Related
(I've spent a long time reading and I don't want to waste your time, so if the answers to this have been posted before please just tell me to keep searching.)
New G tablet arrives in 3 days. I have very little tech knowledge, but I enjoy the journey. Would someone mind please putting the following in the CORRECT order for me?
1. Fully charge G tab and turn it on
2. Install Titanium Backup on G tab (is this done like I would install an app on an iphone, or do I download to my PC and move it to the g tab?)
3. Backup stuff (everything)? To where? My PC?
4. Install clockwork as per instructions here (I think I'll use G tab's internal SD card)
5. Use clockwork to repartition internal SD card (2048 and 0)
6. Use clockwork to delete data and cache
7. Install Vegan 5.1 as per instructions here.
8. Install Flah and Market capability as per instructions here.
9. Install ADW launcher (not sure what this is, but it looks good on youtube). How do I install it? Is it like an iphone app installation, or...?
10. Some of the posts I've read mention a need for a file browser. Do they mean on my PC, or on the G tab? How do you get one on the G tab? Through Market?
11. Calibrate touch screen as per instructions here.
12. Anything I've forgotten?
Thanks for your help and understanding for a complete novice.
This has all been posted before as you thought.
I would not worry about backing up when you first get it as there will be nothing really on it but the stock rom.
if you goal is to load a Rom like TNT or Vegan from day one.
Root
Clockwork Mod
load Rom
and away you go.
There are directions all over the place to the above.
Once you get the rom loaded and all setup then get titanium backup installed and do a backup. Save yourself hours and pay for the pro version, it will allow you to run batch backup/restores and not touch your tablet while it runs.
Hope that helps now go read and search while you await your Gtab and have FUN! that is what it is all about.
Chances are you wont even have to root first.
Install Clockwork
Partition
Install Vegan
thebadfrog said:
Chances are you wont even have to root first.
Install Clockwork
Partition
Install Vegan
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks guys. I like the sound of these 3 simple steps, but what do you mean "chances are..."? Is it a random thing?
goog64 said:
Thanks guys. I like the sound of these 3 simple steps, but what do you mean "chances are..."? Is it a random thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is my first Android device but I'm good with PC's.
Anyway, I fired it up from new installed clockwork, did the partition 2048,0 as suggested and for me installed tnt-lite and all is good. It was probably stock for about 10 minutes of its life.
Thanks Stuggy. That's what I'll try (except with Vegan, I think).
goog64 said:
Thanks guys. I like the sound of these 3 simple steps, but what do you mean "chances are..."? Is it a random thing?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some reason I had to root first when I installed the update after the 3389 update. I think it was just me but it was just another step. Installed z4root, got root, and moved on
Thanks badfrog.
Just to give you an idea where I'm at.....I had no idea what 3389 is so I searched for it. Many pages came up, but they all assume a certain level of background knowledge that I don't have. Please tell me, is 3389 the ROM that comes with the G tab?
If so, why would you be updating that if you had a different ROM already installed (Vegan, TNTlite, etc)?
Other pages I've seen have said that installing Vegan or TnTlite IS rooting, whilst still other pages have said that installing clockwork mod is rooting? Is this correct?
I can't find out what rooting actually means because every page I find assumes the reader already knows what rooting is. I will keep searching for a site for android dummies (and stop wasting your time).
rooting a device is basically changing system permissions so that you have full access to read, write and manipulate all files on the device. In Linux if you are root you have total control over the system. I believe that I read somewhere that the GTab is already set so that you have total control. Other devices you would use an app like z4root and it would change the security settings so that you had root access.
hmmm....the plot thickens. Thanks Sm0k3d 0ut, I'm looking forward to confirmation of that to clear up my confusion!
Hello - New user here and planning to do the same. My tablet arrives today but my SD arrives next week.
Can I use an 128MB micro SD to do the Clock mod before the larger card arrives?
Thanks.
bevbeng said:
Hello - New user here and planning to do the same. My tablet arrives today but my SD arrives next week.
Can I use an 128MB micro SD to do the Clock mod before the larger card arrives?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check this thread on clockwork
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
goog64 said:
Thanks Stuggy. That's what I'll try (except with Vegan, I think).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try them both, they are both great roms and you will become more comfortable the more roms you flash.
Most important tools are this site and titanium backup "PRO"
copc said:
Try them both, they are both great roms and you will become more comfortable the more roms you flash.
Most important tools are this site and titanium backup "PRO"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks copc. I also read somewhere that backing up can be done with Clockwork. Is that true? If so, does a novice like me really need titanium backup?
Also, one more question: in case I ever want to restore to the stock ROM that the G tab comes with, do I need to do anything special BEFORE I install Clockwork and the new ROM? Or can I just change back to original no matter what I do now?
(G tab arrives tomorrow. Can't wait!)
goog64 said:
I also read somewhere that backing up can be done with Clockwork. Is that true? If so, does a novice like me really need titanium backup?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I still haven't received my Zpad yet, so can't talk from experience. But from what I have read it seems that titanium backup backs up the apps (and maybe data?) and clockwork makes a ROM image of you Tablet (or something similar to that). So I think they are different types of backups and you should probably do both.
But I could be horribly wrong.
SnakeManJayd said:
I still haven't received my Zpad yet, so can't talk from experience. But from what I have read it seems that titanium backup backs up the apps (and maybe data?) and clockwork makes a ROM image of you Tablet (or something similar to that). So I think they are different types of backups and you should probably do both.
But I could be horribly wrong.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are spot on, Titanium Backup allows you to back up and restore individual apps and data (you can also use it to sideload apps you have already installed on another Android device). CW will make a backup of your entire system (internal SDCard) so you can restore if something goes awry.
goog64 said:
(I've spent a long time reading and I don't want to waste your time, so if the answers to this have been posted before please just tell me to keep searching.)
New G tablet arrives in 3 days. I have very little tech knowledge, but I enjoy the journey. Would someone mind please putting the following in the CORRECT order for me?
1. Fully charge G tab and turn it on
2. Install Titanium Backup on G tab (is this done like I would install an app on an iphone, or do I download to my PC and move it to the g tab?)
3. Backup stuff (everything)? To where? My PC?
4. Install clockwork as per instructions here (I think I'll use G tab's internal SD card)
5. Use clockwork to repartition internal SD card (2048 and 0)
6. Use clockwork to delete data and cache
7. Install Vegan 5.1 as per instructions here.
8. Install Flah and Market capability as per instructions here.
9. Install ADW launcher (not sure what this is, but it looks good on youtube). How do I install it? Is it like an iphone app installation, or...?
10. Some of the posts I've read mention a need for a file browser. Do they mean on my PC, or on the G tab? How do you get one on the G tab? Through Market?
11. Calibrate touch screen as per instructions here.
12. Anything I've forgotten?
Thanks for your help and understanding for a complete novice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1,4,5,7,8, and 11 in that order will get you in business. Titanium Backup should be installed after you get Vegan installed, as there is really nothing to back up in stock. Data and cache will be deleted as part of the partitioning process (that's how I've understood it), and a file browser is already installed with the Vegan image. #9 is just fluff, ADW is a great launcher, but is not necessary to get up and running. If I recall correctly, it will install like an app - you should be able to find it in the Market.
