Database Info

Android Newb - ROM confusion

I'm very new to android dev, not new to dev in general, though.
I hear ROMs being talked about quite frequently, not sure if I'll get into it, can't seem to find an address of the specific issue:
- What is a ROM?
In the sense, is it the entire OS? Is it the OS + UI? Does it include local apps & contact storage? Like, obviously apps and contacts wouldn't be read-only, but typically ROM means PROM (or some variation (EPROM/EEPROM/FROM, whatever), so I take it with a grain of salt.
From what I gather it's the entire OS + UI, and that's all? But I'm not sure.
Also, is there ways to replace specific parts of the ROM? Ie. Say I want to make modifications to the thread scheduler but I don't want it to touch some of the reliant modules..is it possible to just drop in a new scheduler by overwriting part of the binary image? Or are these things whole-sale?
Reason simply being is I don't like the idea of some random ass ROM that somebody cooked up with god knows how much OS exp controlling everything, as it's a binary it's not like you can crack it open and diff it or anything...or there's no official forks or branches to look at, y'know? Do people just "trust" all these ROM modders/creators?
Sorry for the over-abundance of questions :-X

Oh my god it's already on page 7...bump...?

Take a look at cyanogen mod. It comes with the source which you can fork if you'd like.
Sent from my HTC Desire

ROM - its the entire visible OS that you tend to interact on your phone + the kernel (shipping just the ROM would be useless). Its pretty much every software that you need to get your work done on the phone. You may chose to install additional's but thats just accessorizing your phone. Its called ROM since once you install the OS image over the phone, the region of sd-card is generally marked read-only & you are not expected to make changes to it (concisely /system partition & also /data where the OS can do write operations but again, there are exceptions to this rule too in custom ROMs).
As for Custom ROMS, they are generally forked of the AOSP except for the little nuances the rom maker's add to them (mostly those changes are in form of theme, few apps here & there, icons, wallpapers). I think your question is more specific to custom kernel instead because thats the entity which help/harm your device.
For that, I would suggest you to pick a particular custom release (such as Netarchy, popular for Nexus S)
& read over their change-logs. The kernel devs generally do a great job of maintaining those logs precisely. The initial fork of their kernel too comes from AOSP to which they add specific features such
as ext4 fix a.k.a Turboboost, Voodoo color & sound enhancement, BLN & odd.
Hope I have allayed some of your fears regarding customs software.

Thanks.
Yeah, I just get nervous installing an OS/Kernel blindly.
Changing themes would be nice, and I'd like the ability to do so without dropping in a ROM that can potentially have changes made to the Kernel. I don't like the fact that the ROM encompasses EVERYTHING, therefore it's coupled to the fact that you need a different ROM regardless of what you change.
It should be modular enough that you can modify themes without flashing an entire OS onto it.
Also, what's the chances that if a ROM install fails, you can re-load it (ie. what are the chances of you bricking your phone)? I don't have time for that.

Next to none if you make a nandroid, which is a backup.
Sent from my myTouch 4G using XDA App

rockstarar said:
Next to none if you make a nandroid, which is a backup.
Sent from my myTouch 4G using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It says that only works for the G1.

I completely forgot to ask, apps should stay, right?
I mean they're all in user land, shouldn't have anything to do with the ROM nor actual OS....right? (probably wrong... )

[Q] What to do with HTC Desire HD?

Hey
Im kind of behind with Smartphones because I had a Samsung D500 for several years, it was only a few months ago I upgraded and got myself a HTC Desire HD on Contract. Ive been using it completly standard, with all the official software etc..
Im beginning to get quite bored of it now though and I still have like 1 and a half years left on my contract.
All I seem to do with the phone is... standard SMS texting, phone calls, facebook, twitter and check a couple of websites every now and then.
I have read around and hear things about "ROMS" and "ROOTS", but dont really know what that means.
Im just wondering, if you had this phone.. What would you do with it exactly?
Something to make it look/feel like a new phone maybe..... I duno
Just want some opinions, recommendations really
Thanks

