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[Q] ROM's, Kernals, Recovery's and ROOTING?

Hi Fellow old and New Devs,
The title suggests it all. I have four questions that I think ALL newbies want to understand. I would try and explain them, but as I am just coming out of the newbie stage, I'm sure people would prefer an answer from a experianced Dev.
When answering a question please put the Question Number. Feel free to answer only one or two of the questions, I'm sure other people will cover your missing fields of knowledge.
Here they are:
1. What is rooting? Can I root my device (HTC Buzz Wildfire) and keep the stock interface? Will I loose my data?
2. What do all these Dev's mean by Recovery? What are they, why are they needed?
3. What is a ROM? Do I need to be rooted for a custom ROM? How can you trust them? Will I loose my data when installing a custom ROM?
4. What is a Kernal? How are they Different to ROM's? Should I change from the stock Kernal?
I know this is a tall order and you could write a book on the topic, but please could you write a short (a couple of sentaces will do) paragraph on each question you choose to do.
When we get enough understandable answers I will edit this post publish the Final answers for other newbies in the future.
Also feel free to enter the poll! As this is a Dev site I presume one of the options will have the most votes but we will see....
Cheers for any contribution in advanced.
th3ant

th3ant said:
Hi Fellow old and New Devs,
The title suggests it all. I have four questions that I think ALL newbies want to understand. I would try and explain them, but as I am just coming out of the newbie stage, I'm sure people would prefer an answer from a experianced Dev.
When answering a question please put the Question Number. Feel free to answer only one or two of the questions, I'm sure other people will cover your missing fields of knowledge.
Here they are:
1. What is rooting? Can I root my device (HTC Buzz Wildfire) and keep the stock interface? Will I loose my data?
2. What do all these Dev's mean by Recovery? What are they, why are they needed?
3. What is a ROM? Do I need to be rooted for a custom ROM? How can you trust them? Will I loose my data when installing a custom ROM?
4. What is a Kernal? How are they Different to ROM's? Should I change from the stock Kernal?
I know this is a tall order and you could write a book on the topic, but please could you write a short (a couple of sentaces will do) paragraph on each question you choose to do.
When we get enough understandable answers I will edit this post publish the Final answers for other newbies in the future.
Also feel free to enter the poll! As this is a Dev site I presume one of the options will have the most votes but we will see....
Cheers for any contribution in advanced.
th3ant
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, from the best of my understanding, here we go:
1: Rooting. To understand this, we must consider a computer, running linux, windows, or mac. In windows, the "Administrator" account is similar to the root account in linux and mac. Basically if you have root privileges in a system, you can modify every part of the filesystem, as well as perform any tasks the system is equipped to handle. Basically achieving root on an android device means that you can unlock the ability to flash roms, mod, and otherwise hack your device any which way you like. Nearly every model of android device has been rooted, so in most cases, yes you can root XXXXX phone. Also, since you're just gaining privileges, you can root without losing any data, apps, or settings.
2: Recovery. This is a long standing concept in SoC/Embedded device hacking. Basically it is a minimal operating system that performs some very basic, but very important tasks. The reason for it is so that you can write to the necessary areas on the NAND, which would be "busy" while android is booted. This offers a way to access the necessary partitions and write data to them while the data is not being accessed. It's also useful for backing up your NAND. Hence the name "nandroid."
3: ROM. By definition, it means "Read Only Memory." This is a chip on the board. ROM has evolved over the years. It started out as a chip that was sensitive to UV light. The earliest ROMs were "flashed" to a device by stenciling out the pathways and exposing the chip to UV radiation. Nowadays, we have fancy EEPROMs instead, which stands for Electronically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory. This means that you can "flash" the chip by means of software, namely via Recovery mode in our case. Different ROMs have different features. They are all variations on source code made available by AOSP, or the android open source project. Some projects have their own code tracking, such as CyanogenMod. In most devices, you must be rooted to be able to install a ROM, however it is not explicitly necessary. A bit vague, I suppose. Specifically the tablet I own, the WITS a81e, you can flash a ROM to it just by putting the correct files on the TF card. This is not very common with phones, however. Flashing any rom that is not just a newer version of your current ROM will require a full format. For instance, if you have cyanogenmod and switch to a Sense or Blur ROM, you must format, but if you update from CM6 to CM6.1 you will not need to wipe. How can you trust ROM's? Well the best way to know is to either roll your own, or go with CyanogenMod, as their source is freely and easily available for scrutiny and improvement, along with a nice changelog tracker.
4. Kernels. A kernel is basically the most low level part of an operating system. It interfaces directly with the processor and provides all instruction for operation. Linux is technically not an operating system, it's a Kernel. The different distributions have the Linux kernel, and use their own different User Interfaces. Different kernels in android devices can allow you to overclock. There are many choices in kernels, and the features they offer. Some features are BFS/CFS which is the priority scheduling of processes. Some kernels allow you to charge your battery differently and conserve life. These are often called battery kernels. Also, some kernels unlock extra multitouch points in certain devices. There are different versions of the linux kernel, with many improvements with each iteration. Currently, the latest kernel available that I know of for android devices is 2.6.37. The froyo default kernel was a 2.6.32. I wish I knew a bit more about kernels, however this is about all I know. Perhaps someone could help us out and expand on this a bit?

