Database Develop

[Q] New to the Android Hacking Scene | First Steps

So as of Oct 1st I've been the proud owner of a Captivate. This is upgrading from an Ericsson feature phone, which while I hacked, the scene here is very different. Moreover, the organization and level of detail I tend to find things is a little lacking (yes, I've used the search feature). I understand that the Android platform is spreading rapidly, the Captivate especially, so I will say I don't fault XDA or anything. I'm just trying to educate myself (and hopefully be able to help the community later) via a massive post on breaking myself into the Captivate hacking circle.
Most of the below are questions that fall under some kind of similar topic.
What do the I8000/I9000 terms pertain to? Which phones or firmware versions are which Ix000? How can I check for myself in the future? (I'm under the impression that the Captivate falls under I9000, but still I'd like more firm determination.)
How many ROMs can be active on a phone at once? (Can a ROM be just some UI changes, on top of another that changes some backend file organization or, say, another UI alteration for a different section of the phone?)
ROM Manager + Clockwork Mod seems to be the defacto tool for flashing phone ROMs and creating backups with the Captivate. But I've also seen people suggest using Titanium Backup often for creating backups if the user wants to have a stock state of their phone to revert to in order to go back to a clean slate. (Only real difference that is apparent is TB seems to use the word "image" and not "backup", but if that's the case then what does a "backup" count as out of ROM Manger?) And what of Odin? Or Nandroid? I get there are different methodologies to do the same thing, but it’d be nice to lay out the details, uses, pros, cons, and comparisons between all these backup utilities.
Thanks in advance!
EDIT: Shoot, thought I was on the Q&A page. Feel free to move. Apologies.

While you are in development look at the captivate bible, it links to the important threads, I think there is a wiki up somewhere too that answers the important questions.
Titanium backup backs up apps and data but I don't know if its in the form of an image, certainly not a full disk image.
Nandroid is a feature of rom manager/clockwork recovery, I believe that is an image but I haven't actually used a backup from it yet so I don't know if it is or isn't.
Odin is a tool for flashing samsung firmwares, 3rd party roms can use odin and a hybrid can be made my mixing one rom with another kernel or modem.bin.
Most recent 3rd party roms use a .zip file run in clockwork recovery which can be launcher from rom manager.
Some mods and I think a few roms are run as an update.zip in the stock recovery screen which you get to via a button combo on boot up. Hold both volumes for 2 sec then press power and continue holding all 3 buttons till the att screen pops up.
Since you are new to android, I'd look at designgears work, or eugene. High quality stuff. Cognition 2.2 is based on leaked froyo and is probably the best gps and fastest, linpack shows the best numbers with froyo(2.2). But for 3d gaming the overclock (only on eclair (2.1)) will give better frame rates from a higher gpu clock. Not that the humming bird needs better 3d performance. It already leads the field in that area, most benchmark are ineffective because the gpu is capped at 56fps and it will hit that cap through most tests.
Kernels for overclock/undervolt and/or voodoo are loaded into condition 2.1.x and can be added to other eclair roms with ease.
eugenes roms are very thought out but take a while to get right on the captivate since he has a vibrant and there are differences.
I-9000 is the international galaxy s and is the most feature rich version that is gsm, many files roms ect can run on the captivate with some bugs, I-9000 kernels are used to enable hsupa, but break the bluetooth.
Lag fix is a ext2 or ext4 partition to boost file system speeds, ask a dev about how that works, I have no idea. Voodoo lag fix, I think is a full file system replacement and considered superior. its not available in froyo, we have no source code for froyo to build the kernel.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using Tapatalk

Cyber_Bruno said:
What do the I8000/I9000 terms pertain to? Which phones or firmware versions are which Ix000? How can I check for myself in the future? (I'm under the impression that the Captivate falls under I9000, but still I'd like more firm determination.)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is the Samsung's code for their devices. For example :
i900 --> Samsung Omnia
i8000 --> Samsung Omnia II
i9000 --> Samsung Galaxy S (International)
B7610 --> Samsung OmniaPRO (the touchscreen slider)
C6625 --> Samsung Valencia
And finally, i897 --> AT&T Samsung Captivate
Cyber_Bruno said:
How many ROMs can be active on a phone at once? (Can a ROM be just some UI changes, on top of another that changes some backend file organization or, say, another UI alteration for a different section of the phone?)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, only one ROM can be used in the device at the same time. It is recommended to flash stock ROM first before flashing non-stock ROM, to avoid conflict between ROMs. Every non-stock ROMs is made to replace stock ROM, not another non-stock ROMs.
Cyber_Bruno said:
ROM Manager + Clockwork Mod seems to be the defacto tool for flashing phone ROMs and creating backups with the Captivate. But I've also seen people suggest using Titanium Backup often for creating backups if the user wants to have a stock state of their phone to revert to in order to go back to a clean slate. (Only real difference that is apparent is TB seems to use the word "image" and not "backup", but if that's the case then what does a "backup" count as out of ROM Manger?) And what of Odin? Or Nandroid? I get there are different methodologies to do the same thing, but it’d be nice to lay out the details, uses, pros, cons, and comparisons between all these backup utilities.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ROM Manager & Clockwork Mod --> Same utility, get from the market. Flash stock ROM first. You don't need PC to flash with ROM Manager/Clockwork Mod
Odin --> Conventional way that needs PC to flash the ROM. Flash stock ROM first. Usually ROMs that need Odin will be available as .exe file, and the .exe file contains Odin with the ROM, so, you don't need to download Odin separately
Titanium Backup --> A backup app, get from the market. It will generate an .APK file that contains the app with their data (for example : saved games) as an .APK file. After flash the new ROM, just reinstall the generated .APK file. It can backup app (with data), WiFi settings, contacts & calendar (better use your Google account), SMS/MMS (better use separate SMS/MMS backup app from the market), Call History, etc
Nandroid --> I don't know, never used before.
Cyber_Bruno said:
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome

