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I hate me [n00b question]

So I have a I-9020A with at&t. I have rooted followed by flashing -su and roms instructions using instructions on the net. But after following that process and then going backwards (flashing stock w/ no root locking bootloader) I have realized after that I have more questions.
So first: Unlocking the Bootloader erases the phone. Unlocking the bootloader is needed to flash CWM and SU. I have read many many things about NANDROID, how is NANDROID different from CWM?
So I guess my next question is: How does one remove SU? In the process of rooting and flashing CWM and ROMs I make a backup prior to going to deep... that Backup will have SU, I have unrooted, but SU is still on the phone and I cannot seem to remove it.
Another question is: where are the data files on the phone for apps like Plants vs Zombies? I would like to move them off my phone prior to root, though I'm not sure if that is possible (is it?).
The last question is: If I wanted to muck around with ICS and the source code, is it as simple as flashing the source as explained on the google site? because they make it sound rather easy.
Thanks for any and all help,
toonhead

toonhead85 said:
So I have a I-9020A with at&t. I have rooted followed by flashing -su and roms instructions using instructions on the net. But after following that process and then going backwards (flashing stock w/ no root locking bootloader) I have realized after that I have more questions.
So first: Unlocking the Bootloader erases the phone. This process is needed to flash CWM (but not -su?). I have read many many things about NANDROID, but I have no idea what that is except a backup of a stock rom. When I power my phone off and press Vol up and power on then go to recovery I get an Android w/ a triangle with an exclamation and cant do anything at that point.
So I guess my next question is: How does one backup a stock rom (like you would using CMW) without rooting? or is there not a way and I should just except that when I root for the first time I should expect to loose everything and take off things like pics ect before hand.
The last question is: If I wanted to muck around with ICS and the source code, is it as simple as flashing the source as explained on the google site? because they make it sound rather easy.
Thanks for any and all help,
toonhead
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like you should have read more.
When you open the bootloader (the lock) it will wipe your personal data off the phone (not SD storage). This just means you get it as if you just bought it from the store. There is no way around it but happens only once and you'll never have to do it again. Unless you lock it back
Once the bootloader is unlocked you can now flash a custom recovery such as CWM which will let you manage and back up your phone with whatever ROM you want/have.
Once recovery is on your device you also have to root the phone. For this you'll need a zip flashable file with the superuser apk and SU binary files. Flash it in recovery and you should be good to go.
The last step is to install a ROM of your choice. You can just run what the phone has and it will work fine and even take updates without a problem. However, every time you want to flash something you'll need to flash CWM again because the stock image flashes the default recovery on reboot. There is a file you can delete to prevent this from happening. I forgot the path so look around. However, I would recommend you flash a stock ROM which already comes loaded with good stuff and all other things are done for you Just stop by the development section and pick a ROM you like.
Naroid is just a backup.
Oh, and BTW, mocking around with ICS... I would leave that for later. First get your head around basic flashing/rooting stuff. Changing the source code requires knowledge of code and even phone hardware. I'm guessing it's not for you just yet

obsanity said:
Sounds like you should have read more.
When you open the bootloader (the lock) it will wipe your personal data off the phone (not SD storage). This just means you get it as if you just bought it from the store. There is no way around it but happens only once and you'll never have to do it again. Unless you lock it back
Once the bootloader is unlocked you can now flash a custom recovery such as CWM which will let you manage and back up your phone with whatever ROM you want/have.
Once recovery is on your device you also have to root the phone. For this you'll need a zip flashable file with the superuser apk and SU binary files. Flash it in recovery and you should be good to go.
The last step is to install a ROM of your choice. You can just run what the phone has and it will work fine and even take updates without a problem. However, every time you want to flash something you'll need to flash CWM again because the stock image flashes the default recovery on reboot. There is a file you can delete to prevent this from happening. I forgot the path so look around. However, I would recommend you flash a stock ROM which already comes loaded with good stuff and all other things are done for you Just stop by the development section and pick a ROM you like.
Naroid is just a backup.
Oh, and BTW, mocking around with ICS... I would leave that for later. First get your head around basic flashing/rooting stuff. Changing the source code requires knowledge of code and even phone hardware. I'm guessing it's not for you just yet
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i was going to write something similar. toonhead85 you should do a bit more research and reading before you start hacking on your phone. youve hearts in the right place, but youre not quite ready just yet. at least take small steps at first

