[REF] All in One guide for NOOBS! With Vidoes Now! - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727

[REF] All in One guide for NOOBS! With Vidoes Now! - AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727

I don't take any credit I Googled everything. I do take credit of modifying some stuff in word. The idea came from here. I may have took some of his work. SO credit him and Pirateghost for the information about Android.
Little in-depth information about Android. Must Read. Thank You Pirateghost.
Pirateghost said:
Android itself is OPEN. you can go and build your very own version of 4.0 ICS right now from source code. there are very few phones you can STABLY and RELIABLY run it on though.
The NEXUS line of phones exists for a reason. they are untouched by carriers (verizon teabagged the Galaxy Nexus a little), and do not have some stupid overlay on them. they are developer devices in that it is the first phone to get android updates straight from google (no manufacturer interference required).
every other phone is tainted with a manufacturer's UI. Touchwiz on Samsung phones (galaxy nexus is a samsung but they provided the hardware not the software), Sense on HTC, 'non-blur' on Motorola, whatever Sony calls theirs...lol, LG, etc
on top of that tainted Android interface is a carrier branding or lockdown (doesnt apply to the entire world, but im only referring to US here)
so google releases new version of Android
manufacturers build phone, and customize android to fit their model (this is where android almost stops being OPEN)
carriers get a hold of the manufacturers build of android and tweak and modify it themselves (more than likely they just tell the manufacturers what they want), as you know they love to include bloat and lock it down from the user
you receive your android phone after it has gone through all those steps....long process huh? we dont get updates to newer versions as quickly because of that long process...and they would rather us buy new phones instead of improving perfectly good hardware.
Android is open in the sense that manufacturers can use it however they wish, within reason. it is not necessarily meant to be 'open' to the average end user, and manufacturers dont want you messing with the phone they built. its the reason XDA is what it is today, albeit with roots deep in WinMo hacking.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ADB → Android Debug Bridge (adb) is a versatile command line tool that lets you communicate with an emulator instance or connected Android-powered device..
Android →Unveiled on 5 November 2007, Android is a mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel developed by Google.
ASOP → Android Open Source Project
Apps2SD → Move applications from the internal NAND memory on the device to a removable SD Card.
BLN → BackLight Notification
Bloatware → Software bloat is a process whereby successive versions of apps include an increasing proportion of unnecessary features that are not used by end users, or generally use more system resources than necessary, while offering little or no benefit to its users. Like all the crap that comes from At&t
Brick → When used in reference to consumer electronics, "brick" describes a device that cannot function in any capacity (such as a device with damaged firmware). This usage derives from the fact that some electronic devices (and their detachable power supplies) are vaguely brick-shaped, and so those which do not function are useful only as actual bricks. The term can also be used as a verb. For example, "I bricked my phone when I tried to modify its firmware."[
Hard Brick → When your phone does not turn on at all. When you can’t get in to CWR/CWM Or Stock recovery. You are basically screwed.
Soft Brick → When your phone bootloops. When you can get into CWR/CWM. When You can use jigtag to get into download mode.
Busybox → BusyBox provides several stripped-down Unix tools in a single executable. It runs in a variety of POSIX environments such as Linux, Android, FreeBSD and others, such as proprietary kernels, although many of the tools it provides are designed to work with interfaces provided by the Linux kernel. It was specifically created for embedded operating systems with very limited resources. Platforms counterparts, but they are pretty close and useful nonetheless.
CWR OR CWM ClockworkMod Recovery →A custom recovery for Android phones and tablets that allows you to perform several advanced recovery, restoration, installation and maintenance operations on your Android device that aren’t possible with the stock recovery.
DEODEX → Apk files have respective odexes that devs use to supposedly save space. Deodexing means you convert it back to a .dex file and put it back inside the apk. This allows you to easily replace file (not having to worry about odexes), but the main point was to deodex services.jar so that you can change all text to different colors (such as the clock color to white) and to deodex services.jar, you need to deodex everything.
Flashing → The process of applying a firmware image (or ROM) to a device. It generally entails a very specific order of steps. Failing to complete any one of these steps properly may result in bricking the device.
Firmware → is a term often used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs and/or data structures that internally control various electronic devices. Programs stored in the ROM, EPROM, or flash memory that usually control various internal electronic devices (Hard Drives, Keyboards, Displays, etc). Firmware is typically 'fixed' software that is not updated in consumer devices, however it is often updated (or 'flashed') by advanced users to fix bugs or add features to the device. Flashing firmware designed for one device onto a different device, or not following a specific procedure while flashing will often render the device unusable.
Kernel → is the main component of most computer operating systems; it is a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware and software components
Radio → The cellular radio on the device which needs control software called firmware to control it.
ROM → Read Only Memory. In the context of an Android device, ROM is the internal flash memory where the core operating system resides. It can also refer to a specific version firmware that can be applied to a device through a process usually referred to as flashing. An improperly flashed ROM can often brick the device, rendering it unusable.
Superuser→ A program, which gives unlimited access privileges to perform any or all operations on the operating system.
ODIN → Odin is the Samsung software used to update Samsung phones. It does not work with any other devices other than official Samsung phones.
OTA or FOTA → (F)OTA stands for (Firmware) Over The Air and is the process by which required updates and enhancements to your phone's basic operating system can be sent to you through the cellular network. The Galaxy S II software update will be sent via FOTA and is available through Samsung Kies mini.0
ODEX → In Android file system, applications come in packages with the extension .apk. These application packages, or APKs contain certain .odex files whose supposed function is to save space. These ‘odex’ files are actually collections of parts of an application that are optimized before booting. Doing so speeds up the boot process, as it preloads part of an application. On the other hand, it also makes hacking those applications difficult because a part of the coding has already been extracted to another location before execution.
SDK → Software Development Kit.
Logcat → A debugging tool built into Android devices that displays system logs as they occur. See Logcat.
NANDroid → A set of tools that will enable anyone who has root on their Android device to make FULL system backups, in case something goes wrong or you want to try out that new experimental ROM/theme. NANDroid will backup (and restore) /system, /data, /cache, and /boot partitions.
Recovery Mode → A special environment that you can boot into for troubleshooting and upgrading purposes.
Kang → The process of creating a code based of someone else's code or reapplying code that someone else created into your own code (e.g. git cherry-pick)
Rooting → is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control (known as "root access") within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices.

This is how to flash Ice Cream Sandwich!
How to Root Your Skyrocket????
>You will need Samsung drivers download here OR Here!
>>IF running 2.3.5 than click here Or Here for root.
>>>On your Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket go to Enable “Unknown Sources” in Settings >> Applications. This is located in the menu by going to Menu, Settings, the Applications.
>>>>Enable USB debugging by going to Menu, Settings, Applications, Development and checking USB debugging.
>>>>>Once you’ve downloaded and installed the above, plug your Skyrocket into your computer USB port. If you have a USB in the back plug it up in the back. Some ports work better than others that is key.
>>>>>>Make sure you’ve extracted the Skyrocket-Easy-Root.
>>>>>>>On a Windows computer, especially Windows 7 you will need to right click on the root.bat file in the extracted folder and run as Administrator. For some it might work without doing it, but I highly advise running as administrator. Now, I got confused because my phone keep failing after all yellow screen and all the text…KEEP TRYING. If it fails and you don’t see the Super User app on your phone then try another port. I tried and tried on my desktop but for some reason I ran it on my laptop and it worked perfectly. Remember to run as Administrator by right clicking the root.bat file.
If you have a Mac or Linux computers, install “Linux-Mac.sh”
>>IF running 2.3.6 than click here for root. Follow instruction on the thread!!!!!!!
<;> You have Done it NOOB!! Congratulation On Your first step!!!!
How to Flash CWM Recovery????
After Rooting your phone.
# Go to market and Download Rom manager.
## Go To Rom manager.
### Press Flash ClockworkMod Recovery.
#### And Chose T-mobile Galaxy s2.

Video about how to get ready to start flashing!
How to Flash a ROM????
Basic Steps
! Choose the ROM that you want and download its .zip file
!! Transfer the zip file to your phone’s sd card. Do not put it into any folder.
!!! Turn off your phone and reboot into recovery, usually by holding the down button and power button at the same time.
!!!! Do a Nandroid backup
!!!!! Wipe the phone 3 times by clearing cache/factory restore 3 times and wiping dalvik cache and system format
!!!!!! Flash the zip file that you put on your sd card
!!!!!!! Reboot phone
You can find all ROMS here.
How to backup your current ROM????
Easy Way!
-Open ROM Manager.
--Tap Backup Current ROM.
---Leave the filename as the date or change it to whatever you want.
Hard Way!
Get into CWR!
Scroll down to backup and restore!
Press backup.
How to Restore Your backup????
If You used ROM manager than!
Go to manage and restore backups!
And press the one you like to restore!
If you have Nandroid than!
Go to CWR!
Scroll down to backup and restore!
Press restore!

How to flash Kernel????
_Download the Kernel You want to flash and put it in sd card.
__Boot in to CWM!
___Wipe cache!
____Press install from Sd card!
_____Select the kernel that you dloaded!
______Flash it!
_______Reboot!
________Check in CPU SPY to see if you successfully flashed Kernel.
You can find all the Kernel here!!!

These will set you back to Stock and Unroot Your phone.
Welcome Finally You have made it here. Well now I know that you are little worried bout your phone but Let me tell you that there is noting to worry about.
Make sure you are relaxed because if you are tensioned than you will most likely screw things up. Do me a favor and watch this video. Relax get beer or Watch Funny videos on Youtube.
“Never ever unplug your phone when you are Flashing”
Drivers You will need!
! Odin 1.85
!! USB Drivers
!!! Skyrocket Stock Recovery.tar file ATT Or Rogers
Extract the contents of odin-185.zip and the 7zip archive.
Run Odin3+v1.85.exe, and prepare Odin:
Check "auto-reboot", and uncheck all other options.
Install Usb Drivers and Unzip the Recovery file and put it to safe place.
Main Process.
Try to get in Download Mode.
) Connect USB to computer but not your Phone.
))Take out and put back in the battery.
)))Then, hold Vol + and Vol - , now plug in USB and you will at the following screen that’s in picture.
))))Press Volume Up button now.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Finally You have made it to Download mode.
If in case this does not work for you than and you are still luck enough to go into CWM than do factory reset and flash any stock rom. And do all this steps again.
Ok so after getting into Download Mode.
-Go ahead and Go to Odin (Check "auto-reboot", and uncheck all other options).
--In Odin check PDA and find the recovery.tar file that you downloaded.
Now Press Start (Check "auto-reboot", and uncheck all other options.)
When you are done Your screen will look like one below.
It should now reboot to recovery and delete cache and data. Then, it will boot.

I like this alot! Ill definantly save this page
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium

Will Ask MOD to see what he thinks about sticky.
Android311 said:
I like this alot! Ill definantly save this page
Sent from my NookColor using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

appdroid said:
How to backup your current ROM????
Easy Way!
-Open ROM Manager.
--Tap Backup Current ROM.
---Leave the filename as the date or change it to whatever you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cannot have spaces in the file name though.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

I wish this kind of guide was around when I was a noob back in the captivate days I had to read for weeks before I learned how/decided to root. Great job!!!
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using xda premium

This is what happens when i wake up in middle of the night and don't have anything to do. I have problem with sleep once I wake up in middle of sleep its almost imposible for me to go back to sleep. Last night I was little sick so woke up and had idea about doing this long time ago but last night was the time dedicated to this work. On top of all this I had 8 hour of work. I just got of and about to pass out. Any way thought I would share my little story. This is only a little help from me to this great community. Thanks all and Enjoy11!!

Very well done. Did you pm jay harper and ask him to sticky this yet?
---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------
I just pm'd mr harper and asked him to sticky it. I hope he does very informative, and well typed.

Looks good
Stuck like Chuck......
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

Thank you. MR. Boss man SIR

silver03wrx said:
Thank you. MR. Boss man SIR
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Watch it
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

silver03wrx said:
Very well done. Did you pm jay harper and ask him to sticky this yet?
---------- Post added at 08:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:44 PM ----------
I just pm'd mr harper and asked him to sticky it. I hope he does very informative, and well typed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank You. Seen Many thread about this stuff so thought I would write one for noobs. haha
jayharper08 said:
Looks good
Stuck like Chuck......
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank You Mr. BOSS MAN!!!!!!!!!

appdroid said:
Thank You Mr. BOSS MAN!!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eeeeeeaaaaaaasssssssyyyyyy
Sent from my PG86100 using xda premium

Not a N00B by any means (I have a N00B Guide too ). Anyways, I don't even own this phone, but will be rooting and tinkering with my friends Skyrocket tomorrow. In preparation I had a couple of questions, as most all other brand phones seem to be so different from my Motorola Atrix. Thanks in advance for your help.
- Ok root seems pretty straight forward, no issues here.
1) After I've rooted the phone, do I install CWM via ROM Manager? If yes, I'm assuming I choose Samsung AT&T GS2, or should I choose the T-Mobile version (don't know why I would since he's on AT&T)?
2) Have seen posts that ROM Manager both works and it doesn't... which is it? Should I only use it flash CWM, and boot into CWM (as a shortcut)? What's this about installing CWM via a kernel which has it baked in; how can I install a kernel without first booting into CWM?
3) So is the bootloader on this thing locked or unlocked? If it's locked, is there an unlock process yet; i.e. fastboot?
Thanks again for the help... like I said, not my phone, just helping a friend... info. ought to come in handy though when I move to a Samsung phone in the future; waiting on the SGS III.