Nandroid --> I don't know, never used before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nandroid is a function of RM/CWM wherein it take a full snapshot of the current rom setup: system, application data, etc. (no, it does not copy the entire internal SD card.)

Well, your questions are pretty standard things, not really related much to actual dev work.
I will point you to the 3 most important things you will need to get started.
apk manager
auto-deodexer
apktool
...and the obvious dev tools, netbeans, android sdk, etc...
...one more thing...
This thread is godly;
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=725870

[Q] Please Verify Knowledge of Rooting - lots of questions

I’ve just updated from MoDaCo’s 1.5 ROM to the CM6 2.2 ROM and since it’s been so long (over a year) since I’ve rooted my phone and dived into all the information involved in doing so. Back then it wasn’t as easy as it is now with some of these rooting methods. In fact I remember it being a real mess ha. (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=583291)
So basically, I’ve managed to do quite a lot of things and I want to help a friend out but I want to make sure all my info is right.
ALL of this is basically on giant question. I just word it as if I know what I’m talking about. But please help me correct everything that is wrong (and I know there is a lot), help answer some of my questions, and even let me know where I’m right. I didn’t type everything up as questions so that it reads easier. If I need to repeat some sections to get clarification I can.
Customizing you Phone
The first step is to gain root access via installing (flashing) a recovery program (image).
This program (image) is only accessible via boot (boot into recovery). It allows you to make a back-up of the phone in its entirety, restore said back-ups, allow PC access connectivity (via USB), flash programs/files (“installing” in a sense), partition an SD card, perform various wipes, and some miscellaneous things.
Ok – I’ll pause here to get some info. Wipe Data/Factory Reset; this means erasing everything off the phone and it resets the current ROM back to its native state. Wipe Dalvik-cache… I’m not sure what this does exactly but I assume it has something to do with the programs installed or the SD card. Furthur, why would I want to ‘wipe battery stats’ or ‘rotate settings’ ? And wipe SD:ext partition has to do with Apps to SD?
Also, when you do these wipes and flashes and re-do your phone from scratch, the only thing that is never touched is the recovery image. It’s fair to say, when you flash the recovery image during your rooting, it’s the only set in stone thing on your phone… that is until you re-root your phone or flash an alternate recovery.
Apps2sd – When I first rooted my phone and installed MoDaCo’s ROM, I ventured into the land of Apps2sd. This too was a PAINFUL process partitioning my SD card and learning all about the ext2/3/4 and I’ve already forgotten everything. After going through all that to clear up what little space I had on my Hero, I then read all kinds of people saying Apps2SD is bad cuz it’s slow and blah blah. So I took it off. Now it seems that Google has made an Apps2sd native? I just need updated on the whole Apps2sd thing both in general and for the Hero.
Ok – Back. Some of the things you can flash are custom ROMs (a ROM is the Operating System essentially), data that tells the computer to work differently such as custom kernels (what makes the phone work, basically communication between hardware and software), new radios (what retrieves and uses signals), and battery stuff (what would it be called? “Battery kernel info”? haha). You can even flash programs right to the phone (apk files).
The biggest reason to root your phone, is to install a custom ROM. Custom roms typically cut out a lot of bloat that the stock OS would have such as un-removable programs (Sprint NFL and NASCAR… Thanks but no thanks Sprint) and OS things. Many developers have even tweaked ROMs to optimize performance and battery life. Why would the stock ROM not do this? And why would it seem the dev’s (developers) making custom ROMs are better than the devs at Google/Sprint/Samsung/etc.? Certain applications also require rooted phones (or just simple ‘root’) due to their extended abilities or required securities (such as WaveSecure?).
Reminder – everything is a question even tho some things have ‘?’ and some don’t. I know that I do not know what I’m talking about. I just want to confirm what I do know, and learn where I’m wrong!
Now some straight up questions:
When you get a custom recovery, ROM, and kernel on your phone… you’ve just about altered all major parts of your phone (software speaking of course)?
When you want to put on a custom ROM, you first wipe everything then flash the ROM. Then you may flash additional items such as gapps (google applications pack), custom Kernals, etc. When you want to change roms, do you have to undo everything and start from scratch and put new gapps back on, a new kernel, etc? What about just updating a ROM? What if you have a ROM you like, but just want to un-install(un-flash) gapps – possible?
[*]So example, If I needed something I forgot on an old setup – like a text message or file from EasyNote, I would have to nandroid backup, wipe everything, flash old ROM and additional files, restore OLD nandroid, grab the files, wipe everything, flash back newer ROM and additional files, restore new nandroid that was just created to be back where I started? (I actually have to do this too haha – want to make sure that’s right.) Basically I’m making sure I’m right about nandroid. It back’s-up all data and setting type files for current ROM?​
What would happen if I tried to restore a nandroid back-up created during another ROM?
MoDaCo’s old custom ROM had WaveSecure installed with it so that it could not be removed. Is it possible to still do this with other ROMs?
Why do some people talk so negatively about gapps? Is there something wrong with them?
Back when I first tried learning all this a year ago, the Hero’s messaging app was known to be a real battery-eater and never slept so it was recommended to switch to a 3rd party and disable the stock app’s notifications. What’s the development on that?
I still have a whole paper full of other questions, but I think this is already getting loooong… so I’ll leave it here for now. The point of all this is to yes, educate myself so that I may help others…. But I plan on writing up a real all-inclusive guide to android and rooting and the like. I’ve searched a lot and learned a lot, but nowhere (including the wiki) did I find a nice, chronological guide of information. Hopefully I can fill that niche once I know exactly what I’m talking about, and even then I’ll need some peeps to clean my stuff up a bit. I also happen to be a filmmaker so I’d like to make a good video on this as well. It won’t be one of those videos where you can barley understand the person talking, shot in the basement with all the lights off, camera held in hand and shot with web-cam, etc. (Note: Just today I saw the XDA-TV post… sorry I missed it) D:
LAST NOTE:
Ok I promise I’m almost done. I just wanted to say that if anyone would not mind talking on the phone… I would love to just blow through this stuff a lot faster and be able to have a convo with some 1 on 1 feedback allowing me to get lots of questions answered. Even just 10 minutes would help me out tons! So if anyone who is a genious on this stuff (like devs… ) and wouldn’t mind chatting for a few – please PM me. I can do Skype as well.

