Database Info

Starting A List For After Rooting.Need Help With It.

Ok if anyone can help me out on this. I would like to put a list of things you Need to do AFTER rooting your Inspire. Long story short I looked around countless of thread and find bits of pieces of things to do after your root.
Just would like to start something where this is a list to what you need to do after your done. So if ANYONE can help me out and may help others out with just the same ?s. This would be awesome. I know there are somethings like Titanium back up, ROM Manager, ClockWork. But if anyone can help put this together. Thank you.
Also if you have any videos that you can share that shows how to install something(because who does not like a Tut Video lol) rather it be a ROM or making a NANDOID(if thats right) backup if you need or not maybe just some how To's because I had to Root back to stock and this [ROM] AT&T Stock ROM - Sense [Unroot] and the user helped me out, thanks again friend, very informative.
thanks again for any help hints and walk throughs.
I for got to add this in once your done rooting you can check it with super user to see if everything is good. Also I found these guys to become very helpful major Props to them.. ANDROID Applications (How-To Backup & Restore) Titanium Backup just look that up on youtube or something

Not trying to be mean, but did you even take a look at the guide? I could be wrong, but I vaguely remember there being a video posted there.
As for what you do after you root your phone, you can flash a rom if you want... I mean its really a subjective question..

yes I looked just any video dealing with the inspire I hoping that this thread could kind of be one place for some ?s I see all over the place but its worth a shot to see if it turns out that way but for others that see the title of this thread could get some help with out ppl being "mean" for a ?s thats been asked and yes there is a search bar but...hey not everyone use it as much as we reply with "There is a search bar you know" or any other remark..
So Im hoping with that said that this thread could help other out with some Very common ?s. Because other user dont see a thread that looks like what they are looking for so others make a thread asking ?s that has been asked many times so with in time maybe this could help a lot of others.. Idk we will see..
Also after seeing a lot of videos about this there is so many different things that are said to do or to get and its get confusing and I can see how it could throw some user off..Because what through me off is the Making of a Nanadoid back up.. I kind of still dont know how lol.

That would be why the guide is stickied at the top its meant to be a one stop shop for "new rooters". There is about 20 pages of questions and answers, and many of the members will stop by and answer including devs.
And there a four videos posted in the opening post, one for the hack kit (outdated) and one for bubbys root method. There are also two other videos one that shows you how to recover from a soft brick, and how to flash a rom (including a nandroid back up).
The main reason for the guide to be stickied was to elevate the general forum, from getting a lot of redundant questions, which it has helped.
To answer your question, after you root you really don't have to do anything. As I said before you can flash a rom and make a nandroid backup, which is covered in the guide. You can flash a radio, which there is also a link to the thread for this. You can flash a theme for a rom, which is generally the same as flashing a rom. You can install market apps that require root access.
The only thing that "would/should be" required after rooting would be flashing a recovery ie. clock work mod recovery, which is covered in both rooting processes.
As I said before I am not trying to be mean or rude, but that is kind of why the guide was stickied.

I got you chief.. And I dont take it anything personal its the internet LOL! but If you dont mind can you past the link about making that nanadoid back up. and btw your not the only one with videos more then four. But yeah I hear about the same ?s being asked and yea your thread is like 300+ with a lot lol.. but Idk was hoping that this could be more organized I see that you have a lot of fixes and radios..etc..good stuff though.
I hope Im not steeling you thunder for post..

Staticpunk84 said:
I got you chief.. And I dont take it anything personal its the internet LOL! but If you dont mind can you past the link about making that nanadoid back up. and btw your not the only one with videos more then four. But yeah I hear about the same ?s being asked and yea your thread is like 300+ with a lot lol.. but Idk was hoping that this could be more organized I see that you have a lot of fixes and radios..etc..good stuff though.
I hope Im not steeling you thunder for post..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A nandoid back up is as simple as this...
Assuming you're rooted, and haven't flashed cwr yet...
Download ROM manager
Open it and choose flash clockwork recovery.
Once that's done, choose backup current rom
Provide a name for your backup
Let it reboot and do the backup.
If you already have clockwork recovery flashed, you can reboot into recovery and select the appropriate menu choice, though if you initiate the backup directly from cwr, I don't think it let's you choose the name.
Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium

