[Q] A Linux Replacement for Odin - Fascinate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hey all. I have a quick question. Before you say so, I did do a search, and I couldn't find something like what I wanted.
Anyhow, I'm the (sometimes) proud owner of a Samsung Fascinate. I've flashed JT's stock 2.1 ROM with voodoo5 kernel onto the device, and so far, I love it! However, the only way I know how to do such activities is to use Odin, which only works on Windows. I'd like to switch back to Linux sometimes soon, so what I'm wondering is if there is a way to flash ROMs to my Fascinate using an Odin-like program, made for Linux. Does one exist?

Check out Heimdall - http://www.glassechidna.com.au/products/heimdall/
I use it with Fedora 14.

You. Are. Awesome! Thank you so much! Back to Ubuntu I go!

hi i have a droid charge with ubuntu and i want to know did you use any other drivers for the phone with heimdal?

Use the driver that heimdall comes packed up with.

Related

Honestly...rooting and flashing seems like

...a pain in the ass for the Fascinate. The gf has one of these phones, and after seeing what I've done with my G2, she wants me to root and flash a nice rom.
Problem 1 (not so small): we both use macs at home.
Problem 2 (huge): after reading through the development forum - it doesn't look that easy to root, nor flash a decent rom on the Fascinate!
not only do some roms require you to have a specific kernel flashed to use them. Some roms require that you don't use the latest CWM. Also, none of roms seem to be using Gingerbread AOSP completely. They seem to be pieced together with Froyo.
Believe you me, I am not a dev in the slightest. Therefore, I am looking for a safe way to root and flash a decent rom to her phone. If there isn't, then I'll just let her run stock.
Is this easier than I'm seeing it?
enserio said:
...a pain in the ass for the Fascinate. The gf has one of these phones, and after seeing what I've done with my G2, she wants me to root and flash a nice rom.
Problem 1 (not so small): we both use macs at home.
Problem 2 (huge): after reading through the development forum - it doesn't look that easy to root, nor flash a decent rom on the Fascinate!
not only do some roms require you to have a specific kernel flashed to use them. Some roms require that you don't use the latest CWM. Also, none of roms seem to be using Gingerbread AOSP completely. They seem to be pieced together with Froyo.
Believe you me, I am not a dev in the slightest. Therefore, I am looking for a safe way to root and flash a decent rom to her phone. If there isn't, then I'll just let her run stock.
Is this easier than I'm seeing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, it is not that difficult. Just takes some getting used to. Obviously you have done a bit of reading, I know it seems daunting, but I promise, once you have it down it is nothing. The kernels...Most ROMS are kernel switchable, within reason. MOST of our ROMS require the RED CWM, which honestly is not a big deal, the orange is just too glitchy. And as far as the ROM's being pieced together with Froyo...Well, I am no dev either, but yes, I believe most of the ROMS are a Frankenstein of sorts, but we don't even have a Froyo source to work with yet. So the dev's, in my opinion, have done an AMAZING job. In terms of flashing on a Mac, I am not sure if Odin works on a Mac, Heimdall does though I believe. Rooting is extremely simple, it is only the flashing the right CWM, modem, etc. that may confuse you. Honestly, if you just keep reading the right things, you'll see it is pretty simple. I recommend Adrynalyne's Super Clean 2.9, and Big Loof's Steel Blue theme, with the EB16 kernel (Also Adrynalyne's).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=948722
This thread has a good walkthrough, I'd follow it through Post #5... using Superclean. It's an incredibly performing full Froyo rom. Remember that Froyo is not officially out on this phone, she's running Eclair right now. Gingerbread is a ways off (though punk kaos is making great progress).
Before EB01, rooting for me was just clicking a single button.
I never had to root again since flashing EB01. For flashing itself, its just download, reboot to recovery, and flash. Not sure how its a pain in the as as it doesnt even take a minute or so.
I did end up installing 3.XX CWM from ROM manager, but I only reboot into orange CWM if i reboot using ROM manager. If I dont, I end up rebooting to red CWM.
Thanks for the responses. Put a few things in perspective. I totally forgot that she is still running Eclair and Froyo isn't officially out for these phones. My mistake, and now that makes complete sense to me why most of the roms are froyo based or patched. Another thing that made me hesitant is that Odin doesn't run on mac, and I would have anything to save the phone (unless I use one of the pcs at work) if something goes awry. I will read up on Heimdall and see if I can use that.
My apologies if I sounded bothered or uptight about the situation, thanks for the well-mannered responses to my mini-rant. Of to read up a bit more, starting with the link postd and Heimdall.
Found a quick guide for rooting the Fascinate with a Mac. Now my issue is...switching to EB01 without Odin because SuperClean needs it, correct?

