Database Develop

[Q] CWM flashing without ODIN

Hi,
I'm researching flashing via CWR, ROM over ROM without flashing to Stock via ODIN. Specifically, I'm at Cog 3.02 with "base" Cognition Kernel/Modem thinking about going to Andromeda...both employ Voodoo/EXT4, so shouldn't need to disable lagfix (I think?)...
I read at this link (apologies for spaces, but I'm new so can't post actual links): h t t p : / / forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=900463
a spirited debate starting about page 4 that flashing to ODIN is effectively doubling your chances for a bad flash, and that recovering a bad flash via CWM is far easier (just try re-flash again...and again(?) until fail back to trying ODIN) than recovering a bad ODIN flash.
If that's true, what prep should I do first via CWR?
1. Andromeda says requires wipe, does ROM install do this or do I do it via CWR first (wipe data/factory reset in recovery)? How 'deep' is a wipe...what do I need to save prior to this?
2. Wipe Dalvik Cache and/or wipe cache partition?
3. Save /efs folder?
4. Aside from TiBu backup to PC, am I missing anything else to save? I forgot to save my Android ID on my first flash, so it's my understanding I can only get that back via flash to Stock...I'd prefer to only go to ODIN if I have to.
Another question I had was regarding nandroid. I made a nandroid backup right after flashing to Cog. Do I really even need this? Since I haven't changed kernel/modem, wouldn't I be better off just flashing my initial Cog zip file?
Finally thanks to all who make this site kick_ss. Connexion2005's videos are indispensable for a newbie like me. People actually answer questions here, and the Devs suceed in delivering onto us a wolf in (out of the box) sheep's clothing...something AT&T and Samsung have failed to do.
Cognition 3.02 is my first and only custom ROM and DG, you have literally saved me from making my phone a brick the old fashioned way: throwing it against a wall. Running flawlessly since Jan 17th...at the same time, I am eager to see what else is out there, ***safely*** as possible.
Thanks in advance.

Since they are both ext 4 you should be ok.
The rom wipes, I clear davlik cache before flash and after, but there our no good reason as to why
Efs files, do you use kies? If so you may want to back them up, if not don't worry, I have never backed then up
Odin flash is not needed but my opinion is you should know how to use odin prior to flashing. Why panic to figure it out if something goes wrong,?
NANDROID only needed if youare going back to cog and after you have flushed the rom you want to restore settings
I think I got everything you asked

Thank you.
So really just the Dalvik cache wipe in CWR prior to.
Kies...soooo failed ever getting that working, and don't seem to need it.
Yeah I actually flashed ODIN1 unnecessarily prior to my flash to Cog. I was at stock and somehow thought ADW would mess it up...rook. I have build 1006 so good to know ODIN's there if I need it.
Re: Nandroid, but if I kept the initial zip for my flash to Cog wouldn't I just use that? Or does Nandroid do better job of ensuring good flash back to what I have right now?
Not familiar with flushing...Would I be able to restore Nandroid directly on top of ROM I'm switching off of?
Thanks again.

OP,
You'd double the chance of failure if all else were equal. I don't have statistics, but I have no doubt that failures happen far more often with odin flashes, though.
1. Andromeda says requires wipe, does ROM install do this or do I do it via CWR first (wipe data/factory reset in recovery)? How 'deep' is a wipe...what do I need to save prior to this?
2. Wipe Dalvik Cache and/or wipe cache partition?
3. Save /efs folder?
4. Aside from TiBu backup to PC, am I missing anything else to save? I forgot to save my Android ID on my first flash, so it's my understanding I can only get that back via flash to Stock...I'd prefer to only go to ODIN if I have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ROM install script does the wipe. This simply means all your apps and data will be erased (your pictures and anything on the internal and any external sdcard will not be deleted).
I never wipe the dalvik cache or cache partition before flashing. I only do that if I'm having issues like FCs (sometimes happens after a bad theme install, for example).
You probably should have backed up /efs before flashing anything, but that's not to say a backup now isn't a good idea. You only need to do this once.
If I recall, you do need to flash 2.1 to get the ID back. I'm not 100% sure there isn't another way.
WRT the nadroid backup, you don't really need it. What I do is keep 2 or 3 good CWM flashable ROMs and the CWM update.zip on my sdcard in case of problems. I also keep TiBU backup of my stuff there (which I also occasionally backup to my PC just in case my sdcard gets wiped for some reason).
One thing I would suggest is to be sure you have working button combos in case you ever need download mode (hopefully you never will, but it's always possible). If you don't have that, there is a clockwork flashable fix or you could just flash cognition or perception once and then flash whatever you want over them (you can do both flashes all without ever leaving recovery). That should fix the button combos since DG's ROMs include a good sbl.bin (I'm not a fan of that inclusion, but it is useful in this case). Since you are running Cog, I assume your download mode is already working.

Thanks opcow.
Yeah I made sure I could get into d/l and recovery mode with button combos before I even rooted.
So would you ever use a Nandroid backup if you added a different kernel/modem to a ROM? Or would you just go back to the initial zip and SGS Kernel to flash kernel/modem? I haven't done kernel flash...yet...