Scott_S said:
A nandoid back up is as simple as this...
Assuming you're rooted, and haven't flashed cwr yet...
Download ROM manager
Open it and choose flash clockwork recovery.
Once that's done, choose backup current rom
Provide a name for your backup
Let it reboot and do the backup.
If you already have clockwork recovery flashed, you can reboot into recovery and select the appropriate menu choice, though if you initiate the backup directly from cwr, I don't think it let's you choose the name.
Inspired Ace 1.0.1¦ XDA Premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's correct, but the backups are stored in /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/$datecode$ It's very easy to rename them after the fact.... so long as you do it within a reasonable time period.

you can also do it from rom manager and name the backup.

sweet.. I just re rooted like an hour ago just re setting some stuff up

[Q] Rooted... now what.. sorry

Hi sorry, I couldn't find where to put this but I just rooted my ASUS transformer on 3.2 - 8.6.5.19 sucessfully and now need to or want to know what to do?
1-Ive heard of overclocking but I would want to do it safely
2-Id like to make a backup before I do anything that may mess things up
3-Ive got Rom manager on it but it asks to make sure that I have clockmodwork Recovery and I can't find where to get it.
and finally
4-What can I really do with this thing now?
Please let me know thanks

Well, browsing and searching through the forums should give you enough answers... If you had any other Android device, it is all the same here.
Anyway, if you've installed ClockWorkMod Recovery (the Rom manager can usually do this, but I am not sure as I haven't tried it for this device), you can try it by switching the device off and powering up with keeping power and volume down buttons pressed. After a while you'll get a message like "press vol-up to boot recovery in 5 seconds". If you press vol-up, you'll get into the recovery.
If you did not install CWM, you can also use this tool: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1346180
That's what I used.
As for backup - you can do nandroid backup of your current rom from the CWM recovery (in case something goes wrong, you can easily revert to the current rom). You'll have to use one of the backup apps if you want to backup data and apps from your current rom though.
If you want to install a new rom, put it into the root of your sd card (real one, not internal storage), then do a full wipe (clear data/factory reset in CWM), then select "install zip from sd card" (don't remember the exact message), confirm, wait for it to finish, select reboot and you're done.
As for overclocking, I don't know yet, I've had this device just for a few days. Check out the available ROMs, they probably have some overclocking tools/features.
I just love this device - rooting and installing CWM without even having to connect to a PC

1- search the forum
2- search the forum
3- search the forum
4-throw it into the sea

1. Search & Read
If you ask such questions, you clearly do not have an idea what are you doing. Gain some knowledge before you harm your device
However Sigismund83's post should cover it up

ROM Manager does not work with the TF101.

Everyone always says "search" but it not always as easy as it seems when your a noob .. Although there are guides for alot of things, it isnt as noob friendly as it could be.
Some guides are out of date and throw you off in the wrong direction, and it can end up taking you a fair bit of time searching and reading old topics till you finally come across / figure out the correct process...
Heres what i would suggest (as i just did this myself)
1. Root with Razorclaw (youve already done)
2. Install the easy recovery installer Tool for flashing CWM in one click
3. Download a Rom of your choice ... Prime, Revolver, Revolution etc etc and transfer it to your microSD card
4. Boot into recovery (cwm) and flash the rom (flash update from SDcard) (this is another good quick tool Reboot to recovery App
Bobs your auntie ...

Thank you!
Danny-B- said:
Everyone always says "search" but it not always as easy as it seems when your a noob .. Although there are guides for alot of things, it isnt as noob friendly as it could be.
Some guides are out of date and throw you off in the wrong direction, and it can end up taking you a fair bit of time searching and reading old topics till you finally come across / figure out the correct process...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Boy ain't THAT the truth! Searching these forums is agonizing for exactly those reasons. It would be nice if there were more people that would just answer if they know or if they don't want to help just move on. "Read and search the forums" is less than helpful.

gbweller said:
Boy ain't THAT the truth! Searching these forums is agonizing for exactly those reasons. It would be nice if there were more people that would just answer if they know or if they don't want to help just move on. "Read and search the forums" is less than helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the point everyone is saying is, he rooted his tablet and then asks, "What do I do with it," which indicates he didn't really have a reason to root it in the first place other than for the fact that he could.
He should have researched rooting, what benefits it brings, pros & cons, etc, before just rooting for the hell of it.

I'm wondering why would someone root a device and not know what to do with it. It's like getting a tattoo and then ask now what?

