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I have a Captivate I just upgraded to, from a BlackBerry. [FINALLY]
After reading around for a week or two on XDA it's about time I ask the questions I've been searching so long for.
It's a couple questions, but I have no idea:
I'm running the latest Cognition rom. Though it's nice and all, can I have my old boot animation back? How?
Ever since I started researching Android and their themes, I've fallen in love with chancellorr's minimalist themes, notably this one from his deviantART account: http://chancellorr.deviantart.com/gallery/26259232#/d33q9jd. I've been trying to get his setup ever since I started. Help please?
How do I use MetaMorph? I'm not sure if it's the main theming app for Android, but it's nothing like Winterboard on the iPhone, I have no idea what I'm doing! Help with that too, please?
What's the nicest and most customizable launcher for Android?
Anything else I might need to know to help further customize my Captivate? What I should be worried about, and how I can prevent issues loading themes and the like.
Thanks for helping me out, loving this Captivate so far
bugmenever said:
I'm running the latest Cognition rom. Though it's nice and all, can I have my old boot animation back? How?
Ever since I started researching Android and their themes, I've fallen in love with chancellorr's minimalist themes, notably this one from his deviantART account: http://chancellorr.deviantart.com/gallery/26259232#/d33q9jd. I've been trying to get his setup ever since I started. Help please?
How do I use MetaMorph? I'm not sure if it's the main theming app for Android, but it's nothing like Winterboard on the iPhone, I have no idea what I'm doing! Help with that too, please?
What's the nicest and most customizable launcher for Android?
Anything else I might need to know to help further customize my Captivate? What I should be worried about, and how I can prevent issues loading themes and the like.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Yes; the boot animation resides in /system/media/bootanimation.zip. To replace it, put the new bootanimation.zip on your SD card and move it over with root explorer. Should you not have root explorer, run the commands below via AndroidSDK/tools (put the bootanimation.zip in the /tools folder too)...
Code:
adb push bootanimation.zip /sdcard/
adb shell
su [i](should change from a $ to a #, dont forget to accept superuser on the phone too)[/i]
cp /sdcard/bootanimation.zip /system/media/
exit
exit
adb reboot
2. As this seems to be designed for a different device, it would require decompiling the frameworks and such and porting them over to captivate-esque code; that would work with the captivates framework.
3. This thread should teach you how to MetaMorph.
4. It's a matter of opinion. The two big ones are Launcher Pro and ADW.Launcher, both come with their own advantages and disadvantages. Want a transparent app drawer background? ADW. Want to hide apps in the app drawer? LauncherPro. Best way to find which one you like is to try them yourself, but as for customizable, i would say Launcher Pro as you don't have to jump through hoops to change the dock background.
5. Don't try to flash a theme that was designed for a different phone. When you theme a ROM, you theme the framework, which is tightly bound to the rest of the software. Changing the Captivates framework to the Evo framework for example would cause problems, as the Evo frameworks calls for different values in different places. The code isn't necessarily different, but the layout and string values will be different too.
All in all, this phone is pretty unbrickable. Get used to making backups and flashing back from a bad flash, and before you apply a theme, make sure you back up whatever files this theme calls for you to replace! Most of the time, even with a theme that doesn't work(assuming it's for the captivate), you'll still retain basic functions. Backup is key!
Enjoy the new toy!
geokhentix said:
1. Yes; the boot animation resides in /system/media/bootanimation.zip. To replace it, put the new bootanimation.zip on your SD card and move it over with root explorer. Should you not have root explorer, run the commands below via AndroidSDK/tools (put the bootanimation.zip in the /tools folder too)...
Code:
adb push bootanimation.zip /sdcard/
adb shell
su [i](should change from a $ to a #, dont forget to accept superuser on the phone too)[/i]
cp /sdcard/bootanimation.zip /system/media/
exit
exit
adb reboot
2. As this seems to be designed for a different device, it would require decompiling the frameworks and such and porting them over to captivate-esque code; that would work with the captivates framework.
3. This thread should teach you how to MetaMorph.
4. It's a matter of opinion. The two big ones are Launcher Pro and ADW.Launcher, both come with their own advantages and disadvantages. Want a transparent app drawer background? ADW. Want to hide apps in the app drawer? LauncherPro. Best way to find which one you like is to try them yourself, but as for customizable, i would say Launcher Pro as you don't have to jump through hoops to change the dock background.