A little more clarification or nandroid backups:
Nandroid is a specific type of backup of the phone's system files. I think that includes system rom and radio. I not sure if any data is included in the backup. You should make a nandroid backup of the stock rom bbefore you flash any custom roms. If something goes wrong with a rom flash or if you want to restore to a previous stock or custom rom, you can restore from the backups you have made. You create these nandroid backups by booting into recovery and selecting the backup option (I think maybe named backup and restore). Backups are usually found on your SD card, but you can copy them to your computer to save additional copies.
If you want to also backup apps, get a good backup program from the market. Two that I have used are Titanium Backup for Root and MyBackups for Root. They can backup and restore apps and data as well as system data.

Thanks for all of the amazing replys. I do know that I am not at the point where I wanna muck around in the system to much as this is my one and only phone. But I would like to at some point.
But something I wanna know is this: If in flash CWM, can I use it without root? Say to make a backup of the stock rom before flashing SU? I only ask because I am currently at work and can't test the idea.
Another question is this: I know how to get to the stock recovery, but from what I read you use the VOL UP to get the "Menu". When I push any (hardware) button I get nothing and the image being displayed is an Android with a triangle and there is an exclimation point in it. Any thoughts?

a nandroid saves everything in your phone, just how it is at that moment. and when you restore it, your phone goes back to that very moment you made that nandroid backup. all your data remain. everything. its like you didnt do anything in between backing up and restoring

simms22 said:
a nandroid saves everything in your phone, just how it is at that moment. and when you restore it, your phone goes back to that very moment you made that nandroid backup. all your data remain. everything. its like you didnt do anything in between backing up and restoring
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and you need root to use NANDROID? Or just an unlocked bootloader and to flash it over?

toonhead85 said:
and you need root to use NANDROID? Or just an unlocked bootloader and to flash it over?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
unlocked bootloader

FANTASTIC!!! Thank you all so very much!!

simms22 said:
unlocked bootloader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And CWM recovery.
You don't need root to backup but remember that when you reboot it will flash back to stock recovery (the triangle). You can simply repeat the adb command to flash CWM again.
Sent from my Nexus S 4G

And CWM recovery.
You don't need root to backup but remember that when you reboot it will flash back to stock recovery (the triangle). You can simply repeat the adb command to flash CWM again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I could flash unlock my bootloader > flash CWM > Make a backup and save it to my computer then when i reboot my phone it would automatically reflash the stock recovery? and if this is correct, then all i would need to do is flash CWM to restore the saved backup?
So here's a question, is it the action of flashing SU that keeps the phone from removing CWM and reinstalling stock recovery?

You must rename the /system/etc/install-recovery.sh file or it will keep replacing the stock recovery. See this post, item 2.

Flashing different roms, whats the deal???

Ok so i've finally decided im ready to unlock and flash. My question is this: whats the deal with returning to stock and redoing everything on certain roms? Can anyone explain to me the variables here?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app

once you have your device rooted and have a recovery installed, make a nandroid back up your stock rom, flash whatever rom you want, then if you need to go back to stock rom, just flash the nandroid back up you made. If you want to go 100%, then you will have to find the stock recovery image, and flash that over your custom recovery as well, then just use OTA Rootkeeper... and temp unroot your phone... and viola, your 100% stock again.... but if you plan to go back to 100% stock then DO NOT UNLOCK YOUR BOOTLOADER!! there is no way to lock it again once you unlock it.

I think it's worth while to note
currently the only custom recovery that is able to flash stock is CWM
TWRP is not able to flash a stock rom

KAD79 said:
I think it's worth while to note
currently the only custom recovery that is able to flash stock is CWM
TWRP is not able to flash a stock rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you flash a stock ROM using CWM you will lose all data on your device, including any backups you made using CWM. So be sure to backup those files to your PC (they're located in the clockworkmod/backup folder of your internal storage) before flashing the stock Asus ROM.
I've been changing my ROM's throughout the day and have basically memorized the process of flashing CWM, root, and ROM's by now

KAD79 said:
I think it's worth while to note
currently the only custom recovery that is able to flash stock is CWM
TWRP is not able to flash a stock rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
TWRP can flash stock. I've done it.
Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

