stock or custom rom? - G Tablet Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi Guys,
I would like to ask you a question.
I just got the lastest updated from viewsonic for my gtbab. This upgrade includes some improvements such as : support for mouse and keyboard usb,french and spanish language , full flash support...
So at this point.. I am wondering...is still a good idea to install a custom rom?
If so, could you please point out what real advantages I can get once installed a custom rom?
It's important for me if it is worth to do it. So I need your real expertise in the subject.
Thanks

ralex76,
It really just depends on what meets your needs.
The current stock ROM -- 1.2.4349 -- is way improved from the old software we got
back last November. But it still does not have Market and some of the little fixes
the devs have come up with here.
I would note that roebeet already has posted that he will not be too long in posting
a new version of his TwoTapsX alternate ROM based on the new update. I am sure
he will build Market and fixes into it just like he has all his ROMs in the past (though
I can't speak for him). So that will make it a pretty close alternative to stock with
everything in it.
Then, there's Vegan, Gingerbread, Calkulin and a whole host of other ROMs with a
wide variety of looks and features.
The choice is yours based on (1) what you like and want, and (2) how much risk
to you want to take in learning to flash ROMs (and if needed troubleshoot, etc.)
I tell all new folks to go slow, read hugely here, notice what mistakes everyone
else is making so you don't make them yourself -- and have fun!!!
Rev

I think you just need to search around and look at the benefits of each ROM and compare it to your tablet. We don't know how and for what you are using your tab, so it is up to you if a ROM is more suitable for your situaion.
I think if you are fine with the stock ROM and don't see anything that you would want differently, don't bother flashing something else.
Also, make sure to look at Roebeets post regarding the newest OTA update!

Related

What is the best ROM and why?

Hello everyone,
most recently I have updated my Hero to the new ROM supplied by the fellows at HTC (the 2.73... I think). Then I remembered that on my HTC S710 I used to have a rom that came from here. So, I took a look. I have a couple of questions. Oh, let me also tell you that I have rooted my phone (I think, with Instant Root).
So these are my questions:
What do you think is the best rom available?
And why? What are its advantages to a 'normal' HTC Rom?
As a beginner, I can look over this forum for hours (I did!) but still miss out on this answer!
there is no answer to this question, that's why.
It's like asking which is better, up or down?
Everyone will prefer a different ROM for different reasons. get your device flashed to the new recovery image and then you can try all the ROMS and decide for yourself what the 'best' one is.
Personally i stick with the generic ROMs and haven't used the modaco custom ROMs yet as i am happy with the way the device works and not in need of all the hacks that other people want as i rarely use them.
you may be different.
try them all and decide for yourself.
Hm. Yes, I like the way you are thinking - and heck, it is the second time you've given me a great reply! I'll go out and tinker with the world, and more specific: with ROMs! Although I have no idea what flashing my device to a new recovery image means, I do remember having to do something similar with my S710. And I am sure I will find an explanation here! Who knows, pherhaps in a short while, I will answer my own questions!
There aren't many customised ROMs for the Hero yet, partly because the source code isn't available yet from HTC, so the ones that do exist are based on versions of the HTC ROMs.
Use Flashrec and install the awesome modified cyanogen recovery image, then you can flash one of the ROMs. I chose the stock UK ROM pre-rooted, from MoDaCo's site (not the MoDaCo customised ROM though).
It's convenient because it is pretty much the stock experience, except it's pre-rooted which makes some other things possible.
dekraan said:
Hm. Yes, I like the way you are thinking - and heck, it is the second time you've given me a great reply! I'll go out and tinker with the world, and more specific: with ROMs! Although I have no idea what flashing my device to a new recovery image means, I do remember having to do something similar with my S710. And I am sure I will find an explanation here! Who knows, pherhaps in a short while, I will answer my own questions!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey, I upgraded from a S710 to a Hero as well. I'm very happy with having done that as the Hero is such a better phone!
Anyway. Flashing a new recovery image is one one of these 'tinkering' things you/we have to get used to when playing with ROMs. Essentially the recovery image is a very basic control on the phone that you can reboot into, from where you can update the ROM or do total system backups. You can read about how to do this in MoDaCo's custom ROM thread in the android development section. Flashing a new recovery image and new ROM isn't too hard really; took me at most a couple of hours.

