yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[G Tablet General] wd5gnr:
Inspired by http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1010659

I set out to make a similar script for Linux. You still need nvflash installed and working. Nothing is changed on the tablet, but your mileage may vary, past performance is not an indicator of future results, and void where prohibited by law

#!/bin/bash
### Version 1.0 2 April 2011, wd5gnr
### Usage: dobackup
### Puts backup files $ROOT/backup/YYYYMMDDHHMM/
### by default
### Edit the variables below to set things up for your setup
###
### If you already have the bootloader running
### You can use dobackup -r
### To reconnect

# note: for some reason partition 6 and 11 on my device
# fail to read properly. 6 is the MSC partition on mine
# if I reformat it and reload it from stock, its ok. But
# something during running is blowing it again
# Partition 11 apparently is supposed to fail
# based on comments in the script
# from: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1010659

# because of that you may want to try the full PARTLIST
# and then edit to suit your situation
#PARTLIST=2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
PARTLIST="2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10 11"

# Set the path for backups etc.
ROOT=~/android/nvflash
# Set the path for NVFLASH
NVFLASH=$ROOT/nvflash
# and bootloader
NVBOOT=$ROOT/bootloader.bin

# This gets the date in YYYYMMDDHHMM format
BSTAMP=`date +%Y%m%d%H%M`
# This picks the name of the backup (using the date)
BDIR=$ROOT/backup/$BSTAMP

# make directories
mkdir -p $BDIR
# I did not check to see that this succeeded
# we assume you have permission etc.

# if -r option we never have to load the bootloader
RESUME="--bl $NVBOOT"
if [ "$1" == '-r' ]
then RESUME=-r
fi

function donvf {
if $NVFLASH $@
then true
else
echo NVFlash error 1>&2
rmdir $BDIR >/dev/null 2>&1 # delete an empty backup directory
exit 1
fi
}

# Get BCT first and prime the boot loader
donvf $RESUME --getbct --bct $BDIR/backup.bct --go
# get partition table
donvf -r --getpartitiontable $BDIR/parttable.txt
# for some reason #1 is not required or absent and #12 is the cache
# but you could add it if necessary (look at parttable.txt)
# Part 11 may give an error, but is ok
# If 11 gives error APX will be down and you'll have to reboot to
# do any more things
for I in $PARTLIST
do
if [ $I == 11 ]
then
echo You may safely ignore errors on partition 11 apparently 1>&2
fi
donvf -r --read $I $BDIR/part$I.img
done
exit 0 # because of partition 11, you won't get here unless you aren't doing 11

###
### Note BCT is hardware info (4080 bytes)
### Partition guesses
# 2 = BCT = ?
# 3 = PT = ?
# 4 = EBT = ?
# 5 = MBT = ?
# 6 = MSC = ? Some kind of recovery thing; 7 in stock
# 7 = BLO = Boot logo (6 in stock)
# 8 = OGO
# 9 = SOS = Recovery image (clockwork or stock)
# 10 = LNX = Linux?
# 11 = APP = Applications?
# 12 = CAC = Cache

Funny things are partition 6 (my MSC partition). I can reformat it and flash it with stock and it works. But later it will hang nvflash trying to read it. I can't find any info on what is in there anyway.

Also partition 11 gives an error, but apparently its not just me. See comments in the script.
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
Can you try running dmesg (e.g. via adb shell or using a terminal on the gtab), right after booting, then looking at the outout for bad block msgs?

I've been guessing that the reason is because of bad blocks...

Jim
[G Tablet General] P00r:
MSC partition is actually the /misc folder, you can verify this by comparing content with the file inanop.log

inandop.sh create it, it is designed to make sure the partition is splited in 2 section 2/16 GB and run in init.rc

could be the reason people trying to partition 4GB/12 where having problem...

@ Jim, Seem like you are right, bad sector are really the source of read error in my unit...

I am not sure if we will encounter issue when writing from the OS since this is handled byt the actual file system but writing directly from nvflash seem to be bypassing any kinf of error/wear levelling provided by yaffs file system or even fat32

I would think that writing with the -v (Verify on) would be better to prevent write error but that's a feeling not based on fact (you need to disable this flag to restore a partition with bad block)

I also believe that bad block at the end of the partition 11 are not a concern, they are probably normal for this kind of inand memory... mine appear at 209.584Mb out of 209.715MB so the partition is still 209MB
[G Tablet General] wd5gnr:
Nothing in /misc looks exotic -- just a log file and a lost+found. Very strange that it hangs the nvflash read. I noticed it the other day and reformatted it from nvflash and rolled back the stock image and then I was able to read it back. But today it hangs my backup script again.

