Downgrading the Huawei Honor Pad 2 to run Google Play

So I got myself a Huawei Honor Pad 2 (JDN-AL00) some time ago (probably 2 years or so...) :
https://www.gsmarena.com/honor_pad_2-8390.php

Believe me, the the price under SGD$200 this pack a punch. The processor is fast and the graphics is fantastic. All was great. Google was in, by using Google Installer right from Huawei App Store. Then one day, shit happened. There was a Firmware upgrade Build JDN-AL00C233B023 that came along. There was no cancel option, just OK (Actually should have just shutdown or reboot...) but itchy fingers just did it anyway.

What happened? Google Play is a perpetual white screen. There was no error. Nothing. After days searching over the Internet, it was indeed confirmed that this firmware killed Google. The last working firmware was Build B018. Many smart people manage to downgrade it back and I had tried all options, download the OTA Full firmware. Reboot holding Vol + - and power... All in vain. Mainly because I made 2 critical mistakes.

1. Feeling too confident, I did not bothered to unlock the bootloader when I had the chance before Huawei shutdown the support to do so.
2. Without a unlocked bootloader, there was no way to get root. Thus, no way to TWRP, which enables firmware download so easily.

Guess I learned it the real hardway. I resorted to using APK install, APKPure marketplace etc. But life is not the same without the (official) Youtube and Chrome (Opera was decent, but... one kids make choices, adults wants all)

So a year had passed, I tried a few times, Google installer v2 v3, plug in power during flashing. The flashing always failed at some point. Read all the XDA post, downloaded all the firmware I could find. Nothing helped. NOTHING.

Until May 2020. The pad was in great condition and fantastic as ever, but without Google. This stupid trade war had damage users more than anybody else. Imagine, a perfect hardware and simply no real use for it because of its stupid software system (Yeah, I know its the same with Apple, but you asked for it when you bought that!).

So, a Russian friend pointed me to a forum. (Yes, not all Russian are hackers ok? Although I suspect he is one too...). The forum is PDA4u, which is.... famous for hacking.
https://4pda.ru/forum/index.php?showtopic=778914&st=40

My Russian sux so I had to use Google translate, but this time I did several things slightly differently.
1. System reset the tablet.
2. The Tablet was on full charge.
3. On the Pda4u thread, it seems to be a review, but go to page 6 on and you start to realized it is about hacking the device (typical Russian, not that I was to stereotype...).
4. But whats important there on Page 6 is the link https://yadi.sk/d/NeU_-gJ73HEdKc which points to the OTA Full firmware. With doubt it would work, I downloaded it AGAIN.
5. Extracted the Update.APP into DLOAD main folder on the SD card. All done on the phone itself.
6. I know normally, there is where you go and power down, Vol whatever + Power up to service mode... but This is the critical part that I think I did wrong in the pass (Not really wrong, but my fault for not rooting in the first place).
7. Somewhere on Page 13 (Yes, I dam read all those Russian until page 13...), there is a post about entering Engineering mode by dialing "* # * # 2846579 # * # *" and call.
8. This is somewhere I had not explored and inside Software Upgrade > SDCard Upgrade. Just run it and then I got error "PT Error" or something. Which I do not care, I assumed it doesn't work anyway. But what follows was it started to reboot. So I let it.
9. The tablet was in the Vol + Power screen updating (downgrading) the firmware as before. Which had failed zillions of time. So much so that this time I did not even bother to go plug it into the power (which I did in the past just to make sure). Guess what, carelessness pays off. The downgrade worked. Maybe the tablet finally sensed that I did not even care about it so much so that the firmware could kill it if it run out of power.
10. No Bootloader unlock. No Root. Just like that. After reboot, its B018 again. Everything is wiped again as usually and I installed back Google Play thru the old Google Framework Installer v2. After that there is a updates to Google as well, but it doesn't break anything anymore.

Now, if you bothered to read on in the forum, they talked about how to disable future updates. Which is also very important. I did not want another accident to happen. This part, I figured out on my own. I located the "Updater" App in the option menu. Then I basically disable all permission. No network, no disk storage. With this, even if it somehow knew there was a upgrade, it still cant write to disk so cannot download it. Also disable all the notification. But there is one notification left though.. its from System telling you that if you disable network/disk access, the system cannot update. This one happens once after a reboot. So who cares. Just remember never to say yes to that. I might actually try to fix that someday, but for now. This was the greatest downgrade ever for me.