Custom ROMs
A stock ROM is the version of the phone's operating system that comes with your phone when you buy it.
A custom ROM is a fully standalone version of the OS, including the kernel (which makes everything run), apps, services, etc - everything you need to operate the device, except it's customized by someone in some way.
So what does the "customized" part mean? Since Android is open source, developers are free to take stock ROMs, modify them, strip them of garbage, optimize them, add things, and pretty much do whatever their imagination and skills allow.
Custom ROMs are oftentimes faster, more efficient, and use less memory because:
- the developer ripped out useless garbage, such as carrier installed apps or
- the developer optimized the kernel. For example, an undervolted kernel can provide a much better battery life than the stock one.
You can upgrade to a version of the OS that has not yet been released for your device, or never will be. This is possible in 2 situations:
- A leaked version of the new ROM showed up online, and the developer got on it like the fat kid chasing an ice cream truck.
- A ROM from another phone was ported by the developer to work on yours. For example, G1 and MyTouch 3G users may never see Android 2.1 officially released on their phones, but Cyanogen, one of the most respected Android developers, was able to create a custom ROM running 2.1 for those devices.
ROOTING:
Getting root or rooting your phone is the process of modifying the operating system that shipped with your device to grant you complete control over it.
This means you can overcome limitations that the carriers and manufacturers put on your phone, extend system functionality, and even upgrade it to a custom flavor of Android.
The name root comes from the Linux operating system world, where the most privileged user on the system (otherwise known as Administrator on Windows) is called root.
You have access to alter any system files, use themes, change boot images, delete annoying stock apps, such as Sprint's NFL Mobile live and Nascar Sprint Cup Mobile, and other various native applications that might drive you crazy (Footprints, Voice Dialer, etc).
On most rooted Android devices, you can back up your entire system to an SD card, much in the same way you can image a hard drive. This is great if you’d like to try a new ROM, as you can back up your phone, wipe it completely, flash the new ROM, and if you don’t like it, just restore from your backup to get your device back to exactly how it was before you wiped it.
The easiest way to do this at the moment is by using ROM Manager.
ROM Manager allows you to easily flash a custom recovery image which is what you will need in order to backup and restore your phone. The recovery image is a special program that can be booted into outside of the phone's main operating system, sort of like an OS recovery console on a PC. By default, the recovery image on most Android phones only gives you a few options, mainly related to wiping the phone. Custom recovery images expand upon these options and usually include scripts that can do things like backup and restore your system, fix file permissions, or allow you to flash custom ROMs that the normal recovery image would otherwise reject.
Normally, flashing a custom recovery image requires some command line work, either on your PC, or on a terminal emulator directly on the phone, but Koush's ROM Manager should automatically flash his custom recovery image (known as ClockworkMod Recovery) for you, provided you're on one of the supported phones and that it is already rooted.
Using ROM Manager is pretty simple. Download and install the application from the market, fire it up, and you’ll be prompted to allow the application superuser permissions - make sure you approve it.
The first thing you’ll need to do is flash the ClockworkMod recovery image that I mentioned earlier, which can be done right in the app (it’s the first option). ROM Manager should automatically find the latest version of the right image for your phone, download, and install it - the whole process is seamless.
After that is done, you can simply use the ‘Manage and Restore Backups’, and ‘Backup current ROM’ options to, well, backup your current ROM or restore from an existing backup.
Rooting Guide for Desire HD
Desire HD ROMs

If you're bored with the look and feel of the phone then by all means customize it. Custom ROMs etc can help with that, or even just trying another Launcher like ADW EX. Make it a project to do something creative and artsy and then post your work here. Rooting will allow greater scope of what you can accomplish, like changing the system Fonts, for example.
Really though, if you're not interested in that kinda thing, i'd suggest just doing more of what the phones are designed for in the first place, which is running applications. Perhaps you might edit your OP to request a list of entertaining apps so that people can throw out suggestions?
A few time killers that i enjoy:
IMDb (For watching trailers and reading about movies)
Cracked Lite (Funny and informative articles)
Amazon Kindle (Reading books on the go)
Wimp.com (Fantastic collection of videos. Think of it as youtube's greatest hits)

