Update 1.4.2 for tablet

[roustabout]

Wow.  

This is as much fun as the shipping delay last Feb/March in the NC, when many otherwise reasonable sites were saying that BN had killed root on the NC.  

http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/r26922457-B-N-Nook-Tablet-1.4.2

quotes some of the story, which I hope is a total misunderstanding of a single XDA forum post.  

Better, it looks like a jump-the-gun on a single bloody Youtube video

Albert Wertz of the tabletroms team demonstrates that it is no longer possible to have the Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet boot off the SD Card. Why is this a big deal? Well, this means that they have effectively eliminated the possibility to load custom roms, root, and use the tablet as you see fit with build 1.4.2

Oy.  apparently there's code in 1.4.2 that looks at how much RAM your tab has as it boots up - now that there are two variants, that is something the OS can no longer take for granted.

Some of the boot tools will need to be rewritten, apparently.

I'd be very curious to hear what happens to folks with n2a cards whose devices update to 1.4.2.  This doesn't look insurmountable or particularly intentional on BN's part.  I think the sideboot method currently in use would require much more than this to defeat.   

[darkquota]

I was able to get brianf21's bootable root sd card (posted on XDA) to work without any changes (on Nook Tablet 16 GB) for anyone wondering.

[derfFL]

My NT just upgraded to 1.4.2 and I have the N2A card installed.  All still works just fine boots into Android from power off just as it did with 1.41 .  Boots into Nook from reboot just as before, everything I have tried still works. 

[Doreenpv]

How are you guys getting the update?? I still have 1.4.1

Got it....so do we delete the folder on our desk top.

[roustabout]

Interesting.  I wonder if Albert had the wrong card in his NT when he tried to boot from it or something - if the new boot code really made trouble, I'd have thought the n2a cards would need to be redone.

Dorren, if you go to the support section of the BN site you can find a download link for 1.4.2.  

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/u/Software-Updates-NOOK-Tablet/379003187/

"Get Version 1.4.2 today" section.  

[Doreenpv]

Roust   thx   I have it.

Do I delete the folder from my desktop?

[roustabout]

I keep all the OS updates around in an archive, in case I want to roll back to a prior release.  

[Doreenpv]

Gotcha....I have the last one for my NC and now the last 2 for my NT.

You're the best

[darkquota]

The white text on white menu bug seems to have been fixed.

[Doreenpv]

My emails have stopped reappearing after being deleted....yippee

But my apps keep reappearing after I remove them from my home page...not yippee

[rocky1234]

i was about to buy the n2a card for my 16 gig nook - anyone know if it will work if i had never used it before?

i have avoided rooting to keep my warranty but have hated the nook tablet and the fact that it is not really a tablet but in reality a nook color 2 -

the n2a carsd seems like an amazing option

[TelSC]

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rocky1234 wrote:

i was about to buy the n2a card for my 16 gig nook - anyone know if it will work if i had never used it before?

i have avoided rooting to keep my warranty but have hated the nook tablet and the fact that it is not really a tablet but in reality a nook color 2 -

the n2a carsd seems like an amazing option

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Someone posted in another thread that the n2a card works fine with the 1.4.2 update.

[j-andersonjma]

White on White does seem to be fixed.  All the Fliq Apps properly display the second level menus.

[NookGardener]

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BN_AlexG wrote:

Hey all,

I'll have a full list of t contents for the update soon, however a patch to the email app is included.

- Alex

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Alex, that list outlining what the update addressed would be very helpful about now.  Realize it's the weekend, but maybe Monday?

Thanks!

[rozsea]

I just did the 1.4.2 update manually this afternoon, and my N2A card still seems to be working perfectly.

[Tom51]

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rozsea wrote:

I just did the 1.4.2 update manually this afternoon, and my N2A card still seems to be working perfectly.

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It seems to me that as long as B&N keeps its hands off the bootloader, N2A card should always work.  Am I thinking in the right direction or there may be other factors that can cause N2A failure?

[sl33pyon3]

One thing I have noticed is the keyboard layout has changed. They have the option to minimize the keyboard and have added a couple dual function keys

[DeanGibson Distinguished Bibliophile]

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Tom51 wrote:

It seems to me that as long as B&N keeps its hands off the bootloader, N2A card should always work. 

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 As I understand from the XDA-devs site, the boot process is thus:

1. Internal to the CPU, there is a signed key created by B&N.
2. At start up, the CPU has some code or other logic to read the "MLO" (xLoader) file from the SDcard slot and if it exists, checks to see if it is signed with the internal key.  If so, control is passed to the xLoader.
3. The xLoader reads the "uboot.bin" file from the SDcard slot, and similarly checks to see if it is signed with the approprate key.  If so, control is passed to uboot.bin code.
4. uboot,bin reads the "boot.img" file from the SDcard slot, and similarly checks to see if it is signed with the approprate key.  If so, control is passed to boot.img".
5. "boot.img" contains the kernel and remaining startup code & filesystem, which loads the GUI "shell" that B&N developed as a user interface.
6. If step # 2 fails from the SDcard, the same process is repeated from the Nook's internal memory.

Since any B&N update does not (as far as we know) have the capability to alter the interal CPU signed key or change the boot order (B&N updates do contain the files I mentioned), there is nothing that B&N can do in released products (including the NT/8) to change the process from attempting to boot from the SDcard first.

Note that the Nook Color used the same logic (except that the "boot;img" file was separated out into two files, "uImage" (the kernel) and "uRamdisk" (the startup code and filesystem)).  However, there was no signed key to use/check.

This is why I believe that those who have bricked their NT/8 over on the XDA-devs forums, will be able to recover their NT/8 devices.  Mind you, it's a bit of work, but I think it's doable.  Instead, I think most of them are just going to return them to B&N as "defective".  I would also hazard a guess that B&N's repartitioning mechanism in stores after March 12, will probably also be able to recover those devices.

Similarly, I don't think there's anything that B&N can do to an existing NT that will prevent it from booting after an update: code installed by an update never gets control if the SDcard is present and bootable.

[poiuy]

Thanks for that explanation, I've followed the progress sporadically and was never quite able to put the pieces together as to how they bypassed the signed bootloader.  Now it makes perfect sense.  My hat is off to them, they're brilliant.

[Tom51]

Dean, thanks for the explanation.  It's a great relief to know that N2A card won't get affected by NT updates.