Related
Okay, now I know that there are other threads about this, but the issue is that none are specific to my problem. Either they are not for my phone, or my version is different or the thread is dead and with no replies. So I created a new thread.
Anyway, I was hoping that I could get a step by step procedure on how to root my phone and install a custom ROM.
The issue is, my KIES doesn't work (so help me with that also please) and moreover, I'm very new to all this so I don't quite get a few things.
Also, please tell me what are the best ROMs out there and if something does go wrong in the process, how do I un-brick my phone?
So I'm looking for active replies / repliers since I know I'll have a bunch of questions during the process.
Last, when I go to "about phone" on my phone it says "firmware version 2.2", but the little that I've looked up, people run 2.2.1. Does this mean my rooting process is different?
Thanks. And in case you want it, my kernel version is 2.6.32.9
Appreciate it.
rooting z4root
custom rom - pick a custom rom and follow instruction in that thread.
Your phone is already updated to 2.2 and that is the reason why kies doesn't show new updates. Our phone has 2.2 and not 2.2.1
If you use roms which doesnt have boot then it will not get hard bricked. soft brick can be fixed by reflashing.
What is the exact issue you are facing while using kies? Try a uninstall and reinstall. That should fix it
K, so I fixed KIES. I just had to update though, I was running on an older version. I didn't think a slightly outdated version would not detect my phone.. anyway never mind that.
So I don't really know what the best custom ROM is out there. could you suggest one? one that is fast (speed is really the priority), and not buggy, supports the apps that the stock ROM should. I'm willing to try three-four, so give me the names of the best ones out there.
Don't I need to root my phone before installing a custom ROM? If so, then I need to learn how to do that..
What do you mean it doesn't have a boot?
Well to figure out best ROm you will have to read up on each ROm. Each of them have separate thread where initial posts describe the properties of ROm. There are ROm comparison threads out there but that is just summary. I cant give you best choices. Everybody has different taste. Start with more popular ones, whose threads have more posts. More post -> more popular.
You can root using z4root.
Custom ROM are pre rooted normally so you need not root your phone before flashing custom rom
Mohit12 said:
K, so I fixed KIES. I just had to update though, I was running on an older version. I didn't think a slightly outdated version would not detect my phone.. anyway never mind that.
So I don't really know what the best custom ROM is out there. could you suggest one? one that is fast (speed is really the priority), and not buggy, supports the apps that the stock ROM should. I'm willing to try three-four, so give me the names of the best ones out there.
Don't I need to root my phone before installing a custom ROM? If so, then I need to learn how to do that..
What do you mean it doesn't have a boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if speed is a prime consideration then i would suggest kyrillos rom..... fastest rom i ever used....... very less buggy.......
you can also flash lestatious rom..... it is damn fast and surprisingly stable!.....
and check dharam's rom collection too....... i'm using his ultra clean ultimate rom right now..... and it's good although since you are new i would recommend flashing a different rom from his collection.....
As for rooting.... you don't need to root before flashing a custom rom....
And in case you need any information about any of the features or anything.... just post it here ....... i'lll try to help you in whatever way i can.,.....
Mohit12 said:
Okay, now I know that there are other threads about this, but the issue is that none are specific to my problem. Either they are not for my phone, or my version is different or the thread is dead and with no replies. So I created a new thread.
Anyway, I was hoping that I could get a step by step procedure on how to root my phone and install a custom ROM.
The issue is, my KIES doesn't work (so help me with that also please) and moreover, I'm very new to all this so I don't quite get a few things.
Also, please tell me what are the best ROMs out there and if something does go wrong in the process, how do I un-brick my phone?
So I'm looking for active replies / repliers since I know I'll have a bunch of questions during the process.
Last, when I go to "about phone" on my phone it says "firmware version 2.2", but the little that I've looked up, people run 2.2.1. Does this mean my rooting process is different?
Thanks. And in case you want it, my kernel version is 2.6.32.9
Appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey i would suggest u to go for Indroid 4.3. I m using this and have seen many users jumping from lestatious and kyrollis to indroid.
As a begginer, u will also get many help in Indroid thread.
Z4root doesnt work in Froyo, if u wanna root, choose superone click.
U dont need kies to work, Use Odin to flash ur fone.
Make sure to learn processes better by reading through forums, if u dont wanna brick ur fone.
Hey!! I would suggest Indroid 4.3 or Kyrillos 5.6. They are fast as hey have lagfix.
And no you don t have to root your phone before installing a custom ROM. But if you want to root, use superoneclick to root.
And as for bricking, you can avoid hard brick by installing a ROM that does not have bootloader. Bootloader is a piece of code that runs before any operating system starts. So you should avoid flashing bootloader.
As for soft bricks, you can just reflash to come out of the soft brick.
okay so i was doing a bit of reading up and i realised the following :
1)First i need to download :
a) Odin (please post version number i have to get for my i5801 (or is it just one thing for all phones?) or a link please.)
b) some backup software. now i downloaded titanium backup, but it won't open because it says my phone is not rooted. so help me go about this.
c) a custom ROM. I think i'll start off with kyrillos rom since i've been told it's the fastest and very less buggy. i'll then move on to Dharam's ROM if i don't like kyrillos rom because Dharam seems to be a very active user, and quite friendly, and i feel he can solve the issues well. after that i'll try Indroid.
d) I also need superone click.
Question : Where do i download these? directly on my phone or on my computer?
2) I can increase my internal storage by partitioning a part of my SD card. Now I have a 4 GB SD card and i barely use it, so i don't mind giving upto 1GB of it. Please suggest the perfect amount. whether 1GB will be too much, or whether 500MB would be too less.
3) some apps do not work with custom ROMs. The app that i really want is 4shared. It's working currently on my phone with the stock ROM, so if someone can check if that will also work on the three ROMs that i mentioned.
4) soft bricking isn't much of an issue, but it's better i avoid it. so can someone give me a rather up-to-date guide (or link) on rooting, because the other ones are REALLY old. at least 4-5 months old and there have been some updates after that.
5) I can also overclock my phone. And from what I read up, SetCPU seems compatible with the above ROMs. And after flashing my phone with a custom ROM, my phone is automatically rooted. Correct me if I am wrong.
6) Flash player isn't available for our processor (V6). Since this is a hardware issue, there's no way i can make it work on some other ROM, can I? Because flash is a rather important software..
So that's it, I guess. Please add anything if i missed out anything.
PS : Does anyone know of any software using which I can download YouTube videos? Because the YouTube app kind of sucks, and buffering takes time since I don't have WiFi.
