[GUIDE] How to port ROMs to the Galaxy Players - Samsung Galaxy Player 4.0, 5.0

How to port ROMs to the Galaxy Player series​
The Galaxy Player range of devices have a lot of potential, but we could do with some more development going on. I'm mainly writing this guide to encourage more people to develop their own roms eventually and this will provide a good starting point. This guide will help you to create a CWM flashable rom.
WARNING:
This is an experimental method which means that it will not always work, especially for roms which have manufacturer skins such as Touchwiz, Sense etc...
Required packages, programs etc:
For this guide, you will require:
A Samsung Galaxy Player with CWM recovery
A USB cable or any other method to transfer files to your device
An archive explorer such as 7zip or Winrar although any archive explorer should do.
A text editor - I highly recommend Notepad++
A nandroid backup or some sort of recovery rom that you can restore from in case something goes wrong
Apktool for advanced users who want to edit system apps
Instructions:
Find a ROM you want to port and pm/email the dev asking for their permission to port it. This is probably the most important step in the process. Wait a few days for a reply if you have to. The most annoying thing for a dev to see are unauthorised ports - its happened to me and its not nice. If you have no reply after a week, it might be a better idea to move onto a different ROM. If the original dev refuses to allow you access to their work, then do not keep bugging them about it and move onto a new project. The galaxy players are ARM v7 devices so pick a rom from an ARM v7 device to port. A very large list of devices and their processor architecture type is available here.​
Once you have the permission of the original dev, you should download the ROM you want to port. To keep things simple, let's rename it to Original. Then you need a base ROM from your device. If you are porting a GB ROM, use a CM7 or similar base. If you are porting an ICS ROM, use a CM9 or similar base. Let's rename this to Player. Bear in mind that your ported rom will have the same issues that your base rom has so its a good idea to pick the most bug free rom as a base. It's also a good idea to use open source roms as a base as they usually have more support over a range of devices so it may be easier to fix bugs.​
Open both ROMs side by side using an archive explorer. Open the system folder and delete the app, framework and media folders from Player. Then select the app, framework and media folders from Original and copy them to Player​
Navigate to Player/META-INF/com/google/android and open the updater-script in a text editor such as Notepad++. Edit the ui_print lines so those lines match the corresponding lines in the Original rom. Feel free to edit any of the lines, but it is best to modify as little as possible if you are unsure of what you are doing.​
You will now have a functional port of a rom, so you can copy Player to your device and flash it. If the rom boots then great! If the rom fails to boot, check the basic troubleshooting section below.​
If you want to make changes to some of the system apps, such as theming or changing their layout, use apktool to decompile them. Then you can edit the apps and recompile them properly. System apps must have the correct signature or your rom will not boot correctly. Check the troubleshooting section below for instructions on how to correctly sign system apps​
Important
Remember this is not the end of development. In most scenarios this method will work, but there will be certain cases where the rom won't boot or certain aspects will not work.
Although the rom will have basic functionality, you should add your own tweaks to improve the functionality of your rom. You can port a fairly stock like rom such as CM9 and you can make it into your own rom by adding speed tweaks, theming the system apps, adding unique features and anything else you can think of.
If you choose to release your ported rom, you must give credit to the original developer and it's usually a good idea to give credit to the developer of the base rom you used. In addition, Please be aware that users will be asking you for help with any issues they occur, so be prepared to provide support. It's always a good idea to test your rom yourself to make sure it actually does what you claim it does.
Basic Troubleshooting
My rom doesn't boot. What should I do?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are many reasons why a rom may not boot and the first thing you should do is obtain a logcat. My preferred method of doing so is to first install the Android SDK and then you need to set up your environment variables so your PATH variable is set to the location of Android-SDK/platform-tools. Then you should open a terminal window or command promt and enter adb logcat > [folder path]/logcat.txt . The logcat can then be opened in a text editor and look through it to see if there are any errors where a fatal error or something similar occurs.
Another thing you can try is to copy libandroid_runtime.so from Original to Player and see if the rom boots.
If this also fails then you can try copying LMprec_508.emd and PFFprec_600.emd from /system/media from the Base rom (you may need to redownload it) and copy it to /system/media of Player. Then flash the .zip file again to see if it now boots.
More to follow
Tips and tricks
My file host of preference is Mediafire as it typically has the fastest downloads. However some people cannot access Mediafire so it might be useful to have other mirrors available
Screenshots are a good way of showing people what your rom looks like so people can see whether they would like to try your rom
A changelog is useful for people to see what's new in the latest version so they know whether it is worth updating
You must be willing to take criticism and you must be able to be critical about your own work. Nobody knows everything, so if someone makes a suggestion that you don't like, try and see whether they actually have a vaild point. Also use Google and the XDA website to find fixes to issues instead of ignoring them as this will aid your development work in the long run.
Don't be afraid to ask for help!

