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I am working on an application, akin to Droid Explorer, with my own tweaks and such.
Based on the idea of Droid Explorer, My Droid allows you to update your ROM, install/uninstall applications (APKs), take screen shots, view/interact with a screencast, input commands directly into the android command line, edit the file systems, browse files, etc.
UPDATE: It seems that AndoridSpin has changed their website layout for everything, which has caused me to need to rewrite the way I am parsing their page to be able to get the Download links for the ROMs. I will be working on getting this updated within the next few days.
Currently Working:
Install Single APK
Install Multiple APKs (Batch)
Backup (nandroid/nandroid+ext/bart (including backup name for bart)
Rebooting Phone (into recovery, or plain reboot)
Powering off phone
Partially Working/In Progress:
File and Directory Explorer
AndroidSpin Integration
Currently reads the ROM Database RSS Feed. Working on implementingthat data into the application.
Needed to be done:
Uninstalling APKs
Backing Up APKs (might remove due to 'theft' of paid apps)
Installing custom ROMs
The installation of Custom ROMs is going to be the big hurdle. Not because of the steps involved in the process though, thats fairly easy. But, I am going to include updating from the AndroidSpin ROM Database (as you can see in the menus). That will parse the RSS and Summary feeds of the ROM Datbase, and you can pick/choose the ROM of your liking. It will download it, and do the installation for you, including wiping the appropriate partitions and such.
As I progress further into development, I will also include things such as "screencast", to control your phone completely from the computer, as well as screenshots, debugging, etc.
I am hoping for an initial 'pre-pre-alpha' release shortly
Download: Not Yet Available
Any questions/comments/ideas/etc would be greatly appreciated!
Pre-requisites for installing?
Will there need to be anything installed prior to this package? Will this be a seamless process from download to altering system files? I have had issues with Droid Explorer and Windows Vista, and i could never get adb to work right.
It would be very nice to have an app like this while keeping it simple. For the people who cant figure out multiple installations/drivers and such.
This would (does) require that ADB be installed (with the correct drivers) for your system. ADB should also be in your %PATH% so that the application can utilize it. I will also add an option to specify the path for ADB so that you do not have to put it into your %PATH%
Looks great! If you'd like any help testing, I'd be glad to help.
Also, keep the ability to backup. If some users choose to use it for the wrong reasons, then that's a problem with their own morality. For the rest of us, constantly cooking roms and playing with new builds, being able to easily backup and restore all of our apps is a god-send.
It's nice to have a tool that does everything you need, not just some
Again, looks great so far
Hopefully yours will work with Vista 64bit. I have adb installed and working but Droid Explorer still doesnt work currently.
Joe333x said:
Hopefully yours will work with Vista 64bit. I have adb installed and working but Droid Explorer still doesnt work currently.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I do not have a 64 bit machine to test this on, but seeing as it is being written strictly in .Net, and not using any 3rd party libraries, I do not see why it should be an issue.
If anyone knows of any complications that the .Net framework has with any certain functions on a 64 bit system, let me know, so I can attempt to program in appropriate work-arounds for the 64 bit crowd.
[email protected] said:
I have had issues with Droid Explorer and Windows Vista, and i could never get adb to work right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had these issues as well. My ADB was working just fine in Vista, then I installed Droid Explorer and ADB stopped working, it stopped recognizing that my device was there. Yet, ADB works just fine in my laptop.
It looks interesting I'm waiting for download link
jmhecker said:
I am working on an application, akin to Droid Explorer, with my own tweaks and such.
Features:
snip snip
Backing Up APKs (might remove due to 'theft' of paid apps)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if you disable this feature...people will just find another way to steal paid apps(its not the hardest task).... just sayin
i say you keep it
PanPiotr said:
It looks interesting I'm waiting for download link
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That might be a while. I have a long way to go to even consider an alpha release, heh.
jamezelle said:
if you disable this feature...people will just find another way to steal paid apps(its not the hardest task).... just sayin
i say you keep it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, y'all twisted my arm, I'll add that feature
Hmmm looks pretty promising, wouldnt mind tryin it, n am I the only 1 who thinks this is the wrong section? This should be in the Apps section
i also thought creating such app, i wanted to start working at it these days but it seems someone else already doing it, keep the good works, cheers
AsaSpades said:
Hmmm looks pretty promising, wouldnt mind tryin it, n am I the only 1 who thinks this is the wrong section? This should be in the Apps section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No you're not only one, I'm also think this is wrong section.
Just a quick update:
Progress is coming along nicely. A lot of features are implemented as of now, but not enough to constitute an alpha or beta release.
What I am currently working on is the parsing of the AndroidSpin database (using their RSS feed). That progress is coming along great, just a few hiccups.
Any other feature requests besides what I have listed in the OP?
And for those complaining that this is in the wrong section, please clarify as to where you think it should be, so I can be sure that future posts go to there.
Okay, time is coming close for a Beta.
I have finished the AndroidSpin RSS portion. I have successfully used my application to browse the ROMs (categorized by phone) from the AndroidSpin RSS feed, selected a rom, downloaded it, copied it to the SD card, rebooted into recovery, performed a nandroid and bart backup, wiped all 3 items(system/dalvik/ext), installed the new ROM, and rebooted, without ever having to touch my phone.
I need to do some code cleanup in that area to streamline the process, but at least I know it works
After I streamline the ROM upgrade process, I am going to work on getting things like screenshots, screencasting, etc, working as they should. Nothing really difficult with any of that, but just time consuming to get it all pieced together properly.
I am hoping for a beta release sometime soon.
any progress?
looks good.. now will this be open source?
I cracked the img format for Garminfones... started out by looking at the format of the file and it turns out the only difference is the loader addresses.
Took the stock recovery and disabled security, which worked. Then modified the boot.img to disable security and had the filesystems mount rw by default and flashed it to the recovery partition. Booted into recovery mode and viola... security disabled. Now it is time to flash it to the boot partition and cross fingers.