Ive read about problems reflashing ROMs when youre on the CM or AOKP. Need to return to stock, then flash other ROMs, dunno why exactly. So is it enough just to restore my stock nand backup or do I need to do something differently? :good:

This is exactly what im talking about. What are the rules when coming from cyan to a stock flavor?
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app

So lets say right now im ready to unlock and root. I would want to unlock the device, then root, then flash CWM (not twrp) so i could still retrain (and boot in to without reinstalling) my original rom? Because i still want to titanium my apps.
Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using xda app-developers app

not sure if I understand your question right, but yeah you can use your stock rom when you root or flash cwm. Untill you wont wipe anything within CWM, theres no reason you coulndt use it. But dont forget to do backup of your stock mate.

I think part of the confusion is defining what "stock" means, and I've got two different views on it over the past few days:
COMPLETE STOCK means flashing ASUS' original stock firmware, which completely wipes out everything on your tablet (including your nandroid backups) and CWM and takes you back to a fully stock tablet (except it will still have unlocked bootloader). From here, if you want to install ROM's like CleanROM or Hydro you have to re-flash CWM each time, then flash the appropriate ROM.
MODIFIED STOCK would be making a nandroid backup of your stock settings as soon as you flash the stock ROM, install CWM, then back it up and you can revert to it accordingly. I don't know if this would break things when you tried to flash Clean/Hydro and so maybe someone can clarify.
I wanted to try both hydro and cleanrom so I spent many hours yesterday flashing between stock/modified stock. Its kind of a pain, but all part of the learning process.
And one thing I want to note both for myself and for anyone else: if you flash stock without removing CWM it'll give you the broken bootloader logo (android on his back w/ exclamation point), and my solution has just been to do a 'wipe data' from the fastboot menu and the stock will work fine. What I mean by this is I've done this at least three times, where I flash STOCK from within CWM and when I try to boot into recovery, I'll get that android. That's because STOCK completely erases everything including CWM so in order to restore the normal operating procedure, you just need to 'wipe data' from within the tablet.
Hope my understanding of these situations is correct, if not anyone can feel free to correct me

People like to experiment with their tablet, they get easily bored with the same thing.
So they go back to stock and flash another rom like Hydro which is stock based because when you flash CM or AOKP it won't let you just flash to Hydro.

KAD79 said:
I think it's worth while to note
currently the only custom recovery that is able to flash stock is CWM
TWRP is not able to flash a stock rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
NOT TRUE!
It should be noted that TWRP is now more functional than CWM. TWRP can now flash stock ROMs just fine. It can now restore complete nandroids, including /boot, and it can now flash from and store to the external SD card. It was just recently updated for this, which is why all the information until now has said to use CWM to flash the stock ROM. So, go ahead and use TWRP. It's perfect now.

CyanogenMOD 10 back up question.

Hi,
I have followed everything in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1837863
I have backups nandroid ready and wasn't too sure, if I dont like this build then i could restore back to stock using CWM? or Odin.
I felt that I need to wait for reply to comfirm before flashing this cyanogenMOD 10.
Thanks!

LeonKnight12 said:
Hi,
I have followed everything in this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1837863
I have backups nandroid ready and wasn't too sure, if I dont like this build then i could restore back to stock using CWM? or Odin.
I felt that I need to wait for reply to comfirm before flashing this cyanogenMOD 10.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IF my memory serves me right, with an unlocked bootloader, you can recover to a TW rom but I think its needs to either have the kernel built into it OR you need to somehow flash to a TW kernel. I say this because I think that if your kernel is still an AOSP one, then the device will not boot up.
some roms already come with a kernel for their rom so I think in most cases, with CWM 6.0.1.x, you could restore a TW nandroid.

If you want to restore a backup of a TouchWiz rom you have then just use the EZ Recovery app to flash the hybrid (CWM/Kexec) recovery...reboot to recovery and restore your nandroid. Simple process!
Once the Dev's building TW roms start using the non-kexec flashing method then you will be able to restore using the normal CWM recovery. Just like you said, you can also use ODIN to restore to stock but it's a pain because you have to root all over again. Just know you have a few options.

Ok thanks everyone!

