Database Develop

[Q] Just rooted my phone! adivce? cool apps?

Ok, first off i'll say i don't have much android knowledge. I did successfully root it following a video. I now have one click lag fix installed. Now, someone please answer these for me
1. Now that its already rooted successfully, is bricking still possible? or is that only something that happens during trying to root.
2. What is a good way to backup everything on my phone? and where do i find it?
3. What are cool apps or widgets to have that can only be used on a rooted phone?
4. Lastly, will someone point me in the direction of a manual or instructions on how to install custom roms and how to get froyo.
Thanks!!

i'd like to know that too...

C-4Nati said:
Ok, first off i'll say i don't have much android knowledge. I did successfully root it following a video. I now have one click lag fix installed. Now, someone please answer these for me
1. Now that its already rooted successfully, is bricking still possible? or is that only something that happens during trying to root.
2. What is a good way to backup everything on my phone? and where do i find it?
3. What are cool apps or widgets to have that can only be used on a rooted phone?
4. Lastly, will someone point me in the direction of a manual or instructions on how to install custom roms and how to get froyo.
Thanks!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. No
2. Titanium Backup from the market
3. I don't know but I don't care much for widgets.
4. Check sticky posts here and the dev board of galaxy s

try SetCPU for conserving/overclocking your device,
Titanium Backup is godsend! well worth the price

Try rom manager from the market, it will assist in making a more comprohensive backup
Most custom roms should have a good install guide with them and aslong as you read it first, download everything first, and not get scared off by the reference to all the diferent csc files its qctually fairly easy. In the event that it does go wrong it probably was a user error but easily fixed by going over the steps again (i myself only just flashed my first android last weekend, and the improvement is worth the time and small hassle of learning to do it your self).
Some good apps are ShootMe (screenshot app), rescan media root (controls the media scanner function), cache cleaner, and there are some wifi transfer app that need root to work (still fairly new/beta/buggy). Not root but the xda forum app aswell
Hope that helps a bit
Sent from my GT-I9000T using XDA App

oh and autokiller to alter the minfree setting. makes the phone fly!

Root file manager
C-4Nati said:
3. What are cool apps or widgets to have that can only be used on a rooted phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am looking for a good root file manager - one that allows me to see whole device. Anyone know of a good one?

reydoog said:
I am looking for a good root file manager - one that allows me to see whole device. Anyone know of a good one?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root Explorer is the best file manager i've come across, works great and well worth the price.
Best apps (I know these dont all require root) I've come across are
"App 2 SD" - This moves your installed apps (that are compatible) to your external memory card to save phone memory
"Titanium backup" (root) - As mentioned above, its a great backup tool for your apps and settings
"CacheMate" (root) - clears your apps cache, helps speed things up
"MixGet" - increase headphone volume, very useful if you find output it quiet, be careful not to deafen yourself
"PhoneMyPC" - Connect via wifi to your computer and control, useful if you want to be lazy and sit back to move the mouse
Best thing to do is goto market and search "root", that will return the majority of them
"Handcent SMS" - Very customisable sms app, much better than stock samsung one
Good games:
Angry Birds - This is free but includes ad's (turn off internet on phone so they dont display)
Talking Tom cat - repeats everything you say in a funny voice
Need for speed Shift - Excellent graphics, really good racing game
Asphalt 5 - (can get this free from samsung apps)
Widgets I use:
Accuweather - self explanatory, great for the days weather, includes a clock (find this on samsung apps on F.W JPM) available in market
Facebook - Facebook Status updates
If I think of any others I'll let you know

[Q] Why isn't TB working on my phone?

When I start Titanium backup, it asks for super user permission and I grant it. Then this is what I see :
http://i54.tinypic.com/24d3jiw.png
** And it seems like I'm not the only one with this problem. There are several similar threads (example here) in XDA, though theres no real solution or explanation. :S
I do have USB debugging enabled :
http://i54.tinypic.com/24d3jiw.png
And these are all the apps I see on TB :
http://i55.tinypic.com/28cdmxw.png
(and trust me, my phone is rooted. I rooted it myself with the one-click-root program. I can clearly see the ninja icon on menu.)
#Why is this happening? I've tried un-installing / reinstalling, didn't work.
#I've started to think that it might be the root? ( I did the one-click-root thingy) Should I root again? Perhaps a fresh start? As I'm also giving a thought about giving the phone a factory-settings-restore then root and then try again? Any suggestions?
#One more question. Prior to rooting, I did a copy-paste backup of the whole internal SD card to my desktop. Can I consider that as a pre-root backup? As I can I just completely wipe the SD card and then copy from the desktop folder to get back to a pre-root state?