Stupid noob needs help

Hey guys !
I've been around here for many years but have allways been using Windows Mobile phones. I've had a Hero for about a year and i must say that i am very pleased with it. It works so damn good ! I've been flashing roms on windows mobile phones and even created roms my self.
However this Android / Linux world is so new to me that i have no idea what i need to do in order to simply flash a rom on my Hero!
What i get is that i need to root my device. There are some few guides for this in the wiki but i still do not know if my Hero is a Virgin og a Telus. How can i see this?
Also i see a lot of Linux based talk and commands (i presume) that i do not understand anything of. Do we have any desciption of the most common used commands and such stuff so new people like me can get a better understanding of what you guys are actually talking about?
When i learn all this i will edit the wiki with the information. And as i am new it is easier for me to fill in what is missing if you understand
.. And yes i have searched!
Da9L said:
Hey guys !
I've been around here for many years but have allways been using Windows Mobile phones. I've had a Hero for about a year and i must say that i am very pleased with it. It works so damn good ! I've been flashing roms on windows mobile phones and even created roms my self.
However this Android / Linux world is so new to me that i have no idea what i need to do in order to simply flash a rom on my Hero!
What i get is that i need to root my device. There are some few guides for this in the wiki but i still do not know if my Hero is a Virgin og a Telus. How can i see this?
Also i see a lot of Linux based talk and commands (i presume) that i do not understand anything of. Do we have any desciption of the most common used commands and such stuff so new people like me can get a better understanding of what you guys are actually talking about?
When i learn all this i will edit the wiki with the information. And as i am new it is easier for me to fill in what is missing if you understand
.. And yes i have searched!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theunlockr.com is an excellent source of information on rooting/flashing your Hero.
nprussell said:
Theunlockr.com is an excellent source of information on rooting/flashing your Hero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Seconded.
And when you're unlocked, check out Villain and Vanillain ROM's (check out previous post), definitely two of the best
if you want to know if your phone is rooted download and install "Super user" and run it,you will then know if your phone is rooted or not.
I,like you,was a WM user and found android to be more complicated,but in fact it´s not...once you root your phone and install Amon-RA recovery ( http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=4549551&postcount=1 ) its much easier and simple to do things.
theres a sticky in this sub-forum with wiki-guides,read it!
Branwen said:
Seconded.
And when you're unlocked, check out Villain and Vanillain ROM's (check out previous post), definitely two of the best
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True used a lot those roms.
Waiting patiently for a Vanillain rom based in eris dump.
Right now im still using AychTeeSee's just to be able to use the Buuf Theme
I'm in the exact same situation as Da9L . Could you please let me know if flashing a new ROM will also change the Firmware version?
Currently my firmware is 1.5. I've seen on a friend's G1 the voice search widget and I'm dying to get that on my device. From what I've been told, i need to get a newer firmware, but I've got no idea on how to do this.
Any help would be appreciated ^_^
Some questions:
So the short line of the process of flashing a custom rom is when using unbranded htc hero:
1. Downgrade my software to 1.76, as iam using the newest
2. Root the device acording to _this_ guide
3. Perform a backup
4. Flash the custom rom as i flash a stock rom?
Is that it? It leads me to some more questions
What is this "recovery image" and is there any reason to flash a new one?
And why is there any reason to change this at all ?
How do i get danish xt9 for sms?
And please i have a feeling that i am getting this wrong.. Can you please explain to me the procedure of doing all this ?
Is there any benefit by flashing a rom?
I mean the stock rom actually runs pretty good and is stable. A custom rom is likely to be a little more unstable than a stock rom, but often give you more speed and newer features. This is when we are talking Windows Mobile, but is it the same here? What are the pros and cons by flashing a custom rom over the stock rom?
Da9L said:
Is there any benefit by flashing a rom?
I mean the stock rom actually runs pretty good and is stable. A custom rom is likely to be a little more unstable than a stock rom, but often give you more speed and newer features. This is when we are talking Windows Mobile, but is it the same here? What are the pros and cons by flashing a custom rom over the stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It varies depending on the ROM tbh. It's a bit like the high-tech version of 'how long's a piece of string'?
Really, you're likely to get improved performance, root permissions, user interface tweaks, different versions of applications that are better than the default ones, maybe a custom kernel (if it's a 1.5 release you're looking at).
The custom kernels can have better performance due to optimisations in them. Not sure how much of this is like winmo (never had a winmo phone, all I know is that you are able to install alternative ROMs on them), but with android the core OS is open source, so you get more performance boosts under the hood.
Anyone able to add to that?
anon2122 said:
It varies depending on the ROM tbh. It's a bit like the high-tech version of 'how long's a piece of string'?
Really, you're likely to get improved performance, root permissions, user interface tweaks, different versions of applications that are better than the default ones, maybe a custom kernel (if it's a 1.5 release you're looking at).
The custom kernels can have better performance due to optimisations in them. Not sure how much of this is like winmo (never had a winmo phone, all I know is that you are able to install alternative ROMs on them), but with android the core OS is open source, so you get more performance boosts under the hood.
Anyone able to add to that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That sounds great. However, since this is so new to me i do not know what new tweaks and apps i will be able to use and get if you follow me? When i have flashed a new custom rom, propably android 2.1, i do not know what new things it has and therefore where and how to use these new functions. And does the real advantage in a custom rom also get to a normal user or is the advantages more directed at the developers or?