So good

Fwiw... I've been switching back and forth between Synergy and CM for a couple days now (flashing multiple times) and cwm touch works for synergy but u need new cwm for CM10.
Hope this helps.

[Q] cm10 unintall method for htc one v (india-gsm)

i have installed cm10 on htc one v primo-u (india gsm ) and i wish to revert to the original image.
i tried to flash India_1567201recovery_signed.img file but no success.
can someone help me with a procedure how to revert to either 1.56.720 or 2.09.720 image of the phone

romah1 said:
i have installed cm10 on htc one v primo-u (india gsm ) and i wish to revert to the original image.
i tried to flash India_1567201recovery_signed.img file but no success.
can someone help me with a procedure how to revert to either 1.56.720 or 2.09.720 image of the phone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you try to flash the RUU? You can not flash it like a normal ROM
Also if you are looking for the RUU try HERE
I see what you're trying to do, that won't work...you can't flash a recovery to get to stock because stock phone won't flash from recovery, which is why once you get root the first thing you do is flash a custom recovery. Use the RUU to flash it back to shipped state stock, or if you are trying to keep root and just want to use a different ROM. More clarification on what you are trying to accomplish would be nice.
If you did a Nandroid prior to flashing CM10 I would wipe all partitions except SD and restore the Nandroid, if all you want to do is get CM10 off your phone. Remember Nandroid Backups are your friend do them before flashing anything and save them to your PC if you don't want the SD space taken. Doing this has made flashing pain free and hassle free. If I don't like how my phone is running after a flash I can always get it right back to how it was when I was happy with it. Lastly there was a time when I had a Nandroid backup of a Sense ROM and was on AOSP and wanted to flash back to Sense, well my Backup wouldn't flash. After spending hours raising hell I did a clean install of the ROM booted once, then rebooted into recovery and flashed the Nandroid backup that had the settings I was using (when I was on Sense, it won't restore data and apps used on AOSP)...sorry if its not much help but more details are needed. But you have a starting point.

ItzCrooK2UxD said:
How did you try to flash the RUU? You can not flash it like a normal ROM
Also if you are looking for the RUU try HERE
I see what you're trying to do, that won't work...you can't flash a recovery to get to stock because stock phone won't flash from recovery, which is why once you get root the first thing you do is flash a custom recovery. Use the RUU to flash it back to shipped state stock, or if you are trying to keep root and just want to use a different ROM. More clarification on what you are trying to accomplish would be nice.
If you did a Nandroid prior to flashing CM10 I would wipe all partitions except SD and restore the Nandroid, if all you want to do is get CM10 off your phone. Remember Nandroid Backups are your friend do them before flashing anything and save them to your PC if you don't want the SD space taken. Doing this has made flashing pain free and hassle free. If I don't like how my phone is running after a flash I can always get it right back to how it was when I was happy with it. Lastly there was a time when I had a Nandroid backup of a Sense ROM and was on AOSP and wanted to flash back to Sense, well my Backup wouldn't flash. After spending hours raising hell I did a clean install of the ROM booted once, then rebooted into recovery and flashed the Nandroid backup that had the settings I was using (when I was on Sense, it won't restore data and apps used on AOSP)...sorry if its not much help but more details are needed. But you have a starting point.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i have installed CM10 without backing up any image, therefore i cannot restore the orifginal vendor's rom. Nandroid back would have prevented this situation. the second problem is that I couldnt find any RUU for this phone. indeed the link you attached seems to have it bu unfortunately it is in chineese and after pushing all the buttons i couldn't download the file. so my options are
1- to pray that someone will be kind enough to publish it in a manner that it is accessible
2- I have a friend with a simillar phone , can i somehow back up hus rom and restore it in mine ????
thank
romah1

Stock recovery

Just used Bump and forgot to backup the stock recovery, well I need to flash the stock recovery back...anyone have it by chance? What would be my options?
Thanks!

Uhm, you do realize Bump! installs a new recovery, right? I don't understand why you would need the stock recovery....

I'm planning on returning it and wanted to return it to 100% stock, so I'd need the stock recovery and not TWRP

just flash back to stock and youll be good to go, as in flash the entire device back to stock.

Thanks, I didn't really want to flash back to stock but it's easy enough...figured I would just flash the recovery. Oh well...moving on...

Stock recovery will be needed for future ota's. If anyone dares to take it.