#12 - Though it is not necessary, Root Explorer is a real handy app to have if you are going to tear around with Android's inner workings. Less than $5 on the market, but I found it worth every penny so far.
You will find many different thoughts on the process laid out above, this is just worked for me when I was starting out. The most important thing is Clockwork. Do. That. First.
bevbeng said:
Hello - New user here and planning to do the same. My tablet arrives today but my SD arrives next week.
Can I use an 128MB micro SD to do the Clock mod before the larger card arrives?
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I did mine (CW .8 and TNTLite) from a 256MB card, and there was still plenty of room - a 128MB card should do you fine. In fact, if you are doing it from a PC (I can't confirm for Mac as I don't have one), you can install CW off of the card, use CW to partition the tablet storage, connect the tablet to your PC, and then use CW to mount the tablet as USB storage so you can copy over the ROM image to the tablet and install.
As far as CW, use the .8 version. I have heard of problems from others using newer versions, and it seems that .8 is what the devs recommend. You can find a link to it in here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865245
BigJohn
Thanks BigJohn. I REALLY appreciate the time you took with that answer, and you explained it very clearly. My tablet arrives today (I hope), and you have given me a lot of confidence.
goog64 said:
Thanks BigJohn. I REALLY appreciate the time you took with that answer, and you explained it very clearly. My tablet arrives today (I hope), and you have given me a lot of confidence.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Welcome to MOD-dom, it's awesome.
I'm so confused with all the lingo, root, kernel, s-off, ruu.
It just seems so overwelming. I don't think I want custom roms, all I want is att stuff removed, and faster data speeds.
And I'd like a way to return to stock in case I need to return the phone.
What phone are you coming from?
Read, as much as you can Google is your friend. Also if your having problems with goldcard checkout the unlockr. Setting up sdk isn't all that bad. This is coming from a renewed rookie with HTC phones because I've been away from adb for two years since I got rid of my dream and magic.
Coming from an iPhone. Don't understand anything about adb, sdk, terminal, etc.
Haven't tried making the gold card yet, ordered an sdcard but it hasn't come in yet.
harlenm said:
Coming from an iPhone. Don't understand anything about adb, sdk, terminal, etc.
Haven't tried making the gold card yet, ordered an sdcard but it hasn't come in yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just use the card that came with the phone for goldcard. Use the goldcard helper tool from the market, get the mcc 2 number from the tool, go to the link provided, insert the mcc 2 number into the box on the page where it asks for it, get the file that was emailed to you, download the hack kit in the stickied thread of development, after installing Android sdk, unzip the hack kit using 7zip and only 7zip into the tools folder located in the Android folder. From that point you are ready to create a goldcard. That's where the sticky thread is your friend.
I know it sounds like a lot and in the end once you read up and understand how to use adb you'll understand its not that bad. Remember i am a rookie as well with most of this and would be glad to help as you progress
I think creating the gold card seems like the easy step, found a program that will do it and upload it to phone without needing the sdk.
My concern is all the other stuff, different kernels, different radios, etc. Downgrading the radio loses sound, so then you have to upgrade it again, but then the sound isn't as good, etc.
Then someone posted the stock kernel, compared to a telus kernel, what's the difference, and why put one over the other?
harlenm said:
I think creating the gold card seems like the easy step, found a program that will do it and upload it to phone without needing the sdk.
My concern is all the other stuff, different kernels, different radios, etc. Downgrading the radio loses sound, so then you have to upgrade it again, but then the sound isn't as good, etc.
Then someone posted the stock kernel, compared to a telus kernel, what's the difference, and why put one over the other?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The program doesn't work you need mcc2 number. The sound problem is a correlation of combining the dhd time with our kernel.
harlenm said:
Coming from an iPhone. Don't understand anything about adb, sdk, terminal, etc.
Haven't tried making the gold card yet, ordered an sdcard but it hasn't come in yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This will help with adb.Once you start tinkering you will figure it out quickly. As far as reading all the sound issues its really personal preference. You have to do these thing on your device and see if you have the same issue. Alot of the times you will find it that it comes down to different strokes for different folks. I myself have none of the issues that others have other than a weak external speaker. Reading is a great tool but dont get overwhelmed with the information your taking in because a good chunk will not pertain to you and your device. Just stick with the core information and what the op stated
The sound issue is the only thing that is not 100%, which will be fixed soon enough. We will get our own source soon enough, but for the time being dhd roms will do fine with either the stock or TELUS kernel. Personally the TELUS is better for fast data speeds.
harlenm said:
Coming from an iPhone. Don't understand anything about adb, sdk, terminal, etc.
Haven't tried making the gold card yet, ordered an sdcard but it hasn't come in yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just my two cents and I hope you don't take offense to this, but you picked the wrong phone to jump into rooting and customizing since it's a new phone and the forums aren't yet up to speed on info. I would first read up in the Rodgers Magic 32A forum on how gold cards work, recovery, fastboot, adb, and custom roms work - these phones are broadly used and have been around for a while too.
I've read the instructions in the hack kit, and I still dont' get it.
I need to download the sdk, found that at http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
It says Terminal on the phone, so I need to download a terminal app from the market?
The commands look simple enough if I can figure out how to do them.
Edit, also need to download HTC sync?
read the guide Ive listed on how to install adb on the sdk and you will be fine.
harlenm said:
I've read the instructions in the hack kit, and I still dont' get it.
I need to download the sdk, found that at http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
It says Terminal on the phone, so I need to download a terminal app from the market?
The commands look simple enough if I can figure out how to do them.
Edit, also need to download HTC sync?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After the downgrade, terminal gets installed with the Rom. Always remember to enable debugging and charge only. The terminal part is the hardest. Also after receiving temproot exit out so you can go back into your sdk folder. All the hackerize commands are done from the kit location.
Well, I can't do this at work, was planning on trying, but the sdcard reader in my printer here doesn't work, so I'll have to try it with my laptop at home. Just wasted time downloading all the packages.
Still seems very cumbersome and confusing.
harlenm said:
Well, I can't do this at work, was planning on trying, but the sdcard reader in my printer here doesn't work, so I'll have to try it with my laptop at home. Just wasted time downloading all the packages.
Still seems very cumbersome and confusing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't even need the SD reader. Just leave it the phone.
davwman said:
You don't even need the SD reader. Just leave it the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh.
Now, once I get this done, how do you flash the new ROM?
harlenm said:
Oh.
Now, once I get this done, how do you flash the new ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once you have root, you can install ROM manager from the market. Run ROM manager, scroll to the bottom and tap on "All ClockworkMod Recoveries" and select 2.5.1.3 or 2.5.1.4. DO NOT INSTALL 3.0.0.5, it is NOT compatible with Froyo ROMs.
Once you tap one of those versions, it will automatically download and install ClockworkMod Recovery. Load the ROM you want to install onto your SD card, and in ROM manager, hit "reboot into recovery".
