[Q] ROM vs. apk - Captivate Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

I suppose this is more a general question rather than specific to the Captivate, but I'm not exactly following what the difference is. I've read entire firmwares referred to as ROMS. I've read individual programs referred to as ROMS. I thought Android programs were apps in the form of .apk files...
Could someone enlighten me on the difference?

maximus-dev said:
I suppose this is more a general question rather than specific to the Captivate, but I'm not exactly following what the difference is. I've read entire firmwares referred to as ROMS. I've read individual programs referred to as ROMS. I thought Android programs were apps in the form of .apk files...
Could someone enlighten me on the difference?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The answer is actually both. The standard android apps that you install from the market and internet and such are .apk files. New firmwares that you can install (like CyanogenMod, or Cognition, etc.) are called ROMs. However ROMs may also apply to the files used in emulators. For example if you get an NES emulator, it'll be a .apk, but the game file will be called a ROM. Hopefully that at least partially answered your question.

I hear you on the game roms... been playing with emulators and such for the last 10 years or so.
What I'm sort of thinking, the more thought I put into it... are ROMS (in the android sense) something that has to actually be flashed and modifies/replaces the firmware in someway?

maximus-dev said:
I hear you on the game roms... been playing with emulators and such for the last 10 years or so.
What I'm sort of thinking, the more thought I put into it... are ROMS (in the android sense) something that has to actually be flashed and modifies/replaces the firmware in someway?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - that is what ROM Manager is for. So you can play with different ROMs - the different releases for different versions of our phone are ROMs, then there are custom ROMs like Cognition and CyanogenMod (not available for us yet). JH6 is our original factory ROM, there are i9000 ROMs for the international phone, and we can mix and match parts - 2.2 i9000 ROM with Captivate Kernel flashed back in.
APKs are individual apps. They are zip files similar to Jar files.

Related

Custom Roms for the milestone

I thought a thread would be nice where you guys can show us your custom roms and where to download it ;-).
There are no custom ROMs for the Milestone, because of his locked bootloader. There are some personalized Nandroid backups, but they aren't true custom ROMs.
However, some hackers are working on a kernel module for the Milestone that could load a customized kernel after the original one starts.
But i thougt i read something yesterday about that the bootloader is cracked now.
Masterchief14 said:
But i thougt i read something yesterday about that the bootloader is cracked now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cracking the bootloader would be very hard, the only thing that is currently possible is a kexec attack, thou it's not ready for normal users ; )
Read more here:
http://and-developers.com/motorola_milestone
this is as good as it gets for now.
http://motofunvn.com/forum/?showtopic=60242
pulsar roms. they arent roms, just a script to add and remove apks. but i think most of the mods are now part of 2.1 oficially realeased.
What abaut just replacing /system partition file by file from some 2.2 ROM and see how it works. Though since kernel must not be touched, many things like WIFI tether will not work this way anyway. But in theory, wouldn't this make an almost 2.2 ROM for Milestone? Like all the spedups, louncher, new gmail app and stuff, that is not related to kernel right?
Sense ui for Milestone
Theres a sense ui rom that i found, looks like that the developer abandoned it, iv tried to port it into my milestone...but im just a novice user...so dont know how to tune the rom...hope some one here can further develop it...
http://forums.zeusdroid.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25
CommanderThor said:
What abaut just replacing /system partition file by file from some 2.2 ROM and see how it works. Though since kernel must not be touched, many things like WIFI tether will not work this way anyway. But in theory, wouldn't this make an almost 2.2 ROM for Milestone? Like all the spedups, louncher, new gmail app and stuff, that is not related to kernel right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Applications are not the problem, for that you only have to edit few lines in
/system/build.prop
ro.build.version.sdk=8
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and probably all references from version 2.1-update1 to 2.2, e.g.:
ro.build.version.release=2.2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Then you should be able to install android 2.2 apps...
As far as the whole system partition is concerned, there might be some dependencies for some libraries that require parts of the new kernel, you are free to try that out... Just don't forget to create a nandroid backup
Also the "new"-jit-speed up is already possible with the 2.1, it's just buggy as hell
Wifi tether might work, for the same reason that android-wifi-tether works with milestone with only su permissions, because the kernel for 2.0 included the necessary module(s) : )
CommanderThor said:
What abaut just replacing /system partition file by file from some 2.2 ROM and see how it works. Though since kernel must not be touched, many things like WIFI tether will not work this way anyway. But in theory, wouldn't this make an almost 2.2 ROM for Milestone? Like all the spedups, louncher, new gmail app and stuff, that is not related to kernel right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most of the performance related things and Flash stuff etc. are as a result of the new kernel.
The new Gmail app however...

