Database Develop

How can I get started?

Hey all,
I see lots of people making roms for the wizard, but my search for tools to start doing this on my own has come very short. Can anyone suggest how I can get started making my own roms? I have done quite a few exhaustive searches on here, google, and buzzdev with little to no success.. all I've really found are old posts, dead links, and unanswered forum posts.
Please at least point me in the right direction, I have a lot outdated knowledge from when I used to test ppc2k3 devices for Symbol Technologies, and I would like to try the other end of what I was working with... I look forward to your responses and hope someone out there is willing to assist
Thanks!
~Rick

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=249836

Awsome, Just after I posted this thread I found that post, I am glad that you were able to confirm that it was a valid one.
Now, as far as testing your roms, do you typically put your devices in harms way, or do you have some kind of emulator that you use to test?
Is there some kind of comprehensive "How to" somewhere on MSDN or some other forum, or did everyone here just blindly poke around till they figured stuff out? (Which I am in favor of doing if necessary)
I just want to make sure that I can get myself as educated as possible without turning my device into a 6.2 ounce paperweight. I love the kinds of contributions people make here and I would love to be able to make my own contributions one day
Thanks (Sorry if im being pesty I am just so interested in getting started)

Don't worry about bricking the phone... as long as you don't flash ipl/spl you can always put the phone back into bootloader mode and reflash a rom that works...

ok so I downloaded a billion tools... but where do I get a base rom to start with? I decided a best bet would be to download the HTC shipped rom off their site, but that uses an NBF file, and all of these tools reference an NBA file, as a matter of fact every "rom" file I have found has an NBF file in it... how does that happen?
I kinda feel stupid and im losing faith in starting this

im have trouble?
I'm having a litte trouble with the posts can sombody help me out?

Cooking rom's, finding usefull info is hard...

Hi all,
for starters, I know where the search-button is and I know how to read, I've read the stickies and most of the links, so no obvious remarks please
I'm having a hard time finding good threads to read about creating/editing/cooking roms, understanding what XIP/SYS files are, knowing how to strip/add programs,...
I've used keywords like: rom cooking, xip, how to, port, tut(orial), etc...
It only gives a gazillion answers and most of the time useless threads...
Once in a while it's worth reading, but most of the time it's junk or way to specific/difficult...
So the question is, could anyone link some usefull good threads/discussions/how-to's that they've read?
Maybe you could give it a rating yourself going from beginner/intermediate/pro...
Maybe such a condensed topic is already on the forums, then please do show me, since I didn't found it yet...
If you're first thought is "god, not again", then please, don't respond at all
Thanks for your time!

quinstar said:
If you're first thought is "god, not again", then please, don't respond at all
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Man, this thread is just below you as of this moment ....

Really nice cooking class for Blackstone, but very usable for Kovsky too!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=480714

jackleung said:
Man, this thread is just below you as of this moment ....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Jack,it's not because of my low post count, that I'm just around here...
I've seen and read that post several times, I've dumped my own rom and downloaded others, I extracted them and started fiddling around, but that's all what I did, fiddling, since I don't really know what I'm doing...
For instance, I'm reading and seeing XIP everywhere, but I don't even understand what it stands for, I can't find (or don't use the right keywords) to find any decent info on it...
I found this great post of Ameet about porting XIP, but that's already about hardcore coding without the basic info I hoped to find... I'm just a beginner, that'll be stuff to read when I'm several months further...
It all starts with the saying, "give a man a fish and he can eat for a whole day. Learn him how to fish and he can eat a life-time.."
The post you refered to is great to learn how the kitchen works, great for learning how to use tools, but the action eventually only shows how to remove standard OEM stuff out of a rom. Nothing more...
Understanding the ins and outs of a rom, how it's build and why, how it's linked and what it does... That's where I think it starts, but that's what I can't find... If no-one ever wrote anything about it, then I will, but then I'll have to try and find bits of pieces of info everywhere... And that's why I posted the question. So people could at least point to some information they know where to find...
I've even seen and tried your work... It's great, but it's a full working, locked rom (at least, it doesn't break down using htainlin's info to the same files and folders as a stockrom does, or I'm using the wrong tools)... I can't see what you've done to make it that way... I can't open it to compare with something stock to see what has changed and conclude what your changes really do... I don't mind reverse engineering, I do have a brain I can use to figure things out..
Well, sorry for the rant, and if I somehow offended you, I didn't intend to, I just hope you now understand what I'm trying to accomplish
Thanks for all who even tried to read this

