Alright, I hope I have this in the right place. I just recently flashed the TerraSilent Kernel for the Galaxy Player 4.0 US version. The Flash went fine, but my device was running extremely slowly. A re-flash didn't solve it either. I figured that wiping the cache partition might solve the problem - I decided to do this before running a backup, since no important data is stored in the cache (...right?), and since I was worried that backing up while I had this problem could make things worse - so I went ahead into CWM and did just that. Then, it reboots, and I nearly get a heart attack. The stock wallpaper is back, it's using the default launcher again (I had LauncherPro installed), and pretty much only system apps work, all the others have an icon with an SD card on it, and when clicked on, it says something like "application not installed". I did some searching, and it seemed like a reboot might help (although I didn't find anyone with a problem like mine anywhere). The reboot didn't do anything, so now I have it shut down, so that nothing can happen. The odd thing is, it doesn't seem to me like the system messed up and did a full wipe instead, either, because a couple of things I have are still there - for example, some of my bookmarks I made on the homescreen while still using the default launcher are still there. I'm really confused because I have wiped the cache partition before, when I was still on an unmodified stock kernel, and everything stayed the same, the way I thought it was supposed to. And now this happens. What do I do now? I exported my absolute most important data (Astrid Tasks and Calendar) before I installed TerraSilent (but I obviously wasn't able to do a full backup because I wasn't rooted, I figured installing TerraSilent would root it), so my absolute most important data is on my computer. I also did a simple file backup of the internal USB storage and external SD card to another computer before flashing TerraSilent. However, there is still a good deal of data still need, and a lot of data that would just be a pain in the rear to recreate, not to mention my (valuable to me) game data. What did I do wrong - or did something in the system mess up? And - what do I do to get back to where I was before?
It happened to me when I was on gingerbread with terrasilent. It's a known issue with this kernel. In fact, you didn't wipe the data, but the recovery contain a bug wich format the data as soon as you do an operation wich mount the data partition(I think it's this but I can't remind) but it doesn't wipe the system or anythin else, so the icon, setting and everything else stay there but without anything attach to them. I don't remind what was causing it, I only stopped using cwm with this kernel unless I wanted to flash something or to wipe everything. Sorry but I can't help you more as I don't remind everything, it's been a while since I've been on gingerbread.
ti-pich said:
It happened to me when I was on gingerbread with terrasilent. It's a known issue with this kernel. In fact, you didn't wipe the data, but the recovery contain a bug wich format the data as soon as you do an operation wich mount the data partition(I think it's this but I can't remind) but it doesn't wipe the system or anythin else, so the icon, setting and everything else stay there but without anything attach to them. I don't remind what was causing it, I only stopped using cwm with this kernel unless I wanted to flash something or to wipe everything. Sorry but I can't help you more as I don't remind everything, it's been a while since I've been on gingerbread.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wasn't that problem solved with a later version of the kernel though?
And, assuming that's what happened (what you describe sounds pretty much like what happened to me), would that mean that the only way to try and get it back would be by trying to recover the formatted data?
trainman261 said:
Wasn't that problem solved with a later version of the kernel though?
And, assuming that's what happened (what you describe sounds pretty much like what happened to me), would that mean that the only way to try and get it back would be by trying to recover the formatted data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was said to be resolved, but it happened to some peoples even thought. Maybe you can recover some of your data with your computer and some tools that let you get the erased data, but I can't guarantee the integrity of your data and you would need to replace every bit of data that was there before to get it running nicely. The easiest way would be to try to recover some of your important data, put it on your computer then wipe your player and start from scratch (wipe data/factory reset) and reinstall your apps. Then put back the save, or setting or files that you got back in your apps. Hope this help, I'm not a proffessional with data recovering or where to put it back after you got it, maybe someone else could further help you with this.
