Related
So, it's been about 8 months since I rooted my phone and I'm startin to want to learn more...
I rooted my phone and installed xtrSENSE4.0.6.1 ROM and I've spent the past 14 hours today, reading here and androidforums seein what options I've got now. I'm debating upgrading to the newer xtrSENSE...but I'd like to learn to customize/theme everything as much as possible, so I'm not sure if that's the right option for me?
I'm looking for some direction on things, what ROM would you guys recommend moving to, I LOVE my current ones performance.
My only internet access is through my phone, I'm using wireless teather to type this now, so errors are no option for me, saddly.
I only use the basics of my phone, calls, text/mms, camera, internet, youtube, music player so less is more for me...out of the 7 screens, I barely qualify for using 3, I play most of the Storm8 games, but other than that, don't use much of the stock apps and would like to rid of as many as possible...if possible
I see now, that we've got an option for an improved boot without trackball required, which sounds like something that I should install, just as a precautionary to be on the safe side of things...
I've been reading the "How to theme" threads but I get kinda lost, even in the super noob easy ones...I'm feeling lost as to what I should do, I need step by step with visual...I feel re tarded!
i have become quite fond of the cm7 roms. they run fast and smooth. they all (i think, i know tazz and shed) have wireless tether working. you will lose sense with any cm7 though. themeing in cm7 is made especially easy in cm7 through t-mobiles theme engine. all you do is download and install a theme from the market, run the tmobile theme program, select the theme, and reboot. if you decide to go with a different rom, most themes are through metamorph which there should be several threads on. the froyo roims are also very stable. however, tazz's froyo with sense is the most complete sense on 2.2 and it is missing the camera and bluetooth audio. i saw you use the camera and so 2.2 sense may not be an option for you. it does have wireless tether though. if you like sense then a 2.1 like xtrsense is the way to go. the themes section should have all the information you need to get you up and theming. the only caution is to make sure the theme you select/apply is designed for your rom. amon ra recovery is usually the best way to go especially if you do not routinely check md5sums. the trackball usually starts to scroll left before failing, so unless you have that issue already, you probably do not need the trackballless recovery. however, as you suggested it is often better to be safe now then sorry later, i would pick an amon ra needing trackball over a clockwork without trackball since amon ra checks file integrity before flashing to try to avoid bricking you phone.
Thanks for the insight, yeah, I'm runnin xtrSENSE right now, it's what I flashed 8 months ago and have left it, there's a new version now, I started thinking though, maybe I should try somethin else, and something that I can theme.
I'm a minimalist which is why I was thinking maybe a NON-SENSE might be better suited for me. From what I understand, the SENSE ROMs are harder to theme and the CyanogenMod ROMs are probably going to be more what I'm looking for, since they're suppose to be easier to theme?
I'm kinda lookin for opinions and basics of things to get started learning some more customization skills. I'm also a windows guy and am lacking knowledge in MAC and Linux, which is seemingly where Andriod is based.
KamikazeChris said:
Thanks for the insight, yeah, I'm runnin xtrSENSE right now, it's what I flashed 8 months ago and have left it, there's a new version now, I started thinking though, maybe I should try somethin else, and something that I can theme.
I'm a minimalist which is why I was thinking maybe a NON-SENSE might be better suited for me. From what I understand, the SENSE ROMs are harder to theme and the CyanogenMod ROMs are probably going to be more what I'm looking for, since they're suppose to be easier to theme?
I'm kinda lookin for opinions and basics of things to get started learning some more customization skills. I'm also a windows guy and am lacking knowledge in MAC and Linux, which is seemingly where Andriod is based.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vanilla ROMs and CM ROMs are definately easier to theme than Sense ROMs. Here's a good thread you can look through if you want to learn more. This is where I learned a lot.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
Also all the devs here are very helpful and will always help in any way they can.
CondemnedSoul said:
Vanilla ROMs and CM ROMs are definately easier to theme than Sense ROMs. Here's a good thread you can look through if you want to learn more. This is where I learned a lot.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=916814
Also all the devs here are very helpful and will always help in any way they can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've been spendin most of my time reading that thread and the threads linked in there, there's a lot to read!
