[Q] Rooting procedure technical details - checklist - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hello everybody.
This is my first post, and while I am noob at XDA-Developers, I have spent more than 10 years writing and reading in forums, and I know what has to be done before writing on them. And I did. I have a couple of questions that I think they are not easy to answer. Indeed, I spent 8 hours yesterday searching through the interwebs and this forum to try to figure out the most thorough answer. And I think I figured out mine, but I don't know any people that can reinforce my toughts and tell me "Hey Gabriel: you are right, you did well, you are the man: go out for a beer, keep calm and carry on". I will ask the questions first, and later I will explain why I ask such questions, and finally what are the steps I did.
The questions are: How can I remove root from a custom rom, and how can I be sure that I properly did? I know that many of us think that "This is stupid / Why do you want to do such a thing / the power of your phone will... / go to stock / etc". But, any way, I have a deep concern on expanding concepts and knowledge, and I thing that root process, root means and rooted phone securing checklist are not as clear as I would like to find them. And more important: I *have* to remain in a custom rom but I *must not* be root.
So the why's are not the question but, just to add some reasonable context: I have a phone that does not fit my needs with the stock rom, because a hardware component is falling apart and I need a software workaround (YEAH, right LOL: a Nexus One with the power button falling apart and I need to be able to unlock / wake with the trackball; but this thread is Android-wide because it tries to find a deep insight into rooting itself). This software workaround does not work in stock rom when I configure the password / PIN / pattern. And the problem with custom roms is that they run into trouble with certain data-protection aware environments, which do not allow rooted terminals. And more important than all: I have no need at all to be root, at least by now.
So, I spent hours searching, and I figured out that I should remove "su" command and related APK's (ROM Manager, Superuser, ... and some others that I won't need). All by myself and with some posts (I don't remember if they were here or in "HTCMania", a good spanish smartphones board, either) that suggested it.
The exact process I did was to download CyanogenMod 7.2 RC1, check signature & md5 to make sure the zip was what it claimed to be (because later I found that I needed to shut down recovery signature check) open the .zip, remove "/system/xbin/su", install the rom, remove su-related ".apk" with adb, and try to check if it still had any sort of superuser permission scalation. It aparently does not have. I checked /data directory with Root Explorer, I downloaded and ran Root Checker Basic.
The results seem what I expected (and that's the question: they seem, and I don't know if they are): I am running on CyanogenMod, the workaround (wake on trackball) works, the PIN/password works fine with it, and it seems I am not able to gain root access.
But my question are deeper than that: is there any remaining technical mean that could be used to gain root access on my phone? Do I have to get rid of more su-companion tools to be sure and to be "non-root"-compliant? Is there any checklist we should follow to check both if our custom ROM is rooted-but-secure and if our ROM is properly un-rooted? And most important: did I miss / failed to find the correct resource in these forums?
Thanks to every body and congrats for this outrageous boards.

Related

A newbies guide to Rooting the MyTouch Slide 3G

How to Root the MyTouch Slide
v1.0 Brandt DeLorenzo 7/19/2010
(I tried to add links, but I couldn't because I was still a newbie on the forum...oh well)
Required Hardware
Windows, Linux, or Mac Computer
USB Cable
T-Mobile MyTouch Slide with SD card
Required Computer Software
ADB Drivers for your computer
The Android SDK
Command Line editor
Required Files
Root.zip
MyTouch Slide Rom(s)
Optional Apps
Rom Manager (by ClockWorkMod)
Any backup app from the market (like MyBackUp Pro)
Step 1: Install Required Software on the Computer
I. In order for your device to communicate with the computer, you will need the proper ADB drivers. ADB Drivers should install automatically when you attach your MyTouch Slide to your computer when using a PC. If you need to manually install the drivers for a PC, locate and install the HTC Sync Update program on your computer.
II. On the device, go to Settings > Application > Development and turn on USB Debugging.
III. Download the Android SDK and unzip the directory in your C: drive somewhere where you can easily find it. I’d also suggest renaming the SDK folder from android-sdk-windows to something shorter, like “asdk”. You do not need to install anything inside that SDK folder after you unzip it. Just move it to the C: directory and rename the folder to something short and easy to type, like “asdk”.
IV. You need to add the Android SDK Tool folder to your system path if you’re using a Windows PC. Go to Control Panel > System > Advanced > Environment Variables > In System Variables, highlight "Path" and click Edit. Add C:\asdk\tools to the end of the string. Be sure there is a semi-colon between the last entry and C:\androidsdk\tools. For example, it might look like this:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0;C:\asdk\tools
Then click OK on all of the windows and you're done with this step
V. Be sure that you have a working command line editor for your computer. For example, Windows users can go to Start > Run > (type CMD) > OK.
Step 2: Download and Move Some Files
I. Download the Root.zip file from Eugene's thread about rooting the Slide, unzip the contents (update.zip, ota.zip, and loop) and place them all in the C:/asdk/tools folder. This zip file contains all of the files that will unlock your MyTouch Slide and install the Recovery software to make everything easier in the future.
II. Find the MyTouch Slide Rom that you want to install. You may download as many as you want if you plan on switching between different versions of Android. You can find many of those Roms here or on AndroidSPIN. Download them to your computer and then move them to your SD card. They should be anywhere from 50MB to 150MB each.