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Is it possible to port paranoid android rom with this method ?
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app

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GalaxySWifi4 said:
Is it possible to port paranoid android rom with this method ?
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paranoid Android is a pretty complex ROM so its pretty likely that this method will not work. However, it would be worth a try to port the PA ROM for the 5.0 as the 4.0 and 5.0 have pretty similar hardware.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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My port won't boot, netd won't start according to the logcat
I/Netd ( 1003): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1030): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1056): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1083): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1109): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1137): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1163): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1190): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1216): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1243): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1269): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1296): Netd 1.0 starting

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theraf said:
My port won't boot, netd won't start according to the logcat
I/Netd ( 1003): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1030): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1056): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1083): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1109): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1137): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1163): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1190): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1216): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1243): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1269): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1296): Netd 1.0 starting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which ROM are you trying to port and from which device? You might have missed out a step. I think it might be a problem with the libs not being compatible with the ported framework. I'm currently away from my computer so I can help you much so I'd advise you to Google the error to look for any possible fixes
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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provision rom from galaxy nexus
it's something to do with the runtime libs apparently

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theraf said:
provision rom from galaxy nexus
it's something to do with the runtime libs apparently
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Which galaxy player do you have? Try copying the libandroid_runtime.so from the gnex ROM to your port
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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4.0, already have and it didn't work i also tried copying libsqlite.so and libsqlite_jni.so
solved that error by copying player runtime.so and using gnex libsqlite.so and libsqlite_jni.so except now logcat is spamming with errors
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru :Else 1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1

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theraf said:
4.0, already have and it didn't work i also tried copying libsqlite.so and libsqlite_jni.so
solved that error by copying player runtime.so and using gnex libsqlite.so and libsqlite_jni.so except now logcat is spamming with errors
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru :Else 1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 0, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1000, index = -1
E/MediaProfiles( 229): Guru : quality = 1001, index = -1
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try removing the retouch binaries code from the updater-script and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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Supermaster34 said:
Try removing the retouch binaries code from the updater-script and see if it makes a difference
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i also get a load of errors from libc.so libwebcore.so libnativehelper.so and libdvm.so
so i replaced them with the gnex's
MEDIAPROFILE error is persisting

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theraf said:
i also get a load of errors from libc.so libwebcore.so libnativehelper.so and libdvm.so
so i replaced them with the gnex's
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Theoretically using libs from other devices will not work. Do the errors go away when you replace the libs? Also did you do the long winded installation for the rom? It might be a problem with the kernel

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Supermaster34 said:
Do the errors go away when you replace the libs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes
Supermaster34 said:
Also did you do the long winded installation for the rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes
apparently my new errors are due to the fact that I didn't do a full wipe between each flash...if it boots i'll feel like an idiot

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What would happen if say tried to port a jelly bean ROM with a base of an ICS rom?

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Karim.younus said:
What would happen if say tried to port a jelly bean ROM with a base of an ICS rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It won't boot
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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Karim.younus said:
What would happen if say tried to port a jelly bean ROM with a base of an ICS rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it wouldn't work and besides there is not kernel support for jelly bean
looks like supermaster and i posted at exactly the same time

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theraf said:
it wouldn't work and besides there is not kernel support for jelly bean
looks like supermaster and i posted at exactly the same time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did your ROM boot after a full wipe?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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Supermaster34 said:
Did your ROM boot after a full wipe?
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nope, please look at the logcat on post #12

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theraf said:
nope, please look at the logcat on post #12
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try and help you but remember that it is up to you to fix any errors in your rom
Sent from my Nexus 7 using XDA Premium HD app

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OK. I'll start porting and adding stuff to ROMs when Jelly Bean gets going which will hopefully be when the Jelly Bean thread gets some info.

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theraf said:
My port won't boot, netd won't start according to the logcat
I/Netd ( 1003): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1030): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1056): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1083): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1109): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1137): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1163): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1190): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1216): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1243): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1269): Netd 1.0 starting
I/Netd ( 1296): Netd 1.0 starting
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The error has to do with your kernel config.You need to turn the dependencies and NETFILTERS on.