Hi,
Just got my new note (at&t i7171) and proceeded to root it, I believe I used a root+CWM since I can hold down volume and power, let go of power at vib and it goes to a recovery screen...
Am I good to go as far as experimenting with new ROM's? Or do I need to install NANDroid or Rom Manager (*Rom manager does not even list my note as applicable)
I have DL and used Titanium Backup Pro and SMS backup, still seems like I should be able to backup my current ROM tho, any advice on an app for that? Or do I just need to DL the touch version from here and load it via Oden?
Thanks for any help!
Edit: After reading more I realize that I need my SD card to install CWM and as I am still waiting on my 64G SD card to show up from new egg, so I guess I'll have to wait to install CWM, I think what I was seeing is the stock restore. Oh well, I learned how to root it and about 20 other mods I need to perform so It was well worth researching! Awesome site btw, I look forward to learning more!
Ohh and any advice you can give as far as getting rid of bloatware etc would be very helpfull, sure seems like it could run faster....
Make sure you do a Nandroid backup From CWM before flashing any Roms and also Titanium backup.
-Once you go NOTE, you'd say 4 inches a Joke
NOTE user:
"take a deep breath, make sure to get a good look at it, relax and slowly take it in, the size is overwhelming at first but you will have a happy ending afterwards".
Woman:
:O
You do not need an external sdcard to have cwm...i don't even have an external.
Just get an Odin flashable version of cwm...
Put in pda slot of Odin, out phone in download mode. Let them meet fall in love and do their thing, then you're good to go.
I'm partial to touch based cwm myself.
Just like cwm, but with touch screen navigation instead of volume and power button.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1584576
studacris said:
You do not need an external sdcard to have cwm...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reading comprehension is underrated nowadays.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2
Thanks for the replys, got the touch CWM loaded, however it seems I will still need my SD card to make a backup, could not seem to direct it to USB storage.
Any advice for a favorite ROM? Looking for something minimalistic, just as fast as possible for internet and game use, my stock i171 seems completely full of bloatware
What do you mean?
Cwm> backup and restore> backup to internal sdcard...
SBMech said:
Thanks for the replys, got the touch CWM loaded, however it seems I will still need my SD card to make a backup, could not seem to direct it to USB storage.
Any advice for a favorite ROM? Looking for something minimalistic, just as fast as possible for internet and game use, my stock i171 seems completely full of bloatware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you have cwm installed correctly you can save your backup to your internal SD or external once you get it. Go to recovery then select back up it will back up to your internal card, same with a rom if you down load a rom from your phone the rom will be found on your internal SD card in download folder, flash it from there. We do not use rom manager, rom manager doesn't support our notes yet. I hope this helps. I would suggest watching a few YouTube videos on roms for the note just make sure everything you do is for the ATT version and not the other versions as a lot of people have flashed the wrong stuff for the wrong note. Hope this helps
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using xda premium
Right, avoid Rom Manager.
Thanks for the help guys! I've been reading the forum for about 12 hours now, gotten most of my bloatware frozen and am now just waiting for my SD card to show up to start tinkering with my new toy
Man there is a ton of info here!
Related
Okay, so after seeing how most people have flashed their phones, I'm tempted to do this sooner rather than later.
So my phone being rooted/unlocked now.
The next step is to back up, I have Titanium Pro, am to only backup apps with it?
Is that considered a sufficient back up of the phone?
I'm running Eclair 2.1update1 - T959UVJI6
I keep reading about Odin, etc so this is throwing me for a loop as to how to do this.
Then I just download a ROM that I like, load it on my microSD and flash through there, (volume button, power button, pressing, etc)?
Thanks, appreciate any help.
You can back up everything with titanium pro. But most people use it to.restore 3rd party apps or to uninstall or freeze apps. Also make sure you have rom manager installed and flash clockwork recovery. Put your rom of choice on your internal sd card not your external micro sd card.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
Odin is mostly used when you mess up your phone and it wont work. Search around and read up and download odin and the correct files and have it on hand for.when you bork up your phone.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
koooba said:
Okay, so after seeing how most people have flashed their phones, I'm tempted to do this sooner rather than later.
So my phone being rooted/unlocked now.
The next step is to back up, I have Titanium Pro, am to only backup apps with it?
Is that considered a sufficient back up of the phone?
I'm running Eclair 2.1update1 - T959UVJI6
I keep reading about Odin, etc so this is throwing me for a loop as to how to do this.
Then I just download a ROM that I like, load it on my microSD and flash through there, (volume button, power button, pressing, etc)?
Thanks, appreciate any help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In titanium backup just click backup all app+data
Do NOT backup red text apps their system apps and will give you a headache later.
Download rom manager and click first option and flash clockwork.
Then press install rom from SD card
It will boot into recovery if its green text recovery press reinstall packages then it'll reboot and go there again click reinstall packages again.
Now its set.
Go to install zip from SD card.
Then again
And find ur rom.
Press install.
Wait till its done.
Done
GreggoryD502 said:
You can back up everything with titanium pro. But most people use it to.restore 3rd party apps or to uninstall or freeze apps. Also make sure you have rom manager installed and flash clockwork recovery. Put your rom of choice on your internal sd card not your external micro sd card.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is the free version of ROM manager sufficient or are they identical, except one has ads?
