1.2 bootloader. Will this process still work?
Ray Waldo
June 15, 2011 at 11:20 am (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Yep, you can use our instructions to take your 1.2 bootloader back to 1.1 and use our rooting/flashing instructions. You may be able to just flash the 3588 build (with 1.1) and start at the beginning of my simple rooting/flashing instructions. Or, you may need to NVFlash back to 1.1 – either way, instructions are in this series of posts. Sorry it is not quite edited cleanly – yet. I hope to have that fixed today.
Note: The word “rooting” is a bit confusing. There are two phases in the process of getting a new ROM on your GTab (installing the recovery and flashing the rom). Both should be accomplished with the same set of instructions to assure that everything is compatible. When you finish with the downgrade to bootloader 1.1, be sure to install OUR CMR recovery before flashing the CM7 roms.
If you have questions, just ask. I usually check the comments every few hours. You could even call me – see my links in the right sidebar.
Pmgmr2
June 15, 2011 at 9:48 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
Thank you for your quick response, Ray! I wasn’t able to flash 3588, I tried but its now stuck at the “booting recovery kernel image” screen, which I believe is a soft-brick……
I’m going to using NVflash to “start over” and hopefully 1.1 on there before rooting. I will let you know how it goes.
digitaleagle
July 7, 2011 at 1:10 pm (UTC -6) Link to this comment
I just went through this process last weekend with the bootloader 1.2 downgrade. I could not make the standard process work either. I ended up doing the NVFlash and it worked like a charm. Once you get the downgraded ROM on the device – just do an over the air update to the 3588 version. From there – follow the directions to put the Clock Work Recovery utility on and then flash to the Cyanogen Mod.
Once that is done – use the Clock Work Mod utility to do a complete image backup. I think it is the last option on the utility menu.
Also – what threw me was that you need to use the “home” key to select menu item within the utility not the power key like on the old utility.
DO NOT LOAD THE ROM MANAGER PROGRAM as it is not compatible with the GTab – if you do, you will have a problem trying to ever run the Clock Work recovery utility again.
Follow the directions carefully and exactly for NVFlash. One file missing will cause it not to work.
You should be fine. Good luck and I hope this helps.