1) After I've rooted the phone, do I install CWM via ROM Manager? If yes, I'm assuming I choose Samsung AT&T GS2, or should I choose the T-Mobile version (don't know why I would since he's on AT&T)?
Chose T-mobile Galaxy S2
2) Have seen posts that ROM Manager both works and it doesn't... which is it? Should I only use it flash CWM, and boot into CWM (as a shortcut)? What's this about installing CWM via a kernel which has it baked in; how can I install a kernel without first booting into CWM?
Well i don't know about kernel that has baked in it. All Kernels on Skyrocket are .zip files and can flash in CWM. And you can flash it through Rom manager.
3) So is the bootloader on this thing locked or unlocked? If it's locked, is there an unlock process yet; i.e. fastboot?
Sammy always has bootloader unlocked so its unlocked.
Swiftks said:
Not a N00B by any means (I have a N00B Guide too ). Anyways, I don't even own this phone, but will be rooting and tinkering with my friends Skyrocket tomorrow. In preparation I had a couple of questions, as most all other brand phones seem to be so different from my Motorola Atrix. Thanks in advance for your help.
- Ok root seems pretty straight forward, no issues here.
Thanks again for the help... like I said, not my phone, just helping a friend... info. ought to come in handy though when I move to a Samsung phone in the future; waiting on the SGS III.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

appdroid said:
1) After I've rooted the phone, do I install CWM via ROM Manager? If yes, I'm assuming I choose Samsung AT&T GS2, or should I choose the T-Mobile version (don't know why I would since he's on AT&T)?
Chose T-mobile Galaxy S2
2) Have seen posts that ROM Manager both works and it doesn't... which is it? Should I only use it flash CWM, and boot into CWM (as a shortcut)? What's this about installing CWM via a kernel which has it baked in; how can I install a kernel without first booting into CWM?
Well i don't know about kernel that has baked in it. All Kernels on Skyrocket are .zip files and can flash in CWM. And you can flash it through Rom manager.
3) So is the bootloader on this thing locked or unlocked? If it's locked, is there an unlock process yet; i.e. fastboot?
Sammy always has bootloader unlocked so its unlocked.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply... simple enough... just wanted to make sure.

This is the n00b thread... so I have a n00b question. What does SOD stand for?

Related

[Video Tutorial] Noob Proof Everything Desire Guide UPDATED [04/04/11][Video Tut]

****UPDATED*****
04/04/11 - Added Gingersense Roms to Step 7
20,000 Views!!!
Hello XDA and community. I've compiled a complete walkthrough to root, s-off, and flash a custom rom on your GSM HTC Desire. This guide was created with NOOBS in mind so please follow along.
***This method only works for users with hboot 0.93 and lower. Sorry 1.06 users, but until unrevoked updates, your stuck on stock htc***
To check your hboot, turn off your phone. Hold volume down and press power while continuing to hold volume down. A white screen should load with alot of information on it. The 2nd line will have your hboot version.
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
***I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE IF YOU BRICK YOUR DEVICE***
Table of Contents
Step One - Service Provider RUU roms
Step Two - Root Preparations
Step Three - How To Root Your Device
Step Four - How To S-Off Your Device
Step Five - How To Partition Your Sd Card
Step Six - How To Nandroid Backup
Step Seven - How To Flash a Custom Rom
Step Eight - Optional Extras
The 1st thing im going to teach you about is your service providers RUU rom. This is not nessesary for the rooting procedure, but nessesary if you have problems or need to send your phone in for repair. So lets be safe and download it before hand.
STEP ONE - Download Your Providers RUU rom
A RUU rom is the stock rom your provider had preinstalled in your desire. The reason for downloading is just incase you have problems, you can always reflash the RUU back to the factory default. Your providers RUU rom will erase your root, s-off, apps, contacts, sms messages, and call history. The RUU will not touch anything you have saved to your sdcard such as music, photos, or videos.
Now on your phone, goto settings>about phone>software then look for your baseband version and build version. Use that information to find your RUU file here:
http://shipped-roms.com/shipped/Bravo/ and here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=695667
Once you have your RUU file downloaded, store it in a safe place on your pc. Now im going to show a video of me flashing my providers stock RUU. You do not need to do this, im only shooting this to showcase to new comers that its easy to erase root and return to your providers stable sense 2.2.
******PLZ NOTE YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PERFORM A RUU FLASH, I ONLY DID ONE TO SHOWCASE HOW EASY IT IS TO REMOVE ROOT ACCESS AND FEATURES ******
Watch this video showcasing how to flash the RUU if you ever need too:
I created part one strickly because I understand how difficult it can be when you want root access but your afraid of the repercussions.
Now that you understand how todo a emergency reflash, lets prepare your phone and computer so they can transmit the root through hboot
STEP TWO - Root Preparations
First things first, download and install HTC sync which can be found at: http://www.htc.com
After its completely installed, open control panel then goto programs and features. Look for HTC sync and uninstall it. But leave the drivers. DO NOT UNINSTALL ANYTHING OTHER THEN HTC SYNC. The drivers are needed to connect your phone in hboot mode. Next, Your going to have to flash a modifed usb driver so you can transmit the root through hboot mode. i was going todo a video for this section but i found this tutorial could showcase what you need todo alot clearer then i could with a video. So just click the following link and continue following along
http://unrevoked.com/rootwiki/doku.php/public/windows_hboot_driver_install
After youve updated the usb hboot driver, its time to prepare your phone. First thing we are going todo is turn on usb debugging. Goto settings>applications>development>usb debugging and turn this feature on. It allows your phone and pc to have a conversation and exchange information with one another. Next, click your back button so your at settings>applications and make sure unknown sources is also turned on. At this point, you should reset your phone and reset your computer. Now that youve prepared your phone and pc to communicate through hboot mode, your ready to use unrevoked to root your phone
STEP THREE - Rooting Your Device Using Unrevoked
Now that your ready fto flash root access, download Unrevoked3 here: http://unrevoked.com/recovery/
Unrevoked is the program used to flash superuser, busybox, and clockwork recovery into your phone. Once downloaded, hook your phone up to your computer and when it asks you what kind of connection you'd like, click charge only and dont ask me again.
Heres a video to showcase the installation. Just follow along:
After youve successfully rooted your device, youve opened your device to most but not all features your device is capable of doing. You now have to S-off using alpharev to fully unlock the power of android.
STEP FOUR - S-Off Precedure With Alpharev
HTC created a new security feature they have implemented into the majority of there phones which blocks the ability to really tweak the phones internal features like your splash screen, boot animations, changing the size of system partitions, etc. You must create a way to bypass the security system which can be done with alpharev s-off procedure.
First thing were gonna do is download the alpharev hboot reflash utility from: http://alpharev.nl/
Once you have this file downloaded, you have to burn it with an iso burning program or place it on a usb drive. I perfer the disc as i have so many laying around. I Used Magic Iso to burn the boot disc which can be found here http://www.magiciso.com/download.htm
Once you have magiciso installed, all u have to do is open it, then click the "Burn dvd/cd with iso" then click the alpharev iso, then burn it.
Once you have your alpharev s-off disc in hand, you must setup your pc so it reads boot discs before it reads windows on your hard drive. To do this, restart your pc. When your pc restarts, it will have a screen with your manufacturers logo. In one of these corners it will say something like "press F5 for setup." press the required button your specific computer asks for and it will bring your too a menu like this:
Your computer will start the boot sequence from the top of the list. So you want to move your cd/dvd drive above your hdd in the boot list. once youve moved it above your hdd, save the changes and close the setup menu. Below is a video of the S-off precedure starting from where the text ended.
After youve successfully s-offed your device, its time to partition your sdcard.
STEP FIVE - Partitioning Your Sd Card With Gparted
A majority of custom roms today come with a feature called "App2sd". This feature allows movement of most applications to your sd card to save valuable system space which is definately needed for a device with such a small amount of room for applications [131mbs] as the desire. To set this feature up, you must first partition your sd card using a program called "Gparted". You can download this program here: http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php
After youve downloaded the file, you must burn it in the same method as you burned alpharev. Again, use magiciso to burn a boot disc you can use to bootup when you turn on your pc. Follow along with this video:
STEP SIX - Stock Nandroid Backup
After youve successfully partitioned your sd card, youve got to make a stock nandroid backup just incase you have an issue with a rom you decided to try.
Watch this video for instructions:
Now that youve made a backup of your stock rom, your ready to flash a custom rom
STEP SEVEN - Flashing A Custom Rom
Now that your ready to flash a custom rom, you have quite afew choices. But after many months of testing, im going to post my personal favorites of each type.
First, we have sense roms. Sense roms are the same as the stock htc rom butwith tweaks and modifications. My personal favorite sense rom is Leedroid which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=768703
Second, we have sense hd roms. sense hd roms are roms pulled from the desire hd. There basically the same as sense roms except they give you extra features like flipclock, the porsonalize button, skins, etc. These are my second favorite type of rom. And my personal favorite sense hd rom is Cool Sense Hd which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=899943
UPDATE- Third, We Have Gingersense roms. Gingersense is a sense hd rom updated to googles gingerbread 2.3.x. So youll have all the greatness of a sense hd rom with the additions of gingerbread like notification settings, a new app drawer etc. These roms are amazing but still in development stages and lack specific features like camera and a proper 3d graphics lib. My personal favorite is Robo's RCMixS which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=988570
Fourth, we have ASOP roms. These are the stock google roms. They are pritty bare minimum roms but incredible in the speed department. These are my favorite type of rom. And my personal favorite of the bunch is Cyanogen Mod 7 which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=957344
Last but not least, we have MIUI roms. These are the closest thing your going to get to an Iphone. If your looking for an iphone look, go with an MIUI rom. Favorite MIUI rom is Xj's 2.3 which can be found here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=957291
It's up to your personal preference, so go ahead and choose your favorite then continue. Im going to use Cyanogen Mod 7 RC3. Follow the video
Now that you have your custom rom installed, your good 2 go! enoy the power of android. The desire is already a great device but with all the extra youve just setup, its spectacular. There are still extras you can flash if you choose too. Step eight is purely optional.
[OPTIONAL] STEP EIGHT - How To Use Android Flasher
Android Flasher is a program for your pc you can use to flash custom splash screens [the 1st screen u see when u bootup ie. the joker alpharev], your boot animation [the cm7 spinning wheel], and your recovery [clockwork, amonra]. Download android flasher here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=794638
And a good desire splashscreen thread is here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=8367224
Basically, extract the downloaded file to your desktop, open it and click android flasher. hook your phone up via usb cable on charge only. click the splashscreen box and begin. it will then ask where the file is. direct it to your file and click ok. it will ask if this is the picture you want. click ok. it will then load the splash into your phone. The odd time you will get a error and it wont flash. If this happens to you, just restart your computer and try again. Also make sure unknown sources is on and usb debugging.
Ive just spent approx 20 hours creating this thread to help all the newcomers to the forum so plz, if this helped you, click the thank you button

Reserved for OP

Reserved for OP

This is an extremely useful guide, and I don't want this thread being polluted with questions. If you have a suggestion for the guide and the OP is willing to do it then post that here.
Questions belong in the Q&A forum. Please keep this thread clean.
Thanks...

Edit> The OP did PM me about my request for PVT4 but as yet its not here so to help others, I shall put it below:
Essential information before rooting
Current Android Software version
Settings>About phone. We need to check if your software is the ARA build (ARA 2.xx.415.x) this is the Arab build
Hboot version, PVT and Erase size.
Boot into Hboot (from off, hold volume down and press power)
Make a note of your Hboot version - Must be lower than 1.06
Make a note of your PVT version. If it is PVT4 you must now check if the erase size is 40,000
"Download Terminal emulator" from the market and open it.
Type "cat /proc/mtd" and press enter. It will return results of either 20,000 or 40,000
The reason we need to know the above:
The ARA build dictates you use unrevoked 3.32 (3.21 is best for anything else)
If erase size is 40,000 Amon RA 2.0.1 is better as Clockworkmod recovery supplied with Unrevoked does not work.
To select a recovery different to clockworkmod in unrevoked, before connecting the phone, go to File > Custom recovery
Hope this helps.
http://androidforums.com/desire-all...g-unrevoked-windows-published-19-03-11-a.html

THANX OP I GOT MY S-OFF FOLLOWING UR PROCEDURE....... NOW I WAS AT ALPHA REV SITE I WANTED TO UPDATE MY HBOOT :-
ravo CM7 r2 145M 5M 287M 0be8c68b41f3ab6dda4f772d6de50760 bravo_alphaspl-cm7r2.img PB99IMG_cm7r2......
TRIED EVERYTHING LIKE:-
DOWNLOADING PB99IMG_cm7r2.ZIP RENAMING IT TO PB99IMG.ZIP THEN TRYING THE FASTBOOT METHOD BUT IT SAYS CID ERROR.....
NEED HELP PLEASE REVERT BAK ... WAITING THANX IN ADVANCE

Tried S-OFF my Desire. Did everything like in instructions, step by step. Now I'm stuck at 3rd step for ~30 mins. On phone is written
"AlphaRev SPLBOOT 2.0
Normal NAND detectef. NonPVT-4."
ON PC screen: waiting for flashing to complete....
and nothing changes...
Any help??

Not so Noob proof for me unfortunately
Unfortunately, not so noob proof for me...since step four gives me an error. I'm using Alpharev's ISO, burned on a cd. Then booting, trying to S-OFF my rooted stock ROM. Then when I see "pushing necessary files to phone" on the screen of my pc, it doesn't go beyond that point.