ROM manager meaning this one correct? Made by clockworld?
http://www.appbrain.com/app/rom-manager/com.koushikdutta.rommanager
Thank you.
xriderx66 said:
In titanium backup just click backup all app+data
Do NOT backup red text apps their system apps and will give you a headache later.
Download rom manager and click first option and flash clockwork.
Then press install rom from SD card
It will boot into recovery if its green text recovery press reinstall packages then it'll reboot and go there again click reinstall packages again.
Now its set.
Go to install zip from SD card.
Then again
And find ur rom.
Press install.
Wait till its done.
Done
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Don't backup the red ones? But if they're part of the system....?
I already did, so maybe I'll check my microSD card and delete it and do it over by unchecking the red? lol
Yes the free version is sufficient to flash roms.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
...and this program, correct?
http://www.appbrain.com/app/clockworkmod-launcher/com.koushikdutta.launcher2
koooba said:
Don't backup the red ones? But if they're part of the system....?
I already did, so maybe I'll check my microSD card and delete it and do it over by unchecking the red? lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its fine to back the red ones up. Just make sure after you flash a new rom that you don't restore any of the red ones. That's when you run into issues.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
Gotcha, because the ROMS already have the system files (red), overwrite issues, etc. Understood.
koooba said:
Gotcha, because the ROMS already have the system files (red), overwrite issues, etc. Understood.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The force is strong with this one!
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
lol come on now, I admit I'm a noob with all this.
I'm fairly confident with tech stuff, but hearing "bricking" etc, really got me so paranoid about it. lol
koooba said:
lol come on now, I admit I'm a noob with all this.
I'm fairly confident with tech stuff, but hearing "bricking" etc, really got me so paranoid about it. lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what you mean. I still get nervous everytime I flash something and wait for it to boot up. Just make sure you have odin and the right files loaded on your pc invade you goof up.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
lol @ nervous when booting up... that'll be me no doubt.
As for Odin, that's tomorrows adventure, getting it.
Right files on my PC? I thought everything is done strictly via the phone (flash) way. I have Kies installed and my computer does recognize the phone. I'm assuming Odin is the only concern left for me?
koooba said:
lol @ nervous when booting up... that'll be me no doubt.
As for Odin, that's tomorrows adventure, getting it.
Right files on my PC? I thought everything is done strictly via the phone (flash) way. I have Kies installed and my computer does recognize the phone. I'm assuming Odin is the only concern left for me?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have to download some files on your PC for Odin so u can go to a safe rom that wont brick on ya
Yea after you download odin you will need 2 different files. Ones a tar file and the other is a pit file. You only use these via odin. Just be patient when your waiting for it to boot up after flashing. Especially if you flashed a rom that has a voodoo kernel. It will take a good 10-15 minutes to convert. Just let it be.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
xriderx66 said:
You have to download some files on your PC for Odin so u can go to a safe rom that wont brick on ya
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm assuming that this would be sufficient for my needs.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=804850
I've looked around and this was the only place this factory ROM was available.
GreggoryD502 said:
Yea after you download odin you will need 2 different files. Ones a tar file and the other is a pit file. You only use these via odin. Just be patient when your waiting for it to boot up after flashing. Especially if you flashed a rom that has a voodoo kernel. It will take a good 10-15 minutes to convert. Just let it be.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was thinking Team Whiskey or Axura, still on the fence with either of these two.
But 10-15 minutes??
I took my SC card out and popped it into my PC, no files other than my music and pictures.
I then renamed the location from TitaniumBackup to external_sd/titaniumbackup, restarted the phone, opened TB to do a batch backup and there were no files listed. I renamed the default save location back to TitaniumBackup and the files were there.
Confusing.
How do I set the batch backups to save to my external SD card?
Or what am I doing wrong?
Im kind of confused as to what you are trying to do. Why would you want to save your titanium backups to your external sd card? There is really no reason to.
Powered by Axura with a dash of Voodoo
Hi,
I am new to Android and the Gtab. I am basically curious as to what the best way is to backup my Gtab. What software and the steps to take (what is the difference between cwm and nvflash?).
I actually like the stock rom but my biggest frustration is the lack of the market which I would like to have. Having that said, I would like to run something different on the Gtab which will support the market app and not the Gmarket app. I looked around the forums and I see lots of good tutorials but it confuses me on how I backup with my stock rom before I begin any of the tutorials to upgrade to a new rom. I feel like backing up is the biggest step and don't want to mess this up so that I can revert back if I do make a mistake down the road. I'm sure once you do this a couple of times it starts to make sense but I have not done it yet and want to make sure I understand everything before I move forward.
I am a beginner but want to be able to get more out of my Gtab. Please help.
It needs to be modded right out of the box, so how much could you have possibly gotten installed?
Ok, I'm kidding.
What are you trying to "backup"? If it's DOC's and Books, music, etc, either dump it all onto a secondary memory card, or dump your data to a PC using usb connection. As for settings like email, etc. I say skip the backup and just reinstall the stuff.
I keep all of the working installers I've found on my external SD card so if I need to wipe & start over, I just go through and click/install them again.
bnovak said:
It needs to be modded right out of the box, so how much could you have possibly gotten installed?
