Related
I found I was repeating myself a lot when helping out people new to rooting their Evo. I also found that this knowledge I'm putting into this doc doesn't really exist in one place, but is spread throughout the entire Evo Forum. So below is some information to help out people with backing up their device, some backup tips, some general information on flashing, and tips and best practices for flashing. Hope this helps!!
Assumptions:
This guide assumes you are fully rooted at this point. If not follow any one of the guides in the Wiki that has been stickied on the main page of the Evo Dev forum. My personal recommendation is the Unrevoked. Very easy to use, just read up and make sure your phone is compatible.
To test root type "su" into a terminal. You should get a "#" back. You can use a terminal emulator from the market or ADB. To get ADB up and running follow this guide here. If that seems confusing than take a look at this guide I wrote for Notion Ink Adam Tablet users here. That guide is for Windows users, but Mac and *nix users shouldn't be much more difficult.
Backing up
NAND Backup:
Once rooted you can use the app quickboot to boot into recovery to do a NAND backup. If your ROM doesn't have this app installed, download from Marketplace. Open app and choose "Recovery". Once into your recovery use the volume buttons on the side to scroll up and down and power button to select to get to the option to backup. I have clockwork installed so my screen looks different, but you should be able to find the NAND backup option. This will take awhile so be patient.
Once done you can reboot and continue on as normal. This is an essential step (or using Rom Manager below). If you ever screw up something major or you try a new ROM and want to go back, this will allow you to restore easily and get back to a point where things worked fine. It would also be highly recommended to do one of these backups before doing something major that has potential to break things. Use best judgment here.
Rom Manager:
Even easier than the above is to use Rom Manager. Download it from the marketplace, run it, and let it update your recovery image for you. Once this is done go to the bottom of this app and choose "Backup Current ROM" This should do a full NAND backup. I would recommend buying this app for the other features it has, but it is up to you.
Titanium Backup (TB):
Once you have your NAND backup I would also recommend installing Titanium Backup from the Marketplace (I would also pay for the license because you get better performance and the dev deserves some green for this awesome app!). Once installed open it. The first time it will ask you to update Busybox. Let it and wait for this to download. When done it will ask you reboot app from the notification area. Do this and then wait for app to fully load, two messages should appear, the second one indicates it is fully loaded. Then hit menu and go to the batch section. Choose " Backup all user apps + system data".
This will backup everything on your phone for you to your SD card. This will take a while so go get some coffee and check back in. Do not close the app or turn off your phone, the screen can go blank and you can let it sit, but it will need time to run. I think when the screen turns off it puts an icon in notification that should be updating the progress of the batch. Once done, it should tell you in the notification area. For me it takes awhile with my 228 some elements I'm backing up. Your mileage will vary.
SMS/MMS
I recently came across a thread that mentions using Handy Backup for backing up SMS/MMS messages. I have not tried this app or used it so I don't have any directions to give on it. But I have had people ask and I have seen folks ask in other threads. So if TB doesn't give you enough, try this one too.
Backup to Computer:
I'm still looking for a better method for this one. I'm sure someone has something and if you do please let me know so I can update this section.
Currently I backup files and folders to my local NAS at home after major changes. Incremental changes I let TB handle. This is just a simple process of setting the SD card to storage and copy/paste. Works fine and I have only done this once so far after everything was set to my liking.
You might wonder why this important? Well if you are going to play around a lot with different ROMs and constantly read/writing info to your SD card, it is important because SD cards are not perfect. They can be corrupted and can fail from too much writing of info. It usually takes a lot of work to get one to the point of failure, but I managed to do it with my HTC Mogul so I can vouch that it can happen.
Important folders on SD card:
- /sdcard/clockwork/backup
This will get all backups performed by clockwork. If you grab the entire clockwork folder then you will get ROM downloads and such too. I don't really recommend this as it never takes more than 25 minutes for me to download any image. Plus with a secure NAND backup, you can always restore quickly.
- /sdcard/nandroid
This should backup the folder used by AmonRa recovery.
- /sdcard/TitaniumBackup
Folder used by TB for backing up of apps.
Of course throw in any other folders you deem important. What that is depends on you. Making a backup of everything else probably wont take long too. For me I rarely have more than 7gb of data on my card so backing up takes roughly 30-50 minutes.
All of this may seem like a lot of work, but once done you will have a robust system in place. And will allow you the opportunity to safely play!!