Heya thanks for that reply
Well I am interested in a custom ROM, it sounds cool. Especially if it removes crap I dont need to save my battery life etc
Id like to try a new ROM, I had a go last night and installed ROM Manager but it said something about it couldnt find superuser and told me to google it lol, so I went to sleep
Now I am awake I am willing to give it a bash and would like to do it
Dont think Id be much use trying to do my own though,would rather use someone elses if Im allowed too? A very fast/power efficient/nicelooking/stable one etc.. Any you recommend?
Just doing that successfully would be a big enough project for myself as its my first time Heh

Before I go ahead and break my phone, are these instructions the correct ones for me?
Shall I do what this says to setup superuser?
pocketnow.com/android/how-to-root-your-htc-desire-hd

Sorry I just noticed you have a big massive link with a guide for rooting my phone lol
I am going to do that now then thanks

As for ROMS, for my phone, is:
[ROM] MIUI 1.9.16 v.1: Freshly Squeezed Edition™ 16/09/11
The main custom ROM for me?
Would you recommend that one, from that link you posted, that one seems to be the only main one I can see

Need abit of help, got visionary on my phone. Ticked box r/w after boot or whatever and then when I click on Temproot now, it says rooting device etc.... but then it just goes to a black screen and stays a black screen.
Is this normal or is something going wrong?
- Apparently the latest firmware doesnt allow Visionary to work. I need to downgrade to an earlier firmware? How do I do that lol
Or should I just give up and stop now?

You have to downgrade to Froyo 1.3.2 first. Follow this guide.
Here's a guide for rooting, ENG and Radio S-OFF, Flashing radio and ROM

Flashing a radio?
Um this sounds abit to risky actually for my first time.
So from what I understand is, I could successfully flash my chosen custom ROM but the radio signal for phone calls/SMS texting and stuff.... could not work ?
I dont think I want to take that risk now Ive read that

dont flash any radios the one you have will work fine also have a look around in the dev forums.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=765

Im quite happy with what Ive done, someone mentioned to do it earlier on in this topic and its basically all I wanted, just a fresh look
I changed the HTC Skin to Slate, and then used the GO Launcher and using a green + black theme, done abit of customizing. Before all this I did a hard reset on the phone too, and using JuiceDefender. I like it, happy with it, feels fresh

Thanks for all the help and advice though I do appreciate

[Q] Is it true that custom ROM's are always less stable than stock ROM's ?

If it's true, why is that? Is it because stock ROM developers are better?
Not being a troll. Honest question.
I'm just curious. I use galaxy Ace, and I would very much like to use a custom ROM to get rid of all the samsung junk apps. But if it's unstable, it may not be worth it.

No. Well made custom roms are usually more stable and faster than stock roms, especially for devices which have unoptimized stock roms, such as the SGS.
You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one.

Hi 314! Really, I didn't know that. How do I do it safely?

My personal experience is that custom ROMs have been every bit as stable as stock ROMs. I'm quite often running alphas and dailies and impressed with their stability. Of course, doing that, you're bound to run into some gotcha's from time to time but that's part of the fun of dailies, discovering the changes and surprises. I'm on Deck's alpha1 ICS ROM and it's been sweet, but alpha2 hasn't worked for me (wigetsoid seems broken). Shurg. So I restored alpha1, wait for alpha3, and try and get my post count up to give Deck some feedback in his thread.

Thanks mhwarfield. What are dailies? and what is OPS?