Oh yeah. And my dmesg log shows Falled Ddk Rd. Bad block error code=0xb0010 at chip=0 block=65. That repeats a few times. Not unique to me however: http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=933128
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
Hi,

Thanks for that info. If you look thru the dmesg, there'll be a listing of the partitions that the kernel is "creating" (I think, more like "assigning"), and I think that by looking at that, relative to the bad block msgs that will be interspersed, you can tell which partition (e.g., on my gtab, one of them is in /system) the bad block is occurring in.

Jim
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
Hi,

A couple of comments:

- The problem that I think may occur if you use the -v is that it may prevent the download of the partition to be completed. In other words, if you do --download with -v, and if nvflash hits a verify error in the middle of the partition, it may (I don't know) just stop at that point, then you end up with a half-populated partition, which could be pretty useless.

- Thanks for the info re. part 11, which I believe is "CAC", or "cache". I wonderinf if\ that partition really needs to be restored for a complete system restore?

BTW, what got me started with all of this was that way-back-when, when I first started working with my gtab, I wanted to find a way to do what I call a "complete bare-metal" backup/image of my gtab. That got me started working with nvflash, but then I ran into the --read problems.

As mentioned, one of the bad blocks on my gtab is in cache partition, which may or not needed for a full restore, but the worse thing is that the 2nd bad block that I have is apparently near the end of the system (/system) partition, so that prevents me from doing a successful read of the system partition to back it up.

I've tried a number of things, including doing repartitioning system using CWM, and also some messing with the system partition via adb while in CWM, i.e., I deleted the system partition completely, and the restored it. From what I've read, yaffs partitions don't need to be pre-formatted (don't need to be formatted before being used), so I was hoping (had seem some posts in some other forums) that that might eliminate the bad blocks if they were "soft", but it didn't.

So, I'm still stuck with 2 bad blocks on my gtab, and can't complete a full nvflash image of all the partitions on it :(...

BTW, I just got a new gtab via woot, and I ran dmesg on it, and that too has 1 bad block, so it seems like probably all devices have some... Just some info...

Jim
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
wd5gnr,

So, I guess, at this point, is who is brave enough to try to do a full restore from the partition files that they pulled from their gtab (albeit with read errors)?

Have you tried that yet?

Just to be clear, I have NOT, mainly because of the read errors that I encountered when trying to backup, i.e., if I can't read the partitions, then I have doubts about the integrity of the files that I ended up with.

Jim
[G Tablet General] wd5gnr:
I have not. Partition 11 is the system partition, not the cache (at least on mine). On mine 12 is the cache.

If you look at the "inspired by" link above they mention that the image is still usable which implies there is slack space at the end maybe? But I don't know why/how they know that. And no, I have not reflashed my whole system from these backups although I have done a few on partition basis.
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
I was in that thread you linked, and re-read it, and maybe I missed something, but I don't see where it says the image is still usable?

Jim
[G Tablet General] wd5gnr:
You have to open up the batch file and read the comments in the code.

REM If you get error in partition #11 keep it anyway it is still usable
REM this seem to be a normal "feature" of the nand chips used in the tablet...
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
Ok, I see where you found that comment, in the zip file.

Jim
[G Tablet General] jimcpl:
Hi,

I've been doing some more detailed analysis of my dmesg.

First of all, here's snippets with info from dmesg, showing:

1) kernel boot parameters, with partition sizes

2) status of MTD partitions

mtdparts=tegra_nand:

16384K@7424K(misc),

16384K@62336K(recovery),

16384K@79232K(boot),

204800K@96128K(system),

222208K@301568K(cache),

4096K@24320K(bootbmp),

32768K@28928K(logodata)

<5>[ 7.086731] 7 cmdlinepart partitions found on MTD device tegra_nand

<5>[ 7.092987] Creating 7 MTD partitions on "tegra_nand":

<5>[ 7.098130] 0x000000740000-0x000001740000 : "misc"

<5>[ 7.103663] 0x000003ce0000-0x000004ce0000 : "recovery"

<5>[ 7.109346] 0x000004d60000-0x000005d60000 : "boot"

<5>[ 7.114670] 0x000005de0000-0x0000125e0000 : "system"

<6>[ 7.119773] tegra_nand tegra_nand: Block 0x43b is bad [chip=0,offset=0x8760000]

<5>[ 7.127928] 0x000012680000-0x00001ff80000 : "cache"

