A couple of N2A Card Questions

[Asawi]

And about Google Play Store:

You cannot just sideload this, AFAIK. You need to have the "package" gApps installed. That should be done when setting up the new operating system, wether internally or on sd-card. If installed correctly you get to a welcome screen where you're asked to set up or sign in to your Google account. If you don't get that you need to looks through the instructions and see if there is a step with gApps that you may have missed.

[kevinp]

catsknit,
Here is a step-by-step from the beginning. The steps are supposed to be the same as my HD+, but I don't have an HD to test it on. All information was taken from the XDA developers web site and they deserve full credit, not me. I'm just trying to explain it a little better. All links were working at the time I posted this.
__________________________________________________ ______________
The following files are for the Nook HD only!
Download the latest CM10.1 ROM: cm-10.1-20130104-UNOFFICIAL-hummingbird.zip
Download the latest Google Apps: http://goo.im/gapps/gapps-jb-20121212-signed.zip
You will also need updated cwm image: sdcard-cwm-hummingbirdv3.img.gz

For first time install only (you will need 4G or bigger SD card, smaller ones are not supported and not tested):
Unzip cwm image and write it to your SD card (entire SD card not just one partition of it), use Win32 Image Writer if you are using Windows. If you’re using Mac, you’re on your own. Make sure to use SD card rated for fast small IO for best results.

Your Nook should be powered off.
Insert the card into the Nook and turn on the nook, CWM should start. The image your wrote onto your SD card in the first step will automatically repartition the card into a correct layout no matter the size (but no smaller than 4G).

CWM (Clockwork Mod) is like using the BIOS settings on your desktop computer. Use the volume keys to scroll through the options, the N button to select, and the power button to go back to the previous menu.

In the CWM:
Go to "mounts and storage", choose "mount /sdcard".
Press power button to go back to the main menu.

Just turn off the nook at this stage and remove the SD card. You will need to copy the zip files to your SD card. Your SD card is now formatted with four partitions (“drives”) on it. Windows will only let you access the first partition (“Boot”), so you need to use Linux.

Download the latest version of Ubuntu from here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
Just get the 32-bit version regardless whether your Windows is 32 or 64 bit. Click the button that (currently) says “Get Ubuntu 12.10”. You don’t have to donate, you can scroll to the bottom and click the “Not now—take me to the download.”
Ubuntu will download as an ISO file. You will need a blank DVD. Use whatever DVD burning software you have installed on your computer, or in Windows you can right-click on the file and choose “Open with” and then “Windows Disc Image Burner”.
Once that’s done, reboot your computer with the Ubuntu disc in your drive and make sure it boots from your DVD drive (you might have to press F12 or change some BIOS settings). It will eventually come to a window with a choice to either Try Ubuntu or Install Ubuntu. Obviously, you want to try it.
Put your SD card into your computer’s card reader and copy the two zip files (cm-10.1-20130104-UNOFFICIAL-hummingbird.zip and gapps-jb-20121212-signed.zip) to the volume named "CM10SDCARD" (not "boot"), then put the SD card back into your Nook and power it on again. Copy them just as they are—do not unzip them.
Your Nook should come up in CWM and you will need to choose "install zip from sdcard", and then "Choose zip from sdcard" and then select the “cm-10.1-20130104-UNOFFICIAL-hummingbird.zip”. When that one finishes, do the same thing with “gapps-jb-20121212-signed.zip”.

When they are both done installing, press the power button to go one level up in the menu and then choose reboot. This will reboot you into CM10.

If you ever need to get back to CWM later, use either "reboot to recovery" power menu, or reboot, and once B&N nook logo shows up, press and hold power and home keys together for about 4 seconds.
To reboot into stock nook software, just power off, remove SD card, then power on.

[catsknit]

kevinp, thank you so much - that helps me tremendously to have it all laid out in one place. I was having trouble b/c the instructions would have a link to another page for one part and then I'd get confused on where I was, etc.

I'm going to print out your directions and go through step by step this time correctly. Another dumb question - if I've already written stuff onto the sd card using Win32 Image can I just burn over it, or does it need to be reformatted or erased first? IOW, is it more like a rw cd or a VHS tape LOL?

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to try and get my Nook HD replaced today b/c I charged it fully yesterday, used it maybe 30-45 min total and overnight it discharged to 27%, so obviously there's something wrong with it.