What's a good day to day, stable Vanilla or CM ROM? Are those all AOSP? or just the CM's? Maybe I'll just have to flash'em until I find one I like, then go from there with learning Themeing
if you are looking for a cm7 rom, i am currently using gingershedbread 1.6 although i have also used tazz's and it works equally as well. i had been using froyoshedyo previously as it is a very stable 2.3 cm6.2.
I personally run gsb 1.6 an i really like it...but before that i ran nonsensikal black and blue
Sent from my GSBv1.6-ERIS using XDA App
I'm running tazz blackened gingerbread now coming from his cm7 v6. Both are running great. The best thing to do though is try a few and see what you like best and what runs nest on your phone.
Sent from my Blackened Ginger using XDA App
I've downloaded both tenzomonks Vanilla 2.0.4. and Worksheds GSBv1.6 I'll have to check each of'em out Was gonna DL Tazz Froyos GB too and compare the three.
As for icons and what not, I know there's packages and theme zips you can download and pull images/icons and things from those, but can you pull from ROM's themselves? Without installing to the phone?
KamikazeChris said:
I've downloaded both tenzomonks Vanilla 2.0.4. and Worksheds GSBv1.6 I'll have to check each of'em out Was gonna DL Tazz Froyos GB too and compare the three.
As for icons and what not, I know there's packages and theme zips you can download and pull images/icons and things from those, but can you pull from ROM's themselves? Without installing to the phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. Just open the zip and go through and find what you want. A lot of the icon's could be located within apk files which can be opened with 7zip or winrar. If they are theme icons then they might be located elsewhere. Just browse around until you find what you want lol That's what I did.
Well...I've got fewer than 10 posts so I'm stuck postin this question here rather than in the Vanilla ROM thread...
I flashed the Vanilla 2.0.4. ROM succesfully to my phone, but when doing a wipe, the Wipe SD:ext partition failed, I tried twice, failed both times, proceeded to install the ROM and everything went fine, I'm just wondering if that's going to cause any problems in the future?
I'm also wondering if I can totally format my SDcard and have a fresh phone, I've got everything backed up on the computer so I wouldn't think it'd be a big deal if an error occured, I could just put everything back on via backup on computer, right? Mabye, delete one at a time on the sd? Just would like to clean up a bit
KamikazeChris said:
Well...I've got fewer than 10 posts so I'm stuck postin this question here rather than in the Vanilla ROM thread...
I flashed the Vanilla 2.0.4. ROM succesfully to my phone, but when doing a wipe, the Wipe SD:ext partition failed, I tried twice, failed both times, proceeded to install the ROM and everything went fine, I'm just wondering if that's going to cause any problems in the future?
I'm also wondering if I can totally format my SDcard and have a fresh phone, I've got everything backed up on the computer so I wouldn't think it'd be a big deal if an error occured, I could just put everything back on via backup on computer, right? Mabye, delete one at a time on the sd? Just would like to clean up a bit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm not to familiar with tenzomonk's rom. most roms do not require you to wipe the sd card unless you need to change the partitions on it. however, i am not sure why your wipe of the sd card failed. if you are running windows, you can boot to recovery, mount sd card in recovery (very easy if you are running amons), when it shows up in your drive list, right click and format. then copy your flashable rom file to your sd card, unmount, rewipe data, reflash.
KamikazeChris said:
I flashed the Vanilla 2.0.4. ROM succesfully to my phone, but when doing a wipe, the Wipe SD:ext partition failed, I tried twice, failed both times, proceeded to install the ROM and everything went fine, I'm just wondering if that's going to cause any problems in the future?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you put an ext2 or ext3 partition on to your SD card? In other words, your SD card is normally a single FAT32 partition. Amon's Recovery gives you the option to create an ext2 partition and a swap partition - generally for apps2sd on 2.1 ROMs for the Eris - and also a way to convert that ext2 partition to ext3.
Wipe:ext will wipe an ext2 or ext3 partition on your SD card if you have one. It will not wipe the normal FAT32 partition on the SD card.
If you did not create an ext2 or ext3 partition on your SD card, then wipe:ext does nothing.
Yeah, I've never done anything to the SD so I'm assuming it's FAT32 and that's why it failed then, thanks, now I know why.
