Howdy All !
I have the Classicnerd ICS v3 ROM installed on my TP, would like to switch to CM A2 ROM to check out their HD video stuff along with netflix. So what do i need to do. Can someone put some steps for newb's like me on how to switch back n forth between these lovely pieces of work.
Thanks
ncube2 said:
Howdy All !
I have the Classicnerd ICS v3 ROM installed on my TP, would like to switch to CM A2 ROM to check out their HD video stuff along with netflix. So what do i need to do. Can someone put some steps for newb's like me on how to switch back n forth between these lovely pieces of work.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think you can simply switch but you can experiment fairly easily using Nandroid backups
1) ReBoot into recovery
2) Backup current ROM (e.g. CN)
3) Install CM A2
a) format system, cache, wipe Dalvik
b) Flash new ROM (e.g. alpha2)
c) Flash Gapps
4) Reboot system and set up Alpha2, your apps and basic set up should still be OK from CN
5) Reboot into recovery again
6) Backup new ROM (e.g. alpha2)
To switch between then reboot to recovery and Restore chosen ROM and reboot. Note that will fully restore so any updates to data partition e.g. new apps downloaded will get lost unless you take a new back up.
The other things to consider is the space in the boot partition and the moboot default. There should be enough space in boot to accomodate both the uImage files but if not then you need to clean out the CN one before making the alpha2 install. A CN install will have created a moboot.default to try to start CN. An Alpha2 install will not touch moboot.default. If you leave it on alpha2 and want it to default boot into that then you will need to create a new moboot.default file.
Things required:
A GOOD recovery that allows u to choose that to backup
I used TWRP.
AmonRA has bugs restoring boot.img for ICS. , so do not use it fot this purpose.
Amon ra will make the os generate dalvik-cache from the very beginning and u'll be stuck at "Android is upgrading" for some time.
CWM doesnt let u choose what to backup.
Tassadar's MultiROM
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1304656
A modded recovery for multirom
Some sympathy for ur good'ol phone
what are we doing:
contrary to what many people have posted in the multirom thread, ICS kernels ARE compatible with gb (cm7 to be specific). yes, USB wont work in gb. KGSL drivers wont work in Stock ROMs. But is good enough to make it boot.
What prevents gb from booting if u have ics in ur internal memory, is the bootloader. So, basically we need to swap with a gb bootloader before booting gb.
/boot contains ur bootloader, kernel, ramdisk and some other stuff. So, we will be backing up and swapping the kernel as well in the process.
HOWTO:
This is a one time procedure, unless u decide to change ur rom in sdcard later
Lets assume u have ics in internal memory, with ur favourite kernel.
For the lines marked with [TWRP], u'll have to use TWRP, and for other lines, u have to use a modded recovery by Tassadar.
so u'll have to flash different recoveries bewteen some steps.
[TWRP] flash multirom if u havent.
[TWRP] backup only /boot. note the name of the backup (or maybe rename it by mounting as USB storage). this is the one u would need to restore if ur moving from another OS to ics.
[TWRP] do a full backup.
flash gingerbread/froyo rom. Flash multirom. Flash ur fav. kernel(if u need to)
the rom has to be compatble with ur baseband. if not, flash some baseband fix.
multirom > "create from internal memory"
multirom > "move to backup" (only if ur installing more than 1 ROM in sdcard)
[TWRP] backup only /boot. remember the name of the backup.
repeat steps 4-8 for more roms u want to keep.
[TWRP] restore the full backup u created at the beginning, so that u have ics in int. mem.
Now u need to restore a /boot backup only if ur switching between android versions. for example, if u want to switch from ics to gb, just restore the backup which contains /boot from the gb ROM. Then u can just boot normally with Multirom's boot manager.
Below is a step-by-step guide for fixing the Bootloop issue on TwistedUmbrella's AOSP 4.0.4 ICS ROM [Multi-Source]
Please know that while I am a self-confessed noob, I have done my homework. I don't think that I've done anything special here but after seeing continued posts about this issue, I figured maybe this was something that people hadn't thought of yet. The instructions are for 4ext Recovery and I have tried to make them as plain and simple as possible. Let me know if anything is unclear.
Dirty
1. Create Backup. (A full backup is recommended but an Advanced backup of just the Boot partition will suffice here)
2. Wipe Cache+Dalvik.
3. Install ROM from SD card.
4. Advanced Restore - Boot. (From full Backup or Advanced based on what you did in Step 1)
5. Optional: Install desired Playground Extras.
6. Reboot.
Clean
1. Create full Backup.
2. Format All Partitions (except SD card).
3. Install ROM from SD card.
4. Advanced Restore - Boot and Data.
5. Optional: Install desired Playground Extras.
6. Reboot.
I tried to find another relevant thread before creating this post but only found this one and I just don't know how many people, if any, will see my response there.
