[Atrix 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] rrolsbe:
UPDATE: Just found information at the following link, see below. Looks like you can't get better backup capability without unlocking the boot loader first. Doing so would destroy the DRM keys (No more Netflix's etc...) Guess I will live with my ROOTED Atrix 4G for now..

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/15314/cant-boot-to-clockwork-recovery-on-atrix-several-methods-tried

My Atrix 4G phone is currently rooted but does NOT have the bootloader unlocked. I do not plan to (at least for the forseeable future) installing different ROM's but I would like to install (if possible) the CWM restore partition. Unlocking the bootloader wipes the device (backups can be performed to restore the wiped information); likewise, the DRM keys are removed during the bootloader unlocking procedure and there MIGHT be ways to restore them (watching streaming video is important to me).

From what I have read on this forum and others, I should be able to load the CWM restore partition WITHOUT unlocking the bootloader. There are a few methods documented to install the CWM werewithall onto the restore partition BUT would something like the following also work?

From an SSH connection to the rooted phone or an "adb shell" command window (via a USB connection between the Atrix and PC) perform the following:

Backup the current restore partition delivered my Motorola via the following command in case something goes wrong.

dd if=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10 of=/sdcard-ext/recovery.img

Copy the recovery.img file to your PC for additional safe keeping.

Zero out the restore partition before installing the new CWM recovery image.

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10

Copy the new cwm.img image to the recovery partition using the following command:

Note the replacement cwm image file can NOT be larger than 8192 blocks with each block being 512 bytes.

8192 * 512 * 2 = 8,388,608 bytes. If the cwm image is to big, I am not sure if the following dd command would write into the p11 boot partition (NOT good). Verify cwm.img size BEFORE issuing the following DD command.

dd if=/sdcard-ext/cwm.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10

In the avent of a problem, you should be able to restore the original Motorola recovery.img to the /dev/block/mmcblk0p10 partition with the following command:

dd if=/sdcard-ext/recovery.img of=/dev/block/mmcblk0p10

FYI follows are the md5sums from my "Atrix 4g" as delivered original factory boot.img and recovery.img

/mnt/sdcard-ext/root_recovery_orig # cat md5sums.txt

bc6c254bd80bed5a9c0d3c7cd5c77b07 boot.img from /dev/block/mmcblk0p11

7580ad9c3bca264a563c13741162d9b8 recovery.img from /dev/block/mmcblk0p10

/mnt/sdcard-ext/root_recovery_orig # ls -al *.img

----rwxr-x 1 system sdcard_r 8388608 Nov 15 13:20 boot.img

----rwxr-x 1 system sdcard_r 8388608 Nov 15 13:19 recovery.img

I assume the factory LOCKED bootloader located on the first partition /dev/block/mmcblk0p1 does NOT effect booting into the new cwm recovery partition via the "adb reboot recovery" command or by holding the volume down while powering on the phone?

When booting into the new CWM recovery partition, what /dev/block/mmcblk0 partitions are mounted? If any partitions are mounted, are they mounted read-only?

Booting from the content of the CWM recovery partition, can I backup/restore the entire /dev/block/mmcblk0 device (all 18 partitions)? Nothing like creating a full device image (with nothing mounted r/w) for when disaster strikes.

Assuming any of the above is valid, I need get the cwm dd image for somewhere (pointers welcome)

Issuing DD commands can be VERY-VERY-VERY dangerous if done wrong. If you do not understand how dd works, PLEASE do NOT attempt anything you read in this post. Until other forum members comment on this post content, I do NOT plan do anything (neither should anyone else!!!!)

Regards, Ron