yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Removed - You have enough help here ;)

One quick note... Check the file permissions after you move the apk. They should be rw-r--r--
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I tried to transfer the app (although I changed the name of it to "AdamKeyboard.apk" so I'd know which one it is), put it in a folder in the sdcard folder, then tried to copy it from the folder to the system/app folder (having R/W) permission, and it won't seem to stick. I DID change it back to R/O afterwards, then shut the gTab off and then powered it up again. And it is not working, nor was it listed in the system/app folder. :(

I do not understand what I am doing incorrectly! Is it because I changed the original app name????

Where should I be getting the apk FROM?! [Not the folder I copied it to originally?]
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
Please don't stop helping. I have something very important that I should be doing (my income taxes).

badtypist: I would suggest buying the Root Explorer app from the Market. It is well worth the $4.10 it costs. You will need to first set up Google Checkout with a payment method (credit card?), otherwise you won't be able to purchase apps.

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.speedsoftware.rootexplorer&feature=search_result

I saved my Root Explorer app to a USB drive. This way I always have it to install on newly installed firmware, even if I don't have Market installed.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
The name shouldn't matter but where you copied it from does.

You have to move it from where it is installed (/data/app) to where it needs to be (/system/app). Then check the file permissions and reboot.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I noticed that the AndRootFile didn't see my personal folder in the sdcard folder, so I looked again, and I see that Root Explorer is ON my gTab. [My wonderful son must have purchased these things for me, and put them on to the gTab before sending it back home with his friend! He's really a very great kid, and probably knows the trouble his mom will get into (before I even know to get INTO it) and has placed safety nets in place for when I tumble (or crash, burn and bork)!] :D

Another very stupid question, by "reboot" do you mean just power down, or do I have to do the power button with the Vol + or - thing??? I've just been powering down by pressing the power button and then powering back on with the power button again, but perhaps that is incorrect?!

I've just put my root explorer and the other apps I like (the Kindle reader, the other ebook reader, etc) to a USB drive "just in case." But I still can;t seem to get the keyboard to go to the system/root file! [Things are SO much easier for me in Windows--even the cutting and pasting using the ES File Explorer seems to take so much effort for some reason!]
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
It would be easier in windows... or any other operating system ;-)

Try this...

1) Open Root Explorer

2) Navigate to /data/app

3) Locate and long-press on the adam keyboard apk

4) select move

5) press the back button twice

6) navigate to /system/app

7) Near the top of the screen there will be a small button that says "Mount R/W" - press it

8) select paste (at bottom of the screen)

9) check to make sure the file is there and the permissions are "rw-r--r--"

Reboot (Yes... power down and start back up)

Make sure you moved the file. Not copied (copy is ok if you go back and delete the original). If it still exists in /data/app then it could cause some unusual behavior.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I did EXACTLY as you wrote (at first I was doing "copy," but the last 2 times I've done "move") and I get up to step 8, and then check for the file, and it is NOT listed! I've looked at EVERY app listed, and it's not ANY of them! I've done the exact same thing the last 3 times, and it does NOT show up! (I'm in frustration mode now.) :p [And is "power off and then power back on" what you mean by reboot?] :rolleyes:
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Trying to get this gTablet to do something that should basically be a simple thing to do... makes me feel like I'm on the Jeffrey! :D [A weird, but quite accurate reference to the movie "Get Him to the Greek."] ;)
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I just deleted everything, powered off, powered on, reinstalled it, and it did not work again. I even tried to just install it directly into system/app, and that wouldn't "stick" either. This keyboard will NOT work on my stock ROM. :( I'm so bummed out.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Ok... I'm thinking that your tablet might not be fully rooted. How did you achieve "root" the first time around? Do you have an app called "z4root?"