Ok, I'm kidding.
What are you trying to "backup"? If it's DOC's and Books, music, etc, either dump it all onto a secondary memory card, or dump your data to a PC using usb connection. As for settings like email, etc. I say skip the backup and just reinstall the stuff.
I keep all of the working installers I've found on my external SD card so if I need to wipe & start over, I just go through and click/install them again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
Thanks for the post. I think I may have not worded my question right. My fault since I am new. What I mean is what do I need to do to backup my current OS I suppose. For instance, it has android 2.2 correct? I upgraded OOTB to firmware 3588 which works well but no market. What do I need to do to back this OS up so that I can revert back to it in case of any problems? Sorry if I am still confusing you guys but like I said earlier, I am completely new and still learning the phraseology and such. Thanks!
jetguy35,
Most people get Titanium Backup and backup the apps and system with a batch file in that.
That takes care of apps.
If the whole tablet gets messed up you either NVFlash back to the bekit 1105 version
per the NVFlash recovery thread in developers, if its not too bad you reinstall the
current 3588 version from a download.
There are other ways some people suggest, but I don't recommend what I haven't used and don't know about.
Good Luck!!!
Rev
An app called Titanium Backup will allow you to back up your apps and their data.
To do a complete system backup, you'll need to get clockworkmod installed (bekit .8 version), once booted into clockworkmod there is a back up option which will back up all system files and apps.
Check this thread in the development section for installing clockworkmod:
[Sticky][Guide]Install ClockworkMod, A ROM, Flash Player, and the Market Fix
Insall clockwork mod .8 and boot to recovery and backup entire rom. ..then save a copy from internal to external sd card in case you need it.
Sent from my VEGAn-TAB-v1.0.0b5.1.1 using Tapatalk
personally (and I was in your shoes last week)
I would just go through the TNT Lite post and flash that ROM onto the tablet. If you go TNT 4.4.0 you DO NOT WANT CLOCKWORK.
It's really simple - plug in USB, copy the correct files to the tablet, push and hold pwr-volume up and give it a couple minutes.
I think the vanilla ROM is floating around so if you don't have a bunch of personalized files, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Anytime you flash it, you are going to have to add some of the programs back in anyway.
Roebeets TnT build is super fast and super stable. You won't know what hit you when you turn it on the first time.
bnovak,
That's a good idea, but not everyone is ready, or has the expertise or even wants
to move up to a ROM.
I have two tablets and one is running the experimental next generation TwoTabX ROM
that is on hold waiting for VS to do something -- and the other most of the time is
pure stock (so I can test stuff and get OTA updates etc.
When I go to work, doesn't matter which I take because both work well.
Stock is not bad!!! You should have seen the original software!!!
Rev
hi,thats me rooted my galaxy so whats the next step ? i have superuser & darkyrom 2 installed & added the zimage to sdcard and installed it,whats the best apps etc to install now im rooted & how do i install the custom roms to give my phone a better look ?
any advice would be most gratefull as im new to this rooting
kenf2210 said:
hi,thats me rooted my galaxy so whats the next step ? i have superuser & darkyrom 2 installed & added the zimage to sdcard and installed it,whats the best apps etc to install now im rooted & how do i install the custom roms to give my phone a better look ?
any advice would be most gratefull as im new to this rooting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The plan is to choose a ROM which suits your preferences, e.g. no homescreen lag, better camera apk, better access to the CPU. Try a few, I use Villianrom, which suits me really but there are loads more.
Enjoy
First is first
Backup ur efs
Then titanium
Then cwm full backup
This will keep u busy for today, you'll thank me later
Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk
hi,as i said im new to this rooting,how do i do those things ? ive looked at cwm is that only accessible through reboot hold volume up,power & home button ?whats backup efs ?? and is titanium the app which is £4.99
kenf2210 said:
hi,as i said im new to this rooting,how do i do those things ? ive looked at cwm is that only accessible through reboot hold volume up,power & home button ?whats backup efs ?? and is titanium the app which is £4.99
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
your /efs folder is in comparison to apps, data etc. the most important thing to backup since it is the only thing that cannot be restored without a proper backup if it is screwed up by a bad flash. it basically contains your product code, imei and other sensible phone related data. you can backup it easily with hellcat's kTool app from market. For safety reasons you should copy your /efs backup img from your sdcard to your pc afterwards.
Concerning your other questions, just read through the few stickies in the general and android original dev. section. all what you look for is explained there very detailed.
kenf2210 said:
hi,as i said im new to this rooting,how do i do those things ? ive looked at cwm is that only accessible through reboot hold volume up,power & home button ?whats backup efs ?? and is titanium the app which is £4.99
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If u rooted with cf kernel n haven't flashed another then yes, up+home+power >back up. Use hellcats k tool to back up efs (its on market or his thread in dev section) titanium back up is the 1st thing that comes up if you search 'titanium' on market the pro version is costs but is worth it.
