...a pain in the ass for the Fascinate. The gf has one of these phones, and after seeing what I've done with my G2, she wants me to root and flash a nice rom.
Problem 1 (not so small): we both use macs at home.
Problem 2 (huge): after reading through the development forum - it doesn't look that easy to root, nor flash a decent rom on the Fascinate!
not only do some roms require you to have a specific kernel flashed to use them. Some roms require that you don't use the latest CWM. Also, none of roms seem to be using Gingerbread AOSP completely. They seem to be pieced together with Froyo.
Believe you me, I am not a dev in the slightest. Therefore, I am looking for a safe way to root and flash a decent rom to her phone. If there isn't, then I'll just let her run stock.
Is this easier than I'm seeing it?
enserio said:
...a pain in the ass for the Fascinate. The gf has one of these phones, and after seeing what I've done with my G2, she wants me to root and flash a nice rom.
Problem 1 (not so small): we both use macs at home.
Problem 2 (huge): after reading through the development forum - it doesn't look that easy to root, nor flash a decent rom on the Fascinate!
not only do some roms require you to have a specific kernel flashed to use them. Some roms require that you don't use the latest CWM. Also, none of roms seem to be using Gingerbread AOSP completely. They seem to be pieced together with Froyo.
Believe you me, I am not a dev in the slightest. Therefore, I am looking for a safe way to root and flash a decent rom to her phone. If there isn't, then I'll just let her run stock.
Is this easier than I'm seeing it?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, it is not that difficult. Just takes some getting used to. Obviously you have done a bit of reading, I know it seems daunting, but I promise, once you have it down it is nothing. The kernels...Most ROMS are kernel switchable, within reason. MOST of our ROMS require the RED CWM, which honestly is not a big deal, the orange is just too glitchy. And as far as the ROM's being pieced together with Froyo...Well, I am no dev either, but yes, I believe most of the ROMS are a Frankenstein of sorts, but we don't even have a Froyo source to work with yet. So the dev's, in my opinion, have done an AMAZING job. In terms of flashing on a Mac, I am not sure if Odin works on a Mac, Heimdall does though I believe. Rooting is extremely simple, it is only the flashing the right CWM, modem, etc. that may confuse you. Honestly, if you just keep reading the right things, you'll see it is pretty simple. I recommend Adrynalyne's Super Clean 2.9, and Big Loof's Steel Blue theme, with the EB16 kernel (Also Adrynalyne's).
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=948722
This thread has a good walkthrough, I'd follow it through Post #5... using Superclean. It's an incredibly performing full Froyo rom. Remember that Froyo is not officially out on this phone, she's running Eclair right now. Gingerbread is a ways off (though punk kaos is making great progress).
Before EB01, rooting for me was just clicking a single button.
I never had to root again since flashing EB01. For flashing itself, its just download, reboot to recovery, and flash. Not sure how its a pain in the as as it doesnt even take a minute or so.
I did end up installing 3.XX CWM from ROM manager, but I only reboot into orange CWM if i reboot using ROM manager. If I dont, I end up rebooting to red CWM.
Thanks for the responses. Put a few things in perspective. I totally forgot that she is still running Eclair and Froyo isn't officially out for these phones. My mistake, and now that makes complete sense to me why most of the roms are froyo based or patched. Another thing that made me hesitant is that Odin doesn't run on mac, and I would have anything to save the phone (unless I use one of the pcs at work) if something goes awry. I will read up on Heimdall and see if I can use that.
My apologies if I sounded bothered or uptight about the situation, thanks for the well-mannered responses to my mini-rant. Of to read up a bit more, starting with the link postd and Heimdall.
Found a quick guide for rooting the Fascinate with a Mac. Now my issue is...switching to EB01 without Odin because SuperClean needs it, correct?
EDIT [4-26-11]: Sorry guys for the delay on updating this thread. I currently have no free time, so defer to other threads for up-to-date information. I will probably be back in a couple weeks.
EDIT [4-8-11]: jt1134 has put a lot of work into fixing the mounting/filesystem/permissions issues over the last couple days. I will update this post as soon as he makes his latest compile available.
Original Post:
Because of the confusion over the different versions of ClockworkMod Recovery, I will try to address the major questions in this thread.
This all started out when some people started asking questions about why themed nandroid backups always had problems when they were restored (very informative thread detailing the process). After figuring out that something was broken in CWM, I decided to try to find it. Thankfully, it was an easy fix that me and jt discovered whilst chatting in the IRC. While I was poking around, I fixed a few other small problems too. Since then, jt has worked on making sure the mounting/permissions work right. I think we finally have a winner.