I know I should reply in the forum track just for thanks and all, but I am not sure I can write in Russian was well as I would love to....

There are also 2 other points I need to point out here.
1. There is no such thing as a GLOBAL ROM for this model. If there was, Google would have been there and there was absolutely no problem at all in the first place. What many sellers posted about GLOBAL ROM is just having B018 with Google Play installed.
2. There are 2 versions of this tablet. The other one is W09. Please DO NOT cross flash the firmware. The W09 version is exactly the same but without LTE. It is the Wifi only version. Also, this version is a lot easier to downgrade, has its own instruction which I will not discuss here. There had been cases people tried to use the W09 firmware on the LTE and effectually broke their LTE by doing so.

Galaxy Watch Active Change Region

So I gotten the Galaxy Watch Active and I just realized why the Samsung Pay never really work for me. The reason is that it was purchase in USA which was actually $100 cheaper with free gift too! But now I am in a totally different region so how would I make it work?

So I thought the official channel if the best solution. Turns out that Samsung actually do not support this, which is really kind of WTF since this is a global market today and people do but 3C products when thry are on vacation etc. So Samsung is telling you not to buy any of their product our of your region. Blah.

Lucky for us, there is XDA and I found an article that actually talked about how to make it work on the Tizen OS which is same for some of the Galaxy Watch products.

The link is here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/smartwatch/gear-sport/changing-region-samsung-gear-sport-r600-t3771324

But in short, you need to download the package here:
https://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=74585286&postcount=330

With that, do 2 things on your Galaxy Watch Active.
1. Enable Developer Mode. Similar to Android, got to About, Software, tab like crazy.
2. Enable debug. Similar to Android again.

You may need to reboot your watch now. In any case, you will unpack the package and execute sdb (yes, Samsung has their own adb thing...) to connect to your watch. But before that.
1. Connect watch to Wifi, turn off Bluetooth and NFC. Find your IP from the Wireless option.
2. Run sdb kill-server to off server. sdb connect . You should get a connecting message at least. Don't bother pinging, I thing the watch do not respond to ping.
If here you do not get a message prompt that you need to accept debugging, you may need to disenable and reenable debugging, developer mode, reboot etc. It will eventually work. I tried about 5 times on one of the watch/

With that you are connected and almost done. All you need is to change the locale.
Run sdb shell. This brings up into the "Linux" shell on the watch and you can run the script now to change region:
launch_app csc-manager.csc-pre-configuration

Wait, but which region is the correct one? Check out this table:
https://www.androidsage.com/2017/07/12/list-of-samsung-galaxy-country-specific-product-code-csc-and-country-region/
Try not to select the Telco specific code as you will lock yourself to that Telco indirectly, use the generic code instead.

The watch will reboot and all seems reset. But you can reconnect via your phone and restore the back, just read carefully and select restore in one of the prompt. All your settings, alarms, app, face will be restored and you will have to reinstall and setup Samsung Pay, but it will be in your correct region now.

Now, thanks to XDA and no thanks to Samsung.

Getting into BIOS with UEFI

Some of the new PC or Laptop comes with something too smart for its own good. Trying to get into your BIOS to change boot order, enable VT and everything seems like nightmare and with the Fastboot, you always get into Windows within a few seconds...

Well, there is a way to get into BIOS, but its not about hammering your keyboard madly during bootup. Instead, go into your Windows and do this:

From Windows:
Press Windows Key+C (Open 'Charms')
> Settings
> Change PC Settings
> General
> Advanced Setup
> Restart Now

Computer restarts on the Choose an option screen
> Troubleshoot
> Advanced Options
> UEFI Firmware Settings
> Restart

How in the world would someone be expected to know this...?

Nox crashing with Nvidia

Are you using Nox and experiencing crashing during start up. If you have a Nvidia card, this could be one of the reason!

You may notice that the crash come right after there is a Nvidia pop up. That feature is known as In-Game Overlay and apparently it doesn't play well with Nox. You should disable it at the GeForece Experience application under General, In-Game Overlay.

Let me know if this fixes your Nox crash!

Windows Update Errors 0x800xxxxx

I had been encountering Update errors of all sorts and too many error code to even remember. It stop at 83% or before... But I finally found a solution.

You will never imagine how simple the solution is when you know what is wrong. Windows Update simply does not play nice with MS SQL Server... Yes, Microsoft very own! If you have some cryptic error 0x800xxxxxx, don't do the reset, try to disable you SQL first.

Try these step to disable the SQL Server.