I hope someone will take the time to answer you, it will help me too LOL. Last thing I rooted was the G1 years ago, & just yesterday rooted the Hero (& flashed CM6 today) I got off of Craigslist. Seems like some phones have better wikis than others.
I haven't been in the rooting/flashing game for a while since I've owned tons of different devices before & after the G1. Since then the only flashing I did was flashing Android onto a WM device LOL. Never bothered flashing the Vibrant, Epic, or Evo (sold, sold, & sold.)
Anyway, yeah, I hope someone answers! You have my support!

Root and recovery are two totally separate things - you can root your phone and not flash a recovery, it's totally up to you. Root gives you access to things on your phone, that you would otherwise not have - like flashing recovery, ROM(s), apps that need root access, etc. Goto the wiki there's a link which gives a high level idea of what root gives you.
Recovery - gives you features such as Nand backup/restore, wipe cache, dalvik-cache, flash stuff (ROMs, kernels, etc.,)
Apps2SD - allows you to install apps to the SD card. If you are using android 2.2 or above, this feature is available natively, so you don't need something line apps2sd
Now, answers to your "Straight up questions..."
1. Yes, once you root, flash recovery, flash ROM... you have altered your phone from a software stand point. You can return it to "out-of-the-box" state by running any official RUU provided by HTC/Sprint (for HTC Sprint Hero)
2. This varies from ROM to ROM, you should read the specific instructions provided by the ROM builder. About removing gapps, it is pretty easy to remove any apps once you have root access - read up the wiki or search for removing apps
3. Depends on what you want to get back - for all your daily needs, there are backup applications that can help you backup stuff from the phone, which you can then restore, once you have the app running and backup available
4. If you restore a nand backup, it will put your phone to a stage when you had created the backup
5. You will have to read up about MoDaCo ROM, that is a ROM specific thing
6. There's nothing wrong about the gapps - not sure what you are referring to
7. There are multiple messaging apps - handcent, chomp, google voice, etc. It all depends on your personal preferences
I would honestly recommend you to search on the forums and also visit the wiki. There's a whole lot of information about everything here. Also, Hero being a bit old phone, more often than not, the problem you might be facing... might have been already answered. Yes, it is time consuming, but will surely help you. The more you read, the comfortable you will feel.
Hope this helps. Let me know if I can help you further. Again, I started the same way as you, rooted the phone, flashed CM6, played around, something went horribly wrong, then had to RUU, root, flash... everything. But, that taught me a lot.
Enjoy!