[SIZE=+1]Changelog[/SIZE]
Bug: The old CWM did not have root shell access because of a typo in the old initramfs, so this caused lots of issues when ROMs and themes did not set the correct permissions in their scripts. This is where most of the "Force Close" problems and boot loops came from when flashing roms and also when restoring Nandroids backups. Fix: corrected the init script typo from "ro.secure=01" to "ro.secure=0"
Bug: "Voodoo lagfix is actually: disabled" even when it is enabled. Fix: working (probably as a result of the root fix)
Bug: "Fix Permissions" script is broken. Fix: updated to new version and then modified to auto-mount the correct partitions and use correct files
Bug: Mounting menu typo "umount /dbdata". Fix: corrected to "unmount /dbdata"
Bug: Battery Stats wiping returns immediately to menu. Fix: added a print out to confirm to the user that battery stats wipe was ran
Bug: "Format Boot" option does not work. Fix: not compatible with the Fascinate, removed from menu
Bug: "Enable/Disable Puzzle LockScreen" does not work. Fix: no longer compatible, removed from menu
Bug: Miscellaneous quirks and issues. Fix: mounting and permissions code improved throughout, and making it more robust in handling ext4 and RFS configurations.
[SIZE=+1]Frequently Asked Questions[/SIZE]
Q: After I enter CWM, it says I am at version 2.5.1.x. Does that mean I'm on the correct version?
Unfortunately, the last several updates have been minor bugfixes, and the version number has stayed at 2.5.1.x. Hopefully this will be remedied soon. An easy way to check is to go to "Advanced" menu. If you don't see "Enable Puzzle LockScreen", then you are on the newest version (this menu option was removed because it has not been functional for a long time).Q: Does battery stats wipe work yet?
It was working on the on the old CWM, it just didn't give you a confirmation after wiping. If for some reason it wasn't working on the old CWM recovery (because of the ro.secure bug that was fixed), then I can definitely confirm that it is working now.
In the newest fix, I added a notification before returning to the menu that tells the user that the battery stats had been wiped.Q: Does Fix Permissions work yet?
If you select "Fix Permissions" you should see it doing a lot of work (should take 1-2 minutes). If it returns to the menu immediately, it means one of two things:
You just wiped /data or /dbdata, in which case, there is nothing to fix permissions for (completely normal)
Your /data or /dbdata partition is unable to mount, which means you may have had a bad voodoo conversion, or something that will probably require Odining back to stock to repair (not normal)
Q: I have the new CWM and the feature you said was fixed doesn't work!
Maybe, but I'm guessing you have an old copy, or you have flashed a file that has overwritten your recovery partition to an old version. That's why I have included the SuperClean ROM's with the updated CWM, because most people don't know about this. If you prefer to not re-download the whole SuperClean file, you can take the zImage2 file from the CWM ZIP file and drag and drop it into the /kernel_update/ directory in your current SuperClean file.
[SIZE=+1]Most Thorough Method of Fixing Every Problem You Might Have[/SIZE]
If you have an issue with applications force closing or a continual boot loop, a lot of times you can fix this issue by running the Fix Permissions option.
However, if you would like to see your phone be able to have fully functioning Nandroids, and less problems with permission related errors when flashing different ROM's, I encourage you to do the following (this will make your phone as clean and healthy as possible):
Download to PC
CWM-Recovery Odin Package
MD5 Checksum:
CI500_VZW_EB01_FROYO_REL.tar.md5
MD5 Checksum: d04733ce540ab1af291cfa44d42c768e
atlas_v2.2.pit
MD5 Checksum: a0eaf496375cf72b90f7ceef4f0a4538
Place on /sdcard
ROM of your choice
MD5 Checksum:
Now that's done, on to the fun part....
ODIN the full stock EB01 package in PDA, the atlas_v2.2.pit in PIT, and "Re-Partition" checked
Let your phone fully boot into the OS and verify everything is working correctly
Remove your battery
ODIN the CWM Recovery package
Unplug USB Cable, THEN reinsert your battery
Hold both the volume keys and the power button down until a second after you see the Samsung boot logo, then let go
It should now boot into red CWM recovery
Wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache only. Flash the ROM of your choice
Reboot. Since you have installed the Voodoo ROM, then you should hear a Sexy Robot lady telling you that she is converting your partitions. This process will take 10 minutes or so. If you pull the battery, you will have to start all over again.