I am guessing you are on stock 2.1 rooted. Have you enabled sideloading? If not I believe that is your error message.
Also, and I am not sure it its needed but have you installed busy box
Sent from my SGH-I897 using XDA App

Don't worry about the message. It has happened at times with my phone when running different roms. If you are on a captivate rim we don't have the unknown sources box under applications so it doesn't really matter.
This is my captivate. There are many like it but this one is mine.

Sure your phone is rooted properly? How'd you root it? Also enabling side loading apps helps a bit.

musavvir said:
When I start Titanium backup, it asks for super user permission and I grant it. Then this is what I see :
http://i54.tinypic.com/24d3jiw.png
** And it seems like I'm not the only one with this problem. There are several similar threads (example here) in XDA, though theres no real solution or explanation. :S
I do have USB debugging enabled :
http://i54.tinypic.com/24d3jiw.png
And these are all the apps I see on TB :
http://i55.tinypic.com/28cdmxw.png
(and trust me, my phone is rooted. I rooted it myself with the one-click-root program. I can clearly see the ninja icon on menu.)
#Why is this happening? I've tried un-installing / reinstalling, didn't work.
#I've started to think that it might be the root? ( I did the one-click-root thingy) Should I root again? Perhaps a fresh start? As I'm also giving a thought about giving the phone a factory-settings-restore then root and then try again? Any suggestions?
#One more question. Prior to rooting, I did a copy-paste backup of the whole internal SD card to my desktop. Can I consider that as a pre-root backup? As I can I just completely wipe the SD card and then copy from the desktop folder to get back to a pre-root state?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Click on "problems" button in TB, and let it download busy box, and then restart TiBu. This should resolve ur issue.
By the way, please make sure u have USB debugging option enabled.

The solution was Sideloading!
Enabling sideloading did the trick for me! TB is working fine! Don't know about busybox though, never got downloaded, never was used I guess. But TB is working fine!
Thanks to you, I just got rid of all the at&t bloatware and startup animation thingy! Thanks all!

[Q] Things to do/save BEFORE flashing ROM

...[from elsewhere] ...I didn't see any mention of this in the how-to threads so I didn't back up my EFS files from the stock rom. Anyone here have had any issues with this after going back to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is an example of things that are scattered in many threads...specifically, what are the things you should DO or SAVE before flashing a new ROM?
Above seems to be one (except is "EFS" a folder or what?). Would folks please offer your suggestions of the "protective" steps to be done/preserved in case of future difficulties.
Actually, in addition to the one quoted, doing a Titanium Backup is in almost all of the how-to discussions, so I guess that is already covered.

efs is really only relevant if you plan on using kies. Your phones product code and imei number are stoped in those files. flashing roms can alter these files. I have never done this. If you want to down load root explorer, or free option android mate. I would pay for root explorer. Find the efs file copy and paste it to your internal sd. Then save it to your pc
Android id. Dl android id changer from market. if you have not already dl busy box from market. Install busy box using app. Open android id changer, click save id, custom flashes change this and it us god to have it saved, you can restore using same app after flash
Do you know what odin is?
Do you know your build number?

mcord11758 said:
efs is really only relevant if you plan on using kies. Your phones product code and imei number are stoped in those files. flashing roms can alter these files. I have never done this. If you want to down load root explorer, or free option android mate. I would pay for root explorer. Find the efs file copy and paste it to your internal sd. Then save it to your pc
Android id. Dl android id changer from market. if you have not already dl busy box from market. Install busy box using app. Open android id changer, click save id, custom flashes change this and it us god to have it saved, you can restore using same app after flash
Do you know what odin is?
Do you know your build number?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Recapping this...
EFS is a file. Can save it using Root Explorer or Android Mate.
I have copied down all the data under the battery. Is there more than that in this file?
I am confused about second paragraph. You mention download
Android ID Changer
Busy Box
Which one is it that captures the Android ID? And obviously it saves it, but where?
Yes, odin is mentioned in the how-to's, but it IS part of the flashing process. I am looking for things that should be done BEFORE starting that.
Yes, I know the build (1006). It is part of the data under the battery. And flashing wouldn't destroy or modify that.