Now I just need to figure out how to compile a working recovery mode... preferrably one that can be activated by keypress. Not sure how to do that part. I can only get to recovery and bootloader mode after booting into the os.
I should have a working mkbooting soon so I don't have to hex edit the generated img files.
Well done!
I look forward to any progress reports that you make.
Are you using the official or leaked version of the 2.1 Eclair?
The official and leaked versions are equal.
And I did find out that we do have fastboot It's the blue screen that you get when you hold UP+POWER, or do adb reboot bootloader... two different messages on the screen. I can get fastboot to accept a reboot-bootloader command, but I'm having some issues actually getting any information out of it or flashing something like a boot image.
To get it to respond, you do:
fastboot -i 0x091E <command>
the -i makes it specify the Vendor ID, since fastboot only accepts a few vendors by default.
I also found out that I don't have to rebuild the mkbootimg program... if you add --base 0x1AC00000, then the load addresses match up in the resulting img file.
If someone is willing to host it, I can share the modified boot.img that sets ro.secure=0 and mounts the filesystems RW by default.
Hey, just joined to reply to this thread. Is it possible for you to upload to a file-sharing site such as megaupload, fileserve, etc.
I'm just getting into this whole rooting/modifying stuff. I used z4root to root my A50 and have installed superuser. I have deleted some of the carrier .apks but am thinking I should have made a back-up before doing so. I also bought setcpu from the market before finding out the Qualcomm chip does not allow overclocking.
Can I ask what the point of modifying the boot image is? Is this the first step in being able to install custom roms to the phone?
Anyway, appreciate the effort you guys have put in to modifying the phone.
You get a higher level of access, along with things like being able to customize parts of the phone, in my case enabling read/write by default. I also am planning on playing a bit, like remapping partitions... the instructions are in the init.rc file.
Always take a dump_image (or remount all mtd partitions as read only and just use cat to dump the mtd partitions). Also tar up each of the root folders (and files) in case you need quick access to any files you may have deleted. If you need a system app back and you don't have a backup, you have to reflash 2.1 again. Very important... if you care about the Garmin map software, make sure to get the /storage folder, including the one in it named .System... you can recover the maps, vehicles, etc by using two different Garmin web update windows programs-- one for the system stuff and one for the maps. Better safe than sorry.
any news on this
What would we need to be able to overclock?
I spent a good portion of the day yesterday rooting and installing CyanogenMod on my fiance's MyTouch Slide, and I have to say, it was amazing. It's a lot more than just a throwing around some custom default apps, cleaning up bloatware, even adding some kernel modules... I can do all of that on my rooted Garminfone just fine. It also had the Android 2.3 base, and it has polish and refinements that just can't be done without a custom built ROM.
I bought my Garminfone on purpose, even knowing that it shipped with Android 1.6, even knowing that the interface was awful, even knowing that the device wasn't going to sell as well as I wished it would. I bought it for it's offline maps, and for it's fantastic GPS. Things have improved since I bought my device... Android 2.1 was released, an improved user interface arrived, I gained root access and was able to clean up some stuff, etc. etc. But none of that prevented me from being jealous yesterday after seeing CyanogenMod. Further, Cyanogen has experience with preserving apps through the process of installing his mod for the first time; He did it when Google first sent him the Cease and Desist letter barring him from packaging CyanogenMod with Google Apps. I'm not sure HOW he did it, and I don't care, but I do think that it's very possible for him to do just that again with our Garmin Maps and the associated apps.
For these reasons, I suggest that we could have our cake, and we could eat it too: Have a modern OS (Based on Android 2.3), have a clean, unified interface, with no bloatware AND our maps... Cyanogen is not known for making his mod for phones he doesnt own. Further, as we all know, ours was possibly the worst selling and least popular android device ever released to market. While I consider myself versed in the ways of Linux, I am not a developer. I run Gentoo, and have the associated skills, and I will contribute in any way I know how, but hacking is not my forte. I can't expect brilliant minds to work for any project for nothing. Therefore, I am putting my money where my mouth is... I'm going to take all the money from my weekly paycheck that I can afford, and I'm going to donate it to that project. It won't be much... I am a starving college kid, after all... but it will be generous within my means. I am also going to post a reference to this thread everywhere I know how... My contribution might be small, but the community might be able to get something together that is mighty.
Visit topic 5864-garminfone on their forums to add your support.
(Edit: They moved my post, I have corrected this with the correct forum topic)
Hello everyone,
I just recently bought a new G tablet and first thing im going to do is install clockworkmod. Then going to load a custom rom on it. Based on what i have read they two custom roms people mostly use. Vegan and Tnt Lite. Im trying to get feedback from people who have used both roms to get an idea which one is better with this tablet. Im looking for something that is fast and can play most games that are made for the tegra 2 processor. Flash has to work, Market has to work and something to edit word and excel document. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Also i know this device has a build in 16gb memory. When you flash a rom on it will it erase all your saved files like pics and documents? When i flash my driod 1 everything is on my external sd card but this is build in so not sure if you flash will it erase everything on the 16 gb internal memory? Let me know thx.
Gemni69,
I don't know anything thing about you or your skills, but I have been telling a lot of
new G-Tablet owners to slow down and learn before getting too far into modding.
The G-Tablet with the stock software that is available now (3588) is not bad. And with apps it can be fairly good.
But the mods all come with risks, tradeoffs and sometimes even catastrophes. You need to read this site on the things you are interested in untils you thoroughly understand what you are doing.
Too many people are jumping in and trying to do too much too fast and are winding
up in trouble. As you read further, you'll see.
Stock will go a long was for you with apps you like added -- until you are ready to
make some advanced decisions.
Good luck and enjoy.