I've been trying to change the keyboard on this ROM with no luck, in the Vanilla ROM thread, there's a link to an HTC_IME.apk for the sense style keyboard, but when I installed those, nothing happend, I followed all instructions for setting up, using EStrong to install, then switching from android keyboard to multi-touch and the first install, the milti-touch wouldn't pop up, then I uninstalled/reinstalled and it "works" but the only difference between the two is the background color, milti is grey, droid is black...
I've got a few other things I'm wanting to change but I can't post in the Vanilla thread yet so I thank you guys for all your support and suggestions in this thread thus far
One other thing now too, I forgot to mention, I've only messed with this keyboard change and I've installed Dolphin browser, and it pops up saying storage space is low, yet under phone storage sdcard, it says available space is 6.17gb out of 7.39gb and phone storage is 139mb
KamikazeChris said:
Yeah, I've never done anything to the SD so I'm assuming it's FAT32 and that's why it failed then, thanks, now I know why.
I've been trying to change the keyboard on this ROM with no luck, in the Vanilla ROM thread, there's a link to an HTC_IME.apk for the sense style keyboard, but when I installed those, nothing happend, I followed all instructions for setting up, using EStrong to install, then switching from android keyboard to multi-touch and the first install, the milti-touch wouldn't pop up, then I uninstalled/reinstalled and it "works" but the only difference between the two is the background color, milti is grey, droid is black...
I've got a few other things I'm wanting to change but I can't post in the Vanilla thread yet so I thank you guys for all your support and suggestions in this thread thus far
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is a nifty keyboard solution i found. It is an online kitchen that lets you make your own custom keyboard. As far as i know, it would work with your ROM. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=654179 . I have personally used it and found it to be quite user friendly, easy to use, and free. I used it on KaosFroyo v32 FYI.
KamikazeChris said:
One other thing now too, I forgot to mention, I've only messed with this keyboard change and I've installed Dolphin browser, and it pops up saying storage space is low, yet under phone storage sdcard, it says available space is 6.17gb out of 7.39gb and phone storage is 139mb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does it give you the "low space" notification in the status bar? If so, when you go to menu->settings->storage "internal storage" What is listed as your available space? Is that where you see the 139mb free? Could be a rom issue? With GingerShedBreaad 1.7 and about 50 apps installed, I have 67mb free and never get the status bar "low space" notification.
mjb413 said:
This is a nifty keyboard solution i found. It is an online kitchen that lets you make your own custom keyboard. As far as i know, it would work with your ROM. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=654179 . I have personally used it and found it to be quite user friendly, easy to use, and free. I used it on KaosFroyo v32 FYI.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried that one too, same results
mjb413 said:
Does it give you the "low space" notification in the status bar? If so, when you go to menu->settings->storage "internal storage" What is listed as your available space? Is that where you see the 139mb free? Could be a rom issue? With GingerShedBreaad 1.7 and about 50 apps installed, I have 67mb free and never get the status bar "low space" notification.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
To quote myself:
KamikazeChris said:
One other thing now too, I forgot to mention, I've only messed with this keyboard change and I've installed Dolphin browser, and it pops up saying storage space is low, yet under phone storage sdcard, it says available space is 6.17gb out of 7.39gb and phone storage is 139mb
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So I'm wondering if maybe I should wipe and reinstall this ROM again, and maybe clear my SDcard as well, any suggestions on what format to run on the SD if I do format? The low storage notification pops up when I long press to switch keyboards, nothing in status bar
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!
Ok so i was having some laggy issues w the x2 and all the sudden i started getting process not working for things like nova laucher and such. SO i went into BSR to wipe cache and fix the permissions. Did that and now the phone sits on the Big M boot screen. Why wont it boot up. I didnt wipe dat or try to flash anything. Any way to get the phone up and runnig again w/ o SBF'g
jeff5347 said:
Ok so i was having some laggy issues w the x2 and all the sudden i started getting process not working for things like nova laucher and such. SO i went into BSR to wipe cache and fix the permissions. Did that and now the phone sits on the Big M boot screen. Why wont it boot up. I didnt wipe dat or try to flash anything. Any way to get the phone up and runnig again w/ o SBF'g
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well what ROM are you using for starters.