1. Run msconfig
2. Services. Uncheck all service with SQL....
3. Install the update, reboot etc
4. Run msconfig again.
5. Select Normal Startup.

That will be all needed to put you to the latest Windows 10 RS3.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada Skip Intro

I had been playing this new game recently and I find the time taken to load all the intro movies are really a waste of time... So here is the hack to skip all that when you start you game now.

1. Go to the Directory "BattleFleetGothic\Content\Movies\Splashscreens\"
2. Rename all the 3 movies to something else.

TADA. No more opening movies. And saving you almost 1 minute of load time when you start game!

Windows 10 Activation Error 0xc004f210 0x8007007B 0x8007232B 0x8004FC12 0x80004005 or 0XC004E003

If you have one of the error mentioned above, it is likely you upgrade or reset Windows 10 and it did not activated properly on its own. One way to solve this is to change your key, But what key? Well if you Windows 10 is beyond Build 1151, then good news. You can use your Windows 7 or Windows 8 key on it. But you need to follow these steps first.

1. Find out what is your current version. Run Winver will help.
2. Windows + R and run "Slui 3". 
3. Use the follow "Generic Key" based on your current version.
• Windows 10 Home:
• TX9XD-98N7V-6WMQ6-BX7FG-H8Q99
• WIndows 10 Pro:
• VK7JG-NPHTM-C97JM-9MPGT-3V66T
• Windows 10 Home Single Language
• 7HNRX-D7KGG-3K4RQ-4WPJ4-YTDFH
• Windows 10 Enterprise:
• NPPR9-FWDCX-D2C8J-H872K-2YT43
4. You wish you can activate with it, but you cant. It will fail.
5. Run "Slui 3" again. Key in your Windows 7 or Windows 8 key.
6. You should be able to activate it now.

Let me know if this works for you in the comments.

CPU Temperature High Overheat

Recently I was hit by something I totally did not expect. My CPU temperature hit 90C. That's in fact way too high under any sort of environment and potentially could burn your CPU. It really puzzles me, because I have a Antec H650 Liquid Cooling system which normally would never even let my CPU goes beyond 60C with full load. Anyway, ever wonder what is your heat, you can always check it with the good old BIOS like this:

Well it might looks better in the new generation BIOS like this :

Well mine was not flagged by the BIOS, but by Asus's utility. This was one time it was fortunate that I did as I could have prevented a fire. So it makes perfect sense to install them even though they do nothing much and basically is used for show off mostly... :)

Anyway, but to the problem. What happened? Well, after cold starting it with a few hours of rest, I can see the temperature going up steadily in the BIOS. This proves something. The temperature probe is likely not damage. It does record the cold starting temperature. It is not likely a software issue, since its in the BIOS before everything starts up.

So I have to take out the CPU connector to the Antec H650. It turns out that this was reused twice from other PC... So the thermal paste has harden for some reason or simply because I did not reapply more when switching PCs... Anyway luckily I bought some from Taobao just for rainy days (and it rained today) and there it goes. My PC is back at 40C. Phew... But guess what? I had already purchase upgrades for her! Well, guess I can still sell the perfectly working Gen 4 I5 away when my B150-I3 comes...

Asus Xonar Drivers for Windows 10

For a long while, Asus did not have the drivers for Windows 10 for their Xonar range of soundcard and somewhere in the end of last year, it seems they finally rolled out the Windows 10 soundcard drivers. Those of you who make do with the Unified drivers can finally upgrade to the official drivers if you want to.

Go find your card and download the latest drivers from there :
https://www.asus.com/Sound-Cards/

Windows Search or Menu missing or not doing anything

Ever lost your favorite Windows 10 (or lower) search or the menu bar, and keep pressing it doesn't give you anything at all? Well I had this issue and I found a solution.

Before you proceed, run "services.msc" under admin command prompt (Use Task Manager, File > Run, Check Admin) and ensure that "Windows Search" is running. Some tools believe this services should be stopped and I can tell you its not worth the problem you get from doing so.

If that doesn't fix it, open Powershell under admin with the similar method above for services.msc.
Copy and paste this line in:

Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}

What this does is that it fixes some of the App Packages and for me it works. 

I hope it does for you too!

Let me know in your comments.

Call of Duty Advance Warfare Choppy Cutscenes

Even with the best graphics card one year later... there is still a likelihood you will come to experience some choppy cut scenes. There is absolutely nothing wring with wrong with your drivers or OS... The problem lies in the game, but doesn't seems to be patched....