Rev
Gemni69 said:
Hello everyone,
I just recently bought a new G tablet and first thing im going to do is install clockworkmod. Then going to load a custom rom on it. Based on what i have read they two custom roms people mostly use. Vegan and Tnt Lite. Im trying to get feedback from people who have used both roms to get an idea which one is better with this tablet. Im looking for something that is fast and can play most games that are made for the tegra 2 processor. Flash has to work, Market has to work and something to edit word and excel document. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Also i know this device has a build in 16gb memory. When you flash a rom on it will it erase all your saved files like pics and documents? When i flash my driod 1 everything is on my external sd card but this is build in so not sure if you flash will it erase everything on the 16 gb internal memory? Let me know thx.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Flashing a ROM generally will not harm what is stored on the internal sdcard. However, since you can use a microsd or usb drive to backup the information that would be safest.
As for which ROM is best for your needs... read, read, read. Then try them out. I prefer the TnT path for it's stability and friendliness to media consumption. I've got friends who swear that gaming is best on VEGAn. There are caveats on both. I'm not sure that either comes with anything for editing Office docs but I think the GAdam ROM includes QuickOffice but it's been a while since I looked at it.
Thank for the feedback guys. I will keep that in mind.
I was wondering what kinda battery does this device have. Do i have to fully charge it and then drain it 2 or 3 times for it to fully understand the batteries limits or it doesnt matter?
Also when i was reading the step to flash a rom it states this
Step 7.
Navigate down to “mounts and storage” using the volume buttons. When that is highlighted press the home button to select it.
Step 8.
We want to mount “/system” and “/data”, so if it says “mount /system” that means system is not mounted yet.
Highlight “mount /system” and press the home button. The line should change to read “unmount /system”
Next, highlight “mount /data” and press the home button. The line should change to “unmount /data”
After the first line reads “unmount /system” and the second line reads “unmount /data” you’re done with this step, press the back button to go back to the main menu.
I have a driod 1 and i flash custom roms on it all the time. I have never had to do this step on my driod. Is this step necessary for the tablet? Do i have to do this step every time i load a rom? Usually i just clear the data and cache and the just load the rom zip file. Is this not the case with the tablet?
Just want to be on the safe side and do everything right.
Thanks in advance for the feedback.
K J Rad said:
Flashing a ROM generally will not harm what is stored on the internal sdcard. However, since you can use a microsd or usb drive to backup the information that would be safest.
As for which ROM is best for your needs... read, read, read. Then try them out. I prefer the TnT path for it's stability and friendliness to media consumption. I've got friends who swear that gaming is best on VEGAn. There are caveats on both. I'm not sure that either comes with anything for editing Office docs but I think the GAdam ROM includes QuickOffice but it's been a while since I looked at it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure where you read that... I've never had to do it. The process you're familiar with sounds fine. Make sure to read the specific threads for the ROMs for any special procedures and prerequisites.
I got those steps from the linky below
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
Also what is the battery life like on the tablet?
Any special procedures i have to do to get the most out of the battery life?
K J Rad said:
Not sure where you read that... I've never had to do it. The process you're familiar with sounds fine. Make sure to read the specific threads for the ROMs for any special procedures and prerequisites.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gemni69 said:
Also what is the battery life like on the tablet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
12 hours yesterday (about 6 hours of use) with 30% last week. This is running the custom rom Vegan 5.
stock
I'm still running stock + enhancement. I haven't had any problems, though I don't do any document work on my tab. I use my tab for tinkering and surfing, and of course watching movies.
Have fun with your new toy!
Gemni69 said:
I got those steps from the linky below
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
Also what is the battery life like on the tablet?
Any special procedures i have to do to get the most out of the battery life?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahh... well I started modding from stock so I downloaded and setup everything to nvflash a factory load. Didn't see a need to backup something I never intended to install again but YMMV. The mounting system and data never seemed necessary either since the update scripts in the .zip usually take care of it.
Battery life has been great and I haven't had to do anything special. There are lots of folks that recommend things like bump charging to maximize your charge but for my uses that hasn't been necessary. I do run it down to about empty every few weeks but that's normally because I forget to charge it...
Ok, for anyone who finds this. I'm writing out a quick guide for what I was led through. I've borrowed a few lines from some other threads as well
This guide will take an original stock SideKick 4g that has not otherwise been modified, flashed, etc and lead you through the steps to running a custom ROM. This should lead to a smoother running system with less lag, longer battery life, etc.
[Edit] I was pointed later to a nice FAQ by xmeatizmurderx, which, while not a guide, does have some questions answered you might have, along with some definitions and whatnot that might help make things clearer for you or if you just like know what it is something actually does or is. ^..^
I personally updated to Gingerclone v2, BUT any of the custom ROMs are installed exactly the same way. I do not list links to all of them, so you might have to find the one you want when you get to that stage if you do not want to use Gingerclone.
While I did originally update to GCv2, I had some issues and we're not sure why. So I changed over to CleanFusion v3. It's much more similar to the stock system in looks and all. I would also suggest, make sure you have a backup of all your stuff (contacts in particular) off your sim, on another card/phone/google/whatever. Most of my contacts dissapeared, we think because it's an old sim that likes to be wonky with some of the new phones. But still, be forewarned.
After the device is rooted, you can use MyBackup Root (free in the market) to backup all your applications and data to your SD, which you can then copy to your computer as well.
---
First, download SuperOneClick from http://shortfuse.org/ . Whatever the most recent version is.
The file you downloaded of SuperOneClick is a .zip file. You'll need to extract it to its own folder (if you don't have a program to do this, download .7zip here http://www.7-zip.org/download.html).
Download the Samsung drivers ~ In this case, the Samsung Vibrant drivers work for the Sidekick 4g. Drivers found under the 'software' tab here http://www.samsung.com/us/support/downloads/SGH-T959ZKDTMB
Install the Drivers to your computer and reboot it.
---
With the phone unplugged, enable USB Debugging. On the home screen of the phone select Settings > Applications > Development and then select USB Debugging so that a Check appears on the selection box.
When enabled, connect the phone to your PC.
---
Run SuperOneClick (the .exe file) which is on your computer. When the program has opened click 'Root'.