Step 3: Preparing for Root
I. Before we begin the process, we need to test ADB to make sure your device can be seen by the computer. Connect your MyTouch Slide (it should be on right now) to your computer via the USB cable. Open up your command line editor and get to the Android SDK tools folder. If you named your SDK folder ‘asdk’, then you would type CD C:/asdk/tools and hit enter. You should see the prompt change from C:/ to C:/asdk/tools>. Type loop and hit enter.
II. If ADB is working, you will see a continuous loop of commands running up the screen. Hold down Ctrl+C to temporarily stop the loop and look for something that says:
List of Devices Attached
HT05RPS02484 Online
If you see something like this, type Y and hit enter. (Your device number may be different than display above)
If ADB is not working, go here to troubleshoot ADB and make sure that you can get the loop to detect your device before you go any further.
III. Perform a backup of any applications or data that you would like to restore. I’d suggest backing up applications, contacts, or any data that may not sync back to your device. You can find an application in the Android Market to complete these tasks. I prefer MyBackUp Pro.
*Mac and Linux users may need to put a ./ in front of anything that is typed in the command line. Like ./loop instead of loop.
Step 4: Beginning the Root Process
I. Power off your device. Hold the Volume Down Key and Press the Power button at the same time. Hold both buttons until the screen comes up in Bootloader mode.
II. In your command line editor, be sure that you are in the C:/asdk/tools> prompt. Type loop and then hit enter. You should see:
List of Devices Attached
HT05RPS02484 Offline
III. Select Recovery from the menu. Use the volume buttons to move up and down. Use the Power button to select the option. You should now see a dark screen with a black device and a red triangle with an exclamation point inside. Hold the Volume Up button and press the Power button. You should now see the Android system recovery (2e) screen.
If you kept the loop running, it should change to say:
List of Devices Attached
HT05RPS02484 Recovery
If it doesn’t change, unplug the USB cable from the device and plug it back in.
If your device number and “Recovery” appears, you can now stop the loop with Ctrl+C. If you do not see your device number and “Recovery”, you need to power off your device and try again. This may take a few tries.
IV. On the device, scroll down to Update.zip and select it using the Power button. It will display an error message that it failed. This should be expected and is part of the process.
V. In the command line editor, you should still be in the C:/asdk/tools> prompt. Type adb push ota.zip /sdcard/update.zip and hit enter.
VI. This is the most difficult part of the process. Type adb push update.zip /sdcard into the command line editor, but do not click enter yet.
VII. On the device, scroll down to Apply sdcard:update.zip and as soon as you select it with the Power button, click enter in the command line editor on your computer. The process should be all done within a second. If you did this properly, a new window in green text should appear with the title “Clockword Mod Recovery v2.5.0.1” or another version number.
VIII. Now you are in Clockwork Mod Recovery. First, scroll down to the partitions menu and make sure it does not say ‘mount system’. If it does say ‘mount system’, highlight it and hit the Power button to mount it.
IX. Scroll down to apply sdcard:update.zip and click the Power button to select it.
X. Power down the device. Follow the steps to get back into ClockWorkMod Recovery, but you won’t need to complete step VII. Simply select Apply sdcard:update.zip and hit the Power button to get back into ClockWorkMod Recovery in the future. (If a blank screen appears when you hit the Power button, press the Trackpad as the enter button.)
XI. On the computer, you should run the loop command to determine if the device is connected again. If it is, type adb install superuser.apk and hit enter. You have full root access.
Step 5: Installing a Rom
I. If you have already performed a backup of your files, you can now wipe the device from the ClockWorkMod screen. Scroll down to wipe data/factory reset and hit the Power button. You will be prompted with another screen with a Yes – delete all user data prompt. Select Yes – delete all user data and hit the Power button.
II. After the wipe has completed, scroll to install zip from sdcard and hit the Power button. Then scroll to choose zip from sdcard and hit the Power button. Now locate the Rom you want to install. Press the Power button to select the Rom and install it.
Managing your Roms
To make your life easy, download and install the Rom Manager application by ClockWorkMod. From this application, you can backup & restore your Roms, reboot into recovery with one click, partition your drives, and find new supported Roms for your device.
we already have a root and a simple root if a noob cant get root with either one they dont need root this thread is unnecessary and ,imo, more confusing especially w/o links
i agree, we've already got this pretty much in 2 different threads, in 2 different ways, one fully automated and the other manual. and i created a video and a tut that has more detail as far as how to install roms and such.. this is an unneccessary thread
Sorry man :/
where is my blow torch...prepare to flame
There is also ....
There is also a questionable step.
I cant get into Clockwork mod using the start update from the phone then push update.zip.
But if I adb push first, wait for the server to start, then updat from the power button on the phone, it works.
good luck.
nice guide! thanks
HighRidas said:
we already have a root and a simple root if a noob cant get root with either one they dont need root this thread is unnecessary and ,imo, more confusing especially w/o links
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Click to collapse
No offense, but I've tried many of the guides and they were difficult to follow when ADB was acting dumb on my laptop. The actual steps are easy, troubleshooting ADB on a Windows PC is a pain for most. Now that I have root and I'm using different roms, it's all easy and painless.