So basically, I’ve managed to do quite a lot of things and I want to help a friend out but I want to make sure all my info is right.
Customizing you Phone
The first step is to gain root access via installing (flashing) a recovery program (image).
This program (image) is only accessible via boot (boot into recovery). It allows you to make a back-up of the phone in its entirety, restore said back-ups, allow PC access connectivity (via USB), flash programs/files (“installing” in a sense), partition an SD card, perform various wipes, and some miscellaneous things.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure which phone you are working with, but I'm pretty sure, as a general
rule, you need root before you can flash the recovery image. Could be mistaken
on that, but that's how it was for my hero. Once you have the recovery image
flashed, you are correct, you can make and restore backups, you can access
the phone's internal storage and SD card, push/install apps, remove apps, etc.
Ok – I’ll pause here to get some info. Wipe Data/Factory Reset; this means erasing everything off the phone and it resets the current ROM back to its native state. Wipe Dalvik-cache… I’m not sure what this does exactly but I assume it has something to do with the programs installed or the SD card. Furthur, why would I want to ‘wipe battery stats’ or ‘rotate settings’ ? And wipe SD:ext partition has to do with Apps to SD?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wipe/Factory Reset basically formats the various partitions in the phone's
internal memory, if you do a wipe and reboot your phone, you'll boot loop, as
the phone no longer has an operating system. To restore back to original,
you would need to use an official RUU as andythegreenguy stated. You can
get the official rom upgrades (RUU's) from your carrier's website.
I'm still learning a lot of this myself, but the Dalvik-Cache is basically the OS's
cache, which has files randomly dumped into it and removed from it. Wiping
the Dalvik-Cache is beneficial (and sometimes required) when making
modifications to your rom. It can help improve your performance under some
circumstances, but will make your phone boot slower while the cache is being
recreated. SD:EXT only applies if you have partitioned your SD, for example,
to be used with Apps2SD. If you have no EXT partition, you can't format it.
If you are using Apps2SD, and have partitioned your SD card, this will erase
the EXT partition.
As a general rule that I follow, whenever I am making major changes, and
especially when I am flashing between different roms, I wipe everything, and
repartition/format my SD card. This helps me to know that any problems I run
into are not caused by something from a previous rom that didn't get erased.
I've never messed with wiping rotate, but wiping battery stats can be useful.
Lithium batteries have a little controller board that basically stores the battery
state. Sometimes this can get messed up, and a perfectly healthy battery will
think it's out of power a lot faster than it should. Resetting the battery info
can sometimes fix this issue. A recommendation I saw was to run your battery
down, reset the battery state, let the phone die, then do a full charge/discharge
cycle. Never had to do this, myself..
Also, when you do these wipes and flashes and re-do your phone from scratch, the only thing that is never touched is the recovery image. It’s fair to say, when you flash the recovery image during your rooting, it’s the only set in stone thing on your phone… that is until you re-root your phone or flash an alternate recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorta.. hboot and the radio are both beyond the recovery, and messing with
either of those without knowing what you are doing can cause your phone to
become a brick. Any recovery you flash should remain in place unless you use a
RUU, flash a different recovery, flash a rom that includes a different recovery,
(haven't run across that except for the RUU's), or mess with the MTD partitions.
Apps2sd – When I first rooted my phone and installed MoDaCo’s ROM, I ventured into the land of Apps2sd. This too was a PAINFUL process partitioning my SD card and learning all about the ext2/3/4 and I’ve already forgotten everything. After going through all that to clear up what little space I had on my Hero, I then read all kinds of people saying Apps2SD is bad cuz it’s slow and blah blah. So I took it off. Now it seems that Google has made an Apps2sd native? I just need updated on the whole Apps2sd thing both in general and for the Hero.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps2SD is fine, any speed issues would primaryly be loading delays on slower
SD cards. Apps2SD also requires your SD card to be properly partitioned. The
Apps2SD that is in Android 2.2 is a little different, in that from my nderstanding,
it uses the Fat32 partition on the SD card, and thus does not require you to
partition your SD card. It is also to my knowledge only available on roms based
on Android 2.2.
A lot of custom roms have some form of Apps2SD now, but they require you to partition the SD card, and, as far as "speed" issues, I have ran my apps from
a class 2 card just fine, but moving the Dalvik-Cache to the SD card will cause
lag if you have a slow card. Class 4 or higher is recommended for moving your
cache.
Ok – Back. Some of the things you can flash are custom ROMs (a ROM is the Operating System essentially), data that tells the computer to work differently such as custom kernels (what makes the phone work, basically communication between hardware and software), new radios (what retrieves and uses signals), and battery stuff (what would it be called? “Battery kernel info”? haha). You can even flash programs right to the phone (apk files).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Correct, you can flash ROMS, Kernels, Radios, apps (if packaged properly),
apk files that aren't packaged in an update.zip will either have to be pushed
via ADB, or can be installed from your SD card with a file manager.
The biggest reason to root your phone, is to install a custom ROM. Custom roms typically cut out a lot of bloat that the stock OS would have such as un-removable programs (Sprint NFL and NASCAR… Thanks but no thanks Sprint) and OS things. Many developers have even tweaked ROMs to optimize performance and battery life. Why would the stock ROM not do this? And why would it seem the dev’s (developers) making custom ROMs are better than the devs at Google/Sprint/Samsung/etc.? Certain applications also require rooted phones (or just simple ‘root’) due to their extended abilities or required securities (such as WaveSecure?).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as the biggest reason to root your phone, I would have to say that the
answer to that would vary from person to person. Most users root to install
custom roms, but rooting gives you full control of the operating system. Since
android is Linux, having root access on your phone will allow you to change the
things that you otherwise could not. Utilities like Titanium backup can be used
to back up and restore your apps and data, performance benefits are always
a huge consideration. Companies like HTC and Sprint don't take performance
concerns into consideration because they are providing a product that is in their
opinion disposable, and "generic enough" for most users. Asking why they don't
fix the performance issues is like asking why every car on the road can't run 160
miles per hour while getting 40 miles per gallon. Some people don't care to have
the fastest, most efficient phone, and some people can't stand having sluggish
and unresponsive phones.
Now some straight up questions:
When you get a custom recovery, ROM, and kernel on your phone… you’ve just about altered all major parts of your phone (software speaking of course)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
With a recovery, rom, and kernel, you've flashed all of the major software components
that you will be concerned about. Performance gains are all found in the ROM
and Kernel, and so most people have no need to go further than that. Basically,
think of the Kernel as the brain, and the ROM as the rest of the operating system
The recovery is important, but is transparent to the function of the phone once
everything is up and running.
[*]When you want to put on a custom ROM, you first wipe everything then flash the ROM. Then you may flash additional items such as gapps (google applications pack), custom Kernals, etc. When you want to change roms, do you have to undo everything and start from scratch and put new gapps back on, a new kernel, etc? What about just updating a ROM? What if you have a ROM you like, but just want to un-install(un-flash) gapps – possible?
[*]So example, If I needed something I forgot on an old setup – like a text message or file from EasyNote, I would have to nandroid backup, wipe everything, flash old ROM and additional files, restore OLD nandroid, grab the files, wipe everything, flash back newer ROM and additional files, restore new nandroid that was just created to be back where I started? (I actually have to do this too haha – want to make sure that’s right.) Basically I’m making sure I’m right about nandroid. It back’s-up all data and setting type files for current ROM?​[*]What would happen if I tried to restore a nandroid back-up created during another ROM?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to answer these in one shot. It's recommended that you always wipe
everything before installing a custom rom, except if the rom you are installing
is *SPECIFICALLY* an update for the rom you are running, and the dev states
that a wipe is not necessary. Generally, you want to make a nandroid backup,
wipe, install the rom, make sure everything is fine, nandroid, install the kernel,
check things over, rinse and repeat.
In my case, I generally return to configs that I've already tested, so I skip some
steps, but the order is ROM, Kernel, then the other parts.
If you forgot a text message from another rom, as long as you have the nandroid
you should be OK. You can boot into recovery, make a nandroid backup of your
current configuration, then wipe everything, restore the nandroid from the
old configuration, retrieve your message or data, Then you can reboot, wipe,
and restore the nandroid from the new configuration. Keeping multiple nandroids
can be userful if you are using an AOSP rom as your daily rom, since on the
Hero, to my knowledge, you can only update your PRL under a Sense based rom.
A lot of users will restore the sense backup to update their PRL, then restore the
AOSP rom.
[*]MoDaCo’s old custom ROM had WaveSecure installed with it so that it could not be removed. Is it possible to still do this with other ROMs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never used WaveSecure, but as a general rule, if you can download the APK, you
should be able to install it on any rom.
[*]Why do some people talk so negatively about gapps? Is there something wrong with them?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some people like fat chicks, and some people don't. The argument about
gapps is akin to asking what's better, PC or Mac, Linux or Windows, sports cars
or station wagons. It's all personal preference. What's right for you might not
be right for your best friend.
[*]Back when I first tried learning all this a year ago, the Hero’s messaging app was known to be a real battery-eater and never slept so it was recommended to switch to a 3rd party and disable the stock app’s notifications. What’s the development on that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The messaging app had a bug that would lock the dialer and prevent the phone
from sleeping. This bug was supposedly fixed in the 2.1 update, but 2.1 also
introduced a whole plethora of other bugs. Some people still prefer third party
messenging apps, but I use the stock app with no issues. on a good day I can
get 27 hours on a charge, but I do a lot and so most days I get 12 hours or so.
Hope this has helped.
LAST NOTE:
Ok I promise I’m almost done. I just wanted to say that if anyone would not mind talking on the phone… I would love to just blow through this stuff a lot faster and be able to have a convo with some 1 on 1 feedback allowing me to get lots of questions answered. Even just 10 minutes would help me out tons! So if anyone who is a genious on this stuff (like devs… ) and wouldn’t mind chatting for a few – please PM me. I can do Skype as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This may sound strange from a guy with a cellphone, but I actually hate talking
on the phone. Feel free to send me a PM now and then with questions. If I know the answer, I'll help out.
I'm not as knowledgeable as any of the devs, I'm still learning all of this myself. My answers might not be
'correct', but they work for me. most things related to android have no 'correct' or 'definitive' answer, but
that's the beauty of a platform that can be customized to taste. We can all make recommendations, and
can even tell you our reasoning or logic behind them, but we can all also learn a few things.