@Lokatho
Thanks! I've only read the index, but I already know I'll be busy reading that for a couple of hours...

quinstar said:
Jack,it's not because of my low post count, that I'm just around here...
I've seen and read that post several times, I've dumped my own rom and downloaded others, I extracted them and started fiddling around, but that's all what I did, fiddling, since I don't really know what I'm doing...
For instance, I'm reading and seeing XIP everywhere, but I don't even understand what it stands for, I can't find (or don't use the right keywords) to find any decent info on it...
I found this great post of Ameet about porting XIP, but that's already about hardcore coding without the basic info I hoped to find... I'm just a beginner, that'll be stuff to read when I'm several months further...
It all starts with the saying, "give a man a fish and he can eat for a whole day. Learn him how to fish and he can eat a life-time.."
The post you refered to is great to learn how the kitchen works, great for learning how to use tools, but the action eventually only shows how to remove standard OEM stuff out of a rom. Nothing more...
Understanding the ins and outs of a rom, how it's build and why, how it's linked and what it does... That's where I think it starts, but that's what I can't find... If no-one ever wrote anything about it, then I will, but then I'll have to try and find bits of pieces of info everywhere... And that's why I posted the question. So people could at least point to some information they know where to find...
I've even seen and tried your work... It's great, but it's a full working, locked rom (at least, it doesn't break down using htainlin's info to the same files and folders as a stockrom does, or I'm using the wrong tools)... I can't see what you've done to make it that way... I can't open it to compare with something stock to see what has changed and conclude what your changes really do... I don't mind reverse engineering, I do have a brain I can use to figure things out..
Well, sorry for the rant, and if I somehow offended you, I didn't intend to, I just hope you now understand what I'm trying to accomplish
Thanks for all who even tried to read this
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Click to collapse
Well, I never judge xda member on their post count since I know some experts in this field maybe new to XDA-developers and some people w/ very high post count are keep on posting **** (e.g. someone in X1 general inventing 4D glasses and UI. )
Most kitchen (at least the one I pointed to) is just a Dos batch script to automated all the tedious command and parameters w/ all the needed tools. You can learn a lot of in and out if just you open it w/ a editor, follow the steps manually and research those tools individually.
If you really want to learning cooking in the hard way, I had a writeup long time back for Asus P525 which most of the steps still apply to any HTC rom nowaday.
All the documents for how to fish is here and we are still seeing people creating new threads for questions that been address millions time. This is a developers forum afterall and no one is responsible to feed you while your hands are free.
Regarding my rom, I never intend to lock it. Both V1 and V2 are extractable but rgu are removed due to space and speed considerateion. Afterall, the main purpose of a rom is for daily "use" instead of "teaching material". Why am I bother to slow my rom down just because I have to let others to extract it?