Madtowndave said:
Thanks opcow.
Yeah I made sure I could get into d/l and recovery mode with button combos before I even rooted.
So would you ever use a Nandroid backup if you added a different kernel/modem to a ROM? Or would you just go back to the initial zip and SGS Kernel to flash kernel/modem? I haven't done kernel flash...yet...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the ROM you were running when you backed up is compatible with the new kernel then I don't see why there would be a problem. I don't do it, myself, but I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because I have the paid TiBU and I just use that.

Thanks again...
Yeah I bought full TiBu, so obviously that should work for the apps/data.
Did some more digging tonight and apparently Nandroid backup is ROM only, not Kernel...So seemingly would need to be on same Kernel at least to do proper Nandroid restore.
...that being the case, I guess I don't understand why people stress importance of running a Nandroid prior to and/or post ROM flash...am I missing something?

If you like a rom and set everything up but want to try another doing a nandroid allows you to restore once you flash the rom again.
Also good to run nandroid on new flash, so if you play with themes and something goes wrong you can restore

That makes sense.
Showing me newbie-ness since I haven't played around with themes yet...
...Figured I'd at least get 2nd ROM flash out the shoot before playing with kernels, modems or themes...
This thread is helpful for me. I appreciate your time.

This is along the lines of the question that I was going to post so figured would ask here. I too am considering trying out the new Andromeda. I am currently using Cog 3.04 and want to test out the new Andromeda. The TiBu I have right now is from when i was on stock as I just recently purchased this and Cog was my first flash.. Would i want to continue to use that backup when i flash to andromeda, or would it be better to run a full backup with tibu while cog is on there and then flash to andromeda and use the cog backup??
also,, from above, i could possibly just skip the step with odin and go straight to andromeda? or do I need to run odin and put it back to stock before going over to andromeda?
thanks
zug

Hey Zug,
Just flashed andromeda last night via method outlined above...did not revert to stock at all (no odin). Only issue thus far is market only showing very few installed apps under 'My Apps', but I think this is a common issue. Will research solution tonight (I did have some issues getting back all apps from TiBu, but after I restored missing apps twice and rebooted a few times they all appear to be back). Also my simi clock widget comes and goes, not sure why...might clear dalvik cache to see if that helps.
Regarding TiBu, it saves apps and data. It is not ROM specific...you just back it up, then after you flash new ROM you restore missing apps with data (do NOT restore system data).
EDIT: Resolved the My Apps Market issue (only a few were showing after flash) by going to Settings, Applications, Manage, go to Market, Clear Data, reboot. Search is my friend.
i897 running Andromeda 2.0

Thanks Madtowndave.. i might give that a try.. so, since my phone is rooted and what not, i can just go to the guide and start at the portion about puting the new rom on the sd card, rebooting it and what not in recovery and select that zip and flash it right ? (well condensed version of course) and it should all be good?? guessing if this fails can always use the odin and wipe it and go back?
since i added a few new apps, guessing then that i should use tibu and go ahead and reback up everything since this rom does the master clear and then reload them right?? and hate to ask.. but how do I do the nandroid? newbie still to android and i know that just backs up the rom, but is it a app to dl from market? was fishing around in phone and didnt quite see it yet. .but figured i would do a nandroid in case i want to go back to cog.. this smart?
thnx again
zug

I think most of your questions are answered by others in this thread...
One thing I noticed last night is that I only got red (voodoo) cwm recovery menu via 3 button or long press power and reboot to recovery...when I rebooted to recovery via ROM Manager, I got the green cwm recovery menu. Not sure if this matters, but in another forum (on Vibrant phone, our sgs cousin), they said to flash ROM via the red voodoo cwm menu (since cog and andromeda both employ voodoo you can leave it enabled).
Nandroid backup you can do either from ROM manager or in cwm recovery...
Also andromeda wipes the system data, not a master clear...your data on 16 gig internal memory should not be affected, but is very good idea to backup everything to pc per the flash custom ROM guide.
i897 running Andromeda 2.0

Thanks again madtown.. going to give it a try now.. as andromeda just finished DL'ing

Good luck, hope it goes smooth for you as it seemingly has for me...Feel like a bit of a heretic for not flashing to odin first...maybe I'm just lucky.
i897 running Andromeda 2.0

hmm. ok. .so did the reboot to recovery and installed andromeda.. did it take a tad bit for yours to boot into the phone portion after it got to the andromeda screen?? mine seemed like it was hanging and was about to worry.. but finally booted in.. so figured would see if yours did too? .. gonna test stuff out now and restore tibu