Restoring
Restoring is a simple process but can be time consuming. To speed things up you can pay for the full version of TB, which I highly recommend.
TB
Follow the directions below for what I do after flashing. If you have already read that and are ready to restore then do the following...
Open up TB and let if fully load, you will get two small popup messages. The second one means that TB has fully loaded the OS information. Then hit the menu key and choose batch. Scroll down and look for "Restore all apps with data". Run this batch to restore everything. Keep in mind if you backed up everything and are now changing ROMs that you might run into problems. I have yet to run across issues, but this is just an FYI. Also another reason to have a full NAND backup with Rom Manager. If you run into too many problems just restore with it and problem solved.
Restores and backups take awhile with TB, but are worth the wait. Once done with the full restore you can then do incremental backup and restores in the future.
Also don't forget to open up the apps after restoring and make sure the apps are setup how you want. Then double check with TB to make sure things are fully backed up, just click "Backup all new apps & newer versions". Once done with this reboot.
After a TB restore always reboot. After the reboot go into Rom Manager and NAND backup following the steps above in the backup section. This will ensure you have a full system backup with the settings you want.
Rom Manager
This one is pretty simple. Just open Rom Manager and choose "Manage and Restore Backups". Then choose your backup to restore. If you named the files by date and time you might have to do some guess work, but you should have a rough idea. Once you click the one you want just sit back and wait.
Flashing Tips and Problems
Watch Girls Gone Wild for help with this...
Many people have asked "Why flash custom ROM" or "What are the advantages"? Well I think one of the biggest reasons is performance gain from phone and apps. But for Evo users the number 1 reason should be better battery utilization. This can mean you see same amount of battery life, but with increased phone and app performance, or same performance, but longer battery life.
I think some people might be hesitant because it was one hell of a process rooting their device. Well to those people I say, you are over the mountain now. The hard part is done, flashing is relatively easy. I recommend doing it cause stock can cause some people minor issues and your are missing out on a lot of cool and useful customizations. And if you backup your phone as detailed above, you do not need to worry about losing anything.
Stock ROM with Root (back to defaults) or Completely Unroot:
To flash a stock ROM with root, download one from the wiki of ROMs. Then follow advice in below sections for flashing.
To unroot (This is the "I need to take my phone to Sprint" conundrum...) Follow the wiki link. Or go to HTC's website. Then go to the support section for the HTC Evo. Download the file from them and run it. You will be good to go. And if you followed the backup section above you do not have to worry about anything. Just re-root when you get your new phone or old phone back. And restore.
Also, I recommend taking out your SD card with all the root files on it. No need to bring this up or have to explain things any Sprint tech could easily see. Also if you used Unrevoked Forever you should follow this unroot guide here.
I Just Flashed with no Backups:
Below is what I did before I had Titanium Backup in place and after flashing a custom ROM...
Once booted right after flashing I make sure things look fine, fully sync to Google, then reboot. When I come back from that I turn on WiFi and go to Marketplace and Download section. Any apps I previously downloaded will be in that section waiting for me to download. Download them all at once, DO NOT leave that section before downloading everything, or you will lose that list and it will only show apps currently downloaded and installed.
Once done, open apps and customize to liking. Then download Rom Manager if you don't already have it and follow the above section. Once done with that follow the above section on Titanium Backup. Then enjoy your custom ROM.
Flashing in general:
ALWAYS make sure your battery is at least 50% full. The last thing you want is your phone to die on you in the middle of flashing.
Use Rom Manger and pay for the full version. It is a lot easier and can remove a lot of headaches and problems. If you really want to do it yourself you shouldn't have any problems, this is typically what I do and I haven't run any issues that couldn't be solved yet.
Follow the above backup guides before flashing another custom ROM. Save yourself time and trouble. Also I have read about people using NAND backups to sort of switch between different ROMs. In the short term that shouldn't be a problem, but long term that can make your SD card unstable. Make sure you follow the above section for backing up your SD card to computer.
If changing from one ROM to another it is best practice and almost always recommended to wipe data and dalvik cache. This also will alleviate many issues people run into. And if you follow my backup recommendations then it shouldn't be an issue to do either of these.
If not using Rom Manager, then put the zip of the ROM you want to flash on your SD card, and DO NOT unzip the zip file. Leave it on the root of your SD card as a zip file. Boot into recovery if you are not there already. Find the option to flash from SD card. Then choose the zip file or ROM you want to flash. Wait for everything to flash, then reboot using the option from the recovery menu. Wait for phone to boot. This can take a long time after flashing any new ROM so be patient.