And the conclusion...
ti-pich said:
It was said to be resolved, but it happened to some peoples even thought. Maybe you can recover some of your data with your computer and some tools that let you get the erased data, but I can't guarantee the integrity of your data and you would need to replace every bit of data that was there before to get it running nicely. The easiest way would be to try to recover some of your important data, put it on your computer then wipe your player and start from scratch (wipe data/factory reset) and reinstall your apps. Then put back the save, or setting or files that you got back in your apps. Hope this help, I'm not a proffessional with data recovering or where to put it back after you got it, maybe someone else could further help you with this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK, my reply is late, but thanks for your help. I managed to copy the partition with all the deleted contents over to the computer, and I'll have to study the contents some other time, because I've spent about 24+ hours on this problem in total, and need my device for more important purposes - those for which the data I managed to copy before the custom kernel and everything else. For those of you who have a similar issue, this is how I managed to save (or that is I am 95% sure this will have saved at least some, as I said I haven't studied it yet) what I hope is a good chunk of my data.
Have you tried flashing a different kernel? Terrasilent also gave me some weird in that after a few days my device would boot into recovery by itself then wipe all my data in that only my system apps would remain. So it's a little different than what's happened to you. I ended up using klin's R3 kernel or Steven's kernel that fixed the issue.
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app
obscuresword said:
Have you tried flashing a different kernel? Terrasilent also gave me some weird in that after a few days my device would boot into recovery by itself then wipe all my data in that only my system apps would remain. So it's a little different than what's happened to you. I ended up using klin's R3 kernel or Steven's kernel that fixed the issue.
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've got huge issue with steve's kernel. You can get into recovery, but once you booted in it will simply bootloop. Then you have to flash back with odin. So if you go with steve's kernel, don't boot into recovery. As for klin's kernel, I've never tried it, and will probably never as we have some really nice jellybean rom that I recommend you.
I never got that issue with steve's kernel.
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app
obscuresword said:
Have you tried flashing a different kernel? Terrasilent also gave me some weird in that after a few days my device would boot into recovery by itself then wipe all my data in that only my system apps would remain. So it's a little different than what's happened to you. I ended up using klin's R3 kernel or Steven's kernel that fixed the issue.
Sent from my YP-G1 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, with my problem, my system apps did remain, so it's almost the same problem, only my device didn't boot into recovery on its own (seriously, it booted into recovery on its own and wiped the data? ). I only installed the terrasilent kernel to be able to upgrade to JB, so I'm now on JB, running into different problem (the wrong settings are being backed up from google backup, they're restoring from my galaxy mini 2), but thanks anyway. I am really not having any luck at all with this whole update . But ti-pich, I agree with you, that JB rom is awesome
trainman261 said:
Actually, with my problem, my system apps did remain, so it's almost the same problem, only my device didn't boot into recovery on its own (seriously, it booted into recovery on its own and wiped the data? ). I only installed the terrasilent kernel to be able to upgrade to JB, so I'm now on JB, running into different problem (the wrong settings are being backed up from google backup, they're restoring from my galaxy mini 2), but thanks anyway. I am really not having any luck at all with this whole update . But ti-pich, I agree with you, that JB rom is awesome
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it did, after 1 week. I was like ???. I reflashed it again and it did the same exact thing, and it happened to me while I was at my college too.
I also had that same issue where it was restoring from the wrong device. I just had to reflash the rom, and install stuff manually because it was making my device horribly slow.
obscuresword said:
Yes it did, after 1 week. I was like ???. I reflashed it again and it did the same exact thing, and it happened to me while I was at my college too.