The program will pop through a bunch of windows, if it asks to install something like mine did, say yes. When it finishes, it asks if you would like to test it. Say yes.
Your phone is now rooted.
I disconnected from the computer and rebooted the phone (turn off and then on again).
Plug the phone back into the computer.
---
Next step is to go to this thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1124453
[EDIT/UPDATE] Krylon360's files moved or something, find the recovery.zip and update.zip here http://db.androidspin.com/Developer_Display.asp?DeveloperID=248
I was advised to go through the first post, as I’d learn more. But apparently there’s an automated script somewhere in this same thread if that’s your preference. I quite enjoyed learning how to access everything myself, in case I ever need to use it for something.
You will need Root Explorer ($3.99) from the android market. I tried Astro File Manager, and it’s lovely, except for the fact that you need to buy the Pro edition in order to access the /system files. >:C
(Basically you need a file manager on the phone that will allow you to copy files into your /system/bin file on the phone.)
Download both of the files listed in the thread I just gave. You will mount your SD card (on the home page of your phone, drop down that little black menu thing at the very top, select USB storage and enable it).
Place the file ‘recovery’ and the zipped file ‘update’ onto your SD card. Nowhere in particular, just in that main area that appears when you open the SD.
Now is a good time to put the ROM you want to flash onto the SD as well.
[EDIT]: Please keep in mind I'm not a developer and I don't plan to live on this forum. So new ROMs will be developed and I probably won't be around to update this list. So make sure to look around for threads about new ROMs to start with or update to. ^..^
Those suggested to me were :
Gingerclone: Apparently themed very green.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1231021 (check Dev forum for a newer version)
TouchMIUIwiz: Very similar to Gingerclone, but more greys.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1207328 (check Dev forum for a newer version)
Smooth Maximus: Themed very blue and black
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1158250 (check Dev forum for a newer version)
Clean Fusion: Clean and pretty.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1204131 (check Dev forum for a newer version)
Of course, there are likely other ones out there, these are just the main ones my supporter knows intimately enough to note. He had a really hard time recommending just one. XD
Whatever you go with, it's always a good idea to have a backup of your phone system, which we go through later in the guide when you need it, so don't fret.
---
Feel free to use whatever new ROM you'd like, either listed above or another on the Development Forums, I was told all the following steps would be exactly the same, just using a different custom ROM.
I’m going with Gingerclone v2, as I was informed that while it did crash on my helper once, it seems to be overall the most consistent one that he’s tried.
The above linked thread for GingerClone has two files, I’m using the top one, as I do not have the original release installed.
This .zip file you just downloaded can be copied onto the SD root menu (the main menu available when you access the SDcard from 'My Computer').
---
Unmount your SDcard from the computer (that little black bar on the top of your phone's home screen, turn off the usb connection). Disconnected from the computer even if you want.
---
Open Root Explorer. Navigate to access the SD card (it has its own file in the root menu you start off in). Copy the ‘recovery’ file, navigate back and paste it into /system/bin (to get there, navigate back by tapping the top option 'parent directory', select 'system', select 'bin', paste it in there). Do not delete the original 'recovery' file in here. It will automatically ask if you want to overwrite the file. Say yes.
If it give you the error “you cannot paste here because the file system is read-only.’ Then at the top, tap the “R/W” square so that it then reads “R/O”. Paste again, select ‘yes’ to overwrite the file.
---
Next you’ll turn the phone off so you can boot into recovery mode. To do this, while turned off, you’ll hold the volume up and volume down buttons together, then, while holding them, press the power button. Let go of all three together once the screen starts up.
If you get some blue text, a little warning looking sign over the droid dude, and some yellow text, then you're in the right place.
In here use the volume up and down buttons to navigate through the options and use the power button to select something.
---
Highlight “reinstall packages” and use the power button to select it once it’s highlighted.
You’ll have orange text now. So first, let’s backup the phone, JUST IN CASE something goes funky. (nothing went wonky for me)
Navigate to ‘backup and restore’ and select it.
Navigate to ‘backup’ and select it.
It should be backing up now, with a little nasty coloured yellow progress bar at the bottom.
Once the backup is done, you should be back at the original orange texted screen.
---
This next bit is important:
Navigate to ‘mounts and storage’ and select it.
It should read:
unmount /chache
mount /data
mount /sdcard
unmount /system
(My phone said “unmount /sdcard” which isn't important. The only thing that NEEDS to read correctly is 'unmount /system' - If it says 'mount system', you need to navigate to it and select it so that it reads correctly)
If your list reads like the above, then you’re good. Click the ‘back’ button, which is the arrow on the bottom left corner of the phone (if you're holding it the way I am. ;p).
---
Navigate to ‘wipe data/factory reset’ and select it.
Navigate to the ‘yes -- delete all user data’ and select it.
Repeat this twice more. (That’ll be three times total.)
Navigate to ‘wipe cache partition’ and select it.
Navigate to ‘yes -- Wipe Cache’ and select it.
Repeat this twice more. (Again, three times total.)
Next, navigate to ‘advanced’ and select it.
Navigate to ‘wipe Dalvik Cache’ and select it.
Repeat this twice more. (Three times total.)
I was told to go back to the mounts and storage menu to make sure it still says ‘unmount /system’. Mine did still say this. If it doesn't read correctly, it won't boot right. Fix it if you need to.
---
Next I’m going to install GingerClone.
To reiterate, if you want to use a different custom ROM, go for it, the steps are the exact same, you just need the correct ROM download (which should be a .zip file).
Go back up a menu, navigate to ‘install zip from sdcard’ and select it.
Navigate to ‘choose zip from sdcard’ and select it.
Navigate to the GingerClone.zip (the name is longer than that, but you should know what I’m talking about.) and select it.
It’ll go through installing GingerClone now, with that ugly yellow progress bar at the bottom again.
When it’s done installing. Go back again to the ‘mounts and storage’ menu to check that the system is still unmounted (should still read ‘unmount /system’) Mine did mount my SDcard, but that’s fine. If it reads ‘mount /system’ then navigate to it and select it so that it reads ‘unmount /system’.
