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Getting a bit confused about all this, so am wondering if i've got it right. A rom is the whole thing, it includes a kernel and so forth? So a Kernel is a part of the rom right? And you can flash kernels individually without flashing a whole new rom? But what is a firmware then? Just another name of a rom?
Also on the Galaxy S2 can you flash custom roms, like Lite'ning, without getting root first? Or do you need to get root before flashing custom roms? If you can flash custom roms first without rooting, will the custom rom then give you root as long as it includes it?
And you also got recovery, which is a separate thing again? Galaxy S2 comes with a very basic one if i've understood correctly, but there is others out there that you can install, which also gives you the ability of flashing roms straight from the microsd/phone storage?
So have i gotten any of this? Hope am not to far off
Edit: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1246131 looks like most of my questions where answered there, though am still a bit unsure if it's possible to flash a custom rom before you root?
ROM's and FIRMWARE: The ROM or Read Only Memory is the internal flash memory where the core operating system resides. The Firmware is a device specific part of the ROM that controls various hardware components. So the firmware is contained in the ROM but in the context of Android the terms are often used interchangeably.
KERNELS: Different kernels offer different advantages, some are fast, some are light weight on the battery and some are a mix, so yes you can in most cases flash a different kernel with a ROM, and then your phone will be running the custom ROM you picked with the new kernel you flashed.
Rooting: You must have a rooted phone inorder to flash a custom rom, but rooting in my opinion seems really safe and it really easy to do on the SG2
There are things that allow you to flash from your SD card and you do that by entering clockworkmod revovery, apps like rom manager also allow you to flash from sd card, but you can always use odin, which is safe and fast
hope this helps
Thanks, and very nicely explained =) Another question then, what is the reason one need root before you can flash custom firmwares? As i heard Galaxy S2 doesn't really have any safety measures put in to stop things, like HTC do with their bootloader. Another thing is that i checked the thread for the Lite'ning rom, and saw the installation procedure, and it doesn't mention anything about having root before starting, so am getting a bit confused there.
You don't need to root before flashing a custom ROM as long as you can enter download mode (power up with volume down, home and power button pressed) and can flash the ROM via Odin.
If the ROM is flashable only via ClockWorkMod recovery (a zip that you copy on your phone) then you need to flash something that includes that recovery before flashing the rom (like CF-Root or any kernel that includes CWM).
Lite'ning ROM that you mentioned earlier is flashable via Odin so no problem.
Every ROM includes a Kernel, the only thing they sometimes don't include is the modem like in VillainROM, you have to flash it separately. And also, if a ROM is announced as rooted, when you flash it, you will have root regardless of the state before flashing
Thanks once again =)
Another question, if one want to get back to stock, flashing one of these "official firmwares": http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278 well revert everything right? Even if i got CWM recovery, after flashing on of those "official firmwares" will give me back the original recovery as well?
Edit: Also you mention "modem", if one ROM don't include one, do you have to flash it separately for the ROM to function at all? Or will it just use the modem that's already on the phone or something? Checked out the VillainROM thread and it doesn't say anything about a modem.
Nitrius said:
Another question, if one want to get back to stock, flashing one of these "official firmwares": http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278 well revert everything right? Even if i got CWM recovery, after flashing on of those "official firmwares" will give me back the original recovery as well?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it will revert back everything
Nitrius said:
Edit: Also you mention "modem", if one ROM don't include one, do you have to flash it separately for the ROM to function at all? Or will it just use the modem that's already on the phone or something? Checked out the VillainROM thread and it doesn't say anything about a modem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you dont flash a modem it will just use the one you had before. They talk about it in the old thread and also in the new but not in the firsts posts, you'll have to do a search.
Plus Modem Kernels are interchangeable .
KH3 Firmware with KI4 modem and KH1 kernel .
Guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1125282
jje
I rooted my SGS2 a long time ago. Now i decided to sell it and buy a galaxy note. I got a great deal with one of my friends but he wanted it unrooted. I already flashed clockwork mod recovey on it and im scared that things might go wrong. Can anyone provide me some simple steps how to unroot sgs2........GT-I9100
rohan999 said:
I rooted my SGS2 a long time ago. Now i decided to sell it and buy a galaxy note. I got a great deal with one of my friends but he wanted it unrooted. I already flashed clockwork mod recovey on it and im scared that things might go wrong. Can anyone provide me some simple steps how to unroot sgs2........GT-I9100
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I recommend to flash a stock/official ROM to your phone.