Jack,
quinstar said:
..., and if somehow I offended you, I didn't intend to,...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This part was for the locking section you refer to
I already figured out a number of reasons why it would be "locked", and space-limiting was one of them... I definately understand your reasons and by no means am I complaining about it... It's just a pity I can't use such good material as a reference to study...
As for examining the tools, I was already wondering what they're all doing and what they're needed for... However I'm a bit cautious since I don't know how they work... This'll be a matter of trial-and-error...
I will definately have a look at what you've written, not that I'm keen on really wanting to learn it the hard way, but it might make it easier to understand the working of some of the tools...
About the fishing, you are right, no-one is obligated to give me anything. I was merely asking if some-one might remember a post they once read and found very usefull in understanding or learning the process of cooking...
As I already stated, I used the search-button and already found bits of information that I thought were a little usefull, but I'm having a hard time finding any good posts... The topic Lokatho refered to was a great link and gave me some good information and I've got some nice material to work and practice with... It would've taken me ages to find me or just dumb luck...
I'm keeping together all the links I used to read and learn and might paste them in a write-up once I think I've learned a fair bit
To finalise this reply, I understand your frustration, there will always be people who ask the most simple things on any forum, may it be ppc, car, house or anything related... Questions in here like, how do I have to flash your rom, what is hard-spl, why can't you make a 'insert langueage'-rom, reporting a "bug" that's been declared not a bug for several pages already... Those are the most annoying questions I've seen until now(just to name a few) and are really an indication those are posted by lazy people...
Cheers
Q

[SOLVED] Reading for hours, can't find solution - can't install HardSPL

I'm trying to root my G1, and despite the fact that every guide in existence gives different steps, I've managed to confirm I HAVE root now but I need to load the HardSPL so I can load roms to the phone... right.
Except when I do HOME+POWER I get the red/green/blue/white boot loader screen and it says Serial0. I don't get the recovery image. Camera button is not stuck, it works fine.
Anybody know why it won't let me to the recovery screen?
EDIT:
Solution: Turns out recovery image itself was corrupt. Downloaded cyanogen's recovery 1.4 and all was well again.

I'm surprised that after reading for hours you didn't post this in Q&A...
Plug in phone.
Do the power home thing.
Press the back key.
Smack forehead with phone repeatedly.

TheDudeOfLife said:
I'm surprised that after reading for hours you didn't post this in Q&A...
Plug in phone.
Do the power home thing.
Press the back key.
Smack forehead with phone repeatedly.
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Lol after reading this I couldn't stop laughing

Oh COME ON!!!
Talk about rude - you take the time to reply but you don't contribute... wtf.
I have been at this for FOUR HOURS!!!!!!!!!! I have searched every thread I can find for a solution, I haven't been spending hours looking at exactly how I should avoid offending someone! I gotta say, I never got this kind of rudeness in the Vogue forum, maybe switching to an android device has put me in with a new 'class' of users?
Now as far as the problem - the problem is that HOME+POWER does NOT bring up the recovery screen - THAT is the problem! It brings up the boot loader screen instead.

what step r u on ur using this right http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442480

Sounds to me like the recovery image was not installed in telnet, without it you would not be able to get into recovery cause there is not one to get into, read your steps on rooting and if if you have to redownload a recovery image, that is what happened to me on my second phone that I rooted

gridlock32404 said:
Sounds to me like the recovery image was not installed in telnet, without it you would not be able to get into recovery cause there is not one to get into, read your steps on rooting and if if you have to redownload a recovery image, that is what happened to me on my second phone that I rooted
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is what I'm beginng to think, that the downloaded recovery image has errors or something. I think I'll try redownloading it.

Most likely is, it happens every once in awhile and yes you will get some people on this forum that are quite rude and make fun of you without helping, a lot will also sit there and play mod, but you have to just bare with it. There are a lot of great people that will help you out and all the devs do a really great job so the android platform was a great choice in my opinion

well unfortunately, I downloaded the recovery image again, put the sdcard back in the PC, copied it over again, ran through the root process on the device again.... and still can't get the recovery ROM...
did not expect this much of a problem, I had no issues unlocking my Touch VOGUE (similar process) and I run through going to recovery ROM all day long with people at my job, when all the n00bs forget their gmail passwords.

Solved!
After downloading recovery.img 3 times from the thread here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=442480, I finally gave up and downloaded cm-recovery-1.4.img instead, renamed it recovery.img, and now I can access the recovery rom.
yay!
kudos to those that helped out! If you ever get me on the line at t-mobile pda tech support just say "xda developers" and I'll make sure to do my best to help out a bud!