Seriously tho, if you're new to android and have never rooted, give it a few weeks first otherwise you won't know what is 'better' and if you don't and end up having problems with roms you'll end up crying that you should have got an Iclone.. Just my opinion from observing this forum for a while
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
hofinho said:
your /efs folder is in comparison to apps, data etc. the most important thing to backup since it is the only thing that cannot be restored without a proper backup if it is screwed up by a bad flash. it basically contains your product code, imei and other sensible phone related data. you can backup it easily with hellcat's kTool app from market. For safety reasons you should copy your /efs backup img from your sdcard to your pc afterwards.
Concerning your other questions, just read through the few stickies in the general and android original dev. section. all what you look for is explained there very detailed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Damn... Beat me to it
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
hi,this rooting seems pretty confusing as i used to be an iphone user and jailbreaking was simple but this seems to be difficult to follow,ive been looking around the forum for step by step guide on how to install roms etc but just cant find them,would like to test this out to see if it was worth rooting but at the moment its done nothing for me or the phone its just added another few apps,it seems to me like its a lot of hassle to get different roms etc onto the phone & whats radio etc do i need to update other stuff when i try to put roms on & kernels whats that all about ????sorry chaps but im clueless to all this stuff maybe i should have stayed with apple.
and the efs backup has been done with hellcat & when connected to pc there is no backup file on my sd card ??
kenf2210 said:
hi,this rooting seems pretty confusing as i used to be an iphone user and jailbreaking was simple but this seems to be difficult to follow
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My advice is to stay away from flashing ROMs, kernels and rooting.
Use it like you used your iPhone, install games and apps from the Android Market and enjoy your phone.
Unless you've seen something you particularly want from any of the above, the risks for you are not worth it.
thinking that myself mate but how do i put the phone back to the way it was before i rooted ?
how to remove the root & go back to original way
As far as I can tell, you haven't said how you rooted - looks like you flashed a different, pre-rooted kernel. There's not a big risk staying rooted, just take extra care if you install something and you get a popup on your phone telling you it's asking for root (superuser request).
it was this
DooMLoRD_v2_ROOT-zergRush-busybox-su.zip
and installed zimage to my sd card and installed onto phone so i have superuser and darkyrom2 installed ive done nothing else.
mucking around with roms & kernels etc seem a load of hassle & dont want to destroy the phone with wrongly installed roms etc & what happens when a new update come out through kies ? do i just install it or what ?
can i not just remove the root by doing a factory reset or something ?
Of course you can easily completely revert back to your original set-up. For doing that just type *#1234# in your dialer and post here the output. I or someone else can point you to your original rom.
BUT you will never get a taste of in my opinion the greatest advantage of android: it's customability.
I promise you, you won't regret the effort it takes to educate yourself a bit about the basic knowledge you need, to do all the cool stuff which is only possible rooted. It is enough to spend some time to read regulary here on xda and you will see that everything is really not that hard. You don't have to fear, it is almost impossible to brick your phone if you just have a backup of your /efs folder, don't flash the firmware of another device on your phone and don't disconnect your usb cable in the one second a different bootloader gets flashed. I have flashed and hardcore abused my sgs1 more then 500 times (no exaggeration, i am a dev for sgs1 ) and my sgs2 also very often. Everything ( while testing stuff i went through scary errors and a literally death phone more than once) is recoverable except in the three situations i mentioned above. And you can ALWAYS go back to stock later on no matter what you have messed up.
Have a look again at the content of your sdcards (also in folders and subfolders), the efs.img or .tar has to be somewhere there, save it on your pc and the party can be started
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
And because i am a nice guy and don't want you to go back to apple here my advice for your first custom rom :
1. Follow exactly the instructions there: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1103399
Take your time to read through, everything is explained very well
2. Then you are ready to flash your first custom rom: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1288850
this is in my opinion the most stable atm. Read through the first posts, download the 2.9 zip from the post, copy it to your internal sd
3. Switch your device off and boot into recovery by pressing and holding volume up, home and power button at the same time until samsung gti9100 appears on the screen (about 5 sec.), then release the three buttons and you are in recovery mode. You can navigate with vol up and vol down and power or home button in the recovery mode. Navigate to "install from sdcard"/"choose zip from sdcard" and then select the file you have downloaded. Confirm and relax. That's all... easy or?
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
thanks for your help mate i really appreciate it,i would like to give the root a go & see if i can get the roms working etc im just scared that i muck it up, i suppose i will just need to be patient & try this out,first is to find this ems backup on my phone so i can save to my pc,ive plugged it in & its on coming up sd card & not internal memory ? any idea why that is ?
its cool about last bit ive just plugged it in again & ive found the efs.img
& is this the rom Hyperdroid Androidmeda v2.9.0 ?
kenf2210 said:
thanks for your help mate i really appreciate it,i would like to give the root a go & see if i can get the roms working etc im just scared that i muck it up, i suppose i will just need to be patient & try this out,first is to find this ems backup on my phone so i can save to my pc,ive plugged it in & its on coming up sd card & not internal memory ? any idea why that is ?
its cool about last bit ive just plugged it in again & ive found the efs.img
& is this the rom Hyperdroid Androidmeda v2.9.0 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The efs.img is stored where hellcat directed it to, i just didn't remember where. but yes it is the right file.