[Q] Trying to boot into Clockwork Mod

I am Trying to boot into Clockwork Mod and when the Birds screen comes up and the the recovery key detected in the upper left corner it gets stuck there. Is there anything I can do to get Clockwork working? Also I do not know how to NVFlash on a Macintosh Thanks
You used the wrong version of CWM. Go to my website and read. It's designed for beginners. All necessary files are available for download.
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/clockworkmod.htm
Your website is wonderful and easy to understand and I did use the right CMW v8 with the right folder ect. I think I have it in now but I also have TNT Lite 4.4 and it boots up ok but will not reinstall the Clockwork Mod and the one that is in there I have used for a couple of weeks and it worked well. I think I need to NVFlash it but I do not have a PC I am on a Mac. Love you Site it is great.
Unfornately, I know nothing about mac. Let me contact someone who knows a mac inside out. Let see what he's got to say about it.
You are awesome!
Nvflash is not possible on a mac. There isn't even a driver for adb.
You have 2 options. Either use chloroform to knock out a friend and then use his PC or tell us exactly what you did and then we can work something out.
So, you say you have TNT lite on there. That would make it 1.1 branch. I'm guessing you tried to get the CWM for 1.2 in there before and that bricked it. You really do need to nvflash either the stock rom or the cwm v8 in there. Unless you can tell us something else...
Here is what I did I installed Rom manager and went into it and from within I was able to flash a different version of Clockwork Mod and it worked and now I just started in Clockwork. Thank you so much for your help. By the way do you recommend in stayiing with 1.1 bl or going to 1.2 and trying the newer stuff? Again I will joined your new site and will be watching close and I am going to get a pc just so I can work on my Gtab. Thanks again Tom
You also have a great sense of Humor Thanks again Tom
Mac users can use Linux running in a virtual environment (like VirtualBox) to use nvflash. No drivers required.
I'm glad you found a solution.
The most stable and smoothest rom is the calkulin+clemsyn combo. The most popular is vegan-tab ginger. Look at my list on my site for the appropriate bl.
PS - I didn't know ROM manager works now. Early on, there were people reporting some horror stories about rom manager killing their gtabs. That's why I didn't recommend it. Hm... I'll take a look at it now.
Thank you I never thought of that I have VM ware on this Mac with Windows XP so I guess I could run it on that. Thanks so Much
Hey I read some bad things as well but I was desperate and thought might as well try it and hurrah it worked
You're welcome. Goodintentions is correct in bringing up the ROM manager issue though. Flashing ROMs or CWM with ROM manager can result in APX looping that requires more than a simple nvflash to correct. I've had several people send me their tablets for recovery after having used ROM manager.
+1. Rom manager is no touchey! There are at least a few new posts a week from people borkifying there tabs from using that app. Not saying it happens every time just that it can happen. Its not worth loosing all your data because you wanted to save 5 seconds.
Glad you got it worked out. Try nvflash from from your vm next time

