SBFing the Droid X using Linux Mint

I thought I would help contribute to this by writing a post about SBFing the Droid X using Linux Mint. This is particularly relevant considering A) I had to do it today and B) the 4.5.596 Gingerbread update did NOT change the bootloader for those of us with a Droid X, so we can still SBF back to Froyo when we screw up our phones (like I did this afternoon). The best part about SBFing with Linux is that now that you've (hopefully) learned some of the ins and outs of the operating system from the earlier posts, I think you'll find that the SBF process is much more hassle-free with Linux than it is with Windows.

As far as software, you will need:

1. sbf_flash utility. This can be found here.
2. The actual SBF file. Make sure you get the right version. I recommend the Android 2.2.1 System Version 2.2.340 Full (VRZ_MB810_2.3.34_1FF_01) (Current OTA) for best results. This can be found here. It can take quite awhile to download, so just be prepared.

On the phone end, you will need to have:

1. Your Droid X, preferably fully charged. If your battery is low, you will not be able to SBF. I've never done this with less than 90%.
2. A USB cable. Plug this into your computer, but hold off on plugging it into your phone just yet.

Start off by powering down your phone. Hold the camera button and the volume down buttons at the same time. Then hold the power button. The screen will likely flash for a second - now let go. The bootloader screen will pop up. It will say Bootloader: 30.04, several spots of black screen, and then Battery OK, OK to Program, (assuming your battery is in good shape) and Connect USB Data Cable. So far so good!

Now open a terminal window. You'll want to navigate to the directory where you've placed your sbf_flash utility and your SBF file. I made a folder called ~/sbf. Once you're in the correct directory, you can type the following command:

ls

This will list the files in the directory. You should see sbf_flash and VRZ_MB810_2.3.34_IFF_01.sbf. Now type the following:

chmod +x sbf_flash

If you've been following the blog, you've seen this before. This simply makes the sbf_flash utility executable to run as a program.

Now, connect your Droid X via USB cable to the computer. It should show on the screen that it is connected! Once it is connected, type the following command into the terminal window you still have open:

sudo ./sbf_flash VRZ_MB810_2.3.34_1FF-01.sbf

Your terminal window should look something like this:

The phone will now begin the SBF process (after you enter your password). I would like to note here that after the SBF process is complete, the phone will reboot. Once the phone reaches the boot animation (i.e. the scary Droid eye) I always unplug my USB cable. I have never been able to SBF without immediately bootlooping after, so for others who have similar problems, this is the solution:

• During the boot animation, pull the battery.
• Return the battery to the Droid X.
• Hold down the home key, then hold down the power key. Wait until the Android logo with a triangle and an exclamation mark pops up.
• Now press the search key. This is what is known as stock recovery, just in case you haven't seen it before.
• Scroll down to "wipe data/factory reset" using the volume buttons, and select it using the camera button.
• When it is finished, press the camera button on the "reboot now" option. The phone should reboot successfully.

Congratulations, you have just managed to SBF using Linux Mint!