Good job so far! Go back to the main menu and navigate to ‘reboot system now’ and select it.
---
Bit odd seeming. It did take longer to boot up. First my phone talked to me, which I was told was the Voodoo LagFix. Then it started blowing sparklers into an X which is also good as that means it’s booting up. (I'm not sure, but it might look different for other custom ROMs.)
The normal screen that’s still ‘locked’ before you would go to the home screen should have the options to slide up (Start Using) or down (Tune a few things first). I was told to go ahead and do the tune bit and “just hit next a buncha times and get rid of it.” ;p It’s pretty straight forward setup stuff.
In case you’re wondering, that ‘update.zip’ that you downloaded earlier when you downloaded the recovery file? Well, when you reinstalled packages, it did that one automatically. So it's taken care of, no worries.
From now on, if Voodoo LagFix is on and you go into recovery mode (when you turned it off and held the volume buttons and turned it back on) then the text should be red. You can check if you want though it's not necessary, the red just indicates that Voodoo LagFix is indeed installed.
I was told that there are options in recovery mode to disable Voodoo LagFix or to convert back to the original file system. I haven't messed with them and don't plan to so long as this keeps working nice for me.
So. Yay! Have fun exploring and customizing your improved system!
I may have typed this sucker up, but basically all credit goes to the hours of support given to me by yogi2010 who is entirely awesome.
If there *is* anything that's a bit off or inaccurate, place the blame on me as interpreter, I just wrote out what I did, and if I thought it might be necessary, how something worked to the best of my very limited knowledge.
Great work!
I tried installing a new rom on my sk4g a few months ago and couldn't get it to work so i left it alone in fear of bricking my phone. I finally got the balls to try again and used this link and it worked perfectly. Thanks so much and good work yogi2010 and Kediil!
DirtyNateDog said:
I tried installing a new rom on my sk4g a few months ago and couldn't get it to work so i left it alone in fear of bricking my phone. I finally got the balls to try again and used this link and it worked perfectly. Thanks so much and good work yogi2010 and Kediil!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you got it all working!
Why do you think posting a noob/how to guide after we have like 4 is a good idea? How many of these guides do we need already? This forum is getting filled with junk and overposting
xmeatizmurderx said:
Why do you think posting a noob/how to guide after we have like 4 is a good idea? How many of these guides do we need already? This forum is getting filled with junk and overposting
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If there's another guide that has all the steps, from very beginning to finish, I'd suggest you find someone to sticky it. I spent three days going through the forums and could not find a single guide that took me through everything, step by step, which is why I put this together, assuming that because I could not find it, it did not exist.
Be it this one or another, there needs to be a guide for a know-nothing-noob such as myself to follow without having to hunt down the separate bits and hope I put them together in the right order, and it needs to be stickied in the top of one of the forums, preferably in the General or Development area.
that has all the steps, from very beginning to finish, I'd suggest you find someone to sticky it. I spent three days going through the forums and could not find a single guide that took me through everything, step by step, which is why I put this together, assuming that because I could not find it, it did not exist.
Be it this one or another, there needs to be a guide for a know-nothing-noob such as myself to follow without having to hunt down the separate bits and hope I put them together in the right order, and it needs to be stickied in the top of one of the forums, preferably in the General or Development area.[/QUOTE]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1135634
It's the 3rd post down in the development section and takes everything from start to finish, you obviously didn't search very hard
xmeatizmurderx said:
Why do you think posting a noob/how to guide after we have like 4 is a good idea? How many of these guides do we need already? This forum is getting filled with junk and overposting
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Wow, I find that comment extremely rude and out of place. I personally find this guide much easier to follow, and many may agree with me. I don't see anything wrong with having different tutorials on the same operation. Look around, I guarantee you will see it happening everywhere, not just on these forums. So long as it doesn't purposely mislead people, I don't see the harm in it. In fact, it seems to me that, your comment is the one adding more 'junk' to the forums. As you have now posted a reply that does not benefit the community at all, instead its provoking unnecessary posting. If it is so bothersome to you, and if this post really falls into your 'junk' category, discuss it in private if your position in these forums allows it, but not here where you are making a comment which puts down someones good-hearted attempt to help out the community.
@Kediil Thank you for this post. There can never be 'too many' helpful people.
xmeatizmurderx said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1135634
It's the 3rd post down in the development section and takes everything from start to finish, you obviously didn't search very hard
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I did go through, and I did see that one, but I had no idea what it was. The name of the thread didn't make it obvious to me, who knew absolutely nothing, that it was a guide. I didn't know what rooting was, or if I needed to do it, or how (for all there's a guide within the rooting thread). I didn't know what CWM was. I didn't know what a kernal actually was, or how to 'flash' it.
Looking at the guide you linked, if you know more or less what you're doing, then it could prove helpful, if a bit blunt. But coming at it from the perspective of knowing absolutely nothing, it didn't help me in the least.
I know it can be difficult to know something and have to deal with people who know nothing, but if there's no sure-fire, solid way for the new person to learn without needing a knowledgeable person to help, then you'll just continue to be needlessly frustrated.
@ merman123 Thank you very much for the support. ^..^ It's already helped at least one person, so I'm satisfied. There will always be haters or frustration or drama. It's the internet! ;p
Kediil said:
I did go through, and I did see that one, but I had no idea what it was. The name of the thread didn't make it obvious to me, who knew absolutely nothing, that it was a guide. I didn't know what rooting was, or if I needed to do it, or how (for all there's a guide within the rooting thread). I didn't know what CWM was. I didn't know what a kernal actually was, or how to 'flash' it.
Looking at the guide you linked, if you know more or less what you're doing, then it could prove helpful, if a bit blunt. But coming at it from the perspective of knowing absolutely nothing, it didn't help me in the least.
I know it can be difficult to know something and have to deal with people who know nothing, but if there's no sure-fire, solid way for the new person to learn without needing a knowledgeable person to help, then you'll just continue to be needlessly frustrated.