"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance

rayhan0701 said:
"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can do that easy with "Titanium Backup" from the Market after you Rooted your Device. I think you dont need "Titanium Back Pro" to Remove Junk Apps.

rayhan0701 said:
"You can remove apps from the stock rom by rooting it - Its not necessary to flash a custom one."
Well i heard this before in some youtube video but exactly not sure how and with which software may be (root manager). Please somebody with experience in this matter give us a full guide how to remove junk apps after rooting. Thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's really really not difficult.
Android stores all user apps in "/data/app"
all stock apps are stored in "/system/app" (this includes every system app, even the keyboard, camera and the gallery are in here)
this is the place where the junk apps should be ( i never had a bloated phone, but i guess they are in here, because we need root to manipulate files here)
now use a file explorer with root function (i use root explorer, and i definitely recommend it) and browse to this folder.
search the junkApp.apk and delete it.
you're done
EDIT: oh and yes, you can do it with titanium backup too, but i don't know if you need the pro version for it

Once you get custom ROMs out of Alpha/Beta/RC, they're better than stock, in my opinion. "Custom" means they can be designed for extra speed, power, leanness, beauty, or any combination of the above.
I don't mind helping out with betas and contributing to developers. Usually, by the time it gets to beta, most stuff is buttoned up nice and tight--plus I don't demand much from my phone.
Sounds like you got it covered with root and Titanium Backup. But do not fear the custom ROM.

It really depends. Some developers are EXTREMELY aggressive and throw a ton of crap into their kernel/ROM without much testing so they can "get ahead" - but often this leads to instability.
Others carefully fix issues one by one, with the exception of initially doing "standard" mods (like extended power menu on Android).
Some ROMs will often see releases coming out multiple times a week, often with lots of changes and reverting back and forth, and ALWAYS rebasing on the latest and greatest stock base, even before it's proven. This approach can sometimes pay off, but the risk of screwing up is high. Most such ROMs turn out to be crap.
Other ROMs take the most stable known base available, and fix whatever remaining known issues exist, and make a few standard tweaks. These are the ROMs that you still see people using more than three months after the last update. An example of this is VillainROM over in I9100-land. I only know of two issues with it - one has a one-time-after-install workaround, and the other is specific to trying to run that ROM on a device it wasn't designed for (I777).

Is there a way to "vanillalize" Android?

A lot of manufacturers customize Android, some just put a custom skin on it, some even redesign it to the point where people can't even recognize Android. So, my question is: is there a way to delete all bloatware (even the manufacturer updating app), and change every customized system app to their Vanilla counterparts (even SystemUI, Settings etc.)? Without, of course, installing a Custom ROM.
Why I want all this is the following: I have a device (I don't want to name it, because I want to keep this a General Question) that has a pretty big camp here on XDA, but the specific MODEL I have, does not. They didn't even figure out how to unlock the Bootloader for it, which is a shame, because now I cannot install Custom ROMs on it. It even uses completely different firmwares, than the other models, so no compatibility beetween the devices.
So, is there a way to do all this? I have root, of course, so that's no problem. Oh, and another thing: I can't install Xposed. I don't know why, but I can't.
Android 5.0.1

smileyhead said:
A lot of manufacturers customize Android, some just put a custom skin on it, some even redesign it to the point where people can't even recognize Android. So, my question is: is there a way to delete all bloatware (even the manufacturer updating app), and change every customized system app to their Vanilla counterparts (even SystemUI, Settings etc.)? Without, of course, installing a Custom ROM.
Why I want all this is the following: I have a device (I don't want to name it, because I want to keep this a General Question) that has a pretty big camp here on XDA, but the specific MODEL I have, does not. They didn't even figure out how to unlock the Bootloader for it, which is a shame, because now I cannot install Custom ROMs on it. It even uses completely different firmwares, than the other models, so no compatibility beetween the devices.
So, is there a way to do all this? I have root, of course, so that's no problem. Oh, and another thing: I can't install Xposed. I don't know why, but I can't.
Android 5.0.1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
debloating can be done rather easily using root. many apps such as rom toolbox and titanium can aid with that.
as far as basically de-themeing the phone, im sure it would require a reasonable amount of developmental knowledge to even attempt.
even if i knew what device you had, im sure i couldnt help, but the level of possibility and difficulty could certainly vary from one device to another.

debloating can be done rather easily using root. many apps such as rom toolbox and titanium can aid with that.
as far as basically de-themeing the phone, im sure it would require a reasonable amount of developmental knowledge to even attempt.
even if i knew what device you had, im sure i couldnt help, but the level of possibility and difficulty could certainly vary from one device to another.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could flashing system apps work?

smileyhead said:
Could flashing system apps work?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i assume you mean changing system apps.
that would depend on weather the app is themed, or there is some external themeing going on.
if its the app, and you want to change it, you will need to find apps compatible with your device and version, or they wont work.

