Affordable Android Tablet: Rooting The Nook Color

While there are many posts on the internet on methods of rooting a Barnes and Noble Nook Color not all of them are very clear and so today I plan to post all the information I have into one post to help you out in your never ending quest for an affordable well built tablet.

The first thing I have to say is that while the Nook Color is not officially a tablet, it packs some pretty awesome hardware just waiting to be unleashed. Right out of the box you are working with an 800mhz processor, 8GB internal memory, 7" capacitive screen, and more. There are two things that make the Color such a great choice for rooting, it runs Android just has a custom skin baked on top, and due to how it was built, the device loads from the SD slot before internal flash. Also before we begin make sure that your Nook is registered and that you have a Gmail account ready. (Preferably the same Gmail account you may have used to register the device)

There are two main system versions that you will have to worry about when rooting your Nook. System version 1.1.0 and 1.2.0. To save on time and prevent confusion I will write this post for version 1.2.0 only. To check which version you have, go to settings>device info>about your nook color>software version. If you are not running 1.2.0 then either connect to a wifi hotspot and leave the device in standby until it updates or check out HERE.

Now that you are running the latest software it is time to download a few files that will be required for the process and make sure you have the proper Micro SD card size.. You will need a 2GB card to use the method I provide in this tutorial.

• Clockwork Recovery
• ManualNooter
• WinImage

The first step will be to load the Clockwork Recovery file to your SD card. This will allow the Nook Color to boot into a custom recovery which will allow you to run the files necessary for the rooting process. You will open up WinImage for Windows, Choose restore virtual hard disk image from Disk menu, select your disk to burn to, select the .img file (you can use 7-zip to extract) and click ok to begin the process. Once that is completed you will have a SD card capable of loading the custom ClockworkRecovery on your device. Make sure the process was successful by placing the SD card into your powered down Nook and plugging it into a USB connected to a computer. 

Next step will be to add the ManualNooter.zip file to the SD card (Do not put in any folders) and then boot up into Clockwork. Using the volume keys to navigate and the 'n' key to select, choose (install zip from sd card) navigate to the ManualNooter.zip and select the file to begin the process. Once the files run just reboot the device and it will be Rooted. If for whatever reason an error appears just reboot once more which should fix any issues. Now your Nook will be able to perform like a true tablet with full Market access and more. Now you can also overclock and more. The full Nook Color Root forum can be found HERE.

How did this work for you? Anything I left out? Leave your comments below and as always have a good day.

*I am not responsible for anything you may do using this knowledge. Use at your own risk.