[PatNY]

Originally Posted by graycyn

When I saw this thread, my reaction was "Has the recent apps drawer *ever* worked?" I use Holo Launcher HD, and only access the Nook home screen if I want a book from my Nook library that hasn't been sideloaded on the device.

Yes, the Recent Drawer worked for me on 2.1.0 and with the same third-party apps and setup that I have now. I didn't change anything in terms of launchers or GUI tweaks between 2.1.0 and 2.1.1.

With 2.1.1, B&N changed the way the Recent Drawer works, so now anyone launching an app via a third-party launcher, folder, or shortcut will NOT see that app updated to the Nook's native Recent Drawer.

I am sure of this because when I tried to fix this a few days ago, I reverted back to 2.1.0. The Recent Drawer worked perfectly. Only problem is that when I woke up the morning after, I found that B&N had updated my Nook HD to 2.1.1 overnight and the Recent Drawer was broken once again!

There is an OTA block from leapinlar over at the xda forums, but there are many reports that B&N in some cases still updates regardless. So I wasn't going to install it and risk going back to 2.1.0 again only to have hours of work go down the drain when B&N circumvents it and updates my device.

My guess was using a launcher is what stopped the screen working for me. It's an annoyance, and one that has me considering trying to root.

You mean the Recent Drawer, right? Not your entire "screen." The stock Nook screen works fine with 2.1.0 or 2.1.1 ... it's just the Recent Drawer that is broken on 2.1.1. (Asawi also said the Active Shelf is broken, but I keep mine hidden so it isn't a problem for me.)

Yes, a launcher "breaks" the Recent Drawer, but it's not just a complete launcher like Nova or ADW that is incompatible with it, as I have never used one of those on my Nook. (I use the Nook's native interface.) Any third-party folder or icon program is also incompatible with the Recent Drawer. I was using both a folder and an icon program so hardly any of my apps showed up in the Recent Drawer. Keep in mind that for those not using a third-party launcher, folder or icon program, their Recent Drawer will continue to work normally on 2.1.1.

I rooted my device a few days ago solely to back up game data. If you don't root, you can't back up and restore that app data. Rooting does nothing to solve the Recent Drawer issue in 2.1.1.

I think I might do a factory reset at some point, see if the device performs better. I have had occasional issues where the screen just freezes and I need to reboot the device. But it could be some app or game. So what I want to do is reset, then load with my core apps, run it for a while, see what happens before loading lesser used apps.

I did a factory reset in trying to overcome the Recent Drawer issue. It did nothing to help that. But, what it did do is install fewer of the core Nook apps that came with 2.1.0. So you will get a slightly leaner install in that respect.

If you do that and need to back up your data along with the apps, root first and then use an app like MyBackup Root (it's free) to save the apps+data to your sd card. That way you can easily restore it when you reinstall.

So, now I am back on 2.1.1 with a broken Recent Drawer. However, I found that many third-party task managers have a "recent task" view or window which makes the Recent Drawer obsolete now. Apps accessed by third-party launchers/folders/shortcuts will show up in those task managers, unlike with the Nook Recent Drawer. Here are the ones that work:

SmartTaskbar 1 & 2
AppSwipe!
SwipePad Hyperspace
MultiTasking
Simple Switcher

I am using SmartTaskbar 2 for now, but I was also impressed with AppSwipe! and SwipePad. But they all are effective workarounds for the broken Recent Drawer. All are free, but SwipPad charges $1 for the add-on that shows the recent apps.

--Pat