Yes this is the rom. You will be surprised about the speed difference compared to stock
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
hi,done it mate thanks for your help,up & running with my first rom yippeee,i take it that i can only put certain roms on the phone ? & what happens with samsung kies if it come up with new firmware update what do i do ?
kenf2210 said:
hi,done it mate thanks for your help,up & running with my first rom yippeee,i take it that i can only put certain roms on the phone ? & what happens with samsung kies if it come up with new firmware update what do i do ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
From now on you can easily forget about kies, roms here will mostly provide newest firmware long before it is out via kies. Also with odin you can always much more comfortable flash the same firmware as comes over kies.
You can flash any rom you want as long as it is for your device (gt i9100).
As i said, take your time and read across the forum and always follow the thread about the rom you run and your knowledge will improve from alone have fun bro
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium
hi,im thinking about trying a diffrent rom on my phone,i have this rom at the moment
[ROM][2.3.5][26NOV'11]δ-HyperDroid-Androidmeda-v3.0[Ker:TJKv1.0| Update3 |2.6.35.14]
is there anything better looking out there as this rom didnt seem to change much look wise,and what about themes ? can i put them on the phone ?
also if i install a new rom will it take everything of the phone apps etc ?
Hey everyone!
I have run into a little snag with my Galaxy Note... I just rooted and flashed CWM Touch Recovery to it last night by following the thread listed here. I have a Canadian version of ICS on the Rogers network. So this evening, i decided to try to run a backup within CWM, and I ran into a small problem. As the backup ran, it went through a good majority of the process, then once it got about half way through the "data" portion of the backup, an error popped up telling me there was a problem with the backing up of the data. My question is, is it necessary for that portion to complete for the image to be viable? Is the data portion just my apps? And would the rest of the image still be ok, if i want to use it? Because if the image is still whole, minus the apps, i can live with that. I don't have a problem reinstalling everything.
CWM version is 5.5.0.4 and I am using Rogers stock ICS OTA updated ROM.
***Edit I got a back up done thru the "back up to internal sd card", instead of the "backup" option.
I held out using cwm for longer than most simply because I was used to it and have it on a number of other android devices....After finally making the jump to TWRP, I would highly recommend it.
It does basically the same job with a nice GUI...and it's super fast! Backups and flashing are a breeze.
Give it a try...you can always flash back...but you won't
If the backup had an error pop up I would not use that. Delete it and either a) try again or b) flash twrp and make your backup there. You can also give your backup a name with twrp. Quite a nice, understated feature.
Sent from...
Ok, thanks guys. I managed to get it to do a backup with the second option in CWM. So once I start playing with things, I can go back if need be.
Kev
Sent from my SGH-I717R using Tapatalk 2
CWM backup fails if you have more than 4gb of photos, music, video. You possibly reached that limit.
The pictures and music and such wasn't the issue. I guess it turned out my sd card was just a hair over the needed space availability. Thanks
Sent from my SGH-I717R using Tapatalk 2
crutzulee said:
I held out using cwm for longer than most simply because I was used to it and have it on a number of other android devices....After finally making the jump to TWRP, I would highly recommend it.
It does basically the same job with a nice GUI...and it's super fast! Backups and flashing are a breeze.
Give it a try...you can always flash back...but you won't
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had the exact same experience if I had known how TWRP worked I would never have even started using CWM
Hi all,
This is the first time I've tried installing a custom ROM on my VZW S4 (i545) (MDK firmware. Yes, I held out on the OTA since May). I've got a few thoughts and a couple of questions I was hoping could be addressed. I consider myself familiar with flashing ROM's and whatnot, so I won't need hand-holding steps in answer to my questions.
Some info:
VZW S4
MDK Firmware
Recovery: OUDhs CWM Touch Req0very v1.0.3.5
I haven't taken any OTA since I got the phone back in May. This leads me to believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that I'm on Android 4.2.2?
Current ROM: AOKP Nightly Build for 10/31/2013 (MR2)
Thoughts: Holy hell, this ROM is BLAZING fast. I am missing a few features, but none I use regularly (I don't use any of the TouchWiz "smart" features. Damn battery hogs). I was able to flash this over and install GAPPS without any problems. Loading time is incredible, and I love how clean the interface is.
Questions:
Can anyone help me figure out why I cannot install CM10.2? Not sure if that's because I downloaded the wrong version or something, but after flashing it, the screen stays stuck at the Galaxy S4 logo and doesn't move. Maybe I didn't wait long enough, but it surely didn't move in any reasonably expected time (AOKP, by comparison, loaded probably <1 minute). Any thoughts on why this might be? I really want to try CM10.2, so perhaps I should try a different build?
Another question/concern: I downloaded a few different ROMs last night -- CM10.2, AOKP and st0ckdr0id. AOKP installed fine, CM10.2 froze up, but when I installed st0ckdr0id (after wiping out, of course), I got what I think is referred to as a kernel panic. The message was similar to "This phone has software installed on it that Verizon Wireless has determined to be unsafe. Please power off the phone and take to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help". In the top-left corner, it had in bold RED letters "Kernel secure: FAIL" (or similar wording). I fixed this by booting back into recovery, wiping out, and then installing AOKP again. Can anyone help me understand why this happened?
Why is only ~10GB of space still available when I -thought- I wiped out everything?