The simple way is to find under options, there is something call "Sync Every Frame". Go ahead and disable that and you will find that the problem just goes away...

Enjoy taking down Atlas...

Windows 8.1 OEM FREE

Just something I went though and thought I might as well share it to save you some pain if you plan to go through it.As you know Windows 10 is not actually FREE if you have to buy it. Its pretty expensive actually from the leaked pricing. The best way to secure it is to get hold of the upgrade NOW by pre-booking.

BUT in order to quality, putting the license issue aside, you better be on Windows 7 SP1 or Windows 8.1 U1. Yes, nothing below is going to work. The pre-booking “app” is actually a Windows Update component which will not install on anything lower.

So, for those stuck in Windows 7 or 8.0, maybe it’s time to upgrade.

Windows 8.1 is kinda a SOB cos of the license key and all. Its not compatible with the keys used for 8.0 and such. But what I am going to share is a secret to get whole of the legitimate keys, right in front of you on that bloody machine of yours. A lot of people did not know this. When you buy a Dell, HP and what not, OEM machine, they actually implanted a CD Key into your BIOS. And its always activated automatically based on that key. Its usable for Windows 7-8.1. Meaning if you bought it a few years ago with Windows 7, you are supposed to get Windows 8 and 8.1 upgrade FREE. Looks like your school admins did not do their job :P

But nevertheless, I will tell you how to get it right. Pretty much without their help.

You will need to download the media to install Windows 8.1.

NOT, not from some torrent or fileshare site! But right from Microsoft, perfectly legit.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-SG/windows-8/create-reset-refresh-media

It’s a few GB of download, but ONLY this version works (out of the ISO) for OEM products. There are other ways to get it to work by changing the ISO or branding it, that’s pretty complex and I won’t discuss it here (Although the 26-in-1 OEM ISO is pretty exciting, with all the Asus wallpaper and all).

While download that, you should EXTRACT your OEM CD-KEY. 3 ways to do it, but I cut the chase and show you the easiest one.

https://github.com/christian-korneck/get_win8key#files

Run the EXE and you better be sure to print it out, especially if you plan to wipe you HDD.

Now, you have all you need to “upgrade”. By Upgrading, Its far too glorified a term to use. I assure you 90% you will fail. But be my guest and try to upgrade your Windows 8.0 to 8.1. Its due to the amount of software and shit that had been in there since 8.0 was installed that cause a lot of complication to just upgrade. In the end, I guess most of us choose to REINSTALL 8.1.

I won’t say it’s a bad choice, but it’s definitely clean. Now, the important point is during the installation right from the start, you will see the CD-KEY prompt and you will be able to fully verified with the one you had extracted. It doesn’t matter if you bought your Acer with Windows 7 or Windows 8 at all. It’s a perfectly legit copy of Windows 8.1 in your hands now and nobody just want to talk about it.

Well, you may or may not need to activate it, more often than not, yes. But if you do not want to use an online account (which gives you Sky Drive Pro, which could sync your personnel settings onto the cloud. This however is flagged by Mcafee Webwasher as “Uploading to Skydrive” though  DOOH!), you should unplug you network during the installation and you will be given a choice to create a local account for Windows 8.1.

Let me know if you find this useful.  

Missing Email Inbox in Outlook 2013

Ever set up a new IMAP account on Outlook and suddenly find that no matter how you set it up, with all the configurations right, you can't seem to fetch your Inbox. Well, if you are getting your Sent or Outbox, then you are right onto this problem.

Its related to 2 of the Microsoft Update in fact, KB2837618 or KB2837643. The long version is here:

http://www.inmotionhosting.com/support/email/email-troubleshooting/imap-issues-affecting-outlook-2013-and-office-365-functionality

But to keep this short, all you need to do is to disable a feature call show only subscribed folders.
To access this,

1. Open the Folder tab. Look for "IMAP Folders". Click it.
2. You should see the dialog below. Uncheck it!

Well, I wondered if Microsoft asked anyone's opinion when implementing this, but this has cause me to loose some hair and a few hours of sleep. I hope I have some some of yours.

Let me know if this is helpful!

SFC failed May 2015 - utc.app.json telemetry.ASM-WindowsDefault.json

After some Windows Update in May / Jun, you may find that your Windows 8.1 SFC /SCANNOW suddenly failed with some corrupted files. If you followed some instruction to check the logs, you will notice that there are 2 files mentioned.