Thanks man, Everything worked ...... Keep up the Good Work

Thanks, worked perfectly for me.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Many thanks bro...working perfectly for me. Will keep me occupied for days playing with new roms.

hi.
i'm getting stuck at step 5.
After booting computer and plugging in the phone i think it doesn't load properly as i get repeated messages saying - sense key : hardware error - (and some other stuff) and then after a bit the screen goes blank but the computer is still on. i'd previously flashed a gingerbread .zip rom onto the phone if that is a problem?

pjtripp said:
hi.
i'm getting stuck at step 5.
After booting computer and plugging in the phone i think it doesn't load properly as i get repeated messages saying - sense key : hardware error - (and some other stuff) and then after a bit the screen goes blank but the computer is still on. i'd previously flashed a gingerbread .zip rom onto the phone if that is a problem?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is for Gparted? Does it work without plugging the phone in?

a huuge thanks to u my friend
worked like a charm

Nice and easy to follow instructions.
Just have one question. I made partition as showed, but i still have very little room for apps. Do i need to somehow move them to ext partition or move something else to ext partiotion?

cheers man, worked a treat, even sim unlocked it. would have not done it without your guide, thanks a bunch,

does this works also for branded phones?
mine was locked and branded by three uk

Thanks for the instructions !!
I want to unroot my phone, in order to unlock it, then I'll root again.
I have couple of questions:
1) If I take Nandroid backup now that I'm rooted and have custom Rom, can I restore my phone using this backup after I've unroot and root my phone again using same method ?
2) I tried to flash my Desire with shipped RUUs, tried different ones, but none of them worked and they gave me error that the RUU doesn't match my phone or sth .. So someone told me that they have a solution to this. He said I just have to get the rom.zip file from the RUU and rename it to PB99IMG.ZIP and put it in the root of my SD card and using bootloader, I can unroot and go back to stock froyo. The problem is when the bootloader looks into my SD card to find the zip file, it doesn't find it !! I tried different SD cards and changed the name to PB99IMG with and without ".ZIP" and none of them worked !! What am I doing wrong here ?
3) I got an unlock code from interenet, my friends used that website and they unlocked their unrooted HTCs successfully, but I can't because it said I the phone ahs to be unrooted, is that right ?
Many many thanks in advance

ok after partitioning, what is the 1gb used for since moving the apps are to the left 13 gb of memory ?? since all the apps are moved to the 13gb fat32 part...

amir88 said:
Thanks for the instructions !!
I want to unroot my phone, in order to unlock it, then I'll root again.
I have couple of questions:
1) If I take Nandroid backup now that I'm rooted and have custom Rom, can I restore my phone using this backup after I've unroot and root my phone again using same method ?
2) I tried to flash my Desire with shipped RUUs, tried different ones, but none of them worked and they gave me error that the RUU doesn't match my phone or sth .. So someone told me that they have a solution to this. He said I just have to get the rom.zip file from the RUU and rename it to PB99IMG.ZIP and put it in the root of my SD card and using bootloader, I can unroot and go back to stock froyo. The problem is when the bootloader looks into my SD card to find the zip file, it doesn't find it !! I tried different SD cards and changed the name to PB99IMG with and without ".ZIP" and none of them worked !! What am I doing wrong here ?
3) I got an unlock code from interenet, my friends used that website and they unlocked their unrooted HTCs successfully, but I can't because it said I the phone ahs to be unrooted, is that right ?
Many many thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You shouldnt have to be unrooted, no. Also, you dont need unlock codes for the desire anymore. See here
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=943726

[STICKY]NEW Showcase Newbie Guide

After bdemartino wrote his AWESOME thread for the Mesmerize it seemed only fitting that the Showcase get their very own... And since his Thread was Flawless, with his permission I'm mostly copy/pasting word for word. as I am copying most of this from elijablake . . . so thanks this thread needs some editing, and I will be working on that in the future . . . . specifically the CWM / ROM manager which will not work. I could use some assistance in rewriting that part. TY!
BEST. ADVICE. EVER. #samsung-mesmerize on irc.freenode.net
<3<3<3<3<3
Also, read the Glossary for definitions and such. I was not the sharpest tool in the shed and it took me a while to find this . . .
Disclaimers
CSOUTH IS RELEASEING 2.2 UPDATE THIS WEEK (6/26). You may just want to wait for that to be released. This thread will be updated when the release occurs as how to flash recovery that you can flash roms with etc.
Keep in mind there are many variations to each step, this is what worked for me the easiest. READ ALOT BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANYTHING!!
There is always the disclaimer that attempting any of this can and will make your phone dysfunctional and or possibly bricked beyond repair (but most likely just dysfunctional which is a pain in the arse to deal with) if you do not follow steps completely (and of a trustworthy source such as xda - ehm and in the appropriate forum ).
Steps to get to 2.2 (EB11) on your phone:
**Please note that the links were removed by CSouth for copyright (COPY WRONG *****ES) reasons. So if you can find the files somewhere (ahem . . . ) then you can follow these steps. THIS GUIDE IS PURELY FOR EDUCATIONAL VALUE, I DO NOT ADVOCATE BREAKING COPYRIGHT LAW.
I highly recommend using Heimdall rather than Odin. Don't ask me why . . . maybe because it has a command line utility and it is cross platform. So my instructions will be for using Heimdall.
After you have the downloaded files (from wherever you might have gotten them, you bad bad person) unzip and look for the following files:
-factoryfs.rfs
-modem.bin
-recovery.bin
-zImage
1) Put your phone in download mode by powering down your device, removing the battery, connecting the USB to your computer, and holding the volume down button. It shouldn't take long. You should see a little Android with a shovel.
2) In Heimdall, if using the GUI, put all of the files in their obviously appropriate spots. Don't worry if not everything is filled, just use the files that you have. (You should be using the repartition with the .pit file, the zImage with the Kernel, the recovery, and the modem)
If using the command line utility, cd to the directory where you unzipped the files and
Code:
heimdall flash --repartition --pit atlas_v2.2.1.pit --factoryfs factoryfs.rfs --kernel zImage --modem modem.bin --recovery recovery.bin
Wait for the process to finish, your phone will reboot at the end.
3. That is all, now your phone is updated to 2.2.1. Put the battery back in and boot your new shiny toy!
DO NOT DISCONNECT USB DURING THIS PROCESS AS IT COULD BE POTENTIALLY DISASTROUS!!! DON'T EVEN TOUCH IT AS I HAVE FOUND THE USB CONNECTION TO BE A BIT FLAKY!
Also, it is ok if it takes your phone what seems like forever to boot. This happens whenever you install a new kernel, just be patient.
If you have gotten the most updated batch of files, you should have the proper recovery to begin flashing. If not, well seek help . . . You should have RED RECOVERY!
See here for more information about CWM or go on irc.
To access recovery, you can use the three finger method. (Hold down the volume up and down keys and the power button all at the same time when you're turning your phone on) Once you see the Samsung splash screen you can remove your finger from the power button, but keep holding down both volume keys.
You should then go here to check out themes and mods.
Steps For Rooting either 2.1 or 2.2.1
Basically all this means is gaining the ability to give programs/apps and yourself SuperUser access (equivalent of being admin in windows) and also the ability to flash roms via recovery, detailed below.
**NOTE: most custom roms come rooted, so if you are installing a custom rom in 2.2.1, you most likely don't have to go through these steps. Just flash to the ROM you want . . . ***
The easiest way to root is through the z4root.apk. (an application that will run right on your phone)
Download Here
After download, put z4root.apk on your SD card root directory
Then make sure in Settings->Applications that the "Unknown sources" box is checked.
If you don't have a file manager, download a free one from the market, using the file manager navigate to the z4root.apk and select to install it. Note: If you need help at this step, no offense I would suggest getting someone with more experience to help you continue on. I'm serious here
Reboot your phone
After it boots, open the z4root app and press root. At this point it is going to hang, give it 2 minutes and pull the battery. Count to 10, put it back in and turn it on. - This is normal
After your phone boots open z4root again and click root, this time it will run no problems and phone will reboot.
NOTE**IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS WITH z4root: "give Super One Click a try. It's a package you have to download to your computer, but you get to see more of what's actually going on so you know where it's at in the process. I have only used up to version 1.5.5, and I know that version is very capable for the Showcase. It is located here."-This Information provided by phidelt82**
Once you are rooted (you will see the superuser icon in your apps, it will show apps you've given that permission to... eventually) you will need to make sure you have a file manager that can request root permissions (read/write) before you will be able to complete the next step. Search the market for "root file manager" and pick one to download and install.
I use Root Explorer
It's a few bucks, but there's hardly a day that goes by when I don't use it.. (Well worth the money)
THE ECLAIR SECTION IS REMOVED AS CSOUTH IS RELEASING UPDATE THIS WEEK (6/27)

Hehmmmm....

nice write-up!

Upgraded the Showcase to 2.2.1 build EE25 with Samsung Kies this morning. Also had no issue rooting with superoneclick.

cpflow said:
Upgraded the Showcase to 2.2.1 build EE25 with Samsung Kies this morning. Also had no issue rooting with superoneclick.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Kies has 2.3 out now =)

Kies Mini have 2.3.5 out now for generic cdma showcase.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
*Edit*
It seem everyone forgot about the Samsung Showcase Galaxy S Generic CDMA.
I managed to Root it flash CWMR and flash TSM TW 4.0 ROM. but then try to go back to stock and lost 3G. So I returned it and get a new one. No more mods for me I'm done no one cares about Generic CDMA.

Can someone provide directions to install a custom rom for a Showcase running stock 2.3.4? I don't have root. I'd really appreciate any help!

UPDATE[7/22/12] The Beginners Guide !!! (NOOBS)[ALL IN 1 RESOURCE GUIDE]