What I'm really searching for is an AOSP ROM that is very clean and light, but has SOME of the TouchWiz features. Any recommendations?
My phone only shows me as having a 3G connection, where normally I have 4G LTE. Anything I can do to fix this? Is this an issue with the ROM not detecting the right kind of radio? Bug report, perhaps?
I can't mount my external_sd in my CWM anymore. Yes, I used to be able to do it at one point, because I've done an external nandroid backup to it from within CWM in the past (as of October 29th, if the date on the backups is correct). I've read in other Google searches that it has something to do with the formatting of the SD card, but I haven't removed that SD card from my phone in a few months to have adjusted anything to do with formatting. I plugged the memory card into my Linux laptop this morning while diagnosing this and got an error about an unknown exfat partition. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Stupid question: Is there a way to -completely- wipe my internal SD card clean of all my current files? I know when I "wipe" /data I can still see all of my files from the previous installation, and I'm not ballsy enough to wipe /sdcard. I guess the question that then coincides with this is if I were able to completely wipe the phone, I assume that would wipe the recovery as well?
Sorry for some of the novice questions -- I have no problem messing with my old TF300T tablet (because NVFlash will save the day), but this is my only phone, only line of communication and SOLE way for me to answer calls for work (24/7 rotating on-call), so it is VERY important to me to ask questions and not go down for more than 1 hour.
Thanks for all help guys, its much appreciated. I hope to be able to test ROMs regularly and maybe start posting video reviews or something, who knows?
Thanks,
Opethfan89
opethfan89 said:
Hi all,
This is the first time I've tried installing a custom ROM on my VZW S4 (i545) (MDK firmware. Yes, I held out on the OTA since May). I've got a few thoughts and a couple of questions I was hoping could be addressed. I consider myself familiar with flashing ROM's and whatnot, so I won't need hand-holding steps in answer to my questions.
Some info:
VZW S4
MDK Firmware
Recovery: OUDhs CWM Touch Req0very v1.0.3.5
I haven't taken any OTA since I got the phone back in May. This leads me to believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that I'm on Android 4.2.2?
Current ROM: AOKP Nightly Build for 10/31/2013 (MR2)
Thoughts: Holy hell, this ROM is BLAZING fast. I am missing a few features, but none I use regularly (I don't use any of the TouchWiz "smart" features. Damn battery hogs). I was able to flash this over and install GAPPS without any problems. Loading time is incredible, and I love how clean the interface is.
Questions:
Can anyone help me figure out why I cannot install CM10.2? Not sure if that's because I downloaded the wrong version or something, but after flashing it, the screen stays stuck at the Galaxy S4 logo and doesn't move. Maybe I didn't wait long enough, but it surely didn't move in any reasonably expected time (AOKP, by comparison, loaded probably <1 minute). Any thoughts on why this might be? I really want to try CM10.2, so perhaps I should try a different build?
Another question/concern: I downloaded a few different ROMs last night -- CM10.2, AOKP and st0ckdr0id. AOKP installed fine, CM10.2 froze up, but when I installed st0ckdr0id (after wiping out, of course), I got what I think is referred to as a kernel panic. The message was similar to "This phone has software installed on it that Verizon Wireless has determined to be unsafe. Please power off the phone and take to the nearest Verizon Wireless store for help". In the top-left corner, it had in bold RED letters "Kernel secure: FAIL" (or similar wording). I fixed this by booting back into recovery, wiping out, and then installing AOKP again. Can anyone help me understand why this happened?
Why is only ~10GB of space still available when I -thought- I wiped out everything?
What I'm really searching for is an AOSP ROM that is very clean and light, but has SOME of the TouchWiz features. Any recommendations?
My phone only shows me as having a 3G connection, where normally I have 4G LTE. Anything I can do to fix this? Is this an issue with the ROM not detecting the right kind of radio? Bug report, perhaps?
I can't mount my external_sd in my CWM anymore. Yes, I used to be able to do it at one point, because I've done an external nandroid backup to it from within CWM in the past (as of October 29th, if the date on the backups is correct). I've read in other Google searches that it has something to do with the formatting of the SD card, but I haven't removed that SD card from my phone in a few months to have adjusted anything to do with formatting. I plugged the memory card into my Linux laptop this morning while diagnosing this and got an error about an unknown exfat partition. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Stupid question: Is there a way to -completely- wipe my internal SD card clean of all my current files? I know when I "wipe" /data I can still see all of my files from the previous installation, and I'm not ballsy enough to wipe /sdcard. I guess the question that then coincides with this is if I were able to completely wipe the phone, I assume that would wipe the recovery as well?
Sorry for some of the novice questions -- I have no problem messing with my old TF300T tablet (because NVFlash will save the day), but this is my only phone, only line of communication and SOLE way for me to answer calls for work (24/7 rotating on-call), so it is VERY important to me to ask questions and not go down for more than 1 hour.
Thanks for all help guys, its much appreciated. I hope to be able to test ROMs regularly and maybe start posting video reviews or something, who knows?
Thanks,
Opethfan89
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that's a lot. Let's see if we can get you answers.
1. Switch recoveries to twrp 2.5.0.2. I can't stress the importance of the particular version enough. There are others. This is absolutely the most stable. It's what the devs use. I think then your cm issue will be resolved.