@ merman123 Thank you very much for the support. ^..^ It's already helped at least one person, so I'm satisfied. There will always be haters or frustration or drama. It's the internet! ;p
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Posting several threads that say basically the same thing is annoying and clutters the threads making it hard for people to find what they need. It has also annoyed the **** out of a lot of us on here and driven away several developers for this phone because noobs come on and post new threads constantly about the same couple of things.
Being a noob is fine, we all are at some point but learning to search and pm some of the senior members for help will help keep the forums clean and the devs happy, I find it hard to believe you came across xda without knowing what rooting was but honestly I don't care, just please be mindfull and spend time searching thoroughly before posting.
xmeatizmurderx said:
Posting several threads that say basically the same thing is annoying and clutters the threads making it hard for people to find what they need. It has also annoyed the **** out of a lot of us on here and driven away several developers for this phone because noobs come on and post new threads constantly about the same couple of things.
Being a noob is fine, we all are at some point but learning to search and pm some of the senior members for help will help keep the forums clean and the devs happy, I find it hard to believe you came across xda without knowing what rooting was but honestly I don't care, just please be mindfull and spend time searching thoroughly before posting.
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I came across XDA by typing 'sidekick 4g lag fix' into google, obviously because I was experiencing lag and was hoping for a fix. One of XDA's threads was the first thing listed and people here seemed to know what they were doing and talking about here. I did spend quite a lot of time searching. I would gladly take full fault for posting something unneeded if anyone would but show me a link to a full, step by step, easy to follow guide. *shrugs* I'll eat my words if there is one.
I need help
So I'm trying to run a custom rom on my new SK4g but no matter what I do, I keep softbricking it... just gets stuck on the sidekick logo during boot. I've followed this guide STEP BY STEP a few times and with different roms, same result. After the rom install is complete I confirm the mounts are correct and then reboot to system but it never gets to system. I end up having to start over from stock via ODIN
HELP HELP HELP... what am I doing wrong. The only POSSIBLE thing I can think of is when it comes time to overwrite the recovery binary, I use adb shell and mount the system with:
Code:
# mount -o remount,rw -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk0p25 /system
then I copy the file with:
Code:
# cp -f /mnt/sdcard/recovery /system/bin/
Code:
# reboot recovery
please someone help me and tell me what im doing wrong
not too sure what's wrong, but if you are flashing ROMs, you probably are getting into ClockworkMod properly. are you checking your mounts BEFORE you install the ROM as well as after?
xmeatizmurderx said:
Posting several threads that say basically the same thing is annoying and clutters the threads making it hard for people to find what they need. It has also annoyed the **** out of a lot of us on here and driven away several developers for this phone because noobs come on and post new threads constantly about the same couple of things.
Being a noob is fine, we all are at some point but learning to search and pm some of the senior members for help will help keep the forums clean and the devs happy, I find it hard to believe you came across xda without knowing what rooting was but honestly I don't care, just please be mindfull and spend time searching thoroughly before posting.
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Wow, your a real ass. I think this guide is probably the best one here. Very clean and very thorough. Its not people like him that cause developers to leave. Its people like you with no respect and a big attitude. And a HUGE head!!
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
Thanks so much for this post
Thanks for explaining in layman's terms how to do this. It is very helpful for me and I too had trouble making sense of the other how-to posts. With something as sensitive as flashing hardware it is really important for a novice to clearly understand the steps. I for one really appreciate and applaud your efforts Kediil and Yogi2010!
I'm glad that this has helped some people! I know for those that have been around here a while, it is basically the same thing we already know, but I do think this guide was very clearly written, and is helpful to those who are completely new to this and don't have any idea where to start, and just want to get their phones rooted and modded. kudos to kediil for the great write-up!
I get mad everytime i try to do this because whenever i try to reinstall the packages it just says failed to verify whole signature or whatever then it aborts it , help me please , im tired of this **** ass stock rom
JayNycWepa said:
I get mad everytime i try to do this because whenever i try to reinstall the packages it just says failed to verify whole signature or whatever then it aborts it , help me please , im tired of this **** ass stock rom
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It sounds like the modified recovery didn't get properly moved into system/bin. Have you followed the steps and pasted the recovery file you downloaded into system/bin, replacing the recovery file that was already there?
Kediil said:
I came across XDA by typing 'sidekick 4g lag fix' into google, obviously because I was experiencing lag and was hoping for a fix. One of XDA's threads was the first thing listed and people here seemed to know what they were doing and talking about here. I did spend quite a lot of time searching. I would gladly take full fault for posting something unneeded if anyone would but show me a link to a full, step by step, easy to follow guide. *shrugs* I'll eat my words if there is one.
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http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1206991
Like I said, SEARCH BEFORE POSTING
It took me all of 10 seconds to find this, it's on the second page of the development section and there are only 4 pages. It took you far longer to type this up than it would have to search.
The reason we don't have stickies is because moderators don't pay attention to us because we have no developers anymore (this is about to change though one of our members was recently sent an invite)
If this were any other phone this overposting wouldn't be tolerated, you guys treat the forums like it's facebook and would rather start a thread than take the time to search for your answer, and it clutters everything up with useless threads. When I joined XDA and had a G1 I didn't post anything for like 2 years because I was able to find the answers by searching.
I am an asshole, so get used to it but I mean you no harm. I am trying to give advice because I have been on here since day one and personally seen devs leave out of irritation with the members lack of forum etiquette. If we can all try and keep the forums clean then we have a better chance of getting support, and this will also help you guys in the future when you move onto more popular devices. If you think I'm a **** you have no idea what some of the senior members can be like lol
---------- Post added at 05:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:22 PM ----------
dw9906 said:
Wow, your a real ass. I think this guide is probably the best one here. Very clean and very thorough. Its not people like him that cause developers to leave. Its people like you with no respect and a big attitude. And a HUGE head!!