Hopefully this will get some attention and help some people out before they dig that treacherous hole that they cant get out of and of course for the ever present (NOOBS) The guys that are brand new to Android and hit the ground running full speed with the itch to do something but just dont know what to do
So with that said before you go junking up the forums asking for help. Do us all a big favor and USE THE SEARCH BUTTON!!!!!! Please read and abide by all the forum rules as this includes duplicate posts as well!! Do a little homework before you get the itchy finger and do something you foolishly shouldn't have! And before you delete something make sure you know what it is. THE SAFEST THING TO DO IS JUST FREEZE IT!!!!
Rules:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?f=1058
Our Mod asking to keep the place clean:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1337004
** IF YOU ARE HAVING APPS DISAPPEAR, A MESSAGE OF NOT ENOUGH STORAGE SPACE FOR APPS, OR COMPUTER NOT RECOGNIZING THE SD CARD LOOK HERE!! MAKE SURE ALL APPS ARE INSTALED TO INTERNAL MEMORY AND NOT ON THE SD CARD.IF YOU HAVE APPS ON THE SD CARD YOU WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS!!! THIS PHONE DOESN'T PLAY WELL WITH CERTAIN CLASS 10 SD CARDS, THE SAFEST THING IS TO HAVE A CLASS 6 OR LESS CARD AND MAKE SURE THE CARD IS FORMATTED CORRECTLY!
First I want to thank Swiftks, as I am borrowing a lot of his work from the OG ATRIX forum
Lets start with some basic terminology & general understanding:
What is Root / Rooting?
Put simply, Rooting your device allows you, and/or rooted apps, to access parts of the Linux based Android software that is your OS, and that you would otherwise not be able to access. These tasks can be as simple and beneficial as backing up your system setting, or as complicated as installing custom ROMs, Kernels, etc. (more on this later).
What are Fastboot files or (FXZ) ?
Fastboot files (FXZ),contains a firmware image that can be installed on your device. i.e. they are more of less what you are installing on your device when you do a OTA (over the air) update; except an actual Fastboot file (FXZ) that you download and flash on your own will most of the time not only contain the updated info. in the OTA, but also all the other “stock” info. that came with the device. That’s why when you flash a Fastboot file (FXZ) it will return you to a stock/retail device.
What is ADB?
ADB = Android Debug Bridge. So what this basically is, is a command/terminal based interface you can run from your PC, to interact with your device and its file structure. You can PUSH (install) programs, apps, .apk files, etc. to your device, move things around, set permissions, etc. One of the primary things to remember when trying to use adb, is that you need to enable debugging on your device. In fact it’s a good idea to enable this, and leave it that way… forever! This setting can be found on your device under Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging
Here is a list of helpful adb commands:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=ADB
What is a ROM?
A rom is like a custom firmware image that is made by a Developer either entirely from scratch, or based off of the official firmware package. Some ROMs contain simple changes like changing icons and adding extra options to things, other more complicated ROMs can change the entire Android experience. Which one you will want to flash, will be entirely up to you. Read carefully, and make sure you understand what you are getting into before you flash.
What is a Kernel?
As a rule of thumb, if you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t be messing with this anyway. But hey, best for you to at least know what it is. A kernel is the heart of the device's OS. In simplest terms it’s a connection between your apps and your device’s hardware; i.e. the processor, RAM, etc. A custom kernel can dramatically change the way your device’s hardware performs… for the better and/or the worse.
**Right now we currently have a LOCKED BOOTLOADER so we can not change Kernal's at this time, IF the Bootloader gets unlocked this WILL change !!
What is a Bootloader?
The bootloader is a program code that is executed before the device OS starts up, and that instructs that device to boot “normally”. The bootloader can come locked or unlocked from the manufacture. A unlocked bootloader will allow you to install custom ROMs & Kernels (as well as some other neat things) on your device.
**Currently our BOOTLOADER IS LOCKED!!! but you can take a look here and join in if ya want to!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328714
What is a odexed and de-odexed framework, and what is the difference between the two?
Just read this:
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/what-is-odex-and-deodex-in-android-complete-guide/
What is CWM Recovery (ClockWorkMod Recovery)?
CWM is a custom recovery program that allows you to backup / restore a full or partial system backup of your device. It also allows you to install flashable .zip files; which is one of the primary installation methods for custom ROMs. It also provides other neat features such as cache wiping, battery reset, and other processes. Long story short, if you are thinking about flashing custom ROMs or just want a really good backup program, incase you FUBAR your device, you need to install this.
What is Fastboot?
Again, just read these for description & helpful Commands:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=619153 [Thanks briggie108]
or
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fastboot
What is all this CM7 stuff about?
CM7 stands for CyanogenMod. It's a very popular ROM, b/c of its built-in options, great enchantments and total removal of manufacture software; i.e. all that MotoBlur stuff on your device is gone. It is a stripped down fast and well designed ROM with a custom kernel, that allows for easy flashing of great custom themes (just check out the General Theme Section for Android on XDA). Only a small selection of Android devices have a "official" release of CM7, however almost all Android devices have a "un-official" port for it.
More info. on CM7 can be found here:
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/
And here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod
The #1 rule of CyanogenMod is that you do not ask for timetables!!! You have been warned. If you choose to ignore my warning, ask away and prepare to be blasted until you cry.
SOME RECOMMENDATONS FOR THE FLASHAHOLICS!!
ALWAYS HAVE A BACKUP ON YOUR SD CARD AT ALL TIMES FOR EMERGENCY!!
HERE IS A LIST AND GUIDE THAT WILL HELP YOU OUT AND SAVE YOU A LOT OF HEADACHES!!
GO HERE AND READ THE GUIDE!!
HOW TO FLASH A FXZ:
FXZ Hints, Tricks & Guidelines:
- Always make sure to flash with a full battery! The last thing you want to do is run out of juice in the middle of a FXZ flash; that's a great way to brick your device.
- As a general rule of thumb before flashing a FXZ file to your device, you should always download the FXZ file to a file path on your computer with the least possible spaces (i.e. the shorter the file path to the FXZ file the better). So just download it to the root drive of your computer, such as C:\.
- If you are running Windows on your PC, open RSD Lite as a Administrator. Also, when you open RSD Lite, Instead of browsing for the FXZ file via the normal “…” button in the program, just drag the sbf file onto the file path bar in RSD Lite. Sometimes, the FXZ file will not load when you select it via the browser button in RSD Lite (again I have no idea why).
- Once your FXZ file begins to flash to your device, be patient… the device will re-boot at least a couple times in the flash process. Do not get jumpy and disconnect your device until RSD Lite says you are 100% done! Doing so can cause your device to BRICK! If for some reason you have waited for an inordinate amount of time, and it does not say finished, then ask for help on the thread, before unplugging. The same goes for pulling the battery. DO NOT DO THAT!!! Pulling your battery during a sbf flash, is one sure fire way to brick your device. Only pull the battery as a last resort and only after you have asked for help.
STEPS:
1) Have the correct Motorola drivers installed for your PC (i.e. x32-bit or x64-bit).
Here is the Motorola Driver site
http://www.motorola.com/consumers/v...59431210VgnVCM1000008406b00aRCRD&pubid=987654
2) Download RSD Lite & install on your PC.
Here is the latest version to download (RSD Lite 5.6)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=784077&d=1321414457
3) Choose the FXZ file to download
Android 2.3.5 ---- Blur_Version.55.11.16.MB865.ATT.en.US
InlineFlashing_edison_5.5.175.16_cfc_p3_APBP_CID28 5.zip
http://www.fileserve.com/file/erjAuTR/InlineFlashing_edison_5.5.175.16_cfc_p3_APBP_CID285.zip
or
www.multiupload.com/W3UH3W5LU0
4) Make sure you alternatively boot into AP Fastboot mode by powering down (or pulling battery), then press and hold the volume up and down button while powering on.
5) Plug your phone into a back USB port on your computer.
Front USB ports are often unreliable when it comes to power levels. They should not be used for flashing.
6)Run “RSD Lite” on your computer
7)Press the “. . .” button next to the box labeled “Filename”
8)Browse and open the FXZ file or just just drag the FXZ file onto the file path bar in RSD Lite
9)Wait for the program to read the file, then choose “START”
10) Now, the device will slowly flash the FXZ file. BE PATIENT AS THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE!
11) Congratulations! You’ve restored your ATRIX 2!!
How to flash the FXZ once applying the OTA update and get back to 2.3.5, ONCE YOU UPDATE TO THE OTS 2.3.6 YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO FLASH THE 2.3.5 FXZ WITHOUT FOLLOWING THESE STEPS BELOW!!
NOTE: Download this file HERE -
Unzip it and move all the the items in it to the stock fxz. You might get a warning about replacing files, just click OK. NOTE that Windows might not be able to handle the size of the fxz. I have 6 GB RAM but Windows still wasn't able to perform a drag-and-drop through the fxz's zip. I recommend that you just unzip the fxz and then put the files in. (You don't have to rezip it either, RSD Lite will still recognize it and will flash faster).
You should be able to use RSD Lite to flash the file.
THANKS TO COGEARY FOR THESE STEPS
How to flash the FXZ once applying the ICS leak, YOUR STUCK ON ICS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE WE ARE TRYING TO GET A WORKING METHOD OUT BUT UNTIL THEN YOUR STUCK, SO IF YOU DONT TAKE THIS CAUTION SERIOUSLY AND YOU BRICK YOUR PHONE, DONT COME CRYING AND MAKING NEW THREADS ASKING FOR HELP!!! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.....!!
HOW TO UNLOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER FOR ANDROID 2.3.5
Still a work in progress but you can take a look here and join in if ya want to!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328714
HOW TO ROOT YOUR DEVICE
FOR ANDROID 2.3.5
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18942700&postcount=1
FOR ANDROID 2.3.6
Install the OTA and upgrade your phone to 2.3.6
Download the 2.3.6 root zip from HERE
Make sure you have the right drivers installed then connect your phone to your PC.
Unzip the file and then double-click "Click-To-Root.bat".
THE FOLLOWING METHODS BELOW FOR MAINTAINING ROOT SHOULD BE NO LONGER A NECESSITY BUT I'M LEAVING THEM FOR REFERENCE IN CASE WE NEED THEM IN THE FUTURE
How to maintain root through any OTA update! THIS MUST BE PERFORMED BEFORE INSTALLING THE UPDATE!!!!
You can use Root Explorer for a copy/paste method DO NOT USE ES FILE EXPLORER!!! or you can use adb push/pull if you prefer the manual way.
Root Explorer copy/paste method - make sure you make system r/w
go to /system/bin/
open in text editor – mount_ext3.sh
add the 3 following lines to the very bottom
chmod 4755 /system/bin/su
chmod 4755 /system/xbin/su
chmod 4755 /system/app/Superuser.apk
ADB Shell Method
1) download the mount_ext3.sh file, .... get it HERE
2) open a command line in the directory you saved the file
3) run the following commands:
adb push mount_ext3.sh /data/local
adb shell
su
cd /data/local
mount -o remount, rw /system
cp ./mount_ext3.sh /system/bin
chown root /system/bin/mount_ext3.sh
chmod 755 /system/bin/mount_ext3.sh
mount -o remount, ro /system
reboot
4) Then run the update
Thanks to Jimbridgman for this version
HOW TO INSTALL CWM RECOVERY
ATRIX 2 BOOTSTRAP
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19355021&postcount=1.... everyone send a thanks to Nitroglycerin33 for taking the time to modify this for us
[Safestrap] (STILL A WIP)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1427007
WHAT DO I DO IF MY DEVICE WILL NOT FULLY BOOT??? (i.e. Boot Loop or Soft Brick)
Follow the directions in the FXZ section to get that phone back to operational status
ROMs & Kernels:
ROMS
[ROM] STOCK Deodexed - With 2Themes
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420980
[ROM] Supercharged Atrix
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1441397
[ROM] CM9 Barely Alpha (WIP)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1427026
[ROM] Rebel Rom
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1543792
[ROM] Atrix Blaze
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1550693
[ROM] Romulus & Remus
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1686157
[ROM] Lithium
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1591790
[ROM] Bullet
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1670350
[ROM] Supercharged V2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1648421
[ROM] Sonya V4 AtriXperia
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1584505
KERNELS
For future reference
THEMES
[THeme] ICS Blue [THEME][WIP]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1383779
[Theme] Darkened Blur
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1332470
OTHER MODS & FIXES
[Mod] Webtop via HDMI without a Dock
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1357600
[How to] get full ubuntu and your favorite desktop in webtop
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1375042#
[How to] Disable CarrierIQ on the Atrix 2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1402657
[Overclock]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1405964
[MOD by APP] Nebtop - Universal HDMI Webtop hack
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410509
[Reference] List of things that are safe to freeze
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1330235
A lot of people don't like the stock camera and have purchased Camera FX Zoom from the market and have had great results
Enable Built In wifi Hotspot
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328588
1% Battery Mod (MUST BE ON STOCK DEODEXED ROM!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1437712
1% Battery Mod- 6 options
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1449631
[MOD] BlurHome Launcher - ICS StYLE
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1529488
[MOD] blurhome2.apk UPDATE! 2.3.6 added
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1486299
As things progress I will continue to update and if you think I need to add anything send me a PM

very nice... sticky this please

iB4STiD said:
very nice... sticky this please
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I second this most definitely good job man
Sent from my MB865 using XDA Premium

awww beat me to it hehe I made a link reference too lol after seeing a bunch of similar post

Noobtastic!

Sticky itt.

Great post, this may be a bit preemptive but my first questions are;
What is an FXZ and is it used the same way an sbf is?
What are the recovery options before(if any) and after there is an unlocked bootloader?

Yes, great post. Mods, please sticky this.
Jim
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

dolph8886 said:
Great post, this may be a bit preemptive but my first questions are;
What is an FXZ and is it used the same way an sbf is?
What are the recovery options before(if any) and after there is an unlocked bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
An fxz file is the same as an sbf, and you would use RSD Lite to restore your phone with.
With and without a bootloader unlock CMW will still be the best ways for recovery. The fxz file and rsd is still the only way out of a soft brick and we don't have that just yet.
Jim
Sent from my MB865 using xda premium

Been having several questions regarding the FXZ....editing it now.
Hope that helps!

Stupid Question - Thanks Button?
I see your use the thanks button.... could you point me in the right direction to find it? BTW I really appreciate your guys joint efforts for the A2, have one and cannot wait for the unlocked bootloader and custom roms. Thanks again.

Thanks!!! Exactly what I was looking for!

The link for the fxz is broken just let ya know..least for me it was
Sent from my MB865 using XDA Premium

Got it fixed

another link:
dl.dropbox .com/u/29105592/InlineFlashing_edison_5.5.175.16_cfc_p3_APBP_CID285.zip

The link on de-odex and such I'd broken also
Sent from my MB865 using XDA Premium

tried to flash and rsd gets stuck
i tried to flash my atrix 2 with rsd lite, it all goes well until it gets to the "preinstall.img" it just says failed, and stops.
the phone will still boot up but nothing is there except a stock background.
no pull down screen, icons, nothing.
what can i do to get back going?
---------- Post added at 08:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:31 PM ----------
matt99017d said:
i tried to flash my atrix 2 with rsd lite, it all goes well until it gets to the "preinstall.img" it just says failed, and stops.
the phone will still boot up but nothing is there except a stock background.
no pull down screen, icons, nothing.
what can i do to get back going?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
k i got it to install all the way through, but i still get the same screen.

after doing it several times i tried to install my SIM card and everything came to life.

frycook15 said:
The link on de-odex and such I'd broken also
Sent from my MB865 using XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Got it repaired and thanks for the extra download link for the FXZ