How do I port an application from 1 rom to another

Hi bit of a beginners questions but how do a port an application from one rom to another.
A am currently running MicroMod's 2.5 Rom but the FM radio isn't as good as the one on Cyanogen so I thought I would install it on Micromods rom.
This is what I tried, open up the nighlty build of NC rom, went to system/apps and copied the fm.apk to my sdcard. Then I installed it using Astro in Micromods but when I try to use it I get force closes.
I suspect it different or missing ddls files but unsure were to look to find this out.
Any ideas
Im pretty sure the fm.apk is linked to the CM6 framework so it would only work on CM6 atm...
I would also like to know the best way to do try to do this in general. Ive always wanted to put the browser from cm into an enom rom but the same thing happens as op said and it just fc's. If I were to use root explorer or 7zip to unzip the apk is there a specific place to look to see what other files need to be where in order for the apk to function properly?
it's pretty complicated which is why people tend to avoid it. You basically need to copy the right sections of Cyanogen's framework code into MicroMod's framework.. and since I believe MicroMod's ROM is based on HTC, that would involve some disassembly (look into smali/baksmali), but that would require some knowledge of assembly language.
It's a LOT of work, and a lot of testing (and swearing.. haha). Hate to discourage you.. but if anyone knows of a better (and more feasible) way I would love to hear it
I honestly doubt it's possible. CyanogenMod uses the MIUI method for the FM radio, which is most likely completely different than HTC's proprietary method. Kwazi is right though, it lies deep within the framework.