When you get to recovery, go to Backup/Restore and make a backup of your current ROM. Then do a data/cache wipe (factory restore) and then go to Install ZIP from SD Card and select your new ROM. Flash and you're on your merry way
harlenm said:
Oh.
Now, once I get this done, how do you flash the new ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the included readme file in the kit its part of step two. The kit is designed so all you need to do is follow the instructions and input a few commands and it pretty much does everything for you minus pushing the power button to get into hboot. The second hackerize command is the actual downgraded Rom.
r34p3rex said:
Once you have root, you can install ROM manager from the market. Run ROM manager, scroll to the bottom and tap on "All ClockworkMod Recoveries" and select 2.5.1.3 or 2.5.1.4. DO NOT INSTALL 3.0.0.5, it is NOT compatible with Froyo ROMs.
Once you tap one of those versions, it will automatically download and install ClockworkMod Recovery. Load the ROM you want to install onto your SD card, and in ROM manager, hit "reboot into recovery".
When you get to recovery, go to Backup/Restore and make a backup of your current ROM. Then do a data/cache wipe (factory restore) and then go to Install ZIP from SD Card and select your new ROM. Flash and you're on your merry way
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, gonna read up more and then go for it.
I apologize in advance for asking the following noob questions. I have been an iPhone user for 3 years and wanted to take advantage of the GS3, which I am loving even without it being rooted. I am fairly tech-savy and believe I'll have no problem rooting my phone. There are just a few things I want to thoroughly understand. I've been sold on the fact that I want to root my phone to gain control of it, remove the bloatware, and extend it's battery life, etc. If there is a thread or posting or website somewhere that explains what I need to know very well, please direct me!!
I was looking for some major tips on the best way to achieve my goal of rooting and flashing to a new ROM...If someone could, PLEASE answer EVERY question. I'd like to fully understand how to get to my goal of rooting and flashing to a desired ROM without bricking it. If this gets desires attention, it could be a great sticky posts for other newbies!
1. First and foremost...What is a kernal? I see things about CM9/CM10 kernals. Is it something like a ROM? How is it related/different?
2. What is the CMW, what is a Touch Wiz?
3. What is the overall best way for a newbie to root their phone and install a desired ROM? Odin or???
4. As I understand thus far, there is rooting, then there is ROM flashing, and then there is something to do with unlocking the bootloader... I'd like to fully understand all of these.
Here's my goal and what I'm seeking help on... I think I want to use the Synergy ROM. What is the first step I must do? Do I somehow root my phone and then use Odin to flash to the Synergy ROM? Or is the first step simply opening Odin, connecting phone, and flashing to Synergy ROM? Do I not even use Odin to flash to Synergy? I'm confused here based on the install info in Synergys FAQ - do I use Odin at all??? Do I need to back anything up? Do I need to download or use some app to block Verizon OTA updates permanently??
In the Q&A of the Synergy ROM thread, it states:
You should have an unlocked bootloader if you wish to take full advantage of this ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must I unlock the bootloader seperately via this thread here, or do ROMs or other kernals (or whatever) have the unlocked bootloader built-in?? Do I install the bootloader before I root or after I root? What's the best way to unlock the bootloader(mmmeff's EZ-Unlock App, Terminal Emulator, or Adam Outler's Casual for Rooting/Cwm/Unlocking Bootloader)? Also, how do I keep the bootloader from being updated OTA, to keep from having problems????
I think that answers most/all of my questions. I'd hugely appreciate a response and answers to clarify all this, or links to some post or site I'm missing that explain all this to me. My goal to to root my phone, likely install a ROM, and do all this without bricking it, and hopefully without voiding any warranties (though not a big deal).
Thanks a bunch in advance!!
All the answers you seek can be found in droidstyle's guide. It's a sticky in the development section.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Introduction to Rooting:
This is meant as a very basic disccussion for people completely new to rooting and Android. As a result, it will omit many details and simplify others. If there is a blatant mistake, please let me know and I'll correct it, but if there's something that's just not QUITE right, chances are it's simplified on purpose. Also, it's not meant to be a rooting guide (as there are excellent ones out there already) so much as an explanation of concepts most of us take for granted, but noobies don't.
DISCLAIMER: I, nor anyone else referenced (or not) in this thread, am not responsible for what you do with your phone. Rooting and otherwise altering your phone has the potential to brick your device, void your warranty, and many other horrible horrible things. Perform these actions at your own risk.
What is root/rooting?
In Unix-style operating systems, "root" is the name of the user who has all permissions and is therefore able to run/modify/change/delete just about anything. If you're familiar with Windows, this account is called Administrator. The default account (that's you!) on an Android phone does NOT have these privileges. Rooting is the process of obtaining them (i.e. obtaining root access). Once you root, you can "flash" new software onto your phone without restriction. This is great because you now have control over what programs are on your phone, what your UI looks like, how your phone handles resources, what kernels you run, and more!
Once your phone is rooted, you don't always wield all of that power. You control your access to all these new abilities with a program called SuperUser (available on the market and baked into ROMS). This program can grant these special rights to any other program that requests them. So let's say a program wants to write data to a place it's not allowed. It will ask SuperUser to up its privileges and then BAM! it can write where it wants to. You yourself can gain SuperUser privileges in a shell by typing su. Then YOU can read, write, and execute to your hearts desire.
Before you root:
Before rooting, there are some basic things you should know. A lot of people rush into it without bothering to learn everything they should. Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes it doesn't.
Phone partitions: Your phone has a number of partitions. The important ones to know at first are:
1. System - this partition is essentially what you think of when you think of the operating system, the Android UI, and preinstalled
apps. When people talk about flashing ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod, Synergy, etc), they are talking about flashing a new system
partition.
2. Boot - this is the kernel and ramdisk. The kernel is responsible for managing the interactions between the phones software (including the ROM) and the
hardware. Altering the kernel can increase/decrease performance, battery life, and more because it manages applications and system resources. When
you flash a new kernel, it flashes to the boot partition. You may not notice a big difference like you do when changing ROMS, but behind the scenes, your
phone's performance can be drastically altered. A *LOOSE* analogy is that the ROM is like the body and interior of your car (including exterior color, AC,
stereo, heated seats, TV in headrests, etc.) and the kernel is like the engine. You may not see it, but you'll know it's there if it's awesome or it sucks.
3. Aboot - this was largely unimportant for newbies until the bootloader lock/unlock situation. The short story is that aboot contains functions which
authenticate the boot partition (that's the kernel, remember?). It checks to see if your boot partition is Verizon legal and if not, it aborts the boot process
and politely tells you to contact Verizon. This authentication is what is referred to as a "locked" bootloader. It prevents you from completely booting the
phone with a custom kernel. The bootloader is "unlocked" by replacing the stock aboot partition with one that does NOT check up on the boot partition.
This is important because it allows us to run whatever kernel we want.
4. Data - this contains user installed apps, settings, contacts, bookmarks, etc, etc, etc. You can wipe this partition (as opposed to the above partitions) and
still boot into the operating system. You will have just lost all your setting and apps. This is called a factory/data reset.
5. Cache - this is stuff that you frequently use so it's kept available for better performance. You can wipe it without much consequence.