Let me now how this works for you guys. And please, be kind in your responses. I am new and just want to help
If it's just the kernel, or something else in the boot.img that's corrupt, or causing a bootloop on a specific rom build, you could always take one from an earlier build of that rom that you know worked.
Then just drag and drop the boot.img and associated modules into the rom.zip from the old rom to the new rom on a computer with 7zip or winrar, flash it, and hopefully boot.
Just thought it might save a step or two for those that are having this type of issue.
call me a noob....but can someone explain to me what is so great about 4ext? I've been using TWRP since it was first available for the tbolt and I've been able to flash every version of twisted's ICS rom with no bootloops at all...
Hi
I flashed roms before and have a bit of knowlege but it was a long time ago (Nexus one)....
I want to update my S3 a bit:
What i want:
- Internal and exterman encryption (i read TWRP is capable of this)
- Custom Recovery for flashing ROMS and other goodies (while encrypted)
- What ROMS do support encryption (internal and external?)
My first goal will be: Working custom recovery and encryption with stock (rooted). After that i will flash roms...
1. My idea is to flash custom recovery (TWRP) before i do the internal and external encryption (on stock). I will use Heimdall for flashing the img but i could also do it with adb or even play store app, what mehtod do you recommend ?
- Is this the right order ?
- Does TWRP handle internal/external encryption well for flashing zips etc ? after i encrypted everything ?
- Will I be able to flash roms while internal/external is encrypted ? (guess no?)
- Does the recovery work with encrypted sdcard ? Can i wipe etc with TWRP when the internal is encrypted ?
- Does the encrypted stock work with the TWRP (i guess they have no connection but better be sure )
2. If everything works as i hope it does i want to use some Roms, unfortunatelly when i used to do this for the nexus one, every rom had stated what did not work on them. Now this seems not appropriate anymore and i have to ask.
- For the flashing of ROMS my idea of workflow is a s follows:
1. Facory restet in recovery (to get rid of encryption)
2. Wipe all caches etc
3. install custom Rom
4. Encrypt everything again
Does this sound good ?
However i think it is better to open a new thread about that cause its not so related to the recovery and encryption so much.
On a side note, from reading a lot it appears not many of you use encryption at all, why is that ? Any downsides ?
Thanks and have a nice week!
Hey people,
this shall mainly be a fast way to navigate users to necessary steps for diverse situations.
Instead of repeating the procedures over and over in each thread, this can be cited.
I will suggest you what I always do, and what I find safe and what I have good experiences with.
Still, you do everything at your own risk! So don’t complain to me if you mess something up by following my steps.
This well known phrase also counts here: “YOU are choosing to make these modifications”.
*********************
Preparations
Recovery
Make sure you are on the latest TWRP version.
Currently this is 3.2.3-0.
Backups
Before any of these procedures you should make a backup of every partition and save it at an external place – an usb stick, your PC, but not on your phone! Also copy the content of your entire internal storage at such an external place.
This will not always be needed and I will add more details of what you will surely lose when applying each method, but sometimes things just go wrong and suddenly your whole storage may be lost out of nowhere (happened to me more than once already).
A nice app that helps you restoring your apps and app data in a very quick way is Titanium Backup (get it from the Play Store). If you use the Pro version, you can restore everything basically with one click, so think about this way of backing up things as well (external copies are also advised here for obvious reasons).
Firmware
Make sure you are on adequate firmware for your ROM. Which firmware that is, must be taken from the respective ROM thread.
Adequate firmware needs to be present at any time before the actual ROM installation,
otherwise installation will fail, as the ROM expects a certain minimum to be present.
You will not need to always flash firmware again, when installing other ROMs or ROM versions.
The one you flashed last time sticks until you flash another.
A nice alternative to always flashing whole MIUI Developer versions are the zips offered by the firmware updater tool (just search through the xda topics).