If there wasn't a no-linking rule on new user threads, it would have been much better...I agree.
between the fact that it doesn't need to be any easier, and the ROM bibke holds most of this, there is no need for this thread, i understand that you were probably trying tobe helpful but you are an idiot and made a perfectly useless thread with no links for no reason
tubaking182 said:
between the fact that it doesn't need to be any easier, and the ROM bibke holds most of this, there is no need for this thread, i understand that you were probably trying tobe helpful but you are an idiot and made a perfectly useless thread with no links for no reason
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
calm down bro !!! since i came to the slide side all i see is u going hard on people .. that ****'s not cool at all !!! it makes me wonder about u !!!
everybody got their pitch forks and torches out !!! just closed the thread that simple !!!!
i am helpful when stuff i posted in the correct forum, and when it is a new thread that has not been posted in th past. when people continuously post new threads to state stuff that has already been said, especially since without links this thread is pointless, then we xda devs are going to get upset, devs do not like to see pointless threads in the dev section, and certainly don't like it when people try to belittle the work that went into root by "making it easy" first requirement for having root is to know how to use a computer, after that you can learn to do some really cool stuff
Well I thought this guide WAS Helpful to be honest! Not to mention lesstalk was just trying to help. Tubaking is always busting peoples chops everytime he says something it ends up being rude! If you dont have anything nice to say then go to a diff thread dude cause your sorry azz attitude just makes it so people dont want to post cause their scared of getting verbally bashed by folks like you! Being rude is NOT doing anyone any good and Im sure im not the only one who feels this way about you!
in my opinion they should be afraid to post, if they aren't then they make crap like this. i stated that he was trying to be helpful but without links this thread just takes up space and makes people ave to search harder to root thier phone. i am a nice person IRL, but i do not like wasted space. if someone has come up with a "easier" way to root then fine, but there is already a thread for preparing to root your slide, two threads on rooting your slide, and the slide rom bible which includes all of those threads, a stickie should be more than enough for most people and if not then they need to think before hitting that new thread button. there is no need for repetitive threads in the developement section. if there had been links in this thread(which i know he can't do as he is a new member) then it would have been fine and i would have shut up and left it alone, but right now there are two ways to root, one for computer people and one for script kiddies, either way if you can't get it to work with either method then you probably don't need root. if you can't read the simple walkthroughs then you don't need root, if you don't know what you are doing then you don't need root
EDIT: Here is the link to the thread that already covers all of this, and guess where i found it
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=708522
I did find this thread helpful, especially since i'm new to android. I want to know what i'm doing and the only way i can learn what i'm doing is from reading many posts and lots of trial and error.
I have read both of the rooting guides from the rom bible, and there is still some stuff left out. I actually like this guide better than the others because there is more help in the whole ADB part of the root process.
Now, i know what i'm doing with computers, it still freaks me out how much i can do with computers. But in new areas where i want to learn, it helps to have more info than needed because people have different viewpoints on the same process.
@tubaking182 - for most of the threads you come in bashing in the dev section, i agree with you. But on this thread, i think you're way out of line. Yes there are 2 threads already and yes this thread needs links. But it's not a waste of space. I've lurked on xda since i bought and returned my HD2 (~late april). And when the slide was released, i headed to this subsection. And i've only seen it go down hill with more people posting threads that needn't be posted, but also with "wanna-be" mods flaming the person who didn't think and posted the needless thread.
But now that animosity has taken a turn for the worst and i only seen bashing in this section of the slide section of xda. And it's really making me want to leave xda.
The whole rooting process can be easy to learn if you've come from a previous android phone and have previously used ADB commands. But when you're really lost about even the whole linux folder structure (i'm not totally lost with this, but i'm more used to the desktop linux folder structure), then some of the guides out there to do certain tasks seem like another language.
3 guides for the rooting process can't hurt, especially when someone who doesn't know what's going on in the process wants to figure it out step by step and is too afraid of members like tubaking182 are always going on about searching for previous posts and flaming for simple questions (not that people shouldn't search for previous posts and threads).
EDIT: i do commend all the devs for their hard work making anything like rooting the phone remotely possible.
tething is, when you want to post an issue about something you saw in another thread, the issue should be posted there, it will be answered when people see it or when the OP has time to get on and answer. i am not trying to be a "wanna-be" MOD as i don't ned to be on XDA any more than i already am regulating posts and mergng threads when they should be merged, this thread holds ZERO new info and therefore should not be posted. if this member found a simple one-click root(which i hope to god never happens with this phone) and he wanted to tell us about it and tell us what he searched to find it and whatever else then great i ould not care, but some things do not need a new thread, if users all searched the Q&A section, the General section, and the Dev section BEFORE clicking the new thread link at the top then we would probably have half as many pages in the dev section, we have 8 pages now that i have gone through in the dev section and i have seen way too many repeat threads and questions. if you wanna see who i am take a look through my posts, i am a very helpful person when people want HELP, but when people want ANSWERS and they want stuff easier and they post in the wrong section then i get irritated and my messages are less helpful.
the number one reason n00bs post in here is because more people will see it, unfortunately this means the devs have to deal with the BS threads that push their stuff to page 3-4 and most people don't read past page two to look for a thread
yes, but you have to remember this is a very publicized and a public forum. In another forum i belong to, this happens all the time even though we have clearly marked stickies in every section.
I bet you most of the pointless threads have the OP posting only once and never even commenting on the posts made after they got the answer. That is what happens when you have a forum that's known for phone customization (or any public forum for that matter).
EDIT: and i'm not saying you're mean, i'm just saying it's going a little too far.
EDIT 2: if someone makes a thread only looking for answers that have been previously posted, just don't respond to it as that person won't ever be back. it's as simple as that.
@lesstalk - Thanks for the guide, outside of the lack of links(out of your control) this is a wonderful guide that I have started pointing new MTS users to.