I can make an "update" that will install it correctly.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Yes. I have that. :) Should I do something WITH it?
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
There is a thread about this problem:

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=876438&highlight=alternate+keyboards

It seems to be related to busybox. You can install a recent version of busybox using Titanium Backup. After starting Titanium Backup, click on the "Problems?" button. It will then prompt you to Upgrade BusyBox.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Run z4root and make sure your tablet is rooted (use permanent). Then open superuser and check to make sure that Root Explorer is listed as "Allow" under apps.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
wasserkapf, I just upgraded busybox, so I'll try to copy the file into system/app again after shutting the gTab down.

K J, I ran z4root. It IS already rooted, and the Root Explorer app IS allowed. I will try to redo the move and see what happens. [Powering off and back on after wards is correct, right? I don't need to be pressing the Vol + or - tab, do I?
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
Maybe reading through this thread will help make things more clear (or not):

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=856476&highlight=keyboards
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Correct. Just power off and back on. No volume keys required.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I did everything suggested on the thread, STILL no new keyboard. Now I show "com.ni.keyboard-2.apk" [I guess because it's the second time I installed it. It used to say "com.ni.keyboard-1.apk"] I still can't get it out of data/app and into system/app. :(

Should I even ATTEMPT to do a TnT Lite v4.40 install???? :confused: The standard keyboard with the stock MOD really is terrible!!!
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Care to try the command line method?
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Sure thing, K J... I'd be up for that... if you'd hold my hand during the process like I'm a 3-year-old. ;) :o
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
It'll be a bit before I can get back here. Daughters Senior Prom. I'll check back as soon as I dump the chauffers hat...
[G Tablet General] poserina:
Make sure that you are mounting the folder before you paste. It must say "r/w" on the folder, if not then you have to press the "Mount r/w button" before you paste.
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
I can help you prepare for it.

You will first need an app that is called a "terminal emulator". There are a few in the Market. Look at these:

https://market.android.com/search?q=terminal+emulator&so=1&c=apps

The top two are usually the better ones. I use the paid one, Better Terminal Emulator Pro. But the second one, Android Terminal Emulator, should work too. Check to see if your son installed one of these.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
K J, COOL!!! Yes, kids ALWAYS come first!!!! I bet she looks lovely. Both of my sons had a blast at their proms! [My younger son took TWO girls because one girl's date stood her up and my son's a nice guy! My older son should be a character from the Big Bang Theory, and his prom was on the night of some Sci-Fi movie's debut, so he and all of their friends went to a movie IN THEIR PROM gowns and tuxes!!!] :D

Posserina, yup, I did that. In fact it MAKES you change to R/W if you don't have it set correctly, so that wasn't the problem!!! :-) I'll wait for K J and try the command line thing, and if that doesn't work (God help us all...), I might do the TnT Lite v4.40 thing. :p
[G Tablet General] poserina:
I would try to root it again and then retry pasting. I had this happen to me once and then I think I re-rooted and then it worked. Also, are you running any enhancement pack or just bone stock?
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
wasserkapf, yes, he did give me that first one, too! [He's my "Big Bang Theory" kid.] So I've got it on there already. :D [When he returns an electronic item, it's always FAR better than he received it.] ;)

poserina, if I re-root my gTab, will it wipe anything out? And I did add some google apps, while trying to fix a flash problem, but removed them after wards. I think I'm "bone stock" (but am not sure) with some handy self-chosen apps added.
[G Tablet General] poserina:
You can root again, it doesn't remove anything just allows access to certain folders.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Thank you, poserina, for the good info. I'll try that, and will let you know what happens. :)
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Nothing changed. I re-rooted it, rebooted, went to data/apps, MOVED the apk file to system/app and STILL, it did not move it! :mad:
[G Tablet General] poserina:
Can you see the file in the folder after you paste? If you can't then either the root is not working or the folder is not mounting.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
This is my youngest (raised three daughters mostly on my own) got a step daughter that's got a few years to go. I will miss these days :-( Anyway...

One quick thing before we try the command line thing. I just had a "move" command fail on me. Not sure why. I was able to "copy" then "delete" so you might want to give that a go.