Danny-B- said:
Everyone always says "search" but it not always as easy as it seems when your a noob .. Although there are guides for alot of things, it isnt as noob friendly as it could be.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is nothing more noob-friendly than searching IMO. Where things get hairy for noobs is when they decide to take the easy route and ask questions that have already been asked, probably 5-10 times at least before someone really starts trolling those questions..
Searching is only difficult if you have a sub-grammar-school reading level..you have to be willing to use your eyes and actually read some, even things you may not need to know, to find what you are actually looking for...you may find that learning stuff that you didn't need actually turns out to save your ass later (as has happened to me many many times).
That is why we say over and over to search, because learning to find your own answers, a crucial skill in problem solving, is much better than simply answering a single question that has been asked over and over, you aren't teaching you are doing their work for them..you know, teach a man to fish and all that jazz. Honestly, the only time searching for your answers is difficult for noobs is when their device is brand new and not undergone a lot of development. But in the case of our TF101, there are entire websites devoted to it. It has been out for nearly a year now.
No offense to any noobs who didn't want to hear it!

I rooted mine to fix the speaker balance. No reason to root other than that, and I'll probably un-do it so I can use Movie rentals from the Market.

flash custom rom due to Hboot 2.0 S-on

I wanted to write it down many times, but I don't have right time to do this.
The reason why I want to write it down, because I'm a newbie, and I know what a newbie would feel when he/she wants help but no one will help or they can't help.
Because of the stunning performance from few videoes of 4.0, I wanted to flash a 4.0 rom always, but I'm afraid to briket it, and finally I started to log in forums and check someone else how to do it.
I added many people, and only one answered me, and patiently helped me to do this, do that, but failed, though, I still thank him a lot.
My steps are simple, I won't define words, explain them, and I won't write down the exact process, because there are so many posters about it.
1. HTCdev, very important, everything is invisible without this step.
2. after this, you can use ADB to flash superuser and RE, or use a tool called pioneer, which is in Chinese, just need you to press anykey of your keyboard after you unzip it, and click (执行(means execut))boot.bat, and it's done
3. Flash recovery, I flash 4ext touch version, and it's quite good.
download PG881IMG.ZIP, and babababa....
My situation was like that: do not connect computer during flash 4ext, or it won't react.
4. flash rom, and after flash rom, return to bootloader, to flash boot.img(still many poster say this), and connect to computer, flash boot.img
And after that, everything's done.
May it help.

Welcome
Nandylee said:
I wanted to write it down many times, but I don't have right time to do this.
The reason why I want to write it down, because I'm a newbie, and I know what a newbie would feel when he/she wants help but no one will help or they can't help.
Because of the stunning performance from few videoes of 4.0, I wanted to flash a 4.0 rom always, but I'm afraid to briket it, and finally I started to log in forums and check someone else how to do it.
I added many people, and only one answered me, and patiently helped me to do this, do that, but failed, though, I still thank him a lot.
My steps are simple, I won't define words, explain them, and I won't write down the exact process, because there are so many posters about it.
1. HTCdev, very important, everything is invisible without this step.
2. after this, you can use ADB to flash superuser and RE, or use a tool called pioneer, which is in Chinese, just need you to press anykey of your keyboard after you unzip it, and click (执行(means execut))boot.bat, and it's done
3. Flash recovery, I flash 4ext touch version, and it's quite good.
download PG881IMG.ZIP, and babababa....
My situation was like that: do not connect computer during flash 4ext, or it won't react.
4. flash rom, and after flash rom, return to bootloader, to flash boot.img(still many poster say this), and connect to computer, flash boot.img
And after that, everything's done.
May it help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hello, please don't take this personally...(you're input is appreciated)
If by adding people you mean, adding users as friends and then private messaging them, then I don't find it surprising that you didn't get many answers.
This is an open forum and it's power is that all users are able to put input into finding solutions and assisting each other as a group not as individuals.
Even though PM's have a use in efficient communication within the forum, they are not recommended for new starters with problems, that's what the Q/A section is for.
If you have an issue or a question simply post a new thread describing it, although hopefully use the search function first to see if it has been asked before, as 90% of questions have been!
Although a little reading of the available guides and Google'ing goes a long way!

adding issue
ben_pyett said:
Hello, please don't take this personally...(you're input is appreciated)
If by adding people you mean, adding users as friends and then private messaging them, then I don't find it surprising that you didn't get many answers.
This is an open forum and it's power is that all users are able to put input into finding solutions and assisting each other as a group not as individuals.
Even though PM's have a use in efficient communication within the forum, they are not recommended for new starters with problems, that's what the Q/A section is for.
If you have an issue or a question simply post a new thread describing it, although hopefully use the search function first to see if it has been asked before, as 90% of questions have been!
Although a little reading of the available guides and Google'ing goes a long way!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hey, dude,. what I mean adding people, is to use QQ, do you know this app?