That's great to hear buddy, seems like just a bad image, you will really like the g1 a lot now that it is rooted

lotherius said:
Oh COME ON!!!
Talk about rude - you take the time to reply but you don't contribute... wtf.
I have been at this for FOUR HOURS!!!!!!!!!! I have searched every thread I can find for a solution, I haven't been spending hours looking at exactly how I should avoid offending someone! I gotta say, I never got this kind of rudeness in the Vogue forum, maybe switching to an android device has put me in with a new 'class' of users?
Now as far as the problem - the problem is that HOME+POWER does NOT bring up the recovery screen - THAT is the problem! It brings up the boot loader screen instead.
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Click to collapse
TheDudeOfLife has contributed more to this forum and to making your device run like it does more than you ever will. He is one of the main developers here and has a large following using his ROM, it would be hard for him to contribute more than he already has.
Also, he did give you advice, he advised you to try hitting the back button to see if it would do anything, and if as suspected that it did help, he was only pointing out how dumb you would feel if that was all it took.
Just saying... anyways, congrats on fixing your phone. Next time post in the correct forum (I think its been moved anyways), and could you add [SOLVED] to the title of your thread so other might find it easier if they have the same problem.

Well it was resolved which is the main thing, was just a bad image before flashing which can happen.
TheDudeOfLife has contributed a fair bit to Android as well which his ROMs and whatnot and pressing Back does enable FASTBOOT at that stage.
No main harm done eh? ^_^ As h.nocturna suggested, if you could add a "[SOLVED]" tag to the thread title that would be great.

And you should feel privilaged that the dude came here and tried to help.

supremeteam256 said:
And you should feel privilaged that the dude came here and tried to help.
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Are you serious? He got mocked by the guy and he should feel privileged because the guy is a ROM developer?!
h.nocturna said:
TheDudeOfLife has contributed more to this forum and to making your device run like it does more than you ever will. He is one of the main developers here and has a large following using his ROM, it would be hard for him to contribute more than he already has.
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Again, the original poster wasn't bashing 'the dude', just stating the obvious fact that mocking people and not contributing makes him look like an ass.
I know this post was very off topic, I was just so shocked that people bow down to ROM developers like they can do no wrong.

AdrianK said:
Are you serious? He got mocked by the guy and he should feel privileged because the guy is a ROM developer?!
Again, the original poster wasn't bashing 'the dude', just stating the obvious fact that mocking people and not contributing makes him look like an ass.
I know this post was very off topic, I was just so shocked that people bow down to ROM developers like they can do no wrong.
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Click to collapse
I was pointing out that he said that the Dude didn't contribute when indeed he gave him instructions on how to solve his problem (contribution #1) and he also contributes by developing ROMs that help everyone (contribution #2). So next time, read what I said and why I said it instead of just taking the quote out of context. And I don't think he was mocking, again, read why I don't think he was.

Wow, when did everyone become such sensitive nannies?
To be honest I thought I was answering his question with a joke and the answer. I didn't read (reading is fundemental) it and realize his recovery was bad. Glad you guys were able to work this out.

TheDudeOfLife said:
Wow, when did everyone become such sensitive nannies?
To be honest I thought I was answering his question with a joke and the answer. I didn't read (reading is fundemental) it and realize his recovery was bad. Glad you guys were able to work this out.
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I do appreciate any and all help. I apologize for my own rash reactions. hours of fighting with something that should have been straightforward can do that to you! No idea why the image was bad twice, but once I switched to the other recovery image it was all good. I will add [SOLVED] to the title as suggested.