that might be important right.. .sorry.. its aokp 6
Ok. Well if you can get back into BSR, try and wipe the dalvik cache in the advance settings. I never use the fix permissions option. Maybe that did something to your device.
did that too. Still on the boot logo. is a sbf in order
jeff5347 said:
did that too. Still on the boot logo. is a sbf in order
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well I wouldnt see why it would do that if you just wiped cache and fixed permissions. Did you have any other mods on there? Were you using the patched CM7 BSR and not the original one?
i was using the motodx2_bootstrap_signed.apk. Not sure if the cm7 or not. Ive used this on eclipse and aokp
jeff5347 said:
i was using the motodx2_bootstrap_signed.apk. Not sure if the cm7 or not. Ive used this on eclipse and aokp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That one is fine to use on Eclipse. But pretty much any other ROM we have (CM7, CM9, CM10, AOKP, Paranoid Android and I think even MIUI), you need to use the CM7 BSR named "MOTODX2_Bootstrap-CM7-signed.apk" which is found in the CM7 thread. That may have been the problem.
really... damn. i dl'd it so when i flash cm10 but did not install it for thw aokp. Just off your thoughts is the cm10 stable enough now to install. i have no prob putting aokp back on but im nott looking for stability problems. If cm10 isnt stable yet i van wait
jeff5347 said:
really... damn. i dl'd it so when i flash cm10 but did not install it for thw aokp. Just off your thoughts is the cm10 stable enough now to install. i have no prob putting aokp back on but im nott looking for stability problems. If cm10 isnt stable yet i van wait
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think CM10 is more stable than any of the ICS ROMs. But with the stability, there comes other small issues that the ICS ROMs dont have. Its a trade off. Main issues of CM10:
1. Messing with bluetooth may cause phone to crash durring calls. Reboot fixes it until bluetooth is messed with again. (Might be fixed with an update)
2. Storage is in a different location. Not really an issue but its also swapped back to the original 4gigs for the internal. All your files will be flipped after using other ROMs for so long. (not a huge deal)
3. Due to the storage being moved around, apps that are stored on the SD card will disappear after reboot. (will probably be fixed in the future)
4. Flashing ROMs in recovery wont work. If any update comes out, you have to either SBF and update or nandroid back to ICS and update. (again, not a huge issue)
Other than that, I cant really think of any bad stuff. Its faster and I have no random reboots. I recommend it if you can live with the issues I mentioned which are honestly not bad.
Also, with the BSR files, in case you dont know already. When you are on stock 2.3.4, you first use the original BSR. Then when you flash CM10, you install the CM7 BSR.
Thanks JS
1. I never use blue tooth so then i should be all set then.. correct?
2. didnt aokp have that. I know the eclipse rom had the flip flop in it to read right but aokp i had to move my music and such so wouldnt i still be in the same boat or is it different than oakp?
3. i have some apps.. such as thems i have downloaded off of xda. So once installed they will work but rebooting will make them dissapear? is there a way to put these on the phone memory? Also curious i have google drive and have some of these installed on the drive. Will they still work or do they just dl to the sd and still not work?
4 i dont have a problem sbf'g but wondering if i nandroid the a2, will i be able to sbf, install root, a3 ect and do a data restore to get my info back?
also i will take the cm7 bsr and remeber that. Thanks
jeff5347 said:
Thanks JS
1. I never use blue tooth so then i should be all set then.. correct?
2. didnt aokp have that. I know the eclipse rom had the flip flop in it to read right but aokp i had to move my music and such so wouldnt i still be in the same boat or is it different than oakp?
3. i have some apps.. such as thems i have downloaded off of xda. So once installed they will work but rebooting will make them dissapear? is there a way to put these on the phone memory? Also curious i have google drive and have some of these installed on the drive. Will they still work or do they just dl to the sd and still not work?
4 i dont have a problem sbf'g but wondering if i nandroid the a2, will i be able to sbf, install root, a3 ect and do a data restore to get my info back?
also i will take the cm7 bsr and remeber that. Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. I use bluetooth every now and then but I never turn it off. It seems that toggling the bluetooth on and off or visa versa triggers the issue and a reboot fixes it again.