Some ROM devs have other items you can add to their ROM. Follow their directions for flashing those items. Some devs want you to boot first than go back and flash, others allow for you to just start flashing right away with no waiting. Pay attention to the directions on your ROM thread. If you screw something up, try flashing the package again. If things look worse or it didn't work, re-flash your ROM or restore your backup and try again.
Otherwise, flash the ROM following directions above, flash the other packages and themes and items you want, and reboot. All should be well.
Once booted up follow guides above for backing up or restoring. Otherwise if you have problems look below before asking questions. If you can't find it here try searching before asking questions. If you still can't find it feel free to ask for help, but keep the question in the thread for your ROM you are flashing, or if you think it is a rooting issue, in the thread of the root process you followed.
Bootloop Issue:
This can be caused by a few things. For one, make sure you wipe data and dalvik cache before flashing a custom ROM. Even if the dev says it is not necessary do this before flashing a new ROM. It can help with these issues. The only exception here is if you are updating to a new version of the same ROM and the dev says there is no reason to wipe in between...
Also you can experience this if you are not fully rooted. Look toward the top of this guide for rooting advice.
Sometimes the ROM can take a while to boot after flashing a new ROM. Be sure you really do have a stuck boot or bootloop before doing a battery pull and troubleshooting. Give it some time to see if it fixes itself. If you are waiting over 30 minutes for something, you probably do have a legit issue.
Exclamation Point with Android Guy Screen
I got this when attempting to upgrade once. To get out of it, battery pull and put battery back in. Hold down "Volume Down Button" and then press power. KEEP HOLDING DOWN volume down button till white screen (Hboot) appears. Release volume down button. Wait for it scan. If it finds your PC file choose no and also no on reboot. NEXT CHANCE YOU GET remove, rename, or move the PC file from the root of your SD card. Choose "Recovery" from menu using volume buttons and power button to select. Once in recovery, choose flash from SD card and choose your ROM.
If you cannot find an image or do not have one, just go back and toggle USB. Then copy paste ROM to SD card. Keep in mind that you might need to wipe data and dalvik cache before flashing as mentioned above.
Another user commented this screen appeared when attempting to go into recovery from Quickboot app. This might mean the recovery image didn't install correctly, or could mean you do not have a recovery image flashed or installed. If this is the case, follow one of the guides in this wiki link to flash a recovery.
If you need to get out of this screen, just do a battery pull. Your ROM should boot up fine.
Battery Issues After Flashing:
Some have claimed issues with battery after flashing. To try recalibrating click here for Cyanogen's guide.
That's all for now!
I'm sure there is plenty more to add to this down the road, but for now this is all the dumping my brain can handle. Leave comments and suggestions and let's make this a strong guide with the right information to help those in need.
Very nice, hopefully you just saved someone a lot of heartache
Just added a section for un-rooting. Can someone please help me verify this is correct.
Thanks!
Awesome guide!
Thanks for the info in the Simple Root thread.
One question that was unanswered (and per your response I ask it here):
Are SMS/MMS info backed up using Nandriod or Titanuim??
I'm a little confused by which can do this.
Thanks again for the help.
ucf.elk said:
Awesome guide!
Thanks for the info in the Simple Root thread.
One question that was unanswered (and per your response I ask it here):
Are SMS/MMS info backed up using Nandriod or Titanuim??
I'm a little confused by which can do this.
Thanks again for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good question on SMS/MMS. I think I have noticed that when using Handcent SMS app for sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages they are somehow backedup. I think Handcent has a folder on the SD card.
Otherwise if you are using stock messaging app, I am not sure it TB backs that up or not. If you want to verify this for me and let me know your results I would be happy to update my guide.
webs05 said:
Very good question on SMS/MMS. I think I have noticed that when using Handcent SMS app for sending and receiving SMS/MMS messages they are somehow backedup. I think Handcent has a folder on the SD card.
Otherwise if you are using stock messaging app, I am not sure it TB backs that up or not. If you want to verify this for me and let me know your results I would be happy to update my guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
epmacman said:
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great info! Thanks epmacman and thanks webs05 for the great guide!
epmacman said:
Just wanted to say thanks for the breakdown, and with my experience Tb has backed up my sms when backing up "all system data and apps"
Thanks again OP
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Were you using stock messaging app? Or a third party one from Marketplace?