Then root will be lost.
You can download Official ROMs from SamMobile, but you will need to register before.
Or you can have a look into Intratech's Offical Firmware thread here => http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1075278
Please read his first post carefully.
Then decide which ROM to flash.
As you want to bring it back to "normal", you should use a ROM from the second post "Official Firmwares".
Just flash the ROM using Odin - like described by Intratech.
Nothing special.
Maybe you want to wipe everything to go back to factory settings.
Then you should do a hard reset after flashing by dialing *2767*3855# into your phone's dial pad.
But you can alternatively do a factory reset in recovery mode - also after flashing the stock ROM.
Good luck !
Hey mate thanks for the reply, i backed up my original rom using rom manager flashed back to it....but i still have root and i want to remove it. Can i just flash the insecure kernel and using super one click do the job???/.....NOTE I HAVE clock work mod recovery flashed already........
Hey all,
I just received my i777 and I'm impressed. Coming from a sgs4g seems like a huge improvement, though the devices look physically the same LOL (with the i777 being a bit on the larger side).
Anyways, I've been flashing roms for about a year now with my sgs4g. The forums for the sgs4g had very detailed instructions when flashing, instructions like, what to do if coming from stock, but on this forum ppl just assume you have CWM installed.
What I want is a safe way to upgrade to, let's say, phone bricker. I've noticed that all roms are installed through CWM, and all OP say is "make sure CWM is installed", but there's no mention whatsoever on how to install CWM on this phone.
Maybe i'm complicating things a little bit. On my previous phone, Rom Manager downloaded from market was a NO NO because it'd brick it. So we had to flash a modded CWM via odin made specifically for our phones. Maybe for this phone installing rom manager is all that is needed? yes? OK, found the FAQ. no ROM manager.
Also, somehow this phone came rooted... I bought it new from a store but the unlocked version since I live outside USA.
So, if I'm not mistaken, I should just install rom manager, select my phone from the list, flash CWM recovery and flash away roms on the dev section. Am I correct? I don't want to brick my phone
I would not use Rom manger it's proven to be more of a headache for this device. Look on the dev section there are a couple of packages that you can use to get cwm. If your already rooted you could simply flash a custom kernel like entropys daily driver which already has cwm included in kernel.
Again, if your rooted, easiest way could be to simply use mobile Odin to flash custom kernel(I'm assuming your running gingerbread).
I bought the full version of mobile ODIN. makes life a little simpler when flashing, in my opinion. It's worth the few bucks.
eep2378 said:
I would not use Rom manger it's proven to be more of a headache for this device. Look on the dev section there are a couple of packages that you can use to get cwm. If your already rooted you could simply flash a custom kernel like entropys daily driver which already has cwm included in kernel.
Again, if your rooted, easiest way could be to simply use mobile Odin to flash custom kernel(I'm assuming your running gingerbread).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Running GB, yes. It's (i think) completely stock: GB KJ4.
I've checked and I have standard recovery, so I'm looking for the best and safest way to get cmw.
Mobile odin looks like a good option, but would I need the full paid version?
mikeflash said:
Running GB, yes. It's (i think) completely stock: GB KJ4.
I've checked and I have standard recovery, so I'm looking for the best and safest way to get cmw.
Mobile odin looks like a good option, but would I need the full paid version?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't need pro version, lite version will do just fine. Are you sure you're rooted? You have superuser app? Whether you're rooted or not look here(if you are rooted look at #3 : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1311081
Check out this thread, was my experience and I'm running PhoneBricker just fine!
However, backup your apps before flashing and factory reset, wipe cache and dalvik after (possibly before as well) and you should be fine! Will root then you can flash away.
Clay
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA
One other point for you. Your phone was flashed, in most probability by the folks who sold it to you, with a leaked version of Gingerbread, UCKJ4. As a result, your flash count is probably at 1, and the secondary bootloader was probably replaced with one that disables the ability to clear the flash counter with a usb jig. If this matters to you, you can test first with a jig to see if it will reset, and if not, you can flash the original UCKH7 secondary bootloader to fix it. Needed files can be found in the Download Repository.
Oh, and my guide explains how to flash a modified kernel containing ClockworkMod Recovery if you need it.