5. Don't try to flash a theme that was designed for a different phone. When you theme a ROM, you theme the framework, which is tightly bound to the rest of the software. Changing the Captivates framework to the Evo framework for example would cause problems, as the Evo frameworks calls for different values in different places. The code isn't necessarily different, but the layout and string values will be different too.
All in all, this phone is pretty unbrickable. Get used to making backups and flashing back from a bad flash, and before you apply a theme, make sure you back up whatever files this theme calls for you to replace! Most of the time, even with a theme that doesn't work(assuming it's for the captivate), you'll still retain basic functions. Backup is key!
Enjoy the new toy!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for answering :]
2. Where can I find Captivate frameworks? I always see different amazing looking themes, but no frameworks specifically for Captivate.
4. Learned that the hard way. Scared myself two days after getting it by trying to flash a theme for the G1 and had to wait half an hour to flash back to stock ROM, so I've started to backup more now.
bugmenever said:
Thanks so much for answering :]
2. Where can I find Captivate frameworks? I always see different amazing looking themes, but no frameworks specifically for Captivate.
4. Learned that the hard way. Scared myself two days after getting it by trying to flash a theme for the G1 and had to wait half an hour to flash back to stock ROM, so I've started to backup more now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can find them on this board. A theme almost always changes the framework, which can point to a couple files. These aren't all of the files in theming, but generally, these 2 are almost always changed.
/system/framework/framework-res.apk
/system/framework/twframework-res.apk
Themes usually come as a .zip file, which is intended for you to flash with CWM(ClockworkMod Recovery). Cognition comes with ROM Manager I believe, if it doesn't, DL it off the market. Open it, click Flash ClockworkMod, select Captivate, then you can reboot into recovery and flash themed updates.
Put the themed .zip on your SD card
1. Open ROM Manager, and Flash it, selecting Captivate.
2. Select Reboot into Recovery. (On the first attempt, you might have to click "Reinstall Packages" when it boots into recovery, to get you into CWM for the first time.)
3. Once inside CWM, Install ROM from SD Card > Choose ROM from SD card > theme.zip
It's pretty hard to brick this phone, so don't be afraid to experiment a bit. Generally, most captivate themes are available here in teh Apps & Themes board, but make sure you read the thread to see if there's any information about it being compatible with your current ROM or not.
That's awesome!
Is there anything I would really need to get started up with this phone? I used to have an iPhone and I'm used to their framework, so... :]
Hoping to become a master at this.
I would say ROM Manager, Root Explorer, Titanium Backup, and NinjaMorph are all musts. I would say update to one of the newer roms too; like Perception. The newer kernels are much faster. If you're into customizations, it's worth modifying the rom before you install it (please note however, to always keep a stock unmodified copy of the rom you're modifying, incase it doesn't work).
It's pretty easy. Open the Rom's .zip(like perception, etc etc) in 7z or WinRAR
Apps go in /system/app if you want them to be system-installed (can't remove them, samsung/atnt bloatware is installed in the /system/app for example..well was)
OR the /data/app , which is pre-installed but on a user level, uninstallable like any app downloaded from the market.
Anything theme related goes in /system/framework
Kernels/Modems/etc go in the /updates folder
drag, drop, replace. No need to uncompress and recompress. Whatever you download, assuming it's not an odin flashable, will generally be in the same file system as the rom you're modifying, so it's easy to swap them out. This way themes install with the rom, please note however that if you do install a theme in such a way, features like the all-boot menu (Reboot/recovery/download on power menu), or any extra animations or unlock screens may not work; unless the theme you're building in has them too!
Woops. Accidently double posted.
Hi all,
I have a rooted Rogers Captivate running stock Rogers 2.2 with OCLF. The other day I installed busybox and anim mod, and today I decided to change my transitions with anim mod.
After applying the change, it asked me to restart my phone. I clicked yes, and it hung for a moment before showing a force close screen. However, before I could do anything, it reset, but after the logos and startup animation, it vibrated and went to black. The soft keys still light up, but no buttons including holding down power have any effect.
After pulling out the battery, I discovered I could still get to recovery console (and I'm fairly certain I could get into download mode as well), but my main concern is getting to / backing up my contacts.
Your help would be enormously appreciated!
-Alex
1. Check the files that are present in the theme u installed - typically the files under the system folders
2. Ask ur ROM developer to package these files (from original ROM) into a CWM flashable zip file (assuming u do not know how to do this)
3. Push this to ur phone using adb and install it on ur phone
Next time on, when installing any theme not made 'specifically' for ur ROM, refrain from doing so. In case you are in a mood to experiment, it would recommended to take a nandroid backup in case issues like this come up.