JRW 28 said:
Hopefully this will get some attention and help some people out before they dig that treacherous hole that they cant get out of and of course for the ever present (NOOBS) The guys that are brand new to Android and hit the ground running full speed with the itch to do something but just dont know what to do
So with that said before you go junking up the forums asking for help. Do us all a big favor and USE THE SEARCH BUTTON!!!!!! Please read and abide by all the forum rules as this includes duplicate posts as well!! Do a little homework before you get the itchy finger and do something you foolishly shouldn't have! And before you delete something make sure you know what it is. THE SAFEST THING TO DO IS JUST FREEZE IT!!!!
Rules:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/announcement.php?f=1058
Our Mod asking to keep the place clean:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1337004
** IF YOU ARE HAVING APPS DISAPPEAR, A MESSAGE OF NOT ENOUGH STORAGE SPACE FOR APPS, OR COMPUTER NOT RECOGNIZING THE SD CARD LOOK HERE!! MAKE SURE ALL APPS ARE INSTALED TO INTERNAL MEMORY AND NOT ON THE SD CARD.IF YOU HAVE APPS ON THE SD CARD YOU WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS!!! THIS PHONE DOESN'T PLAY WELL WITH CERTAIN CLASS 10 SD CARDS, THE SAFEST THING IS TO HAVE A CLASS 6 OR LESS CARD AND MAKE SURE THE CARD IS FORMATTED CORRECTLY!
First I want to thank Swiftks, as I am borrowing a lot of his work from the OG ATRIX forum
Lets start with some basic terminology & general understanding:
What is Root / Rooting?
Put simply, Rooting your device allows you, and/or rooted apps, to access parts of the Linux based Android software that is your OS, and that you would otherwise not be able to access. These tasks can be as simple and beneficial as backing up your system setting, or as complicated as installing custom ROMs, Kernels, etc. (more on this later).
What are Fastboot files or (FXZ) ?
Fastboot files (FXZ),contains a firmware image that can be installed on your device. i.e. they are more of less what you are installing on your device when you do a OTA (over the air) update; except an actual Fastboot file (FXZ) that you download and flash on your own will most of the time not only contain the updated info. in the OTA, but also all the other “stock” info. that came with the device. That’s why when you flash a Fastboot file (FXZ) it will return you to a stock/retail device.
What is ADB?
ADB = Android Debug Bridge. So what this basically is, is a command/terminal based interface you can run from your PC, to interact with your device and its file structure. You can PUSH (install) programs, apps, .apk files, etc. to your device, move things around, set permissions, etc. One of the primary things to remember when trying to use adb, is that you need to enable debugging on your device. In fact it’s a good idea to enable this, and leave it that way… forever! This setting can be found on your device under Settings -> Applications -> Development -> USB debugging
Here is a list of helpful adb commands:
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=ADB
What is a ROM?
A rom is like a custom firmware image that is made by a Developer either entirely from scratch, or based off of the official firmware package. Some ROMs contain simple changes like changing icons and adding extra options to things, other more complicated ROMs can change the entire Android experience. Which one you will want to flash, will be entirely up to you. Read carefully, and make sure you understand what you are getting into before you flash.
What is a Kernel?
As a rule of thumb, if you have to ask, you probably shouldn’t be messing with this anyway. But hey, best for you to at least know what it is. A kernel is the heart of the device's OS. In simplest terms it’s a connection between your apps and your device’s hardware; i.e. the processor, RAM, etc. A custom kernel can dramatically change the way your device’s hardware performs… for the better and/or the worse.
**Right now we currently have a LOCKED BOOTLOADER so we can not change Kernal's at this time, IF the Bootloader gets unlocked this WILL change !!
What is a Bootloader?
The bootloader is a program code that is executed before the device OS starts up, and that instructs that device to boot “normally”. The bootloader can come locked or unlocked from the manufacture. A unlocked bootloader will allow you to install custom ROMs & Kernels (as well as some other neat things) on your device.
**Currently our BOOTLOADER IS LOCKED!!! but you can take a look here and join in if ya want to!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328714
What is a odexed and de-odexed framework, and what is the difference between the two?
Just read this:
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/what-is-odex-and-deodex-in-android-complete-guide/
What is CWM Recovery (ClockWorkMod Recovery)?
CWM is a custom recovery program that allows you to backup / restore a full or partial system backup of your device. It also allows you to install flashable .zip files; which is one of the primary installation methods for custom ROMs. It also provides other neat features such as cache wiping, battery reset, and other processes. Long story short, if you are thinking about flashing custom ROMs or just want a really good backup program, incase you FUBAR your device, you need to install this.
What is Fastboot?
Again, just read these for description & helpful Commands:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=619153 [Thanks briggie108]
or
http://android-dls.com/wiki/index.php?title=Fastboot
What is all this CM7 stuff about?
CM7 stands for CyanogenMod. It's a very popular ROM, b/c of its built-in options, great enchantments and total removal of manufacture software; i.e. all that MotoBlur stuff on your device is gone. It is a stripped down fast and well designed ROM with a custom kernel, that allows for easy flashing of great custom themes (just check out the General Theme Section for Android on XDA). Only a small selection of Android devices have a "official" release of CM7, however almost all Android devices have a "un-official" port for it.
More info. on CM7 can be found here:
http://www.cyanogenmod.com/
And here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CyanogenMod
The #1 rule of CyanogenMod is that you do not ask for timetables!!! You have been warned. If you choose to ignore my warning, ask away and prepare to be blasted until you cry.
HOW TO FLASH A FXZ:
FXZ Hints, Tricks & Guidelines:
- Always make sure to flash with a full battery! The last thing you want to do is run out of juice in the middle of a FXZ flash; that's a great way to brick your device.
- As a general rule of thumb before flashing a FXZ file to your device, you should always download the FXZ file to a file path on your computer with the least possible spaces (i.e. the shorter the file path to the FXZ file the better). So just download it to the root drive of your computer, such as C:\.
- If you are running Windows on your PC, open RSD Lite as a Administrator. Also, when you open RSD Lite, Instead of browsing for the FXZ file via the normal “…” button in the program, just drag the sbf file onto the file path bar in RSD Lite. Sometimes, the FXZ file will not load when you select it via the browser button in RSD Lite (again I have no idea why).
- Once your FXZ file begins to flash to your device, be patient… the device will re-boot at least a couple times in the flash process. Do not get jumpy and disconnect your device until RSD Lite says you are 100% done! Doing so can cause your device to BRICK! If for some reason you have waited for an inordinate amount of time, and it does not say finished, then ask for help on the thread, before unplugging. The same goes for pulling the battery. DO NOT DO THAT!!! Pulling your battery during a sbf flash, is one sure fire way to brick your device. Only pull the battery as a last resort and only after you have asked for help.
STEPS:
1) Have the correct Motorola drivers installed for your PC (i.e. x32-bit or x64-bit).
Here is the Motorola Driver site
http://www.motorola.com/consumers/v...59431210VgnVCM1000008406b00aRCRD&pubid=987654
2) Download RSD Lite & install on your PC.
Here is the latest version to download (RSD Lite 5.6)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=784077&d=1321414457
3) Choose the FXZ file to download
Android 2.3.5 ---- Blur_Version.55.11.16.MB865.ATT.en.US
InlineFlashing_edison_5.5.175.16_cfc_p3_APBP_CID28 5.zip
http://www.filesonic.com/file/e95BAnx/InlineFlashing_edison_5.5.175.16_cfc_p3_APBP_CID285.zip
or
www.multiupload.com/W3UH3W5LU0
4) Make sure you alternatively boot into AP Fastboot mode by powering down (or pulling battery), then press and hold the volume up and down button while powering on.
5) Plug your phone into a back USB port on your computer.
Front USB ports are often unreliable when it comes to power levels. They should not be used for flashing.
6)Run “RSD Lite” on your computer
7)Press the “. . .” button next to the box labeled “Filename”
8)Browse and open the FXZ file or just just drag the FXZ file onto the file path bar in RSD Lite
9)Wait for the program to read the file, then choose “START”
10) Now, the device will slowly flash the FXZ file. BE PATIENT AS THIS MAY TAKE A WHILE!
11) Congratulations! You’ve restored your ATRIX 2!!
HOW TO UNLOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER FOR ANDROID 2.3.5
Still a work in progress but you can take a look here and join in if ya want to!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328714
HOW TO ROOT YOUR DEVICE ON ANDROID 2.3.5
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=18942700&postcount=1
as other ways become available I will continue to update.
HOW TO INSTALL CWM RECOVERY
ATRIX 2 BOOTSTRAP
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=19355021&postcount=1.... everyone send a thanks to Nitroglycerin33 for taking the time to modify this for us
[Safestrap] (STILL A WIP)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1427007
WHAT DO I DO IF MY DEVICE WILL NOT FULLY BOOT??? (i.e. Boot Loop or Soft Brick)
Follow the directions in the FXZ section to get that phone back to operational status
ROMs & Kernels:
For future reference
ROMS
[ROM] STOCK Deodexed - With 2Themes
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1420980
[ROM] Supercharged Atrix
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1441397
[ROM] CM9 Barely Alpha (WIP)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1427026
KERNELS
For future reference
THEMES
[THeme] ICS Blue [THEME][WIP]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1383779
[Theme] Darkened Blur
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1332470
OTHER MODS & FIXES
[Mod] Webtop via HDMI without a Dock
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1357600
[How to] get full ubuntu and your favorite desktop in webtop
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1375042#
[How to] Disable CarrierIQ on the Atrix 2
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1402657
[Overclock]
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1405964
[MOD by APP] Nebtop - Universal HDMI Webtop hack
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1410509
[Reference] List of things that are safe to freeze
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1330235
A lot of people don't like the stock camera and have purchased Camera FX Zoom from the market and have had great results
Enable Built In wifi Hotspot
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1328588
1% Battery Mod (MUST BE ON STOCK DEODEXED ROM!)
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1437712
As things progress I will continue to update and if you think I need to add anything send me a PM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
idk what is going on but it rsd lite keeps saying flashed failed
---------- Post added at 01:05 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:04 AM ----------
help ?? im dumb

[Q] 100% Original Stock ROM backup before root?

Hi there,
I am new to xda and new to Android hacking.
What I wanna ask is, (I guess it's of most newbies concern as well), can we have a 100% backup of our system (stock ROM)? Obviously, it is important because:
If we perform an official (OTA) update to a new Android version. And we don't like it. It is possible to get back to the old original one which we are used to. (not everybody likes new things, and/or not every new thing is good)
If our phones are having some problems. And we have to give it back to the company for a fix. In most cases they will flash a new ROM for us. If we wanna keep using the old one (explained in #1), we have to keep a copy of it by ourselves.
If we want to try new custom ROMs, we may want to switch it back after trying.
Whenever we do any modifications, it's always better to keep a backup/roll-back point. In case anything goes wrong, we have a safeguard.
For the official warranty issue.
Yup I do see there are some official stock ROMs downloads for some particular phones. But those are not really a backup of our original ROMs. And it's always hard to verify if those downloads are the original official releases. And, if those downloads are 100% stock ROMs, this means some guys out there could make it, so what is the way to do so?
Or, how those mobile phone companies do it in their labs?
I have been doing researches on this topic for a few days. Some posts claim that their methods are "backup stock ROM" or "backup before rooting". But after digging into it, they requires rooting and/or flashing CWM. Here comes a few questions:
Questions
Rooting will in fact changes some files/data of the system. So backup after root is NOT getting the original stock ROM. Is it?
Is there a method to "un-root", so ALL the changes are TOTALLY reverted?
Installing/flashing things like CWM in phone requires rooting, which would make the ROM not original. Is there a way to extract the system backup from a computer externally?
In addition, I have found some related pieces. which could be useful to anyone viewing this post, and might be useful for you to solve this (my) question. :fingers-crossed:
* as I'm a new user, I can't post links directly. Please delete the blank spaces in between.
ht tp://www .modaco .com/topic/351269-backup-original-rom/
In reply #5, user C3C0 raised a method of backing up the original stock ROM without root. But it seems he is flashing CWM and that method is only for ZTE Skate.
adb backup tool of Android SDK
At the first sight i came across this approach, I thought it is the official method to do whole system (ROM) backup (WOW - how nice!). But after studying for a few more posts, I think adb backup can only backup app+app_data, and possibly some system settings only. Am I correct? And also, adb backup is only for ICS (Android 4.0), isn't it?
adb backup usage: ht tp://forum.xda-developers .com/showthread.php?t=1420351
(But mentioned in the bottom of #1 the poster is having some issues on using adb backup. Perhaps there are some bugs and not reliable(?)
One more question on adb backup: Can it backup just one app+app_data, and restore just one app+app_data, without affecting other things? If yes, we don't need to root and don't need Titanium Backup (which requires root) for backup app+app_data. Isn't it?
** In case I have said anything or any terms wrongly in this thread, please DO correct me, for helping me and helping others.
P.S. i am using LG Optimus 3D.
Thanks a lot, wholeheartedly,
midnite_

Backup phone before root
Hello all this is my first post here...woohoo!:fingers-crossed: This forum is amazing as to the amount of information available. I just wish that in looking for what I need to do I did not need to look in so many places. I feel that if I want to root my T-Mobile GS3 that all the information should be in one subsection of the forum, but it is not that simple I guess....lol Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Samsung GS3 with T-Mobile that I want to root. Everyone says to back up the phone before you do it but I am not really seeing how to make a backup before I start. It appears that most of the guides to root just say to backup without telling you how to fo it. Another thing (correct me if I am wrong) I see the nandroid backup that I think is a backup of the phone however it seems to be done after you make changes to the phone and I thought the backup was supposed to be done before you do anything. Is it that there is not a way to make a complete backup with an unrooted phone?
My question is basically the same as the OP here. I have been reading and reading and reading posts here in the forum. There is much information here and much of it is duplicated with slight variances in some of the duplicates. I am not certain as to which rooting method I should use. There seem to be so many choices. As a new person to this forum I will say that you can find just about everything about any phone which is awesome. The hard thing is sifting through the many options to pick one to use for your issue.
I do see that Mr. Robinson has a thread with backups of the original roms. The only thing is that they are default roms that are like an out of the box phone and not my phone with my apps and my settings. That is what I want to backup...My phone with my settings and my apps.
:good: Thank you in advance for any one that can shed some light on this for me and the OP'er

ASharpEdge said:
Hello all this is my first post here...woohoo!:fingers-crossed: This forum is amazing as to the amount of information available. I just wish that in looking for what I need to do I did not need to look in so many places. I feel that if I want to root my T-Mobile GS3 that all the information should be in one subsection of the forum, but it is not that simple I guess....lol Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Samsung GS3 with T-Mobile that I want to root. Everyone says to back up the phone before you do it but I am not really seeing how to make a backup before I start. It appears that most of the guides to root just say to backup without telling you how to fo it. Another thing (correct me if I am wrong) I see the nandroid backup that I think is a backup of the phone however it seems to be done after you make changes to the phone and I thought the backup was supposed to be done before you do anything. Is it that there is not a way to make a complete backup with an unrooted phone?
My question is basically the same as the OP here. I have been reading and reading and reading posts here in the forum. There is much information here and much of it is duplicated with slight variances in some of the duplicates. I am not certain as to which rooting method I should use. There seem to be so many choices. As a new person to this forum I will say that you can find just about everything about any phone which is awesome. The hard thing is sifting through the many options to pick one to use for your issue.
I do see that Mr. Robinson has a thread with backups of the original roms. The only thing is that they are default roms that are like an out of the box phone and not my phone with my apps and my settings. That is what I want to backup...My phone with my settings and my apps.
:good: Thank you in advance for any one that can shed some light on this for me and the OP'er
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi ya,
It's so nice that you are having the same concern as I do.
As far as i know, the approaches of rooting differ from phones to phones. So we may have to find our own specific rooting method in the phone model sub-forums. It won't be hard for your popular S3
I would like to have a look at that Mr. Robinson's thread. If he can backup the stock ROM, those app+app_data wont a big issue (i guess).
cheers,
midnite_

midnite_ said:
Questions
Rooting will in fact changes some files/data of the system. So backup after root is NOT getting the original stock ROM. Is it?
Is there a method to "un-root", so ALL the changes are TOTALLY reverted?
Installing/flashing things like CWM in phone requires rooting, which would make the ROM not original. Is there a way to extract the system backup from a computer externally?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi midnight, welcome to a new and exciting world of Android and trying new things. First, let me assure you, what you want is NOT something new. People have been doing this type of thing for years. That is flashing and testing roms. As you will learn, it actually becomes quite addictive. We call those folks that get addicted to flashing: Flashaholics or crackflashers, lol
First let me talk about "root". This process consists of unlocking a lower level of the Android system known as the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader of your device allows you to flash a custom recovery, flashing a custom recovery allows you to flash the Superuser binary and Superuser.apk, This is what allows you to use apps that require "root". The bootloader is not an OS file. So when you are unlocking your bootloader you are not modifying your stock rom. Only when you have flashed the Superuser package have you modified your stock rom. And even that isn't really modifying anything. When you flash the Superuser package, it adds two files to your rom at certain locations of the file system. It adds the Superuser.apk file to system/app and it adds the SU binary to system/bin. Basically you CAN have a totally S-OFF (unlocked) bootloader and still have an entirely stock rom if you want. But the real benifit is flashing a custom recovery like ClockworkMod Recovery and then flash the superuser package.
As far as extracting the stock system, you should try giving adb a go. Do it right now if you like. Ensure you have the android sdk installed and properly set up on your computer and your computer can recognize your phone. Ensure your phone is in debugging mode, connect your phone to your computer, open up a command window, and run this command:
Code:
adb pull \
This command will pull everything off your phone except for data which is where your market or Google Play apps are stored.
Beyond XDA there are aso more resources to learn from. For example, http://www.android.com is a good place to start, and to learn more about adb check out http://developer.android.com/tools/help/adb.html
If you need to learn how to setup the sdk here is the place to learn how: http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
I'm sure others will add to this as well which is the good thing about this community.
Welcome to XDA, I hope you have fun learning, and maybe share back someday things you learn along the way.