@tubaking182 - Fact is, the guide on this actual covers steps that were skipped over in the other root guides because they were assumed to be common knowledge. Its that assumption which will kill future android users desire to learn about the device, especially when its accompanied by such a poor attitude from the "regulars" of the forum.
Outside of the links being missing due to being a new user account on the forum, the guide was more complete and comprehensive than any of the other guides so far. It managed to cover step(s) that are easily overlooked by someone who has rooted other android phones before, but CRITICAL to function and not mentioned in the other guides. I cant count the number of people I pointed to the pre-existing threads on rooting for MTS, who completely missed the superuser.apk setup because there were not any steps written for it.
A well educated userbase is a happy and quieter userbase, and while there are alot of useless threads in this section, this one actually served a purpose.
^^^
Here here!!
This is the first guide that has explained it all, and now I feel like I can do it too. I've done my g1, and tons of wm phones, but this one is completely different. All depends on your background.
You should be trying to expand and diversify the user base, not alienate it. or would you rather lock up the keys and argue with your self all day?
Sent from my T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide using XDA App
I agree that this guide might Hold your Hand & even ( Might have missed steps ).
It's not my Job, nor any others person job to make sure you have your driver's setup & adb working correctly. There is plenty of other threads that already cover this, easy to find by using Google..
regardless, Thank you to the OP for try to help make things a bit clearer
~Eugene
tubaking182 said:
i am helpful when stuff i posted in the correct forum, and when it is a new thread that has not been posted in th past. when people continuously post new threads to state stuff that has already been said, especially since without links this thread is pointless, then we xda devs are going to get upset, devs do not like to see pointless threads in the dev section, and certainly don't like it when people try to belittle the work that went into root by "making it easy" first requirement for having root is to know how to use a computer, after that you can learn to do some really cool stuff
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i feel u on that u do have a point !!! some people just that "dumb" and can't help it. they should post in the right thread but at the same time just putting them down isn't always the best way !!
dcowboys2184 said:
i feel u on that u do have a point !!! some people just that "dumb" and can't help it. they should post in the right thread but at the same time just putting them down isn't always the best way !!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ditto. This is a redundant and unnecessary post. There are more than four different guides and several other posts on preparation. Yes, they aren't written for a kindergartner, but rooting your phone isn't supposed to be easy. Do some research, read a post or several, and only post after your eyes start to bleed. Cluttering the forum makes it even harder for new members to the community.

[Guide]Rom Development for Dummies (and a few other things)

Note: more content is coming regularly, so check back regularly! Also, post your input so this thread does not become buried.
As an initiative to kickstart development for the Galaxy Player 4.0, I have decided to put up this guide to try and attract more users to rom development. This, although, does not mean you can willy-nilly post up a rom including one mod, or a quick tweak. Making a rom involves a lot more than that.
The Developer's Code:
1. Your rom MUST be unique from the other roms.
This means you have to have a careful, well thought out rom. It must have several things differing it from other roms, something that makes it stand out. The last thing we need are 200 "me too" roms cluttering up development. Takes Klin's rom and mine, for example. We both have ICS themes, we both have tweaked our roms for performance, but they are both completely unique. Why? Because we didn't copy one another. We saw what the other had, and left it alone. I have an ICS theme, he has an ICS theme, but they are based on completely different themes. The biggest boo-boo in rom devving is copying someone else's rom/features/work. You will get kicked out unbelievably fast if you DO NOT follow this rule. To reiterate, the last thing we need is 200 identical roms. Make sure yours is unique from the others, and has a defining feature.
2. You must be willing to provide regular, consistent updates.
Maintaining a rom can be a full time job. You have bugs to deal with, features to add, and hours of work in which you only accomplish a small amount of work, due to some catastrophic failure. Last night it took me over 3 hours to fix a battery icon issue. Why? because I had almost space left in which to apply my fix, and if I did even one step wrong I had to reflash to correct the issue.
You should NOT release your rom once, and never look at it again. You should be willing to update it at least twice a month, if not sooner. I update mine several times a week, but that's because I have a lot of free time. Your mileage may vary, but try to hit for that mark. Too long wihtout an update and users will get bored/tired of your rom without anything new to spice things up.
3. You must be willing to provide helpful, friendly support.
At times, monitoring your thread can be frustrating. you may have someone complaining about an issue that was fixed several releases back, or someone who wants a new feature and keeps bugging you about it. It can be frustrating at times, but make sure you calmly answer everyone's questions in a fair manner. It can be extremely frustrating for a rom user to post up a question, and have it answered days later because the dev was "too busy" to monitor their thread. This, if anything, is almost more important than rom updates. Users love devs who actually converse and answer them, so be friendly, and keep your thread going!
4. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS give someone the apppropriate credit for their work.
It is the bane of the dev's existence: spending days/weeks/months of xyz feature/theme/rom, and have someone come along and snatch their work from them without as much as a "thank you". First of all, it will get you banned faster than any other offense out there. Secondly, it is one of the largest insults you can give someone. Our community is one that is supposed to share work, and most people do that freely, but you MUST give credit where credit is due. It is best if you ask someone's permission before you use their work, especially if it is something major (a huge theme for example). But even if you don't (and you should), at the very least list their username and what they did in your rom SOMEWHERE in your description.
5.You do not know everything.
After creating a rom, many people feel that they know much more then the "average" community, and that they are always right when it pertains the their rom. This could not be more wrong. The best way to improve your rom, is to listen to xyz person who knows more about a certain area than you do, and attempt to learn from that person. Everyone is skilled in a different area, so if you listen to your community, and assume they know best, you can learn and accomplish a lot evry quickly.