@Nandylee
You were lost when you started and after a while it made sense to you, your guide will still just confuse people cause they won't understand it. To someone who understands they can see where its going but its flawed, to a noob its no help. Sorry.

Nandylee said:
hey, dude,. what I mean adding people, is to use QQ, do you know this app?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't know that app, but I do now, although I still stand by what I said regarding one to one communication, it's always better to ask everyone through the forum, that's what gives it its power and then the answers are made available for others to read.
foX2delta said:
@Nandylee
You were lost when you started and after a while it made sense to you, your guide will still just confuse people cause they won't understand it. To someone who understands they can see where its going but its flawed, to a noob its no help. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 Totally agree, the beginners need to be spoon feed with idiot proof guides, which is in no way meant as a knock, we were all there once, fortunately we're in one of the nicer forums....

Idiotproof guide in 1 2 3
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1525100
Its 2 threads above yours, and very well written. But, i would still recommend to S-off your phone, because of warranty and easy flashing (rom manager)
Sent from my HTC Desire S using XDA

n00b to rooting and CWM for P3113

First off love the N00b video at sign up that was hysterical, nice work to whoever made it.
Ok on to what I need to know:
I understand HOW TO root/flash a rom, my issue is kind of different than most peoples. I have scoured the web and this site for the files I need to accomplish this with my GT-P3113 build ending in LG5 however I am confused to hell.
1 place will say that CWM 6.0.1 is not usable on my device, another will say that it works fine and another will say to use TWRP (which might I add looks cool to use). Some will say that I need the expresso_wifi file to root my device, others will say use update.zip, and others will say a totally different file all together.
I know what ROM to get, I understand the steps:
Download drivers
Boot to download
use odin to install CWM
back up everything with CWM (which goes to the MicroSD I am guessing? since I wipe the device in a later step)
wipe the device
wipe the cache
wipe the Dalvik cache
flash the rom
flash the root
is all that correct? (just to make sure I got it right) so my biggest question is, which files do I really use? There is a thread from back in June before the 4.0.4 update OTA came through) saying to use instead of that if you have LG3 or etc.
Help would be greatly appreciated, I am a smart guy, just want to have my facts straight before I make this happen.
PS sorry if this is in the wrong place, figured this was the best place for it.

Please be sure and thank the person who decides to do your homework for you.
:laugh:

FlynnErik said:
First off love the N00b video at sign up that was hysterical, nice work to whoever made it.
Ok on to what I need to know:
I understand HOW TO root/flash a rom, my issue is kind of different than most peoples. I have scoured the web and this site for the files I need to accomplish this with my GT-P3113 build ending in LG5 however I am confused to hell.
1 place will say that CWM 6.0.1 is not usable on my device, another will say that it works fine and another will say to use TWRP (which might I add looks cool to use). Some will say that I need the expresso_wifi file to root my device, others will say use update.zip, and others will say a totally different file all together.
I know what ROM to get, I understand the steps:
Download drivers
Boot to download
use odin to install CWM
back up everything with CWM (which goes to the MicroSD I am guessing? since I wipe the device in a later step)
wipe the device
wipe the cache
wipe the Dalvik cache
flash the rom
flash the root
is all that correct? (just to make sure I got it right) so my biggest question is, which files do I really use? There is a thread from back in June before the 4.0.4 update OTA came through) saying to use instead of that if you have LG3 or etc.
Help would be greatly appreciated, I am a smart guy, just want to have my facts straight before I make this happen.
PS sorry if this is in the wrong place, figured this was the best place for it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From someone relatively new to this as well, this is basically correct. Here are some tips from someone who has recently done it.
Make a backup.
Research the files you intend to flash, make sure they are right for your device
Verify the guide you are using has been tested and known to work.
This may seem elementary, but I didn't follow #3 and it cost me a lot of headache un-bricking my SGT 2.