[Q] CWM/nvflash bootloader questions

I'm trying to do my very first mod to my gtab. I've posted some questions already but have more before I proceed. I'm running bootloader 1.2-4349. Do need to set up nvflash before I attempt flashing to a different ROM? Is there a CWM that is specific for my bootloader? I've searched for these answers on the forums but was unable to find them. I found many posts about these subject but no one answred them directly. Any help is much appreciated.
NVFlash is never needed to flash a rom. It's a tool typically used to recover from a "softbrick." It CAN be used to flash a rom, but there are much safer alternatives. In fact, NVFlash is considered to BE the alternative to the regular methods.
starting with 4349, 1.2 bootlaoder, you can use the stock recovery to flash just about any of the 1.2 roms.
Which Rom are you interested in? The only roms that do not have a 1.2 equal are the gingerbread type roms. For instance, if you wanted Vegan 5.1.1, then Brilliant Corners is the 1.2 alternative. That's what I'm running. It's got to be one of, if not THEE, most complete rom available right now.
most 1.2 rom information is located at Slatedroid, not here.
I suggest that you check out the new website created by a user here (GoodIntentions). It's a "G-Tablet for Dummies" website. It contains a ton of useful information for beginners like yourself.
There IS a CWM that is specific to the 1.2 bootloader, but becuase the recovery on stock 1.2 has more options than the stock recovery used on 1.1 bootloader, it's not absolutely necessary. It's a good tool to have, but not necessary.
Your basic flashign technique for a 1.2 rom is as follows...download the .rar file the coincides with the rom you want. Unzip it to the root of your G-Tablet's memory. Restart the G-Tablet while holding down the volume up key. The tablet will boot into the stock recovery, and use the files you unzipped to flash the new rom. The rar file will contain to objects, a file called update.zip, and a recovery folder with a "command" file in it. What will happen when booting into recovery is that the tablet will first check to see if there is a recovery folder present. Think of this as a PC checking the floppy drive for a boot image before booting from the hard disk. If it sees the recovery folder, it will, by default, run the command file within it. The command file will unpack and install (flash) the rom image from the update.zip file.
With most of his roms, Roebeet has included the 1.2 CWM image in the package. It will not install automatically. There are threads available (on slatedroid) that contain instructions on how to activate the 1.2 CWM. There are various methods, if one doesn't work the first time.
If you are dead set on flashing a 1.1 rom, you'll first need to downgrade back to firmware 3588, which is a 1.1 bootloader firmware. Gojimi has posted instructions on XDA on how that is done.
So, your first step, is research the roms on XDA, Slatedroid, and other Android Tablet forums to find which one would best suit your needs.
As a beginner, I highly suggest that you steer away from the honeycomb roms, as they are still in alpha status and mainly used for testing and troubleshooting. In other words, they won't work perfectly, so to save yourself headaches, wait until your more comfortable with a more polished rom. ALL HC ROMS ARE 1.2 BOOTLOADER ROMS
The gingerbread roms are pretty stable, and from what I hear, pretty fast, but they lack a few things, namely full hardware acceleration. At the same time, if your heart is set on streaming netflix movies, then these might be the best choice for you. THE MOST POPULAR GB ROMS ARE 1.1 BOOTLOADER ROMS
The Froyo roms, while the most prehistoric are the most stable, most complete, and less "buggy" of all the roms. There are many varieties, based on various tablet user interfaces. FROYO ROMS CAN BE EITHER 1.1 OR 1.2 BOOTLOADER ROMS...BUT, the 1.2 branch has more of them, and there are 1.2 equalivents to just about all of them, so sticking with 1.2 for a Froyo rom is the best option because you'll still have the advanced stock recovery if you decide to stick with it.
That being said...why not mess around with the stock 4349 firmware to get a feel for the tablet a bit more? Check some things out. Get Titanium Backup and practice a bit with backup up apps and restoring them (you'll use this a LOT, especially if you rom jump trying to find the best one for you). Find out what you want the tablet to do, based on the stock firmware limitations. Some people are still using stock and not finding it too horrible. Spend a week with it, see what else you want it to do, and ask again when you know what you want out of your G-Tablet. And above all, ENJOY...you just entered a whole new world of personal computing...don't rush into anything and end up regretting your purchase.
P.S...I highly recommend you check out "G-Tablet for Dummies"
DarkHorse281 said:
I'm trying to do my very first mod to my gtab. I've posted some questions already but have more before I proceed. I'm running bootloader 1.2-4349. Do need to set up nvflash before I attempt flashing to a different ROM? Is there a CWM that is specific for my bootloader? I've searched for these answers on the forums but was unable to find them. I found many posts about these subject but no one answred them directly. Any help is much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check out my website written for beginners. It will explain everything you need to know.
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/
Added by edit.
Make sure you read my page on flashing a rom.
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/rom.htm
Also, check out my page on CWM.
http://viewsonic-gtablet-for-dummies.webs.com/clockworkmod.htm
Much appreciated...awesome!
You guys are both awesome and a credit to the anroid community. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you help. I didn't go into much depth on this thread because I had already written one earlier in the day that shared my background and future intentions for my gtab. I didn't want to sound repetative plus I realize people don't care to read a novel in these forums. So I figured short and sweet I might get a better response, and I was right. Anyway, I hear what you're saying about messing around with the stock firmware TJ. The truth is I've had the tablet now for 3 weeks and I've played with it constantly. I have to say it's not as bad as I thought it would be but it lacks so many things that I've come to love about my Samsung Galaxy Indulge. Many people make fun of or pick on Metropcs and make fun of them as a company, but I have to say here in Florida they're great. I love my phone even though its not the top of the line galaxy phone. And their 4g service is fast in my neck of the woods. Having had such a great experience with that android device, I would really like to make something awesome out of my gtab. I want to use the 4g on my phone to connect to the internet and turn this tablet into a completely mobile multimedia device (Xvid, Avi, Mp3, Netflix, Hulu). I would also like to get the gps software put on it so that I can put my google maps app from my phone on it. Once I am be to get the phone rooted and the wifi or usb tethering up I can use it for navigation as well. I also miss the Android Market. I would love to get that back up and running on my tablet so that I can download some of the apps that I'm familiar with. I really like the dolphin browser on my Indulge and would love to have it on my tablet. I had it for a while on the gtab but had to do a factory reset because of something my kids did and now that I'm back to having nothing on my tablet I thought now would be a good time to try a different ROM. Besides it seemed a little glitchy anyway. Sorry about the novel guys, but now that you know a bit about me and what I want to use my tab for, which ROM do you think will suit my needs? Do you still think that Brilliant Corners is going to cover what I'm wanting out of my gtab? I'm going to check out GoodIntentions' web site and maybe I will get a clue. Thanks for your help guys. I hope to hear back soon.
P.S. One additional question. What's up with the bluetooth pairing? I can't get this thing to pair with any phones. I've tried mine and my gf's and it absolutely will not work.