Yes the efs had your csc or product code. If you flash a rom that is a port from another device this may be changed. Not an issue if you do not use kies.
Busybox is an app that installs commands onto your phone that certain programs need to operate correctly. Titanium backup and android id changer need this to function correctly. Android id changer saves your id in a file on your internal sd. The file is called update.id when you flash a rom you open the app again click load id, then change id. Phone reboots, id us back to your original id
Odin is a utility that flashes you back to stock 2.1. It is used by many as a safe way to go from rom to rom with a clean install. It is also used to recover from software bricks.
If you have more questions that pop up pm me, this way we are not clogging up the q&a

I think the exchange helps many people who I assume, like me, are trying to sort all this out.
MAIN purpose of the thread is to identify things to do/save before beginning the 'change to another ROM' process--which to me would include the Odin flash back to stock if you aren't there already.
But these side question resolutions are pertinent.
Your Busybox comment threw me a curve. It sounds like you are saying it installs stuff TiBU and Android ID Changer need in order to work. You mean TiBU as downloaded from the market does not work as a standalone app?

tibu needs busy box. If you download tibu and open the app there is a button on the bottom that says problems. If you click it it will also look to install busy box commands.
You are right about the usefulness of threads like this, no disrespect but it looks like you joined xda 4 days ago. These types of discussions are constant and rehashed on nearly a daily basis. For some odd mental quirk I read then all and help when I can. There are a thousand questions you can have, the offer to pm was to keep it easy

I have been reading for two weeks--I mean reading A LOT, not just 4 days ago; that was when I registered on the site. This is a =wonderful= resource, but it is a plain fact that what you need to know is scattered all over the place, both video and written how-to's. I have not found a single one that includes everything you need to know. I mean, for example, they will tell you to do something, which seems trivial to them, but which really involves other knowledge. And that sounds like a non-isue, but in fact it is a complete showstopper for "us" types. Yes, you can go off hunting to clarify the incompleteness, but that is exactly what I am talking about--hunting all over the place.
By the time someone gets to the point they can create something with completeness, the problem is...they are already to the point they can create such a thing. That contradiction arises from it being almost impossible to remember what you didn't know "back then."
I had been studying HARD trying to get "it," everything you need to do to flash a different ROM. Then, a day or so ago, in all that hunting around I speak of, someone mentioned "be sure you ... before you flash." It dawned on me that, when you think you are ready to flash, you aren't. There are things that should be done BEFORE. I started the "hunt" again as alluded to here. Then I said, dang, all us newbies would be well served if all the preliminary do's and save's were in one thread (preferably, ultimately in one LIST). Thus the reason for this thread.
If I am wrong, and other newbies really don't need to know these things, then yes, it can be done in PM. Others will never see it, and still be stuck in the hunting-all-over mode. Thus, I think it is desirable and helpful to others to put it in public, in one thread.

Once again no disrespect. Your point is taken.
Tibu to back up all your user apps, no system information. unless you want to learn how to use odin in the case of issues
Android id changer to back up your android id
Rom manager to back up your current setup, and flasg clockwork recovery. Never restore a backup of one rom on top of another rom
Contacts to external sd, sim, or sync with google
Efs using root explorer to copy folder and save in pc
Odin to flash stock and or recover from software brick. Builds 1010 and above do not use one click odin

No offense taken, and that's a great input. Thanks.
If others see anything else, please contribute.