6. Google is your friend.
Do not assume that dev's know everything, and that they pull these features out of their heads. When in doubt, go to google. Always. There is normally a guide, or someone with your issue to help you out. As usual, make sure you give that person credit if you use their work.
So, to sum it up, Make your rom unique, be dedicated to your work, be ready to handle unexpected situations, ALWAYS give someone appropriate credit, listen to your community, and google a lot!
Not intimidated yet? ready to bring your amazing idea to the limelight? head on down to the section below to get started!
The Easy Way to Dev: Odin flashable packages.
Most people don't want to edit their rom on their computer. As a matter of fact, you can create a killer rom without even touching a computer to mod it. Up until I started theming, I working on my rom 100% on my device. This is the most tried-and-true method out there, and the one most likely to create the least drama. All you have to do is Pull the /system partition from your Player, and create a tarfile out of ti.
Prerequisites:
Samsung Device (system partition location may change with device type. This should be the same for US/INTL players)
PC running Ubuntu/form of linux (ubuntu is recommended for beginners)
ADB installed (actually not needed, but speeds up the process) (look below in resources for a guide)
appx. 300mb free on /sdcard
about 1 GB free on the Linux box
1. Apply whatever mods you want too
2. Open up a terminal emulator
3. type this in: dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096
4. wait for it to complete (may take up to 10 minutes)
5. You now have a file called factoryfs.rfs on your internal sdcard
6. Hook it up to a computer and activate usb storage
7. copy factoryfs.rfs to whatever directory you want (home is recommended for simplicity)
8. Open up a terminal
9. cd to the directory of your file (if you placed it in home skip this step)
10. Type in "tar -H ustar -c factoryfs.rfs >packagename.tar"
11. Now you have a odin-flashable rom!
ADB users, simply run adb shell and type in the first command, then adb pull the file to the computer.
If you want to save space for a file sharing website (eg. mediafire, which has an upload cap of 200mb), simply Zip the file using 7-zip (set on ultra). You may have to do this on a windows machine.
Now this is even easier! simply flash the stock image in the link below with all the essentials included, and you can apply all the mods you want without having to ever go through dsidxa kitchen! Klin even fixed busybox for you! this way you can easily start from stock and work your way up to more advanced hacks.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27973753#post27973753
The Advanced Users Guide: CWM packages.
Maybe you want more flexibility. Maybe you need to deodex your rom to mod some stock files, or zipalign to speed things up. This guide is for you people who need the more advanced options. It is harder, and you have a greater chance of messing things up, but you get to completely control your rom, even easily edit it on the computer! This guide is for advanced users only, or someone who is willing to spend a lot of time on trial and error.
Prerequisites:
ADB installed (Extremely helpful, and may to required)
Samsung device
Ubuntu/linux box
A bit of caution
Patience
1. Install Dsidxa Kitchen
2. Put your factoryfs.rfs in the necessary folder
3. cd to the directory you installed the kitchen
4. Type "sudo su"
5. enter your password
6. Type "chmod +x menu"
7. run "./menu"
8. you are now in the main menu of the kitchen.
9. There are many options, choode the one that you need!
Note: stay away from installing busybox using the kitchen. It installs a bad version of busybox which can make rom development a big headache for you!
10. There is a working folder in the kithcne directory, in there mod all the files you need.
11. When you are done, head into option 99 (create rom)
12. Run the interactive option
13.When you get to the update-script type, type "y" to install the newer type, which is required to flash a cwm zip in the Galaxy Player.
14. If you want to flash your rom using stock recovery, sign it. Else, leave it alone.
15. You can keep the normal name, or change it to what you want. If you are going to be flashing using stock recovery, make sure it is named "update.zip"
That is it! If you want to create a odin package out of it, simply flash the cwm zip, then follow the instructions above!
I will be adding on to this guide as time goes on, so make sure you ask pertinent questions below!
Resources/Additional Guides:
Install ADB:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=11823740#post11823740
Install dsidxa kitchen:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1303311
4.0 base (essentials installed, just apply your hacks and you are good to go! thanks klin):
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=27973753#post27973753
Easy theming guide:
http://androidforums.com/optimus-m-...guide-theme-guide-noobs-adding-lots-more.html
APK multi-tool (needed to theme):
http://apkmultitool.com/?q=node/5
Recommended hosting sites:
www.mediafire.com
Good Rom practices:
1. If you retheme, include screenshots! people love screenshots.
2. Make a logo if you can, it makes it easy for people to support your rom by adding it into their signature.
3. If you mod, make sure you can easily explain it to someone if need be. Messy hacks are not good in the long run!
4. Focus evenly on all parts of your rom. Some people love speed, others love features. You can focus on one or the other but try and keep it balanced.
5. If you create a custom script/init,d script/documentable file make sure you include comments in your mod so people can try and fix it if need be!
6. Make sure all the bugs are ironed out before release. People love fast releases, but if it is really buggy they may switch to another rom.
7. if you have exhausted all other methods of fixing an issue, or cannot work on it a lot in the opcoming days/weeks, release a beta version stating the bugs clearly. That way while you are gone, more experienced people can help you iron out the bugs.
8.Make sure it is easy for the person to obtain your rom. If they have to download another utlity or click through 30 ads, they may just want to use another rom than go through the hassle. Worse, they may mess it up, forcing you to help them troubleshoot.
9. Make sure you update utilities on your rom as soon as an update becomes availible. That way you get the fewest bugs, and as I said before, users love updates!