Thanks for the information. About to start this whole process soon so this really helped Just a quick question though, do classes of the sd card matter? Have a class 2 card atm but about to buy a 16gig class 6 and figured I should do everything then.
Reanimatedshad0w said:
Thanks for the information. About to start this whole process soon so this really helped Just a quick question though, do classes of the sd card matter? Have a class 2 card atm but about to buy a 16gig class 6 and figured I should do everything then.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, a higher class makes a big difference in speed. Make sure you wipe the new SD card from within the Evo before doing anything.
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
elr0y said:
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you should wipe. the backup will save everything you had on the respective rom
Yes awesome guide thanks, just what I was looking for. Stupid question but when I do a "Backup Current ROM" in ROM Manager, does this also back up texts, apps, games etc?
Thanks again webs
elr0y said:
Dumb question (I'm new to Android):
When switching ROMs, both of which you have a backup for, do you have to wipe, flash the rom, then flash the nandroid backup?
Or would wiping and then flashing the backup work the same?
I have Fresh and Avalaunch's Froyo with all my apps both backed up. I realize it won't save much time, but I wouldn't have to keep both ROMs on my SD card if I could just use the backup to switch.
Thanks for the guide.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To switch ROM by restoring nand backups all you should have to do is go into recovery and restore the one you want. If you wanted to be safe you could wipe first. As far as flashing that rom before nand backup no. There would be no point of that. The nand backup restores ALL, everything that was on that phone previously. It is a full backup.
huzvi88 said:
Yes awesome guide thanks, just what I was looking for. Stupid question but when I do a "Backup Current ROM" in ROM Manager, does this also back up texts, apps, games etc?
Thanks again webs
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, it should backup everything. Upon restore your phone should look and act just as it was when you created that backup. The backup system in Rom Manager boots the phone to recovery and does a nand backup for you.
webs05 said:
Yes, it should backup everything. Upon restore your phone should look and act just as it was when you created that backup. The backup system in Rom Manager boots the phone to recovery and does a nand backup for you.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha that was my next question. Thanks really appreciate it!
huzvi88 said:
Haha that was my next question. Thanks really appreciate it!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Your welcome, and the same goes to everyone else.
I'm an idiot i think and just bricked my phone.
I used revoke website to root my phone I did not do a nand unlock. I then installed rom manager because I wanted to backup the current stock rom. I used the option to flash in something from rom manager and then back up. after that my phone restarted and all I see is a picture of a phone with and exclamation point. am I bricked? anything I can do? sorry I'm a noob.
-U
usctrunks said:
I'm an idiot i think and just bricked my phone.
I used revoke website to root my phone I did not do a nand unlock. I then installed rom manager because I wanted to backup the current stock rom. I used the option to flash in something from rom manager and then back up. after that my phone restarted and all I see is a picture of a phone with and exclamation point. am I bricked? anything I can do? sorry I'm a noob.
-U
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol! You are fine. Fortunately HTC makes their phone tough to brick.
You are at that screen because you only did part 1 of Unrevoked's system. They have released part 2. Follow that and you should be good to go. Post questions on their threads. Good luck.
lol thanks
So I have managed to flash several different roms and feel good about that. I think I am going to use the one I am using now. But when I do flash back to a previous rom all my user data is gone. for example contacts and stuff like that. Is there a way i can backup everything on my phone so that if i flash a rom i don't like i can go back. I use rom manager and I think this is how you do it, but just need some advice. Also when I make a backup can i copy and paste it, then put it on my desktop just incase i have to use it again? If I choose this method of saving my backups, would i just boot into revovery if ever needed? Sorry this is long winded but I am just tired of having to tired of having to go and fetch my contacts.
I've been reading a lot on this site, but would also like to know if it's possible to port data between rom installs. Particularly contacts, apps installed & text messages. is it simply a matter of restoring a portion of an previously back-up rom?
And yes, i think you can move stuff to your desktop as that's what I've been doing. I keep a copy of the stock EVO/Sprint rom on my SD card as well as the latest Cyanogen rom (with wimax) in case other roms don't work out.
Slowly but surely I'll get this.
First post... let me itroduce myself first.
I'm Stu....I've been lurking here for years and finally unlocked my first phone!
