The lack of root is a major obstacle. There are ways around it to do what you want (install remote desktop software ie x11vnc) using something like http://kumatux.org/index.html however, you would also need a version of x11vnc compiled for this method and I can't see it on the application list on that site.

The good news is that there is yet another way of enabling USB mass storage mode. In a similar fashion to using the Ubuntu LiveCD to load Ubuntu onto your PC, you can load what's called the Rescue Initrd onto your N900. Whilst you can probably do this from Vista, it's probably best to use the Ubuntu LiveCD again and then follow these instructions from the wiki.

When I tried this on my device the backlight didn't come on. If you shine a torch on the device you can see the list of options available. You just want to press u and those 2 drives you could see earlier on can now be accessed.

When you're finished pressing r will reboot your phone back into maemo.

I recall seeing a thread on shortcuts using the keypad. Anyone remember where to get that and if there's a shortcut to select Mass Storage/PC Suite for OP?

Edit: Googled N900 shortcut
http://wiki.maemo.org/N900_Shortcuts_and_Gestures

Try check if any of these works...

Hi Joseph.skb I have tried all the keyboard shortcuts but cant believe there is not one that will allow me to select or cycle through onscreen buttons So I have not been able to select either Mass Storage or PC Suite buttons using the keyboard shortcuts.

Going back to Mrsellouts suggestion... Rescue Initrd sounds ok. As I dont have an automatic wifi or net connection to download the setup files listed on the Meego wiki link, do you think I could download them on PC to a microSD card, then place that in the N900 and copy them into the folders as per the wiki guide? (long sentance :P)

Also, Magick777 suggested I run "iwconfig wlan0 up" in xterm. Even though I dont have rootsh, I tried running it like this "sudo iwconfig wlan0 up". Before, it told me it couldnt find iwconfig but running it with sudo prefixed it then asked me for a password. Ive never set any system password so is there a default? Or is it asking for my wifi password (It shouldnt be as the wifi connection is setup previously and should work fine)

I have had a small success with copying photos off the N900 to my microSD card using copy commands in xterm

Sorry for my lack of Linux knowlege but im learning quickly and trying to read the wikis. Does anyone think its possible to install rootsh any other way than through the N900s internet or wifi? Could I copy its files to a microSD card and install it from that?

Thanks for your continued support guys

If you switch off your phone - and plug it into your PC, the internal memory and the micro sd card will come up as removable memory media.

I believe that only worked with older firmware.

Unfortunately that no longer works with my phone as I have the latest firmware. When the phone is off and I plug it into the PC (win7) or Ubuntu it cannot open the drives.

I have managed to copy my pics from the MyDocs/DCIM folder to a MicroSD card which is great! Can anyone tell me the folder structure of MyDocs?

Also, how can I launch the N900 MicroB web browser from xterm? I have a deperate plan to install rootsh. If I can get the web browser up and it asks for a connection, I might be able to select one. If so, then Ill write the installation link for rootsh into the address bar. This should load the application manager shouldnt it? And hopefully Ill be able to install rootsh...

This is the theory

Hi Joda,

I came across another thread similar to yours. Try the solutions there. Ignore the outcome :P

http://talk.maemo.org/showthread.php?t=53100

Hope you have some success. I guess you've flagged a problem which most take for granted when programming touch screen solutions.

Cheers,
Fred

I don't know how to launch the browser from the Terminal, but even if you could, when you type in the link to install rootsh, you will need the touchscreen working to tell the browser to open the file in Application Manager, and again to tell Application Manager to install the app.

The commandwould launch the install file from the rootsh page in the downloads section of this site if it managed to start the internet connection. This would then launch the App manager to install the program. However at this point screen touches are required to confirm the installation.

Try it anyway. If you do manage to get the internet up then you might be able to get x11vnc up and running. I managed to get it up and running without installing it by downloading from here and then using dpkg to extract the contents:
Then I browsed the extracted directories (x11vnc/usr/bin) and and ran ./x11vnc.

Unfortunately I haven't had enough time to get it working properly - while x11vnc does run, I couldn't access it from the PC. It's been a while since I tried it on the n900, when I get a chance I'll look further.

Searching google for 'how to install apps without root access' brings up some results which talk about adding paths to your profile. That might be what is stopping it from working, or I might just not be running x11vnc with the right parameters.

Of course that is all useless if you cannot get an internet connection.

BTW Just a little hint for using xterm when typing commands, filenames and directories: typing the first few letters and then pressing Ctrl and i will autocomplete the name or press twice for a list of options. eg from the MyDocs directory typing cd .doc and pressing Ctrl i will complete it to .documents.