Let your phone fully boot into the OS and verify everything is working correctly
If you need to install a theme, reboot; enter CWM; wipe Cache/Dalvik Cache only; enter CWM; flash theme
If you need to install a kernel, reboot; enter CWM; flash kernel
Make a fresh nandroid backup. If you try to restore a Nandroid made with the old CWM, you will probably have problems.
I haven't gone into the specifics of how to do all the above, because there are several tutorials with pictures and well-written guides already in existence.
[SIZE=+1]A couple of things about ClockworkMod Recovery that a lot of people don't know[/SIZE]
The CWM package in this post is the ONLY CWM file you ever need, for any Samsung Fascinate ROM. Even Eclair ROMs. Even Non-Voodoo Roms. Doesn't matter. Delete all your old copies.
When you flash a CWM Recovery, you are writing an entire kernel into the recovery partition of your phone (bml8). This does not affect your current kernel because it is stored on your kernel partition (bml7).
When you download a ROM, it is up to the ROM author to decide if they want to include a kernel and/or CWM. For example, SuperClean bundles the ROM/Kernel/CWM all into one flash file. When you flash SuperClean, it will overwrite your kernel partition (bml7), your recovery partition (bml8), and your system partition (stl9).
[SIZE=+1]A few other questions that might get asked[/SIZE]
Q: What is that MD5 gibberish under the download links?
A: MD5 (and other checksums/hashes) can be used to verify the integrity of a downloaded file. Basically, you download the file, then use an MD5 tool to calculate the checksum. You then compare the file's checksum to the checksum I have posted under the link. If it matches, then you know that your download is not corrupt.
The whole process is much easier/quicker then it sounds, even if you've never done it before. Also, there are many free MD5 calculators (I use HashCheck).Q: Is this CWM 3? Why isn't my menu orange?
While this is the newest fully compatible CWM for the Fascinate, it has NOT had any of the CWM 3.0 code base ported into it. As of CWM 3.0, Koush ripped Amend scripting support for flashing. Most of the rest of the world has already moved to Edify scripts, but in Samsung Fascinate land, we still cling to Amend scripts in a lot of our ROM/patch flash files because of some of the issues that Edify has had with the way Samsung laid out the partitions and devices. This is why we have stuck with CWM 2.5 for so long, because so many ROMs, themes, and patches are still using Amend scripts.
Really though, its time to merge the CWM 3.0 base, port the voodoo options, cut ties with amend, and get the Samsung Fascinate's funky mounting/partitions/layout fully compatible with CWM. Someone just has to do the work, because Koush doesn't seem to be that interested in it any more.
There are a lot of improvements in the back end of CWM 3.0 that make it more reliable. Also, if someone were to be slightly ambitious, there are quite a lot of previously unseen (on the Fascinate) features that could be ported from other people's CWM mods. One easy one would be backup and restore of the kernel, which would allow for a more complete Nandroid. It's actually already half-way implemented in the code, so it wouldn't take much more work to get it done, even on the current version.
Then there is the EFS partition... which is a subject avoided by most people but is an important aspect of the phone that no one currently is backing up. There has been a lot of work done for the other SGS variants, but no one has really spoken up about it in the Fascinate world.Q: Will this overwrite my kernel/custom kernel files on my system partition/knock up my daughter?
The CWM ZIP package has been cleaned of the system files, and the ODIN package has been correctly configured to flash to the recovery partition only. SuperClean will behave like normal, which involves flashing your kernel/CWM/system/daughter.
Until Adrynalyne and jt1134 adopt these files (or make their own), then this applies to files that are downloaded from the links provided in THIS THREAD ONLY.
Q: Why did you start a new thread for this?
Because in the main threads, I answer the same questions every 20 posts. This is more visible. If this information is merged into Adrynalyne's SuperClean thread and JT1134's CWM thread, I will ask for a mod to close this thread.
Good job
I‘m done with the 2.3 ROM!
How foooooolish I am
So..... I'm currently running sc 2.9.2 with voodoo ..... Do I need to just flash the sc + voodoo update in cwm? Wipe data/cache/dalvik?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Nice write up. This should help a lot of people have a better understanding (assuming they actually read it).
chefthomas99 said:
So..... I'm currently running sc 2.9.2 with voodoo ..... Do I need to just flash the sc + voodoo update in cwm? Wipe data/cache/dalvik?
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well if you want to do it the way he spells out in the op, you need to do alot more. flashback to eb01 is the first step. just follow the steps.
thanks for this. a new thread was very needed aswell.