I'm currently using the SideKick4g, and this foru was a HUGE help in the unlocking process. Thanks!!!
I think I may have gotten a little crazy with the deleting, however. Everything is running fine at this point other than when I try to change ring/notification settings. Trying to access things gives me a force close every time.
I'm guessing I deleted something crucial. Anybody know what it may have been and how I can go about fixing this and/or getting around the situation? Will a simple program such as ringdroid replace whatever I got rid of? Shold I just flash a custom ROM?
Thanks in advance guys!
Stu
Let me add that I rooted with SuperOneClick, and used RootExplorer for ditching my bloatware. Hope that helps a little!
Stu
What did you remove? Ringtones are stored in /system/media/, do they just not show up when trying to set it, or does something else happens? Are you missing your stock ringtones, or just your custom ones?
When I go to settings>sound...selecting eithr phone ringtone or notification ringtone causes my force close.
I think maybe I deleted my system/media thinking it was the stock media player
Not that I'm too bummed about it. The stock rings are all just crappy versions of the "T-jingle".
I'd just like to be able to change stuff up
Well, looks like you took a risk and it came back to bite you. Reflash your ROM and try again.
Well...there's where the problem lies. I've never flashed a ROM. I'm sure I can handle it....just never done it.
And if I do need to flash a new ROM anyways, I feel like I should just flash a custom ROM. The gingerclone looks pretty nice. Does this delete my original ROM all together in the process? Are custom ROMs free of bloat?
That will wipe everything, so you should make a backup beforehand. yes, custom roms are almost always free of bloat, GingerClonev2 is only 124MB, where the stock rom is over 200MB. There are a few issues we're still working out, but it's pretty steady. otherwise, Teddy is releasing an update to an older ROM sometime soon as well, so I'd be on the lookout for that.
Okay cool. I'm gonna do some quick research and figure out how to do this.
What's the best way to save my original ROM to my desktop on my computer?
I'm just worried about killing my phone completely at this point.....
If you have CWM, use the backup menu, which uses Nandroid to backup everything by dumping everything on your phone into images. This all dumps onto your SDcard in the clockworkmod folder.
You can't brick your phone using CWM, you can only do that using ODIN, and only if you're not following directions/being intentionally stupid
Okay cool....downloading ROM Manager right now. I'm sure I'll post back with a few questions shortly!
Once the CWM/ROM manager has backed everything up....i should be able to copy the backup to my desktop? same thing with installing a new ROM
? Desktop to SD card?
BAhhhhhh.
I clicked on backup current rom and sent it into recovery mode.
Sorry about my lack of knowhow. Hopefully this all helps some others as well.....
I guess my biggest questions right now.... how do I get my original rom to a folder on my desktop, and once I download gingerclone, how do i move that from my desktop to sd to running it?
Yeah, copy the clockworkmod folder from your sdcard to your desktop, that'll copy everything off. I wouldn't suggest Rom Manager, many people have problems with that CWM. Look in the Dev forum for the CWM thread, and use that one.
In recovery mode, there should be a backup and restore menu. use the backup option, and then copy the clockworkmod folder from your sdcard to your desktop. that's your backup.
Okay. I plugged in my phone to the computer, and dragged a copy of the entire clockworkmod folder to my desktop.
Gingerclone is downloaded. Drag it to my SD? anywhere specific? or just on it?
On my desktop now is: folder/download, .recoverychecpoint(1KB), .salted_hash(1KB), .settings(1KB), and .settings2(1KB)
This is my backup correct?
I lost rom manager/root explorer.
After clearing stuff out and rebooting...it rebooted to the original rom with none of my added apps.
Can't download anything either at this point.
HELP!
Download manager keeps stopping and forces closed.
I reboot into recovery...and my options are:
reboot system now
reinstall packages
delete all user data
delete cache data
If I try to reinstall packages, I get" E: failed to open /mnt/internal_sd/update.zip(no such file or directory)
E: signature verification failed.
I'm in over my head now. Anyone out there maybe wanna help walk me thorough this on AIM or google chat or anything?
Which rom did you flash?
I tried flashing yours....but nothing. It's on my SD card right now
It just boots up to the original sidekick home/os.