TheDudeOfLife said:
Wow, when did everyone become such sensitive nannies?
To be honest I thought I was answering his question with a joke and the answer. I didn't read (reading is fundemental) it and realize his recovery was bad. Glad you guys were able to work this out.
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Thank God. I was beginning to think that I misjudged what you wrote and you didn't mean it as a joke. ~sigh~ reading comprehension ftw!

lost and xda no help

i just dont get this. i have been a member for 2 months and im just as lost as i was when i started. if i ask 1 of the people who know what to do they say search or gtfo. i search and end up more confused. the threads arent very friendly to a person just starting out like me. all of the language is written for people who already no what their doing. its not dumbed down at all. i think i will just use this site to download roms and themes since thats all i can seem to do

I am not trying to attack you or anything, but what is the purpose of this thread?
There are a lot of helpful people around here, maybe you aren't putting your questions in the Q&A thread? Or they aren't worded properly so people know how to assist you.... IDK.
Seeing as this is the only thread you have ever started here, I can't really say that it looks like you have posted much requesting help. I see one post where you were having problems flashing a new recovery image, but it looks like you probably just entered either the file name or path wrong. Or you didn't save the file in the root of your sdcard.
But, also, seeing as this is the XDA-Developers forum.... a certain level of knowledge seems to be expected by a lot of the members. I really don't see where anyone has told you to search or GTFO, in fact, I didn't really notice any responses to your posts.
If you want people to help you, post in the proper section and form coherent, explanatory questions.

jerzy448 said:
i just dont get this. i have been a member for 2 months and im just as lost as i was when i started. if i ask 1 of the people who know what to do they say search or gtfo. i search and end up more confused. the threads arent very friendly to a person just starting out like me. all of the language is written for people who already no what their doing. its not dumbed down at all. i think i will just use this site to download roms and themes since thats all i can seem to do
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm home sick today. What do you need help with. I'll help you out..

bhilgeman said:
I'm home sick today. What do you need help with. I'll help you out..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
See, another helpful person offering assistance..
This place isn't all that bad, now is it?

The issue is this I think...
Generally, you need to know something of what you are doing. The reasons are simple;
1) If things start to go wrong, you need to understand enough about the process to at least be able to follow instructions without them having to be written in a specific button-by-button manner,
2) People who blindly follow instructions are bound to miss a step or screw one up simply because they don't understand the instructions (this goes back to #1).
If you are a regular user of an android device, I suggest sticking with a stock build -- they are meant for people who know nothing about the platform. If you are an advanced user, you should be able to get the "gist" of things and fill in the blanks where necessary.
I'm not telling you to gtfo, what I'm telling you is that you really need to think about YOUR level of understanding of how things happen. If you aren't advanced enough to be able to fill in a few blanks here and there, then you might want to think about what you are doing, which is essentially putting a fairly expensive piece of technology into the hands of people you don't know and have no reason to trust. You also have to realize that the instructions that you get from here don't go through months of QA to verify that they are perfectly correct with no chance of, for example, bricking your phone. It is very possible that you could see a bunch of instructions that tell you what to do, but that the author maybe accidentally forgot to include a critical step, and it is absolutely UP TO YOU to be able to see that there is a missing step.

I concur. I have had numerous people ask me for help rooting their g1's. Some I help because they are computer literate and have hacked or altered software on other platforms and hardware. Those that have asked that still need help when basic things go wrong in a windows platform, I say no and tell them to enjoy their Android phone. If they are willing to dive in and learn, my offer may change down the road

What do you need help with?

Accidentally deleted my os! Need help installing Cyanogen 13

I messed up big and accidentally deleted my os. I can get into TWRP, but I don't know what to do from here.

noohel said:
I messed up big and accidentally deleted my os. I can get into TWRP, but I don't know what to do from here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
move the rom, gapps, and supersu over from a computer to your phone, then flash it in twrp. put your phone into recovery, then move them into your phone.

I'm a noob to this stuff so is there any thread with a tutorial or video explaining on how I can do this?

noohel said:
I'm a noob to this stuff so is there any thread with a tutorial or video explaining on how I can do this?
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Click to collapse
I don't think so, as this is the very basic thing that you should learn before you ever flash anything or before you root your device.
there are several ways you can transfer files, adb push is one, or you can just transfer them over using an option in twrp.