6. Recovery - this partition contains a separate operating system that allows you to recover from a corrupted/absent/otherwise jacked up operating system. It
has other functions as well. The big ones are to backup your device and restore said backups, to wipe certain partitions, and to flash things to your
phone (i.e. install new ROMs, recoveries, or other programs). The stock recovery is limited so you will definitely want a custom recovery, created by the
fine devs in the community, on your device.
What is a ROM and what is a kernel? I touched on this above. A ROM is what goes on the system partition. It contains what you think of as the Android OS including the UI and preinstalled apps. It controls how programs interact with you, the user. A kernel controls how those programs interact with the phones hardware. You need both a ROM and a kernel to have a functional phone.
How do I get started rooting and flashing?
There is an excellent guide stickied in the development thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762709. However, many of us
forget what it's like to be a COMPLETE newbie and to someone who has no idea about anything, even fantastic guides like that can be a little intimidating.
You can follow the steps, but may not understand what you're doing. The steps to take to start out with are:
1. Make sure you understand what I've written above. Make sure you are comfortable with the possibility of bricking your phone.
2. Root your device. As I said above, this is simply gaining root/Admin/whatever you want to call it access on your phone. In and of itself, it does NOT alter
the ROM or kernel or much of anything else. However, there are many different ways to obtain root and some of them DO alter these things. The easiest
and safest way to root (IMO) is to use Noxious Ninjas excellent tool. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792342. If you like it, I
encourage you to donate or at least "Thanks" him. It works by taking advantage of debugfs permissions to get su (remember this from above??) onto
your phone with permissions set so you can run it. It therefore doesn't change ROMs or anything else. You won't lose data, apps, or anything else. It just
sneaks su right onto your current setup.
3. Install a custom recovery. This will allow you to do all the fun stuff I talked about above. I recommend installing EZ-recovery from the market and flashing
CWM 6.0.1.0.
1. Install EZ-recovery
2. Under the "Recovery" heading, click the Recovery radio button and select CWM 6.0.1.0 next to it.
3. Click flash
4. Backup everything as if your life depended on it. This means backing up your IMEI as shown here
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/32397-tutorial-imeibackup-nv-with-qpst-us-variants/ and making a nandroid. A nandroid is an image of your phone
including your ROM, your data, and your kernel(depending on what phone you have). You can restore a nandroid backup and you'll be right back where
you were before flashing or changing things around. The steps to making a nandroid are:
1. Turn off your phone.
2. Hold down volume up, home, and power until recovery appears.
3. Use the volume rocker to go to "backup and restore" and hit the power button
4. Select backup and then select the external (default) or internal (labeled "internal") SD card
You can restore a nandroid in a similar fashion (although you should wipe data/cache first - see below).
5. Unlock the bootloader. You must do this seperately from flashing ROMs and kernels. Refer to this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839791 and give appropriate thanks! A warning...if you mess up your aboot partition, there's really nothing (that I know of) you can do to revive your phone besides send it to someone with JTAG or back to Verizon.
You're now ready to start flashing ROMs.
As a precursor, there are ROMS that are based on TouchWiz modified Android from Verizon/Samsung and there are ROMS based on AOSP (e.g. CyanogenMod). TW roms need a TW kernel and AOSP roms need an AOSP kernel. Until you get comfortable with everything, I would stick with TW. Also, some roms come with kernels and will flash the kernel to your boot partition as well as the ROM to your system partition. Some ROMs don't come with kernels. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read the OP of a rom you want to flash to find out kernel information as well as how to install the rom and anything else you may need to know. The general steps to flashing a ROM are (remember to read the OP for specifics):
1. Backup apps, data, call log, contacts, messages, etc. My program of choice for much of this is Titanium Backup available on the market. Buy it as you'll
use it a billion times.
2. Download the ROM you want and check the MD5
3. Place the ROM on the root of your SD card. Do NOT unzip it.
4. Reboot into recovery and make a nandroid backup
5. Wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. Wipe it more than once if paranoid.
6. Go to "install zip from sdcard" and select the ROM you want
7. If you want/need to flash a kernel, install that zip from the sdcard too with the same command
8. Reboot and restore all that you backed up
Remember:
- ALWAYS backup before doing anything
- verify MD5
- wipe data and cache (unless told not to by the ROM dev)
- NEVER accept an OTA (having a custom recovery should block OTAs anyway)
PS. The techniques, tools, roms, etc in this post are not mine and arte the products of hours of hard work by multiple devs. Please thank them accordingly.
Bleelas said:
Introduction to Rooting:
This is meant as a very basic disccussion for people completely new to rooting and Android. As a result, it will omit many details and simplify others. If there is a blatant mistake, please let me know and I'll correct it, but if there's something that's just not QUITE right, chances are it's simplified on purpose. Also, it's not meant to be a rooting guide (as there are excellent ones out there already) so much as an explanation of concepts most of us take for granted, but noobies don't.
DISCLAIMER: I, nor anyone else referenced (or not) in this thread, am not responsible for what you do with your phone. Rooting and otherwise altering your phone has the potential to brick your device, void your warranty, and many other horrible horrible things. Perform these actions at your own risk.
What is root/rooting?
In Unix-style operating systems, "root" is the name of the user who has all permissions and is therefore able to run/modify/change/delete just about anything. If you're familiar with Windows, this account is called Administrator. The default account (that's you!) on an Android phone does NOT have these privileges. Rooting is the process of obtaining them (i.e. obtaining root access). Once you root, you can "flash" new software onto your phone without restriction. This is great because you now have control over what programs are on your phone, what your UI looks like, how your phone handles resources, what kernels you run, and more!
Once your phone is rooted, you don't always wield all of that power. You control your access to all these new abilities with a program called SuperUser (available on the market and baked into ROMS). This program can grant these special rights to any other program that requests them. So let's say a program wants to write data to a place it's not allowed. It will ask SuperUser to up its privileges and then BAM! it can write where it wants to. You yourself can gain SuperUser privileges in a shell by typing su. Then YOU can read, write, and execute to your hearts desire.
Before you root:
Before rooting, there are some basic things you should know. A lot of people rush into it without bothering to learn everything they should. Sometimes it goes well, and sometimes it doesn't.
Phone partitions: Your phone has a number of partitions. The important ones to know at first are:
1. System - this partition is essentially what you think of when you think of the operating system, the Android UI, and preinstalled
apps. When people talk about flashing ROMs (e.g. CyanogenMod, Synergy, etc), they are talking about flashing a new system
partition.
2. Boot - this is the kernel and ramdisk. The kernel is responsible for managing the interactions between the phones software (including the ROM) and the
hardware. Altering the kernel can increase/decrease performance, battery life, and more because it manages applications and system resources. When
you flash a new kernel, it flashes to the boot partition. You may not notice a big difference like you do when changing ROMS, but behind the scenes, your
phone's performance can be drastically altered. A *LOOSE* analogy is that the ROM is like the body and interior of your car (including exterior color, AC,
stereo, heated seats, TV in headrests, etc.) and the kernel is like the engine. You may not see it, but you'll know it's there if it's awesome or it sucks.