Sent from my SGH-T839 using xda premium
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That's what she said
Alright I'm done trolling now
xmeatizmurderx said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1206991
Eat 'em up bro
Like I said, SEARCH BEFORE POSTING
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Um, you posted a link to a FAQ, not a step by step guide...
xmeatizmurderx said:
Alright I'm done trolling now
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Quit trolling, noone is impressed. Unlike you, Kediil is actually adding to this forum.
vitriolix said:
Um, you posted a link to a FAQ, not a step by step guide...
Quit trolling, noone is impressed. Unlike you, Kediil is actually adding to this forum.
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faq, guide, whatever
I have posted several links that tell you in plain terms how to root and put roms on from stock. If people find this one easier to read for some reason then good for them, I don't have the power to moderate the forums
My point has been made, I don't know why you are responding to me if you don't like what I have to say
P.S.
I have sent in a request to have this thread stickied for you guys
Greetings,
I am currently working on a 100% Android Marshmallow v6.0.1 variant for the Samsung On5 SM-G550T/1 (T-Mobile).
THIS IS NOT A THREAD ON HOW TO ROOT YOUR PHONE
This thread assumes you have already rooted and installed TWRP on your phone and have basic understanding on to backup and recover your phone.
If you need that sort of help, please see my other thread:
https://goo.gl/jWNVNX
Reasons for Project:
I started this project for two reasons:
- Frustration for the lack of support for an otherwise great phone.
- Stumbling across the Samsung Factory Test Rom doing research for other projects.
This ROM has a a 100% Native Driver Set for Android v6.0.1 on the SM-G550T/1. The driver set is identical for the TMO or MetroPCS variants, but the EFS folder will remain different for each.
I'm going to outright confess that I am not a programmer and this is truthfully the first ROM I am trying to develop on my own. I'm a Project Manager and Software Designer by trade, but I rarely get this deep into ROM developments. I figured it was a good project to take on to learn the nitty griddy of what a truly pure Android Experience looks like. That being said, I'd greatly appreciate any help anyone can contribute and will make all my work freely available to anyone wanting to help provided that everyone participating goes into it with good faith that they have no intent on making substantial gains from this project.
Usage of these ROMs/Files/Programs are subject to the following licenses:
- Google's Android Open Source Project Licnese (AOSP):
https://source.android.com/setup/start/licenses
- Google's Individual Contributor License Agreement:
https://cla.developers.google.com/about/google-individual
- Apache Software License, Version 2.0
http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
- Samsung Open Source Release Center (OSRC) License:
http://opensource.samsung.com/reception/
That being said, I believe this remains a good enough device, IMHO, to transition people into Android or to provide to people not requiring a fully featured phone.
KNOX Status:
The Factory Test ROM is mostly clean having all the drivers intact and lacks most Samsung Bloatware "tampering". It *DOES* have some preliminary containers for KNOX installed, but none of it is active and takes up less then 1 MB of total space after cleaning passes to remove as many traces as could be removed without breaking things. It is currently being "managed" by an init.d script that generates the folders. I haven't been able to track down yet.
Known Issues:
- 100% Pure Android Menus.
- Rooted/Super User.
- Sound, Camera, GPS, TMO Modem, Wifi, Bluetooth 100% working.
- 100% Native Tethering.
- Adblocker pre-installed (for both Apps and Websites).
- The smallest amount of KNOX installations outside of Lineage. >1mb of KNOX is present with the only items being present are installer containers.
- I'm trying to track down Init.d files that loads with Android and automatically disables/flushes WIFI.
- By default, the power button is set a 100ms push time to turn off (not show power menu). I'm trying to figure out a work around for this.
- I'm trying to find a compatible Contacts Storage file.
- There is no shutdown menu.
Please note that any released versions of this ROM will have makeshift ways to get around these issues.
Downloads:
Please see the second post in this thread.
How to Install:
#01.) Backup your device.
#02.) Download the zip file for the TWRP backup.
#03.) Unzip the TWRP backup.
#04.) Load the downloaded restore into your TWRP Backup Directory.
#05.) Boot into TWRP Recovery.
#06.) Restore the ROM copied into your TWRP Backup Directory.
#07.) Reboot.
Note: No personal data has been configured.
References:
Update Log:
https://goo.gl/CEGCx9|
Required System Apps for Samsung Phones:
https://goo.gl/emTvgX
Things I Could Use Help On:
- A very good way to figure out what Init.d files are doing what without reading through them.
- A good way to change the PIT so we can move 2 gig from the System Rom into the User Rom space.
- Easy methods for changing key button presses.
- A shutdown menu setup.
- A way to make this into an installer.
Note that all those things I'm working on ALREADY, but suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks in advance for any help anyone offers.
Donations Welcomed:
Dev elopement of this ROM is timely, I appreciate any contributions you wish to provide.
https://goo.gl/esVVqA
DOWNLOAD LINKS:
[2019-03-11] Android (v6.0.1) Build #13 [RC] - Google
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397913770
- Note, due to Google Now being installed on this one, I can't configure the home long press as the restart menu.
[2019-03-11] Android (v6.0.1) Build #13 [RC] - Diagnostics
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397913771
[2019-03-02] Android [v6.0.0] Build #10F [RC]
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397908668
i would love to test this rom
Its been taking a little longer then I expected to get it working correctly --- I've been having trouble tracking down some bugs, but with a little luck, I'll post the Google variant tomorrow.
Here is a "working" version to look at:
https://www.androidfilehost.com/?fid=1395089523397901430
It's a restore for TWRP (not an install).
It has all the aforementioned bugs, but is pretty clean only with a few basic utilities installed on it.
I'm trying to track down a number of things:
How to change the Power Button function:
In my most current build, I have made the power button simply put the device to sleep with a long hold of the home button bringing up the power menu. I can't for the life of me figure out where the power button menu lives at or how to define it.