• telemetry.ASM-WindowsDefault.json 
• utc.app.json

Well, the guys at Microsoft had did it again and broken their own tool. Luckily there is a way to fix this. Well, there are 2 exactly, the hard way or easy way. I would link you to the easy way instead.

The hard way is to manually do what the easy way did, line by line on console.

Tech Cookbook SFC Fix:
http://thetechcookbook.com/windows-7-update-kb3022345-causing-corrupt-files/

Visual Studio 2010 Offline Help

Visual Studio 2010 is the old platform whereby you can still create Windows Form applications with C++. You can't from Visual Studio 2012 onward. However, you will find that it is quite troublesome when you needed some help and references while you are on the move and possibly offline. In the good old days, there was MSDN Library for older Visual Studio, but there isn't any for Visual Studio 2010 on... So what happened to it?

Simple. Its on the DVD for Visual Studio 2010. And a separate download for Visual Studio 2012 and 2013 here:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-in/download/details.aspx?id=34794

Well, since the steps are similarly, you should be able to follow through it similarly for Visual Studio 2012 and 2013. So back to Visual Studio 2012. Grab your DVD (or mount your ISO) and let's start.

1. Launch Visual Studio 2010. Help Menu. Select "Manage Help Settings".
2. Strange path, but accept it nevertheless.
3. Select "Install content from disk".
4. Browse to your DVD "ProductDocumentation" folder and select the file " HelpContentSetup.msha".
5. Click "Add" for all items (or some, but don't cry when you can't access it when you are offline).
6. Local help is available now.

Hope this helps. Let me know on the comments!

Bad Bad Cards from Dominion Adventures

As we look forward to the new release of Dominion Adventures, we should also remind ourselves that there are some hiccups with this release which may want you to hold back and wait for a re-print.

Some of the threads:
http://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/34c9wh/gamers_beware_newest_printings_of_rio_grande

TL;DR, The cards are inferior, lighter and so much so that it can be distinguished whether sleeved or not. That's bad enough, especially if you are mixing it with other elements from another Dominion set. This gives you the "predictability +5" ability to know whether the next cards are from Adventures.

I would suggest to hold back and wait. Look out for the "Made in USA with pride" logo. It means it sucks for this instance anyway.

Install Dot Net Framework 3.5 onto Windows 8 / 8.1 and Server 2012

Do you know that it is a lot more complicated than just throwing in a installer to install Dot Net Framework 3.5 on Windows 8 / 8.1 or Server 2012? The reason is that it already came with Dot Not Framework 4.5 and the installation of these Windows actually comes with Framework 3.5. It is just not enabled.

So, actually all you have to do is to enable it. But wait, why does it need to go to the Internet to do that? The installation is really stupid. If you are stuck in an offline environment, this is really terrible. But fear not, there is a way around it.

Simply locate your CD or where the Windows installation source files are and run this command to enable Dot Net Framework 3.5 :

Dism /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3 /All /Source:(CD Drive):\sources\sxs /LimitAccess

Remember to run this as administrator though. And you should see something like this.

Hope this had been helpful. Let me know in the comments.

VMware vSphere Client V5.5 Update 2

I have no idea why VMware want to make life so difficult for everyone by going through so much forms and that and in the end you find that you are unable to find the download for VMware vSphere. Well, here I put up a direct link to their official copy for my own use and yours.

Download it here:
http://vsphereclient.vmware.com/vsphereclient/1/9/9/3/0/7/2/VMware-viclient-all-5.5.0-1993072.exe

If me know if this helps you.

Intel Rapid Storage Technology - Intel Smart Response Technology Problems and Solutions Unable to Activate Acceletate

Intel Rapid Storage Technology
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/rapid-storage-technology.html

This should be the reason why you had bought your Z series or other high end motherboard. If not, then you might be under utilizing it. This group of technology had evolved into many complex functions which I might talk about in the future when I have time. Today I want to talk about one particular expects of it. Smart Response Technology.

For a readup, here is the official site:
http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/smart-response-technology.html

In English, its just the use of SSD to cache your HDD whether the SSD is build in or a separate one.
Let's see that is the requirement to have this feature:

1. SSD free space (unpartitioned) 16GB-64GB (MAX, Intel had determine anything more than 64GB is not effective)
2. HDD (whether OS is on it is optional, do not believe the BS that tells you that OS MUST be on a HDD)
3. Intel chipset Z68, Z87, Q87, H87, Z77, Q77, H77 motherboard.
4. Intel RST Software installed. (https://downloadcenter.intel.com/search?keyword=intel%C2%AE+rapid+storage+technology+%28intel%C2%AE+rst%29)
5. BOTH SSD and HDD must be plug into the Intel SATA clot, not the 3rd party ones. You can verify this when you
6. At least 2MB of unallocated space on your HDD.