3. Aboot - this was largely unimportant for newbies until the bootloader lock/unlock situation. The short story is that aboot contains functions which
authenticate the boot partition (that's the kernel, remember?). It checks to see if your boot partition is Verizon legal and if not, it aborts the boot process
and politely tells you to contact Verizon. This authentication is what is referred to as a "locked" bootloader. It prevents you from completely booting the
phone with a custom kernel. The bootloader is "unlocked" by replacing the stock aboot partition with one that does NOT check up on the boot partition.
This is important because it allows us to run whatever kernel we want.
4. Data - this contains user installed apps, settings, contacts, bookmarks, etc, etc, etc. You can wipe this partition (as opposed to the above partitions) and
still boot into the operating system. You will have just lost all your setting and apps. This is called a factory/data reset.
5. Cache - this is stuff that you frequently use so it's kept available for better performance. You can wipe it without much consequence.
6. Recovery - this partition contains a separate operating system that allows you to recover from a corrupted/absent/otherwise jacked up operating system. It
has other functions as well. The big ones are to backup your device and restore said backups, to wipe certain partitions, and to flash things to your
phone (i.e. install new ROMs, recoveries, or other programs). The stock recovery is limited so you will definitely want a custom recovery, created by the
fine devs in the community, on your device.
What is a ROM and what is a kernel? I touched on this above. A ROM is what goes on the system partition. It contains what you think of as the Android OS including the UI and preinstalled apps. It controls how programs interact with you, the user. A kernel controls how those programs interact with the phones hardware. You need both a ROM and a kernel to have a functional phone.
How do I get started rooting and flashing?
There is an excellent guide stickied in the development thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1762709. However, many of us
forget what it's like to be a COMPLETE newbie and to someone who has no idea about anything, even fantastic guides like that can be a little intimidating.
You can follow the steps, but may not understand what you're doing. The steps to take to start out with are:
1. Make sure you understand what I've written above. Make sure you are comfortable with the possibility of bricking your phone.
2. Root your device. As I said above, this is simply gaining root/Admin/whatever you want to call it access on your phone. In and of itself, it does NOT alter
the ROM or kernel or much of anything else. However, there are many different ways to obtain root and some of them DO alter these things. The easiest
and safest way to root (IMO) is to use Noxious Ninjas excellent tool. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1792342. If you like it, I
encourage you to donate or at least "Thanks" him. It works by taking advantage of debugfs permissions to get su (remember this from above??) onto
your phone with permissions set so you can run it. It therefore doesn't change ROMs or anything else. You won't lose data, apps, or anything else. It just
sneaks su right onto your current setup.
3. Install a custom recovery. This will allow you to do all the fun stuff I talked about above. I recommend installing EZ-recovery from the market and flashing
CWM 6.0.1.0.
1. Install EZ-recovery
2. Under the "Recovery" heading, click the Recovery radio button and select CWM 6.0.1.0 next to it.
3. Click flash
4. Backup everything as if your life depended on it. This means backing up your IMEI as shown here
http://rootzwiki.com/topic/32397-tutorial-imeibackup-nv-with-qpst-us-variants/ and making a nandroid. A nandroid is an image of your phone
including your ROM, your data, and your kernel(depending on what phone you have). You can restore a nandroid backup and you'll be right back where
you were before flashing or changing things around. The steps to making a nandroid are:
1. Turn off your phone.
2. Hold down volume up, home, and power until recovery appears.
3. Use the volume rocker to go to "backup and restore" and hit the power button
4. Select backup and then select the external (default) or internal (labeled "internal") SD card
You can restore a nandroid in a similar fashion (although you should wipe data/cache first - see below).
5. Unlock the bootloader. You must do this seperately from flashing ROMs and kernels. Refer to this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1839791 and give appropriate thanks! A warning...if you mess up your aboot partition, there's really nothing (that I know of) you can do to revive your phone besides send it to someone with JTAG or back to Verizon.
You're now ready to start flashing ROMs.
As a precursor, there are ROMS that are based on TouchWiz modified Android from Verizon/Samsung and there are ROMS based on AOSP (e.g. CyanogenMod). TW roms need a TW kernel and AOSP roms need an AOSP kernel. Until you get comfortable with everything, I would stick with TW. Also, some roms come with kernels and will flash the kernel to your boot partition as well as the ROM to your system partition. Some ROMs don't come with kernels. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS read the OP of a rom you want to flash to find out kernel information as well as how to install the rom and anything else you may need to know. The general steps to flashing a ROM are (remember to read the OP for specifics):
1. Backup apps, data, call log, contacts, messages, etc. My program of choice for much of this is Titanium Backup available on the market. Buy it as you'll
use it a billion times.
2. Download the ROM you want and check the MD5
3. Place the ROM on the root of your SD card. Do NOT unzip it.
4. Reboot into recovery and make a nandroid backup
5. Wipe data/factory reset and wipe cache. Wipe it more than once if paranoid.
6. Go to "install zip from sdcard" and select the ROM you want
7. If you want/need to flash a kernel, install that zip from the sdcard too with the same command
8. Reboot and restore all that you backed up
Remember:
- ALWAYS backup before doing anything
- verify MD5
- wipe data and cache (unless told not to by the ROM dev)
- NEVER accept an OTA (having a custom recovery should block OTAs anyway)
PS. The techniques, tools, roms, etc in this post are not mine and arte the products of hours of hard work by multiple devs. Please thank them accordingly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
THANK YOU!!!!! Very helpful! I had no idea I needed EZ-Recovery to flash CWM as the primary recovery tool - that saved me big time as I was about to unlock the bootloader later today.
After posting this last night, and awaiting responses, I was browsing and trying to take in as much as I could. I finally realized that each section in the linked guide is a different way to either root or install a ROM. After I figured this out, and read about Odin being best for newbies, I decided to take the risk and wing it, even though I wasn't 110% sure.
So, now I'm rooted and have ROM manager/CWM installed, TiBu, and ES File Explorer installed. Now I'm just trying to figure out what I can/cannot remove as far as bloatware. A few items I'm sure I'd like to keep (working), so I don't want to mess with anything that might be used in another app/widget....Which brings me to my next question...
What's the best way to remove bloatware? I found an excel spreadsheet online that shows what's safe/unsafe to remove but I'm confused as to what I should do to get rid of items I NEVER want, and how to turn off items I MAY want in the future. If I freeze these items, do they stay frozen upon reboot, and until I unfreeze, or otherwise? What's the difference between a .APK package and a single process, etc?
Thanks in advance! I feel like I entered Android Elementary last night and already graduated to Android Junior High!
P.S. The captchas on this site to post ARE THE WORST CAPTAS IVE SEEN IN MY ENTIRE FRIGGIN LIFE, MY GOD!!!! I must refresh it 20x til something is RELATIVELY clear. Seriously????
ike034 said:
1...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too..... But the post are suppose to me helpful and or contribute in some way....
But at least we can thank all over the place......
Weioo said:
THANK YOU!!!!! Very helpful! I had no idea I needed EZ-Recovery to flash CWM as the primary recovery tool - that saved me big time as I was about to unlock the bootloader later today.
