Database Develop

New to switching Roms, help please

I have had my Touch Diamond for a while but have always been afraid to switch Roms. My battery life is awful and my phone seems really slow. So I have thought about switching Roms. I figure it will make my phone seem new to me again and maybe help with some of my issues.
A couple of questions:
How do I go about doing this the first time? What steps do I need to make sure I do so I don't brick my phone and will still have my contacts and all?
Which Rom would you recommend? I'm on Alltel, I don't know if that matters. I would like something that helps with battery life and performance and also will look cool.
Thanks for any help. I'm sure these are really generic questions, but I don't really know what I am doing with this the first time.

your concats will erase so make sure you get a buckup software to make sure you still have them

research
check out the wiki section http://wiki.xda-developers.com/ for starting info on how to flash a ROM.
There are certain things you need to know before flashing like if our phone is locked to a carrier.. you will also probably want to backup your contacts and other info, maybe even emails and txts, so you will need a backup application.
You will probably want to make not of your current phones ROM and radio settings as well.
Keep in mind that there is a risk, however small it may be, to flashing a ROM. Please read up on the steps thoroughly before jumping in for the best chance of success.
note, i am currently in the same boat as you, wanting to flash my first ROM, but am still in the process of educating myself on how it works.
I plan on putting together my own How-To written in complete noob-speak once i have successfully flashed my first....
regards\
d

dkehler said:
note, i am currently in the same boat as you, wanting to flash my first ROM, but am still in the process of educating myself on how it works.
I plan on putting together my own How-To written in complete noob-speak once i have successfully flashed my first....
regards\
d
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm also new to this whole flashing thing.
Recently got bored of the look of my TD from Bell.... and stumbled across this site with so many cool looking ROMS but I have no idea how/where to start even after reading the guides.
Hopefully you have success with yours and teach me and the OP

About custom Roms

So, I installed Juwe's ROM and now that I have it installed... well... to me it just seems like a compilation for the lazy. Dont get me wrong, i really appreciate the work done by all chefs but, theres no real reason to use them. Or at least I think.
I believe if I flash a stock firmware and apply a custom kernel the results will be much better. Many of the "features" of these roms are thanks to the kernels flashed in them, and can be done manually. Also, I think many of the cosmetic improvements are not my cup of tea, and I much prefer the stock samsung animations, etc.
Please correct me if i'm wrong, or well help me out choose what to do. I'm not eager to reflash my firmware all over again. I would just like to flash something on my phone and never have to reflash again.
-Nestor

exactly....if you have the time and knowledge do it yourself....if not flash any of the custom roms prepared by the rom "chefs" out there....and be grateful for the opportunity (I suspect you underestimate the amount of work and intellect that these guys have invested in their custom roms...far more than just different kernels and basic cosmetics as you suggest)
Unless i am mistaken you have stated the obvious...if not, what is your point?

Oh, yes. I wasnt really obvious on what i wanted to do. Well, I see all of the things my rom has installed, and see that im still having some bugs, etc, and, well I cant diagnose where are they coming from. Is it my apps fault, etc, since all these modifications are done and all of these apps installed and now I really dont know what caused what.
So I think, what if some of the stuff that was done was unnecessary? What if just flashing to stock, and then adding stuff one by one until im satisfied will rid me of most of my problems?
I must admit I relate the rom chefs with the people from the pirate bay who give you modified versions of windows, with all the necessary stuff done, but you can get a fresh copy of windows and get much better results on most cases.
I mean no disrespect to anyone's intelect, or ego. Im a really new guy myself, but the more I learn the more I realize, maybe the best way to go is just flash stock, root, get a new kernel and all will be peachy. That sounds too easy though. So i raised this discussion to see what do people think.
Edit: Well, after reflashing and doing some stuff, like repartitioning tried some custom kernels and ended up bootlooping my phone, and after much frustration, I reflashed Juwe's. Now I can appreciate how well this works. The couple of erros may have been caused by not repartitioning the first time. Now Im very happy with how my phone is working. Hopefully, this is the last firmware i ever flash.