Brilliant answer not too complicated... let's see what others say....
Sent from my HTC Wildfire using XDA App

What he said...
Pyroboy1080 well said...
That pretty much covers it.

thx for the infos..

Agreed. Thanks for using the poll!

nothing to add on that, as we used to say "merci beaucoup"

Can't ROM
Gotta be something stupid......
Can't install 2.2 or 2.3. Tried two different ODIN flashers. When I do the reset I do not get the triangel with downloading in the center. I'm rooted, Have ROM Manager, Superuser, Root Explorer, Super Manager, I'm unlocked.
I have Android SDK, Congnitive 4.1, NPS, Samsung Kies,SGH I897 USB Drivers, What else? I think I have it covered. In any case I never get the download . Even if I do a "ROM Manager Install fron SD Card, the result is a screen, blue at top and yellow at bottom with the last line saying "Installing Multi- CSC. I can let it run all night, no change in ROM. Does the Captivate sold by ATT have some kind of block or filter keeping me from updating?
Current firmware is 2.1 update 1, baseband I897UCJH7, Kernel 2.6.29 [email protected] #2, Build ECLAIR.UCJH7
Thanks

To better answer your question, I first need to know what type of device you're using...
fxstsb said:
Gotta be something stupid......
Can't install 2.2 or 2.3. Tried two different ODIN flashers. When I do the reset I do not get the triangel with downloading in the center. I'm rooted, Have ROM Manager, Superuser, Root Explorer, Super Manager, I'm unlocked.
I have Android SDK, Congnitive 4.1, NPS, Samsung Kies,SGH I897 USB Drivers, What else? I think I have it covered. In any case I never get the download . Even if I do a "ROM Manager Install fron SD Card, the result is a screen, blue at top and yellow at bottom with the last line saying "Installing Multi- CSC. I can let it run all night, no change in ROM. Does the Captivate sold by ATT have some kind of block or filter keeping me from updating?
Current firmware is 2.1 update 1, baseband I897UCJH7, Kernel 2.6.29 [email protected] #2, Build ECLAIR.UCJH7
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

didn't know where to ask this?
hello, everyone..
i have some questions, i'm hoping some of you can anwser.
I used unrevoked to root my htc desire. after that, I used alpharev to gain s-off.
everything went fine, i got the joker, the white screen that lets me pick different options..
now Í tried all those options, nothing works.
I've been searching all night for a solution, and it seems my recovery boot and rom are missing? and what I came across is installing ANDROID SDK tools, and then run fastboot to recover an image. So I installed SDK tools, but fastboot doesn't run, it says some .dll driver is missing. in the platform-tools map is that .dll driver, should i move it?
Can someone get me a step by step tutorial on how to make my desire work again? Im kind of a noob, all I needed was to make a screenshot..
Thanks in advance, it would be appreciated so much..

Pyroboy, I'm using a Samsung Captivate. In another thread someone lead me to "All in One Toolbox". The other stuff is just stuff. That allowed me to install my ROM.