Correct way to wipe with twrp.
1.wipe - >factory reset.
2. Advanced wipe - >check system, data, davlik, cache then wipe.
3. The go back to main screen and install rom.
2. Answered by answer one. Lots of people have lots of opinions about the various recoveries. All I can tell you is this is what all the devs use for their recovery. Can't argue with that.
3. Reserved space. It might say you have 16 gigs but a good size chunk is taking merely by formatting. Then the ROM and programs you have installed of course.
4. Honestly they are all freaking great. The aosp roms. You do the answer to number one and you can find out. DU is my fav @ this moment. Followed by beanstalk.
5. Go to mobile networks make sure your network mode is set to cdma +lte/evdo.
6. Answer 1.
7. You don't really want to wipe the entire internal SD card. Sounds good when you think it might screw you if you did it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Mightycaptain said:
Wow that's a lot. Let's see if we can get you answers.
1. Switch recoveries to twrp 2.5.0.2. I can't stress the importance of the particular version enough. There are others. This is absolutely the most stable. It's what the devs use. I think then your cm issue will be resolved.
Correct way to wipe with twrp.
1.wipe - >factory reset.
2. Advanced wipe - >check system, data, davlik, cache then wipe.
3. The go back to main screen and install rom.
2. Answered by answer one. Lots of people have lots of opinions about the various recoveries. All I can tell you is this is what all the devs use for their recovery. Can't argue with that.
3. Reserved space. It might say you have 16 gigs but a good size chunk is taking merely by formatting. Then the ROM and programs you have installed of course.
4. Honestly they are all freaking great. The aosp roms. You do the answer to number one and you can find out. DU is my fav @ this moment. Followed by beanstalk.
5. Go to mobile networks make sure your network mode is set to cdma +lte/evdo.
6. Answer 1.
7. You don't really want to wipe the entire internal SD card. Sounds good when you think it might screw you if you did it.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your response Mightycaptain! I used CWM as my first ever recovery and am kinda pressed on it, which is why I use it, but I have no issues going to TWRP if that means fixing my issues. Can you elaborate on how to install TWRP in place of my current CWM? I'll do some Googling in the meantime to try to find the answer myself. (I haven't done any flashing or rooting stuff since I got the phone in May!!)
Thanks for your answer in #5. Fixed the issue I was having.
My reason for wanting to wipe the entire internal SD card is there are still files, folders, logs and backups from when I had my previous ROM. I'm having issues restoring my nandroid backup from the night of the 7th so is it at all possible for me to salvage some of my settings, apps and file backups from those existing files? Once I fix my nandroid, I'm going to keep the nandroid backup in a safe place and I ideally want to have a completely clean phone to start from: That means getting rid of all those old files and other nonsense from before. Is this a possibility?
I'm going to spend my time today trying to extract data from my nandroid backups using ROM Toolbox Pro. If that doesn't work, I have a nandroid backup from the 31st that has 99% of the stuff I need so I'll try to restore that. If THAT doesn't work, then I'm going to cry myself to sleep while trying to remember all of my contacts
Wish me luck, and hopefully I can get some answers to my last few questions!
Thanks,
Opethfan89
opethfan89 said:
Thanks for your response Mightycaptain! I used CWM as my first ever recovery and am kinda pressed on it, which is why I use it, but I have no issues going to TWRP if that means fixing my issues. Can you elaborate on how to install TWRP in place of my current CWM? I'll do some Googling in the meantime to try to find the answer myself. (I haven't done any flashing or rooting stuff since I got the phone in May!!)
Thanks for your answer in #5. Fixed the issue I was having.
My reason for wanting to wipe the entire internal SD card is there are still files, folders, logs and backups from when I had my previous ROM. I'm having issues restoring my nandroid backup from the night of the 7th so is it at all possible for me to salvage some of my settings, apps and file backups from those existing files? Once I fix my nandroid, I'm going to keep the nandroid backup in a safe place and I ideally want to have a completely clean phone to start from: That means getting rid of all those old files and other nonsense from before. Is this a possibility?
I'm going to spend my time today trying to extract data from my nandroid backups using ROM Toolbox Pro. If that doesn't work, I have a nandroid backup from the 31st that has 99% of the stuff I need so I'll try to restore that. If THAT doesn't work, then I'm going to cry myself to sleep while trying to remember all of my contacts
Wish me luck, and hopefully I can get some answers to my last few questions!
Thanks,
Opethfan89
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check my post here for twrp 2.5.0.2.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47275165
You can flash it in your current recovery. It overwrites CWM. I would make sure you have a flashable for CWM just in case you need to go back for some reason. Also the backups between those 2 recoveries are not compatible. But I would nandroid with CWM before flashing twrp. I would also change were you recovery is pointing to for storage to the external SD if you haven't already. After you have cut your current backup and past it there. You can use rom toolbox pro to back up your contacts and restore it once you flash a new ROM.
Now as good advice going forward I would add your contacts to your Google account. That way when you flash new stuff or drop your phone in the toilet as soon as you add your Google account to the phone all those contacts will automatically download. But it is always a good idea to use tibu or rom toolbox pro to back up all your apps and seeing and use that after flashing roms to restore apps and settings.