Wow!! Those are a lot of questions.
1) Link for ODIN.
ODIN>http://goo.gl/nCxCw
OPS FILE>http://goo.gl/ORin0
As for the backup software, Titanium backup is the best out there. As it can backup all the apps and all the settings. Yes you have to be rooted. So root and use.
And for rooting, use this tutorial,
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1011555
Don t worry about the oldness. This works. The link for superoneclicjk is available in that post as well.
Yes. Kyrillos is a good ROM. As it is prelagfixed and offer good internal memory as well after you partition your SD. Sizes, 512 MB ext4 and 128 MB linux swap. Rest of the memory you can use for storage.
As far as overclocking is concerned, in Kyrillos, you again have to flash a new kernel if you want OC.
And for the flash problem, only adobe can solve that problem.
And oh yes, most of the custom roms are prerooted. So after flashin you don t have to root again.
Mohit12 said:
okay so i was doing a bit of reading up and i realised the following :
1)First i need to download :
a) Odin (please post version number i have to get for my i5801 (or is it just one thing for all phones?) or a link please.)
b) some backup software. now i downloaded titanium backup, but it won't open because it says my phone is not rooted. so help me go about this.
c) a custom ROM. I think i'll start off with kyrillos rom since i've been told it's the fastest and very less buggy. i'll then move on to Dharam's ROM if i don't like kyrillos rom because Dharam seems to be a very active user, and quite friendly, and i feel he can solve the issues well. after that i'll try Indroid.
d) I also need superone click.
Question : Where do i download these? directly on my phone or on my computer?
2) I can increase my internal storage by partitioning a part of my SD card. Now I have a 4 GB SD card and i barely use it, so i don't mind giving upto 1GB of it. Please suggest the perfect amount. whether 1GB will be too much, or whether 500MB would be too less.
3) some apps do not work with custom ROMs. The app that i really want is 4shared. It's working currently on my phone with the stock ROM, so if someone can check if that will also work on the three ROMs that i mentioned.
4) soft bricking isn't much of an issue, but it's better i avoid it. so can someone give me a rather up-to-date guide (or link) on rooting, because the other ones are REALLY old. at least 4-5 months old and there have been some updates after that.
5) I can also overclock my phone. And from what I read up, SetCPU seems compatible with the above ROMs. And after flashing my phone with a custom ROM, my phone is automatically rooted. Correct me if I am wrong.
6) Flash player isn't available for our processor (V6). Since this is a hardware issue, there's no way i can make it work on some other ROM, can I? Because flash is a rather important software..
So that's it, I guess. Please add anything if i missed out anything.
PS : Does anyone know of any software using which I can download YouTube videos? Because the YouTube app kind of sucks, and buffering takes time since I don't have WiFi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The rom is downloaded on your pc and flashed through it using odin.
I don't know any apps that work on stock rom and not on custom rom..... and 4shared works on kyrillos and indroid..... i've used it myself..
Most custom roms are already rooted and setcpu is the best app for setting CPU frequencies.
And as you said flash player isn't compatible with armv6 processors like ours.... so unless adobe makes it compatible no custom rom can do anything.
and for downloading youtube videos i'll suggest an app called you tube downloader or tube-X.......
Hope this helps...
Kernel
I flashed the indroid 4.0 Rom with Odin, and in short I will probably try to flash the indroid 4.3 Rom.
One question however, More and more I read about "kernel"(eg to get the 1% battery thing).
I know the kernel is the core of the operating system, but I don't understand how to use/apply it on my phone. Is the kernel something I have to flash separatly from the Rom, or is it included in the Rom?
If you need to install / flash it seperatly, where can I find the different kernels, and which one is recommended for my phone (Samsung Galaxy 3 Apollo)?
Hope someone can answer!
thnx
funbun77 said:
I flashed the indroid 4.0 Rom with Odin, and in short I will probably try to flash the indroid 4.3 Rom.
One question however, More and more I read about "kernel"(eg to get the 1% battery thing).
I know the kernel is the core of the operating system, but I don't understand how to use/apply it on my phone. Is the kernel something I have to flash separatly from the Rom, or is it included in the Rom?
If you need to install / flash it seperatly, where can I find the different kernels, and which one is recommended for my phone (Samsung Galaxy 3 Apollo)?
Hope someone can answer!
thnx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The kernel is included in the ROM itself. There are different kernels with different functionalities. For eg : - Most of the kernel that come with the ROMS are non-OC. So, if you want to overclock you phone, you have to flash the required kernel after flashing the ROM. The procedure is same using ODIN. Here s the link to the kernels.
http://code.google.com/p/fugumod-i5800/downloads/list
@ dhirend_6d
thnx!
Sorry for replying so late guys. Had a bit of an issue with the internet. Lightening struck somewhere near my house so it was down for a few days.
Anyway, thanks for all your help. I'll try to root+flash my phone day after as I have exams for two more days.
I'll post here if I have any other questions, but thanks a LOT for all your answers and help. But btw, what is the 1% battery mod?
Uh, I was rooting my phone. just one error. Superoneclick gets stuck at "running rageagainstthecage" and accoring to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1011555 i should set touchwiz as the default launcher. how do i do that?
Mohit12 said:
Uh, I was rooting my phone. just one error. Superoneclick gets stuck at "running rageagainstthecage" and accoring to http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1011555 i should set touchwiz as the default launcher. how do i do that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if u have any other launcher like adw then go to settings > application > Adw launcher (for example) and press clear default.
Then press the home key, It should ask u to set detault launcher. Just click on the checkbox below and select touchwiz launcher.
Tell me if it works or not.
No I do not have any other launcher installed. At least it's not showing up there.. but i did try using the more latest version. 1.9.5. that seemed to work just fine. man, i was so scared before rooting this wondering what if something goes wrong. but that was easy
Titanium backup now and maybe flashing a new rom tomorrow (or in a couple of days, after my exam.) Thanks though! =)
Mohit12 said:
No I do not have any other launcher installed. At least it's not showing up there.. but i did try using the more latest version. 1.9.5. that seemed to work just fine. man, i was so scared before rooting this wondering what if something goes wrong. but that was easy
Titanium backup now and maybe flashing a new rom tomorrow (or in a couple of days, after my exam.) Thanks though! =)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1st step done successfully...congo...welcome to this amazing world.
I would suggest, go for indroid but follow all the steps properly and read the forums for all the problems.
and yeah we also get awesome themes and more memory /system!!
custom roms are faster with better battery backup.
currently on indroid 6!!