Yeah, did for me too...and yes I was worried. Pretty sure this is very normal on first boot into new ROM in general. Like I said, TiBu was a bit cranky for me and required 2 restores and reboots...
Really enjoying this ROM, btw.
i897 running Andromeda 2.0

yeh.. im still doing the install from tibu (getting paid version after tomorrow since payday since im hating have to select install for every app ) .. and then will reboot and test .. though one thing ive noticed that is diff from the video is the lock screen.. in his review it was the lock button and he swiped it up.. mine is set to a puzzle piece by default?? any idea??
edit.. k mine was a 1st time go for apps restored with tibu .this is pretty nice.. it does appear to be a lot faster/smoother than cog so far.. though the Keep the lights on app should keep my bottom buttons on all the time right? least thats what i thought i was from the video and mine seem to still fade out.. even though i hit the app and it said it was enabled..

changing unlock is in settings, display...
Dunno about lights, mine just worked. Make sure service started and reboot I guess.
i897 running Andromeda 2.0

ok.. that was what it was for the lock part.. thnx .. didnt know that was there for those 4 choices.. thought only could do the none, pattern, pw etc..
everything went fine until i decided to load my contacts/sms etc from tibu.. now when i rebooted to add them, i keep getting the message "Sorry, The application Swype (processcom.swype.android.inputmethod) has stopped unexpectedly.. please try again" constantly getting things like that about swype.. any idea what happened or what i need to do?
edit.. sucked it up and re-flashed ;( will just sync contacts and deal with the ones missing for now ;(

[Q] ICS_Stunner_1.4.26.1

Hi
i have just flashed ICS_Stunner_1.4.26.1 onto my Note.
Its amazing, I love it.
I have changed the dpi to 189 and changed it to forced landscape with 10 x 10 icon layout.
It was working fine the whole day and now when I turned on my phone the icons are cut in half. Not sure how to fix this?
Secondly I flashed from GB 2.3.6 with abyss kernal... they say you must charge battery to full then discharge empty and then charge to fill and delete some battery config. Is this true?
What would your path of action be when flashing a new rom? Also how do I restore all my contacts? I made a complete backup using titanium backup (system, apps & data) when I was on my root stock rom...
I got a few questions there and hopefully I can be pointed in the right directions...
One final question, if I wanted to try out KingDroid rom. How would I do it coming from this ICS Stunner Rom?

randomwalsh said:
Hi
i have just flashed ICS_Stunner_1.4.26.1 onto my Note.
Its amazing, I love it.
I have changed the dpi to 189 and changed it to forced landscape with 10 x 10 icon layout.
It was working fine the whole day and now when I turned on my phone the icons are cut in half. Not sure how to fix this?
Secondly I flashed from GB 2.3.6 with abyss kernal... they say you must charge battery to full then discharge empty and then charge to fill and delete some battery config. Is this true?
What would your path of action be when flashing a new rom? Also how do I restore all my contacts? I made a complete backup using titanium backup (system, apps & data) when I was on my root stock rom...
I got a few questions there and hopefully I can be pointed in the right directions...
One final question, if I wanted to try out KingDroid rom. How would I do it coming from this ICS Stunner Rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I follow the procedure suggested by xda thread when I change from ICS rom to another ICS or GB rom:
1. download AbyssNote 4.2 kernel and place it on your internal/external SD Card
Also download the ICS Rom you want to install and put it on your SD card.
2. reboot to CWMR and do a backup of your current system
3. after your backup is done, stay in Recovery
4. go to install a zip from SD card --> select AbyssNote 4.2 zip and flash it
5. go back to CWMR's root menu --> advanced --> reboot recovery
6. you'll find yourself in AbyssNote's Touch Recovery
7. factory reset --> wipe cache --> wipe dalvik
9. flash the ICS Rom of your choice
10. reboot and let the Rom settle for a couple of minutes
I have no problem with this procedure so far.

If you want to be absolutely safe, you will use PC Odin back to stock Gingerbread, root it, then flash a safe rom/kernel combo. Abysskernel will work, but it's not 100% safe.
Your contacts should be restored if you had them synced with Google (Settings --> Accounts).
When you restore with TI Backup (if you do) don't restore anything system wise. Just apps and data with them only. If you have bugs, you will have to re-flash and NOT restore apps.

ok concerning my contacts... i didnt sync them with google... i know silly me. it was on the phone.
So doesn't titanium backup copy them anywhere.
I have made backup of my rom with cwm... would that contain my contacts if i restored that backup?
was its either use cwm which isnt 100% safe or use pc odin and stock gb...
Could i just restore the backup of my gb rom and then flash from there to a ics?

Use PC Odin back to gb stock prerooted, the stunner use a bad kernel i think and wipe can cause emmc to break?, so i suggest using PC odin back to stock prerooted gb , then follow some guides ( i used abysskernel ) then Asylum as its same and good rom!

randomwalsh said:
ok concerning my contacts... i didnt sync them with google... i know silly me. it was on the phone.
So doesn't titanium backup copy them anywhere.
I have made backup of my rom with cwm... would that contain my contacts if i restored that backup?
was its either use cwm which isnt 100% safe or use pc odin and stock gb...
Could i just restore the backup of my gb rom and then flash from there to a ics?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you restore "Phone" and Contacts app + data with TI backup, it MIGHT restore them but no guarantees.
You can restore the backup of your GB rom IF you are NOT using CWM on a stock ICS rom. Use Abyss Kernel to restore nandroid backup. Flash Abyss. Reboot recovery. Restore nandroid.
Go to stock ICS OR franco, speedmod, or CM9 kernels or a CM9 build.

