[Nexus 7 Android Development] stickplayer:
Can't Root New Nexus 7 - "Too Many Links" on attempt.

Ok, I also have a separate entry in the forum about this. I have a brand new (arrived today) 32-gb, wi-fi-only Nexus 7. I started it up, and got 4.2.2 update over the air, which went fine. I'm using the "Pro" version of the toolkit, version 4.3.5.

Now I've been trying to root it, and am having tremendous trouble in fastboot mode - often not recognized, and the reinstall of the drivers doesn't help. In fact, fastboot was NEVER recognized, but then I found the post mentioning two new entries for the Nexus 7 sections (in both 32 and 64-bit parts of the inf file). I added these, re installed the drivers, and now fastboot is recognized, but only when it is reached by being in ADB mode first. If I restart the bootloader, then Windows will no longer recognize the device.

Here are the two entries that were added to both the 32 and 64-bit sections:

%CompositeAdbInterface% = USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_D001

%CompositeAdbInterface%	= USB_Install, USB\VID_18D1&PID_4E44&MI_01

This is per another comment in this same topic, by PROlific666, on 1st August 2012, 09:26 PM (Last edited by PROlific666; 3rd August 2012 at 02:34 AM). In any event this does seem to allow the bootloader to be recognized.

However, recognized or not, most bootloader operations I've tried in the toolkit fail - either they simply start (such as showing "...") and then do nothing forever, or they error out with an error message saying "too many links".

In fastboot mode, with the device manager showing the device recognized as "Android Bootloader Interface" (under "Android Phone"), the home screens shows the device as:

????????????? fastboot

That is, there is no serial number, only and literally question marks. I don't know if this is part of the problem, but it appears that something may be different in the latest Nexus versions, with 4.2.2, which prevents the toolkit from understanding its fastboot mode. Or perhaps there is a newer SDK version or something, I don't know. The text you have, "if serisal shows, drivers are installed" is equivocal here - something is shown that it attempts to interpret as a serial number, when the device is in fastboot, but it apparently can't get it. ADB mode does get a full serial number.

But it just isn't working. Simply trying to unlock fails. I have the device in fastboot (manually), and it is recognized in device manager. I type 3 from the main menu, then "yes" to start the procedure. The nexus screen gives me the large text and yes/no. Yes is selected, and I click on the power button to select it. I see the "unlocking now..." at the top of the screen on the nexus, which disappears after a bit.

But... the Toolkit just sits there, showing only "..." - there is nothing else, even after the "unlocking now..." disappears. I have no idea if it is safe to do anything with the device or with the toolkit, but the toolkit seems hung. All the while, the device manager shows it is ok.

Image1 shows the state of things after the "unlocking now..." has disappeared, and the nexus is back in what looks like a normal bootloader mode.

At this point, the Nexus is on its bootloader, and in red text it says, "LOCK STATE - UNLOCKED". So presumably, it worked, but the toolkit is still waiting for it - minutes later. There is no abort option (and there should be, for anything that might wait). My only choice is to completely kill the cmd window and restart.

So, it is restarted. I want to now root the device. It is still in fastboot mode, now unlocked.

I select option 4 to root the device. From there, I select option 1 to keep things as simple as possible. I select SuperSU from the next menu.

It shows 3 lines of "File copied" (or similar wording), then gives the screen starting with "IMPORTANT: THE DEVICE WILL..."

As it is still in Fastboot, I say "yes".

Already unlocked: yes

Booted into Android since unlocking? No

It says it is rebooting, and starts to do so. I get a normal boot, and then, "Waiting for USB debugging" - the device then reboots again (but the "waiting" message remains on screen in the toolkit). Windows dev mgr shows "Android ADB Interface" under "Android Phone".

The device goes through its boot, Indeed, I have to set it up again, as expected. I set up wi-fi, email addy, I don't have it restore from my account. I then enable dev mode and usb debugging. I have to switch it from media to camera before it seems to recognize this. It then asks for authorization for the computer connection, which I ok.

The toolkit immediately says it is continuing, and "rebooting back into fastboot"

And this is where it fails. Image2 shows the failure message, and the device manager (which shows the bootloader is recognized).

Specifically, the toolkit shows:

Booting into Android using an Insecure Boot Image...

downloading 'boot.img'...

FAILED <status read failed <Too many links>>

finished. Total time (etc.)

At this point, the Nexus has remained in the bootloader, which still says it is unlocked. The toolkit is stuck, with the last message being "Waiting for Device".

I then start the Nexus, just to see if the toolkit will wake up. It doesn't, but for some reason, after starting up, the device then spontaneously reboots itself. And NOW the toolkit wakes up, shows the normal home screen (and in ADB Mode, the correct serial number).

So here's a few things to ponder:

1. Why is there no serial number in fastboot mode, but there is in ADB mode, even though the device appears correctly recognized by Windows in both modes.

2. Fastboot in general appears dicey, although it is now unlocked. It is unclear if any

3. No SU app was pushed (perhaps that is not a surprise)

4. Why has your updates since August 2012, when the comment was made about the missing INF entries, not included these?

Another little gotcha - after a failed root attempt, it goes through a bunch of stuff to remove the root (even though it isn't there and it can't do it). At the end, it says that if the device won't reboot, to "pull the battery and replace". As this is explicitly the "Nexus 7 ToolKit", that message is not applicable.

I've tried to be as precise and complete as possible. I'm trying to set this up as a gift for a friend, but their birthday is a week off, and I'm nowhere on this. I have an older (2.5 months) Nexus 7 that had absolutely no problem with this.

Thanks for your attention, and I really hope we can get a solution soon.