andythegreenguy said:
Root and recovery are two totally separate things - you can root your phone and not flash a recovery, it's totally up to you. Root gives you access to things on your phone, that you would otherwise not have - like flashing recovery, ROM(s), apps that need root access, etc. Goto the wiki there's a link which gives a high level idea of what root gives you.
Recovery - gives you features such as Nand backup/restore, wipe cache, dalvik-cache, flash stuff (ROMs, kernels, etc.,)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah! So the recovery is a nice, built-into-phone way of flashing, whiping, etc; otherwise you would need to use the command prompt. (Correct?)
andythegreenguy said:
Apps2SD - allows you to install apps to the SD card. If you are using android 2.2 or above, this feature is available natively, so you don't need something line apps2sd
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Excellent. But does running apps from the SD card cause the apps to run slower or open slower? Should I keep primary apps or most commonly used apps on the phone or it doesn't matter?
andythegreenguy said:
If you restore a nand backup, it will put your phone to a stage when you had created the backup
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So the Nand-Backup saves ALL information including flashed ROMs, Kernels, BatteryTweak, etc? What about information on the SD card especially not that apps can be moved there)?
andythegreenguy said:
There are multiple messaging apps - handcent, chomp, google voice, etc. It all depends on your personal preferences
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I understand this, but I just wanted to know If it's a mistake to be using the stock texting app - if the messaging app in CM6 is even the stock one. I have tried Chomp and Handcent and I actually love handcent, but it's just WAY to slow.
I have searched the forums and wiki quite a lot, thats how I got this far. I try to search for some as many things as I can, but it's just hard to get some real clarity on some things and especially the broad things. That's why I plan on taking the results of this thread and making a nice 'general' guide and possibly a video.
Thanks a lot andythegreenguy. Appriciate the help a lot
To moxlon69:
moxlon69 said:
you need root before you can flash the recovery image
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes you are right. I was a bit mixed up on that (even though I've done it twice! haha)
moxlon69 said:
Wipe/Factory Reset...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lot of good clarification there. Very good, thanks!
moxlon69 said:
Sorta.. hboot and the radio are both beyond the recovery...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. What is hboot? Had some trouble finding general info on it. What is there to know about the radio? I haven't done it nor think i need to, but isn't changing the radio just the same as flashing something? (http://geekfor.me/faq/flash-radio/)
moxlon69 said:
Apps2SD is fine, any speed issues would primaryly be loading delays on slower SD cards. Apps2SD also requires your SD card to be properly partitioned. The Apps2SD that is in Android 2.2 is a little different, in that from my understanding, it uses the Fat32 partition on the SD card, and thus does not require you to partition your SD card. It is also to my knowledge only available on roms based on Android 2.2.
A lot of custom roms have some form of Apps2SD now, but they require you to partition the SD card, and, as far as "speed" issues, I have ran my apps from a class 2 card just fine, but moving the Dalvik-Cache to the SD card will cause lag if you have a slow card. Class 4 or higher is recommended for moving your cache.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So if I have a 2.2 ROM... would I need to make a partition? I never read anything about needing it in CM6 threads. What was all the jazz about making different ext-s? Like 2, 3, or 4? I guess it's not relevant any more.
How do you move the Dalvik-Cache to SD?
Quick note:
AOSP and PRL are not on the wiki - not that many people don't know what they are... but why not?
Q: Why do some people talk so negatively about gapps?
A:Some people like fat chicks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well said haha. The whole analogy was good.
Thanks a million moxlon69 - That helps out more than you can imagine. I'm going to begin working on a write up of all this, but I do still have lots of questions. I'll probably continue posting in this thread for a while to keep it simple... unless I have an embarrassingly stupid question I can't find an answer for then I'll PM ya!
Thanks again moxlon69 and andythegreenguy.
Edit: This thread is going to become the tl;dr thread! haha