ok I flash abyss kernel via cwm... then advance reboot recovery... restored my backup via cwm... merged my phone contacts with google...
Then i got curious about Kingdroid v2.0 with s3 add ons. So I downloaded that and flashed it via cwm... the play store wasnt downloading apps but i could browse internet, so reflashed abyss kernal via cwm and re flashed ics stunner...
I am back on stunner now. I prefer to look of this rom. So i guess as long as your flash abyss kernel you should be fine with flashing different roms and retaining root?
Just need to find out about the battery issue... when flashing a new rom what do you do concerning the battery to ensure correct % and charge...
edit: currently on Kernel : 3.0.15-I9220ZCLP6-CL343671
should i flash to one of the kernels you mentioned above?
also still having problem with cut off icons with apex set at 10x10 in landscape mode...

ok i think i has figured out the solutions...
At current apex doesn't support icon resizing so i changed my layout to 6 x 6 for now.
also was having problem making calls, it kept fc. I found out somewhere that if you use 160dpi you can use a fix or change to 200dpi and you don't need a fix and it works and still looks awesome.
I am very happy with this rom thus far... otg works which is a plus. I think i will use it for a week or so and then try the next one...
flashing roms is like eating pringles... once to flash you can't stop

Dont take me wrong dude but all these fixes including the call fc are in the stunner page,if u read everything before flashing u will not have problems and if u do, u would know how to solve yourself...and be careful restoring nandroids from cwm,flash abyss,then restore.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Also for the playstore,u could only clean the caches in my apps or change the dpi that would work
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

hahaha why would i take it the wrong way?
but seriously there are like 500 pages... and sometimes your searches are using the right key words. But yip I will try my best not to ask questions that have already been answered... even tho those answers are hidden in the mine that is xda...
With time you learn to navigate such a mine without feeling lost and confused but i am still a wee padawan
Yes always flash abyss first ALWAYS

[Q] unrooted GB - OTA ICS - Flash/Root SpeedMod kernel via Odin?

Hi good folk!
I have my son's new GN and I want to help him to safely update to ICS OTA and root.
Is it safe and possible to go from unrooted GB, do the OTA update to ICS, then flash n' root the SpeedMod kernel via Odin?
It's wipe and restore with default ICS kernel that's unsafe if I've read right?
Thanks for your help!

Ok, I sound like a total noob, I admit it!
Safest way to get speed mod kernel onto unrooted stock ics please. I have been looking, but it's like spaghetti junction out there!
Thanks!

Yup, its wiping in recovery or factory resets which is causing problems. You should be able to safely upgrade to ICS.
Not sure about the kernel. Just read the stickies. I think it would be covered.
One advice: scrap stock ROM all together.. Flash something like Asylum ICS, or some safe custom ICS ROM based on stock ROM because frankly stock ICS sucks like hell.. if you need any help, feel free to PM me!
Sent from my Galaxy Note running ParanoidAndroid v0.4 using XDA Premium. xD

The safest and easiest method would be,
1. Upgrade to ICS via OTA
2. Root with temporary CWM method here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1647148
3. Get Mobile Odin from Google Play (or search in xda)
4. Flash latest speedmod kernel for ICS (k3-5 .tar) via mobile odin
5. Reboot to recovery and do wipe from there if needed

Great! Thanks for your helpful replies, much appreciated!

i suggest you to be on gb to stay on safest side otherwise ics is a pain in ass.. go upgrade i can't stop you

+1

Anything is not safe if you don't know how to use it properly...

I don't advise you to go OTA, as if you read there are many posts are there describing battery issue, FC, unable to go to deep sleep. what are happens is likely due to previous ROM junks (thogh may not happen in all cases, b'coz there state of ROM may be clear at time of OTA update)
What i suggest best thing is to go this way
-Take backup of important data, as you have unrooted GB so you have limited scope for backup, but there is lots of applications then worth to get Root (if your RO is directly rootable) then create backup with titanium or same other application. just backup only user applications only not system junk.
-Wipe cache and data fro recovery (you can get recovery with Vol Up+home+power)
-Download ICS ROM and flash using odin from here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1424997
Here is installation and rooting guide
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=26455511&postcount=2475
-Now you will feel fresh ICS experience. and you can restore your data which you have created earlier.
But if you dont have much application to backup, then escape root, Backup/restore steps i have mentioned. Contacts can be backup with google sync, as well from contact - import/export
and SMS can be backup with SMS backup and restore application
as well there is free appl for unroot ' My bakup" on market is good to backup these stuffs.
GoodLuck!
Edit : Yes wiping is not safe on ICS. but custom kernels are safer compare to stock. you can flash any safe kernel like CF,Franco,speedmod and some more (get it from development section) after finishing root ICS.
Just remember golden rule, avoid deleting big files, wipe and recovery function on ICS. then you are safe.