Is the recovery-all zip dated 3-30 in this post any different from the modified one for custom kernels that you posted in jt's thread a couple days ago?
garywojdan81 said:
Is the recovery-all zip dated 3-30 in this post any different from the modified one for custom kernels that you posted in jt's thread a couple days ago?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let's just go ahead and assume that there are no files outside of this thread that are identical to the files in this thread.
Even though that may not be exactly true, most people do not know what version of the file they have, since they all have the same file names. This is another reason why I provided the MD5 checksums, since that is a unique identifying mark.
If you ran the MD5 checksums on all the files, you maaay just find that the ODIN file in this thread is identical to the ODIN file in JT's thread. Since he first posted a very naughty ODIN that overwrote your kernel instead of recovery, I'd like people to just assume that they should trash every CWM file they currently have and download it fresh.
This isn't a april fool's joke is it? I would be sad.
RacerXFD said:
This isn't a april fool's joke is it? I would be sad.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol. where as i dont think he would ruin a good joke, i dont think would go this far to make a joke. gizmo is a pretty straight forward and generally helpful guy.
Not that there is anything wrong with using recovery stand alone...
The post I am waiting for is the one that tells me how to setup Rom Manager to work with _any_ froyo+ rom kernel combo, be it via red cwr our blue cwr or a well placed recovery-update.zip. I thought I had this working once but it is gone.
soba49 said:
Not that there is anything wrong with using recovery stand alone...
The post I am waiting for is the one that tells me how to setup Rom Manager to work with _any_ froyo+ rom kernel combo, be it via red cwr our blue cwr or a well placed recovery-update.zip. I thought I had this working once but it is gone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If somebody can make recovery-update.zip from this recovery and paste it over rom
manager, it might just work.
uslacson1 said:
If somebody can make recovery-update.zip from this recovery and paste it over rom
manager, it might just work.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Might" is the key word there.
ROM Manager sends commands to CWM on reboot. If you try to mix a new ROM Manager with any CWM before 3.0, it might use different syntax in the commands. Sure, it will probably work most of the time, but why take that chance?
The only real solution is for someone to port the CWM 3 stuff. Project voodoo already has quite a bit done on it, it just needs to be adapted to the Fascinate.
After that, Koush would probably be more helpful at helping us get the code successfully pushed into the CWM that ROM manager downloads.
gunnermike said:
lol. where as i dont think he would ruin a good joke, i dont think would go this far to make a joke. gizmo is a pretty straight forward and generally helpful guy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, pretty much. I'm a jokester in real life, but interwebz is serious business.
I think a more important point is that I wouldn't spend 4 hours typing this post if it were a joke xD
Thanks for posting this to clarify the why fors and the what nots. So its more than edify and amend scripting that's holding us back from an official CW recovery we need to have project voodoo updated as well for 3.x compatibility? Reminds me of the slcd Incredible issues we had. That has only been sorted out for a month or two. (amoled/slcd) Anyway thanks for this post it really does clear up some questions/concerns.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
thanks for this thread. helps alot.
GizmoDroid said:
Haha, pretty much. I'm a jokester in real life, but interwebz is serious business.
I think a more important point is that I wouldn't spend 4 hours typing this post if it were a joke xD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Gizmo,
As much as I would love to trust your new CWM... I can't trust anyone today. In fact, I'm running to the basement as we speak with my aluminum foil hat. Please understand that no words that come out of anyone's mouth can be taken with any seriousness.
On that note, your CWM recovery works fantastic.
I appreciate it! Thanks.
ODIN the full stock EB01 package in PDA, the atlas_v2.2.pit in PIT
Where might these be found?
So, I tried step 1. I flashed, via Odin, the stock EB01 tar from adyn's stock post. Also pulled the atlas_v2.2.pit from his "how to fix brick after 2.7" post. I believe I'm bricked. I selected repartition, pit in pit section, eb01 tar in pda section. My phone now boots directly into the samsung stock recovery. I don't get a samsung boot logo either. I can get into download mode via holding down vol-down, but no matter what I flash now to try to bring my phone back to life, I'm still stuck. Has anyone run into this? I'm not a noob when it comes to Odin, so I don't believe I've made any mistakes.
EDIT: Ugh, I flashed what I thought was the full EB01 stock rom. It was the pre-rooted version I found a while ago. When flashed with the atlas v2.2 pit, it soft bricked the phone. So, just a suggestion for the OP that you can get the needed EB01 tar and atlas files from adryn's post on fixing your phone after it's borked with SC 2.7: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=977493
I'll shut up now.
ive been doing some reading and have some questions
1. is clockwork mandatory? id prefer to flash via odin.