[Q] Totally confused about kernel/ROM/lagfix

I have been trying to find answers for a week now and have found a lot of info. The problem is most of the info is contradictory and I'm not really sure which is good and which is not. I currently have an AT&T Samsung Captivate, firmware ver 2.2, kernel ver. 2.6.32.9 build# FROYO.UCKB1. I believe that is the stock At&t froyo build. It is rooted, I do have SGS tools (which I don't really understand what all it can do for me) and Titanium backup (which I've not tried to use yet for fear of breaking my phone). I run 91PandaHome and a bunch of apps I like.
My problem is that the phone sometimes is just really sluggish, certain programs really kill it. For example, I have PlantVsZombies which mostly runs ok, but sometimes slows down and worse 3 out of 5 times I play will not close. I have to power/volume up reboot to get out of the game. Other programs occasionally do this to me, but not as often.
I've been reading up and see that there are lagfixes, and understand that samsung apparently chose a ****ty file system, but I don't understand android well enough to know what's safe. What I want to know is what is as of today the safest, easiest way to fix the lag. I think I am going to be told something that changes the file system to ext4 is what I want, but I really don't understand what will be safe to use for that. I thought I wanted OneClickLagFix, then I found that maybe Voodoo was what I wanted, and now it seems that neither is currently being developed. Reliability, ease of transition and ease of putting it back to stock are important factors for me.
Suggestions, links and general help will be greatly appreciated.

Try going to a custom rom where all of that is done for you. Since you are new to this, I suggest you go look up the rom Serendipity 6.4, it's very easy to install and has it's own thread in the development section.

fianor said:
I have been trying to find answers for a week now and have found a lot of info. The problem is most of the info is contradictory and I'm not really sure which is good and which is not. I currently have an AT&T Samsung Captivate, firmware ver 2.2, kernel ver. 2.6.32.9 build# FROYO.UCKB1. I believe that is the stock At&t froyo build. It is rooted, I do have SGS tools (which I don't really understand what all it can do for me) and Titanium backup (which I've not tried to use yet for fear of breaking my phone). I run 91PandaHome and a bunch of apps I like.
My problem is that the phone sometimes is just really sluggish, certain programs really kill it. For example, I have PlantVsZombies which mostly runs ok, but sometimes slows down and worse 3 out of 5 times I play will not close. I have to power/volume up reboot to get out of the game. Other programs occasionally do this to me, but not as often.
I've been reading up and see that there are lagfixes, and understand that samsung apparently chose a ****ty file system, but I don't understand android well enough to know what's safe. What I want to know is what is as of today the safest, easiest way to fix the lag. I think I am going to be told something that changes the file system to ext4 is what I want, but I really don't understand what will be safe to use for that. I thought I wanted OneClickLagFix, then I found that maybe Voodoo was what I wanted, and now it seems that neither is currently being developed. Reliability, ease of transition and ease of putting it back to stock are important factors for me.
Suggestions, links and general help will be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just a few quick things:
Titanium backup is a good friend to have on your phone. It won't break it - it will just take snapshots (for lack of a better phrase) of your apps so that you can restore them later if you need to.
Most lagfixes are cooked into kernels, so using lagfix will most likely go hand-in-hand with flashing to a custom rom. Not that you can't lagfix stock, but statistically speaking, lagfix will be done with a new kernel via the Clockworkmod Recovery Menu.
As for general fixing of lagginess... (READ UP FIRST) Flash a custom Rom (READ MORE). Most of the problems you're experiencing (ARE YOU READING UP ON FLASHING?) should be fixed by flashing (DO MORE READING) a custom rom. Do some research on roms and pick one that you think you'll like. (Note - don't post questions asking which one to do, it tends to be a bit of a touchy subject on the forum.) If you're wanting to be cautious, it would be safer to stay with a Froyo-based rom, as they're more tested and there's less danger involved (specifically, you don't have to flash bootloaders, which is the area where you can get a real brick).
Oh, and (shameless self plug) if you need to know what different terminology and items on the forum mean, just click the link in my signature.

jmtheiss said:
Just a few quick things:
Titanium backup is a good friend to have on your phone. It won't break it -
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, it CAN break your phone if you don't know how to use it. Backing up is safe, but never, ever restore system data with TiBu when changing ROMs and only restore app data you know is safe.
I would recommend staying away from any Gingerbread-based ROMs until you have a better understanding of the phone and the process. Andromeda 3 is a good choice for a Froyo-based ROM and is very easy to flash, but do your research on the process before you attempt it. Almost any custom ROM will have a lagfix in the kernel and performance will be noticeably better than stock. You will likely have to redo your root after installing a new ROM, so read up on that process, too.