Okay. Ignore the title, I couldn't think of anything to put. In short, I want to know about roms, about clockworkmod, cyanogen mod, and stuff like that. What they do, how to put them on, and I pretty much wanna know about the general stuff you do past rooting your phone. And I know that the section says No Noobs, but technically, I'm a newb, as far as I know i'm not annoying anyone or being completely nooblike.
Mainly with cyanogen. I read the instructions, and they seem too, I dont know, simplistic. I'd prefer exact details. Like, after I have clockwork mod installed, and I flash cyanogen, can i restore all the stuff I had on it? And once cyanogen is on there, is it already rooted, or must i root again? And if someone would explain to me how clockworkmod works in the first place. And how would I flash cyanogen? I thought it'd be through clockworkmod, but if I wipe everything and factory reset, wouldn't clockworkmod be gone?
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant or not vibrant, I dont even know) It's a GT-i9000M. Running android 2.2.1, Rooted, I have clockworkmod installed, but still no idea what to do past that point. Also, my Kies isn't telling me about any 3.x upgrade, so how would i go about manually installing a new version of android? I know it has to do with Odin, but whenever i tried i ended up not doing anything.
And one last thing about MetaMorph. Where could i find themes for it? And do i need to have a certain Rom running in order to use metamorph themes?
I'm mainly used to iPhones and such, where there isnt really much to do besides jailbreaking and such, and moving on to android phones is pretty intense. XD So much more to do with Android phones.
Well uh, thats about all i can think of at the moment. Also please post anything you feel that a (somewhat) newb to android modding should know.
Sorry for all the questions, and to those that help me, I love you. <3
And if any moderators deem this thread as against the 'No Noobs' rule, at least send me a message telling me you deleted it, or else I'll end up looking endlessly through the forums for my thread. I've done that before, not fun. LOL (Couldn't find a 'My Threads' thingy on the forum i was using.
Gutana said:
Okay. Ignore the title, I couldn't think of anything to put. In short, I want to know about roms, about clockworkmod, cyanogen mod, and stuff like that. What they do, how to put them on, and I pretty much wanna know about the general stuff you do past rooting your phone. And I know that the section says No Noobs, but technically, I'm a newb, as far as I know i'm not annoying anyone or being completely nooblike.
Mainly with cyanogen. I read the instructions, and they seem too, I dont know, simplistic. I'd prefer exact details. Like, after I have clockwork mod installed, and I flash cyanogen, can i restore all the stuff I had on it? And once cyanogen is on there, is it already rooted, or must i root again? And if someone would explain to me how clockworkmod works in the first place. And how would I flash cyanogen? I thought it'd be through clockworkmod, but if I wipe everything and factory reset, wouldn't clockworkmod be gone?
My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S (Vibrant or not vibrant, I dont even know) It's a GT-i9000M. Running android 2.2.1, Rooted, I have clockworkmod installed, but still no idea what to do past that point. Also, my Kies isn't telling me about any 3.x upgrade, so how would i go about manually installing a new version of android? I know it has to do with Odin, but whenever i tried i ended up not doing anything.
And one last thing about MetaMorph. Where could i find themes for it? And do i need to have a certain Rom running in order to use metamorph themes?
I'm mainly used to iPhones and such, where there isnt really much to do besides jailbreaking and such, and moving on to android phones is pretty intense. XD So much more to do with Android phones.
Well uh, thats about all i can think of at the moment. Also please post anything you feel that a (somewhat) newb to android modding should know.
Sorry for all the questions, and to those that help me, I love you. <3
And if any moderators deem this thread as against the 'No Noobs' rule, at least send me a message telling me you deleted it, or else I'll end up looking endlessly through the forums for my thread. I've done that before, not fun. LOL (Couldn't find a 'My Threads' thingy on the forum i was using.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I guess to first start off, here's a few pointers:
1. don't put the title in 1337 (people will most likely not click on it, thus no help)
2. you're right about this being the wrong thread. You should post this under the Samsung Galaxy S section (google your model number and you'll see it instantly) and should probably try the Q&A moreso than a general area (but it doesn't really matter all too much)
3. no matter how nooblike you may or may not be, you're still a noob XD
Now that we've gotten past the anally parts and all (hate doing that, but gotta =P), let's talk about what you came here for: answers.
Let's start with some definitions:
ROMs - these are the (usually modded) softwares that you flash to your phone. Depending on which phone you have, you can only flash ROMs made for your phone. Of course, if you have root/custom recovery, you can also install custom ROMs.
ClockWorkMod (CWM) is a recovery system made in order to allow people more features while they're in recovery mode. Of course, this is one of a few out there, but people stick to CWM cause of its huge support plus it's popularity. When you think of CWM, think of custom features being installed in (almost) one step (modding files and such will be taken care of for you, so you don't have to do it yourself). You can usually also fix a bricked system this way by reflashing either the entire ROM or the boot.img/other files (we'll get to this in a second)
CyanogenMod (CM) is an example of a very popular custom rom. They have a great team and usually is available for most devices, which in turn makes them so popular. It is widely supported and has a lot of extra features like updating to the latest OS and features not previously available on your phone. It's skinned, but usually follows the stock Android look for the OS in which they've skinned.
lol The reason why the instructions look so simple is because they've taken out all the hard work and all the stuff where you can possibly screw up your phone, so that they don't get a million messages saying "OMG MY PHONE BRICKED WHAT HAPPENED" and stuff like that. Protects them, makes it easier for you. If you had made a backup before you flashed CM (usually you only have to back up whats on the phone if it has internal and external memory, but back up your sd card always just in case. never hurt to), then yes. If you backed it up with your previous ROM, then you'll probably need to revert to get it back. If you didn't, chances are whatever you didn't backup and didn't sync, is safe to say gone. You can try recovering it using a recovery software on the computer like i detailed here for another person, but of course you'd skip the whole trying to save the phone part and just start with mounting the phone to your computer and running the software.