2. I forget what Eclipse had. Its been so long. But ever since CM7, the flip flop mod has been included in all the ROMs which meant you got your SD card (which the droid X2 comes with 8GB) as internal storage and the actual 4GB internal storage was turned into the "external storage." CM10 reverted back to the original 4GB internal and 8GB external.
3. Everything you download and install on your phone will usually be installed on the internal storage. I think if you have apps over a certain size (which isnt very many. Mostly games), they are installed on your SD card. Those are the ones the system has a problem reading after a reboot. the actual files you have downloaded from XDA will still be there. Just installed apps might disappear.
4. Not really sure what you are asking here. But if you get A2 installed and up and running and A3 comes out, You will pretty much need to start over. But for me, thats fine. I use Titanium Backup and restore everything after a wipe anyway. What data are you referring to?
ok so this is the gapps md5
MD5sum: f62cfe4a827202899919fd932d5246d7
and gapps-jb-20120726-signed.zip
is this correct
jeff5347 said:
ok so this is the gapps md5
MD5sum: f62cfe4a827202899919fd932d5246d7
and gapps-jb-20120726-signed.zip
is this correct
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly, I dont even know what MD5sum means. I'm not that tech smart. lol. I know thats the right file name though. And if you got it from here: http://goo.im/gapps you should be fine.
hahaha neither do i lol yea thats where i got it.. again thank you
No problem. If you have any other issues, just reply here and I'll help out.
one last th. sbf'd. trying t oroot with petes like i always have but it wont recognize the phone i enables debugging and unknown sources. Am i forgetting something. havent done this in a bit
jeff5347 said:
one last th. sbf'd. trying t oroot with petes like i always have but it wont recognize the phone i enables debugging and unknown sources. Am i forgetting something. havent done this in a bit
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pete's can be a PITA... If usb debug is enabled and unkown sources is checked just keep trying. I've had to "one click" 5 or 6 times before it works right. Close the program between tries. Also make sure your phone isn't in PC charge mode or anything.
Sorry for not updating this. After trying for 2 hrs I started trying everything. It turned out I had to use the cable that came w the dx2. No other cables worked
Sent from my MB870 using xda premium
Ah, my bad I should have read the time stamp. Anyway yea, the cable is a big deal (even though that sounds crazy.)
---------- Post added at 10:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 PM ----------
Lol oh and btw MD5 checksums are
"The MD5 checksum for a file is a 128-bit value, something like a fingerprint of the file. There is a very small possibility of getting two identical checksums of two different files. This feature can be useful both for comparing the files and their integrity control."
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!
OK, first a bit of backstory: my i9100 was the first smartphone I ever owned. With the help of XDA, I quickly went from "n00b" to "advanced n00b", mainly just theming and tweaking things to my liking. I'm no graphics designer, but I was proud of some of the things I was able to do, especially considering I had absolutely no experience with these kinds of things when I started out. You know, exactly the kind of thing that makes both Android and XDA awesome. Eventually, though, life got more hectic and I had no spare time to dedicate to theming my phone. Also, I decided I wanted to try out AOSP roms, which I ended up loving. Now, my S2 is the backup for my backup phone, functioning mostly as an alarm clock.
With that out of the way, here's my problem. Because I don't actually need this phone to be particularly functional, I'd like to revert my device to what it was before, running WanamLite 12.5 with my themed apk's flashed over it, just for nostalgia. Unfortunately, my CWM backup got lost over the years, it was probably on an SD card that I swapped over to one of my other phones and accidentally got deleted. The WanamLite zip, along with my theme's zip and even the SpeedMod kernel zip I was using are all still on my internal sd, untouched for years. The rom and kernel flash without any issues, the problem is when I try to flash the theme zip, I get "E:Can't open /sdcard/Download/filename.zip (bad)" and the install stops. All the other zips that have been sitting there just as long flash perfectly, so I don't see why that one alone would be corrupted. SuperSU and BusyBox are both installed correctly, and I don't recall ever having to do anything special before when I flashed my zip over the installed rom.
I know this is a long, long shot, but if anyone has any ideas or workarounds I would love to hear them! Thanks!