I also had that same issue where it was restoring from the wrong device. I just had to reflash the rom, and install stuff manually because it was making my device horribly slow.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow that is some scary stuff, now I know why every kernel/ROM/mod has a disclaimer at the beginning ... I'm glad I'm off that now and on a stable JB build now. I found a way to have it restore at least some of the stuff from when it was on gingerbread (mostly apps and appdata, no WiFi passwords or other settings - at least I'm pretty sure, I'm still working on getting all the stuff up and running) - go into a terminal, and type
Code:
bmgr list sets
It will probably have two different sets, one for when it was on GB and one for JB - or that is, if you had the problem, there will probably be a third set for a different device (maybe more). Then, choose the one you want to restore from, and type
Code:
bmgr restore xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and replace xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the apropriate ID from the command before. I'm having to type it several times in order to get it to work - I type it once, it restores some apps, then stops, I type it again, and it restores some more - but I'm hoping it gets as much possible onto the JB build. I guess this won't help you much, I've seen you saying on the ICS and JB threads that you've upgraded a while ago, but I guess if someone else comes along with the same problem, I hope it will help
trainman261 said:
Wow that is some scary stuff, now I know why every kernel/ROM/mod has a disclaimer at the beginning ... I'm glad I'm off that now and on a stable JB build now. I found a way to have it restore at least some of the stuff from when it was on gingerbread (mostly apps and appdata, no WiFi passwords or other settings - at least I'm pretty sure, I'm still working on getting all the stuff up and running) - go into a terminal, and type
Code:
bmgr list sets
It will probably have two different sets, one for when it was on GB and one for JB - or that is, if you had the problem, there will probably be a third set for a different device (maybe more). Then, choose the one you want to restore from, and type
Code:
bmgr restore xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
and replace xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with the apropriate ID from the command before. I'm having to type it several times in order to get it to work - I type it once, it restores some apps, then stops, I type it again, and it restores some more - but I'm hoping it gets as much possible onto the JB build. I guess this won't help you much, I've seen you saying on the ICS and JB threads that you've upgraded a while ago, but I guess if someone else comes along with the same problem, I hope it will help
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hmmm. I'm about to try Terrasilent with my YP-G1 (US version) running 2.3.6. This is giving me second thoughts. Does this kernel still cause issues with SGP 4.0s running GB 2.3.6?? Maybe I should try the old Steves Kernel? I just want to use voodoo sound - thats really the only reason I want to root and get these kernels.
Related
Hi,
I am trying to restore a couple of nandroid backups, but a Device Administrator app gone "quirky" seems to materialize no matter what I do. I did a CWM Wipe, restored the nandroid backup before the app went bad. However that did not work, the app was still misbehaving. So I wiped again, restored a nandroid backup from before I had installed the app. Still the app shows up again. It has in effect locked me out of the device.
Can anyone tell what can I do to get rid of the app?
Are these Device Admin app supposed to persist like this? Or am I doing something wrong?
Do I need to choose a different wipe mode (I chose the normal one, which wipes /data/, /cache etc). I did not try to wipe /cache separately, as the first wipe does that by itself. Neither did I wipe the dalvik cache, as I thought they are not relevant here. I don't see any relevant files in the sdcard either, though how the app reappears in the nandroid restore before it was installed is a mystery.
Should I mount more partitions before wiping, like the data/cache etc.
Since the wipes don't seem to make it go away, I am not even sure flashing a different ROM would get rid of this app either, however I can try that (since I was planning to anyway, before this mishap). If that doesn't work either, I might just have the most unusual case of bricking ever.
The XDA forum does not seem to be much info about device-admin apps and my search-fu is not good enough today to find anything directly relevant about the other stuff.
PS. btw the app actually modifies the lockscreen. So I don't actually see the files it has with the pre-app restore, however the lockscreen still comes up, perhaps because of some remanant of the app or because of a setting it left in there somewhere.
efs?
Just to add more info, I see some files in /efs, which look relevant to the lockscren/ They have file names like this "/efs/cryptoprop_lockscreen".
Would these files store the data this app stored. I fortunately have an EFS backup, should I consider restoring these files.
If someone doesn't know the answer, can they suggest which devs would be good to ask about this.
AnDruid said:
Hi,
I am trying to restore a couple of nandroid backups, but a Device Administrator app gone "quirky" seems to materialize no matter what I do. I did a CWM Wipe, restored the nandroid backup before the app went bad. However that did not work, the app was still misbehaving. So I wiped again, restored a nandroid backup from before I had installed the app. Still the app shows up again. It has in effect locked me out of the device.
Can anyone tell what can I do to get rid of the app?
Are these Device Admin app supposed to persist like this? Or am I doing something wrong?