CM is a custom rom, and so most (if not all) custom roms have root preinstalled (besides, who wouldn't want root?!) As for CWM, it works by being (usually) flashed into the recovery partition of your phone. The nice thing about the phone is that it's split up into parts: boot, recovery, system, and some other ones i can't think of off the top of my head. Those three are important, as if you get a softbrick, you might still be able to recover all your data simply by using CWM/fastboot (a dev-tool used to flash/unlock, but only available in certain phones, as it is disabled usually) to reflash the boot.img (one requires command line, whereas CWM only needs you to flash a created/pre-made package). Also, since they're in separate partitions, even if your system and boot.img doesn't work, you can probably still access recovery (unless you screwed up really REALLY bad, and in that case I can't help >.<)
Observant you are =] Yes, if you were to flash CM, your CWM will be gone (i don't understand why most people don't just bake it into the ROM in the first place) but, not all is lost. Just go back into the Android Market and redownload ROM Manager. Of course you'll need to open it up and flash the same exact recovery again (annoying, isn't it?) but unless you know how to mod zip/img files and edit the script, you'll just have to make do with that. If you do, you could just (usually) take out the recovery partition and just leave the one you have already in there (but its usually safer and better to just redownload/reflash it as annoying as it is). But yes, you would use CWM to flash it. It's as simple as "Install from SD Card" which is why custom recoveries like CWM are popular. So simple
At this point, I would look into a few things. One is skinning your phone (though you probably can't do too much if you don't want to touch system files). If you find a psuedo-rom (slightly modded) that themes it, that's your best bet. Another is gaining access to certain features in apps you didn't have before (i.e. androidLost, LBE Privacy Guard, titanium backup) and of course more control by the ability to control your system files (if you know what you're doing, of course). Lastly, you can use stuff like MetaMorph to theme out certain sections of your rom (provided that they give you one compatible with your phone model/rom), minus having to flash it and having more fine-tuned controlled. Usually, Metamorph will run on all ROMs, but it doesn't guarantee that there'll be stuff for every ROM. Also, want themes? google it (google is your best friend!)
Kies won't tell you that you have an upgrade because it is ROM-dependent. It looks for their official ROM and says "Hey, this guy has our ROM. Check for an update". Think of owning a custom rom like being kicked out of your family. You won't get anymore updates from them XD. However, if you're looking to get the latest updates, check out the Samsung Galaxy S Dev threads. They will usually have another method of loading in the new ROM into your phone. And if you want to stick with ROM Manager, shell out for premium and they'll include "Check for Updates" in ROM Manager, along with several other functions (though you can check for free via computer/browser ). Mostly, manually updating the software requires the "Install from SD Card" feature in CWM/other recoveries, so you don't have much to worry about.
Odin is, as you stated, most likely your best bet. Not too many people repackage official ROMs into easy-to-flash zips. Odin is the Samsung equivalent to Motorola's RSD Lite from what I googled (i have motorola, so no exp. on odin >.<) It's mostly like a dev tool allowing you to flash/re-flash phones and is also usually your one-way ticket out of a semi/full brick (assuming you didn't mess up the hardware and you can get into download mode). It's the flashing tool that can access the core system of the phone even without root and allows you to reflash OFFICIAL ROMs. Should you use Odin (should be your last resort), you WILL lose root and all your data. No questions asked. Its like reinstalling everything to the state in which you got it in when you bought the phone. Word of advice: BACK UP OFTEN! (did i forget to mention Titanium Backup? )
Yeah, the transition from Apple to Android is so different and had I not had experience with my PSP, i'd be dying with the information overload. However, just read a lot of stuff on the forums (*cough*general android forums*cough*) and you should be just fine. We have an excellent community here that will try our best to fix whatever problems you encounter (note the key word: try. we're not gods XD) You'll get the hang of it soon enough.
Oh, well, I don't want to keep you for much longer, but since you mentioned something that any noob should know, it's definitely ADB (Android Debugging Bridge). This is where you'll probably spend a lot of time, as people's fixes usually involve shell (terminal for your phone). If anything, get acquainted with it, as it might save your butt in the future/unlock a few extra features for you ;D .
Well, that's all i can think of, and honestly, after typing this thing up for about an hour now, I think I'm going to grab me some breakfast Good luck to you and welcome to the Android commmunity! (and next time, remember to post in the right place! XD)
~jojojohnson7410
P.S. PM me if you need anything. =]
Observant you are =] Yes, if you were to flash CM, your CWM will be gone (i don't understand why most people don't just bake it into the ROM in the first place) but, not all is lost. Just go back into the Android Market and redownload ROM Manager. Of course you'll need to open it up and flash the same exact recovery again (annoying, isn't it?) but unless you know how to mod zip/img files and edit the script, you'll just have to make do with that. If you do, you could just (usually) take out the recovery partition and just leave the one you have already in there (but its usually safer and better to just redownload/reflash it as annoying as it is). But yes, you would use CWM to flash it. It's as simple as "Install from SD Card" which is why custom recoveries like CWM are popular. So simple
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to nit-pick a bit. CWM is part of the recovery partition, and unless the Galaxy S is different from every other android device, flashing will not remove it. ROM Manager and CWM are two different things. ROM manager will allow you to download the roms, which will then instruct CWM to flash the rom (when it reboots).
jojojohnson7410 said:
Well, I guess to first start off, here's a few pointers:
1. don't put the title in 1337 (people will most likely not click on it, thus no help)
2. you're right about this being the wrong thread. You should post this under the Samsung Galaxy S section (google your model number and you'll see it instantly) and should probably try the Q&A moreso than a general area (but it doesn't really matter all too much)
3. no matter how nooblike you may or may not be, you're still a noob XD
Now that we've gotten past the anally parts and all (hate doing that, but gotta =P), let's talk about what you came here for: answers.
Let's start with some definitions:
ROMs - these are the (usually modded) softwares that you flash to your phone. Depending on which phone you have, you can only flash ROMs made for your phone. Of course, if you have root/custom recovery, you can also install custom ROMs.
ClockWorkMod (CWM) is a recovery system made in order to allow people more features while they're in recovery mode. Of course, this is one of a few out there, but people stick to CWM cause of its huge support plus it's popularity. When you think of CWM, think of custom features being installed in (almost) one step (modding files and such will be taken care of for you, so you don't have to do it yourself). You can usually also fix a bricked system this way by reflashing either the entire ROM or the boot.img/other files (we'll get to this in a second)
CyanogenMod (CM) is an example of a very popular custom rom. They have a great team and usually is available for most devices, which in turn makes them so popular. It is widely supported and has a lot of extra features like updating to the latest OS and features not previously available on your phone. It's skinned, but usually follows the stock Android look for the OS in which they've skinned.
lol The reason why the instructions look so simple is because they've taken out all the hard work and all the stuff where you can possibly screw up your phone, so that they don't get a million messages saying "OMG MY PHONE BRICKED WHAT HAPPENED" and stuff like that. Protects them, makes it easier for you. If you had made a backup before you flashed CM (usually you only have to back up whats on the phone if it has internal and external memory, but back up your sd card always just in case. never hurt to), then yes. If you backed it up with your previous ROM, then you'll probably need to revert to get it back. If you didn't, chances are whatever you didn't backup and didn't sync, is safe to say gone. You can try recovering it using a recovery software on the computer like i detailed here for another person, but of course you'd skip the whole trying to save the phone part and just start with mounting the phone to your computer and running the software.