It completely depends on the device. There is a huge diff between a themed os and a custom distro like you see on Samsung and HTC devices. I think only one oem makes a themed version and that is the oxygen os. The rest can't be done as it is not really a theme but a complete distro where system files and drivers have been replaced or re-written completely. The only way to truly do it is to flash a rom based on pure aosp code. Made you doing this removes just about all features from a device but as your bootloader is on unlocked and with no bypass you are kinda stuck.

i assume you mean changing system apps.
that would depend on weather the app is themed, or there is some external themeing going on.
if its the app, and you want to change it, you will need to find apps compatible with your device and version, or they wont work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some clarification: I meant deleting the themed system apps (Dialer, Settings, etc.), then flashing Gapps, and the other stuff that's not included in it (Settings, FaceUnlock, etc.).
It completely depends on the device. There is a huge diff between a themed os and a custom distro like you see on Samsung and HTC devices. I think only one oem makes a themed version and that is the oxygen os. The rest can't be done as it is not really a theme but a complete distro where system files and drivers have been replaced or re-written completely. The only way to truly do it is to flash a rom based on pure aosp code. Made you doing this removes just about all features from a device but as your bootloader is on unlocked and with no bypass you are kinda stuck.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this firmware is pretty much just a reskin with some additional functions (a really ugly reskin), so I thought about what I mentioned above. I can always reflash the firmware, if something goes wrong, without data loss.

I would look in your system partition. The easiest give away will be if there are extra frameworks. If there is you can bet that they replaced the apks instead of just theming them. Give it a shot and I hope it works.

A little help for an oldschooler excepting the future would be much appreciated

Hats off to everyone on this forum. It's been awhile since I been on here and I am happy to see it still going strong.
I am new to the S8+ and new to modding in 2019. I haven't messed around with this stuff since the "getting the evo to work on boost" days. I am looking for some advise/recommendations on what to choose as far as roms, etc., from the gate from someone who may have had an experience in what I'm trying to achieve rather than going through hundreds of rom post to find the answer I'm looking for. I stepped away from "smart" phones for awhile and came back only when I found out I could lock them down as much as possible using programs like bk disabler (rip). Even root at the time didn't list the "apps in the background" (if you know what I mean) for me to edit or disable them.
I am looking to root (if needed anymore) my device and install an ultra slim/lite rom, no extra apps on it that don't need to be there, especially social media apps. Not sure if roms still come with a separate gaps install option but not having them is fine as well as I will not be signing into any account on my phone and will only want to use youtube as far as the only goog service used, so i wont be able to use any of them anyway besides tube (unless of course there is now a way to use maps and such without signing in?). If theres such a rom out there of course it would need to be stable. I do not want android 9 as none of the apps I actually use (like bk disabler/acr/etc) work with pie from what I have read. Goog wants all the tracking to themselves now I guess, hence why I am looking for a rom that is as slim as possible. I just want to make calls, text, browse the web and use the tube without having all kinds of accounts and sign ups for any of it. I am really tired of big tech but going back to a black and white nokia in 2019 is not an option anymore.
So a few questions I have would be.. Whats the best root process? I see Odin is still a thing so which version should I be using, also which kernel should I be using? Are different roms still based off different kernels, if so which is better? And lastly what rom should I choose or which rom creator is now the person to look out for?
I know I'm oldshool at this point so please bare with me on these questions. Any help in pointing me in the right direction would be very much appreciated. Thanks!