ryphil said:
From someone relatively new to this as well, this is basically correct. Here are some tips from someone who has recently done it.
Make a backup.
Research the files you intend to flash, make sure they are right for your device
Verify the guide you are using has been tested and known to work.
This may seem elementary, but I didn't follow #3 and it cost me a lot of headache un-bricking my SGT 2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Fully agreed! That's why I came to the experts. I have done my homework but the thing is my homework leads me to several different files from before the ICS update. There has only been 1 thread on 1 forum that has been post ICS update, and no real feedback on it. I think I even found one that uses ADB (I understand that concept, but would prefer not to use it since I don't know Linux well enough).
I would love to know what files to use, which ones to stay away from. As I said I have the concepts, I have the understanding, its the actual files that I want to verify, I can rattle off tons of files from tons of sites, but they may or may not be correct (and may have the same name as a correct one but still be incorrect, ie "update.zip" appears a few times on different threads from different time frames).
There is only post in the teamhacksung CM10 wiki that was last edited 8/12/2012, but that could have been anything that was updated, not the files/links to be used.
So I thank you in advance for your help, and you will certainly get a thank you in the forum for help you are providing, I always give credit where credit is due.
Well here goes nothing, going to reboot (to ensure the Kies drivers are installed and loaded into the system 100%), and try the instructions from this link http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1788625
It seems to work for most, the only concern I have is that I have a different end to the build than most others do (and I am not sure why?)

Did I screw myself?
I rooted, and have CWM installed.
Is it to late to create a ROM backup of my device for when i go to install CM10 (I need a drink for now, so I might install it tomorrow night lol).
That link I posted in the last post is good to go if anyone else needs a safe bet set of directions.
Seriously though, I didn't do a backup, am I screwed now?
EDIT: I just did a back up and it said no sdcard/.android secure found, skipping of backup of apps
and
no sd-ext found skipping backup of that.
is that normal? Did it backup to my microSD?
Still hope I didn't screw myself by backing it up after rooting.

[Q] Most stable ICS AOSP rom

Hello,
So at the moment my HTC sensation is running CM9 stable and although it's great and I'm not actually having any stability issues, the problem that is still making me keep an eye out for other roms is the fact that I always get poor battery life. No more than 2 hours screen time, ever. Even if I don't use the phone that much, the battery won't last longer than 18-20 hours.
I tend to use my phone quite alot for things like whatsapp, twitter, news, browsing, phone calls the most but when I was on CM7 my phone would easily last the whole day plus a little longer.
Although I think CM roms are great (they're the only one's I've ever used!) I do want to start venturing out of my comfort zone if it means I can have a pure naked stock android rom (I think this is referred to as AOSP?). I'm not interested in sense or any launchers etc, I like how CM lets me customise the number of home pages I have (I have set it to 2!) and would like to keep this simplicity going.
Can you great folks please let me know what you would do if you were in my shoes? Are there any other roms out there that will give me nothing but AOSP android on ICS (or JB) with the added bonus of stability and a good battery life.
Many thanks in advance

Is there any reason you cannot test it for yourself? It is the only way YOU will find out what suits YOU
ICS AOSP ROMs are AOKP/CM9, JB ROMs are ParanoidAndroid/CM etc etc, just look through the dev section

Hi Jonny, thanks for the response. The simple answer is because I'm not experienced enough to try and install different sorts of roms onto my phone. Both times I did in the past (CM7 and CM9) I made errors and it ended up taking quite long to carry out what seems to be a straightforward task for most people.
So I thought I would ask everyone else where they would go from here rather than risking ruining my phone further! (to be honest I look through the rom section of this forum everyday and the options available are so vast, and to be honest quite overwhelming.
Thanks anyway!

I agree with Jonny, it's a very personal thing and what might be perfect for me, might be awful for you because it's only opinion. So please always test out for yourself the different roms and if you need help we can help you then you will better learn the procedures for flashing also learn how to get yourself out of trouble in a pinch . I learned these things myself by trial and error and the experimentation is the fun part! That said I prefer ICS and use viper. However once again you really need to try it out for yourself to see if it suits you! If you have any questions about changing roms I and others are happy to help you out.so please why are you not comfortable flashing new roms? How can I help you?what I do is (im s-off) I put the Rom to the root of my sd card. I download from my computer and use my USB to transfer the Rom using my phone as a removable disk drive. Once it's downloaded I boot into recovery, I wipe cash, wipe dalvik cash, wipe data factory reset.then press download to sd card, choose file from sd (this is your Rom), install, reboot and your done. Hope this helps out some. Any questions and I'm happy to help you!
sent from HTC sensation, soff, 3.33 firmware, viper Rom, sense 4.1, mugen battery. please press thanks if I helped in anyway.