After posting this last night, and awaiting responses, I was browsing and trying to take in as much as I could. I finally realized that each section in the linked guide is a different way to either root or install a ROM. After I figured this out, and read about Odin being best for newbies, I decided to take the risk and wing it, even though I wasn't 110% sure.
So, now I'm rooted and have ROM manager/CWM installed, TiBu, and ES File Explorer installed. Now I'm just trying to figure out what I can/cannot remove as far as bloatware. A few items I'm sure I'd like to keep (working), so I don't want to mess with anything that might be used in another app/widget....Which brings me to my next question...
What's the best way to remove bloatware? I found an excel spreadsheet online that shows what's safe/unsafe to remove but I'm confused as to what I should do to get rid of items I NEVER want, and how to turn off items I MAY want in the future. If I freeze these items, do they stay frozen upon reboot, and until I unfreeze, or otherwise? What's the difference between a .APK package and a single process, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to hear you're rooted and learning a lot! Now you're opening another HUGE can of worms, namely how Android organizes the application framework, what are services, processes, activities, tasks etc. You may have already found the information you're looking for, but a montrously dumbed down version is that the APK is a package containing the compiled program and all the extraneous files it needs to run while a process is an actively running application. In order to debloat, you can either freeze an application with another program like TiBu, or you can manually freeze it by changing the app extension, or you can delete the APK, or you can remove it from the rom you want BEFORE you even flash it. What you choose depends on your goals...why you want to debloat.
Weioo said:
THANK YOU!!!!! Very helpful! I had no idea I needed EZ-Recovery to flash CWM as the primary recovery tool - that saved me big time as I was about to unlock the bootloader later today.
After posting this last night, and awaiting responses, I was browsing and trying to take in as much as I could. I finally realized that each section in the linked guide is a different way to either root or install a ROM. After I figured this out, and read about Odin being best for newbies, I decided to take the risk and wing it, even though I wasn't 110% sure.
So, now I'm rooted and have ROM manager/CWM installed, TiBu, and ES File Explorer installed. Now I'm just trying to figure out what I can/cannot remove as far as bloatware. A few items I'm sure I'd like to keep (working), so I don't want to mess with anything that might be used in another app/widget....Which brings me to my next question...
What's the best way to remove bloatware? I found an excel spreadsheet online that shows what's safe/unsafe to remove but I'm confused as to what I should do to get rid of items I NEVER want, and how to turn off items I MAY want in the future. If I freeze these items, do they stay frozen upon reboot, and until I unfreeze, or otherwise? What's the difference between a .APK package and a single process, etc?
Thanks in advance! I feel like I entered Android Elementary last night and already graduated to Android Junior High!
P.S. The captchas on this site to post ARE THE WORST CAPTAS IVE SEEN IN MY ENTIRE FRIGGIN LIFE, MY GOD!!!! I must refresh it 20x til something is RELATIVELY clear. Seriously????
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you decided on a ROM you want to use yet? Personally I think that takes a lot of the decisions about de-bloating out of the equation. Pick a ROM, flash it, and see what you got? I first did the de-bloated root method and didn't have the stock e-mail app! While it is easy to download an e-mail app from the play store I was still shocked that it was considered bloat by the builder of the particular de-bloated version I chose.
Currently I am on Synergy 1.7 r23 with Darkhorse theme. I also like the Color in HD theme but can't decided between the two.
Bleelas said:
Glad to hear you're rooted and learning a lot! Now you're opening another HUGE can of worms, namely how Android organizes the application framework, what are services, processes, activities, tasks etc. You may have already found the information you're looking for, but a montrously dumbed down version is that the APK is a package containing the compiled program and all the extraneous files it needs to run while a process is an actively running application. In order to debloat, you can either freeze an application with another program like TiBu, or you can manually freeze it by changing the app extension, or you can delete the APK, or you can remove it from the rom you want BEFORE you even flash it. What you choose depends on your goals...why you want to debloat.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Awesome, the explanation of what a .APK is helped a TON! Thank you!
dan_joegibbsfan said:
Have you decided on a ROM you want to use yet? Personally I think that takes a lot of the decisions about de-bloating out of the equation. Pick a ROM, flash it, and see what you got? I first did the de-bloated root method and didn't have the stock e-mail app! While it is easy to download an e-mail app from the play store I was still shocked that it was considered bloat by the builder of the particular de-bloated version I chose.
Currently I am on Synergy 1.7 r23 with Darkhorse theme. I also like the Color in HD theme but can't decided between the two.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know you've been helping me in my other thread. Thanks again for everything! I believe you know now, I am on Synergy r46, running quite stable so far but I haven't done much to the phone since flashing.
I've got a noob question... is there any way to back up your IMEI and install the samsung drivers from a Mac besides running Parallels or VMware? I rooted using Adam Outler's Casual and would like to start flashing ROM's but don't want to risk it without backing up my IMEI first.
See the note in this thread that backing up IMEI is obsolete. Nowadays you use the method linked from that thread, which does not involve making a backup first.
Weioo, I'd like to thank you for your intelligent questions, willingness to read, and attitude in this forum. It's good to see someone posting in the correct place, educating theirself, and not coming into the forum saying something like "plz help my phone wont boot and i didnt read enouf". So, respect. :good:
Anyway, to add something to this thread. What version of Clockwork Recovery are you using? If you're using version 6+, let me say a little how to manage your backups. The new CWR stores its backups in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/, which will only be about 20mb in size - this is normal. The backup file is just sort of an index, and the other couple hundred megabytes meat of the backup is stored as a ton of tiny files in /sdcard/clockworkmod/blobs/. If you ever need to clean up space on your phone's storage, always delete the backup file and do not touch the blobs directory. When you make your next backup, CWR will clean up the space freed from deleting that backup file.
What's actually going on is that instead of making one big file as a copy of a phone's complete image (as CWR did in previous versions), it saves space by backing up each file individually. If you have two backups with the exact same file (having the same hash), CWR deduplicates that by only backing it up once. The blobs folder has each fine, with the hash as its filename, and the backup file includes which hashes (filenames) it needs to function. When very few things change in between backups, the new backup only has to add new blobs for the things that changed (and thus have a different hash). You don't delete the blobs directly because it's not obvious which ones are used and which aren't. When CWR cleans up space, it reads the backup files and deletes blobs that aren't associated with any existing backups.
rednukleus said:
See the note in this thread that backing up IMEI is obsolete. Nowadays you use the method linked from that thread, which does not involve making a backup first.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay thanks, but if I do flash something and lose my IMEI, to do that process I'd need to be running Parallels or VMware on my Mac. Basically I'm trying to figure out if there is another way to do this using a mac or would I need to buy one of those programs if I lose my IMEI?