One more try.
I know it's a lot of reading, but any help you guys can offer is much appreciated and will be returned in the form of a video. You could then just send all the newbies to the video and hopefully many of their questions will be answered.
I just don't want to make the video without being precisely accurate. I have more questions, but I should probably wait for the current queue of my questions to go down.
Thanks again for the help thus far!

[Q] How do I maximise my phones potential as a complete newb?

I just got a new I9000 Running 2.2 from Vodaphone in Australia.
Getting very bored of it in stock form and want an increase its speed/features as much as I can. Unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about anything custom. This is my first smart phone.
The amount of custom stuff released for this phone is mind numbing, and I know there is a lot of potential there to be unlocked.
So my question is in mid 2011, near the end of the phones prime life, what is the generally accepted best thing you can do with this phone? I'm sure after all this time many things have become redundant and been replaced by better things?
In a nutshell I want to get my phone to the highest speed and feature rich state I can. Speed is definitely the highest priority followed by features and ease of use.
This includes any kind of modding including overclocking.
What I know about this phone is from when it was released there used to be lagfix, voodoofix etc to change the file system and speed up the phone. But have those things been replace by custom roms now etc?
I can follow instructions easily, but as long as they encompass everything from Stock form to completion.
For example I really don't like guides or instructions that as a first step they say something like
"Before you do this made you have rooted your phone, go into flash recovery mode use the Jhp.ascii and use odin to enter download mode. male sure you have the dbdata.rfs, boot.bin in the directory before proceeding"
I want instructions that tell you how to root the phone properly, how/what flash recovery to use, how do I use get Odin etc what all these files are what they do how to get them etc.
Bassicaly talking someone who has never flown before into landing a plane.
I think for many of the people who write instructions things they see as completely obvious basic and what they consider common knowledge are completely unknown to new people. I find 97% of the instructions for any modding mention things where prior knowledge is assumed.
Lastly even if you know how to follow instructions, the amount of stuff available for this phones means I wouldn't know where to start. So I need to know what are the most favoured mods to do, in as complete packages as possible.For example I would rather flash with one mega rom that comes with everything than install every little tweak manually