If that doesn't work then I suggest "Terminal Emulator" by Jack Palevich. it's free and works very well. Now... on to the incantations...

1) Start up Terminal Emulator. You'll have a blue screen with the currently selected keyboard. In the upper left hand corner you'll see some text. Ignore it. Under the text should be a "$" that is your prompt.

2) At the prompt type "su" (without the quotes...) and tap enter. This will invoke SuperUser and you will be asked whether to allow or deny. Tap Allow. Your prompt is now "#"

3) Type the following commands exactly as they appear below. Pay careful attention to the punctuation and spacing. If at anytime you get an error message it will likely mean that there is a syntax problem with what you typed. You can retry typing the command that caused the error with no ill effects.

mount -o rw,remount -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock3 /system

cp /data/app/com.ni.keyboard-2.apk /system/app/com.ni.keyboard-2.apk

rm /data/app/com.ni.keyboard-2.apk

chmod 644 /system/app/com.ni.keyboard-2.apk

4) Reboot the tablet. The keyboard should be installed and enabled ready to be selected by using a longpress in any text entry field. You can use Root Explorer to make sure it's in the right place and has the right permissions.

Keep in mind that this all looks A LOT more complicated than it is and we still havent exhausted the alternatives. Good Luck. I'll check back in a bit.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
poserina, no, I cannot see the file after I paste it. I have no idea why this isn't working, but I will now try to do the instructions K J just gave me...

K J, I was trying the copy BEFORE I tried the move and neither worked. I have "Better Terminal Emulator" will that work the same as Terminal Emulator? [wasserkapf said they are both good.]
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
A USB keyboard can help TONS when trying to enter commands into a terminal. That is one thing that seems to work on a stock g-tablet.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
K J, I know how you are feeling, when my youngest son went off to college (2.5 hours away from me, one way) I was devastated. I cried for weeks! Weird thing is... I've been a teacher for almost 30 years, and my students from when I first started teaching (who are now in their mid-40s) helped me get through my hard time (via phone calls, facebook and emails) when my sons left home! How weird is THAT?! :p Okay, I'm going to do the emulator thing now! :)
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Good idea, wasserkapf! (You always have good ideas!) I'll try to hook one up now, and see what happens.
[G Tablet General] poserina:
You are copying and then using paste on Root Explorer, right?
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Right!

wasserkapf, I'm looking for an extra USB keyboard, and I think my sons took all the extra ones! :-) But you have to admit, it's pretty ironic that I'm doing all of this to install a better keyboard, and I need an actual keyboard to install the simulated keyboard. :p That's kind of funny, when you think about it. Or maybe I'm just getting loopy again!!! :eek:
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
So...

Yes. Any terminal emulator will work. I just can't tell you for sure what it will look like if I don't have it.

And for pity's sake you could have built a keyboard by now... ;-p

Keep watching everyone... I'm going to get her to load up the SDK and use ADB next ;)
[G Tablet General] poserina:
Don't use "MOVE" use "Copy" and "Paste"
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I'm so pathetic! OK, so I tap the stupid emulator icon, then it asks if I want to download something to go with it. [It wasn't "Want fries with that, but it seemed equally appealing, so I said "yes." Which borked the whole thing up and I had to copy the apk, uininstall it, then put it back on and NOT get extra fries with it. So now I'm typing in the instructions, and I somehow, ah, BORKED it up. I got a c prompt, and don't know how to get rid of it.

Now before you start yelling atm me, KJ... please READ THE CHOSEN NAME FOR MY USER NAME!!! :D

So how do I get out of this c prompt thing?!?!?!?!
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
It's highlighted the "]" and gives me a carrot when I try to type in cp, and it gives me "^c"
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Luckily for you the act of raising three teenage daughters by myself taught me an incredible amount of patience...

Not sure how to get rid of the "c" prompt. I don't use that emulator. I'll go download it and see...