I am not going to write a set up guide, but link to one instead:
http://www.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/CS-032826.htm

Most people either had partioned the SSD or simply plug into the wrong SATA port which make the installation failed. For those who could not activate SRT because there is no Accelerate button. TAKE NOTE OF POINT 6 above! Somehow Intel need some space (2M on mine.,. but I suspect it may varies depending on your HDD). Simple shrink your partition and expand it again later.

Happy SSDing...

Rooting Xiaomi Mi Pad and Installing Google Play Store!

The Xiaomi Mi Pad is a power tablet that can rival the Nexus and even Nvidia Shield itself as it is build upon the Tegra K1 chipset as well. However, rooting it and installing Google Play is slightly more than trivial if you do not know where to look.

Firstly, before we even start about Rooting. THE XIAOMI MI PAD OFFICIAL STABLE ROM IS NOT ROOTABLE! Yes, the stable is fully patched and there is no way to root it (and make it stable) as proven by many who tried including myself.

Now, you will see many articles teaching to install Vroot etc on your PC to root this. BUT do note that Vroot is detected as malware (probably because of the rooting codes) by many AV products. And whether it does contain anything malicious, that is entirely another topic. But I guess its safe to say we want to avoid installing anything if possible. And that is why you are reading this. :)

So this article is going to provide you a way to Root your Mi Pad without installing anything on your PC. BUT still it means you will need to be on one of the developer ROM. And there is NO INTERNATIONAL version of the Developer ROM. What is the difference? See this:

STABLE ROM

• International - Comes with Google Play
• China - No Google Play

DEVELOPER ROM

• China - No Google Play

I think by now you know why we are even talking about Google Play in this article. Because if you are going to root it, you will need to be on a Developer ROM and you are going to lose Google Play if you come from an International ROM.

You can of course download the official Developer ROM from Xiaomi. But then you will need to find a matching Google Play what works with it. I decide to give you at least something that I tried and claim that it will work. Here is the Developer ROM I based on:

https://mega.co.nz/#!eQ1TUJLQ!AcmWKgVOD1DNqKgS9oby6xs7ieQoBlRP4x-uID95pNk

Now just flash this using the build in Updater. Nothing fancy. And get used to the Updater, you are going to use it at least one more time!

Next, after on the Developer ROM and rebooting a few time to make sure everything is stable (so that we can avoid blaming the rooting and all for something that already exist on the default ROM). Let's start Rooting... No wait. To be able to Root, you cannot use the default Bootloader. So I had chosen to use the CWM since I prefer that than TWRP since I had some screw up with it.

https://mega.co.nz/#!bVkSDBLQ!gJYdBgUOrIDxThx6WwuC8oVGgD74wgQwyRDnQyART84

Put this onto your Mi Pad and.... No wait... Listen to me and your save yourself a few plugin and out with your cable.

Download the Root Package :

https://mega.co.nz/#!OJlHgJiD!yIg9UoQH4801pyz7YVPX6vd80jhW4UR3wM-ORnG7ync

Download the Google Play Package. Well you can ignore this if you prefer not to use Google Play.

https://mega.co.nz/#!CYc0gDrT!vo5wX57EU3LJKwcaMeFyBmMCRunWcFUPOlVsNhtLOTk

Put these 2 into the root of your Mi Pad (preferable on your SD Card if you need to re-use it again...)

OK, now you are ready to go to the Updater again. Select to flash a update and choose the CWM Package. It will reboot... If you are fast enough, hold Volume +, if not, reboot again to recovery anyway.

In CWM, choose to flash ZIP. Now you can select the Root Package. And if you want Google Play, flash that in after the Root. NEXT, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. And is the reason why 90% of the rooting and flashing screwed up. GO TO ADVANCE AND CLEAR DAVIK CACHE!

Now you can reboot, and accept the few prompts with Yes. Your Mi Pad should boot up nicely without any error about Google Service failing etc. If you do, its likely you screwed up on the flashing, but you can easily repeat it.

Well, that's all and although it sound so simple, I had bricked and crashed at least a dozen times with different configurations and packages, so I had decided to save your the trouble. Leave some comments and tell me how it works for you!