Ok, I am also new at this, I have flashed 3 Roms. This is what I have done when changing ROMs.
Download Titanium Backup and rom manager. Back up your apps with Titanium Backup.
Download the ROM you want to flash.
Download Odin.
Turn on usb debugging.
Plug phone into the computer, pull down the notification window and click on usb to mount the sd card.
Open this up to look at files.
You should have an update.zip file you can copy to your desktop. You also should have a folder named Titanium Backup that you can save as well.
Once you have this, you can begin.
Take your phone to stock using odin. There are several tutorials available. I used this one,http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10056254&postcount=36 because I have a 1010 phone.
Once this is done, I push the voume up and down along with the power button. You will get a menu giving you a choice to reinstall packages. You need to click this, go to yes, and it will pull up to the same menu again. Hit reinstall packages again which will get you to clockwork recovery.
Now, I chose to wipe/factory reset to make sure my phone was "clean".
Then, I chose to apply the update.zip.
Then, I chose to install a zip file from the sd card, scrolled down to the rom file, and chose it.
Then it will install the Rom. You will choose go back, then reboot the system. Then your Rom should be installed.
I think I remembered everything. I used a few tutorials:
http://theunlockr.com/2010/08/02/how-to-load-a-custom-rom-on-the-samsung-captivate-vibrant/
and this one:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10183875&postcount=4
Hope this helps!

OOPS. Thanks, but this thread is for things to do or save BEFORE starting the ROM change.

So... let's say that you didn't save your android id before you flashed... will that cause problems?

beryxil said:
So... let's say that you didn't save your android id before you flashed... will that cause problems?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You tell me. Did you? Are you experiencing problems?
it depends on the rom you are using. You may experience issues downloading from market and certain games may give you issues.
If you did not save it and you are not having problems then no big deal. You can go back to stock and save it, then flash again.

[Q] Help with Bionic System App Restore!

Hey all - hopefully I'm not wrong in posting this quesiton - I tried to go through everything I could before posting. (also, first post here )
Okay, so I got a Bionic on release day.. was excited to see that the D3 exploit worked with no problem.
I backed up everything that I messed with using TI Backup Pro- I realize in hindsight that I should have been "Freezing" instead of "uninstalling" bloatware, but it's too late for that.
(To be fair, I'm going from an OG Droid, so I have no experience with having to wade through the ton of bloatware that came on the Bionic).
So, that being said, I only uninstalled a few apps, but it included MyAccounts (a blur program) - I mistook it for a piece of Verizon junk. Now, my "Accounts and Sync" Setting has disappeared.
I thought "Okay, no problem, I'll just restore from TI Backup" - but no dice. It just hangs on "restoring MyAcounts..." I've tried both with and without "System data." I've also tried changing the App handling options (direct, indirect, classic) but nothing.
So I manually pulled the apk out of the TI Backup .tar file - using Root Explorer I moved it to system/app and, after setting permissions, tried to run it... all I get is an "Installation Failed" type message.
I've also tried to adb install it, but I get an INSTALL_FAILED_DEXOPT message.
Same error message with "pm install" from adb shell#
I'm relatively new with this, and I'm kind of out of ideas. I know you'll want to say "you shouldnt have been screwing around with that if you didn't know what you were doing!" And you're right.. I guess I was too sure that TI Backup would be able to fix anything that I screwed up.
So - any ideas? Pretty much willing to try anything.
Thanks a lot

timmyc99 said:
Hey all - hopefully I'm not wrong in posting this quesiton - I tried to go through everything I could before posting. (also, first post here )
Okay, so I got a Bionic on release day.. was excited to see that the D3 exploit worked with no problem.
I backed up everything that I messed with using TI Backup Pro- I realize in hindsight that I should have been "Freezing" instead of "uninstalling" bloatware, but it's too late for that.
(To be fair, I'm going from an OG Droid, so I have no experience with having to wade through the ton of bloatware that came on the Bionic).
So, that being said, I only uninstalled a few apps, but it included MyAccounts (a blur program) - I mistook it for a piece of Verizon junk. Now, my "Accounts and Sync" Setting has disappeared.
I thought "Okay, no problem, I'll just restore from TI Backup" - but no dice. It just hangs on "restoring MyAcounts..." I've tried both with and without "System data." I've also tried changing the App handling options (direct, indirect, classic) but nothing.
So I manually pulled the apk out of the TI Backup .tar file - using Root Explorer I moved it to system/app and, after setting permissions, tried to run it... all I get is an "Installation Failed" type message.
I've also tried to adb install it, but I get an INSTALL_FAILED_DEXOPT message.
Same error message with "pm install" from adb shell#
I'm relatively new with this, and I'm kind of out of ideas. I know you'll want to say "you shouldnt have been screwing around with that if you didn't know what you were doing!" And you're right.. I guess I was too sure that TI Backup would be able to fix anything that I screwed up.
So - any ideas? Pretty much willing to try anything.
Thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to let you know, I have a similar issue and have been troubleshooting this problem on a different forum, ofc I can't post the link but it's at droidforums.net, Droid Bionic Tech Support, "HELP! accidentally deleted IMSCServer from Droid Bionic." Someone was actually able to restore a system app, check it out if you're interested.