[Q] AT&T ROM w/o bloatware

Seems like now a days there isn't that many people making ROMs like there was back in the Windows Mobile days. Anyways, I'm looking for a AT&T 2.1 ROM w/o the AT&T bloatware. Is there anything out there? I know there are some ROMs that people have cooked up, but I'm looking for something more specific. Such as mentioned above.
If there isn't, is there any way you could assist me in making my own clean ROM, or just point me in the right direction? It seems that there isn't much documentation about how to go about making your own ROM.
Any help would be great.
mbudden said:
Seems like now a days there isn't that many people making ROMs like there was back in the Windows Mobile days. Anyways, I'm looking for a AT&T 2.1 ROM w/o the AT&T bloatware. Is there anything out there? I know there are some ROMs that people have cooked up, but I'm looking for something more specific. Such as mentioned above.
If there isn't, is there any way you could assist me in making my own clean ROM, or just point me in the right direction? It seems that there isn't much documentation about how to go about making your own ROM.
Any help would be great.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just to be clear......you are looking for a 2.1 rom?
Cognition would be closest to stock, Continuum also offer an unthemed version which looks like the stock version. If you want to make your own ROM check it out here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928955
Jemack said:
Just to be clear......you are looking for a 2.1 rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This. 2.2 is officially out for the Captivate.
Jemack said:
Just to be clear......you are looking for a 2.1 rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. I'd rather not build off of the Stock 2.2 ROM since from reading everyone's thoughts about it. It's crap.
low99 said:
Cognition would be closest to stock, Continuum also offer an unthemed version which looks like the stock version. If you want to make your own ROM check it out here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=928955
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I've looked at that ROM. But it looks like he's added things to it... I might tear his down and remove the things that aren't wanted... Making ROMs seemed to be much easier back in the WM days. Made a couple stripped down carrier ones for myself.
curti.nogg said:
This. 2.2 is officially out for the Captivate.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct. Like I posted above, head into the Captivate General sub-forum and see how many were complaining it wasn't actually a "upgrade".
There are tut all over the place about removing the bloat from the stock roms. As for 2.2 being worse, I cant say much as all stock rom's are pretty bad. 2.2 brought some much needed features to the captivate. Don't take peoples thoughts on it, try it yourself and make up your own mind.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using XDA Premium App
zelendel said:
There are tut all over the place about removing the bloat from the stock roms. As for 2.2 being worse, I cant say much as all stock rom's are pretty bad. 2.2 brought some much needed features to the captivate. Don't take peoples thoughts on it, try it yourself and make up your own mind.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doing a search didn't really land me up with much. But I did find the stock I897UCJF6 files. I thought I could find them in Odin3 but they are hiding in the .exe file. Now time to remove things and test things out. I'd try 2.2 out myself, but if everyone is saying they are crap. No need to test it out myself lol.
Wondering if I'm able to replace the stock kernel with one of the OC'd kernels... Hmm...
mbudden said:
Doing a search didn't really land me up with much. But I did find the stock I897UCJF6 files. I thought I could find them in Odin3 but they are hiding in the .exe file. Now time to remove things and test things out. I'd try 2.2 out myself, but if everyone is saying they are crap. No need to test it out myself lol.
Wondering if I'm able to replace the stock kernel with one of the OC'd kernels... Hmm...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will say this for the 2.2 update as I did run it for the better part of a day before I went back to a 2.2.1 based rom. It was better then the 2.1 that came stock on it. Most people that were complaining about it were expecting the stock rom to run like a custom rom or for it to fix all the issues they had with it. While I admit it is a BS rom, if you are going stock then it is better then the 2.1. But like I said it is up to you.
I am sure there is a kernel for it but you may have to look in older posts as most of the custom kernels for a stock rom are based of the KB1 2.2 update, not sure if any are compatible with 2.1 any longer.
zelendel said:
I will say this for the 2.2 update as I did run it for the better part of a day before I went back to a 2.2.1 based rom. It was better then the 2.1 that came stock on it. Most people that were complaining about it were expecting the stock rom to run like a custom rom or for it to fix all the issues they had with it. While I admit it is a BS rom, if you are going stock then it is better then the 2.1. But like I said it is up to you.
I am sure there is a kernel for it but you may have to look in older posts as most of the custom kernels for a stock rom are based of the KB1 2.2 update, not sure if any are compatible with 2.1 any longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doing a quick look around, it does seem that most of the kernels are for the 2.2 and 2.2.1 ROMs. For example SpeedMod kernel.
So I may need to find the stock 2.2 files and go from there. It doesn't seem as hard as I thought it was going to be, but that's just from doing some quick searching. Do you happen to know the Baseband Version of the latest firmware? If not, then I'll end up finding it and hopefully be able to find it's files online.
mbudden,
The official froyo release is kb1. Cognition is basically stock kb1 with a lagfix injected kernel and much of the "bloat" removed. The 2.2.1 roms such as js5, js7 are noticeably smoother and I often used them without a lagfix enabled.
If you are looking to build a base Rom yourself and don't want to start from scratch, check out doc's kitchen.
newter55 said:
mbudden,
The official froyo release is kb1. Cognition is basically stock kb1 with a lagfix injected kernel and much of the "bloat" removed. The 2.2.1 roms such as js5, js7 are noticeably smoother and I often used them without a lagfix enabled.
If you are looking to build a base Rom yourself and don't want to start from scratch, check out doc's kitchen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I found the I897UCKB1 .tar file and was taking a peak inside. But interesting. I was looking to remove some of the other things that was added in the Continuum ROM, but the darn .apk's aren't all obviously named. I'll give a look at the Cognition though. Not really into the whole themes and this and that. I like stream lined ROM's. Nothing fancy.
Thanks for that thread though, maybe I should have taken a gander at the I9000 subforums too. lol. Now to figure out how to zip everything back into a .tar file.
Rather than cook up a whole ROM,
upgrade to 2.2 (it is better, ignore the disapointed whiners)
install a kernal of your choice (if you want)
use titanium backup to uninstall the bloat
now you have a stock rom, with a good kernal and no bloat.
P.S. some folks think that just because their lives rovolve arround android, that android pays attention to what they want. People always cry when upgrades arrive because no one at android paid any attention to them.
joshua43214 said:
Rather than cook up a whole ROM,
upgrade to 2.2 (it is better, ignore the disapointed whiners)
install a kernal of your choice (if you want)
use titanium backup to uninstall the bloat
now you have a stock rom, with a good kernal and no bloat.
P.S. some folks think that just because their lives rovolve arround android, that android pays attention to what they want. People always cry when upgrades arrive because no one at android paid any attention to them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The thing is, I just installed Continuum. I just don't like it. I do admit that it is fast. I like the stock icons and I like the stock the stock look and feel. Not to mention, some of the installed stuff I didn't care for. Also I don't need extra lock screens, or colored menus.
But anyways, got the factoryfs.rfs file apart. So basically that's the system folder like it would be in a custom ROM. Now to find out how to Deodex these .apk/.odex files.
Honestly, if you're just looking for the AT&T standard rom without the bloatware, you'd find it a lot easier to just flash back to whatever came with the phone & strip it of bloatware via titanium backup.
snapplefish said:
Honestly, if you're just looking for the AT&T standard rom without the bloatware, you'd find it a lot easier to just flash back to whatever came with the phone & strip it of bloatware via titanium backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What's wrong with learning the hard way? That's the easy way out.
Doing it my way will help me understand Android.
Like I said, I used to build my own custom Windows Mobile ROMs for myself. Why not learn how to build my own custom Android ROMs?
If any ROM makers want to share some advice, do so.
Mikey has a good basic tutorial stickied here in development. There is also a guide on deodexing put up recently. Other than that it is pretty much just de/recompiling the apk and jar files to edit. Mikeymike and chancem (serendipity) have an irc and seem willing to provide advice. Sorry for no links but on the phone atm.
Hope you're enjoying the phone btw.
newter55 said:
Mikey has a good basic tutorial stickied here in development. There is also a guide on deodexing put up recently. Other than that it is pretty much just de/recompiling the apk and jar files to edit. Mikeymike and chancem (serendipity) have an irc and seem willing to provide advice. Sorry for no links but on the phone atm.
Hope you're enjoying the phone btw.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
His tutorial is what I'm following as we speak. A lot of the stuff he mentions isn't clearly defined though. So Google has been helpful with that. For example, he doesn't talk about how to deodex the apk/jar/odex files. But that's alright, nothing a little Googling won't fix. Will be also throwing the fixes that have been made in. A lot of reading lol.
But I am, such a great device. Battery life isn't as great as my Blackberry. But hey, it's not that much of a hassle.
Alright, I got most if it down. But when I go to load it via clockwork recovery. I get this "E:can't symlink /system/bin/cat" Any assistance?
I guess I took the "easy" way out.
I have AT&T 2.2 (WAY better than 2.1)
Root
removed unwanted bloat with TiBackup
installed SuperCurio's KB1 + Voodoo KB1 Kernel
This let me have some of the features of a custom ROM that I wanted without having to backup and restore all my apps/etc.
By no means do I have anything against that. It's just I'd rather learn things myself. So if it came time for me to build my own ROM to my liking. I have the know how.

