How to root and add custom ROM to Viewsonic gTablet

In this guide we will teach our users how to root their Viewsonic gTablet and add custom Android Gingerbread 2.3 via Cyanogen Mod 7 while removing the horrible stock ROM.

Furthermore, I will include a fix for the camera, which frankly never worked correctly.

Disclaimer: While I have never had any issues with this method the user bears all responsibility for rooting their device and any unintended consequences including voided warranty. That being said, your tablet can always be restored to stock in case you want to sell it or return it.

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Introduction & Requirements

	Software you will need
	ClockworkMod Recovery for gTablet
	Required: This is the basis of the whole guide, ClockworkMod Recovery Download!

Getting started

The first step when rooting a tablet or any other device is of course to back-up your current data and apps in case something goes wrong.

If you have fresh new tablet, then just skip ahead to the next step.

To backup your apps, download the free app Astro File Manager from the Android Market and install it.

Open the app, hit Menu and then hit Tools and finally Application manager/Backup. From within that prompt you can backup your apps. This helps in case Google's synced backup fails (it has in the past for me and "lost" some of my apps).

Backup your bookmarks from within the browser and export it to your SD card where you can easily find it.

If you want to backup your "Home pages" and other data like that, you will need a paid app such as MyBackup Pro which costs $5 and is generally worth the small fee. They also have a trial for first 30 days.

Step 1: Install ClockworkMod Recovery

You want to first download ClockworkMod Recovery from its official site here if you haven't already: ClockworkMod_Gtab_v08.zip


Plug in your gTablet to your PC via the USB cable provided in the box and open the internal memory (16GB) in Windows Explorer. Remove any external SD card you may have to make sure there are no issues.

Unzip the package and you will see a recovery folder and an update.zip. Copy both of the items into the root folder of the internal memory, meaning it is not inside any other folder.




Shut down your gTablet and to turn it back on hold Volume + and then hold the Power button. Hold both until the device boots up in recovery mode.

Use Volume - to scroll down to apply sdcard:update.zip and press Home to select it. Hit Yes and begin the installation.

When this is completed, you will have ClockworkMod Recovery installed.

Step 2: Installing custom ROM- Cyanogen Mod 7 (Android Gingerbread 2.3)

The first step here is to download the latest release of CM7 as well as the Google Apps package (which includes Gmail, Market, YouTube, Talk and Voice).

Download the latest CM7 here: CyanogenMod 7 for gTablet

Download the Google Apps here: Google Apps package for gTablet

If you haven't done so already, reinsert your SD card into the tablet and plug in the device again. Move both files to the root of the SD card. One will be an update-cm-7.0.3-Harmony-signed.zip or similar and the second will be gapps-gb-20110307-signed.zip or similar.

Boot into Recovery like we did last time by shutting down and rebooting while holding Volume +.

Scroll down and select the option to Wipe Data/Factory Reset. This will clear all your previous data so it's good we backed up. This wipe is necessary to make sure CM7 installs correctly. To select in recovery, you can hit "Home" or use the power button.

Additionally, you want to then scroll down and select the Wipe Cache Partition and wipe that, as well.

Finally, it is time to install CM7.

Head down to Install zip from sdcard and then hit Choose zip from sdcard. Select your update-cm-7.0.3-Harmony-signed.zip (or similar). Let it install and when it completes successfully you will be back at the main menu.

Use the same method to install the gapps-gb-20110307-signed.zip and when it is completed, press the back button and then Reboot.

Give your device UP TO 5 MINUTES to reboot the first time. This is normal.
You now have a fully rooted tablet running the latest Android that is available to developers (Honeycomb SDK is not available yet) and you were able to get rid of the horrible stock ROM.

Finally

That concludes our guide on how to root and add a custom ROM to your gTablet. If you would like to discuss this guide or similar things, then please visit our Discussion Forums.