[Q] Stock ROM (SBF) Available for Droid 4?

I ... may have bricked my Droid 4. I won't go into details unless somebody asks, but I don't think it's necessary. I AM able to get to the recovery mode though, I just have nothing to recover from.... I misplaced my back-up.
So, I need SOMETHING to flash my phone to. 4.0/2.0/I don't care, I just need any rom/SBF to make this bad boy boot again. Anybody have anything?
I saw and downloaded the first thing that shows up when you google "droid-4-system-dump-wallpapers-ringtones.html" (link doesn't work because I'm new) But, I was unable to make anything of it.... What do I do?

Just to help others avoid the same fate can you please let us all know what you did?

zeroibis said:
Just to help others avoid the same fate can you please let us all know what you did?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, in hindsight it was kind of dumb. I rooted it, and began to remove all of the VZW sponsored apps. Once I did that, it cleared out a lot of memory (storage AND ram) but seemed to come with the downside of preventing my "settings" activity opening up. As in, whenever I hit "menu" then "Settings" from the main launcher, it would force close behind the scenes (logcat showed the stack trace for the settings activity).
I spent the next day trying to fix that issue, copying "settings.apk" from that link I mentioned earlier to my root director, but that didn't fix it. So, I went and tried copying entire folders over. This is the embarrassing part... I hit a 'delete' button on the "system/apps" folder, got about 30 force close windows, and am now stuck in a bootloop.
Doing the "power + both volume buttons" still gives me the recovery menu, but I don't have anything to recover to, as I was stupid and didn't think to make a backup.

Dwebtron said:
Well, in hindsight it was kind of dumb. I rooted it, and began to remove all of the VZW sponsored apps. Once I did that, it cleared out a lot of memory (storage AND ram) but seemed to come with the downside of preventing my "settings" activity opening up. As in, whenever I hit "menu" then "Settings" from the main launcher, it would force close behind the scenes (logcat showed the stack trace for the settings activity).
I spent the next day trying to fix that issue, copying "settings.apk" from that link I mentioned earlier to my root director, but that didn't fix it. So, I went and tried copying entire folders over. This is the embarrassing part... I hit a 'delete' button on the "system/apps" folder, got about 30 force close windows, and am now stuck in a bootloop.
Doing the "power + both volume buttons" still gives me the recovery menu, but I don't have anything to recover to, as I was stupid and didn't think to make a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No files are floating around at this time. You really screwed yourself over on this one. Go back to Verizon and beg. You chose to void your warranty.

Dwebtron said:
Well, in hindsight it was kind of dumb. I rooted it, and began to remove all of the VZW sponsored apps. Once I did that, it cleared out a lot of memory (storage AND ram) but seemed to come with the downside of preventing my "settings" activity opening up. As in, whenever I hit "menu" then "Settings" from the main launcher, it would force close behind the scenes (logcat showed the stack trace for the settings activity).
I spent the next day trying to fix that issue, copying "settings.apk" from that link I mentioned earlier to my root director, but that didn't fix it. So, I went and tried copying entire folders over. This is the embarrassing part... I hit a 'delete' button on the "system/apps" folder, got about 30 force close windows, and am now stuck in a bootloop.
Doing the "power + both volume buttons" still gives me the recovery menu, but I don't have anything to recover to, as I was stupid and didn't think to make a backup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm curious about this too - I deleted a bunch of vzw garbage. I did make a copy of of everything with titanium backup first but when I tried re-installing one of them it just hung while another re-installed fine.

I had a similar issue with one app - I had to go into /system/app and change it form RO to RW. Once Read/Write was enabled, Titanium was able to restore the app.

I have been playing it safe and only freezing the apps, not deleting them. I have had no FC or any odd behavior. I figured with an allocated 3 gb to applications, at this time gaining an extra 100MB of storage space is superfluous...especially with no SBF available.