10. Even if someone's issue seems isolated, at least spend some time with them figuring out what happened so they can fix it. You never know, it may be the harbinger of a HUGE outbreak of issues.
11. Base your rom on an intl version. There is a fortunate "bug" that klin discovered that allows US users to use any intl rom without their home button breaking. Of course, that has a lot of asterisks, but if you will look below, I have developed a fix for that issue, which allows anyone with a "broken" home button to use it with the problematic rom!
12. Practice good rom devving. If there is a major issue that could be a pain, don't take the easy way/fix out. That always comes back to bite you later, as I have figured out. I once had a corrupt journal on my system partition, and did not want to go through the hassle of recreating my rom on a clean partition. So, I simply added a flag to have /system mount as rw if there are any issues. Sure enough, about 3 days later, I started having some filesystem issues, and had to completely rebase, because I did not have any backups.
13. ALWAYS keep backups. Just do it. Not just one, either. Keep at least three days worth of backups, just in case there is an issue in backup 1 and two, but it not in no. 3. This would have been hugely helpful to me in many cases, but I didn't want to "waste" the space. Guess what I did a few days later: spent a nice evening with linux fully recreating my rom from scratch. Just do it.
Fix home button issues. (useful if you use a rom seperate than a flasher's region) (developed by me)
I have finally, after a bit of luck and some know-how, determined a fix for the home button issue! This will work on ALL roms, not just this one, and will probably work for the 5.0 as well. This also means you can fully wipe data if you want, and simply apply my fix.
1. Navigate to /dbdata/databases/com.android.providers.settings
2.Optionally copy to a computer (easier that way)
3.Open it up in a sqlite editor (if you are doing this on the device, copy it to /sdcard and and then copy it back
4.Navigate to the locale/first section (there should only be one string in there
5.It should look like en_US if you have a US player, or en_GB if you have a UK/intl player
6.Change the string to the language/locale you use (if you are INTL you can merely change it to xx_GB, where xx is your language. If you are US, just perform the same steps, but change the last part to US)
7. commit/save the file and copy it over the old one
8. Reboot, and your home button *should* be fixed!
NOTE: I have not personally tested this. It has a 99% change of working, but I have yet to completely verify it.
NOTE: after you replace the file, android may go a little haywire (wifi disconnects, forgets password, advanced reboot option unavailable, etc.). THIS IS OKAY. Simply reboot, and it will all be back. Do not change any settings after copying until it reboots, as it may possibly break the fix
NOTE: I cannot provide a downloadable file, as that file contains all of your system settings, and if you use mine, my settings will be applied, which could be pretty bad in some cases.
NOTE: this has no chance of bootlooping or bricking your device. At absolute worst, you have to set up a few settings/restore from a /dbdata backup. There is almost no risk involved.
Potential fixes for potential issues:
1.Bluetooth breaks. The main cause of this is if you install supercharger and nullify. Simply unullify and verify it is remove from build.prop, and you are good to go!
2. Home button breaks. (see above )
3. Root/busybox breaks. It's kinda messy, but if you absolutely HAVE to, simply reroot. That should fix it in a pinch. This is a classic case of keeping good backups. I have had to spend an entire afternoon redoing my entire rom because of my lack of recent backups. If you have the space, keep them. I have more than once managed to create a stopgap solution in my rom just to have some weird issue pop up again, and again. Just do it.
I LOVE you, man.!!
Hanthesolo,
Very good achievement, we all have to learn from your good sharing.
Congratulations man
rgds
I am really happy you guys like this! I will continue to add to it as time goes on, so expect even more content!
Sent from my EtherealPlayer.
New content up! also notice the link to the stock rom klin made so that you never need to go through a kitchen to get your rom started!
Has anyone used this yet? successes/failures? make sure you give me feedback so I can make this better!
Yet mre content up! Could this be possibly stickied? I know it's a little rough right now, but noone replies to this thread as there really is nothing to reply TO. I have worked hard on this and would hate to see this information go the way of the dead threads.
Thanks for this info man, making roms for my old evo and just stacking up on guides and any kind of reading material that I can utilize for my advantage. So, this will be helpful lol. I'll be checking back every so often on anything new added, but thanks again bro. Thanks given! Feel Encouraged!! lol
iAMsalm said:
Thanks for this info man, making roms for my old evo and just stacking up on guides and any kind of reading material that I can utilize for my advantage. So, this will be helpful lol. I'll be checking back every so often on anything new added, but thanks again bro. Thanks given! Feel Encouraged!! lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad you enjoy it, this forum is the abandoned, dusty wasteland of xda, so I wrote this guide to (hopefully) stimulate development a bit.
hanthesolo said:
Glad you enjoy it, this forum is the abandoned, dusty wasteland of xda, so I wrote this guide to (hopefully) stimulate development a bit.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know it definitely feels like that from time to time, but that's a byproduct of the nature of our devices. There's ridiculous money in selling someone a shiny new crippled phone with a horrific contract that will never get updated. You won't see a jawdropping ad on TV featuring a Galaxy Player because there's just no money in it. I'd love to have the T-Mobile girl holding my phone while wearing a pink leather riding suit(her, not me). That ain't happening.
I'm pleased and more than a little shocked that some new roms have come out in the past month thanks to this guide. I wanted a Android powered phone without the contract. I wanted an iPod Touch without all the bull**** that comes from being tied to Apple. Thanks to XDA my device fast, sexy as Hell, and does everything I want.