what are the benefits of new update

Hey all,
I've been perusing these and "other" forums trying to decide if I should perform the stock update and reflash one of the new roms.
I'm currently running Vegan 5.1.1 and loving it. Everything works like I want it to, it's very stable, and I've spent a lot of time "making it mine."
With the new update, and subsequent new roms released by our dear friend Roebeet, I was wondering if there would be much of a benefit for me to Nvflash to stock, perform the stock update, then reflash one of the newer roms, ie Brilliant Corners, Mountain Laurel, or his newest Adam based rom?
I've always been of the school that if it's not broken, don't fix it. I figured that these new roms were intended for those that received their gtablet with the already updated 1.2 bootloader, but I've read people on forums going from 1.1 custom roms, back ot stock, then to 1.2 then reflashing a newer rom. Most of them only report on bugs etc in the new rom, but I've not seen anyone comment on whether it was actually better than their 1.1 rom, or what, if any benefits they saw from it.
I planned on using my current setup until it's outdated significantly. For instance, if Nvidea provides drivers, and VS creates a GB update, then the wonderful devs that are working on gtablet make a true working, supported gingerbread rom, THAT'S when I'll update.
so, bottom line, would it be worth it to nvflash to stock, update to 1.2 bootloader, then install Brilliant Corners? or an I best just not fixing what isn't broken?
thanks for the replies, and I apologizse if this was addressed in another thread. I've searched, read, and couldn't find anything this specific. I've read what the update contains, and what it does, and the problems with it, but I have not read anyone adress a direct comparison betweeen the options that are currently available.

looking for latest stock rom or gingerbread based MIUI

Just got a P503 that I'm trying to set up for my girlfriend. I know how to use KDZ update and LGMDP. I got a custom recovery on it. I understand the difference between the basebands.
The problem is I can't make any sense out of the Development section. Also, a lot of the links are down (multiupload and megaupload).
This thread: [ROMS] Original LG Firmware list: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865479, doesn't seem to work. I also have the the "Original LG Firmware" download tool, don't remember which thread I got it from, which is supposed to download the latest firmware for the phone. It downloads a V10K_00.kdz. I thought all of the firmwares were V20 by now, or am I wrong?
I'm looking for either 1) latest stock rom, preferably with Chinese language (she's Chinese), also can be slightly modified, maybe over-clockable, or 2) good stable gingerbread based MIUI rom. Can someone help me out?
If you know of another rom that is either as stable as stock, or more stable, and has an extremely easy to use interface, also please let me know. After I give the phone to my girlfriend, I don't want her calling me everyday with problems because of the phone.
Also, as far as I can tell, the P500 and P503 are the same phone with different firmware right? Any firmware compatible with the P500 can be used on the P503. I even saw a few threads where people mentioned LG customer support said this.
Dynamite
Try dynamite.. It's there in the O1 development section. It is based on the stock ROM. I've personally tried it, it's really good and I switched to other ROMs only because I missed the customisation that CyanogenMod offers...
take a look at this rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1616069
it's has the iOS user interface (and i think that this one IS extremely easy to use interface),based on CyanogenMod nightly and it available in Chinese....
Now it's up to you to see if it is stable enough to your girlfriend
I looked at and installed the JoyOS. It's nice, got a lot of great features. But it just doesn't feel as awesome as the MIUI on my U8800. It might be a difference in the phone, or it might be the Chinese apps I'm installing with it for my girlfriend, or it might be the OS. Not sure. I'll try Dynamite tomorrow.
However, if anyone knows of a really stable MIUI rom, please let me know. The ones I've seen have problems with apps installed to the SD card.

[Q] How to start a new ROM for a GEN8 using the old one?

Hi,
I'm sure that's a dumb question, but I had to ask it.
I have a Gen8 tablet, and would like three things:
Backup the whole ROM in order to put it back later on
Use that ROM in order to build another one for the same device
Use that ROM (look&feel, apps and so on) to build another one for another device
I've seen that some firmwares (with root) are available for this tablet, and would like to understand how they were built.
Did the developers start from aosp + archos "modified" kernel, or did they start from the existing ROM (aos files from Archos)? Or even a mix of all that?
I installed the SDE yesterday, and have yet to make a complete backup.
Thanks.
Its hard to say where to start after asking these questions. You should read a lot before doing it. Roms based on Cyanogenmod like Buzcuit's one are easy to backup. If you base a new rom on the existing one you will get the bugs of the main rom (Bizcuit's for example) and the bugs of the new rom.
Thanks for your reply.
I don't know if I'll try a new ROM for such an old device, but do you know how these ROMs were made?
I've seen there how to build a new kernel for the tablet, but not a complete system (I often build android-x86, but never tried aosp).
This is rooted stock firmware. Its made by Archos. You should read a bit more about it. I am not a developer and I have pretty basic knowledge and I havent tried myself. Biz and the others can help you much more then me. But ya, u have to read pretty much to start.
Ok, thanks.

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