CM is a custom rom, and so most (if not all) custom roms have root preinstalled (besides, who wouldn't want root?!) As for CWM, it works by being (usually) flashed into the recovery partition of your phone. The nice thing about the phone is that it's split up into parts: boot, recovery, system, and some other ones i can't think of off the top of my head. Those three are important, as if you get a softbrick, you might still be able to recover all your data simply by using CWM/fastboot (a dev-tool used to flash/unlock, but only available in certain phones, as it is disabled usually) to reflash the boot.img (one requires command line, whereas CWM only needs you to flash a created/pre-made package). Also, since they're in separate partitions, even if your system and boot.img doesn't work, you can probably still access recovery (unless you screwed up really REALLY bad, and in that case I can't help >.<)
Observant you are =] Yes, if you were to flash CM, your CWM will be gone (i don't understand why most people don't just bake it into the ROM in the first place) but, not all is lost. Just go back into the Android Market and redownload ROM Manager. Of course you'll need to open it up and flash the same exact recovery again (annoying, isn't it?) but unless you know how to mod zip/img files and edit the script, you'll just have to make do with that. If you do, you could just (usually) take out the recovery partition and just leave the one you have already in there (but its usually safer and better to just redownload/reflash it as annoying as it is). But yes, you would use CWM to flash it. It's as simple as "Install from SD Card" which is why custom recoveries like CWM are popular. So simple
At this point, I would look into a few things. One is skinning your phone (though you probably can't do too much if you don't want to touch system files). If you find a psuedo-rom (slightly modded) that themes it, that's your best bet. Another is gaining access to certain features in apps you didn't have before (i.e. androidLost, LBE Privacy Guard, titanium backup) and of course more control by the ability to control your system files (if you know what you're doing, of course). Lastly, you can use stuff like MetaMorph to theme out certain sections of your rom (provided that they give you one compatible with your phone model/rom), minus having to flash it and having more fine-tuned controlled. Usually, Metamorph will run on all ROMs, but it doesn't guarantee that there'll be stuff for every ROM. Also, want themes? google it (google is your best friend!)
Kies won't tell you that you have an upgrade because it is ROM-dependent. It looks for their official ROM and says "Hey, this guy has our ROM. Check for an update". Think of owning a custom rom like being kicked out of your family. You won't get anymore updates from them XD. However, if you're looking to get the latest updates, check out the Samsung Galaxy S Dev threads. They will usually have another method of loading in the new ROM into your phone. And if you want to stick with ROM Manager, shell out for premium and they'll include "Check for Updates" in ROM Manager, along with several other functions (though you can check for free via computer/browser ). Mostly, manually updating the software requires the "Install from SD Card" feature in CWM/other recoveries, so you don't have much to worry about.
Odin is, as you stated, most likely your best bet. Not too many people repackage official ROMs into easy-to-flash zips. Odin is the Samsung equivalent to Motorola's RSD Lite from what I googled (i have motorola, so no exp. on odin >.<) It's mostly like a dev tool allowing you to flash/re-flash phones and is also usually your one-way ticket out of a semi/full brick (assuming you didn't mess up the hardware and you can get into download mode). It's the flashing tool that can access the core system of the phone even without root and allows you to reflash OFFICIAL ROMs. Should you use Odin (should be your last resort), you WILL lose root and all your data. No questions asked. Its like reinstalling everything to the state in which you got it in when you bought the phone. Word of advice: BACK UP OFTEN! (did i forget to mention Titanium Backup? )
Yeah, the transition from Apple to Android is so different and had I not had experience with my PSP, i'd be dying with the information overload. However, just read a lot of stuff on the forums (*cough*general android forums*cough*) and you should be just fine. We have an excellent community here that will try our best to fix whatever problems you encounter (note the key word: try. we're not gods XD) You'll get the hang of it soon enough.
Oh, well, I don't want to keep you for much longer, but since you mentioned something that any noob should know, it's definitely ADB (Android Debugging Bridge). This is where you'll probably spend a lot of time, as people's fixes usually involve shell (terminal for your phone). If anything, get acquainted with it, as it might save your butt in the future/unlock a few extra features for you ;D .
Well, that's all i can think of, and honestly, after typing this thing up for about an hour now, I think I'm going to grab me some breakfast Good luck to you and welcome to the Android commmunity! (and next time, remember to post in the right place! XD)
~jojojohnson7410
P.S. PM me if you need anything. =]
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, thanks a lot. I still have a question or two, bear with me.
Well for one, is flashing roms made for different firmwares alright, or no? Since I have 2.2, and im assuming the latest cyanogen is made for 3.x, would I have to upgrade my firmware to the corresponding firmware.
And about Clockwork, if my phone bricks, I'd have to restore using odin, right? But if the phone still works, i can just root and cwm and restore it using rom manager?
And uh, I'm not sure if this is a problem or im just doing something wrong, but in RomManager, i click Backup Current ROM, and it goes into recovery mode, and theres no new options, there's just like, format, factory reset, clear cache, reboot, but nothing involving rom manager. And when i check for the recovery file in my sd card, it's not. Wut do.
WoZZeR999 said:
Just to nit-pick a bit. CWM is part of the recovery partition, and unless the Galaxy S is different from every other android device, flashing will not remove it. ROM Manager and CWM are two different things. ROM manager will allow you to download the roms, which will then instruct CWM to flash the rom (when it reboots).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol true true that would be my mistake. XD Nice catch
~jojojohnson7410
Gutana said:
Wow, thanks a lot. I still have a question or two, bear with me.