Ahh wow thanks but too late! My son started playing with his phone before I could speak to him last night, and this morning I looked at his phone and saw it had ICS. Either this phone came preinstalled with ics, or I suspect that it updated when he turned on wifi, as auto update was ticked.
So I root, flash speedmod kernel and reboot to recovery to be safe from the bad bug, then install a custom ics rom over the ota stock rom?
One question please. So I'm on stock ics from ota. After flashing speedmod kernel and rebooting to recovery, is it then safe to wipe cache and dalvik after doing this, and before installing a custom ics rom?
Many thanks again..bowled over by responses to a noob from respected xda peeps!

Okay, I'm on the Speedmod kernel and already the stock ota ics is visibly smoother. one step at a time!

Speedmod kernel is.safer.then stock.and disabled emmc erase cap command to remove brick bug. But still to be safe side avoid unnecessarily wipe as well.recovery function till that's not must. Here nobody claim 100% safe like gb kernel.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

hey
the gn is kl what is the speed mod

Rooted and custom rom installed safely, thanks for all your help!

Coming from Froyo...

Haven't bothered flashing a ROM since Cognition 4.3, which I've been extremely satisfied with.
Now, there's GB, ICS, JB, etc...
I'm probably headed to an ICS ROM, and I wanted to know what the pain is going to be like.
Obviously I'll be pulling a full back-up of the phone to my PC, but I want to lose as little as possible, so I guess my plan is as follows:
1. Filesystem backup via USB.
2. TiBu back-up of apps + generate update.zip
3. Nandroid back-up
4. ????
5. Boot in (new?) recovery, run TiBu update.zip
6. Boot phone, restore with TiBu.
Please fill in the blank, here.
What do I need as far as bootloaders?
Do I have to break out Odin or are there update.zips that will flash new bootloaders from CWM?
If I decide that I hate the new ROM and miss Cognition, am I going to be able to run Froyo again on the same bootloader or is it going to be a serious pain in the ass to get back to where I was?
I'm familiar with the (Froyo) procedures for flashing ROMs, kernels, modems, GPS firmware, etc. I jumped ROMs weekly for the first two months or so after I bought my Cappy (Dec 2010). I'm not a total n00b, but this seems slightly more involved than just Eclair -> Froyo flashing.
With the new bootloader, is the Captivate still indestructible? (apart from using a hammer, of course)
Thanks in advance to anyone with good answers.

delugeofspam said:
Haven't bothered flashing a ROM since Cognition 4.3, which I've been extremely satisfied with.
Now, there's GB, ICS, JB, etc...
I'm probably headed to an ICS ROM, and I wanted to know what the pain is going to be like.
Obviously I'll be pulling a full back-up of the phone to my PC, but I want to lose as little as possible, so I guess my plan is as follows:
1. Filesystem backup via USB.
2. TiBu back-up of apps + generate update.zip
3. Nandroid back-up
4. ????
5. Boot in (new?) recovery, run TiBu update.zip
6. Boot phone, restore with TiBu.
Please fill in the blank, here.
What do I need as far as bootloaders?
Do I have to break out Odin or are there update.zips that will flash new bootloaders from CWM?
If I decide that I hate the new ROM and miss Cognition, am I going to be able to run Froyo again on the same bootloader or is it going to be a serious pain in the ass to get back to where I was?
I'm familiar with the (Froyo) procedures for flashing ROMs, kernels, modems, GPS firmware, etc. I jumped ROMs weekly for the first two months or so after I bought my Cappy (Dec 2010). I'm not a total n00b, but this seems slightly more involved than just Eclair -> Froyo flashing.
With the new bootloader, is the Captivate still indestructible? (apart from using a hammer, of course)
Thanks in advance to anyone with good answers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you want to flash ICS or any newer rom, you should probably get Gingerbread via Kies, root, and install CWM. Many ROMs run on Gingerbread bootloaders, and many who didn't run GB beforehand, had display problems. After that, you can flash any rom you want

I just went through this and wrote up my experience here.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1800169
bottom line is that Slim Bean worked the best for me.
As for installation, this is a pretty good guide.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/show....php?t=1350266
I recently did this with Slim Bean from gingerbread stock.
1. Use Odin or Heimdall to install Speedmodem kernel. (The only difference between Gingerbread and Froyo is whether you flash the bootloaders too.)
2. When the phone reboots in recovery, go to mount > usb. Make a back up of the internal drive and copy Slim ICS to the internal drive and flash it
3. ** Warning ** step 2 will install an updated CWM and completely format the internal drive, so make sure you make the back up.
4. Because it wipes the internal drive, it'll go into a boot loop, so remove the battery and boot back to recovery.
5. Repeat step 2 but also copy and flash the slimcommon zip.
6. Reboot and make sure it works.
7. Repeat step 5 but using Slim Bean and Bean Common zips.
8. reboot and done
When I did this, under Slim ICS the IMEI was wrong and it wouldn't make phone calls and but under Slim Bean, it all worked fine.
One issue with Slim Bean is that some apps don't show up in the Market, however, I was able to restore them with TiBu just fine.
Alternatively you can go straight from stock to CM10. It's actually simpler because it doesn't format your internal drive. You just flash it, reboot to recovery, and flash again. CM10 wouldn't work right on my phone though. (See first link for details.)

