Forgot to Back-Up

[Cameron0960]

Hello,

I got ahead of myself and started removing apps from the system folder without first backing them up. Unfortunately, I appear to have removed some files that are required for the accounts & sync functions of the Vox. I used to be able to add my Google account and sync calendars, etc. That functionality is no longer available to me. I am hoping that there is someone on these forums kind enough to help me with this problem.

Thank you to anyone who helps. I greatly appreciate any effort put forth to help me in this endeavor.

Cheers, Cam.

[Cdesja5]

You could try doing a factory reset first and then a reformat with the pc if the reset doesn't work.
For the reset you can turn off the vox, press the up button on the volume and then the power on button for 10 seconds.
If that doesn't solve the problems, you can plug the vox into a pc, reformat and then, when you turn it back on, update the firmware as directed by the prompts.

[Cameron0960]

Hey there,

Thanks for the swift reply! I tried a factory reset, but that didn't restore any of the original apps. Your idea of formatting the Vox and then running a firmware update sounds like it would definitely work. I'm a little worried about formatting the disk when I don't have a back-up of the operating system. Could you walk me through the steps I should be taking to properly format and update the firmware?

You've been a great help!

Cheers, Cam.

[oldyellr]

Cam, just FYI, unless you're rooted, you can't even access the partition that contains the operating system on your internal SD card. The card is 8 gigs, but the partition you'll see when you plug it into your PC is something like 5 gigs.

[mr_nobody]

Not sure if there's anything more detailed than post #8 here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ghlight=format

[Cameron0960]

Originally Posted by oldyellr

Cam, just FYI, unless you're rooted, you can't even access the partition that contains the operating system on your internal SD card. The card is 8 gigs, but the partition you'll see when you plug it into your PC is something like 5 gigs.

Ah, yeah. I figured as much. Thanks for the advice.

Thank you to everyone who has replied thus far. I'm almost there, so please bare with me a little longer

One problem I am facing right now is with rooting my device. I followed the tutorial by JeffTheWorld that explains how to use Gingerbreak to root a Kobo Vox. However, I am experiencing a problem where I still only see 5.35gigs of removable storage when plugged in via micro usb instead of the full 8 gigs. I thought I had done the root wrong, but I attempted it several times while going over JeffTheWorlds tutorial and still had no success. Any suggestions?

Cheers, Cam.

[mr_nobody]

I don't think you will ever see the non /sdcard partition(s) when plugged into a windows computer since they use a partition scheme windows doesn't understand.

Windows seems to notice 3 of the five partitions on my machine, it is just that two of them are not mountable. Since the Vox uses ext4, I wonder if it's possible to use something like ext2fsd?

[Cameron0960]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Windows seems to notice 3 of the five partitions on my machine, it is just that two of them are not mountable. Since the Vox uses ext4, I wonder if it's possible to use something like ext2fsd?

I have noticed that as well. Three removable disks show up when plugged in, but only one is accessible.

Originally Posted by mr_nobody

I don't think you will ever see the non /sdcard partition(s) when plugged into a windows computer since they use a partition scheme windows doesn't understand.

Gotcha. That's annoying, but I can see why they would want to do that.

What I've tried thus far is as follows:
1) Rooted device using JeffTheWorlds guide.
2) Connected Vox via MicroUSB
3) Formatted the 5.35 removal disk that appears.
4) Did a Full Reset
5) Says firmware is up-to-date on restart.

The only other thing I can think of trying is somehow getting the original apps that I removed and manually putting them into the system folder. Thoughts?

[jefftheworld]

Those apps you deleted are on the /system partition of the internal memory. There's not way of normally mounting that part of memory to your computer. If you've got a Linux computer you can use adb to get a remote shell on your Vox, you can also use a local shell or root file browser to browse the content of the /system partition.

However, you need to replace the missing apps, which is a bit different. If you give me a list of apps you have I can try and see what you're missing and send it your way. If you have a local shell (like connectbot) the please run the following commands:

cd /system/app
ls > /sdcard/appslist.txt

This will generate a text file called appslist.txt on your internal sdcard that you can copy to your computer and post here.

[Cameron0960]

Originally Posted by jefftheworld

Those apps you deleted are on the /system partition of the internal memory. There's not way of normally mounting that part of memory to your computer. If you've got a Linux computer you can use adb to get a remote shell on your Vox, you can also use a local shell or root file browser to browse the content of the /system partition.

However, you need to replace the missing apps, which is a bit different. If you give me a list of apps you have I can try and see what you're missing and send it your way. If you have a local shell (like connectbot) the please run the following commands:

cd /system/app
ls > /sdcard/appslist.txt

This will generate a text file called appslist.txt on your internal sdcard that you can copy to your computer and post here.

Hey Jeff,

I compiled the list you requested. Thanks for being so understanding and helping me out with this.

AccountAndSyncSettings.apk
ApplicationsProvider.apk
Browser.apk
Calculator.apk
CalendarProvider.apk
CertInstaller.apk
Contacts.apk
ContactsProvider.apk
CubeLiveWallpapers.apk
DefaultContainerService.apk
DeskClock.apk
DownloadProvider.apk
DownloadProviderUi.apk
DrmProvider.apk
Superuser.apk
FirmwareUpdate.apk
Gallery3D.apk
GetJarStub.apk
GmailStub.apk
HTMLViewer.apk
Kobo.apk
KoboOsProvider.apk
KoboTimeTracker.apk
KobobooksLauncher.apk
LatinIME.apk
Launcher2.apk
LiveWallpapers.apk
LiveWallpapersPicker.apk
MediaProvider.apk
Music.apk
OTAServer.apk
PRAndroid.apk
PackageInstaller.apk
PicoTts.apk
Protips.apk
Provision.apk
QuickSearchBox.apk
Settings.apk
SettingsProvider.apk
SetupWizard.apk
SystemUI.apk
TelephonyProvider.apk
Term.apk
TtsService.apk
TwitterStub.apk
UpdateCheckService.apk
UserDictionaryProvider.apk
VisualizationWallpapers.apk
UpnServices.apk

Cheers, Cam.

[mr_nobody]

Originally Posted by Cameron0960

What I've tried thus far is as follows:
1) Rooted device using JeffTheWorlds guide.
2) Connected Vox via MicroUSB
3) Formatted the 5.35 removal disk that appears.
4) Did a Full Reset
5) Says firmware is up-to-date on restart.

That's disturbing. I understood reformatting the visible partition under windows would trigger a full factory restore.

[Cameron0960]

Originally Posted by mr_nobody

That's disturbing. I understood reformatting the visible partition under windows would trigger a full factory restore.

Haha, no doubt! Apparently Kobo are tricky bastards

[jefftheworld]

Ah, I see what you're missing. Send me a PM with your email address and I'll send you the missing apks as soon as I can.

[Greg1978]

Hi everyone.My name is Greg.Im a new user of Kobo Vox. Accidentally i deleted the files
Kobo.apk
KoboOsProvider.apk
KoboTimeTracker.apk
KobobooksLauncher.apk
Can you send it to me. Thank you very much for help to everyone.
Sorry for my English.
Thank you again.
Regards Greg
g.j78@interia.eu