jmtheiss said:
As for general fixing of lagginess... (READ UP FIRST) Flash a custom Rom (READ MORE). Most of the problems you're experiencing (ARE YOU READING UP ON FLASHING?) should be fixed by flashing (DO MORE READING) a custom rom.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I lol'd at the "()" parts
To build on jmtheiss post. For "reliability" look for a KB1 based ROM as this is what your phone is currently running, and is the newest version of firmware written specifically for the AT&T captivate. You won't come across any major issues that make the phone unusable, nor any "annoying" bugs. Then if your feeling more adventurous, and have gotten a solid understanding of the process of flashing ROMs, look to I9000 based 2.2.x ROMs, and lastly 2.3.x based ROMs.
For "ease of transition" start by getting the SGS Kernel Flasher or Heimdall to change the kernel. From there you can get past 3e recovery and you'll be free to make other changes.
For "ease of putting it back to stock" first find out what is your stock. Since this phone technically has 3 different "stock" firmwares. Then get a copy of that firmware (and steps on how to flash it) and keep it on your computer, in a location you'll be able to find easily in case of problems. Depending on how far "to the dark side" you go, will effect just how much of the "stock" files you'll need to keep as backups.
Personally I'd suggest this ROM as it's whats currently on my phone. Many have started off with Cognition and it's still a crowd fav. Both are KB1 based ROMs

[Q] A few questions about mods, from a total n00b

I have a Sprint HTC hero with original everything.
I've been wanting to do a mod but that brings up a few questions.
1) A lot of places say the CM7 mod from here is great for this phone but I clicked around and can't find a list of things it changes/improves. Why would I install a mod and will most things continue to work (market places, email, phone utilities, purchased apps).
2) All roms have those warnings that they void warranty. How often do they brick the device? Is this something I should worry about?
Sorry for the noobish questions but I am looking towards modding the hero but I want to make sure I don't make it worse.

1.) well basically MOD's are roms that people cook themselves from the scratch android or from a base like for example the DesireHD android base. They can do things varying from the look and feel of android to adding elements like being able to browse Privately on your browsers. i know that CM7 allows you to do that. Being able to flash different roms opens up a even bigger Android World.
2.) I have been flashing back and forth for a long time and not once have i bricked the device. Besides not like a little system restore wont fix anything. Also if you happen to send you device into maintenance or repair just restore you phone back to factory settings. All of it is reversible. When i first started out it helped me to really read NOOB forums so i didn't do something i would regret, but you should have nothing to really worry about.

reply from a still nearly noob, although i read alot about roms already and flashed my sgs2. ill just attemt to help you a little here.
1) i now flashed lite'ning rom on my phone as there is no cm7 for it yet. once realeased i will also flash it as i also read that it is the most widely used rom with best support. within a thread of the specific rom there should be a list of improvements/major changes or what will be added if you flash the rom. these and mostly more battery life and/or more speed are the reasons people flash roms. after flashing the phone you will have all the things still working, sometimes even better. for apps it depends on the rom. mine for example didnt require a wipe that delets all you data on the phone. others (as i think cm7 also) require a wipe of all you on-phone personal data apps and so on (not sd card if im not mistaken, please correct me!)
2)yes, you void warranty if you flash a custom rom, root or do sth else on the firmware not published by the manufacturer. when i flashed and overflashed my phones rom for several time already i haven't had any problems. and as i read all over the net/xda there is just a very little chance to brick your phone and even there you might have possibilities to revive it, i think. but im not sure on this, cosider others informations first!
hope i could help you a little from noob to noob and enjoy flashing roms. oh and of course have a look in the htc hero android development section for roms!
cheers!
IQHU

Damn - too late, and didnt recognize until now...
Sent from my GT-I9100 using XDA App

Go to this thread and start reading some of the linked threads. All your answers can be found there.

[Q] Stock Galaxy S; Drowning in Information

Hi everyone,
I have a Galaxy S that is rooted, but runs on stock Froyo.
In the last couple of weeks/months it has been slugging to a slow halt though... when I start it up, it can take tens of minutes to be ready to use. And when I use it, it sometimes shows black screens for minutes at a time.
Using this 'high-end' phone has become a very, very painful process for me.
So I started looking for answers. And I found them. A LOT of them.
So much, I am not sure where to start.
The last few days I have been casually reading and taking in data from this forum, but I have yet failed to form me a proper view of what to do... Kernels, ROMs, speed fixes, modems... help?
I am sorry if I am breaking any rules; I did search, and I did read. However, no thread I found has a proper and up-to-date guide regarding the best way to get my phone to be a powerhouse, not a snail.
(Could I keep my current apps installed?)
I would very much appreciate anyone who is willing to donate some time to get me going. I know some programming and am the families 'go-to-guy' when it comes to computers, so I should be ok once I get some pointers on what to look for.
Thank you for reading (and responding?),
MM

I dunno if this will help you anyway i'll post it http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=939752