[Q] Problem installing kernel. Please help.

Before I begin, yes... I did search and look through a few threads with similar titles but did not find my problem.
I am not a phone geek and I am new to all this, but I rooted my Note along with a "Franco kernel", which worked successfully. My phone booted up as it was before (in fact I noticed absolutely no difference in my phone, whatsoever).
The problems begun when I tried to install an "Abyss" kernel via CWM, which apparently installed successfully, but the phone would never get past boot-up (not so successful after all, huh?). I realized that it wasn't going to work, so I though no problem, and went back into CWM and re-installed the Franco kernel that I was using before (which worked). Strangely, this kernel, too, would now no longer boot.
I successfully restored the phone with a GB rom via odin (teriible rom), and proceeded to install the so-called "Hydracore" kernel (love the names) via cwm.... this kernel made things even worse. Once again the installation was supposedly "successful", but the phone doesn't go past boot. This time, it gets stuck on a very dim black screen, which isn't actually black, it is a dark creamy/pink hue that you can only notice in absolute darkness. (WTF?) This screen has random black blotches on it, but again, if you are in a lit up room the screen looks completely black and you cannot tell that it is actually lit. When I say that this kernel made the problems even worse, I say that because when this happens (dim black screen), I cannot even enter CWM recovery at all to try and install a different kernel. From here, I can only access download mode, and have no choice but to restore the phone with the GB rom via odin. I did so, and proceeded to install the latest version of "Hydracore" (v5.4) posted right here on XDA by the member 'chasmodo.' This time, I did the installation of the kernel via odin, which, once again, was supposedly successful... and once again a lie, as the phone just goes into the same black screen, with no option other than download mode.
The sole reason I have wasted hours of my life researching and understanding mobile phone terminology in the past few days is so that I can have jellybean on my Note. It seems that I am unable to do this because the Kernels are not working on my device. I have a very powerful and capable phone, which is currently stuck on this GB rom (which I think has to be the most terrible piece of coding ever made) so any help on this would be immensely appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

can you try go back to stock GB rom.. then upgrade to ICS and root using Dr Ketans method and then install Hydracore

You flashed Hydracore on GB rom? that's the main reason behind your problem, this Kernel is not for GB. Now either flash custom GB kernel or flash stock GB firmware using pc odin and then root it. Check post # 2 in this thread for rooting. (I guess you know how to do this )
Once you have root and cwm recovery, you can flash any custom rom you want.

jeetu1981 said:
You flashed Hydracore on GB rom? that's the main reason behind your problem, this Kernel is not for GB. Now either flash custom GB kernel or flash stock GB firmware using pc odin and then root it. Check post # 2 in this thread for rooting. (I guess you know how to do this )
Once you have root and cwm recovery, you can flash any custom rom you want.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hot damn you guys are quick!
Silly me! :silly:
If I install any GB kernal can I then install CM10?

S-pen said:
Before I begin, yes... I did search and look through a few threads with similar titles but did not find my problem.
I am not a phone geek and I am new to all this, but I rooted my Note along with a "Franco kernel", which worked successfully. My phone booted up as it was before (in fact I noticed absolutely no difference in my phone, whatsoever).
The problems begun when I tried to install an "Abyss" kernel via CWM, which apparently installed successfully, but the phone would never get past boot-up (not so successful after all, huh?). I realized that it wasn't going to work, so I though no problem, and went back into CWM and re-installed the Franco kernel that I was using before (which worked). Strangely, this kernel, too, would now no longer boot.
I successfully restored the phone with a GB rom via odin (teriible rom), and proceeded to install the so-called "Hydracore" kernel (love the names) via cwm.... this kernel made things even worse. Once again the installation was supposedly "successful", but the phone doesn't go past boot. This time, it gets stuck on a very dim black screen, which isn't actually black, it is a dark creamy/pink hue that you can only notice in absolute darkness. (WTF?) This screen has random black blotches on it, but again, if you are in a lit up room the screen looks completely black and you cannot tell that it is actually lit. When I say that this kernel made the problems even worse, I say that because when this happens (dim black screen), I cannot even enter CWM recovery at all to try and install a different kernel. From here, I can only access download mode, and have no choice but to restore the phone with the GB rom via odin. I did so, and proceeded to install the latest version of "Hydracore" (v5.4) posted right here on XDA by the member 'chasmodo.' This time, I did the installation of the kernel via odin, which, once again, was supposedly successful... and once again a lie, as the phone just goes into the same black screen, with no option other than download mode.
The sole reason I have wasted hours of my life researching and understanding mobile phone terminology in the past few days is so that I can have jellybean on my Note. It seems that I am unable to do this because the Kernels are not working on my device. I have a very powerful and capable phone, which is currently stuck on this GB rom (which I think has to be the most terrible piece of coding ever made) so any help on this would be immensely appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi there, sorry to hear of your challenges.
One thing to remember before flashing is the nature of safe / unsafe kernels. Equally as important is compatible / non compatible kernels. It's not clear from your post but did you flash Abyss on an ICS ROM? If so, Abyss is a GB kernel. It will install but the ROM wont run due to lack of compatibility.
Abyss is used by many as a Safe kernel, a base to flash a new ROM from . Alternatively, it can be used to "downgrade" to Gingerbread ROMs.
If you are intent on trying a JB ROM, I would suggest a doing a full wipe (use the numerous guides on XDA) and a kernel clean (jBroid Script Cleaner for example). Now, research Chasmodo's excellent Kernel Repository and choose a kernel. Hydracore 4.3 Standard is a good "benchmark" however you could try the Official CM10 kernel from Entropy. Reboot to Recovery and flash your JB ROM of choice.
You will now have "Full Wiped" (including Script Clean), installed a Safe (Compatible) Kernel and flashed a compatible ROM.
For what its worth, I found GB to be an excellent ROM, particularly 2.3.6 and 2.3.7. CheckROM was one of my favorite ROMs on the S2 and they didnt even feel the need (till recently) to make an ICS version.
I hope this helps. Please hit THANKS if it did.