I'm Building a ROM...but I have a problem!

Hi Guys!
I'm what you guys call "the new kid who want's to play". I have various experience in Android flashing and updating, but I still have none kind of experience in building a Custom ROM.
But I said: What the hell! Let's try it! So I took a quick lesson at Nokia7Vista's tutorial on Youtube. I don't know if I can post links, but you can find it if you want to.
Anyway, My first ROM booted, and was based on the contents of Deodexed JW1. It has only some apps included, so no big deal here. But I wanted some experience before I get to the real thing.
OK, so I finished that, and I got to the real business:
I've started searching some of the best Custom ROM's out there. I found OserX's One, GalaxyDroid and S.U.R.F.A.C.E to meet my likes. I inspired myself from there (downloaded the 3) and took some apps, system tweaks, etc from them. OserX is JVZ, the other 2 are JW1. My ROM Was based on JW1 and was Odexed (like OserX and Surface). From what I know, JVZ and JW1 are pretty much the same ROM. Still, I didn't took anything from there but apps.
I've changed my drivers to the Nexus S drivers, and the framework-res.apk to get a CRT-on/off effect (Downloaded from this site, it's for JW1).
Basically, I did some mod's that everyone has did before. Still, when I flash the ROM, it get's stuck at the Galaxy S LOGO, (not bootanimation).
What should I do? What can be the cause of this?
Thanks...
Still no answer...
Now I understand the n00bs that post in the Development Section. Here no one f(^&&^5ing listen...
And I am no N00b, I'm just new to Custom ROM's ...I've posted to the right section, and still...no answer after a couple of days! That sucks!
Try sending a pm to one of those developers.
I've never created a Android ROM (although I used to on WM6.5).
The biggest advice that I can give to you is to go slow: Try to create a ROM in small steps - one change at a time. Very ften you'll find out that two apps supposedly working ok are incompatible with each other. The same applies to drivers and changes alike. So, if version 0.01 works and 0.02 don't, it's just a matter of see what's changed and try to figure why that change caused the new ROM to stop working.
I also agree with Valinorian - try PM experienced developers - we all walked that path already. But please: one change at a time.

[Q] Kernels vs Roms

Hi. I'm kinda new to all of these android stuff. I'm an ex iphone / symbian guy. I've already done a few things on my note like flashing stock firmwares through PC/Mobile odin and I've also managed to root my phone without any hitches. Heck I've also modded my gps.conf due to some issues with my gps locking.
I just have a question on Kernels and Roms. What are they and what are they for?
Please don't flame on me for being ignorant. Lol!
Read this thread for information on Kernels and ROMs
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=674033
Basically the kernel is the core of the operating system (Android in this case) that is responsible for controlling the hardware components like the cpu, memory and display.
The ROM is the operating system itself, along with the various tools, themes, audio and video files and the file system layout.
ranjan.alva said:
Read this thread for information on Kernels and ROMs
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=674033
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks bro! All the rom and kernel talk in the link you provided made me dizzy. Lol! Wanted to find a custom kernel that would be compatible with my rooted stock LB1 firmware. Wanna try changing my boot animation. From what I've read here in XDA, I'd need a kernel that would allow it.
Watch this video
http://youtu.be/yF01lhfUwfk
Rom is the car you drive, and kernel is its engine.

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