<5>[ 7.133741] 0x0000017c0000-0x000001bc0000 : "bootbmp"

<5>[ 7.139340] 0x000001c40000-0x000003c40000 : "logodata"

<6>[ 7.144567] tegra_nand tegra_nand: Block 0x186 is bad [chip=0,offset=0x30c0000]

When I do nvflash --read on all the partitions, I get read errors on partition 8 and partition 11, so I tried to figure out which partition those are, from the dmesg msgs and the sizes shown:

Partition 8

Name=OGO

DeviceId=19

StartSector=12928

NumSectors=16384

BytesPerSector=2048

16834 x 2048 = 34476032 BYTES = 33,668 KBYTES ==>

ALSO:

0x000001c40000-0x000003c40000 = 2000000 = 33554432 BYTES = 32,768 KBYTES ==> THIS IS THE 'logodata' partition

[See: http://xdaforums.com/archive/index.php/t-859884-p-2.html,

"Additionally, the boot animation is left over from another mod. To remove it and see the Vegan boot animation, go into /logodata and delete everything in it."]

So, it appears this bad block is occurring in the 'logodata' partition, which apparently has something to do with the boot animation.

Partition 11

Name=APP

DeviceId=19

StartSector=45696

NumSectors=102400

BytesPerSector=2048

102400 x 2048 = 209715200 BYTES = 204,800 KBYTES ==> THIS IS 'system' partition

ALSO:

0x000005de0000-0x0000125e0000 = C800000 = 209715200 ??

So, it appears this bad block is occurring in the 'system' partition, which I believe is /system.

I'm particularly concerned about the one in the 'system' partition, i.e., probably if I pull that partition using nvflash, and then later try to restore it, /system would be bad/corrupted?

Jim
[Android Apps and Games] tlxxxsracer:
So everyone, I just realized an old game I used to play on the computer with my brothers- Generally. The game is simple and addictive and would be awesome to get it ported or have it made for Android phones. It doesnt requite much cpu or RAM :)

If there are any developers that possibly could help me, and if Im able to get in contact with the creators of the game and all start a project would be fantastic. Im not exactly sure what all would have to go into it, or the work required. But gotta start somewhere.

http://gene-rally.com/

Cross post on generally's forum regarding this idea

http://forum.gene-rally.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1951&p=39088#p39088

Please delete- Already got a response from the developer of the game. He said he has no plans for this.
[Atrix 4G General] TardisPhD:
OK so we know that the ATRIX rocks. Able to dock and serve 720p video and all that to a external monitor. And while using the Multimedia dock or laptop dock you can even plug in external USB devices. My question is this. Should the phone be able to handle that natively?

What will happen if I plug in a external USB switch will 2 way communication function?

Will an external keyboard be recognized?

Now that we have WEBTOP without the dock I think it would be great to have a keyboard without Bluetooth.

As always your comments are appreciated in advance.
[Atrix 4G General] dasmoover:
Yes, I believe USB Host Mode is enabled by default in the stock kernel.

http://sven.killig.de/android/N1/2.2/usb_host/ - more info on the N1 usb host.
[Atrix 4G General] metk@:
See this topic. There is all you need :)
[Atrix 4G General] Mr. Clown:
This is not development.
[Atrix 4G General] TardisPhD:
Sorry did not know where it went.
[Epic 4G General] jdelano:
Check out this article. Verizon's data is WAY faster than Sprint's.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2241...x_the_battle_for_your_smartphone_dollars.html

I thought I read on here some where that talked about the Epic having both LTE and WiMAX chips. Anyone else see that thread and is it true??

EDIt: decided to title the thread to better to describe to the discussion.
[Epic 4G General] jbadboy2007:
If you want to be nickeled and dimed sure go ahead also they have data caps and are easy to exceed with these phones and they don't have a full unlimited plan and their customer service is worse than sprint. Also if you switched just cuz they had faster data your a bonehead cuz you could just use wifi at your house or almost anywhere you go if your really wanting faster data.
[Epic 4G General] djbacon06:
the table showing average download and upload speeds is pretty obscure. I rarely see anything below 4 Mbps in Atlanta.
[Epic 4G General] Seanc13:
DjBacon, do you get 4g in Atlanta?