Well for one, is flashing roms made for different firmwares alright, or no? Since I have 2.2, and im assuming the latest cyanogen is made for 3.x, would I have to upgrade my firmware to the corresponding firmware.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you wouldn't have to upgrade to the latest firmware to get the ROM installed. So long as the ROM is confirmed to work for your device, you can flash any ROM you want (which is convenient in my case since I have an Atrix 4G and it was oh-so-lonely without some Gingerbread XD)
Gutana said:
And about Clockwork, if my phone bricks, I'd have to restore using odin, right? But if the phone still works, i can just root and cwm and restore it using rom manager?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, the thing is, you really only need that usually if you're on a stock rom or some official version and either you want to flash a new stock ROM from Samsung or you want to pull your phone out of a brick. Most of the time, however, even if you bricked it, so long as you can get into the recovery menu, you'll be alright. Just re-flash the ROM that you want (or in my case yesterday when I was dealing with an Inspire, I had to use a different ROM to unbrick the phone. I don't know why this happen, but it was being nit-picky >.<)
Gutana said:
And uh, I'm not sure if this is a problem or im just doing something wrong, but in RomManager, i click Backup Current ROM, and it goes into recovery mode, and theres no new options, there's just like, format, factory reset, clear cache, reboot, but nothing involving rom manager. And when i check for the recovery file in my sd card, it's not. Wut do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol nooo this is not a problem at all. See, like the guy above me posted, the Recovery Menu is completely separate from anything in the ROM. It's located in the recovery partition rather than the system and the boot partitions, so they usually don't touch the recovery. ROM Manager is just a means of providing GUI to CWM so then you can either flash the CWM to your phone or help download ROMS into your SD card. Stuff like backup and everything needs you to boot into recovery as you can't be backing up the system while your system is mounted on, so they send you to CWM. From there, there's an option called "backup and restore". In this place, you can choose where to save the backup. And since the backup is made by CWM, it will be recognized by CWM if you want to restore it. I think it saves it in a zip file, but im not 100% positive, so take that one with a grain of salt.
Hope this answers the questions! Let me know if you need more help (or just PM me. I check that regularly )
~jojojohnson7410
jojojohnson7410 said:
No, you wouldn't have to upgrade to the latest firmware to get the ROM installed. So long as the ROM is confirmed to work for your device, you can flash any ROM you want (which is convenient in my case since I have an Atrix 4G and it was oh-so-lonely without some Gingerbread XD)
Well, the thing is, you really only need that usually if you're on a stock rom or some official version and either you want to flash a new stock ROM from Samsung or you want to pull your phone out of a brick. Most of the time, however, even if you bricked it, so long as you can get into the recovery menu, you'll be alright. Just re-flash the ROM that you want (or in my case yesterday when I was dealing with an Inspire, I had to use a different ROM to unbrick the phone. I don't know why this happen, but it was being nit-picky >.<)
lol nooo this is not a problem at all. See, like the guy above me posted, the Recovery Menu is completely separate from anything in the ROM. It's located in the recovery partition rather than the system and the boot partitions, so they usually don't touch the recovery. ROM Manager is just a means of providing GUI to CWM so then you can either flash the CWM to your phone or help download ROMS into your SD card. Stuff like backup and everything needs you to boot into recovery as you can't be backing up the system while your system is mounted on, so they send you to CWM. From there, there's an option called "backup and restore". In this place, you can choose where to save the backup. And since the backup is made by CWM, it will be recognized by CWM if you want to restore it. I think it saves it in a zip file, but im not 100% positive, so take that one with a grain of salt.
Hope this answers the questions! Let me know if you need more help (or just PM me. I check that regularly )
~jojojohnson7410
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But theres no backup and restore options, its jut the recovery options you'd get if you were on a brand new phone.
Hello guys,
a few days ago I dared to root my Xperia X10 Mini Pro with SuperOneClick and flashed a Cyanogenmod 7 Android 2.3.3 ROM. All in all, it worked pretty well.
After doing some apps installation stuff I rebooted in the Recovery (Clockworkmod which obviously came along with the ROM) and made a backup, just for the case. Afterwards, I selected "power off" in the CWM menu because I wanted to go to bed.
Then, immediately, CWM said something like "Error - This recovery seems to be bad" and something with a "risk". I managed however to power off. Can't remember if that worked via CWM or if I pushed the power off hardbutton or removed the battery.
Yet - the ROM seems to work. Now I'm a bit anxious because of the CWM error.
Is there really a risk? I planned to dare unlocking the bootloader soon. Is it dangerous to do this with a "bad recovery" or doesn't that matter at all?
Is there a possibility to repair CWM? Can I just install a new CWM? If yes - how?
Sorry - pretty noobish questions, I know.
Can you help me anyway?
Thanks a lot!
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Thank you for your help! I already thought that no one would answer because the thread disappered on page 3 of this forum
I've never heard from Odin before and therefore googled it. It only occured in connection with Samsung devices. Are you sure it is compatible to my Sony Ericsson?
Anyway, can I also install a new CWM via ROM Manager or wouldn't you recommend this?
Warning: I'm a noob. Take my advice at your own risk!
From what I understand, flashing CWM via Rom Manager is exactly the same as manual flashing (perhaps better, since the Rom Manager presumably keeps up to date). So I think you should be able to do so and make another recovery (without going through any of that manual flashing stuff). You should get a second opinion just because I'm so noobish, but I think this is the case.
However, from my limited understanding, I don't think the recovery will make any difference when dealing with the bootloader. The bootloader is, more or less, the very first set of instructions executed when the phone turns on. If you mess that up, your phone won't even be able to get into recovery mode. Also, the recovery images are stored on your sd card, which is wiped upon unlocking. Once again, I could be wrong.
deleted post
Dude, what are you talking about? You can't use ODIN on a non-Samsung phone.
trich025 said:
don't use rom manager just use the odin for your safety, you can bet that samsung users are the one benefiting on odin but as you can see erricson and samsung are both android phones and if you examine them both device have similar programs, and one thing, always keep in mind that you have to back up your current rom for emergency uses so you can still get back to were you started in case something went wrong.
if i helped you with this problem you could click the thanks button >>>>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK now this is flat out wrong. Each Android device has a different program used. Samsung has Odin, HTC has an RUU. Not sure about SE. But never use a software made for one device on another unless you want a brick. Just because they both use android doesn't mean they are the same.
Thanks to everyone, especially Product F(RED)!
No offence, trich025, but I guess you were wrong.
Can I destroy something by re-installing or updating CWM via ROM-Manager just in case my CWM has a bug?
Hey everyone! I would like to start off by saying that I am brand new here, and am surely going to mess up quiet alot... But here goes,
I've recently rooted my phone with a very simple guide, and it's the first device I've every rooted. So I know very little of the process of doing so, (I'm learning slowly).
I also have found a rom that I would like to install, but I would love to know if others think it seems legit? If it is real, I know many people would absolutely love to use it! The rom's URL is (ht tp:// playfuldroidz.com /wiki/ CyanogenMod_10_Motion) (Please remove spaces, sorry as I said i'm new...)