Do I need to choose a different wipe mode (I chose the normal one, which wipes /data/, /cache etc). I did not try to wipe /cache separately, as the first wipe does that by itself. Neither did I wipe the dalvik cache, as I thought they are not relevant here. I don't see any relevant files in the sdcard either, though how the app reappears in the nandroid restore before it was installed is a mystery.
Should I mount more partitions before wiping, like the data/cache etc.
Since the wipes don't seem to make it go away, I am not even sure flashing a different ROM would get rid of this app either, however I can try that (since I was planning to anyway, before this mishap). If that doesn't work either, I might just have the most unusual case of bricking ever.
The XDA forum does not seem to be much info about device-admin apps and my search-fu is not good enough today to find anything directly relevant about the other stuff.
PS. btw the app actually modifies the lockscreen. So I don't actually see the files it has with the pre-app restore, however the lockscreen still comes up, perhaps because of some remanant of the app or because of a setting it left in there somewhere.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do a CWM wipe, and turn off the phone when done by selecting "Power Off"
Now enter download mode, and ODIN flash a stock ROM.
Then re-root with CF-Root and install custom ROM if desired.
pulser_g2 said:
Do a CWM wipe, and turn off the phone when done by selecting "Power Off"
Now enter download mode, and ODIN flash a stock ROM.
Then re-root with CF-Root and install custom ROM if desired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the help pulser_g2. I am still concerned about the files i saw in /efs related to the lockscreen (see my second post). Would the stock ROM overwrite settings/configuration inside /efs (I guess since the IMEI etc are all in there, that might not be the case)?
Got through finally.
pulser_g2 said:
Do a CWM wipe, and turn off the phone when done by selecting "Power Off"
Now enter download mode, and ODIN flash a stock ROM.
Then re-root with CF-Root and install custom ROM if desired.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK this worked.
However after I Odin flashed the stock rom and rebooted, I got this
1. First got a different kind of lockscreen.
2. I entered the wrong password five times (after trying the Device Admin alternate password, my Google password, a new 2-step auth password from google) .
3. it said something about wiping sd card. I couldn't catch it (I should probably have videoed this using my point and shoot camera, but this did not strike me then as it was 2am).
4. I was hoping that the stock ROM will boot, cause it stayed on the Samsung logo for too long. (I had already ordered my USB Jig on ebay anyway, but it could have taken time because of my being far off from the seller.). Finally I got the Android Welcome screen and I let out my breath.
In any case, things seem to ok right now. I feel a slight slowness in the rooted stock ROM from my earlier rooted stock ROM, but I am gonna flash a custom ROM later anyway. Thanks a lot for your help pulser.
Is anyone else having this problem? I follow instructions to a T and still I get various major problems when using any rom. They lockup frequently, I can't play a any games at ALL, causes phone to reboot. I am getting very frustrated I don't know what the problem is. Can anyone help? I've cleared the cache (dalvic and program cache,) done factory wipes, restored to original stock vibrant rom. Absolutely nothing solves the problem..please help.
Sounds like a CPU problem. Try downclocking via SetCPU to 800mhz or lower. Increase voltage a bit with Tegrack Overclock.
i had the same problem, try bionix v 1.3.1 and you will have the most stable rom ever
Occasionally a total reformat of your internal SD is required, especially after several months.
To do this you want to move anything you want saved to your computer including titanium backup folder. After you've saved everything boot into recovery and go to mounts and storage there you'll be able to format. When done you'll have to boot download mode, go to voodoo section of recovery. Now Odin stock firmware and the flash whatever Tom you want, rejoice and click the thanks button.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
explodingboy70 said:
Occasionally a total reformat of your internal SD is required, especially after several months.
To do this you want to move anything you want saved to your computer including titanium backup folder. After you've saved everything boot into recovery and go to mounts and storage there you'll be able to format. When done you'll have to boot download mode, go to voodoo section of recovery. Now Odin stock firmware and the flash whatever Tom you want, rejoice and click the thanks button.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And by this, if you using unlocked phone, your phone will get locked.