Great beginner post
lazarus2405 said:
Weioo, I'd like to thank you for your intelligent questions, willingness to read, and attitude in this forum. It's good to see someone posting in the correct place, educating theirself, and not coming into the forum saying something like "plz help my phone wont boot and i didnt read enouf". So, respect. :good:
Anyway, to add something to this thread. What version of Clockwork Recovery are you using? If you're using version 6+, let me say a little how to manage your backups. The new CWR stores its backups in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/, which will only be about 20mb in size - this is normal. The backup file is just sort of an index, and the other couple hundred megabytes meat of the backup is stored as a ton of tiny files in /sdcard/clockworkmod/blobs/. If you ever need to clean up space on your phone's storage, always delete the backup file and do not touch the blobs directory. When you make your next backup, CWR will clean up the space freed from deleting that backup file.
What's actually going on is that instead of making one big file as a copy of a phone's complete image (as CWR did in previous versions), it saves space by backing up each file individually. If you have two backups with the exact same file (having the same hash), CWR deduplicates that by only backing it up once. The blobs folder has each fine, with the hash as its filename, and the backup file includes which hashes (filenames) it needs to function. When very few things change in between backups, the new backup only has to add new blobs for the things that changed (and thus have a different hash). You don't delete the blobs directly because it's not obvious which ones are used and which aren't. When CWR cleans up space, it reads the backup files and deletes blobs that aren't associated with any existing backups.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This should be stickied!!
My apologies for the newb questions, but last night I modded my phone to Eclipse 2.1 version 10-20-12 with the latest GAPPS 10-21-12 ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1934572 ). This latest GAPPS seems to be missing a bunch of applications including GMAIL registration (to access the Play store successfully) as well Google Now and many other Google based apps (Google Maps, Google Voice, etc etc). I don't believe the ROM was installed incorrectly - I went through the prerequisite Wipe Cache/Wipe Partition/Wipe Dvalik Cache and even Fix Permissions. Also the Voice Search application is missing, but maybe that's tied in with the Google suite of apps not running correctly.
Being that I'm a newb on this site I can't post the question over on the Eclipse page (not allowed access with less then 10 posts) but I find it impossible to properly register/access Google Play as well as using any of the Google Apps. I went ahead and downloaded Google Now separately and installed the APKs but this just resulted in the program crashing when the GPS is enabled (keeping it disabled keeps Google Now at the "Initializing" screen).
Thanks for any support that can be provided.
ResolveD
Disregard the previous post - used GAPPS from 10-12-12 (w/o Dvalik cache wipe) and Google Now, Voice Search, G-mail register, Google Play all work fine now. The only issue I see is presently with the Google Now browser not scrolling through links, but you can always use the magnifying glass (which shows you previews of the webpages it finds).
Anyways HIGHLY RECOMMENDED ROM!!! Eclipse 10-20 build (4.1.2) w/10-12 GAPPS. Easily the best ROM out there so far :laugh:
Deleting System apps
Now that I have finally rooted my VZW GS3, and installed Titanium Backup Pro, am I able to delete system apps from there without damaging anything? I have not installed a custom ROM, all I have done is root, unlock bootloader and install CWM. I want to get rid of bloatware (e.g. Polaris Viewer) can I use TI BU Pro?
levilib said:
Now that I have finally rooted my VZW GS3, and installed Titanium Backup Pro, am I able to delete system apps from there without damaging anything? I have not installed a custom ROM, all I have done is root, unlock bootloader and install CWM. I want to get rid of bloatware (e.g. Polaris Viewer) can I use TI BU Pro?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
levilib said:
Now that I have finally rooted my VZW GS3, and installed Titanium Backup Pro, am I able to delete system apps from there without damaging anything? I have not installed a custom ROM, all I have done is root, unlock bootloader and install CWM. I want to get rid of bloatware (e.g. Polaris Viewer) can I use TI BU Pro?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to add that it may be better to just freeze the apps, or at least run a nandroid backup so you can revert to stock. Without all system apps intact an OTA update would fail.
apacseven said:
Just wanted to add that it may be better to just freeze the apps, or at least run a nandroid backup so you can revert to stock. Without all system apps intact an OTA update would fail.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not worried about an OTA update, and I made a nandroid, I just want to make sure I'm not going to delete anything important. are there any apps you can think of that I would want to delete but it would cause problems?
I have a Galaxy Gio GT-S5660V (Australia) with a 16GB SD card, having (currently) a 500MB ext2fs partition in addition to the FAT32 partition. I've rooted the phone with universal_gb_root_v20.zip and moved everything that can be moved to the SD card.
But I have installed some 42 additional apps (on top of those that came built-in), and despite uninstalling some built-in apps (using Titanium Backup Root Pro), am forever running out of storage. To the extent that I now can't update some storage-intensive apps (like Google Maps).
I know this is a developers' forum, and I'm not a developer. But it looks like the best place to come for the advice I need. I'm a raw beginner (this is my first and, so far, only smartphone), and am fearful of doing something to the phone that would reduce its usefulness or (worse) stop it working completely. So because the solution to my problem probably involves replacing the stock ROM code with a 'special' ROM, and those ROMs are so poorly documented, I have heaps of questions before I'm confident to proceed.
I've read the 'Big thread For New Users (Rooting, Flashing, Firmwares, Mods, Tips, Tricks)'. I've installed Odin 4.42, and think I understand how to download a new ROM to the phone (but of course haven't tried it yet!!). I looked for a GT-S5660V specific forum, but couldn't find one.
1. If I install a custom ROM, what happens to all the built-in apps that came with the phone? [Some of these are vital to me!] Obviously the basic phone/SMS/data, Bluetooth and WiFi functions must continue to operate correctly.
2. What happens to all the additional apps I've bought and installed?
3. I don't especially want to change the 'look and feel' of my phone. I just want to free up internal storage by using the SD card as an 'extension' to internal storage, so I can continue adding and updating apps without running out. So which ROM is likely to achieve this on the GT-S5660V (I'd particularly like to hear from any Australians who have ROMmed their GT-S5660V with this feature, since I've read warnings about ROM versions that are for the GT-S5660 but NOT the GT-S5660V)?
4. In case the custom ROM doesn't work for me, how do I backup my current ROM so I can reinstall it?
Sorry for the long (and paranoid!) post, and I hope someone here can help me. Many thanks.
PS: I enjoyed the 'Noob Video' - very professionally made!
Daniel
(Gerroa, Australia)
DanielFFF said:
1. If I install a custom ROM, what happens to all the built-in apps that came with the phone? [Some of these are vital to me!] Obviously the basic phone/SMS/data, Bluetooth and WiFi functions must continue to operate correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only thing you'll have are what comes with the ROM you flash. That, of course, includes phone/SMS/data, Bluetooth and Wifi. If you run Astro (the free version is enough) you can save an apk file of any app you absolutely need, just to be sure it's available after you flash a ROM. (Then install Apk Installer, and it can install the apk file in the new ROM.)
2. What happens to all the additional apps I've bought and installed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See #1. You should have the apk files for all the apps you need (free, paid and original) saved to your laptop/desktop or somewhere.
3. I don't especially want to change the 'look and feel' of my phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The look and feel is the apps. The "desktop" is the launcher. You may find some that you actually like better than the stock one.
I just want to free up internal storage by using the SD card as an 'extension' to internal storage, so I can continue adding and updating apps without running out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With CM you can use up to 1GB on the SD card as internal storage. (Making the partition larger than 1GB in CM seems to cause problems. There's at least one ROM that can take a larger partition, but there's no version for your phone.)