[Q] Android - Custom "Market" app vs Unknown Sources DISABLED

Hi All!
Let's say I would like ( or rather I'm forced to ) build a customized Android ROM. Among all related things that are well described there is a one "black hole" to me..
I need to replace Android Market with a custom market application and block unknown sources setting ( to always disabled ). Root access must also be disabled.
For me it seems that not having root access along with Unknown Sources disabled excludes writing a custom market application, because as far as i know custom market app will need to invoke Package Installer.
Did anyone came across such problem ?
For now i only need to estimate the complexity of this task so i would appreciate ANY clues on this one..
regards

Also interested in the solution, have a similar problem.

First, you should leave Unknown sources always on enabled. If you're worried that you might suck in a malware app, install an antivirus.
Second, I installed several custom ROMs so far, and the only problem I noticed with market is that it does not show the phone model (GT-i5800) anymore, but just "phone". Other than that, apps install fine, payed apps can be purchased and this is the stock Vending.apk, not modded.
Third, don't even consider not rooting your phone if you make a custom ROM (even this sentence is a contradicition...), coz if you don't have root, you can't dump the factoryfs.rfs, making it impossible to create a Custom ROM in layman's terms...
Got any questions, just ask!

[Q] I want to flash a custom rom but I'm worried about security/privacy issues.

Hi,
I'm kinda new to android, I've rooted my phone and I'm ready to flash a custom rom (SlimKat to be specific). I feel the stock rom can be "trusted", but can a custom rom be trusted to be secure and have privacy? I'm concerned that a custom rom dev may have added anything to the rom to be a security or privacy issue (where they can listen in on texts or phone calls, steal contacts or even steal passwords).
What are your thoughts?
p.s because I have limited knowledge of android I can't look through the code to inspect it.

blackbeardofthesea said:
Hi,
I'm kinda new to android, I've rooted my phone and I'm ready to flash a custom rom (SlimKat to be specific). I feel the stock rom can be "trusted", but can a custom rom be trusted to be secure and have privacy? I'm concerned that a custom rom dev may have added anything to the rom to be a security or privacy issue (where they can listen in on texts or phone calls, steal contacts or even steal passwords).
What are your thoughts?
p.s because I have limited knowledge of android I can't look through the code to inspect it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're funny most common apps "google play" "facebook" "whatsapp" and even some factory roms and so on REALLY CAN SPY nearly everything you do with your phone. If you get the rom from an official thread here @ XDA you can be pretty sure its not infected by any malware. A rooted phone will give you full control of your phone, you can e.g. cut off app's privileges

Paranoid Android
You may not be able to read a ROM code, but developers are. First, there is usually not one but a group of developers working on a ROM. Secondly, they usually get helped by other developers for some features because they don’t know everything. Finally, the whole idea of an open-source code is that every developer on earth have access to it, so it would be very hard for one developer to hide such a privacy hack feature and avoid any other developer to find out. ParanoidAndroid might be an appropriate ROM for you as you're a real paranoid
To illustrate LS.xD's post, have a look at how an app's privileges can be controlled.

LS.xD said:
You're funny most common apps "google play" "facebook" "whatsapp" and even some factory roms and so on REALLY CAN SPY nearly everything you do with your phone. If you get the rom from an official thread here @ XDA you can be pretty sure its not infected by any malware. A rooted phone will give you full control of your phone, you can e.g. cut off app's privileges
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if I download the Slimkat ROM from there official website your saying it should be fine to use as their code has been looked over?

blackbeardofthesea said:
So if I download the Slimkat ROM from there official website your saying it should be fine to use as their code has been looked over?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup, http://www.slimroms.net should be totally safe

HipStreet Phantom 2 10" tablet

I'm trying to revive a seriously slow & buggy tablet from the draw to run just 1 app for my cctv when in the garage. Anyways, It's running Android 6.0 but its shocking slow & it wont update google play services. So, I'm looking for a custom rom, twrp & root for this tablet. I've been googling for 2 days & when I find a website, like tweakdroid or gofirmware which seems to have an identical website under different URLs who's download links just sends me in an infinite loop of clicking, Tweakdroid sends me to download stuff, but the links are always dead or it tells me to download something which like twrp, but I'm asked to select the make, which isn't displayed.
I've got all kinds of tablets, even tablets that are generically basic & old that have twrp & custom roms available. So why can't I find anything for this? So help needed

VsUK said:
I've got all kinds of tablets, even tablets that are generically basic & old that have twrp & custom roms available. So why can't I find anything for this? So help needed
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
IMO you should ask this question to developers of TWRP and/or Custom ROM ( like LineageOS ).