You probably need to reroot or another update. Zip
Edit: actually what it sounds like you did was something similiar to what i did with a samsung galaxy s i deleted a bunch of apps and the i did a data wipe and factory restore without flashing my custom firmware through cwm and when it factory resetted it was real buggy from all the missing apps so u will have to odin
Sent From My Rooted Sidekick 4g Using XDA app
I can get into download mode....but ODIN won't recognize my phone. ID:COM stays blank
Try installing the Galaxy S drivers?
I thought when I first flashed a custom ROM that it might useful to keep a backup of stock.
But right now this backup bogging down my sd card. Will it still work if I copy the folder with the backup in my computer and use it afterwards? Or should I delete it and use the method described in these threads to bring it back to stock if I need to?
As long as you do not change the name of the backup folder you should be ok copying it over and moving it back if you need it.
Recommend using a cable to copy it instead of wifi. Any slight change or corruption will change the md5 sum and the backup will fall to restore.
Sent from my HTC Desire S using xda premium
Yes you won't have any problems, just store it on your PC.
In fact I leave all my backups just in case something goes wrong.
pzabet said:
I thought when I first flashed a custom ROM that it might useful to keep a backup of stock.
But right now this backup bogging down my sd card. Will it still work if I copy the folder with the backup in my computer and use it afterwards? Or should I delete it and use the method described in these threads to bring it back to stock if I need to?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with the others, you can keep the Backup on the PC.
However, I do not find the need of it even after Reverting back to Stock (with the methods in the threads). Since, on using the RUU , the phone is just like a factory fresh phone ! U need to set everything up again (& since u r Unrooted & S-ON , u can't Restore the stock Backup as well).
{Contacts / Calendar can be synced via Google Contacts / Calendar &
SMS's can be backed up / Restored via the Inbuilt Backup & Restore of many 3rd Party Messaging Apps (e.g. Go SMS Pro) }
Well, I'd like to thank you all for your answers, I will store the backup on my pc because my opinion is that I might need it(you never know)
Well, I have a Samsung Galaxy S 4G from T-Mobile. I recently just started to get new apps, themes, and launchers. I saw the Holo Launcher and it seemed pretty good. I liked the whole "ICS" feel of it.
I looked at rooting and flashing ROMs, kernels, and modems. I just needed some help with some questions I had. So if you could help me, that would be great, because I'm a kind of paranoid person and I don't want to screw up my phone.
What is CWM? And do you have to install this onto the phone or is it already there?
How do you enter CWM on this particular phone?
Does it matter which way you root? Will the way you root impact other decisions you will have to make in the future for the phone? Or does it not matter? And what is the best and easiest way to root?
Is it possible to unbrick a phone?
When you have a flashed ROM on, what if you want to flash another ROM? Do you have to flash back to stock or can you just flash the new ROM?
In the Unofficial CM9 ROM, one of the steps say: "(Optional) Flash gapps-ics-20120429-signed.zip if you want the Market plus other Google apps." Do you have to do this with every ROM? And do you just flash it on the same way as a ROM? What is the process in this context?
How do you know what version your CWM is?
Finally, does anyone have a video tutorial that they could give me that is specific to the Unofficial CM9 ROM?
If you could answer any of these, thank you. I'm just a paranoid person when it comes to things like this.
Start here - this is our Wiki: http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/Samsung_Galaxy_S_4G
Read it once, then read it again. That will answer most of your questions.
gapps isn't covered in the Wiki, but basically, as I understand it, for some legal reason the Google applications and some of their required libraries can't be distributed with CyanogenMod / AOKP and similar ROMs. As a result, they are packaged separately. There are different versions for GB and for ICS.
You don't need to install them, but you won't be able to access Play / Maps / GMail / Google Calendar / Google Contacts and the like without installing at least some of the zip. You do need to re-install it after every flash as they get installed in the "system" part of your phone, not the "user" part.
And one more thing. Where do the NANDroid Backups go? Do I need to put it on my computer or will it always be in my phone?
DevSun said:
And one more thing. Where do the NANDroid Backups go? Do I need to put it on my computer or will it always be in my phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you make a Nandroid backup, it is saved in a folder called clockworkmod on your SD Card - something like sdcard>clockworkmod>backup. You should definitely also save a copy of that folder to your computer, just in case.
Okay, and also...
Do I always have to delete the data/cache when installing a ROM? And do you always have to do UMMU?
DevSun said:
Okay, and also...
Do I always have to delete the data/cache when installing a ROM? And do you always have to do UMMU?
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Follow whatever directions the developers provide with their ROMs, and you'll be golden.