I live down in woodstock and don't get **** for signal or 4g here
[Epic 4G General] b15love:
everything is true except the customer service part. I used to work for verizon, only reason I switched was because of the "real" unlimited plan, and the phone itself. Other than that yes they do have a better data coverage (they always have I think), especially with their LTE service coming up so quickly. but I dont use data as much, maybe more on pandora than anything else. but if you need to be constantly connected for whatever reason, then switch to verizon.
[Epic 4G General] RushAOZ:
You know what's stupid? So what? Who ****ing cares that its faster. What good is all that speed when your capped at 2gb. Sprint wins. Ill take a slower speed for unlimited data. Not to mention the speeds differ depending on area. Fastest I've gone is 900KB/s. My home connection gets 1300KB/s max. Also I've realized that these phones don't need all that speed. Its become so fast that the phone is the.bottleneck.
[Epic 4G General] LordLugard:
To be fair, its true but I'd rather have 3mb DL speed wimax (average speed i get now) at UNLIMITED than 5gb capped 12mb LTE.

Fuuton: Atsugai
[Epic 4G General] djbacon06:
Yup, i have 4g in downtown atlanta (obviously) pretty much everywhere I go and also out at my house out in lilburn area (northeast of atlanta). Also have it pretty much everywhere I go here. And like I said, I rarely see it below 4 Mbps, I consistently hit 5.5+ in my house
[Epic 4G General] jok3sta:
I'm on sero so im paying less for 2 lines than I would for one verizon line.. faster or not verizon can kiss my ass..

Tapatalkin' it from my Epic 3g
[Epic 4G General] Seanc13:
The only time I've ever had it or hadmore than 2 bars is if I go downtown, which I never do
[Epic 4G General] khughes6:
Yeah sprint is much cheaper and actually has a TRUE unlimited data plan... besides did you consider that they just released LTE so no one actually owns a 4g device to be pulling from the connection, unlike sprint who sold millions of Evos, some amount of epics, and and 4g network cards... Verizon will eventually slow down I'm sure

I've only used 4g once on my epic and its when I was passing through north carolina, and it was ridiculously fast.
[Epic 4G General] DroidApprentice:
No unlimited data = no business from me. Sprint already ensured my loyalty by my plan discounts but Verizon's LTE is going to be a fustercluck until they're forced to really compete for data dollars. And AT&Teabag is a joke when it comes to 4G right now as well. These tests aren't to be believed anyhow since they barely have anyone on their LTE network as it is. I live in a town with a lot of difficult zoning and get a minimum of 4 down and 1 up, sometimes much more, just about everywhere I go now. The only big tech advantage I see LTE having is better inside building reach and you will pay out your a-hole for that with Verizon.
[Epic 4G General] churro7:
Enjoy

Sent from Snarf with an Epic
[Epic 4G General] shook187:
I'm perfectly happy with my unlimited 4g data with speeds of 2-5kbps. Sprint Customer service has been great too, during my difficult times paying my bill while I'm currently laid off.
[Epic 4G General] imtjnotu:
that is some pretty slow internet:p
[Epic 4G General] shook187:
lol. Mbps? ;-)
[Epic 4G General] gTen:
Actually its more because sprint is running wimax of 10mhz while verizon is 20mhz plus in a better frequency...that said even without wimax 2..if they just update to wimax-enhanced which is a minor upgrade..you would get 40% more efficiency (60% more for new towers) and speeds on par with Verizon's 20mhz LTE in only 10mhz spectrum....
[Epic 4G General] Nick_Djinn:
Sprint has horrendous customer service, though I dont know if anyone else is any better.

Verizon has better coverage out in the boonies, when you need it most.

Unlimited data is Nice with Sprint, though you have to be a hacker to take advantage of it.

Does anyone know if they throttle?
[Epic 4G General] gTen:
Here is your answer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlkT7gRM0xo&feature=player_embedded

Then again its coming from the CEO of sprint..the same guy who said who said 4g will be as free as TV....
[Epic 4G General] musclehead84:
I just wish I had 4g. I would take 4mbps down anyday. I get about 1 to 1.5 on 3g

Sent From My Evo Killer!!!
[Epic 4G General] stir fry a lot:
If you're rooted you can download an app called Roam Control and jump onto Verizon's network manually. I'm actually posting this though verizon right now. Where I'm at i'd normally get 1 bar off and on but using Roam Control I currently have 4-5 bars with a 1x internet connection which is more than adequete for web browsing.
[Epic 4G General] dchawk81:
1x is tedious because of the latency. It works in a pinch but that doesn't make Sprint coverage equal to Verizon coverage. It's usually close enough though if we don't roam excessively.