As mentioned above, try going to the VZW store and getting an exchange. I'm certain an .sbf will be released at some point but it could be weeks/months before that happens.
And for future reference/anyone else reading this thread...never delete system apps! Just freeze them. Yes they will still be taking up space, but they won't be using any memory and they won't show up in your launcher so it's basically the same thing...except with freezing it is 100% reversible and will still allow you to receive updates.

Can someone upload these files from D4:
/system/build.prop
/system/default.prop

Freeze Apps
SGMD1 said:
As mentioned above, try going to the VZW store and getting an exchange. I'm certain an .sbf will be released at some point but it could be weeks/months before that happens.
And for future reference/anyone else reading this thread...never delete system apps! Just freeze them. Yes they will still be taking up space, but they won't be using any memory and they won't show up in your launcher so it's basically the same thing...except with freezing it is 100% reversible and will still allow you to receive updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What is the best way to freeze apps? I know you can do this with Titanium Backup. Do you need the pro version in order to do this? Are there other apps out there that also allow you to freeze apps?

kwyrt said:
What is the best way to freeze apps? I know you can do this with Titanium Backup. Do you need the pro version in order to do this? Are there other apps out there that also allow you to freeze apps?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You do need the Pro version of Titanium Backup to freeze apps I believe. There are free apps that will do it (i.e. Bloatware Killer) but I am not really familiar with them.

Skrilax_CZ said:
Can someone upload these files from D4:
/system/build.prop
/system/default.prop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://db.tt/LymDelkf
That zip contains the 2 files you asked for. Anything else you need just ask and I can pull it for you. I havent done a dd of all the partitons yet but will be doing that as soon as I can.

cellzealot said:
That zip contains the 2 files you asked for. Anything else you need just ask and I can pull it for you. I havent done a dd of all the partitons yet but will be doing that as soon as I can.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The link that I was referring to in the first post SHOULD have every file from the D4.

I meant if he needed any of the other partitions besides the system.
I wanted to give him exactly what he asked for because he is avery sharp guy who may help us out with this device.

Unfortunately I did the same (though not as bad...I just can't open any of my contacts). I changed the permissions for /system/apps but I still am hanging at restoring in Titanium Backup. Are there any other directories that should have changed permissions to get some of these apps restored?
Also, lesson learned....freeze no uninstall

mattlgroff said:
No files are floating around at this time. You really screwed yourself over on this one. Go back to Verizon and beg. You chose to void your warranty.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah so what? Why do people feel the need to post condescending comments for no reason? Its because of mistakes and screwups that the community progresses. There will be files floating around by the weekend, I'm sure.

I'm in the same boat... I bricked by droid 4... now waiting for a sbf file... someone said go to vzw and beg... has anyone ever tried that, after bricking your phone? what did you say? and did it work?
I'm just trying to figure out how to get vzw to replace this phone.
---------- Post added at 09:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:56 PM ----------
reigndropz said:
Yeah so what? Why do people feel the need to post condescending comments for no reason? Its because of mistakes and screwups that the community progresses. There will be files floating around by the weekend, I'm sure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The files will be released by the weekend? YAY... how do you know?
Also what does it take/what has to be done for someone to release these sbf files?

jgardner said:
Unfortunately I did the same (though not as bad...I just can't open any of my contacts). I changed the permissions for /system/apps but I still am hanging at restoring in Titanium Backup. Are there any other directories that should have changed permissions to get some of these apps restored?
Also, lesson learned....freeze no uninstall
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the only path I had to change. Do you recall if you happened to have moved an app to a different path (perhaps to the sd-card) then removed it?
Are there multiple apps you are trying to restore? If so, have you tried restoring them one at a time?

im going to wait for the sbf files before any major modifications to my phone, then we can all start the fun
i just froze apps to prevent them from running, im not worried about space since i put in a 32GB SD card

I think it's very wise to wait for the firmware to be released, but it's worth noting that the term SBF is a mistaken reference to the old format for firmware files and that all dual core Motorolas have fastboot support now and RSD Lite has been modified to support this and uses xml.zip files that are sets of signed images rather than the Single Binary File(SBF).
This is a very important distinction to be made as the new format and boot menu provide many more options for controlling the flash process for the end user and it is ultimately much safer and more flexible.