Hi go checkout romkitchen.org
Also live support in irc, check my sig.
See you there ;-)

Thanks. I'll definitely be checking that chanel out if I can't manage here, but it will have to be sometime next week for irc.
At the moment Im busy doing things around the house and I may need to go in out at any time so I was hoping for a forum post so I can read it and check up on it when I can.
But like I said when I get a few hours of no interuptions I may sit down to do all the mods live
So is darkys rom any good?
From what I can tell its
Root phone.
Install Darkys ROM.
Done.
I just need to get someone to tell me if my phone is fully compatible, and how to back up my vodaphone stock firmware if its not available on the internet already.
Phone info.
Baseband version
I9000HVJP3
KERNEL VERSION
2.6.32.9
[email protected] #6
BUILD NUMBER
FROYO.HVJP4

My personal experience is that whenever you're using a custom rom, you're using a lot more potential of your phone, than by using a Stock-Rom, updated by Kies.
The Guides all seem a bit hardcore when you start first, but it really is worth it. I recommend you start with the EZbase Guide which offers a step by step guide with screenshots (which I was really happy for, having no clue where to start), located here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=991792
After reading AND understanding this guide, you are good to go to start flashing, BUT every flash has a potential risk of bricking your phone, making it a pretty expensive paperweight. If you come to bootloops or a lot of force closes on start: Don't be worried, you can fix this (or at least i could after running into them). The first time I flashed was due to lots of force closes after updating with Kies, which was my start for using custom roms.
The choice of custom rom is pretty much your own. There are several roms I liked and there is one, I pretty much stick with: Insanity (currently using 8.5, which has some battery drain issues for me, after loading the battery or putting the phone to flight mode ... I'm gonna report that to nitr8, once I got 10 Posts ).
However, you got to (or rather better) find your own favorite.

When I got the phone I was told it was locked.
Will this interfere with any modding?
I was told I can call vodaphone and they will unlock it for me, but it seems there is also a hack way to unlock it.
. Unlocking your phone.
--Why, when, where: If you bought your phone with a contract, chances are that it might be locked in that specific network. If you want to also use other SIM cards in it, that are from another provider, you will have to unlock the phone (!! WARNING !! in most cases this will lead to a void warranty, please consult your contract).
--Prerequisites: Root privileges, adb.
8.1. Get the /efs/nv_data.bin file from your device to your computer. You can do this either with adb or by copying the file to your SD card with "Root Explorer" and then copying it over to your machine from the SD (Be sure to keep a backup of this file and the /efs/.nv_data.bin.md5 file.)
8.2. Open up the file in a hex editor, go to the address 0x181468, where you will see something like this:
FF 01 00 00 00 00 46 46 46...
We are interested in that first '01', that means the phone is locked. Just change it to '00' and save the file. Copy it back to your SD card and then with "Root Explorer" back to it's original location (or 'push' it directly with adb). Then remove the .nv_data.bin.md5 file and restart the device (Again, be sure to make copies of these files before modifying or deleting them!). After this, you should be able to insert any SIM card into your device and it should work without the need for any further hacks.

miui for beauty and speed
welcome to the galaxy of galaxy S ROMs..
you have made a very wise decision to buy galaxy S.... even though a year old it blows every single core phone out of the water..
now back to your question:
1. ROM :
if you are looking for speed and beauty then you don't have any other place to go than MIUI..
other custom ROMs are good but they are just some cosmetic change of galaxy ROM. .but MIUI is totally different.. (awesome would be understatement)
Trust me I have battery problem in MIUI but still I can't go back to samsung ROM>
that is how good the ROM is... others are getting good battery life out of the latest MIUI ROM... with the latest kernel you can overclock your phone upto 1.5 ghz...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=992251
head over to this link and read carefully and decide whether you want to flash this ROM or not..
there are other good gingerbread ROMs as well though I have not tried most of them..
2. VOODOO sound!!!!!
this is the biggest thing that has happened to galaxy S... google it once and you will know its awesomeness.. It's basically well tuned sound driver made by supercurio... most of the people after using voodoo sound have considered galaxy S to be the most awesome sounding music player (not just phone) ever..
better than iphone and other DAP..
(most of the custom ROMs comes with kernel supporting VOODOO sound... you just need to download voodoo app from the market)
I think those are the two awesome things you can do with your galaxy S...
there are other things too that you can learn if you follow xda..
happy XDAing