wildstang83 said:
Hi midnight, welcome to a new and exciting world of Android and trying new things. First, let me assure you, what you want is NOT something new. People have been doing this type of thing for years. That is flashing and testing roms. As you will learn, it actually becomes quite addictive. We call those folks that get addicted to flashing: Flashaholics or crackflashers, lol
First let me talk about "root". This process consists of unlocking a lower level of the Android system known as the bootloader. Unlocking the bootloader of your device allows you to flash a custom recovery, flashing a custom recovery allows you to flash the Superuser binary and Superuser.apk, This is what allows you to use apps that require "root". The bootloader is not an OS file. So when you are unlocking your bootloader you are not modifying your stock rom. Only when you have flashed the Superuser package have you modified your stock rom. And even that isn't really modifying anything. When you flash the Superuser package, it adds two files to your rom at certain locations of the file system. It adds the Superuser.apk file to system/app and it adds the SU binary to system/bin. Basically you CAN have a totally S-OFF (unlocked) bootloader and still have an entirely stock rom if you want. But the real benifit is flashing a custom recovery like ClockworkMod Recovery and then flash the superuser package.
As far as extracting the stock system, you should try giving adb a go. Do it right now if you like. Ensure you have the android sdk installed and properly set up on your computer and your computer can recognize your phone. Ensure your phone is in debugging mode, connect your phone to your computer, open up a command window, and run this command:
Code:
adb pull \
This command will pull everything off your phone except for data which is where your market or Google Play apps are stored.
Beyond XDA there are aso more resources to learn from. For example, ht tp://www .android .com is a good place to start, and to learn more about adb check out ht tp://developer .android .com/tools/help/adb.html
If you need to learn how to setup the sdk here is the place to learn how: ht tp://developer .android .com/sdk/index.html
I'm sure others will add to this as well which is the good thing about this community.
Welcome to XDA, I hope you have fun learning, and maybe share back someday things you learn along the way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Wildstang,
Thanks very much for your warm welcome and very informative reply. So are you a Flashaholics or Crackflashers yet?
As I am a newbie, please forgive me if I am asking dumb questions.
As far as I understand,
The steps of root is
1. Unlock the bootloader
2. Flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk
** does "flash a custom recovery" means "flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk"?
"Flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk" is just "add SU binary to system/bin" and "add Superuser.apk to system/app". Then why not just copy them into place?
I just found on the web that "flashing" means replacing the OS of the phone with a new ROM. Would that still keeping the stock ROM?
To have a backup of the original stock ROM, can I
1. Unlock the bootloader
2. Flash Superuser binary & Superuser.apk
3. Perform the backup
And later, after I have flashed a new ROM, or whatever I do, as long as I didn't brick it, when I want to rollback my phone to its original, I can
1. Restore the backup
2. Delete "SU binary in system/bin" and "Superuser.apk in system/app"
3. re-lock the bootloader
Is this correct?
I don't mean to challenge you. But does adb pull \ really backup the system, or just all the files?
Thanks very much again!
midnite_

Hey midnite_,
I am a newbie too and have a lot of blank spots in my understanding of what we can do with android. I also came here with same question. I found how to root, this isn't a secret. Like you, I want to know how do I fix it if I break it.
So, with regards to your questions.
1. Unlock the bootloader
Not clear on this one, as not every tutorial even mentions this part. My feeling is that this might be specific to some phones, like HTC.
2. Flash Custom Recovery (such as AmonRa, CWR, TWRP...)
Recovery is an intermediate stage of phone booting process after bootloader but before OS.
It is there to allow OTA (Over the air) updates. During those, the OS is halted and replaced with a newer one.
What this means for us is that the recovery is capable of replacing OS (ROM - are these terms interchangeable?).
Recovery is the same as hidden partition on windows, that is sometimes present on a PC. It has a limited interface.
It can replace one OS image with another. It probably checks the checksum and creates the new one after the update. It is probably the gatekeeper.
Stock recovery will not replace OS with an image from SD card or from PC through USB. Only OTA.
This is the reason for flashing the custom (hacked) recovery on.
Custom recovery is made to allow additional options, such as allowing image sources such as PC or SD card, and also a ROM backup (write OS image to PC).
3. Flash update file using "upgrade from SD card" function of custom recovery now in place.
In this step, the Superuser.apk and bin files are placed. Stock recovery will not let us do that.
Also, I think the reason we can't just use ADB to "copy" superuser package to phone is because the system is either running or exists as an image (compressed?), and is probably protective of its modification. (So, likely the superuser package also replaces the checksum that the OS uses to check if it has been compromised?) Yes, this modifies your rom.
I assume that unrooting could be done after this by updating again with a file that removes superuser package and that would make your rom stock again.
4 OR flash custom ROM, which usually includes superuser package. Of course using custom rom means you no longer have stock rom.
To have a backup of original ROM, you would :
1 Unlock bootloader,
2 Flash (install) custom recovery
3 superuser doesn't matter here
4 Use custom recovery function to back up your stock ROM.
I want to know the answers to the rest of your questions as well as some clarifications to mine.
Personally, I am looking for a way to backup the stock recovery as well.
I know there are some people asking about this. The procedure appears to be as follows:
(pieced together so don't take it as a tutorial)
1 Unlock bootloader (again, unclear on this. Also some mention S-OFF and others don't)
2 With USB debugging allowed (meaning connect as device requiring a driver), Connect to a PC with ABD, and a driver installed.
3 From ADB, issue a command "adb boot recoveryimage.name" instead of the usual "adb flash recoveryimage.name".
This will make the phone boot into a custom recovery image that is residing on PC, without first writing it to the phone.
4 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to back up stock rom to pc.
5 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to flash either root or custom rom to the phone.
6 Disconnect, reboot the phone. Once in OS, use root privileges to mount recovery partition ? (this makes it visible as drive)
7 Don't know how, but use root privileges to back up now visible stock recovery partition to PC as image.
( This should give you two out of three original parts.)
Keep in mind that even if my peace-by-peace "know-how" ever works, there is at least one clearly faulty step:
The back up of the original state of the boot loader has been never made. I do not know if it is easily can be toggled back and forth from lock to unlock and back without leaving any trace. Also, like yourself, I probably don't quite understand what am I talking about, but I have tried to make as much sense of what I have read here and there.
This is my first smart phone, and my experience with linux is limited to building a minecraft server on MineOS, which was pre-made so that not much was required to make it run. I have "mounted" a partition for the first time last week, trying to break Win7recovery, booting it with Knoppix. This is why I think this is probably will come in play here too, as the recovery partition on W7 was hidden. Until then I didn't understand what mounting means, as windows always does it for you. So, take everything I say with a bunch of salt.
Please, let me know too, if you find out more. I want to flash the hell out of my Prism, but I want to be smart about it.

bump... midnite_ r u still around?

Hi Descent2,
Yes i am still around but i am busy with other stuffs at this moment. Thanks very much for your reply. You have studied a lot and you really did good summarisations. Very informative and I learnt a lot from it. Hope some of the masters or experienced ones would come by and bring us out of the mist
cheers,
midnite_
Descent2 said:
Hey midnite_,
I am a newbie too and have a lot of blank spots in my understanding of what we can do with android. I also came here with same question. I found how to root, this isn't a secret. Like you, I want to know how do I fix it if I break it.
So, with regards to your questions.
1. Unlock the bootloader
Not clear on this one, as not every tutorial even mentions this part. My feeling is that this might be specific to some phones, like HTC.
2. Flash Custom Recovery (such as AmonRa, CWR, TWRP...)
Recovery is an intermediate stage of phone booting process after bootloader but before OS.
It is there to allow OTA (Over the air) updates. During those, the OS is halted and replaced with a newer one.
What this means for us is that the recovery is capable of replacing OS (ROM - are these terms interchangeable?).
Recovery is the same as hidden partition on windows, that is sometimes present on a PC. It has a limited interface.
It can replace one OS image with another. It probably checks the checksum and creates the new one after the update. It is probably the gatekeeper.
Stock recovery will not replace OS with an image from SD card or from PC through USB. Only OTA.
This is the reason for flashing the custom (hacked) recovery on.
Custom recovery is made to allow additional options, such as allowing image sources such as PC or SD card, and also a ROM backup (write OS image to PC).
3. Flash update file using "upgrade from SD card" function of custom recovery now in place.
In this step, the Superuser.apk and bin files are placed. Stock recovery will not let us do that.
Also, I think the reason we can't just use ADB to "copy" superuser package to phone is because the system is either running or exists as an image (compressed?), and is probably protective of its modification. (So, likely the superuser package also replaces the checksum that the OS uses to check if it has been compromised?) Yes, this modifies your rom.
I assume that unrooting could be done after this by updating again with a file that removes superuser package and that would make your rom stock again.
4 OR flash custom ROM, which usually includes superuser package. Of course using custom rom means you no longer have stock rom.
To have a backup of original ROM, you would :
1 Unlock bootloader,
2 Flash (install) custom recovery
3 superuser doesn't matter here
4 Use custom recovery function to back up your stock ROM.
I want to know the answers to the rest of your questions as well as some clarifications to mine.
Personally, I am looking for a way to backup the stock recovery as well.
I know there are some people asking about this. The procedure appears to be as follows:
(pieced together so don't take it as a tutorial)
1 Unlock bootloader (again, unclear on this. Also some mention S-OFF and others don't)
2 With USB debugging allowed (meaning connect as device requiring a driver), Connect to a PC with ABD, and a driver installed.
3 From ADB, issue a command "adb boot recoveryimage.name" instead of the usual "adb flash recoveryimage.name".
This will make the phone boot into a custom recovery image that is residing on PC, without first writing it to the phone.
4 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to back up stock rom to pc.
5 Unclear how, but make that custom recovery now being live to flash either root or custom rom to the phone.
6 Disconnect, reboot the phone. Once in OS, use root privileges to mount recovery partition ? (this makes it visible as drive)
7 Don't know how, but use root privileges to back up now visible stock recovery partition to PC as image.
( This should give you two out of three original parts.)
Keep in mind that even if my peace-by-peace "know-how" ever works, there is at least one clearly faulty step:
The back up of the original state of the boot loader has been never made. I do not know if it is easily can be toggled back and forth from lock to unlock and back without leaving any trace. Also, like yourself, I probably don't quite understand what am I talking about, but I have tried to make as much sense of what I have read here and there.
This is my first smart phone, and my experience with linux is limited to building a minecraft server on MineOS, which was pre-made so that not much was required to make it run. I have "mounted" a partition for the first time last week, trying to break Win7recovery, booting it with Knoppix. This is why I think this is probably will come in play here too, as the recovery partition on W7 was hidden. Until then I didn't understand what mounting means, as windows always does it for you. So, take everything I say with a bunch of salt.
Please, let me know too, if you find out more. I want to flash the hell out of my Prism, but I want to be smart about it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

check here
All your answers can be found here: [REF] [GUIDE] Welcome to your device, the Galaxy S III. For more XDA related issues check here: [GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA
Good Luck!
mf2112
XDA Moderator
ASharpEdge said:
Hello all this is my first post here...woohoo!:fingers-crossed: This forum is amazing as to the amount of information available. I just wish that in looking for what I need to do I did not need to look in so many places. I feel that if I want to root my T-Mobile GS3 that all the information should be in one subsection of the forum, but it is not that simple I guess....lol Anyway any help would be greatly appreciated.
I have a Samsung GS3 with T-Mobile that I want to root. Everyone says to back up the phone before you do it but I am not really seeing how to make a backup before I start. It appears that most of the guides to root just say to backup without telling you how to fo it. Another thing (correct me if I am wrong) I see the nandroid backup that I think is a backup of the phone however it seems to be done after you make changes to the phone and I thought the backup was supposed to be done before you do anything. Is it that there is not a way to make a complete backup with an unrooted phone?
My question is basically the same as the OP here. I have been reading and reading and reading posts here in the forum. There is much information here and much of it is duplicated with slight variances in some of the duplicates. I am not certain as to which rooting method I should use. There seem to be so many choices. As a new person to this forum I will say that you can find just about everything about any phone which is awesome. The hard thing is sifting through the many options to pick one to use for your issue.
I do see that Mr. Robinson has a thread with backups of the original roms. The only thing is that they are default roms that are like an out of the box phone and not my phone with my apps and my settings. That is what I want to backup...My phone with my settings and my apps.
:good: Thank you in advance for any one that can shed some light on this for me and the OP'er
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Thanks mf2112. But those resources are seem only for GS3. And it seems it is not teaching us to backup our stock ROMs, it provides stock ROMs for us to download instead. Is there a general way to backup our stock ROMs?
Thanks,
midnite_
mf2112 said:
All your answers can be found here: [REF] [GUIDE] Welcome to your device, the Galaxy S III. For more XDA related issues check here: [GUIDE] - XDA New User Guide - Getting started on XDA
Good Luck!
mf2112
XDA Moderator
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

You must unlock your bootloader then flash a custom recovery. You will then use that custom recovery to make a backup of your rom. That backup will be stored on your sd card.
Now, I have tried to help you and so have a couple other folks. You expect us to just give you answers step by step. I am sorry but this is simply not how XDA works. XDA is set up in a way which makes it for any users to find quickly what they want to know. Use the search feature on the site and you will find many answers. I tell you to go do your own research now and be proud of what you learn on your own. And if you cannot, please do not try to modify your phone further, you may just brick it if you aren't careful.

midnite_ said:
Thanks mf2112. But those resources are seem only for GS3. And it seems it is not teaching us to backup our stock ROMs, it provides stock ROMs for us to download instead. Is there a general way to backup our stock ROMs?
Thanks,
midnite_
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put in the GS3 links since the OP was using that phone. Every phone will be different so I don't think a general way or guide would be practical.
Sent from my HTC Sensation 4G using xda premium

[FAQ] [REF]★ All you need to know about Android | Read this before you post/root ! ★