Karen

[Asawi]

I never format between writing images. Maybe I should but I don't.

[catsknit]

So does it overwrite the previous one (like my VHS reference) or simply add the new image to the old one, like adding files to a thumb drive? I just don't want to have wasted space on this card - it's 32 gb but I know not all of it will be usable for storage anyway.

[livramax]

Originally Posted by catsknit

...
Unfortunately, I'm going to have to try and get my Nook HD replaced today b/c I charged it fully yesterday, used it maybe 30-45 min total and overnight it discharged to 27%, so obviously there's something wrong with it.

Did you leave wifi on overnight?

If you did, that could account for a very big chunk of the battery drain you experienced.

[livramax]

Originally Posted by catsknit

So does it overwrite the previous one (like my VHS reference) or simply add the new image to the old one, like adding files to a thumb drive? I just don't want to have wasted space on this card - it's 32 gb but I know not all of it will be usable for storage anyway.

Usually there is no need to reformat the sdcard between writings of a disk-image.

One thing you should be aware of, when using a pre-made disk image, is the disk's "usable space" is constrained by the sizing chosen by the disk-image developer and not the physical capacity of your card. For example, if the image was sized to fit, say, a 4GB card, your 32GB will end up with 28GB unusable space -- unless you use a disk-partition management tool (such as MiniTool Partition) to resize the image's original partitions.

[catsknit]

Ok, that makes sense. So I will need to do that probably before writing that to the card. My Nook's internal storage is only (theoretically) 8 gb, so I got a 32 GB card for plenty of storage. thanks

[catsknit]

Hmm, yes, wifi was on, but if the tablet is in sleep mode, is it still using battery to connect constantly? My previous reader had no wifi (Sony) so I didn't have to worry about that.
I had it in power save mode but didn't turn off wifi. What a pain, to have to do that frequently. Guess I should retest the full charge/drain without having wifi on before exchanging it. Ha, I just reset it to factory default to erase my account info! OH well.
thanks

[kevinp]

Originally Posted by livramax

One thing you should be aware of, when using a pre-made disk image, is the disk's "usable space" is constrained by the sizing chosen by the disk-image developer and not the physical capacity of your card. For example, if the image was sized to fit, say, a 4GB card, your 32GB will end up with 28GB unusable space -- unless you use a disk-partition management tool (such as MiniTool Partition) to resize the image's original partitions.

catsknit,
Don't worry about formatting or erasing. When you write the image to the disk, it will wipe everything else off of it.

Don't worry about what livramax says either. The card will repartition itself the first time you boot up the Nook with the card in it. It will use all of the space on the card.

[catsknit]

Yay, it worked, it worked, it worked!!! It took me awhile trying to find enough time to sit with it and also the Ubuntu download was pretty long. But everything worked smoothly, exactly as you've written it and I thank you so much for this. (I also got a little taste of the Ubuntu and may explore it further later- looks good)

I may have more questions later but I wanted to thank you again for taking the time to write that all out. You've been very generous with your knowledge and time.

Karen

[catsknit]

OK, new question. So far everything seems to be working well, google play, etc. However, I can't figure out how to turn on USB storage to sideload books, pictures, music, etc from my computer. When I connect the HD to my computer via its proprietary cable, normally in Nook mode it would ask if i want to turn on USB storage, and if so, then it would show up under My Computer but it's not doing that when connected now. I've tried it on several different USB ports on my laptop.

Will I need to reboot in standard Nook mode to push those over, and then back into android?
thanks

[Asawi]

I don't have the HD, but could it be that it's set to MTP storage?
Settings - storage - menu dots top right for me - USB storage (I like to keep it as mass storage)
Also I think in settings - development - android debug needs to be checked.

[kevinp]

Your welcome. And it's as Asawi says. Go into settings and then storage. You should see three little dots at the top right of your screen.

[robertc88]

I ordered a card earlier this week and have not received a shipping notification and since website said same day shipping, I opened a ticket.

Not sure if it is on backorder, they are backlogged, etc. Time will tell I guess. I did not check if I got billed.

Update:

Checked my order and noted a usps tracking number. Status on n2acards website said no shipping info available. Went to usps website with tracking # and it showed it went out for delivery. Will not be too long now. I guess they are so busy that they couldn't send a shipping confirmation email.