Normally, you'd go edit /system/usr/keylayout/Generic.kl, however, editing it button 116 (the power button) for "Power" only makes it turn off. I can remap it easily as sleep. I compared several other ROMs who use the exact same parameter.
My current version, I just use an app to remap several of those functions; but I don't feel like that's a "release worthy" fix.
Factory Mode:
I can't figure out how to get this version of the ROM to get out of factory mode. The only real problem this causes is, on bootup, it will display a message saying as such and then disable WIFI and turn off the sound. Both, of which, can be immediately be turned back on. It also disables power saver modes.
At first, I thought this was an Init.d file, but after doing some digging I determined this has to the /efs/factoryapp/factorymode file. I may need to swap elements from another EFS to get this fixed.
Contacts Storage:
This is another one I can't seem to track down, but I have a working idea how to fix it. At current, anything that uses Contact Storage won't work. I wonder if the contact storage I have on the system is simply incompatible for some reason. I'm going to try to pull over those system apps from another working rom.
Storage
I've mapped out all the partitions but am having trouble figuring out how to actually change the partitions. There is a whole 2 GB being wasted on the system partition. I'm actually very surprised that no one has ever released a rom with this fixed.
I've tried using parted, but my ADB Install is messed up something major and I cant track down that problem. Reinstalled ADB hasn't fixed it. Its largely a PC problem on my end; a problem I'm dragging my feat going and trying to fix. This is an issue I REALLY wish I could use PC tools for :-\. I've done these changes a thousand times on Windows based machines, but never on a Linux based OS.
Now that I think about it, maybe I should try doing this from the terminal prompt in TWRP. I just wish the keyboard in TWRP didn't suck :-\.
Other Thoughts:
Beyond those very vexing bugs, I have to honestly say that I feel like this experience on this rom is vastly superior to that of the stock Samsung Experience. Sure, these issues are vexing, but I'm also seeing much less system overhead (CPU usage, RAM usage) with this Rom then anything else outside of Lineage.
Update
Here's an update for everyone who might be interested:
The last couple of week's I spent an ENORMOUS amount of time trying to track down as much as I can to get this ROM to work as intended.
For those interested, I've developed a completely new spreadsheet describing everything that's bloatware versus needed items:
https://goo.gl/emTvgX
This spreadsheet will probably be handy for EVERYONE working on Samsung related devices. When its a little more clean, I'll throw it some place better; but since this is specific towards this device, I'll keep it here for now.
It describes everything in /system/app/ and /system/priv-app/ in Samsung's default install and which of those items are actually needed for a 100% clean Android Experience.
I've also rolled through the architecture and have cleaned a lot of "junk" out of the system. Overall, I've pulled it the system from around 1.3 gb installed all the way down to about 800 mb and still feel confident I can trim more out of it.
I've also made it a point to install as much updated system apps as possible. Its been a game of juggling Google, Samsung and other ROM apps to find what works. In general, there are only one major programs left that are Samsung based in any way and that's the Samsung Phone Service app; which seems like its required to interface with the specific hardware on the phone. I've tracked down a number of native Google teleservice.apk-s and none have worked to date.
I am, sadly, still having the aforementioned problems:
- Contacts won't sync despite being able to connect to the contact services and seeing what backups are available. Manual restores work and updating contacts TO the server works now.
- The Power Button turns off the device immediately. The problem resides in a configuration somewhere that's telling the "Power" function to not bring up the power menu. The power menu is in the system, but appears to be renamed or something. I'm having trouble tracking this down. For documentation sake, in theory you should be able to just go to /system/usr/keylayout/General.kl and edit button 116, but that doesn't work.
- The phone is still locked into "Factory Mode". Various documentation says that if you go to /efs/FactoryData/factorymode and edit the contents to "ON", it should resolve this issue, but it doesn't. I feel that the problem resides in the CSC folder and EFS folder, but I haven't gotten around to testing yet. I suspect if you swap the CSC and EFS folders out and set all the correct permissions it might fix that. As it stands now, however, its only a minor inconvenience.
Overall, there's a lot more junk to sift through on the last two problems. The first problem I am kind of stumped on.
If you want to download the ROM and look at it or run it, you can follow the below link. It's currently setup with my "trouble shooting environment" making key places to tinker with easily accessible.
DOWNLOAD HERE:
https://goo.gl/MuPqE3
@LighthammerX
Im very grateful for this site where we can come and learn from one another. I just wanted to say thanks for taking time to work on this device and then sharing your findings. I've been using my on5 for 2 months now after other device died. I'm in the process of moving now but once I'm done with that I'm going to scope out this bad boy and see if I can figure out a few things. Appreciate you sharing your information with us all. Cheers.
Sent from my on5ltemtr using XDA Labs
Thanks. I'm glad to see there's some interest here. IMHO, with the right setup, this little phone is actually a very nice device today.
I actually took a lot of what I learned from hack this ROM apart and applied it to Super Starz to get it running a lot cleaning as my daily runner until/if I get these few bugs figured out.
Personally, I think the most valuable thing I've been learning is just how bloated Samsung Devices truly are out of the box.
I'm going to go ahead and dump my progress log here too so you guys can see what I've been toiling with in hopes someone has some specific feedback on issues and if I am in the right place or not:
https://goo.gl/CEGCx9
As of the writing of this post, I'm virtually confident any problems I am experiencing has nothing to do with /efs/ or /system/csc/.
I've found some inconsistencies in /etc/ and in a few other directories in /system/.
I still wonder if there isn't a init.d file I haven't tracked down yet, but personally I find folder compares faster and easier to try to normalize then I do init.d files.
When it comes to folder compares, I can do a fast reboot and see if things break. When it comes to lines of code, I have to do a bulk of edits, reboot and hope for the best.
Just as an FYI, I plan on completely rewriting the OP when things are at a place where things work.
For anyone following the thread, the Downloads Section has been updated.
This seems really interesting ? I've been trying to find a good ROM for a while with little success, so hopefully this might be the one. I just have one question: what are the differences between the Google and Diagnostics versions of this ROM?