[FAQ] [REF]★ All you need to know about Android | Read this before you post/root ! ★
Understanding the Android world before rooting your LG Nexus 5
Here is a *noob friendly* collection of information every user that wants to root their phone should know. Many people blindly follow guides without even knowing what "Rooting" means. Hopefully, this will help new users (and old ones, why not?) understand what is happening with their phone, and what they will put up with.
This may seem as a lot to read, but there are no shortcuts. You either read and learn what you're dealing with, or find out the hard way.
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Contents
Post 1:
★What does rooting mean?
★The advantages of rooting
★The disadvantages of rooting
★What about the internal memory? How does that work?
★Things you hear people talk about
★How to backup your stuff
★Flashing a custom ROM
★ADB and Fastboot
★Restoring your Nexus 5 to STOCK
Post 2:
★Tips and Tricks
★Questions and Misconceptions
Let's get started, shall we?
What does rooting mean?
To 'root' your phone means to gain administrative rights on the file system of your phone (in linux, root is the username of the master admin, kind of being an Administrator on Windows). With root access, you can install and uninstall anything you want on the phone. Android is, in fact, based on Linux.
Most phones come with limited access regarding what you can and can't do on it. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because it can keep users from accidentally breaking something they shouldn't mess with on the phone, especially in regards to the operating system. However, many manufacturers limit your rights to things that aren't really so mission critical, too, and rooting the phone gets around this.
If you have a few unnecessary applications (bloatware) pre-installed on your phone that you cannot uninstall, rooting will give you this ability. It will also allow you to upgrade to newer versions of Android before your phone's manufacturer and/or cell provider make the updates available to you.
So now you know what rooting means. And I bet you are now thinking "Should I do it, or not?" Well, hope this helps you decide:
The advantages of rooting
-De-bloat your phone. Uninstall any unwanted system apps.
-More control over how the CPU acts. This can increase performance or battery life, depends on how you configure it.
-More control over power consumption. This implies undervolting your CPU, giving it less power, so it consumes less.
-More control over how apps start up. Prevent apps from starting up when they don't need to.
-Change your Baseband (Radio). Try different radio versions, with the purpose of reducing battery drain or improving your signal strength.
-Flash custom ROMs. Bored of the stock ROM and look? Browse through the hundreds of custom ROMs provided by this community, each having different features and looks.
-Backups. The ability to completely backup your phone, and fully restoring it to the time of the backup. This is done with a Nandroid Backup (we'll talk about this later)
-Mods and Inovations. Use many mods, fixes, tweaks or features created by the community!
-Custom Kernels. As a Nexus device, the Nexus 5 will have tons of kernels with different features, supporting better performance, or battery life! To see what a kernel is, keep reading.
-Run apps that need Root Permission. These apps can be very useful, like Titanium Backup, Root Explorer, Terminal Emulator and many others!
The disadvantages of rooting
-Rooting will void your warranty (Although reverting root is very easy)
-The process a bit dangerous. Something could (99.9% probably not, but still) go wrong, and end up bricking your phone. So, yes, the process is 0.1% risky. You can end up deleting everything on your phone. You'll have to handle this process gently and with care.
-You will be able to do a lot more mistakes. These may cause damage to your phone (But hey, that's why we have these kind of threads, eh?)
-No more over the air official updates. You'll have to update your phone manually, through your recovery. (Which isn't that hard)
Now that you fully know what rooting implies, let's continue exploring the Android world.
What about the internal memory? How does that work?
Now, as you might already know, each phone has an internal memory. In the Nexus 5's case, it's either 16GB or 32GB. This internal memory needs to hold a lot of things, not only your personal data. This is why you only have available to use 12.9 GB or 28 GB.
An Android's internal memory is partitioned into many chunks that have their separate purposes.
These are all the Nexus 5's partitions, and their names.
Code:
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/system /system
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/userdata /data
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/cache /cache
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/persist /persist
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem /firmware
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/boot /boot
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/recovery /recovery
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/misc /misc
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/modem /radio
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/sbl1 /sbl1
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/tz /tz
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/rpm /rpm
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/sdi /sdi
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/aboot /aboot
/dev/block/platform/msm_sdcc.1/by-name/imgdata /imgdata
Yes, there are quite a lot. You, as a user, don't need to care about all of them. Here are the ones you will need to know about:
/system- size: about 0.5GB
This partition holds the Android OS itself. Kind of like the C:// disk on your every day Windows PC. This partition has many folders and files you cannot normally get to, due to safety reasons. For example, system/app is where all the system apps are installed.
If something gets deleted from this partition, Android will most probably won't work properly.
/data- size: either 12.9GB, or 28GB
This is where all your personal data is kept. This includes apps, sms, contacts, e-mails etc. It also stores your system settings, like wallpaper, and all those stuff you set up when you got your phone. The most important folders on this partition are data/app (where your apps are stored), data/data (where you app data is stored, like highscores and stuff), and data/media.
Data/media might be considered your sd-card. Yes, I know the Nexus 5 doesn't have an sd-card, but this folder works like one. When you connect your phone to your PC, this is the folder that pops up, with all your music, images, videos, and whatever else you keep on your phone.
Things are getting a bit more complicated, eh? Just bare with me. Next, I will be explaining the different terms you will be encountering throughout your Android experience.
Things you hear people talk about
Kernel
The kernel is an essential part of any Linux based operating system. It's the program that manages input and output requests of the operating system. Imagine you're at a restaurant. You give your order to a waiter. He takes it to the chef, the chef makes your food, then the waiter brings it back to you, and you enjoy it. In this case, you are the Android system, the waiter is the Kernel, and the chef is the hardware. The system gives the Kernel a request, like firing up another processor core when you play a heavy game, and the Kernel fulfills the request.
Here is an image for better understanding
Recovery
This is a secondary, mini operating system that has access to your internal memory. It contains a few commands that would normally help you recover your Android system in case of a failure, like factory resetting. You will see that, for rooting, you will need to install a custom recovery.
The stock recovery does not have the ability to write custom ROMs (I'll explain these later) on your internal memory. A custom recovery has this option, and many more.
Here are some images for you to fully understand:
Stock recovery:
Custom Recovery
You can see that the Custom Recovery has more options, including "Backup and Restore", Advanced, and Install zip from Sd-card.
You can get in Recovery by powering off your phone, then hold Power+Volume Down button until a black screen with colored text appears. Then, use the volume buttons to select 'Recovery", and then press the Power Button to select it.
Bootloader
The bootloader is the first thing that fires up when you open your phone. As the name says (Boot+Loader), this program loads the kernel, which when boots up the Android system.
The same bootloader can also boot in recovery, as explained above.
When you first get the phone, the bootloader is in a locked state. That means that you cannot use fastboot commands like "fastboot flash" or "fastboot boot". With other words, you cannot simply flash a custom recovery. Thankfully, Google gave us the option to unlock the bootloader very easily, and flash a custom recovery of our choice.
Custom ROMs
A custom ROM is a ZIP file that contains an altered version of the Android OS. There will be many custom ROMs for the Nexus 5, made by wonderful and skilled devs for the community. You can install a Custom ROM with your Custom Recovery. Custom ROMs contain the following folders and files:
META-INF- This folder holds the installation info and data. A custom recovery does not know on it's own how to install a ROM. In this folder, there's a txt file that contains a script, with the purpose of telling the recovery what to do.
System- This folder contains the stuff that will be installed on the /system partition that we talked earlier about.
boot.img- Among others, this file contains the kernel that comes with the ROM.
Dalvik Cache
Android is an open source OS, which supports many different architectures. While it's mainly used in the ARM architecture, it could run on x86. Even with in the ARM there are still some variations. Just like in x86, there are many extensions and SSE is an example of that; ARM is no different and there are some variations from one ARM CPU to another. Dalvik is basically a VM(Virtual Machine) engine, this keep the apps to be universal across many architecture. While this is good, this costs processing power. Meaning, if the apps have to run through VM everytime, they will be very slow. Dalvik cache is basically cache of those apps that's already gone through the VM thus it doesn't require to go through the VM everytime. And when an app run, it run from this version instead. Since each ROM may contain different version of app or optimization or even different kernel or Android version, using dalvik cache from different ROM can get you into trouble. Think of it like trying to run application designed for Windows XP on Windows 7 or Windows 8. It may work, it may not work, or it may even crash. Wiping the Dalvik cache will force the Android OS to optimize all the installed apps all over again.
Ok, so now, after you read all this stuff, you're probably thinking "Ok, I will never get the hang of this". Don't worry. With time, you will know all of these from reflex. And, after you got over that, and manned up again, you probably thought "Ok, let's root this damn thing!". Not quite yet. We aren't done. There are still some crucial things that you need to know. So let's continue.
How to backup your stuff
Before you do anything EVER, you'll always have to backup your stuff, even if you don't feel like it, or your dog died (in which case I'm truly sorry), but, no matter what you're about to do, always have a recent backup sitting around.
There are many ways and things you can and will probably have to backup.
1. Backup your entire phone, by creating a Nandroid Backup.
As you saw in the 'Custom Recovery" picture above, you have a "Backup and Restore" option. Here it is again:
With every occasion, it's best to use it as often as possible. It only takes about 2 minutes, but it could be a life saver.
A Nandroid will backup:
/system
/data (Except /data/media, where your "sd-card" is, because it's too large and not that important)
/cache (Yes, there is a cache partition, and it will be backed up, although not really necessary)
kernel (The kernel will be backed up too)
***Optional tip: I always keep a recent nandroid backup on my PC, in case I somehow wipe all my phone's contents, and my backup among with them. The Nandroid backup is saved at this location, which can be accessed with a root file explorer, like ES File Explorer : mnt/shell/emulated/clockworkmod/backup or sdcard/TWRP. If you want to copy it to your storage, just copy the latest backup, and then move it to your PC.
2. Your apps and data only
This can be very useful when changing ROMs. You just got bored of your ROM, and want to move to another one. The only way of taking your apps and data with you is by backing them up with an application like Titanium Backup. The backups will be saved in data/media, and will be restored using the same app with which you backup up on the new ROM.
3. Your SMS, Contacts, MMS etc.
These things can be backed up by special apps on the Play Store. Ok, contacts will be restored by Google Sync ( although not always done properly, that's why I still back them up), but SMS will not be restored. There are many free apps that back them up for you, nice an easily, for them to be restored in case of a ROM change or data loss.
4. Your storage (data/media, sd-card)
You just connect your phone to your PC, select all folders, and copy all over on your PC. This will be useful when you unlock the bootloader. A bootloader unlock will wipe all the stuff on your phone (This can be avoided, read guides). So keeping a copy of your sd-card contents on your PC isn't such a bad idea.
Now you know how to keep it safe by creating backups. I will say it again, you are never too safe! Backup when you do a modification, even if it's tiny. Now, after you've finished reading the above, you will probably attempt to root. You will use one of the guides out there ( I will link one at the end of this thread ) to install a custom recovery, and gain root access. But what to do with it? Well, you will most likely end up flashing a custom ROM.
Flashing a custom ROM
You will get bored of the stock ROM, and will decide to flash a custom ROM. But you haven't done it before, and you don't really understand the process.Before you do anything, you must:
-Make sure that the files are for your phone ! If you flash files that were made for another phone, you might end up with a brick!
-Never panic! There is always a way out! That's what backups are for!
-Read all the instructions! Every ROM thread has instructions. Read them!
{By the way, flashing = installing}
Now, let me take you through the whole flashing process. ( Use the steps in the ROM threads if instructed differently than here )
1. You will search far and wide in these forums for a custom ROM that fits your needs. Every ROM comes as a ZIP file. So when you decide on a ROM, download the zip. For copyright reasons, Google Apps (Play Store, Google Now etc) don't come included with the ROM. So you will have to download them too. They are usually linked on the ROM main thread.
Some ROMs might have addons too, so check them out, and download the ones you want.
2. You now downloaded the ROM, Google Apps, and some addons. The next step will be to put them on your sd-card. Connect your phone to your PC, and make an easy access folder, like "Root Stuffs" where you'll put all these zips.
3. Now, let the backup process begin. You first backup your apps, app data , SMS, Contacts etc., like I explained above. I recommend Titanium Backup for apps and SMS, MC Backup for contacts.
4. Now you are ready to go in recovery. Power down your phone. Then, press and hold the Power Button and the Volume Down button at the same time. You will be brought to the Bootloader Screen. Now, with the Volume Buttons, switch through the options until you find "Recovery". Then press the Power Button again.
5. Now you will be booted in your Custom Recovery. Depending on your recovery, you will have the options on your screen.
CWM Recovery:
6. You will go to the Backup and Restore menu, and select "Backup". If you made a backup before, you can select "Delete" first, and delete it, for space consumption purposes.
7. After the backup finished, you will return to the main screen. There, select 'Wipe data/ Factory Reset". This will wipe everything in /data except /media, so your sd-card will remain untouched. Don't worry, you have a Nandroid Backup!
8. After the wipe finished, you will go to "Install zip from sd-card". You'll have to navigate to the folder where you put the ROM, and select it. You'll see it will nicely install.
9. After the ROM finished installing, you will have to flash the Google Apps zip, and the mods. Install them the same way you installed the ROM itself.
10. After you have flashed everything, you can select "Reboot system now" . First boot will take longer to complete. Again, don't panic. You have a Nandoid bakcup . You will end up with the ROM booted, and you'll continue setting it up.
TWRP Recovery:
6. Go to the "Backup" menu, select "Boot", "System", and "Data", then swipe the thing on the bottom on the screen to start backing up.
7. Once you're done, use the home button to get to the main screen. Select "Wipe", and swipe the thing again to Factory Data Reset. This will wipe data, cache and dalvik cache. This will not wipe your internal storage (Music, photos, etc).
8. After the wipe finished, use the home button again to get to the main screen. From there, select the 'Install" option. You'll have to navigate to the folder where you put the ROM, and select it. Then, by using the "Add more zips" option, add the Gapps package, and and then any addons or mods, in this order. Then swipe the bottom thing to flash.
9. After you have flashed everything, you can select "Reboot" . First boot will take longer to complete. Again, don't panic. You have a Nandoid bakcup . You will end up with the ROM booted, and you'll continue setting it up.
***In case something went bad, like your phone doesn't boot for more than 10 minutes, or the animation endlessly repeats itself (Boot Loop), do the following:
11*. Hold down the Power +Volume Buttons until the phone shuts down. Then release them for a second, and immediately press them again. You will be brought to the bootloader screen. Enter recovery.
12*. In recovery, go to the "Backup and Restore" menu, and select "Restore" for CWM, or "Restore" for TWRP. Then pick the backup you did earlier, and wait for it to complete. Then, select "Reboot system now", and you should be booted back in your original ROM.
Now, let's say that after you flashed a ROM, it either did not boot, or you had some bugs with it. You will go to the thread ROM to report your problem. Here's how to not post:
"This ROM doesn't work"
You will have to be a lot more specific than that. In reporting a problem, you will have to do the following:
-Say what you did (Flashing process)
-What you flashed afterwards
-What you did to reproduce the bug
-What recovery you use
-ROM Version
-even provide a logcat <This is quite advanced> (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1726238)
You have to give as many details as possible, so the developer can sort things out.
ADB and Fastboot
ADB (Android Debug Bridge)
The Android Debugging Bridge is kind of a toolkit, that has many commands to control your Android from your PC. This is an essential part of your Android experience. With ADB, you can do many stuff that you couldn't normally do, like backup your apps, or push and pull packages from your phone.
ADB is also used by many of the useful tools out there, like toolkits, and all sort of programs that enhance your Android experience.
With ADB, you can also Logcat. Logcatting is creating a log of everything that happens on your Android phone while it's on. This is used to find the sources of bugs.
Example of ADB Commands:
Code:
adb pull /system/app/RANDOM APP = creates a copy of a system app on your PC
adb push app /system/app = Copies an app from your PC to your system partition
adb reboot bootloader/recovery = Reboots the phone in bootloader or recovery
adb logcat = Starts a logcat
Fastboot
Fastboot is also a toolkit of commands, but a bit different from ADB. While with ADB, you can do simple actions, with fastboot, you can do major ones, like flashing a whole partition, or formatting one. Fastboot is usually the preferred method to flash a recovery. Also, Fastboot usually works with .img files.
Fastboot is also a very easy method of bricking your phone. Always make sure you are flashing the right files for your phone. Furthermore, fastboot is not the preferred method for recovering your phone. It is the last resort. ADB and/or recovery is much easier and safer.
Example of Fastboot commands:
Code:
fastboot erase boot = Erases the kernel
fastboot erase recovery = Erases the recovery
fastboot flash system system.img = Flashes the System partition with an image
fastboot flash boot boot.img = Flashes kernel
fastboot flash userdata data.img = Flashes Data partition
fastboot flash recovery recovery.img = Flashes a new recovery
fastboot reboot = Reboots the phone
To use ADB and Fastboot, you must first have ADB drivers and Fastboot drivers installed. Here is a very good guide to set up these two useful things:
http://www.redmondpie.com/how-to-set-up-android-adb-and-fastboot-on-windows-tutorial/
Restoring your Nexus 5 to STOCK
I moved the whole guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2513701
Check it out.
Now please proceed to the next post