While I do... imagine the very first time that my daughters and I were all out alone and the oldest had something she really needed to tell me right then relayed through her sister while she was hiding out in the ladies room...

Ok... I'm back. Only version of Better Terminal Emulator that I saw was a pay for and I really don't want to buy something I have three or four of. Any chance you could just go get the one I suggested?
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
:-) Okay, solution: I backed out of it completely, and then started all over again! When I got to the second line... cp /data/app.... I input it in correctly andit now says cp: permission denied!!!

So.... what now? [And yes, I can imagine that evening you described very well! I taught for many years, so it's kind of what goes with the whole "kids" thing!!! I'm sure you did a great job with that, ah, complicated situation!]
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Permission denied means you didn't achieve root status. Did you do the "su" and allow through SuperUser?
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
In case it was supposed to say that, I moved on to the next line... "rm /data/app..." and that now says: "failed for /data/app/..." Permission denied.

:(
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
You know, I did it the first time, but maybe didn't do it the 2nd time... so I'll start at square one again!!! [Are you hating that you volunteered to do this yet?! Or WHAT?!?!?!] :D
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Means you don't have root status.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Nope... I'm on my third wife... I can handle abuse...
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
I have Better Terminal Emulator, and I don't understand why she would get a "C" prompt. That would be something that is on a Windows PC. Android is based on Linux, and does not label the hard drive or partitions that way.

I'll post a screenshot of it.

EDIT: I see that I am way behind. As long as I took a pretty screenshot, I'll post it.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Ha ha. THIRD wife?! Apparently so!!! Now I can't get past cp.

It says cp: not found.

NOW what am I doing wrong?!
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
wasserkapf, it's Windows way of saying... "You love me the best... come back to me! Forget this frustrating android thing!" :) :D

Now I stared again, and I have NO IDEA why it would say cp: not found. It's very tiny, but it looks like I typed it in exactly as I am supposed to!!! I'll retyoe it again and see if that helps! Otherwise I might just bite the bullet and try for TnT Lite v4.40. It;s GOT to be faster and easier than what I've been trying to accomplish the ENTIRE day! :D [Ewwwww... frustration is seeping in now.] Ha ha. ;)
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
It is not finding cp. I entered it again, exactly the same way.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Most likely the system partition didn't remount properly. Type "ls" without the quotes and tell me what you get. That's an ELL and an ESS ;)

BTW... this would be lots less cumbersome in IRC or some kind of Instant Messenger. I have Yahoo or MSN if you like.
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
Use the command busybox to preface the cp command:

busybox cp /data/app/borked.apk /system/app/borked.apk

See if that works.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Ha ha. If you knew what I now do for a living, K J, your last message would crack you up as much as it cracked ME up! I typed in those 2 letters and a whole BUNCH of stuff came out. Is it too much to ask if it's okay if I call you? If you have a land line, it won't cost you anything, and won't use your cell minutes. [I only HAVE a land line, with unlimited long distance calling, so it's no problem for me, if you want to share your phone number.] :-)
[G Tablet General] poserina:
Don't do that, then we can't watch!
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Yes... try this first. No... I don't have a landline but I do have a work around for paying for cell minutes ;-)
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
ROFLMAO!!! I actually fell out of my chair!
[G Tablet General] poserina:
Too funny. Glad I could make somebody laugh!
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
WASSERKAPF!!!! I'm NOT supposed to put in the word "BORKED" am I?!?!?! :-) Should I try it with busybox with the rest the same?

And poserina, if I can figure out how to DO this, first, THEN I promise I'll post what WORKED!