What are red lines in device tweaking? Or how to avoid bricking by mistake

Hi All!
I've recently got P40 Pro and I like it very much. Now I need some software to be installed - maps, chats, banking etc.
However almost all of these apps need Google services or HMS. I'll try to avoid using these frameworks by using MicroG and Aurora store.
My goal is to have some set of required apps and don't have bloatware (like Huawei AI apps).
So I also going to find browser, phone, file manager and others on F-droid and use them instead of pre-installed apps. And disable those via ADB.
There are tons of information I need to read to do that, and I'll surely will read.
BUT, most manuals have big disclaimer which says "Do everything on your own risk, you can brick the phone!". And that's what I definitely don't want to.
So my questions are - what is the set of safe operations? What predefined applications can be safely removed via ADB? How to make backup that will restore phone if something goes wrong?
I believe there should be some thread with same concerns, but I could not find it. If somebody could point me to it, I'll be very grateful! Thank you in advance!

The first and main thing is "Everything Do at your Own RISK" if you want to go through android modding or making changes in the system you should not fear from resetting or formatting the system first and other thing is that installation of any unstable or unsupported mod can brick your device to get recover from these situations you should have knowledge about adb and fastboot,oem unlock and bootloader,custom recovery,root,magisk and custom roms to get the full back of your android in current state needs root for root you have to unlock your bootloader and for unlocking bootloader you need fastboot tool or your device oficial bootloader unlocker tool then you can backup you droid by the most common tool titanium backup or simply by backu option in your custom recovery

I think having a fully capable ROM bootloader (EDL mode, MTK, Allwinner, RockChip...) is most important.
There are still times that your system is wedged and you'll need either ROM mode test points or flash disable.
That's when the boot chain is broken enough to not work, but not broken enough to be recognized as broken.
If things are totally broken it will go to ROM bootloader mode all by itself.

Thank you for your advises!
I could not find P40Pro in TWRP devices list, and AFAIK, to unlock bootloader it needs to be disassembled. Is that correct?
To get used to rooting, custom ROMs, flashing and things I'll better get some cheap used phone - this one is way pricey for savage experiments, especially when you're completely noob. So rooting isn't an option for me for now.
At the moment I 'm debloating phone with "adb shell pm disable-user" and following lists:
[GUIDE] EMUI 11 Complete Debloating Guide & Bloatware List
This de-bloating guide will help you start using EMUI 11 as clean as possible. Please list packages in the comments section that you know is a bloatware and I didn't include in the spreadsheet. This guide assumes that you're using Windows 10 as...
forum.xda-developers.com
P40 Pro debloating guide
Hey everyone, I've spent the last couples days going through all the installed packages, cross-referencing different debloating guides and testing my changes. I'm running the latest EMUI 10.1.0.158 (C636). RECOMMENDATIONS: if you can, follow...
forum.xda-developers.com
[GUIDE] List of bloatware on EMUI safe to remove
Hi all, i was working on a guide on the vast amount of packages that we find already installed on EMUI by default and safe to remove because i'm sure that it would be useful for users like me, users that doesn't like to have space occupied on...
forum.xda-developers.com
Next step - involve Android profiles to isolate spying apps, which I still need, from each other and from contact list
I also looking for decent replacement for buit-in file-management, phone, messaging and contacts apps. And, maybe, launcher, I don't know if it's needed and secure. So far I found:
Emerald Dialer | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Make calls, view call log
f-droid.org
Silence | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
Encrypted SMS/MMS conversations made easy!
f-droid.org
Koler | F-Droid - Free and Open Source Android App Repository
uniquely stylized phone app with customizable features
f-droid.org
But haven't installed or tried yet. I'd gratefully accept recomendations for those app categories.

Dont waste your time. On this phones you cannot unlock the bootloader and definitely you cannot have access to the root. Also debloating is a non-sense: you can do more bad things than good things. The phone is powerful enough to not need debloating. It is not a Galaxy S2.