Hack the Nook Color

There are many different approaches to hacking the Nook Color, some are quite elaborate, some only detailing Linux or Windows procedures from one degree to another. This approach, from what I have read, should not void the warranty of the product. It will allow for either booting into the the original Nook or booting into the Android OS. This is not an all inclusive process, there are many forums that can address many issues and questions. This approach worked for me using Microsoft Windows 7.

Hardware

  • NOOK® Colorâ„¢ by Barnes & Noble If the Nook Color has a blue dot on the box read this forum first. If there is a green dot on the box continue.
  • SanDisk 8GB microSDHC Card

Software

There are many different images and versions of these applications, however, after reading through many pages of forums, some versions will not produce the favorable or expected results. The following combination worked for me.

Hack the Nook

  • Login to the Nook Color and create a Barnes & Noble account.
  • Power off the Nook Color
  • Insert the microSD card into your computer
  • Extract the generic-sdcard-v1.3.img.gz to generic-sdcard-v.1.3.img
  • Use Image Writer, select generic-sdcard-v.1.3.img and write to the microSD card
  • Copy CyanogenMOD (cm_encore_full-253.zip) to the microSD card
  • With the Nook Color powered off insert the SD into the Nook Color’s SD slot on the corner
  • Power on the Nook Color. If all went well, you will see the Linux penguin with scrolling text and upon completion, the Nook Color will power off.
  • Power on the Nook Color
  • Get the Wi-Fi configured and working.
  • Power off the Nook Color
  • Remove the microSD card from the Nook Color and put back into the card computer
  • Copy Google Apps (gapps-gb-20110828-signed.zip) to the microSD card
  • With the Nook Color powered off insert the SD into the Nook Color’s SD slot on the corner
  • Wait for the Nook Color to complete the power on cycle.
  • Press the pwer button and select Reboot from the menu
  • Then select Recovery, press OK
  • Google Apps will install, the Nook Color will reboot, then there is a Google Market setup.

Tweaks

  • Overclock
  • Use 16bit transparency enabled

Issue

  • If the Nook Color only recognizes the size of the SD card as 120 MB, then download Easus Partition Manager (FREE). Install the Partition Manager to your computer. Insert the microSD card into your computer and use the Partition Manager to expand the the final Fat32 partition using the unused space only. All other partitions are necessary, do not delete or resize them. If, however, using the steps abover are used this should not be an issue.

Additional References