Enjoy
mafaesto said:
Is anyone else having this problem? I follow instructions to a T and still I get various major problems when using any rom. They lockup frequently, I can't play a any games at ALL, causes phone to reboot. I am getting very frustrated I don't know what the problem is. Can anyone help? I've cleared the cache (dalvic and program cache,) done factory wipes, restored to original stock vibrant rom. Absolutely nothing solves the problem..please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here's the deal:
1) Use only "proper" releases, by which I mean, NO PORTS and NO CM7/MIUI based releases. That would me no 2.2.1 or 2.3 versions.
2) Do NOT overclock. AT ALL.
3) Do NOT undervolt. AT ALL.
4) Format your SD Card. Also try removing it temporarily to eliminate it as faulty.
5) DO NOT EVER RESTORE ANY SYSTEM DATA USING TITANIUM BACKUP! IT WILL CAUSE CRASHINESS.
5) All else fails, ODIN to stock and see if the phone is crashing. Make sure it is stable BEFORE installing a bunch of apps. Some of those apps could be causing issues.
If step 5 fixes it but nothing else does, then you are missing a step. Go back and re-read and try again.
If, however, it still crashes after step 5, then you have a faulty phone. Do a warranty exchange.
Hi,
My EVO 4G LTE is S-OFF. I've been running FreshROM 5.3.1 since it was released without issue. Last Thursday I started getting a lot of backround app crashes. Not a big deal, I wiped, reloaded the ROM, then restored everything via Titanium Backup pro. All was well for a couple of days.
Yesterday, my battery died within about 3 hours. Normally, I go over 16 hours. After some investigation and I found a process 'flush-179:0' eating CPU (and battery). I've wiped, flashed again, even flashed different ROMs. It's still there; every time.
I found one post on XDA where someone said it was caused by a performance tweak app (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2016993). Their fix was to flash stock, radios, etc. then root again. I haven't used any apps to tweak anything. So, if it's a similar cause...data/config corruption?
Has anyone else seen this? Does anyone know of a fix?
Thanks!
I'm not familiar with this specific issue but you mentioned that you restored everything using titanium backup. If you are experiencing problems I would strongly recommend NOT restoring all data as you may be restoring that very same issue. If you don't want to have to start all over then at least only restore just apps and data. Never system data.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
eddy0090 said:
I'm not familiar with this specific issue but you mentioned that you restored everything using titanium backup. If you are experiencing problems I would strongly recommend NOT restoring all data as you may be restoring that very same issue. If you don't want to have to start all over then at least only restore just apps and data. Never system data.
Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course, the problem is that it's there when I wipe and flash a new ROM (Fresh, Rejuvenated, etc.). Even before I load my data via TB.
zisix said:
Hi,
My EVO 4G LTE is S-OFF. I've been running FreshROM 5.3.1 since it was released without issue. Last Thursday I started getting a lot of backround app crashes. Not a big deal, I wiped, reloaded the ROM, then restored everything via Titanium Backup pro. All was well for a couple of days.
Yesterday, my battery died within about 3 hours. Normally, I go over 16 hours. After some investigation and I found a process 'flush-179:0' eating CPU (and battery). I've wiped, flashed again, even flashed different ROMs. It's still there; every time.
I found one post on XDA where someone said it was caused by a performance tweak app (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2016993). Their fix was to flash stock, radios, etc. then root again. I haven't used any apps to tweak anything. So, if it's a similar cause...data/config corruption?
Has anyone else seen this? Does anyone know of a fix?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
u should try mean rom 6.5 ICS.. if your still on the old base.. or flash new firmwear and radio in bootloader then flash a new jelly bean rom if u want to try the new base out
evo401 said:
u should try mean rom 6.5 ICS.. if your still on the old base.. or flash new firmwear and radio in bootloader then flash a new jelly bean rom if u want to try the new base out
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I will; this seems to fit with the latest info I just figured out.
I flashed Fresh again, and suddenly started getting the warning about the SD card being damaged and to format it (as we know, that's not the external SD card). No matter how many times I format it, the error comes back. From some other searching, the 'flush-179:0' process seems to have something to do with storage, maybe because it can't read that partition it's causing issues.
I updated the firmware and radio, still no luck.