So which ROM is likely to achieve this on the GT-S5660V (I'd particularly like to hear from any Australians who have ROMmed their GT-S5660V with this feature, since I've read warnings about ROM versions that are for the GT-S5660 but NOT the GT-S5660V)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NEVER flash a ROM that's not for your specific phone. At best it won't work. At worst you won't be able to recover the phone and you'll have to buy another one.
4. In case the custom ROM doesn't work for me, how do I backup my current ROM so I can reinstall it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Use Nandroid backup in the recovery boot. (And save the backup to your computer - the SD card will get wiped.)
Re: Paranoid newbie questions re replacement ROM
Many thanks, Rukbat, you reply has been very helpful. But as with any learning process, your answers have raised new questions!...
Rukbat said:
The only thing you'll have are what comes with the ROM you flash. That, of course, includes phone/SMS/data, Bluetooth and Wifi. If you run Astro (the free version is enough) you can save an apk file of any app you absolutely need, just to be sure it's available after you flash a ROM. (Then install Apk Installer, and it can install the apk file in the new ROM.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had Astro File Manager before, but uninstalled it when I started running short of storage, as I didn't think it offered anything that I couldn't do with ES File Explorer and Titanium Backup Pro. Do I really need to reinstall it, or will the backups from Titanium Backup do?
Rukbat said:
See #1. You should have the apk files for all the apps you need (free, paid and original) saved to your laptop/desktop or somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe Titanium Backup Pro backs up user apps and data, so once I reinstall Titanium with the new ROM, I should be able to recover my previous apps, yes?
Rukbat said:
With CM you can use up to 1GB on the SD card as internal storage. (Making the partition larger than 1GB in CM seems to cause problems. There's at least one ROM that can take a larger partition, but there's no version for your phone.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guessing that 'CM' is CyanogenMod? I'm still looking for a version specifically for the GT-S5660V. It worries me (I really am paranoid! ) that so many versions are 'unofficial', and so poorly documented.
Rukbat said:
NEVER flash a ROM that's not for your specific phone. At best it won't work. At worst you won't be able to recover the phone and you'll have to buy another one.
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This is what worries me most, as there are very few ROMs and such specifically made for the GT-S5660V – quite a few for the 'generic' Gio (GT-S5660), but few for the 'V' specifically. I read somewhere that the main difference is probably in the 3G frequencies used in Australia, and that some people had tried a 'generic' Gio ROM and lost some of their telephone functionality. Some mention of flashing the Modem code separately, but that just confuses me more!
Rukbat said:
Use Nandroid backup in the recovery boot. (And save the backup to your computer - the SD card will get wiped.)
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I looked up Nandroid backup, and it seems to get this I need to install ClockworkMod Recovery. ROM Manager is also recommended as an adjunct, so I've already installed v5.0.2.0 of that. Just need to find a GT-S5660V version of ClockworkMod Recovery now! I guess since it doesn't affect telephone functionality, a version for the generic Gio should be OK, such as http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1421650
It's so confusing for a beginner like me, with so many different versions around!
But I really appreciate your help so far, and hope you can continue to enlighten me.
Most of the time when one flashes a new ROM one has to do a data wipe (factory reset), and it erases all one's personal files like movies, music, pictures etc, quite annoying to say the least.
I found a way to avoid this, and it's pretty simple:
1-in CWM go to mount,
2-mount both data and system,
3-format them both.
This will perform the factory reset without erasing our precious files (the installed apks will be gone though, but no biggie if you backed up them with Titanium).
Then you can wipe cache + dalvik and flash your new ROM.
I used this method to go from ICS to CM 10.1, from CM 10.1 to Paranoid Android, and finally back to ICS, without loosing a single kb of my files.
Edit:
I have a p6210, no idea whether it works on other models or not. I guess it does but who knows...
Give it a try if you feel like it, but don't forget to make a back up before in case it goes wrong.
After flashing, your files won't be in the mnt/sdcard anymore but in a newly created folder in mnt/sdcard/0, or, depending the rom you are using, in storage/sdcard/0.
Or, some roms may create a file called legacy and stock everything there, or sometimes your files may be stocked before the sdcard folder, search for either /0 or /legacy.
Use a root browser and have a look, your files are still in your device (have a look as well at your storage in general settings, it will show how many gbs are in your tab).
Once you have found your files all what you have to do is to move them back where they belong, ie the /sdcard folder, it takes 10 seconds.
unclefab said:
Most of the time when one flashes a new ROM one has to do a data wipe (factory reset), and it erases all one's personal files like music, pictures etc, quite annoying to say the least.
I found a way to avoid this, and it's pretty simple:
1-in CWM go to mount,
2-mount both data and system,
3-format them both.
This will perform the factory reset without erasing our precious files.
Then you can wipe cache + dalvik and flash your new ROM.
I used this method to go from ICS to CM 10.1, from CM 10.1 to Paranoid Android, and finally back to ICS, without loosing a single kb of my files.
Give it a try if you feel like it...
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Click to collapse
Not cool man.Fu** lah.I lost everything.Around 7 GB of files.Fu** lah.I have no backup.I thought it would work.I was going from cm10.1 to cm10.What am I going to do?
Re: Easy way to keep one's personal data after flasing a new ROM
ALWAYS create a backup before erasing/flashing ANYTHING!! It's always as a precaution, to avoid losing something that you don't want to. And it only takes like 5 seconds literally. I lost some stuff when I unlocked the bootloader on my nexus10 by factory resetting, and I must say I didn't have a smile on my face. But it happened, u live n learn. I'm afraid if u wiped without making a nandroid backup your probably out of luck. Unless your skilled in using forensics techniques to try to recover it. Can't think of any options tho.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using xda app-developers app
Balaram12 said:
Not cool man.Fu** lah.I lost everything.Around 7 GB of files.Fu** lah.I have no backup.I thought it would work.I was going from cm10.1 to cm10.What am I going to do?
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Click to collapse
What did you do?
Did you follow the exact procedure?
I flashed again some roms today and it worked again.
But one thing is that the files are not in the mnt/sdcard anymore but in a newly created folder in mnt/sdcard/0, or, depending the rom you are using, in storage/sdcard/0.
Or, some roms may create a file called legacy and stock everything there, or sometimes your files may be stocked before the sdcard folder, search for either /0 or /legacy.
Use a root browser and have a look, your files are still in your device (have a look as well at your storage in general settings, it will show how many gbs are in your tab).
Once you have found your files all what you have to do is to move them back where they belong, ie the /sdcard folder, it takes 10 seconds.
This said, meishkov is right, one should allways have a back up in case anything goes wrong, I should have mentioned it in the OP but I forgot, my bad...
Edit:
OP edited.
Oh well, noone tried?
Would be nice to hear some reports...
Balaram, it would be fair from you to detail a bit what happened and to tell if you found back your files.
Anyway, this method worked for me and I thought that it might have interested some people here, roms flashers and devs alike, but if that s not the case then no worries.
If someone feels that I should erase the whole thread just tell me and I ll do it...