2. can you recommend a touchwiz rom thats cleaned and based on the new ed01 source?
Well, Clockwork isn't absolutely mandatory, but the vast majority of ROMS/Kernels/Themes/etc. come packaged in .zip files which are meant to be flashed via CWM.
Odin uses .tar/.md5 files and is usually relegated to a more disaster recovery tool, or flashing items like a new radio. You CAN use Odin to flash ROMS, but you options can me more limited.
Here's a list of the most popular ROMS/Kernels/etc for the Fascinate:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1013312
For Odin flashable ROMS, there's a great post at androidcentral.com:
http://forum.androidcentral.com/ver...tom-roms-w-root-clockwork-updated-3-25-a.html
Hope this helps.
its the the red/green/orange cw that im not crazy over 9i may be reading something wrong
You definately want to use RED cwm for the fascinate. Orange does not play nice at all, since support for amend scripting was removed. (Almost all fascinate ROMS use this type for flashing) If you accidentally flashed Orange through ROM Manager, you can use this post to help you get back to red:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=942021
Use either Odin (.tar file) or CWM (.zip file) to flash and you'll be back to red after manually booting into clockwork.
CWM really is much easier to flash, if for no other reason than not having to pull the case and battery off
havent flashed yet, just rooted, but i figured if vzw is dropping 2.2, i might as well do a custom.
just gotta decide
as i said im thinking clean, nonvoodoo. but i dont see an ed01, just an ec01
Pretty sure everybody will tell you ed01 and ec01 are the same, but I'm just going by the the general post on the matter.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA Premium App
hhhmm then i guess what im waiting for now are restore files for ec01/ed01
or would older ones be ok?
So I can't figure out which recovery is better, more useful. I was on 2.5.1.x forever because most scripting is still (if I remember correctly) Amend, whichever is the older one. But I know 3.x.whatever is the newest that we pretty recently got ported to the Fascinate, but it uses Edify and I keep hearing it isn't backwards compatible. I just switched from JT's last kernel to OTB 1.4 pulled from the Comm ROM, which forced me to 3.x.
Any ideas if I should flash back down to 2.5.1.x or just keep 3.x?
edit: *clarified scripting names
NoHolidaysForAHooker said:
So I can't figure out which recovery is better, more useful. I was on 2.5.1.x forever because most scripting is still (if I remember correctly) scriptify, whichever is the older one. But I know 3.0.whatever is the newest that we pretty recently got ported to the Fascinate, but it uses edify and I keep hearing it isn't backwards compatible. I just switched from JT's last kernel to OTB 1.4 pulled from the Comm ROM, which forced me to 3.0.
Any ideas if I should flash back down to 2.5.1.x or just keep 3.0?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are gonna stick w/ TW Rom, use Edify.
However, a lot of scriptings in AOSP/CM7 are Amend, so for time sake, use 2.5.1.x.
also as a stupid sidenote, i'm siked to finally have found someone else from hawaii.
another related question
in another related question, does edify/amend scripting apply to clockwork recovery, SU or busybox zip packages or is it just to how ROMs and themes are coded? just so in the future i don't mix it up, flash packages in the wrong recovery and mess with the phone
Played a bit with RM, see it now gives us the fascinatemtd as a phone selection for CWM. However, when you choose it, you are asked to pick a recovery either cwm 2.0 or 3.0. Recovery we have now is yellow and version 4.
Will selecting 3 cause problems with flashing anything?
It seems to work okay. I don't think there is any reason it shouldn't. I don't know the differences between 3 and 4 but is isn't like moving from 2 to 3 was in that they used different scripting.
It's not any harder to just reboot into recovery anyways and as long as it still boots to CWM4 it should be fine.
Edit: Just remembered that it uses the installed recovery instead of installing a new one so I wouldn't imagine it causing any issues since both use edify and can flash the same packages anyways.
Keithn said:
It seems to work okay. I don't think there is any reason it shouldn't. I don't know the differences between 3 and 4 but is isn't like moving from 2 to 3 was in that they used different scripting.
It's not any harder to just reboot into recovery anyways and as long as it still boots to CWM4 it should be fine.
Edit: Just remembered that it uses the installed recovery instead of installing a new one so I wouldn't imagine it causing any issues since both use edify and can flash the same packages anyways.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, thought that might be the case but wanted to see what others thought! slight error on my part, recovery is blue.