Since u say urs is stock, u could package these files from ur stock zip. For this u'd have to find a Roger's stock zip file, and u should be able to find an empty update.zip to package these files into (attaching template update.zip to this post; open in winrar).
Thank you very much for helping me with this diablo, I really got myself into a mess and I appreciate your help trying to get me out of it.
I'm not running any themes on top of Rogers 2.2, it's pure stock. I don't have CWM on my phone, nor have I used ADB before. Also, I'm not sure where or how I'd get the stock zip, I did download your template but I don't know how to fill it with what I need.
Thanks again,
Alex
Oh, and if you give me a donate button or paypal account, I'd be happy to show my gratitude.
agroberman said:
I'm not running any themes on top of Rogers 2.2, it's pure stock. I don't have CWM on my phone, nor have I used ADB before. Also, I'm not sure where or how I'd get the stock zip, I did download your template but I don't know how to fill it with what I need.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I
Alex, try searching for Rogers stock ROM. U should be able to find it on these forums.
II
Meanwhile, try posting a thread to ask people here who may be on Rogers stock to zip up their /system/framework folder.
Asking for /system/app zip would not be a good idea since it would contain paid apps too. So alternately,
1. Open the theme zip that u put on ur phone
2. Navigate to /system/app folder
3. List down the apps u see there
4. Ask for anyone who's on stock rogers if they can zip up these files for u.
III
Next, considering u have the apps and the contents of /system/framework:
1. Open the file I sent u in 'winrar'
2. Navigate to system/app folder
3. Drop the apps u got from 'whoever-helped-u' into this folder
4. Navigate to system/framework folder
5. Drop the files in system/framework from 'whoever-helped-u' into this folder
6. Close winrar and rename to update.zip
IV
7. Put this file on ur SD card root
8. Boot into recovery
9. Select 'apply update.zip' (not sure of exact wording)
10. Reboot
Also, what is the theme u downloaded?
I put the steps in blocks so it would be easy to trouble shoot in case u run into any issues.
All the best Alex.
[Q] Phone won't get past boot screen, please help
Thank you again, Diablo, lunch is on me today.
I don't have any themes installed, this is the program that created the trouble for me, which I download from the Android Market:
http://www.androidblip.com/android-themes/anim-mod-root-136113.html
I clicked on the "fly in & flip" selection.
I will make a post requesting a stock rogers 2.2 zip of their /system/framework folder.
Is there anything else I'm missing, and once I get the /system/framework get it into the update.zip, how do I get it onto my SD card root, or do I just put it on the root of an external SD card?
-Alex
agroberman said:
Thank you again, Diablo, lunch is on me today.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh wow. Never thought u'd put in so much. Incidentally u happen to be the first person!!!
agroberman said:
I don't have any themes installed, this is the program that created the trouble for me, which I download from the Android Market:
http://www.androidblip.com/android-themes/anim-mod-root-136113.html
I clicked on the "fly in & flip" selection.
I will make a post requesting a stock rogers 2.2 zip of their /system/framework folder.
Is there anything else I'm missing, and once I get the /system/framework get it into the update.zip, how do I get it onto my SD card root, or do I just put it on the root of an external SD card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see its a paid app, so can't say whats in it. But since its into animations and stuff, most likely it messed up some files in ur framework folder. Send me the update.zip file after u update so I can cross check before u can flash it on ur phone.
Hi Diablo,
I wrote a new post at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=997233
Am I asking for the right thing?
Also, on the app page it says "Anim Mod changes the system framework files without touching your theme so if you constantly switch from ROM to ROM you can always get the animation you prefer the best."
Does this make anything simpler?
Thanks again for continuing to help me,
Alex
agroberman said:
Hi Diablo,
I wrote a new post at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=997233
Am I asking for the right thing?
Also, on the app page it says "Anim Mod changes the system framework files without touching your theme so if you constantly switch from ROM to ROM you can always get the animation you prefer the best."
Does this make anything simpler?
Thanks again for continuing to help me,
Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. It says it changes files. I would NOT recommend any such app that changes framework files with/without knowledge, unless, there is a way backup plan at hand to revert to stock.
I normally take a nandroid backup of my ROM before playing with things like this, so in case things mess up, atleast there is a working copy of ROM.