The only thing that makes me sad is that a year from now I probably won't be able to buy a Galaxy Player 4.0 v2 because there's just too much money to be made from contract only devices.
Thanks for this guide. It help me for begin android development.
GalaxySWifi4 said:
Thanks for this guide. It help me for begin android development.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope you have fun beginning development! It really is a lot of fun once you et past the basics.
Gswifi, I never replied to you, but your speech was so awesome, that I want to put it in the OP .
If you want me to update the OP with an equivalent for ROM compiling (I know that I had a hard time figuring out just WHERE the folders to go, so we need a good guide...), chime in your support please!
hanthesolo said:
If you want me to update the OP with an equivalent for ROM compiling (I know that I had a hard time figuring out just WHERE the folders to go, so we need a good guide...), chime in your support please!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
@hanthesolo
do you have some knowledge about kernel compiling, so you could hel me?
hanthesolo said:
If you want me to update the OP with an equivalent for ROM compiling (I know that I had a hard time figuring out just WHERE the folders to go, so we need a good guide...), chime in your support please!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please do
I understand early nothing about this advanced stuff of making ROMs, even more about make Kernels XD. But I want to experiment some little things to learn by myself step at step. But... I cannot start... I'm in CM10.1 with Koala's Kernel and I can't make the factoryfs.rfs file doing this: dd if=/dev/block/stl9 of=/sdcard/factoryfs.rfs bs=4096 in Terminal Emulator because /dev/block/stl9 doesn't exists. With ADB I have the same error.
Is this due to this ROM is not stock or something like this? Or only I have to create this folder or change it by other...
---------- Post added at 02:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:37 AM ----------
I'm trying to do this but without if=/dev/block/stl9. I don't know if I'm doing well...
How about some info on modifying or tweaking already compiled roms?
Say you want to remove some of the apps included with CoolDevXYZ's rom or modify some of the settings pre-install (e.g. build.prop tweaks, etc.). How do you tell the kernel these changes are intentional, not the result file corruption, infection or something?

Need help manually rerooting my phone using ADB to push files

Okay so I was told to come here because my phone doesn't have its' own forum yet (Not at all surprising..), so I'm just going to quote my post back on the other thread that told me to come here instead.
Mc Fow1er said:
Okay so I've had this phone for little over 10 months now and within that time I've managed to achieve root (unreliable but it works at the very least) in that time as well as learned a fair amount about Linux and android alike (Not a whole lot but I know some stuff) though I've now come to the point of I actually want to give my phone a proper root instead of this faulty solution I have currently. I (barely) managed to get my phone rooted using Kingoroot and I've played plenty with my phones' innards in that time, removed system apps, added my own selection to the system but some apps in my phone that use root don't work even with root permission granted which is why I'm wanting to replace Kingoroot with ChainFires' SuperSU binaries, could anybody help me with simple instructions for someone who doesn't actually know very much regarding how root and SU bins work inside of android? My phone's using 4.4.2 kitkat.
Just a few disclaimers first to get misconceptions out the way:
1. I do not have a custom recovery nor is one available for my phone (Samsung galaxy young 2 (SM-S130H) for those who want to know)
2. I'm currently unable to use the internet on my phone as I lack Wi-Fi to do so (router is dead) so I'm manually installing app packages through ADB, so if something needs an internet connection on my phone it's not going to work for me, for now..PC still has net access.
3. I have access to ADB shells' SU but not ADB root so I hope you don't need that from me.
4. This phone does not have a fastboot mode. (That I can find anyway..) Only a download mode from what I've found.
Can anybody help me out with telling me what I'll need to be doing in regards to getting this done?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, can anyone here knowledge on the matter can assist me with this instead of me having to figure it out on my own?

Kingroot to SuperSU (Root Issue)

Hey, new user here. Sorry if this is miscategorised.
I have a very simple issue. I have a GT-I9305, recently rooted with some weird Android Terminal commands and a .zip file I found online. No issue with rooting. I did a root check and used root to uninstall Knox.
Issue is that beforehand I tried to root with KingRoot and I didn't know it would automatically download its own SU (probably should have been more cautious). I want to use Super SU instead but I can't because after some research, there'll be so conflict between these two. So further research suggests I need to do some deep replacement between these two.
I've tried several methods already.
An app called SuperSu Me required higher Android version, so that was a strike for me. The one with the commands with the mrw file did not work (just threw up a whole list of failures and errors), and another appears to be working with Kit Kat only (I'm on 4.3). Another limitation I have is that my computer is garbage and probably won't run Odin or whatever flashing thing, so that rules out another horde of solutions.
Further, Super SU did not update binary, which most websites suggested it will do. It tries to do it, then regurgitates an error message after five minutes.
So I was just wondering if there is some obscure way beyond the second Google search page which might help me out here, to replace King SU with SuperSU. After all, the root method I used in the first place wasn't exactly conventional.
Just wanted to ask around here before I simply unroot and forget about the whole business. Been lurking around here unregistered and you guys have been very helpful, so now I guess I'm starting a topic of my own.

Hats off to several Xda-Developers

Well that was an adventure. I inadvertently ended up with an upgrade to VS9854CA over-the-air which predictably killed my root and wiped my setup. Life sucked, but livable until the screen started doing the flashy fade to back lockup. Now I've got to do something - I really don't want a new phone, I like my LG G3 even if the carrier is basically Evil Corp.
