I've posted four versions of CWM 6.0.1.2 for use with Allwinner A13-based tablets. They should fix errors people have encountered using their external SD card to install update zips or create backups. Which one you use depends on whether you have 9 or 10 partitions and whether you have a 'Back' or a 'Home' button. They are available here: CWM-A13
Which version should I choose?
Do I have an A13? From an adb shell or from the Terminal Emulator app, run "cat /proc/cpuinfo". Next to the 'Hardware' entry, it should say "sun5i". Another test: look at a listing of your root directory. You should see several files that reference "sun5i". If you see "sun4i" or anything else, don't use these files.
Do I have 9 or 10 partitions? From an adb shell or from the Terminal Emulator app, run "cat /proc/partitions". If the last entry is "nandi", you have 9; if it's "nandj", you have 10. If you choose the wrong version, everything else will work correctly but CWM won't be able to mount your internal SD card (a.k.a. '/emmc'). If so, try installing the other version.
Do I have a Home or a Back button? Go into Settings or some app that has multiple layers of options, then drill down through several layers. Does pressing the "big button" return you to the previous screen (Back) or your home screen (Home)? If you install the wrong version -or don't have either button- CWM will still work: it has a "++ Go Back ++" entry at the bottom of every menu.
Installation
The files are packaged as update zips because, remarkably, you can replace your recovery partition while you're in Recovery. Alternately, you can unzip the file and install it from a normally-booted system using a script.
From Recovery: If your current version of CWM doesn't have the external SD card problem, or if you can get into your stock recovery, copy the entire file sill zipped to your SD card. Reboot into Recovery, then choose 'install zip from sdcard'. If you can't use an external SD card, you can copy the zip to your internal, and install from there. Warning! The install program will erase everything on the card you use, so move or backup anything of value.
From a Running System: Unzip the file and copy recovery.img and install-recovery.sh to your internal or external SD card. Next, either run "adb shell" or open the Terminal app, then change the directory to where you stored the files. If you're using Terminal, start by running "su" to get root access (you should already have it if using adb). Now, type in "sh install-recovery.sh" then press Enter. Messages will appear telling you whether it succeeded or failed.
Notes
The recovery binary was taken from the CWM posted by William Kleiman, then repackaged with a kernel and init binary taken from an A13 tablet. I made a few minor changes, including changing the USB product ID to the value used when the tablet is booted normally. This should eliminate the need for new users to install the Win USB drivers yet again the first time they boot into CWM.
I tested the 9-partition/back-button version several times to confirm that update zips installed without error and CWM backups didn't generate any CRC errors. I also tested the 9-partition/home-button version to confirm that my Back button didn't work (as expected). However, I have no way to confirm that your Home button will actually work as a Back button to return you to the previous CWM menu. If it doesn't, select 'advanced->key test' from the menus, then press each button. It will show you the numeric value assigned to each one. Whichever one has a value of "139" should act as the Back button.
Which version should I choose?
Do I have an A13? From an adb shell or from the Terminal Emulator app, run "cat /proc/cpuinfo". Next to the 'Hardware' entry, it should say "sun5i". Another test: look at a listing of your root directory. You should see several files that reference "sun5i". If you see "sun4i" or anything else, don't use these files.
Do I have 9 or 10 partitions? From an adb shell or from the Terminal Emulator app, run "cat /proc/partitions". If the last entry is "nandi", you have 9; if it's "nandj", you have 10. If you choose the wrong version, everything else will work correctly but CWM won't be able to mount your internal SD card (a.k.a. '/emmc'). If so, try installing the other version.
Do I have a Home or a Back button? Go into Settings or some app that has multiple layers of options, then drill down through several layers. Does pressing the "big button" return you to the previous screen (Back) or your home screen (Home)? If you install the wrong version -or don't have either button- CWM will still work: it has a "++ Go Back ++" entry at the bottom of every menu.
Installation
The files are packaged as update zips because, remarkably, you can replace your recovery partition while you're in Recovery. Alternately, you can unzip the file and install it from a normally-booted system using a script.
From Recovery: If your current version of CWM doesn't have the external SD card problem, or if you can get into your stock recovery, copy the entire file sill zipped to your SD card. Reboot into Recovery, then choose 'install zip from sdcard'. If you can't use an external SD card, you can copy the zip to your internal, and install from there. Warning! The install program will erase everything on the card you use, so move or backup anything of value.
From a Running System: Unzip the file and copy recovery.img and install-recovery.sh to your internal or external SD card. Next, either run "adb shell" or open the Terminal app, then change the directory to where you stored the files. If you're using Terminal, start by running "su" to get root access (you should already have it if using adb). Now, type in "sh install-recovery.sh" then press Enter. Messages will appear telling you whether it succeeded or failed.
Notes
The recovery binary was taken from the CWM posted by William Kleiman, then repackaged with a kernel and init binary taken from an A13 tablet. I made a few minor changes, including changing the USB product ID to the value used when the tablet is booted normally. This should eliminate the need for new users to install the Win USB drivers yet again the first time they boot into CWM.
I tested the 9-partition/back-button version several times to confirm that update zips installed without error and CWM backups didn't generate any CRC errors. I also tested the 9-partition/home-button version to confirm that my Back button didn't work (as expected). However, I have no way to confirm that your Home button will actually work as a Back button to return you to the previous CWM menu. If it doesn't, select 'advanced->key test' from the menus, then press each button. It will show you the numeric value assigned to each one. Whichever one has a value of "139" should act as the Back button.
Are you really so short of space on your data partition that you have to do that? The partition is 1gb - how much is free? (Look at the first "internal storage" section in Settings->Storage.) If you're out of space, I can suggest some other ways to deal with the problem.
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