So I tried loading another ROM (I went with Mean Bean). That fixed the issue with the SD Card partition being unreadable/unformatable. Maybe that was caused by multiple flashes
But, the flush-179:0 process is still eating CPU and battery.
zisix said:
I updated the firmware and radio, still no luck.
So I tried loading another ROM (I went with Mean Bean). That fixed the issue with the SD Card partition being unreadable/unformatable. Maybe that was caused by multiple flashes
But, the flush-179:0 process is still eating CPU and battery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
?? i never heard of that flush-197:0?? could it be an app u downloaded maybe.. if u flash meanbean over abd dont install any app does is that flush-179 still there or it it there after u install yoir apps?
evo401 said:
?? i never heard of that flush-197:0?? could it be an app u downloaded maybe.. if u flash meanbean over abd dont install any app does is that flush-179 still there or it it there after u install yoir apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as I can tell, it's part of Fresh 5.3.1 and other ROMs I had on my SDCard that are based on the old OTA. The latest Mean Bean doesn't have the same issue after wipe & flash.
I emailed flipz (the Fresh dev), though who knows if/when he'll get back to me. For now, I'm thinking about running MeanBean for a while.
You really can't go wrong with mikeyxda and his mean series of ROM's. That man consistently puts out quality work. No doubt about it.
zisix said:
I flashed Fresh again, and suddenly started getting the warning about the SD card being damaged and to format it (as we know, that's not the external SD card). No matter how many times I format it, the error comes back. From some other searching, the 'flush-179:0' process seems to have something to do with storage, maybe because it can't read that partition it's causing issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You nailed it. I was having issues with the flush-179 system process taking up 100% of my CM10's (JB) CPU time. It got so bad that I couldn't even reboot or shutdown without pulling the battery, which of course caused other problems. Initially I thought the "System" process was just out in the weeds, but by using OS Monitor and unchecking "Hide System Process", I was able to find the flush-179 culprit.
My first clue that it might be SD card-related was obtained after opening a terminal window and typing 'mount'. The line for /mnt/sdcard showed (paraphrased):
# mount
...
/dev/block/vold/179:65 /mnt/sdcard vfat rw,dirsync,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,...
...
Realizing that a "flush" process probably had something to do with filesystem caching and seeing the "179" in the mount output, I focused on my SD card. After pulling the card, backing it up, formatting, and restoring it in Windows, I am happy to report that my little Android has been fast, snappy, and problem-free for several days now.
- Dave
I'm currently using sgs2 with stock gingerbread.
My problem is, my phone seems to be locked on a specific state dated march 3rd 2013.
whenever i format usb storage or reboot my phone, it always back the way it was
e.g. when i tried to un/install apps or deleting files (succesfully), and then i rebooted it, the apps or files are still there such way unharmed.
i remember its somewhat like deep frezee. but usually, something like this only works on settings right?
its really nonsense when i deleted 8 gigs of file then i do a format/reboot, the 8 gigs files came up again like nothing has happened.
Already tried factory reset and unchecked restore backup settings.
Never faced something like this before, help is much appreciated
Sound like a problem with the rom, best thing you can do is backup everything (data) and do a complete wipe through recovery and flash a clean rom again. Very strange but have never (in all my experiece of IT etc) come across stuck dates and data that wont dissapear.
Edit: maybe this is a damaged or corrupt filing system? Still, the fix for tha would to be a complete format.
jl10101 said:
Sound like a problem with the rom, best thing you can do is backup everything (data) and do a complete wipe through recovery and flash a clean rom again. Very strange but have never (in all my experiece of IT etc) come across stuck dates and data that wont dissapear.
Edit: maybe this is a damaged or corrupt filing system? Still, the fix for that would to be a complete format.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
before this, a had an issue with the sd card, it suddenly went corrupt and cant be read anywhere. maybe this is one of the factors too?
i do planned reflashing it with jelly bean, but i'm still curios what has caused this so i can prevent and understand the problem..
my phone cant make new memories as well, new files are nowhere to be found after reboot.
thanks for the reply jl10101
btw this reminds me of memento
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!