Nook Color Boot Loop

The Nook Color mounts the /system partition as read-only. Once I activated the Adobe Market, it was not long before it started to download updates to Adobe Air and the Adobe Flash Player.  When I rebooted the NC, there was a conflict between the version of these applications in the /system directory and the /data directory. It is this conflict that leads to the now infamous boot loop.

Boot Loop Prevention

After I plowed through all the hints on various sites, I  implemented my own workaround described in the previous post. The reboot went fine. I thought the problem was on hold. Even though I unchecked the automatic update option, the next day Android Market decided to download the updates again. This time, I downloaded the ROM Toolbox, and used it to delete the old versions out of the system directory.

The next day, I found this article on xda-developers.com. This article would have saved me three days of struggling, and a lot of false turns. I personally prefer the ROM Toolbox over Titanium Backup Pro for deleting files. ROM Toolbox is free and easy to use. After the updates are downloaded, and before you reboot, you just need to download the ROM Toolbox app from the Android Market. Select the Root Browser option, and then navigate to the /system/app directory. You need to delete the AdobeAir.apk and the FlashPlayer.apk.

Recovery from a Boot Loop

If your NC is already in a boot loop, there are still options. First try the scripts mentioned in the above article at xda-develoopers.com. If the scripts mentioned in the article do not work, there is still adb.

The article “NookColor USB ADB” is a good starting point, although it contains a few errors:

  1. In the SDK Manager, you need to install the Android SDK Platform-tools, as the Android SDK Tools are part of the Android source.
  2. I would recommend modifying the PATH variable to include the the path to both the tools directory and the platform-tools directory.
  3. Linux does not have a source command. Instead you would use the dot command – . ~/.bashrc
Since your NC is already boot looping, tethering is a little more complicated. There are two choices:
  1. If you installed CWR via the ROM Manager, you can try to boot your NC into recovery mode. This is all about timing, and it may take several tries.
  2. You can also install the CWM microSD card that you created to noot your NC. I usually need to use this option, as my timing is terrible.
Whichever method you used to start CWM, the next steps are the same:
  1. Select mounts and storage
  2. Select mount /system
  3. Select mount /data
You are now ready to tether your NC to your PC. In my case it is to a netbook running Linux Mint 10. If  the commands shown in the article fail to show a device, you must create the /etc/udev/rules.d/50-android.rules file. After activating the changes, you need to disconnect your nook and reconnect for Linux to apply the new rules.
Once you see the device, you are ready to enter the commands.
adb shell mount -0 remount,rw /dev/block/mmcblk0p5 /system
adb shell ls /system/app
adb shell rm /system/app/AdobeAir.apk
adb shell rm /system/app/FlashPlayer.apk
adb shell mount -0 remount,ro /dev/block/mmcblk0p5

Your NC should now be fixed. I can’t guarantee that this will work for you. It is the last ditch effort before restoring your NC to factory and starting all over again. As I mentioned in the previous article, it pays to make a backup using CWM after installing noot and before booting.

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October 26, 2011 · Filed under Android

4 Comments »

  1. Thoughts on Nooting the Nook Color — Low Cost Computing Said,

    October 27, 2011 @ 9:11 am

    [...] a temporary work around, until I had time to define a permanent solution in my article on the Noot Color Boot Loop. Once I solved this problem, I can safely safely say that my NC now meets my last two goals. My [...]

  2. Thoughts on Nooting the Nook Color — Low Cost Computing Said,

    October 27, 2011 @ 9:11 am

    [...] a temporary work around, until I had time to define a permanent solution in my article on the Noot Color Boot Loop. Once I solved this problem, I can safely safely say that my NC now meets my last two goals. My [...]

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    February 20, 2012 @ 6:07 pm

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  4. Bill Anderson Said,

    February 20, 2012 @ 6:40 pm

    I have been so busy writing for The Costa Rica Star that I haven’t had as much time to write new articles for this site. In the near future, I will announce a new blog devoted strictly to Android. This blog will then concentrate on Linux. As I adjust to my new writing schedule, you will see more articles on this site.

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