K J, I just booted up my little netbook and signed on to my trillian app, which will let me IM you, I think. I have an aim account... tell me what you'd like me to do.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Are you people just torturing me now?! :D Good thing I like ya (you wise-crackin' bunch of characters!) or I'd REALLY let you "watch' and would skype ya, and you'd REALLY freak out by what you'd SEE!!! :eek:
[G Tablet General] poserina:
On a more serious note though, it seems that the tab is not properly rooted. Does root explorer say "superuser status granted" or something to that effect when you start it?
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
I don't have aim... I do have skype...
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Ok, wiseguys, I did the busybox (without the BORKED), and it got me to the next line... so I'm STILL typing... I'll let you know...
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
poserina, yes it did give me superuser status.

wasserkapf, the busybox thing worked...

I'm STILL trying to TYPE here, guys... :D
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
OK, it's all typed in. I just leave it like that, and power off with the # prompt just hanging out there? It feels like I should be doing something else before powering off!
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Thought I smelled smoke...
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Reboot it... so we can figure out what we're going to do to you next...
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Hmmm... this is taking so long, I thought you'd smell DECOMP!!! So... do I just pwoer it off like that-- or do I have to do something after tying in all that stuff?!? I'm afraid to power off,and am waiting for your instructions! :)
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
Did you check to see if it actually copied the apps?

All this distraction isn't helping me in getting my taxes done. All I want to do now is make some popcorn for the "show".
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Type "reboot" if that doesn't work type "busybox reboot"
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
We don't need no stinkin' checks here! Faith. Faith and a fanatical devotion to the obscure.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
What's your Skype address? Mine's my name, so I don't think I should post it here. [Not that I'd care that you know it, but I'm, ah, kind of a public figure, so I don't want this whole debacle to be traced back to me.] In fact, the state where wasserkapf lives (and no, I'm not stalking you yet, wasserkapf... I told you I'd TELL you when I'm going to stalk ya!) it's listed on your listing thingie, anyhow, I'm kind of famous in parts of your state, wasserkapf! [I'm kinda famous in parts of MANY states (and a couple of other countries), so this whole "borking everything I touch with this stupid gTab" situation is a HUGE embarrassment to me!] :D
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Sent you a PM with skype and phone info.
[G Tablet General] K J Rad:
Going to dinner... gonna have to tivo this... don't anybody ruin the ending for me.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
NOW you tell me to type reboot?! I just shut the darn thing OFF!!!

Ewwwwwwww... I just went to language and keyboard, and it's listed there without the dorky checkbox thing that didn't work anyhow. Ewwwww... so how do I get it to use it now. I went to the google page and held my finger on the blank search box, but the only keyboard that came up was the usual poopy one! [I know you told me how to get it to choose between keyboards, but I kinda forgot already.] :confused:
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
Long-press the text area. Then it should give you "input" options.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
OK, it's now showing up in settings under Language and keyboard!! !YAY!!! But I can't get it to actually show itself. I've gone to the to-do list, and just held my finger on the place to write, but the old keyboard pops up. I went to google search, and put my finger in the search bar, and again, the old keyboard came up. [I held it there for about 5+seconds.] I'm not getting a choice! I WANT A CHOICE!!!! I LIKE TO CHOOSE!!!! How do I choose it???? :confused:
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
I'm long-pressing, and not getting options. :(
[G Tablet General] wasserkapf:
Press the magnifying glass icon on the top of the toolbar (right side of tablet). Then just press the open space above the keyboard, about 2 seconds is all it takes. It should pop-up a window that gives "Input method" as an option. Press that and the keyboard option will show.
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Whoo hoo!!!!!!!!!! It worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!!!! THAT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!!! :-) It's a MIRACLE!!!!!! :eek: YOU ROCK!!! :D Will it always use that keyboard now? Or do I have to press it each time?

I can't thank you and K J enough!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
[G Tablet General] badtypist:
Now it pops up automatically! :D YAY!!!!!!! :D Well, THAT only took about 12 straight hours of work! :eek: ;) :rolleyes:

My sincere THANKS go to wasserkapf and Kj Rad (for the heavy lifting), and not to forget the adorable poserina (for our comic relief)! I'm gonna "thank button" you all! :) ;)