Well, I flashed my phone last night. Used mobile odin for flashing a kernel (siyah) to get CWM, then flashed phone bricker via CWM like I used to do on my old phone. Everything went smooth.
Though I'm not fond on this "4.0.3", it's just a launcher that looks like ICS but I don't want to believe it's a true ICS ROM, because it feels weird, I certainly prefer stock GB (or a custom GB rom) instead of some heavily modded rom with ICS theme.
creepyncrawly said:
One other point for you. Your phone was flashed, in most probability by the folks who sold it to you, with a leaked version of Gingerbread, UCKJ4. As a result, your flash count is probably at 1, and the secondary bootloader was probably replaced with one that disables the ability to clear the flash counter with a usb jig. If this matters to you, you can test first with a jig to see if it will reset, and if not, you can flash the original UCKH7 secondary bootloader to fix it. Needed files can be found in the Download Repository.
Oh, and my guide explains how to flash a modified kernel containing ClockworkMod Recovery if you need it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There're several new terms I need to learn about this phone that weren't used on sgs4g. Such as DPI (i.e lowering it, what for? isn't that a step back?) and flash counter.
I suppose flash count is just a counter for how many times you have flashed the phone with custom Roms, so that warranty people can check if a returned phone was damaged due to bad flash, or something like that. Am I correct?
If that's the case, then I'm not too worried about flash count because I live outside US, and my AT&T phone wouldn't get warranty over here, but I'll definitely look into that, to check where my counter is at and to check if resetting it back to 0 is still possible.
I'll be checking up on the links you provided.
Thanks a lot.
mikeflash said:
Though I'm not fond on this "4.0.3", it's just a launcher that looks like ICS but I don't want to believe it's a true ICS ROM, because it feels weird, I certainly prefer stock GB (or a custom GB rom) instead of some heavily modded rom with ICS theme.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is a true ICS rom. Samsung didn't do a lot of cosmetic changes when they moved the S2 to ICS though...most changes are under the hood.
If you want something that looks and feels more like true ICS, you should consider trying either CM9 or AOKP. They are both based on Google's source code, nothing Touchwiz about them.
Or if you'd rather stick with what you have, you can always try different launchers. I'm running ICS, but I use Go Launcher and it runs beautifully.
mikeflash said:
There're several new terms I need to learn about this phone that weren't used on sgs4g. Such as DPI (i.e lowering it, what for? isn't that a step back?) and flash counter.
I suppose flash count is just a counter for how many times you have flashed the phone with custom Roms, so that warranty people can check if a returned phone was damaged due to bad flash, or something like that. Am I correct?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is mostly correct. You're right about the purpose of the flash counter, but it actually counts how many times you flash kernels, not roms. And even then, it only increments if you flash a kernel via Odin in download mode. Flashing a kernel in Mobile Odin or CWM doesn't touch the counter.
Incrementing the flash counter also places that possibly annoying yellow triangle on bootup on your phone. Since you're on ICS, you can just use triangle away app from play store (free version is on here somewhere) to get rid of it, though I'm not sure if that'll fix the whole secondary bootloaders thing (probably not). I think it'd be worth it to fix that just so you don't run into anymore problems later if you decide to change something, especially since after the fixes you can just nandroid back to your current setup, but it's not essential and completely up to you.
Sent from my Samsung SGH-I777 using XDA
I'm confused why this thread was started. There ARE detailed instructions in the stickies and by using Google search along with the words XDA after the search u would easily find any and all information needed. Why do we need a thread dedicated to helping one person read stickies which already have this information.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
Phalanx, did you not read the Title?
It says be nice!
crawls back into hole
Sent from my SGH-I777 using XDA
Phalanx7621 said:
I'm confused why this thread was started. There ARE detailed instructions in the stickies and by using Google search along with the words XDA after the search u would easily find any and all information needed. Why do we need a thread dedicated to helping one person read stickies which already have this information.
Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you friend.
