[G2 and Desire Z Android Development] steviewevie:
A lot of people seem scared to use "adb" (Android Debug Bridge), or try it out and hit problems, then immediately give up.

I personally think that the method of rooting using adb (rage) is "better" than Visionary, because you have more control over the process and can see what it's doing. e.g. if there's an error message then you can see that, and ask for help.

But even if you don't use adb in rooting, it's still a very useful tool to have available. You can use it to run commands on your phone, copy files between your PC and phone, and to debug various issues that may occur at some point (plus lots more).

The guide in this first posting is for Windows, since I think this is what the majority of what people are using, and also it's what I use myself. Though you can use adb on Linux or Mac too. There's a Mac guide in the second posting, with a Linux guide "coming soon".

There are different ways to install adb. Below I list two methods, the first method I call "Complete", which involves installing the Android SDK (Software Development Kit), and the second "Quick" way. Either should be fine for rooting etc.

There's also a guide by gtrab in his useful FAQ posting (thanks !) HERE , which involves a very quick way to get it up and running (scroll down to the "Adb Mini Package" section).

INSTALLING ADB ON WINDOWS - METHOD A, THE "COMPLETE" WAY, USING THE SDK

Step 1

If you haven't done so already, then download and install HTC Sync from HTC's website.

You'll find it in the Support section for the Desire Z (works on the G2 too), e.g. at http://www.htc.com/www/help/htc-desire-z/#download.

This is HTC's software to sync various stuff from your phone to your PC, such as email, bookmarks etc. However, even if you don't need that stuff, HTC Sync has a bunch of USB drivers for your phone, and that's what we *do* need.

Step 2

Download and install the Android SDK (Software Development Kit) Starter package from http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html

There are two choices for Windows there, a simple zip file which you can unzip somewhere appropriate on your PC (e.g. put it on C:\ if you like). Or there's an installer (which is the recommended option according to the Android website), though that forces you to download some Java stuff which we don't really need for adb and takes a lot longer to install (but there won't be any harm in getting). It doesn't really matter which one you pick though.

You can read all about how to install the SDK at http://developer.android.com/sdk/installing.html . Ignore all the stuff about Eclipse though, you don't need that unless you're going to start writing Android apps.

Step 3

Now we need to add the Platform Tools component to the SDK, because that contains adb.

Run "SDK Manager" on your PC. You will find that in the root directory of the SDK, so you can open up a file explorer window to find that, then double-click on "SDK Manager" to run it.

Wait for a few seconds while it checks on the Android website for updates etc, let it then pop up with a window showing you what is on offer.

Add the "Android SDK Platform Tools", you can "reject" (i.e. don't install) all the other things it offers you if you like, though there's no harm in installing them (just takes up disk space on your PC).

Step 4

Now we need to update your Path variable. This lets you run adb on your PC from a command window no matter which directory you are in (which makes things a lot easier). If you don't setup your Path, then every time you want to run adb, you will either have to type the whole long pathname where you put adb, or cd to where you've put adb and run it from there (which could be inconvenient if you are transferring files to/from your phone).

On your PC, right-click on "My Computer" and select "Properties". (on Vista, click on "Change Settings"). Go to the "Advanced" tab, then select "Environment Variables". Find the "Path" variable in the list of variables that it shows (you might need to scroll), and then double-click on that entry to edit it. Add the full path of the "tools" and "platform-tools" folders of the SDK to your path. e.g. if the SDK has been installed in "c:\Program Files\android-sdk-windows", then add to your Path "c:\Program Files\android-sdk-windows\tools;c:\Program Files\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools" (Please Note - don't put any spaces between the semi-colon and pathname, otherwise it won't work !)

Step 5

On your phone, go into Menu->Settings->Applications->Development and make sure you have the entry "USB Debugging" ticked. adb will not work without this.

Step 6

Plug your phone into your PC using the original HTC cable. This is important, do not use a third-party cable since it might not work with adb (even though it might seem fine with other communication with your phone). If this is the first time you've done it since installing HTC Sync, you might have to wait while it installs additional drivers.

Step 7

Fire up a command prompt on your computer, e.g. "Run" then "cmd", or pick the "Command prompt" option from the menus, and type in the following (obviously the C:\> bit is your actual PC's prompt, not what you type). To emphasise, you are running this on your PC, not directly from your phone (e.g. terminal emulator) :

C:\> adb devices

This should display something like the following :

List of devices attached
XXX12345 device

... where the "XXX12345" bit is actually your phone's serial number. If the list is blank and the phone is plugged in ok, go back to Step 5 and make sure USB Debugging is enabled. If you can see your phone, then you're in business, adb can see your phone and communicate with it, and you're ready to start using adb !

By the way, the first adb command that you type may well also come up with some lines similar to "adb deamon out of date" etc, but don't worry, that's normal, just check the rest of the output.

INSTALLING ADB ON WINDOWS - METHOD B, THE "QUICK" WAY, NO SDK

Thanks to amroush_1800 for the input on this.

Step 1

If you haven't done so already, then download and install HTC Sync from HTC's website.

You'll find it in the Support section, e.g. at http://www.htc.com/uk/supportdownloadlist.aspx?p_id=325&act=sd&cat=all.

This is HTC's software to sync various stuff from your phone to your PC, such as email, bookmarks etc. However, even if you don't need that stuff, HTC Sync has a bunch of USB drivers for your phone, and that's what we *do* need.

Step 2

Download this zip archive and unzip it somewhere memorable on your PC (e.g. into a folder on your desktop) - http://dl-ssl.google.com/android/repository/platform-tools_r04-windows.zip

Step 3

On your phone, go into Menu->Settings->Applications->Development and make sure you have the entry "USB Debugging" ticked. adb will not work without this.

Step 4

Plug your phone into your PC using the original HTC cable. This is important, do not use a third-party cable since it might not work with adb (even though it might seem fine with other communication with your phone). If this is the first time you've done it since installing HTC Sync, you might have to wait while it installs additional drivers.

Step 5

Fire up a command prompt on your computer, e.g. "Run" then "cmd", or pick the "Command prompt" option from the menus.

Use the "cd" command to change to the folder that contains the adb.exe and other files that you unzipped in Step 2.

Then type in the following (obviously the C:\> bit is your actual PC's prompt, not what you type). To emphasise, you are running this on your PC, not directly from your phone (e.g. terminal emulator) :

C:\> adb devices

This should display something like the following :

List of devices attached
XXX12345 device

... where the "XXX12345" bit is actually your phone's serial number. If the list is blank and the phone is plugged in ok, go back to Step 3 and make sure USB Debugging is enabled. If you can see your phone, then you're in business, adb can see your phone and communicate with it, and you're ready to start using adb !

By the way, the first adb command that you type may well also come up with some lines similar to "adb deamon out of date" etc, but don't worry, that's normal, just check the rest of the output.