Tips and Tricks
1. Try to not use toolkits. (I'm not disregarding any toolkit dev. They did a wonderful job)
Chromium_ said:
It has been proven that every time you use a toolkit, god kills a kitten. Save the kittens.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Due to the fact that people are lazy in nature , toolkits have been made so that users don't struggle with rooting their phone. But there are many reasons for you to not use one:
-->you won't learn anything from using a toolkit, and, if something goes wrong, a toolkit can rarely fix your problem. It's better if you rely on your own forces.
-->you put the fate of your phone in someone else's hands. If a bit of code is wrong, then your phone could get bricked.
-->you miss out all the fun. Why buy a Nexus device if you don't want to explore the depths of the Android OS?
2. Never panic
Whenever you don't know what to do, and you're stuck, don't panic. There are many people here that can help you. Don't try doing anything blindly. Search the forums, or start a thread in the Q&As section, and we will help you.
3. Read everything carefully!!
(If you read this, post a cat picture in this thread, and you will be rewarded with a thanks from me)
I might have said it a couple of times throuout this post, but always read everything. Someone wrote something for a reason. Usually, if you read everything, and do what you are told, you are bound to be failproof.
4. Battery pull emulation
If you hold the Power Button and both Volume buttons for 10-15 seconds, the Nexus 5 will power off, as if it had its battery pulled out. Useful when you get stuck.
5. Never try to make any system modification(root or flash ROM/recovery) without having enough time and resources to troubleshoot.
While most of the time, this is relatively painless when the you follow the instruction carefully. That said, things can go wrong. So, don't just say I saw a new ROM when I woke up and I wanna try it, and you have 30 minutes before going to work. Even if it only take 5 minutes to flash the ROM, if a thing goes wrong, those 25 minutes you have left may not be enough to fix your problem and you have no phone to use that day.
When you flash something, always make sure you have about an hour of free time, and a PC with ADB and Fastboot, ready to make us of if something goes wrong.
Ok, so now you know pretty much all a normal user should know. But there are still questions that are very frequently asked that need answering. Here are some questions and answers about popular problems and misconceptions. You might encounter these problems later, so give it one more minute of your time:
Questions and Misconceptions
1. My Nexus 5 is getting very hot. Hardware problem?
Nope. There are many reasons that contribute to your phone getting hot, like
-the fact that it doesn't have any way of cooling itself
-the fact that a quad core produces more heat
-etc.
Don't worry. Everything is working as it should. For example, the Ipad gets 3 times hotter than the Nexus.
2. If I am rooted, will I receive OTA updates? (See Return to stock section)
Yes, and no.
You will be able to download the update by having installed the Stock ROM with stock kernel, though it will not be installed automatically, due to the fact that you have a custom recovery. You will need to install it manually.
3. The Nexus 5 audio quality is horrible. Why?
It isn't horrible. It's normal, but the max volume isn't as loud as on other devices. I have been a piano player for 12 years. I have quite a sensitive ear, and I can tell you that the audio quality on the Nexus is comparable with that of an Ipod. The only major difference is that, with the Ipod, you can go deaf with the max volume.
4. Which kernel/ ROM should I use?
Don't ever ask this question. What's good for others isn't necessarily good for you. You'll have to try the many kernels and ROMs yourself.
5. Google Now doesn't activate with "Ok, Google". Why?
Make sure your language is English (United States) in Settings>Language & Input.
6. My battery life is short. What should I do?
-Use a custom kernel made for battery life (like Franco)
-Use the Greenify app from the play store (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oasisfeng.greenify&hl=ro)
-Don't use Automatic Brightness. Set the brightness to about 35%.
7. My Baseband and IMEI are unknown. What do I do?
Flash the factory images, and then boot in the stock recovery and do a factory data reset. If it does not solve the issue, repeat. I had to do it 3 times for it to work.
8. What's the difference between "Development" and "Original Development"?
Original Development - Usually original pieces of work, based on the original AOSP source, or coded by yourself.
Development - Projects based on works from the Original Development, or that don't include actual developing (Stock rooted ROMs)
This is all for now. I hope you understand what's up with this Rooting process. If you have any questions, don't be shy to ask in this thread
If there is anything to be added to this thread, please post below
Thank you for the time you allocated to reading this! You are now smarter :good:
Good day, and Happy flashing!!!
For credits, useful links and other stuff, see the post below.

Useful links
[GUIDE] Nexus 5 - How to Unlock Bootloader, Install Custom Recovery and Root
[INDEX] Google Nexus 5 - ROMs, Kernels, MODs, Recoveries, Themes
[HELP THREAD] Nexus 5 | Ask any question
[MODEM] [EFS] Nexus 5 Flashable Modems and EFS Backup
Nexus 5 OTA Help-Desk
Credits and Thanks!!
@rootSU
For providing me a template, inspiration, and much of the info. His original thread in the S3 forums: (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2362743)
@paxChristos
For the logcat part
@efrant
For pointing out some mistakes
@someone0
For this post: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47474453&postcount=81

Very good post. Im not new to rooting but I am when it comes to Nexus Devices. Im use to rooting phones with external SD cards so I have one question.
When Im going to flash a rom or zip or whatever in custom recovery, I know I have to "Wipe data/factory reset" then "wipe calivk". I know that the data wipe is for apps, app data and system settings. My question is will it also delete pictures, music, videos and other files/file folders like that on the device?

MMontanez347 said:
Very good post. Im not new to rooting but I am when it comes to Nexus Devices. Im use to rooting phones with external SD cards so I have one question.
When Im going to flash a rom or zip or whatever in custom recovery, I know I have to "Wipe data/factory reset" then "wipe calivk". I know that the data wipe is for apps, app data and system settings. My question is will it also delete pictures, music, videos and other files/file folders like that on the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A Factory Data Reset doesn't wipe the data/media folder, where all the things that should be on the sd-card are. You can use the option with no worries.

Very informative, didn't read the whole thing though. I stop at the advantage of flashing custom ROM. In my past experience, gaining root <> able to flash custom ROM. If I understand correctly, even if you can gain root access but not able to unlock the boot-loader, getting a custom ROM would be problematic. IMO, I wouldn't list that there. Sure this maybe beyond noobie scope and doesn't pertain to Nexus 5 specifically. But I wouldn't use that as a rule of thumb. Having used the Sprint Photon 4G, I have respectfully disagree with you on that. Gaining root, mean having admin privilege for the OS not the boot-loader.
---------- Post added at 11:29 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:12 PM ----------
MMontanez347 said:
Very good post. Im not new to rooting but I am when it comes to Nexus Devices. Im use to rooting phones with external SD cards so I have one question.
When Im going to flash a rom or zip or whatever in custom recovery, I know I have to "Wipe data/factory reset" then "wipe calivk". I know that the data wipe is for apps, app data and system settings. My question is will it also delete pictures, music, videos and other files/file folders like that on the device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From what I understand of basic android OS is that the system and apps are sitting on separate partition. And so is you normal partition for data, which usually the phone shown as SD card even though it's not a separate internal SD card. The phone usually have one large pool of storage space, think of it like an SSD drive. Then it got split into many partitions for many things. It has boot sector, recovery partition(for storing recovery method, either stock, CWM or TWRP), boot partition, system partition and maybe may other system relation usage partitions. Those partition are already planed out(fixed) by the people who create the ROM for the device. And the rest of the space will be given for the user to do other thing under one partition. And this partition usually won't get wipe. If you have used any custom recovery like CWM or TWRP, there usually be an option to wipe or not wipe certain things. This is possible because all those things are stored in separate partition.

someone0 said:
Very informative, didn't read the whole thing though. I stop at the advantage of flashing custom ROM. In my past experience, gaining root <> able to flash custom ROM. If I understand correctly, even if you can gain root access but not able to unlock the boot-loader, getting a custom ROM would be problematic. IMO, I wouldn't list that there. Sure this maybe beyond noobie scope and doesn't pertain to Nexus 5 specifically. But I wouldn't use that as a rule of thumb. Having used the Sprint Photon 4G, I have respectfully disagree with you on that. Gaining root, mean having admin privilege for the OS not the boot-loader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well yeah, but from being able to flash a custom ROM to being able to get root access in your current ROM, there is only one simple step, that is installing SU binaries, and a superuser app. I just didn't want to confuse new users by changing the term used only for one small step.

I'll just adding things as I read through, while I'm not a noob by any mean, that doesn't mean I don't see thing missing out. Since sometime the author fill in the missing gap in his/her head. I know I did that a few time. As I read, I though, hmm "Understanding the Android world before rooting" that's helpful. But after I start reading, it's more like a guide to understand the rooting world of android. I understand that's not the purpose here to teach people android, hopefully not to the general XDA members audience. But I would say the headline isn't exactly saying it right. The you start throwing the term Linux. Sure I understand what it is, at least to my understanding. But, it probably wouldn't hurt to stated the first time the term linux is use that Android is a linux based OS as well. Not just saying root is an equivalent of admin in linux. If you are going to assume that the intended audiences don't know what root is, then you should assume the audience know that the same targeted audiences don't know that Android has a deep relationship with linux as well.
I would put extra emphasis on dealing with fastboot. Yes you can do a major operation w/ fastboot. That said, greater power come greater responsibility. It's much easier to brick your device w/ fastboot and less chance of unbricking from using fastboot than recovery or adb.

someone0 said:
I'll just adding things as I read through, while I'm not a noob by any mean, that doesn't mean I don't see thing missing out. Since sometime the author fill in the missing gap in his/her head. I know I did that a few time. As I read, I though, hmm "Understanding the Android world before rooting" that's helpful. But after I start reading, it's more like a guide to understand the rooting world of android. I understand that's not the purpose here to teach people android, hopefully not to the general XDA members audience. But I would say the headline isn't exactly saying it right. The you start throwing the term Linux. Sure I understand what it is, at least to my understanding. But, it probably wouldn't hurt to stated the first time the term linux is use that Android is a linux based OS as well. Not just saying root is an equivalent of admin in linux. If you are going to assume that the intended audiences don't know what root is, then you should assume the audience know that the same targeted audiences don't know that Android has a deep relationship with linux as well.
I would put extra emphasis on dealing with fastboot. Yes you can do a major operation w/ fastboot. That said, greater power come greater responsibility. It's much easier to brick your device w/ fastboot and less chance of unbricking from using fastboot than recovery or adb.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Made some modifications. Thanks!
Credited you

Good thing to see this in the N5 section too.

Great job,dude:good:

Well done! Not a noob, but still learned some things.

jd1639 said:
Well done! Not a noob, but still learned some things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They say we never stop learning

abaaaabbbb63 said:
They say we never stop learning
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very true, I am 76 and learn new things all the time.
Very good and informative post.
While I knew the subject, I read the whole thing just in case I missed something.
The list of ALL the partitions was something I did not know.
:good:

Rooting may or may not void your warranty, depending on where you are. In the EU they cannot refuse warranty for a rooted device, or even a fully 'hacked' phone with unlocked bootloader, rooted and custom ROMed or even in the case of HTCs super CID'ed devices. The exception is if the fault is software related, if you brick it, you lose it, but any hardware fault is still covered.

ChrisM75 said:
Rooting may or may not void your warranty, depending on where you are. In the EU they cannot refuse warranty for a rooted device, or even a fully 'hacked' phone with unlocked bootloader, rooted and custom ROMed or even in the case of HTCs super CID'ed devices. The exception is if the fault is software related, if you brick it, you lose it, but any hardware fault is still covered.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Still, it does not apply to the whole EU. In countries where the Nexus 5 isn't sold through Google Play, warranty policies may differ. Retailers tend to take advantage of their monopoly over these countries and strip down the warranty coverage, and say that if you modified the software, it goes in the "Unsuitable Usage" category, and they can't do anything to it, not even hardware wise.
Trust me. Retailers know how to crook you with every occasion.

abaaaabbbb63 said:
Still, it does not apply to the whole EU. In countries where the Nexus 5 isn't sold through Google Play, warranty policies may differ. Retailers tend to take advantage of their monopoly over these countries and strip down the warranty coverage, and say that if you modified the software, it goes in the "Unsuitable Usage" category, and they can't do anything to it, not even hardware wise.
Trust me. Retailers know how to crook you with every occasion.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They know how to try. Force the issue and they cave in. I went as far as starting court action over this and they then gave in because they know they would lose. Know your rights and use them.

Very useful info. Thanks.
Quick question. I am coming from htc one x. I have fastboot and drivers installed for that device. Will these work for the n5 or do I need to install new specific ones?

columbo67 said:
Very useful info. Thanks.
Quick question. I am coming from htc one x. I have fastboot and drivers installed for that device. Will these work for the n5 or do I need to install new specific ones?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They will work for the n5 (I think.... more like 80% sure). Try and see.

I had a question about the void warranty part. Do you know if it rooting/unlocking bootloader voids the warranty in Canada? I'll be getting the Nexus 5 as my first smartphone but would still like to mess around with rooting after a while, but would Google care if I rooted/unlocked the loader? Also, can you unroot/relock the loader?
Thanks.

Database Info

welcome