To sum up for OP
1. Strongly suggest NOT to use ROM Manager on any custom ROMs unless you are surely running CyanogenMod ROM.
2. Check the "About phone" to see if it is true ICS or ICS-theme GB.
This is the first time I rooted my phone and I used step 6 on this link in your forum http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1238070 . Everything went fine but I then downloaded rom manager and when I select flash clockworkmod it only gives me the choice of choosing the samsung epic4g or the samsung galaxyS i9000. It does not give me the option of choosing the fascinate. I selected the i9000 but stopped there because I figured that I should try to fix this situation and be able to select the fascinate, before I move foward. Please help me move foward so I will be able to put a rom on my phone. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
lucash312 said:
This is the first time I rooted my phone and I used step 6 on this link in your forum http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1238070 . Everything went fine but I then downloaded rom manager and when I select flash clockworkmod it only gives me the choice of choosing the samsung epic4g or the samsung galaxyS i9000. It does not give me the option of choosing the fascinate. I selected the i9000 but stopped there because I figured that I should try to fix this situation and be able to select the fascinate, before I move foward. Please help me move foward so I will be able to put a rom on my phone. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
rom manager is useless for the fascinate...
I also ran into this issue. If your CWM is not "sticky" (it goes to System Recovery <3e> when you reboot recovery), you must flash the appropriate version of CWM with ODIN before a ROM flash. (CWM ALL.tar for bml roms [anything that is not cm7, MIUI, or ICS] or cwm4_fixed_for_cm7.tar for MTD ROM's [cm7, MIUI, or ICS])
MultipleMonomials said:
I also ran into this issue. If your CWM is not "sticky" (it goes to System Recovery <3e> when you reboot recovery), you must flash the appropriate version of CWM with ODIN before a ROM flash. (CWM ALL.tar for bml roms [anything that is not cm7, MIUI, or ICS] or cwm4_fixed_for_cm7.tar for MTD ROM's [cm7, MIUI, or ICS])
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
if the op would of followed the guides instructions correctly, he would not of ran into that issue in the first place...
droidstyle said:
rom manager is useless for the fascinate...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
But if that's the case, why does Koushik make a ROM for the fascinate and have it available on his site?
(Does the Epic4G simply represent all CDMA phones, and the i9000 GSM? Don't see why that would matter anyway tho)
(I can't post a direct &#% link yet, but it's on his website.
This makes absolutely no sense!? He's got ROMs up there for just about every Android phone on the market, all to be used with ROM Manager.
I wanted to install it via Odin but naturally that would be too simple: it's a zip file and Odin won't recognize anything but tar and 2 others formats.
You can flash any .zip ROM with CWM. There's no need for ROM Manager. BTW, you can post a link if you uncheck "parse links in text automatically."
Nymblz said:
But if that's the case, why does Koushik make a ROM for the fascinate and have it available on his site?
(Does the Epic4G simply represent all CDMA phones, and the i9000 GSM? Don't see why that would matter anyway tho)
(I can't post a direct &#% link yet, but it's on his website.
This makes absolutely no sense!? He's got ROMs up there for just about every Android phone on the market, all to be used with ROM Manager.
I wanted to install it via Odin but naturally that would be too simple: it's a zip file and Odin won't recognize anything but tar and 2 others formats.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all you need to do is boot into cwm recovery via the power menu and flash away. the problem with rom manager on the fascinate is getting into the right recovery...causes more problems than its worth on this device. make sense yet? probably not since you have not been down this road yet, but many of us have. so take the advice given or dont and learn the hard way.
Honestly, I am trying to take the advice given but not all of it fit my situation.
I'm definitely something of a noob to Android (Not to linux or IT though). I've had my phone for all of a month and rooted it only days ago.
It's all starting to come together, finally. It's tricky for a noob because there are so many different versions of the phone hardware, versions of Android, this or that kernel that only works with these ROMs, old/newer versions of those, old posts and advice, newer posts with adjusted advice.. etc.. It's been a week long crash course!
Anyhoo, I couldn't flash/upgrade CWM because it didn't stick from the original Odin install. When I rebooted, I'd always return to the stock <3e> recovery. Even after two more installs of CWM via Odin.
I used the cwm-recovery-all.tar in your guide, Droidstyle. (great job BTW)
I followed the directions in Section 6 to the letter. I even printed it out and highlighted key sections.
So you see, I was in a catch-22; I needed CWM to flash CWM? Odin was my only option at that point.
Then I read on another thread here about renaming the /system/recovery-from-boot.p script, and installing CWM once more.
That worked, so now I can finally boot into CWM recovery like a happy man. (I also tried a more specific version of CWM for good measure: cwm4-bml-i500.tar, not really sure if that made a difference)
So I made my first real nandroid backup last night.