You don't need to wipe data if he's coming from cm9 nightly or in this case stable
Sent from my Sensation

realsis said:
I agree with Jonny, it's a very personal thing and what might be perfect for me, might be awful for you because it's only opinion. So please always test out for yourself the different roms and if you need help we can help you then you will better learn the procedures for flashing also learn how to get yourself out of trouble in a pinch . I learned these things myself by trial and error and the experimentation is the fun part! That said I prefer ICS and use viper. However once again you really need to try it out for yourself to see if it suits you! If you have any questions about changing roms I and others are happy to help you out.so please why are you not comfortable flashing new roms? How can I help you?what I do is (im s-off) I put the Rom to the root of my sd card. I download from my computer and use my USB to transfer the Rom using my phone as a removable disk drive. Once it's downloaded I boot into recovery, I wipe cash, wipe dalvik cash, wipe data factory reset.then press download to sd card, choose file from sd (this is your Rom), install, reboot and your done. Hope this helps out some. Any questions and I'm happy to help you!
sent from HTC sensation, soff, 3.33 firmware, viper Rom, sense 4.1, mugen battery. please press thanks if I helped in anyway.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, thanks for your reply.
Yeh I figured out that I need to put the rom and gapps on the root of the SD card and then I reboot into recovery, wipe the phone totally and then install from sd card the rom and gapps.
The parts that confuse and worry me are:
- some roms say you don't need to wipe stuff if you're coming from certain roms etc, where as other roms say you have to do a total wipe using things like '4ext' - now i know i sound like a total dumb ass here but is 4ext some sort of app that you can download an apk for and install onto your phone and then it allows you to wipe your phone or something?
- i still don't quite get the deal with different firmware versions, how do i know what firmware version i'm using at the moment? what's the difference between them?!
- kernels... i don't quite get how to use a different one, where to obtain them from if i need a certain one for a certain rom!
because of work/general life commitments (just like everyone else i suppose) i don't quite get enough time to read up on everything to be able to gain the confidence to play around.
i wish i was a student again when i had more time to do this stuff (in those days though the iphone was the popular option and i was a right god when it came to jailbreaking and unlocking etc) #goodtimes

Here goes:
preramble your android has an internal nand disk that is partitioned see this explanation Here Read that before you go on
generally when installing a new rom you must wipe all partitions but if you are s on you will not be able to access the radio or boot partitions easily.
this is a problem since generally the rom will come with a kernel already and this goes in the boot partition, luckily 4ext smart flash has you covered.
what is 4ext? 4ext is a recovery program. When you power on you android phone the first thing that happens is your bootloader fires up and by default it launches android, but remember the bootoader comes first, it is a very simple program (notice no touch screen) that just allows you to choose what to boot into. when you press vol down and the power button it tells the phone to stop in the bootloader and let you choose to do something else rather than booting into android. this is like going into the bios on a pc if youve done that.
ok so were in the bootloader and we want to load the recovery program. This is NOT android at all is a completely separate thing that has COMPLETE control over your device. Android OS protects your stuff but this doesnt. android by default comes with a basic recovery but 4ext is an advanced once that has many extra features including touch support.
Right i assume you have 4ext installed if not look up how to do that otherwise we will be here all day. (hint you will need to flash it from your computer)
like i said the bootloader is a separate program to android and can wipe all your data and install a new rom. there are lots of guides explaining this so ill let you find one. if you are s on (you find out at the boot loader screen) you must go into tools and enable 4ext smart flash, this allows you to access the boot partition and install your new kernel. if you are s off it doesnt matter the boot partition is available to you.
dw about firmware its quite a confusing concept, to find out your version got to settings about phone, but its almost certainly 3.32.
dont worry about kernals either the rom will come with one, just make sure you enable smart flash if your s on.
once you flash your first rom they all the same process.
hope that helped you rather than made things worse. sorry about the poor grammer and spelling

Your response it appreciated. Many thanks.
I'm at work at the moment but will go through it this evening.
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