I did read that; thanks for the suggestion though.
It doesn't really go into kernels/roms/modems etc. which my main confusion is about.
I just downloaded darky's ROM... Reading their site, but I am afraid of losing my apps, not going to 2.3, having it interfere with my lagfix etc. =/

If you are afraid of loosing apps you can use titanium backup. You can download it from the market. I can't tell you anymore because that thread explains very well what you have to do. But i can say that after some time it will be very easy and you will not be afraid to flash a kernel or a rom. I post this too but i think you have read this too http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=723596

I did read that... I missed the 2.2 / 2.3 part however.
I planned on using Darky's ROM but that link says its a Froyo ROM.
Which one is better, currently; Cyanogen (Gingerbread) or Darky's (Froyo)?
Edit: also, while that post lists a lot of options, it in no way goes into which is the best option for which people...
Increasing the confusion a little bit more, so to speak.

Try cyanogenmod and darkyy rom and decide which is the best. I can't recommend anything you have to decide. But i suggest to upgrade to gingerbread. Your phone will get smoother. (darky's 10.2 is based on jvq a 2.3.4 gingerbread firmware). Link: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1061946 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=814091. Remember: with cyanogenmod you have to use different kernels

Mad Maniak said:
The last few days I have been casually reading and taking in data from this forum, but I have yet failed to form me a proper view of what to do... Kernels, ROMs, speed fixes, modems... help?
MM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm a noob but I'll try to clear out few things for you.
From what I understand ROMs are like operating systems you use on PC.you currently have a froyo ROM running and flashing a gingerbread ROM will be like going from windows XP to windows 7.
when you download a ROM and unrar it you'll see 3 files.
PDA is the main one. PDA is Android and the apps that come with it. MODEM is the firmware of the wireless chipset of the device, it controls WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G/2G/GSM connections. The CSC holds connection data for the broadband networks as well as apps that are only available in certain languages/intended for a specific area or operator.
A kernel is like the heart of the operating system.It manages the system resources and acts as bridge between the software and hardware.
Now there are stock kernels and custom kernels. when you flash(install) a stock ROM all the necessary things are installed along with the stock kernel.
But if you wish you can flash custom kernels over stock kernels.
The speed/lag fix things you have read are basically conversion of file systems to enhance the I/O performance of your phone. You should know of the NTFS,FAT32 file systems in windows, similarly you android phone can have RFS,EXT4 file system. when you flash a stock rom RFS is default file system that gets installed.Many say that this RFS is to blame for the lag,slowness in our phone so what we do? we convert to EXT4. but to convert to EXT4 you need to be running a custom kernel.
So let me tell you this go on and flash a stock gingerbread rom, Im using the latest stock 2.3.4 XXJVR and you should try it. then you flash the voodoo kernel for XXJVR. it'll root your phone,convert the file system to EXT4.
reply if you have confusions.
cheers

Now you are on froyo. If you want to upgrade to gingerbread you should loose your application. Because if you backup your application using titanium backup or any other software from froyo. Its not advisable to restore in gingerbread. It will give always problem. So better way is download Drakys v10.2RE and do a fresh install.
http://samsung-sgs.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-flash-darkys-rom-v102-re.html

This happened to me once, when I was already on Froyo, lagfix activated, etc.
Took forever to boot, and was slow as hell.
Reason: faulty microsd card. The phone kept trying to read from it, and was unable to. I tried taking out the card and... voilá!
You could be still on Éclair and no lag fix activated, the phone would never behave like that. Try taking out the microsd card.
(Couldn't even read the card in the computer, so you see).

Hi guys, a small update:
I got Darky's 10.2, which is VERY smooth.
I reformatted my external microSD and put my stuff (music) back on it. Clean install on the internal SD.
It is a very enjoyable device once again. Two issues:
-It sometimes hangs on a black screen which I can't get out of with the home button. It seems only a battery in-and-out fixes this. (This issue worries me; is the internal SD corrupted?)
-The external microSD sometimes needs to be ejected and re-inserted to work.
Any solutions regarding that? Should I get a new microSD, or even contact Samsung to ask for a new phone (especially the first issue worries me... a lot).
Again, thanks a lot for the very extensive answers.
Especially marib; your post was very informative, and I'll be keeping a bookmark of it for future reference... thanks!

I think you could search for this issues in the darky's thread and if not found post the issue there to get a promt solution.
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=814091

Yeah, figured as much.
Will be tackeling these issues in the weekend.
Just thought of posting them in this here thread too. Might have gotten lucky, and the thread was here anywho.
Again, thanks.