Tag Archives: adb

How To Install Any Digitally Unsigned Drivers On Windows 8

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“A digitally signed driver is required” & “The driver installation failed” are a few of the error prompts you may have come across when attempting to install drivers on Windows 8. Unlike its predecessor Windows 7, Windows 8 strictly enforces a driver signature check, verifying the signatures with its own local database. While this means drivers for your old devices are under strict scrutiny, it also spells a bit of a pain for even newer devices, including those for several Android phones and tablets. I came across this issue when trying to flash a soft-bricked Xperia device back to life, but kept running into the dreaded “The driver installation failed” error when installing the crucial fastboot drivers. If you’ve been there, you know the frustration that follows, but what followed after that for me was a ray of light and hope! Ok enough drama. You can install your unsigned drivers - be it fastboot drivers, or drivers for your toaster - in a couple of easy steps, as explained after the break. Read More

Droid Manager: Comprehensive ADB Front End & Management Suite For Android

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While Android users have the luxury of accessing and manipulating several sensitive aspects of their OS through various ADB commands and custom recovery tools, remembering the precise usage of these tools and commands can prove to be quite vexing for a casual user. Whether you wish to backup/restore existing ROMs, flash new ROMs, modify file permissions, install custom boot animations, execute fastboot commands, transfer data back and forth between your device & computer, modify ZIP files, install a bunch of APK files to your device, modify the build.prop file, or tweak the boot image file, you normally have to rely on multiple tools and carefully memorize, as well as input a whole lot of commands to achieve your purpose successfully. Having said that, there are apps like the previously-reviewed Android Commander, which can expedite usage of all such commands through its easy-to-use Windows-based GUI. Adding to the list of such user-friendly apps is Droid Manager by XDA member DeepUnknown, which seems to be supporting as many different ADB commands and recovery tools in a single package as one can possibly imagine. Ranging from wireless data transfer between Android and PC to total modification of local, as well current device ROMs (and pretty much everything in between), this desktop-based tool comes across as a comprehensive free Android manager. Read More

Gain Root ADB Access With Insecure Boot Image For Kindle Fire

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The core appeal of an insecure boot image for an Android device, is its life jacket like role for a device that is otherwise irrecoverable. An insecure boot image gives you a degree of recoverability at the very earliest stage of the device boot process, even if the /system partition on your device has been messed up. With an insecure boot image, you stand a chance and connecting your device via ADB to a computer and sort things out to try and recover the device. The Kindle Fire however, was missing an insecure boot image, but not anymore thanks to XDA-Developers forum member paulobrien. More on this after the break. Read More

Android Design Preview: Desktop To Android Screen Mirroring Over USB

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Over the years, we have seen quite a lot of utilities surface for the Android OS, with the majority of them being mobile based, and a select few, desktop based. Developed by Roman Nurik, Android Design Preview is a handy tool for Android, that lets you mirror a portion of your desktop screen onto your mobile device over a USB connection. While we’ve had apps in the past that let you stream your desktop onto an Android device (the likes of Teamviewer), this app's purpose is much simpler. It is actually meant for developers who want a quick way to see how their apps or themes look on their mobile devices. A beta of the tool is out, and you can check it out, provided you have Java Runtime Environment installed. Read More

How To Unroot The Kindle Fire via ADB On Windows, Linux & Mac

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Earlier we brought you a guide on rooting the Kindle Fire, but we’re assuming you’re here cause you have a Kindle Fire that is already rooted, or maybe you’re being cautious and checking to see if the device once rooted, can be unrooted as well. It sure can and we must say it is actually quiet an easy task thanks to XDA-Developers forum member zedomax. The procedure does require the user to manually enter commands via ADB, but that should be no issue at all if you follow the guide step by step. Read More

How To Access SD Card & System Files On Android From Your Computer

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We understand if you felt a little amused by the title, because how difficult can it be to access the data on your Android device? Attach the USB cable, mount the device as a USB Storage Device, and you’re good to go exploring the data on your device. This very simple method does have it’s drawbacks, and depending on how frequently you access the data stored on your device, you would want to look at the alternative tools for accessing all that in light of the drawbacks that the original mounting method poses. So what are the alternatives? And if you’re an advanced user, with a rooted device, how would you explore and get access to system files on the internal memory? Read More

How To Unlock Google Nexus S Bootloader

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Now that Google has finally released Nexus S, the first thing most users might want to try is to unlock their bootloader. If you are new to the world of Android and have no clue about what bootloader is, read our awesome guide here. The good news is that unlocking the bootloader in Nexus S is very easy, but unfortunately, it will perform a factory reset of your phone. This must be taken as a huge warning. Before you begin, make sure your data is backed up. Read More

Get Rid Of ‘ADB Shell’ Command With Enhanced Putty [Android Guide]

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For Android users, ADB (or Android Debug Bridge) is the wonder toy. Most of the modifications, hacks and changes to the Android operating environment rely on the use of this debug bridge. Although now many tools have matured enough to skip the command line interface in favor of a GUI, nothing still beats the power of a manual command input, and the manipulation that it brings. Hence the ADB still remains developers’ favorite. Read More

Fix 3-Button Combo Download & Recovery Mode In Samsung Galaxy S GT-I9000

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There was an unlucky batch of some Samsung GT-I9000 Galaxy S phones that cannot be put into download and recovery modes using the standard three-button combos. This poses a huge problem for the users of these phones, as they cannot literally apply any mods, leaked firmware etc whatsoever. The problem is caused by a faulty SBL (secondary bootloader) in these devices. Luckily, a fix exists for this issue, involving flashing a custom ‘fixed’ secondary bootloader to your device, that should enable the 3-button combos once again. Read More

QtADB Is ADB (Android Debug Bridge) For Beginners With A GUI

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A few months back we covered an article on what ADB is and how to install it. The Android Debug Bridge (ADB) is an excellent interface for communication between an Android device and a PC, but unfortunately it is command line, hence only usable for users with an above-average knowledge of Linux systems and commands. Android PC managers aren’t very abundant either, and hence a novice user is often left helpless when it comes to handling bridging between their Android handset (or device) and computers. Read More

How To Take Screenshots Of Android Device

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With the Apple iPhone, taking screenshots of the device was as simple as pressing the power and home buttons together, and the current screen got saved under Camera Roll. With Android, no such option is available. While there are third-party apps that make this task possible, there is the native ability as well that allows you to use a component of the Android SDK to capture screenshots of your device. Read More

What Is ADB And How To Install It With Android SDK

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When it comes to Android modding, most novice users are confused or left wondering by reference over reference to a certain “adb”. This is specially true when you are looking up something on modding your device, or root it in particular. ADB is the wonder toy of Android and everyone seems to love it, so lets have a look at understanding what it is and why you need it, and how you can get it. Read More