Now I don't mind testing this myself, but being as new as I am at android I honestly do not know how to follow the relatively simple instructions.
(This Is where I need some help, Please be noob cautious!)
Download the .zip & copy to phone or sdcard (make sure 4g or wifi is enabled if dl'd from phone).
Zip can be installed from either internal or external sd in CWM (Which ever you copied it too!)
MAKE A BACKUP!!!
DO A FACTORY RESET!!! - this will wipe data & cache!
Go to install zip from sdcard
Choose zip from sdcard
Select cm-10-xxxxxxxxxx-UNOFFICIAL-l0.zip
Confirm
Repeat Steps 5 -8 for gapps
Reboot
Now my first question I'd love some help with, is how do I perform this backup there talking about? do they just mean my simple go into settings and click backup? Or should I do it some otherway?
Second question: Do they mean the phones built in service of factory reset?
Third Question: To install a Zip from an SD card do I need to simply use ES file explorer, or root file browser? Or is there a custom way to install a Zip file on android?
Fourth and final Question: What is gapps..? Is this something I should get or use?
EDIT: I've got a fifth one also... Thanks to anyone who's stayed this long and is willing to help me.! Will this Cyanogen mod (If working) Work almost exactly like a real nexus Operating system? I've got a nexus 7 tablet running stock android, and I love it! That's why I'm doing this to my phone honestly.
Thank you all greatly!
Prophet968 said:
Hey everyone! I would like to start off by saying that I am brand new here, and am surely going to mess up quiet alot... But here goes,
I've recently rooted my phone with a very simple guide, and it's the first device I've every rooted. So I know very little of the process of doing so, (I'm learning slowly).
I also have found a rom that I would like to install, but I would love to know if others think it seems legit? If it is real, I know many people would absolutely love to use it! The rom's URL is (ht tp:// playfuldroidz.com /wiki/ CyanogenMod_10_Motion) (Please remove spaces, sorry as I said i'm new...)
Now I don't mind testing this myself, but being as new as I am at android I honestly do not know how to follow the relatively simple instructions.
(This Is where I need some help, Please be noob cautious!)
Download the .zip & copy to phone or sdcard (make sure 4g or wifi is enabled if dl'd from phone).
Zip can be installed from either internal or external sd in CWM (Which ever you copied it too!)
MAKE A BACKUP!!!
DO A FACTORY RESET!!! - this will wipe data & cache!
Go to install zip from sdcard
Choose zip from sdcard
Select cm-10-xxxxxxxxxx-UNOFFICIAL-l0.zip
Confirm
Repeat Steps 5 -8 for gapps
Reboot
Now my first question I'd love some help with, is how do I perform this backup there talking about? do they just mean my simple go into settings and click backup? Or should I do it some otherway?
Second question: Do they mean the phones built in service of factory reset?
Third Question: To install a Zip from an SD card do I need to simply use ES file explorer, or root file browser? Or is there a custom way to install a Zip file on android?
Fourth and final Question: What is gapps..? Is this something I should get or use?
EDIT: I've got a fifth one also... Thanks to anyone who's stayed this long and is willing to help me.! Will this Cyanogen mod (If working) Work almost exactly like a real nexus Operating system? I've got a nexus 7 tablet running stock android, and I love it! That's why I'm doing this to my phone honestly.
Thank you all greatly!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Question 1,2 and 3.. they are all done through Clockworkmod. Look through the menus you'll see it if you still struggle look on YouTube.
Question 4.. gapps is Google Apps you need to flash this after the ROM to get the play store and all the other standard Google apps.
Question 5.. in your eyes pretty much, it'll look the same but with more features obviously.
Thank you alot!
Thanks! now i've only gotta do one last thing, and see if anyone knows whether or not this website is a reliable source, or atleast if the mod works...
Prophet968 said:
Thanks! now i've only gotta do one last thing, and see if anyone knows whether or not this website is a reliable source, or atleast if the mod works...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just give it a go mate, if in doubt try it out lol (don't quote me on that haha)
Alright I've got one last dumb question
CdTDroiD said:
Just give it a go mate, if in doubt try it out lol (don't quote me on that haha)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was just wondering if there's a chance this clock work mod thing doesn't work on my phone? I don't really know how, or where it is either... and I'd love some help with that... Thank you!
(Edit) I don't think there is a clockwork mod for my device... According to the Rom Manager app I was told to use for installing it.
Prophet968 said:
I was just wondering if there's a chance this clock work mod thing doesn't work on my phone? I don't really know how, or where it is either... and I'd love some help with that... Thank you!
(Edit) I don't think there is a clockwork mod for my device... According to the Rom Manager app I was told to use for installing it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you did what it said in the instructions *root it, cwm, install custom rom* then after installing the custom rom it has it's own cwm. turn off the phone, turn in back home and press the back and home button together at the same time and it should take you to the rom's cwm. If the phone does a factory reset by pressing the back and home button then you did the installation wrong.
But just in case I'll setup a full instruction for you.
Root your phone.
Which can be done easily, just download this and extract the files: http://www.mediafire.com/?dhdbwflnl1vknx2
once you extract the files put your phone on debugging mode which can be done by going to settings, developer mode, and click usb debug.
once you've done that connect your phone to the pc *make sure it's on charge only* wait for driver installation to finish. once that's done click root. follow instructions on the screen it shouldn't be too hard! after following instructions you should be rooted and have cwm. but to install the recovery go to your apps and find lte 2nd init recovery and then click the top button, agree to super su to use it and you're done with rooting and cwm! now. these files you were talking about, download them and put them on sd which can be done with a file manager. after they've downloaded go to the lte 2nd init and click the bottom button. it will reboot the phone and take you to cwm. While you are in cwm click on the home button to go to external which is the sd, then go to backup and restore, and click backup! this is very important. miss this step and things could go bad. Now all you have to do is follow the instructions you posted yourself and you should be done! if you need any help don't hesitate to message me. I've done this for a long time now.
Whoops forgot to add. the website IS a reliable source. Learned that cause I'm a risk taker and decided to try it out myself. and do not use rom manager or anything like that for recovery. ever. especially on phones that do not have their own recovery mode. also. the CM10 works great in my opinion! But there's a catch. for me at least. even though everything is perfect during phone calls I cannot use my 4g. which is a bad thing for me cause I need it. other than that if that doesn't bother you or anything or don't have service then knock yourself out and install the cm10!
COMPLETED) This mod worked, all things are now finished except one small issue!
