How To: Install ADB and Fastboot on your Windows computer for use with your Android p

How To: Install ADB and Fastboot

Anyone that has ever tried to mod their Android phone has come across
users telling other users to run various different ADB and/or Fastboot
commands. The only problem is the average Joe has no idea what ADB and
Fastboot are because, well, they aren’t your run-of-the-mill
applications. I was completely lost myself when I first ventured into
the world of Android. Hopefully this guide makes it simple and
straightforward to get ADB and Fastboot installed on your computer.

WHAT ARE ADB AND FASTBOOT AND WHY DO I NEED THEM

ADB stands for Android Debug Bridge, while Fastboot stands for, well,
Fastboot. Without going into too many technical details (trust me you
don’t want technical details), let’s just say they are two command-line
tools used when modding/hacking Android phones.

You need ADB and Fastboot if you are one of those people that like to
mod/hack your Android phone. While many mods/hacks are now becoming
more main-stream-user friendly with GUIs (i.e. they no longer require
users to use ADB or Fastboot), there are still times when users need to
use ADB and/or Fastboot. (Anyone with a Google Nexus One or Nexus S
knows what I mean.) While you may not necessarily ever use ADB or
Fastboot (depends on what phone you have, and the type of developer
support it gets), it is always nice to have them installed when the
time comes that you do need them.

INSTALLING ADB AND FASTBOOT

Installing ADB and Fastboot is actually very easy:

The following guide is for Windows PCs only, but ADB/Fastboot can be
installed on Linux and Mac OS X also. (You just do it differently for
Linux/Mac OS X.) Also note that this guide was written on a Windows 7
computer. However, the guide will work on Windows 8/XP/Vista the same
way; I don’t know about earlier versions of Windows.

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(11 MB) ADB, Fastboot, and other tools.


Note: The tools found in the download
are provided by Google, found in Android
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I have simply extracted
the tools and uploaded them for easy access, instead of telling
everyone to download the whole SDK. You can get the same tools if you
download the Android SDK directly from Google.
Extract the contents directly into your C:\ partition. You should now have a folder C:\Android that looks something like this:

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Press Win + R on your keyboard to bring up the Run dialog.
Once the Run box is open, type in sysdm.cpl and hit OK:

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Once you hit OK, the System Properties panel should open; click on the Advanced tab:

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From the Advanced tab click on Environment Variables:

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At the Environment Variables window find where it says Path under System variables, click on it, and click the Edit button:

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When the Edit System Variable window pops up, type in ;C:\Android at the very end and hit OK:

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Make sure you type in exactly ;C:\Android (be sure to include the semi-colon at the beginning).

After clicking OK, close out all windows. You are done!

USING ADB AND FASTBOOT

Once you have them installed, using ADB or Fastboot is as easy as
opening command prompt, typing in adb xxx or fastboot xxx (with xxx
being the command you want to run)…

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nd hitting Enter on your keyboard to execute the command.

Take note, however, installing ADB and Fastboot is not enough to start
using it with your phones. You need to install the relevant drivers on
your computer – so your PC recognizes your phone – before ADB or
Fastboot will be able to work with it. If you don’t have any drivers
installed, you will get an error similar to the following:

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If you don’t have the proper drivers installed, read dotTech’s article on[Android]
Downloads links for USB (adb and fastboot) drivers for Windows for
all Android phones and tablets | Reviews, news, tips, and tricks |
dotTech