We don't really need 4g as much as we think we do. What we REALLY need (for everyday use) is consistently low latency and consistently high 3g. Latency is the true measure of "snappiness" while the fast network speeds mostly just helps get media files without buffering - ie high resolution video (and no, HQ YouTube is NOT high resolution. A good 3g connection is fine for that).
[Epic 4G General] MedicStuder:
Everything in his statement is true including customer service. Verizon does have the worst customer service. I left them due to that fact. Both instore and on the phone are rude. The execuive customer relations is a joke.
[Epic 4G General] dchawk81:
I think they've all got equally amazing sales departments and equally wretched support departments.

Customer service is great if you're buying and horrible if you already bought.
[Epic 4G General] 063_XOBX:
There's a reason they're hemorrhaging customers.
[Epic 4G General] Whosdaman:
I'll write the same thing I wrote on BGR where it came from:

"These are bias test. Strength of signal is never disclosed and comparing WiMax to LTE can still not be done correctly due to the low use of LTE. Last week people were getting 14 mb/s download and 32 mb/s upload. Now LTE has already dropped this much after a week? In a month I want a statistically correct analysis completely of the Thunderbolt vs the EVO.

And I am low-balling saying a month because that may still be too early. It doesn't seem like Verizon will be getting many LTE devices soon.

Yeah, LTE is faster. That's a known fact. And 2.5 ghz frequency can't penetrate buildings as well, that's a fact. But Sprint's network vs Verizon's network is the question. On a fair playing field, who has a faster 4G? No way in the world can you tell right now, not when everyone's test are bias towards one or the other."

Let me add to it now. If in less then a week the data speeds dropped that much, just think about in a month when more people start using LTE and using up Verizon limited amount of spectrum. Sure, when LTE first comes out everyone is running fast cause no one is using it...just wait though.

Also, why get a phone that you can't even turn off the 4G on easily? lol, that sounds like a gimmick to me
[Epic 4G General] dchawk81:
I wasn't singling out any one company.

If it was strictly due to CS, they'd all be hemorrhaging customers.
[Epic 4G General] Whosdaman:
When the new PRL 60677 gets pushed out to Epics, some states actually have 3G Roaming Data turned on now. One of which is Florida!
[Epic 4G General] dchawk81:
I'm looking forward to that. Not so much Florida, but eventually the places I roam. PRL 60759 or what have you. :D
[Epic 4G General] 063_XOBX:
As great as that sounds (As a Floridian), I hope they can get an accurate 4G coverage map to go with it, I mean I got an email 3 months ago that 4G was turned on by me and still nothing.
[Epic 4G General] Overstew:
I have PRL 60677 and today, I experienced the first 3G roam!!!

I was in my local Lowes and the Roam pop up came on, I hit never show me this again...Anyways, I did a speed test and it was 1300 Kbps DL and 500 kbps UL!!! Very cool. :D It shows you are roaming, but it allows 3G data as if you were on Sprint's network.
[Epic 4G General] dchawk81:
What city/state?
[Epic 4G General] churro7:
I live in a 3g roaming area but 60677 doesnt give me access
[Epic 4G General] DroidApprentice:
While this is very cool people should remember that there have been reports of Sprint actually warning people, charging extra or maybe even terminating agreements with no ETF for "excessive" data roaming. My agreement said 200MB a month, which is not much. Thankfully I almost never have a reason to use even 5% of that a month. I doubt 3G data roaming will happen where I live anytime soon, especially since the mysterious "disappearance" of PRL -77.
[Epic 4G General] Overstew:
Jacksonville, FL.
[Epic 4G General] diego1985:
it sucks in Stone Mountain, but everywhere else I get speeds like you. Especially downtown where I work.

I hate "Top Flight Security Mods"
[Epic 4G General] aero1:
There is no way to read those numbers other than Sprint has a huge problem.

Reading the comments on Boy Genius I don't see any rational countering of the conclusions either.

Yes sprint is cheaper, but Sprint also denied that Epic owners were limited to 3g speeds and paying extra for 4g for a couple of months.
[Epic 4G General] jdelano:
I've been a sprint customer for about 12 years. I don't think I'd actually jump, for a few reasons. Price for sure. I was just blown away by the article. I hope they decide to pump up the power in a future upgrade.

Lastly, this is why I love XDA - The combined knowledge is fantastic. I learned so much from this thread. Thank you all for chiming in!!
[Epic 4G General] jdelano:
I'm in Lilburn (29 and Beaver Ruin), in a dark blue 4G area (in building strength). I only get 4G upstairs can't can't it at all downstairs.

I tried the 4G signal fix but that didn't do anything for me.

A friend has the EVO and it works just fine with 4G here.