So after installing the mod with some great help of someone here on this forums, I've been basically beta testing the mod for a few days. I have nearly no complaints, as almost everything works seemlessly just like you'd except the operating system to. In the end I found one single issue though, which is terribly annoying for me in specific...
My GPS isn't working, which could be one of many things other than the rom. Seeing as I only recognized It yesterday, there may be an outside reason it at random shut off. If anyone know's what can cause this, and a fix for it please comment back!
Thanks to everyone who helped with installing the mod
Check out www.unleashedprepaids.com. have whole section on lg motion custom ROMs help guides everything u need!
Sent from my LG-MS770 using Tapatalk 4
Please help me with the rom
Hey guys not sure if i am suppose to post this here but i couldnt find any where else and i couldnt find an answer with my exact problem, i installed this rom on my moms lg motion and everything went find untill i got to gapps it came up with an error inside of cwm so i just contined all the other flashes i had to do and rebooted i thought that i could just flash gapps later. But i mad a very big booboo i installed the Recovery APK for it in cm 10 i forgot all about pressing reboot and saying reboot into revocovery so i was going to try it though the Recovery APK so i installed the thing and pressed reboot and instead of taking me into recovery it takes me to a screen that says something like "mourning call error" which i dont know what means but i had to take out the battery and turn the phone back on so that worked and i got back to the home screen but i still cant install gapps so she can use all the google sevices i tried rebooting with the built in reboot into recovery (the one that you press reboot when you hold the power button) and that does the same exact thing i have no way of flashing gapps or anything else for that matter can someone please help me i have no idea what to do. everything i working on the phone but that. thank you sorry if i put this in the wrong place.
Confused my droid using this method- would love in on this thread
Sorry if I'm posting in the wrong place-punch me if I have-
I rooted my lgms770 with version f firmware- installed cwm and 2ndinit recovery (2nd init was the only known way (to me anyway) to get into cwm at the time) followed this guide ---
[LgMotion All Things root] and
[GUIDE] Unbrick OR Unroot LG Motion 4G [KDZ] - Android Forums
I am not allowed to post urls yet...sorry...its the the first google hit
I've tried multiple versions of the official LG Firmware flash, from the website, and by following this guide-
AOKP Dirty Unicorns baseless port cm10 - Android Forums Actually, its the unicorns that got me.
With no luck there. I am running Mint16, and had to run the programs through Wine of course, then tried Q4wine, and eventually tried running though Oracle VM, and finally, I wiped my ancient dell of Linux altogether and put WinXP back on it (took 2 hours, that). No cigar. And yes, I did the drivers, all in order, etc, tried again, reinstalled etc
I finally set up adb to try to get into this droid that way, but am having problems with port permissions (I'm going to guess that's on my pc's end-running Mint16)
I can access the factory reset screen (the black and white), download mode, and the battery charges on a black screen with a nice purple font, but I am still stuck in a bootloop. I've employed all known button spamming combos to get back into cwm (there is a nandroid in there somewhere)..but alas...
Help me Obi-Wan-Kenobi's..
Peach
I had the purple letters with no way to get to the factory reset screen i just used the lg online flash tool in upgrade recovery put in the imei of the phone in made sure the phone was in usb download mode then it was fixed but for some odd reason i still cant get my phone to the factory reset option. I apologize sincerely if I wasn't detailed enough if you need any clarification on it then let me know through pm or i could even send u a link to my box folder i keep the install files in.
(Also i have a one click root app for the LGMS770 So if you or anyone would like the link i would be happy to give it to you)
Sent from my MetroPCS LG-MS770 using Tapatalk
First a few disclaimers to explain why I'm here.
- My secondary intention with this question is finding some answer as generic as possible to also help other people. Of course my primary intention is fixing my own issue, but the biggest part of it from what I can tell in the past 8 hours have been finding ROM files. All links are broken, except for 4.1.2 and none of those worked for me. In fact, they bricked my phone pretty hard.
- I'm on a mac. It's a nightmare finding tools for the mac, but I doubt any of them would really be any use for my case, one reason why I didn't even bother going for a windows vm. Another one is I'm traumatised by installing and running VMs. Finally this is for the challenge and learning a bit more.
- I've being trying to fix this through lots of research in the past 8 hours and I do know a few bits about going around and doing things (so sad this guide had no repercussion so far). But clearly, I'm dumb enough to brick my phone twice with no backups. At least could figure it out the first time (I had more time in hands as well). Please consider this. This means I've tried a lot of stuff you may wanted to advise, but it also mean I may have missed something obvious in the middle.
Okay...
By "bricked" I mean:
1. I can't go through the same process I did before to flash any CM image. CWM won't flash CM11 and CM12 recovery complains my bootloader isn't 4.4.
2. Both CWM and twrp recoveries should allow touch. None work, so I an't use twrp.
3. Battery keeps getting low and I've got no clue how to charge it to full again or even see how much it is at without installing twrp, which keeps getting uninstalled randomly at reboots, despite all of this topic about a solution. `fastboot getvar battery-voltage` doesn't show it. The mac script (which I was about to write myself based on op) also doesn't seem to help. In my case, I've removed the `./fastboot` because I've got it on my shell path.
I believe (1) happened, as I said on the disclaimer, right after I've flashed one of those 4.1.2 ROMs. By "flashed" I mean running the BAT file which mostly works on mac. ECHO of course wouldn't show the messages of progress there, but all fastboot commands do run.
And I also believe if only I could find 4.4 stock ROM files they might work or, at least, bring bootloader back to where it was so I could install CM12 again. And as far as I could notice without having Windows to try, no windows tool would really help here. That RSD Lite for instance, looks like it's just a GUI to run fastboot commands.
Above ALL
I just wanted to find a ROM stock file which I could fastboot flash into xt925 to reset it as hard as possible from zero and that the link will probably not break in the future for whoever may need it.
I figured THIS shouldn't be too hard to find, even for mac only, but it has been.
PS: Being able to fix the battery thing is also very important and quite a relevant follow up on the question! Right now I'm stuck with a ROM file that might work, but got no battery to try! ( 10 hours debugging now... )
only one stock kitkat rom for XT925 ! i'll upload this for you !
You know, if this works I'll have to, at least, go through some of your 187 posts and find a dozen or so to thank you way more than once!
I've now downloaded [this one](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63163078&postcount=6), which [he also posted again later on](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=63272842&postcount=2), hoping it will do it! If it does, I'll try to upload in this post, as it looks like XDA hosted files last for much longer than anything else.
Only problem for flashing anything now is I can't seem to get enough battery!