*********************
So here we go with methods you should know:
***************
* Dirty Flash *
***************
Note that:
This is not recommended if the ROM maintainer or developer suggested a clean flash
If you wanna solve weird issues, you may try this first, but a Clean Flash or a Complete Formatting will probably help better
Use-cases:
You wanna install an update for a ROM you are momentarily on
Benefits:
Only takes a few minutes
You will not lose Gapps, settings, apps and app-data
Content on your internal storage will (/should) stay untouched
Procedure:
Wipe Dalvik and Cache
Flash ROM zip right on top of existing installation
(Optionally) Re-/flash root (re-flashing is not necessary for Magisk most of the time if you installed it before)
****************
* Clean Flash *
****************
Note that:
You will lose Gapps, settings, apps and app-data
Also recommended from time to time, even when a dirty flash would be sufficient
Some developers always prefer this method over a dirty flash
Use-cases:
You wanna flash a ROM from the same Android generation (e.g. both ROMs are from generation Nougat 7.1.2) you are currently on
You are experiencing issues after dirty flashing a ROM
Benefits:
Clean way of installation
Content on your internal storage will (/should) stay untouched
Procedure:
Wipe Dalvik, Cache, System, Data, (momentairly I also advise) Vendor
Flash ROM zip
(Optionally) Flash custom kernel
(Optionally) Flash Gapps package for Arm64*
(Optionally) Flash Gapps additions*
(Optionally) Flash root
***************************
* Complete Formatting *
***************************
Note that:
You will lose Gapps, settings, apps, app-data and the content on your internal storage – basically everything on your phone!
Use-cases:
You wanna flash a ROM of a different Android generation (e.g. switch from Nougat to Oreo)
You are experiencing weird issues, even a clean flash doesn’t solve
Benefits:
Clean way of installation
Good problem solver
Procedure:
Wipe Dalvik, Cache, System, Data, (momentairly I also advise) Vendor
Format data (the one where you need to type “yes”)
Reboot to recovery to access the Data partition correctly again
Flash ROM zip
(Optionally) Flash custom kernel
(Optionally) Flash Gapps package for Arm64*
(Optionally) Flash Gapps additions*
(Optionally) Flash root
****************************************
* Solve unable to mount Data error *
****************************************
Note that:
You will lose Gapps, settings, apps, app-data and the content on your internal storage – basically everything on your phone!
Use-cases:
TWRP suddenly shows the above error and even a Complete Formatting doesn’t help (or work)
Procedure:
Re-flash latest TWRP via fastboot (not from within TWRP)
Perform a Complete Formatting
********************
* Gapps Re-flash *
********************
Use-cases:
You want to change your current Gapps setup, but keep your current ROM installation
Benefits:
Only takes a few minutes
You will not lose settings, apps and app-data
Content on your internal storage will (/should) stay untouched
Procedure:
Wipe Dalvik, Cache and System
Flash ROM zip
Flash Gapps package for Arm64*
(Optionally) Flash Gapps additions*
(Optionally) Re-/flash root
********************
* Kernel Change *
********************
Note that:
This works for almost every kernel, but if the developer suggests another method, follow his
Use-cases:
You want to change the kernel, but keep your current ROM installation
Benefits:
Only takes a few minutes
You will not lose Gapps, settings, apps and app-data
Content on your internal storage will (/should) stay untouched
Procedure:
Extract the boot.img of your current ROM
Flash the boot.img by selecting “flash image” in TWRP
Reboot to System and let everything cool down for a minute or two
Reboot to TWRP
Flash new kernel
(Optionally) Re-/flash root
Wipe Dalvik and Cache
*******************************
* Stock Kernel Restoration *
*******************************
Use-cases:
You're on a custom kernel and want to switch back to stock one
Benefits:
Only takes a few minutes
You will not lose Gapps, settings, apps and app-data
Content on your internal storage will (/should) stay untouched
Procedure:
Extract the boot.img of your current ROM
Flash the boot.img by selecting “flash image” in TWRP
(Optionally) Re-/flash root
Wipe Dalvik and Cache
********************************
* Splash Screen Restoration *
********************************
Note that:
A clean flash will not solve this
Use-cases:
Some kernel's or ROM's splash screen sticks and you wanna get rid of it.
Benefits:
Only takes a minute
You will not lose anything on your phone (except the splash screen ; ) )
Procedure:
Just re-flash your current firmware
*I usually go for Pico Gapps from opengapps.org, as they don't include anything I don't need or like, and add a couple of things from deltadroid by flashing them right after the Pico Gapps package. Some stock apps can be overwritten this way, so you don't have two for the same purpose (e.g. stock calendar and google calendar) and it results in a nice minimal Gapps configuration.
I’m open for corrections, questions or doubts! Please leave a comment in these cases!
last updated: 2018-08-20
Nice little guide!
Small note: rooting on f2fs with Magisk has been fixed recently if you didnt know yet.
HelpMeruth said:
Nice little guide!
Small note: rooting on f2fs with Magisk has been fixed recently if you didnt know yet.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
And thanks for the info. So were these issues Magisk related only?
Phil_Smith said:
Thanks!
And thanks for the info. So were these issues Magisk related only?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
iirc yes(there were SQL issues on the Magisk app), but I don't really follow superSU anymore since its been sold to some random company.
This is a very good guide.. Thanks mate