Next on my list is a new kernel. Still deciding between KGB, lean, and whatever else is out there.
I still don't get the whole mess with ROM Manager though. I agree with you, DS, I just don't get why he'd have zips for every phone under the sun but his own app doesn't seem to allow them to be used. It's bizarre. The latest reviews on the market are not flattering either.
Nymblz said:
It's tricky for a noob because there are so many different versions of the phone hardware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are on the Samsung Fascinate. If it is Verizon then it is model number i500. If it doesnt say Fascinate or i500 it isn't for your device and you don't need to worry about it. If you flash something that isn't stated as being for the i500 or VERIZON Fascinate then you will have a lovely new temporary paper weight.
Nymblz said:
Anyhoo, I couldn't flash/upgrade CWM because it didn't stick from the original Odin install. When I rebooted, I'd always return to the stock <3e> recovery. Even after two more installs of CWM via Odin.
I used the cwm-recovery-all.tar in your guide, Droidstyle. (great job BTW)
I followed the directions in Section 6 to the letter. I even printed it out and highlighted key sections.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You couldn't have followed it to the letter because it is a well known fact that if you boot up with a stock kernel still flashed it will replace your recovery. Droidstyle certainly knows this and certainly accounted for it in his guide. So, you need to either boot directly into CWM or flash a non-stock kernel prior to rebooting the phone.
Nymblz said:
Then I read on another thread here about renaming the /system/recovery-from-boot.p script, and installing CWM once more.
That worked, so now I can finally boot into CWM recovery like a happy man. (I also tried a more specific version of CWM for good measure: cwm4-bml-i500.tar, not really sure if that made a difference)
So I made my first real nandroid backup last night.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it sounds like that will work...not the most elegant way to take care of it...but it sounds like it would be okay.
Nymblz said:
Next on my list is a new kernel. Still deciding between KGB, lean, and whatever else is out there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
We already talked about the kernel situation. Consider Geewiz if you want something thats all-in-one and pretty much impossible to mess up. KGB is good. Leankernel always gave me the best battery life but YMMV.
Nymblz said:
I still don't get the whole mess with ROM Manager though. I agree with you, DS, I just don't get why he'd have zips for every phone under the sun but his own app doesn't seem to allow them to be used. It's bizarre. The latest reviews on the market are not flattering either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He showed no interest in helping the devs here get ROM manager working (again) on the phone. If you gave him money, blame him for not providing the support and resources to get it working on this phone. Some people are umm...."lacking in people skills."
Oh, and as great as the Gingerbread ROMs are...the mtd ICS roms blow them out of the water
Phone: Verizon Samsung Fascinate (sch-i500)
rooted using Odin and a guide on these forums specific to the phone
rom Manager flashed for Samsung GalaxyS i9000 recovery: 2.5.1.2
I need 3.0.0.8 (downloaded from the rom manager site)
1) Is this a problem?
2) the file I have (3.0.0.8 CWM recov) is a .zip, using Odin can I flash it as recovery. If so what button? (PDA was for rooting, I don't want to rush into things and do the same)
I plan on flashing a custom rom, but feel I need to fix my recovery mod FIRST.
If I can fix this with a kernal say so and I will find one.
P.S. I will not be paying for mobile odin, I would go back to stock or leave as is before putting out a penny to this phone.
edit: Instead of the "CWM 2.5 red recovery" i had from the root (i might be a little stupid...) I now have a blue recovery and the buttons are different. Is there a way to revert to "CWM 2.5 red recovery"
ROM Manager is a complete waste of time with this phone. It won't work. Droidstyle's Guide is the only way to to go.
jawman27 said:
ROM Manager is a complete waste of time with this phone. It won't work. Droidstyle's Guide is the only way to to go.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's the guide I used for rooting my device.
I'll read through it again thanks
Yeah, the guide also covers the correct way to flash custom ROMs, recoveries, and kernels. You'd have to read way back in the forums, but you'd find that the ROM Manager discussion was conclusive. It simply doesn't work for the SCH-1500. The good news is that flashing via CWM and Odin, as you'll learn, is quite easy. You just have to do things exactly as Droidstyle describes. 99% of the rooting problems you'll read about in these forums have more to do with incorrect flashing techniques than they do with with devs' coding errors.