First things first: I had to fix the screen. I noted that the newer ROM was making the phone hotter. That's a side effect of what is truly an improvement in responsiveness from my old old version. I also noted that it seemed to get better if I manipulated the covers. Loose part somewhere? Quick search on the forums turned up this thread: "[GUIDE] Fix Display Flickering, Overheat and Constant Rebooting" with thanks to @IngJulian_RVLX. Reading it showed a basic problem to be sure but wasn't an entire fix. It did give me the idea what was needed though. So I disassembled the phone and re-flowed the main chips with a heat gun (NOT a hair dryer - not hot enough, focused enough, and way too much airflow, and DEFINITELY NOT a toaster oven - this will fry other components), then cleaned the board. Using silicon pad I placed one on the top of the main chip on the "front" (faces the display when assembled and has the big shield on it), then another piece over that one the length of the metal shield. Then I put another piece of silicon pad on the chip on the back side under the smaller metal shield. Reassemble the phone. Power up. Okay, we're working again without the annoying flashy fading screen.
So now the problem is getting root and TWRP back. Again the search: "Root for LG G3 VS985 Android 6.0 47A". Thanks to @annoyingduck and @roirraW "edor" ehT. I found a 10B .tot file and flashed that successfully. Only one big problem - adb would not find the phone! Turns out the identifier pulled in a G3 device and not the VS985 device for which I had a debug stack. Not to worry, stump is an apk so I should be able to upload right? Nope, it's offline. Well the suggested alternative, kingroot.net, exists try that. Yup that worked - I'm now rooted and victimized by all the bloatware kingroot brings with it.
Rather than debloat the kingroot I figured it does no harm in the moment. So let's get TWRP back so I at least have a recovery. Of course the CodeFire team has what I need and TWRP is installable as an app now. The first time I rooted it was a manual load with dd - progress! Just search the Play Store for TWRP, load and go. Nice work guys!!!
Okay so how to get up to the latest version possible and still keep root? Because, hey as long as I'm in here why not? Searching I find this: "[Guide] [VS985] Flash Back To Stock - KDZ Method". Yup, once more @annoyingduck to the rescue - a repository of .KDZ files along with more helpful experience. I managed to find this thread as well: "[TOOL] KDZ and TOT Extractor" with thanks to @bullghost. Still not quite what I need yet. I found "VS985 47A - Stock Flashable Firmware" with thanks to @xdabbeb. That's the ticket! So flashed that (and the bootstack) and now I'm at least a marshmallow 6.0 version. Lost root, but kingroot was able to root (and bloat).
Now to get rid of kingroot and put on superSU instead. Search found this: "How to Remove/Replace Kingroot (KingUser) with SuperSu". There, that's better! After a reboot I have to manually remove the last vestiges of kingroot but SuperSU is happily running and the bloatware is gone. Now I can restore the phone to it's prior level of function. Play Store restored my apps, I did have to reconfigure my home screens, but I'm now back in business. What's more I've got an upgrade that I like.
Whoops! An OTA update flashes on my screen!!! NO!!!!! Okay, calm down. This took several searches to find so basically here's what I needed to do:
1. Delete the files in the /cache/fota directory - this allowed the OTA to fail without updating my phone.
2. Find the "System updates" in the application manager - there are two of them and you have to select 'system' in the drop down to see them. One of them can be disabled the other cannot.
3. Find /system/app/FOTA and rename the LGFOTA.apk file to LGFOTA.apk.bak
No, using hiddenmenu.apk or the ##PROGRAM985 or any other method does not work. Apparently Evil Corp. doesn't pay attention to this anymore and that's why I got the original update that killed me. Thanks to this post for the tips: "[PSA] NO OTAs!! | Keep Root/Unlock | How-To: Block OTA, DL SW/FW, Update Manually" and h/t to @autoprime.
So now I've got some work to do, because there's some fun to be had. I've managed to get the VS985CA .KDZ and extracted it. I've got the .img files ready. Now I just have to add su and busybox to the system image under linux and then I can flash these files to the phone using FlashFire (again CodeFire team - what can I say, you guys rock). Time to make the chimichungas!
Moral of the story here is this:
I've been playing around with android phones and root since my HTC Incredible. Xda-Developers has always been a source of good information but it only works if you use it. I found the original hiddenmenu.apk and it was the forums that gave me the invocation command to bring it up - somewhere in the original VS985 root thread I'm there contributing that information. Do the searches and you can find the answers you need without being annoying. Also give it time - these people I've mentioned throughout this post (along with many more) are working as fast AND as carefully as they can to bring the best solutions possible to problems. But you do have to do your part, if you aren't going to put the time in to learn at least the basics by reading the forums than this isn't your rodeo. I'm no expert but I do know how to think, experiment, and I have some background in linux and have some familiarity with android application development so I could understand something of what this device is doing and how it's built. If you lack that and you're going to play here my best advice is to have a backup phone - 'cause you're going to brick yours a few times before you learn that these basics are required, even if you're not going to be a "cool ROM" developer. That's the dues you pay to play. The experienced folks will realize my mistakes made, as I do, in this post. That's because they are the experts and I am not. Did I get where I wanted to get? Yes. Was it elegant? No. But having paid the dues I never needed to ask. Just admit to myself that I needed to get smarter and dug in. Besides, it was kinda nice not to be bugged by the phone for a day.
Quick update to the above...
The task to kill is com.lge.lgdmsclient. It took ES Task manager to find it. I moved the offending apps off to quarantine on my SD card after setting them to disable in the ES Task manager and no more OTA updates.

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