Clockworkmod help

Hi. I decided that I wanted to try installing CM on my old galaxy s2, and began with follwing the guide on the CM wiki specific for my device. However, I got stuck at the part where it wanted me to use a ternimal command to flash a certain "zImage" through Heimdall. After searching around and trying various tips it still doesn't work, however I found out most people install cwm through Odin. So I'm just wondering if I can swap over to using Odin after starting with Heimdall without anything going horribly wrong. So far I've only installed a driver through the zadig.exe that came with Heimdall, but I'm not sure if that may ruin it all. Any help is appreciated.
-Bigtheory

Fascinate Recovery issues

Ive been wanting to put clockwork mod recovery and put cyanogenmod 10.1 for my fascinate, but the issue is i cant download any recoveries using the apps; Rom manager , Goomanager, and Rom installer. Does anyone know why? Could anyone link me so i can put CWM 4 and the cm10.1 zip for me? wanted this rom for so long now i can have it on an old device. Id appreciate it very much.
garcial17 said:
Ive been wanting to put clockwork mod recovery and put cyanogenmod 10.1 for my fascinate, but the issue is i cant download any recoveries using the apps; Rom manager , Goomanager, and Rom installer. Does anyone know why? Could anyone link me so i can put CWM 4 and the cm10.1 zip for me? wanted this rom for so long now i can have it on an old device. Id appreciate it very much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all of those have old recoveries that don't work that well anymore... also cm10.1 is a bit old, you may want to try CM11...
also you have to use Odin to get the proper ClockWorkMod on your phone to use cm10.1. odin is a computer program (windows only i think)
you could use heimdall too but i don't use that..
skepticmisfit said:
all of those have old recoveries that don't work that well anymore... also cm10.1 is a bit old, you may want to try CM11...
also you have to use Odin to get the proper ClockWorkMod on your phone to use cm10.1. odin is a computer program (windows only i think)
you could use heimdall too but i don't use that..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
honestly my windows computer is having major issues and doesnt want to turn on, and i looked at heimdall, but it has like 10 individual steps within the installation. I was considering cm 11, and i thought with the fasciante you can just apply update from the sd, then choose the .zip file where clockwork mod is in.
Mabye thats too old.
Any tutorials or links people or you kind sir can point me in the right direction? Ive literally looked everywhere but all are from 2011 and are outdated.
in the general section droidstyle guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/sho... Rom/CWM recovery/Root or going back to Stock
Section 4
If you are not rooted or already have a custom ROM on your phone, you will need to use odin or heimdal.
garcial17 said:
i looked at heimdall, but it has like 10 individual steps within the installation.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Graphical interfaces in linux make things way more complicated than they need to be. I can get any Fascinate to rooted stock GB w/a custom recovery in Heimdall with literally 2 cut-n-paste commands in Terminal on my computer in 5 minutes. It can't get any easier.
Sure, there are several steps involved with installing ADB & Heimdall on your computer and downloading and setting up your folders with EH03, the GB boot loaders, & CWM4. But honestly, if you aren't willing to do this first so you have the ability to recover your phone if you brick it, you have no business installing custom roms. 1-click roots and apps like ROM installer just leave people unprepared WHEN things go wrong.

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