Alba Donzo said:
Hi there, sorry to hear of your challenges.
One thing to remember before flashing is the nature of safe / unsafe kernels. Equally as important is compatible / non compatible kernels. It's not clear from your post but did you flash Abyss on an ICS ROM? If so, Abyss is a GB kernel. It will install but the ROM wont run due to lack of compatibility.
Abyss is used by many as a Safe kernel, a base to flash a new ROM from . Alternatively, it can be used to "downgrade" to Gingerbread ROMs.
If you are intent on trying a JB ROM, I would suggest a doing a full wipe (use the numerous guides on XDA) and a kernel clean (jBroid Script Cleaner for example). Now, research Chasmodo's excellent Kernel Repository and choose a kernel. Hydracore 4.3 Standard is a good "benchmark" however you could try the Official CM10 kernel from Entropy. Reboot to Recovery and flash your JB ROM of choice.
You will now have "Full Wiped" (including Script Clean), installed a Safe (Compatible) Kernel and flashed a compatible ROM.
For what its worth, I found GB to be an excellent ROM, particularly 2.3.6 and 2.3.7. CheckROM was one of my favorite ROMs on the S2 and they didnt even feel the need (till recently) to make an ICS version.
I hope this helps. Please hit THANKS if it did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, I forgot to mention that when I rooted it I was running official 4.0.3 which I got OTA. After I rooted I tried the Abyss kernel. I had read that if you try and install CM10 straight from ICS you can brick, and that you had to downgrade to GB to do this. There must have been a misunderstanding on my part as I though that installing Abyss would downgrade me to GB.
What I don't understand is that I have now installed a GB rom, yet the Abyss gb kernel still does not work.
The two members that posted mentioned that I should root, though I did mention in the OP that it is already rooted... Am I missing something?
Anyway, I want to avoid having to download any more big files. I already have the latest "nightly" build of CM10 in my SD card. Is there any GB kernel that I can install from where I am now that would make it safe to install the CM10 zip?

S-pen said:
Yes, I forgot to mention that when I rooted it I was running official 4.0.3 which I got OTA. After I rooted I tried the Abyss kernel. I had read that if you try and install CM10 straight from ICS you can brick, and that you had to downgrade to GB to do this. There must have been a misunderstanding on my part as I though that installing Abyss would downgrade me to GB.
What I don't understand is that I have now installed a GB rom, yet the Abyss gb kernel still does not work.
The two members that posted mentioned that I should root, though I did mention in the OP that it is already rooted... Am I missing something?
Anyway, I want to avoid having to download any more big files. I already have the latest "nightly" build of CM10 in my SD card. Is there any GB kernel that I can install from where I am now that would make it safe to install the CM10 zip?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I were on a GB ROM and wanted to run CM10 I would Full Wipe (including Cache and Dalvik) then do the following -
Flash Official CM10 kernel.
Reboot to Recovery (do not go straight to ROM flash)
Once back in Recovery, flash the CM10 ROM.
Reboot device.

Alba Donzo said:
If I were on a GB ROM and wanted to run CM10 I would Full Wipe (including Cache and Dalvik) then do the following -
Flash Official CM10 kernel.
Reboot to Recovery (do not go straight to ROM flash)
Once back in Recovery, flash the CM10 ROM.
Reboot device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the official CM10 kernel is a gb kernel? Because remember that is what I'm currently on.
And just to make sure I got you... wipe everything, install kernel (I don't understand what you mean by "go straight to rom flash"), but then not "reboot system", instead "reboot to recovery", then install CM10 rom?
Also, when you say a "full wipe" do you mean that it will erase everything like a factory reset and delete all my apps and everything else? And is there anyway to install CM10 without doing this or is that the only way?