Secondly, since u said u need contacts, I would recommend the following:
1. Install titanium backup (TiBu in short)
2. Backup "Contacts Storage"
3. Copy this folder "Titanium Backup" from sdcard to a safe location (e.g., ur computer)
This would backup ur contacts. So in case u mess up with something, u can always copy this folder to ur sdcard and restore using TiBu.
U can also backup all user apps and data so u can restore all ur apps and data in these kinds of situations. But do NOT backup or try to restore any system data except the one contacts storage I mentioned above.
Also, be warned, contacts data cannot be moved this way between different versions of ROM like 2.1 and 2.2. But u can move between 2.2 and 2.2.1. I was also able to restore this data on 2.3.3 gingerbread.
Personally, I now use "Sprite Backup" to backup and restore my data.
Thanks for your effort yesterday Diablo. I decided to odin flash the stock rogers 2.1, repartition, and upgraded to 2.2 via kies. I lost my contacts, but couldn't go any longer without the phone. I'm gonna back everything up right now!
-Alex
agroberman said:
Thanks for your effort yesterday Diablo. I decided to odin flash the stock rogers 2.1, repartition, and upgraded to 2.2 via kies. I lost my contacts, but couldn't go any longer without the phone. I'm gonna back everything up right now!
-Alex
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry to hear that Alex. This time make sure u backup "Contacts Storage" in Tibu when u r on 2.2.
Else use Sprite Backup or anything similar to help backup.
So...this question comes from a theming question...but the big question overall is about installing unsigned zips
I have a telus milestone, rooted, with open recovery (via update.zip on the sd card) with cyanogenmod 7.
I found a nice thread on xda about installing cm themes (the minimalist themes..for anyone that cares, hehe) via metamorph and zipthemer
I was advised that zipthemer is the best bet to install the themes since metamorph causes FC's and errors with certain apk's being modified..
So I run zipthemer and get the .zip all ready to be installed/flashed
Here lies the problem...I get to the step to install the zip...it asks me to choose the "install zip from sd card" option from the recovery menu and choose the zip
I don't have that option
I look around and some forums suggest that flashing the cwm/rom manager recovery would give me that option
so i do that...but when i click on reboot to recovery..i see the recovery screen for half a second, then it reboots and reboots back into normal recovery.
ROM manager still says i have cwm recovery flashed
I tried going into recovery, applying update.zip for open recovery (1.46) and that works without a problem..I just don't have an option to apply a unsigned zip (i can apply a zip through the update folder in openrecovery, but it won't let me install the themes)
I also downloaded the milestone cwm zip file from the website and renamed it update.zip and tried to run that....that didn't work either
so basically...what am i missing to get that install zip from sd card option? how do i install unsigned zip files?
and failing that, how can i install that theme zip file?
thanks!
I might be wrong, but I heard that clockwork mod recovery doesn't work on Moto Milestone, I think it has to do with the blocked bootloader, but again I might be wrong...
It would make sense and that is what I assumed...
Also the reason why I don't use rom manager to install roms..can't wait for moto to implement their non locked bootloader policy on all their phones
I hope they do so soon, but I doubt that they will release our bootloaders, they will likely unlocked their newest models as they care about money more than the happiness of customers, and they clearly should care about both, but I guess a little hope wouldn't hurt
truthlesshero said:
It would make sense and that is what I assumed...
Also the reason why I don't use rom manager to install roms..can't wait for moto to implement their non locked bootloader policy on all their phones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dude, i'm not sure if ziptheme also signs the file... if not, DL from market an APP called ZIPSIGNER. After generate your zip file with zipthemer, run the zipsigner on your file then flash it normally.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
wisefreakz - thanks for the suggestion
i'm thinking that would work
however, i found a way around my problem...i manually edited the problem causing the FC on metamorph in the patched xml file and everything works like a charm...
thanks for the help though
Cool... let us know!!!
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App
milestone overclock good
FYI, for future reference, ZipThemer does produce signed zip files by default. The app was created by the same author as ZipSigner, and they use the same code to sign files.
Ken
Hello, all,
I haven't been able to find an answer to this on my own, so I thought I'd just ask. In the MaxQ rom KK2 version, some -not all, but some- of my apps I restore with Titanium disappear after reboot. Their com.whatever names still show in the app drawer, but they all are uninstalled. The same apps restore fine in Pinnacle 1.3.
Anyone have any idea?