If you can't even drag and drop a file to your phone you shouldn't be flashing roms,this is pretty simplistic and basic... I try to help people but this gets really old everyday its the same thing over and over,sorry for my rant or sounding like a total d*#k!

holeindalip said:
If you can't even drag and drop a file to your phone you shouldn't be flashing roms,this is pretty simplistic and basic... I try to help people but this gets really old everyday its the same thing over and over,sorry for my rant or sounding like a total d*#k!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ok, really old.. you have 500+ posts, it cant be that old to you. i have 32400+ posts, and im still willing to help everyone. you were a newb once as well, and im sure someone helped you somewhere. i know i was a newb once. oh, and im sure that youre not a dxxk! youre probably a nice guy as well

Ive been on here since 2010,I just don't post every time somebody needs something,I let others chip in. Bit you have to admit how many times do you login and see the same thing day after day.
1. He bought the phone with cm13 on it already and is a noob and doesn't know how or
2 he installed cm13 on his own but accidentally deleted the os which means he's done it before but automatically forgot how to do it again
Again sorry to op I'm being mean tonight!

holeindalip said:
Ive been on here since 2010,I just don't post every time somebody needs something,I let others chip in. Bit you have to admit how many times do you login and see the same thing day after day.
1. He bought the phone with cm13 on it already and is a noob and doesn't know how or
2 he installed cm13 on his own but accidentally deleted the os which means he's done it before but automatically forgot how to do it again
Again sorry to op I'm being mean tonight!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i actually used to agree with you completely, in 2013 i was fed up with the same questions over and over and over again. then something happened to me that let me see past being fed up. i guess something like seeing the light. ive been nothing but very nice with newbies since. i do see people asking questions over and over again, that should know what they are doing. it those people ill get on, and wont be nice sometime

Anyways to answer your question do as Simms said
1.boot to twrp
2. Plug device to pc
3. After downloading rom,gapps,and SuperSU drag and drop from pc to your nexus 6
4. In twrp click install and install rom,gapps,and SuperSU
5. reboot and if twrp asks to install super user select no
6. Profit!!!

I'll be blunt here.
I have no patience for people looking for a handout. If a noob comes to this forum, does their research beforehand, and then encounters a problem, I'm more than willing to help them out. They at least are trying to learn how to do things on their own.
I place great value on self-reliance, and will reward the self-reliant with as much help as I can provide, within the limits of my experience. The OP on the other hand is on their own. Unlike the self-reliant person, the OP didn't bother to do their homework before attempting to mess around with their device, and on encountering a problem that could have been solved with a simple search, hit XDA Developers for help after the fact.
An increasing number of noobs aren't even bothering to read and understand what they are doing, because they are under the illusion that rooting is somehow cool or will grant them instant street cred. Rooting, as anyone with half a brain knows, is serious business. One wrong step and your shiny new device could become a shiny new paperweight. So, if the OP is unwilling to help themselves through simple research, how will giving the answer to them teach them anything?

Strephon Alkhalikoi said:
I'll be blunt here.
I have no patience for people looking for a handout. If a noob comes to this forum, does their research beforehand, and then encounters a problem, I'm more than willing to help them out. They at least are trying to learn how to do things on their own.
I place great value on self-reliance, and will reward the self-reliant with as much help as I can provide, within the limits of my experience. The OP on the other hand is on their own. Unlike the self-reliant person, the OP didn't bother to do their homework before attempting to mess around with their device, and on encountering a problem that could have been solved with a simple search, hit XDA Developers for help after the fact.
An increasing number of noobs aren't even bothering to read and understand what they are doing, because they are under the illusion that rooting is somehow cool or will grant them instant street cred. Rooting, as anyone with half a brain knows, is serious business. One wrong step and your shiny new device could become a shiny new paperweight. So, if the OP is unwilling to help themselves through simple research, how will giving the answer to them teach them anything?
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Click to collapse
100% agree, thumbs up. I have said this before on here but I think an admin. Deleted it, I don't think anybody reads anything anymore they just want somebody to do it for them