Cm10 kernel is a jelly bean kernel, so gb rom will not run under it.
Full wipe does mean erasing everything. Coming from gb, there is no other way to install, you need a full wipe, remember, you're updating two full revisions of the os, so it's not surprising a full wipe is needed. If you're worried about your apps, root gb before upgrading and use titanium backup to backup you're apps and then restore them when on cm10.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

Alba Donzo said:
If I were on a GB ROM and wanted to run CM10 I would Full Wipe (including Cache and Dalvik) then do the following -
Flash Official CM10 kernel.
Reboot to Recovery (do not go straight to ROM flash)
Once back in Recovery, flash the CM10 ROM.
Reboot device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you are on rooted GB Rom and want to flash a custom JB or ICS one, this is what you do:
1. drop into recovery
2. do a full wife™ (factory reset, wipe cache and dalvik)
3. flash your JB/ICS Rom
4. reboob
Nothing else is needed, no intermediate steps like flashing another kernel in between, and especially no running Jbroid or Sybr kernel cleaning script.

chasmodo said:
If you are on rooted GB Rom and want to flash a custom JB or ICS one, this is what you do:
1. drop into recovery
2. do a full wife™ (factory reset, wipe cache and dalvik)
3. flash your JB/ICS Rom
4. reboob
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How original was that....
Sent from my GT-N7000 using xda premium

SpyderTracks said:
If you're worried about your apps, root gb before upgrading and use titanium backup to backup you're apps and then restore them when on cm10.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, my phone is already rooted... I have mentioned this several times.

chasmodo said:
If you are on rooted GB Rom and want to flash a custom JB or ICS one, this is what you do:
1. drop into recovery
2. do a full wife™ (factory reset, wipe cache and dalvik)
3. flash your JB/ICS Rom
4. reboob
Nothing else is needed, no intermediate steps like flashing another kernel in between, and especially no running Jbroid or Sybr kernel cleaning script.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You telling me that I can safely go straight to JB from my current GB rom and kernel?
I already have a "nightly" JB rom on my SD card, so just to be clear, all I do is go into CWM recovery, do a "full" wipe (how do I do that by the way?) and install the JB rom from zip?

Yes, you can go ahead. Just follow the instructions kindly provided by chasmodo.
But please, do not forget to flash GApps after you flashed the JB "nightly ROM which is on your SD Card". Otherwise you won't have Google account, play store etc yada yada.
Full wipe (aka full-wife™) means wipe data/factory reset. Nothing else.

AA1973 said:
Yes, you can go ahead. Just follow the instructions kindly provided by chasmodo.
But please, do not forget to flash GApps after you flashed the JB "nightly ROM which is on your SD Card". Otherwise you won't have Google account, play store etc yada yada.
Full wipe (aka full-wife™) means wipe data/factory reset. Nothing else.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Great! I am downloading the GApps for JB now. How do I install them? I understand that this is also done through CWM recovery, but how do I instal them? do I install the JB rom and reboot to recovery and then just install GApps from zip before rebooting system?
Also, does the full wipe have to be done in CWM recovery, or can I just do the normal wipe on the phone menu before entering recovery?

You flash the ROM by pointing the recovery to the "ROM.zip", the same is valid for "GApps.zip".
So you do the following, no reboot in recovery in between those 2 steps!
Install zip (from where it is located, internal/external SD )
*ROM.zip
*Gapps.zip
*reboot system
Wipe data/factory reset is done (most of the times) in recovery. Just get used to it. Saves you some bad habits on doing it on stock ICS ...

AA1973 said:
You flash the ROM by pointing the recovery to the "ROM.zip", the same is valid for "GApps.zip".
So you do the following, no reboot in recovery in between those 2 steps!
Install zip (from where it is located, internal/external SD )
*ROM.zip
*Gapps.zip
*reboot system
Wipe data/factory reset is done (most of the times) in recovery. Just get used to it. Saves you some bad habits on doing it on stock ICS ...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
OK install ROM and then install GApps straight away, got it.
Just about the wipe, is it a simple one button wipe that wipes everything, or are there several things that I have to wipe independently? This is the part I'm not too sure about.

Just go into recovery and have a look. I mean, a really close look! Your topic was "need help to install a kernel" not "I don't know how to use recovery and please can someone come over to my place in order to explain me CWM recovery".
Sorry. Everything has been explained. Can't (or rather dont want to) help you further than what has been already mentioned. Period.

AA1973 said:
Just go into recovery and have a look. I mean, a really close look! Your topic was "need help to install a kernel" not "I don't know how to use recovery and please can someone come over to my place in order to explain me CWM recovery".
Sorry. Everything has been explained. Can't (or rather dont want to) help you further than what has been already mentioned. Period.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's fine. I'll go into recovery and have a look. Thanks for the help that you did give anyway.

It worked! I have been messing around with my new Note on Jellybean and looking through all the settings. It doesn't have project butter (or at least the project wasn't very successful), but still miles ahead of Touchwiz.
Just want to extend a big thanks to everyone that has helped me out. Much appreciated.