But honestly I'd nandroid, move my contacts to Google, make app backups. Flash twrp. Then start flashing roms. You could be doing it in an hour. After you flash twrp make another nandroid so you have a twrp compatible backup. Then in a day or so of you are happy with everything delete the CWM backups for space.
Edit: as to extracting things from your current nandroid. Not sure if that is possible for one thing it is compressed not sure how that would work unless you are doing a full restore.
Also for future reference with TWRP. When restoring nandroid wipe like your flashing a new rom before restoring.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Mightycaptain said:
Check my post here for twrp 2.5.0.2.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47275165
You can flash it in your current recovery. It overwrites CWM. I would make sure you have a flashable for CWM just in case you need to go back for some reason. Also the backups between those 2 recoveries are not compatible. But I would nandroid with CWM before flashing twrp. I would also change were you recovery is pointing to for storage to the external SD if you haven't already. After you have cut your current backup and past it there. You can use rom toolbox pro to back up your contacts and restore it once you flash a new ROM.
Now as good advice going forward I would add your contacts to your Google account. That way when you flash new stuff or drop your phone in the toilet as soon as you add your Google account to the phone all those contacts will automatically download. But it is always a good idea to use tibu or rom toolbox pro to back up all your apps and seeing and use that after flashing roms to restore apps and settings.
But honestly I'd nandroid, move my contacts to Google, make app backups. Flash twrp. Then start flashing roms. You could be doing it in an hour. After you flash twrp make another nandroid so you have a twrp compatible backup. Then in a day or so of you are happy with everything delete the CWM backups for space.
Edit: as to extracting things from your current nandroid. Not sure if that is possible for one thing it is compressed not sure how that would work unless you are doing a full restore.
Also for future reference with TWRP. When restoring nandroid wipe like your flashing a new rom before restoring.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hey thanks again for your quick response!! I'm glad I checked this first, because I'm in my ROM Toolbox app atm and it has an option to let me install TWRP 2.5.0.2 from within the app itself. Should I do it this way?
I will be adding all contacts to Google from now on. Unfortunately I saved all my stuff to my Verizon backup assistant so I just need one last shot at my phone to save all those contacts (manually, if I must) and be able to enter them onto the new ROM.
By "flash it in your current recovery" I assume you mean download the .zip, place it on my internal /sdcard, and then "flash" it just like I would flash a ROM, right?
I'm sure I have a "flashable" for CWM somewhere but like I said, I haven't done any of this stuff on this phone since I first bought it, and things have changed so much with everyone having OTA's and being locked out that I'm not sure what process is the same or what has changed. I can't afford to lose this phone so I'm hesitant to go balls to the wall to try things.
I will try the things you've listed here. Seems like a nandroid + TiBu + Google Contacts is my best bet to get up and running each time I decide to try a new ROM.
Thanks again!
opethfan89 said:
Hey thanks again for your quick response!! I'm glad I checked this first, because I'm in my ROM Toolbox app atm and it has an option to let me install TWRP 2.5.0.2 from within the app itself. Should I do it this way?
I will be adding all contacts to Google from now on. Unfortunately I saved all my stuff to my Verizon backup assistant so I just need one last shot at my phone to save all those contacts (manually, if I must) and be able to enter them onto the new ROM.
By "flash it in your current recovery" I assume you mean download the .zip, place it on my internal /sdcard, and then "flash" it just like I would flash a ROM, right?
I'm sure I have a "flashable" for CWM somewhere but like I said, I haven't done any of this stuff on this phone since I first bought it, and things have changed so much with everyone having OTA's and being locked out that I'm not sure what process is the same or what has changed. I can't afford to lose this phone so I'm hesitant to go balls to the wall to try things.
I will try the things you've listed here. Seems like a nandroid + TiBu + Google Contacts is my best bet to get up and running each time I decide to try a new ROM.
Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Understand the hesitancy completely. But with nodding comes risk. It is always about whether you can accept the worst possible outcome.
Rom toolbox pro flashing recovery? I don't know never tried it.
Yes I would download the recovery. Leave it on SD card reboot to recovery and flash like a rom.
Yes nandroid tibu and saving your contacts to Google is the quickest way to get up and running again.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Mightycaptain said:
Understand the hesitancy completely. But with nodding comes risk. It is always about whether you can accept the worst possible outcome.
Rom toolbox pro flashing recovery? I don't know never tried it.
Yes I would download the recovery. Leave it on SD card reboot to recovery and flash like a rom.
Yes nandroid tibu and saving your contacts to Google is the quickest way to get up and running again.
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mighty, just wanted to report that flashing TWRP 2.5.0.2 from within ROM Toolbox Pro worked like a charm. I'm on TWRP as we speak.
Thank you so much for your responses. If anyone else has anything to add, or a different response to my questions, please do so! In the meantime, I'm going to try to figure out how to get my nandroid backup working...
Cheers!
*EDIT* Made a backup with TWRP (whose interface is bloody phenomenal, btw), flashed CWM and its working like a charm!! Going to try the st0ckdr0id one as well. Still working on getting that nandroid working so I can recover my stuff and get to customizing!