Your best bet would be to post your question in the MaxQ thread . You also should look in the Illuminance KK2 and the Serenity KK2 thread where it's been covered.
Edit: my bad, you don't have enough posts to ask in the devs section, You can still go read in the other 2 roms I metioned, they have been covering this same problem.
Check and make sure tibu is installing them to the phone abs not the sdcard.
if they are being installed to phone see if In the offending ROM, open it up, is there a data folder?
If so take all the apps from /data/app
Move them to /system/app. Then open illuminance and take the meta-INF folder from it and put it in the other ROM, overwriting the original. Then flash that.
aww.W.T.F? said:
Your best bet would be to post your question in the MaxQ thread . You also should look in the Illuminance KK2 and the Serenity KK2 thread where it's been covered.
Edit: my bad, you don't have enough posts to ask in the devs section, You can still go read in the other 2 roms I metioned, they have been covering this same problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, I didn't realize this was happening across multiple roms. I've been on Pinnacle for quite some time, so I haven't kept up with the latest happenings. I figured I was just doing something stupid.
studacris said:
Check and make sure tibu is installing them to the phone abs not the sdcard.
if they are being installed to phone see if In the offending ROM, open it up, is there a data folder?
If so take all the apps from /data/app
Move them to /system/app. Then open illuminance and take the meta-INF folder from it and put it in the other ROM, overwriting the original. Then flash that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks. The first thing I do when I install Titanium is to make sure it's restoring to the phone's internal memory.
Tried the meta-INF thing. Didn't change anything.
I guess I'll stick with Pinnacle. I just wanted to change to something with a different theme. Oh well.
Thanks again to both of you.
I searched i bit but i cant find solution. Is there an easy way to create a update.zip(flashable custom zip) of a Nandroid backup.
Thx for Answers
luisniklas said:
I searched i bit but i cant find solution. Is there an easy way to create a update.zip(flashable custom zip) of a Nandroid backup.
Thx for Answers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Huh!? What are you trying to achieve? Explain more!! This cant be done by the way. Nandroid backup uses a direct image of your system. If you want to restore your Nandroid backup use clockworkmod. I don't understand WHY you would want to flash an "update.zip" of your Nandroid backup. This doesn't make any sense!
i want to modify a rom on the phone by instaling apps etc. and then convert it to an update.zip to share it on xda.
luisniklas said:
i want to modify a rom on the phone by instaling apps etc. and then convert it to an update.zip to share it on xda.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There is ways of flashing a load apps in 1 go. You don't modify a Rom to do this. This would be a separate update.zip or flash-able .zip file. I haven't seen anyone to do this on X8. I have seen this on other forums by developers. I have no clue how to do this myself. Goodluck!!
I will send you a PM of where i saw this?
Oh by the way your signature is UNREAL!!
bahmonkeys said:
There is ways of flashing a load apps in 1 go. You don't modify a Rom to do this. This would be a separate update.zip or flash-able .zip file. I haven't seen anyone to do this on X8. I have seen this on other forums by developers. I have no clue how to do this myself. Goodluck!!
I will send you a PM of where i saw this?
Oh by the way your signature is UNREAL!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
was just an idea. i wanted to build a modified rom for me with apps and themes i like. an i thought i can share it here as an update.zip. because i love the work off the devs here and i wanted to share my personalized rom, because i am not a dev.
thx
why is ma signature unreal?
luisniklas said:
was just an idea. i wanted to build a modified rom for me with apps and themes i like. an i thought i can share it here as an update.zip. because i love the work off the devs here and i wanted to share my personalized rom, because i am not a dev.
thx
why is ma signature unreal?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is just an idea... You could get a simple version of all your apps and themes on a ROM. Make an Nandroid backup of it. Get the Nandroid back put it into a .zip or .rar file so you can upload it in 1 go. Get people to extract your personal Nandroid backup to clockworkmod folder and restore it. What do you think?
Where did you get that signature? It shows my IP and the name of my ISP looks cool
bahmonkeys said:
This is just an idea... You could get a simple version of all your apps and themes on a ROM. Make an Nandroid backup of it. Get the Nandroid back put it into a .zip or .rar file so you can upload it in 1 go. Get people to extract your personal Nandroid backup to clockworkmod folder and restore it. What do you think?
Where did you get that signature? It shows my IP and the name of my ISP looks cool
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i would make it more simple for the users but i think i will do it so.
you can create such a signature at danasoft.com. many users i this forum have one like that