steps for installing MIUI ROM
to make things short,, just follow these 8 steps.. that's it
0: Be sure that you're based on a Froyo FW! CRUCIAL.
1: Load these files:
a) galaxy-efsbackup.zip / Mirror
b) cm7-galaxys-initial-kernel.tar / Mirror
c) MIUI MCGv1 / Mirror
d) speedmod-kernel-k13c-500hz.tar / Mirror
(thanks to creative59 for mirrors!)
2: Copy all files except:
speedmod-kernel-k13c-500hz.tar & cm7-galaxys-initial-kernel.tar
3: Flash speedmod-kernel-k13c-500hz.tar via Odin, wait for reboot and after that shutdown
4: Start via 3-button-combo in recovery mode and install galaxys-efsbackup.zip
5: Pull out battery and in again, start via 3-button-combo via download mode and flash cm7-galaxys-initial-kernel.tar via Odin BUT DON'T check repartition and auto reboot
6: Pull out the USB cable and start (in download mode) with 3-button-combo in recovery mode (waiting until samsung logo appears)
7: Choose "mounts & storage" and format system, data, cache
8: Flash MIUI MCGv1.

First and foremost check if bootloader locked...then check the recovery / download modes work and then proceed...
Sent from my GT-P1000 using XDA Premium App

Thanks for your post ujjwal321. For a first attempt, I am very happy with what you suggested. I think there is enough there for me to try it on my own and MIUI seems good.
A few things I'd like to point out though. The ONLY reason I actually decided I have enough information from your post to mod is because of the youtube video that goes through the install process. There is absolutely no way would ever know what to do without the video, and most roms do not come with it.
I am very unhappy at the level of ease and lack of instructions in the written instructions of roms...
For example If I did not watch the video, I would never know to put the phone in "USB Debug" mode.
Why are things like this not listed in step by step instructions?
Secondly, even the things that are listed like
": Load these files:
a) galaxy-efsbackup.zip / Mirror
b) cm7-galaxys-initial-kernel.tar / Mirror
c) MIUI MCGv3 / Mirror
d) speedmod-kernel-k13c-500hz.tar / Mirror"
are baffling.
To someone doing this for the first time the word "load" is as meaningless as kaka
Load to what!?
"Copy all files except:
speedmod-kernel-k13c-500hz.tar & cm7-galaxys-initial-kernel.tar
3: Flash speedmod-kernel-k13c-500hz.tar via Odin, wait for reboot and after that shutdown"
Copy to what? Flash to what, how? what is flash?
Luckily by looking at the video, I know exactly what to do. However its all because of monkey see monkey do, there is no level of good communication through a good set of instructions or guide, and thus there incomplete understanding on my end.
IMPORTANT
Before doing any of these things, does my phone need to be rooted? Currently it is locked and completely stock. Or Can I just follow the youtube video instructions from the get go? I also just read "When upgrading to 1.5.20 you need to wipe data, datadata, cache and system!". What? All I know is how to go to settings>SD card and storage and format the SD card, as well as Privacy>reset settings>Factory settings, Is this enough?
I ask because form what I have seen so far nothing is clear cut and your meant to already know 99 facts for every 1 mentioned.
Lastly, before I do any flashing, I really NEED to know either how to back up my current firmware, or if it is available online. It is Aussie vodaphone 2.2
What do I do in case I need to claim warranty? I need to put the stock one back on. I have 2 years of warranty after all, If I don't back it up I loose all that.
So, can anyone shed some light on this?
P.S blackheart, I can enter the download mode and the recovery mode by doing the 3 button combo, it goes into the respective screens and i can scroll up down using the volume button. I have not done anything more than that, I hope that means its not locked.

Hey!
About the loading of files. It just means u copy them to your phone.
There are 2 ways of flashing. With odin/heimdall, and through the phones recovery. To flash in the recovery the files need to be located in the phones memory.
Before flashing without having any clue i suggest reading a lot of faqs etc.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

I realky recomend ezbase as your start point. Idiot proof instructions, it worked for me so they must be!
Sent from gt i9000 insanity 8.5/fugumod

Get CM7 and you'll never look back

splendidtry said:
I just got a new I9000 Running 2.2 from Vodaphone in Australia.
Getting very bored of it in stock form and want an increase its speed/features as much as I can. Unfortunately I know absolutely nothing about anything custom. This is my first smart phone.
The amount of custom stuff released for this phone is mind numbing, and I know there is a lot of potential there to be unlocked.
So my question is in mid 2011, near the end of the phones prime life, what is the generally accepted best thing you can do with this phone? I'm sure after all this time many things have become redundant and been replaced by better things?
In a nutshell I want to get my phone to the highest speed and feature rich state I can. Speed is definitely the highest priority followed by features and ease of use.
This includes any kind of modding including overclocking.
What I know about this phone is from when it was released there used to be lagfix, voodoofix etc to change the file system and speed up the phone. But have those things been replace by custom roms now etc?
I can follow instructions easily, but as long as they encompass everything from Stock form to completion.
For example I really don't like guides or instructions that as a first step they say something like
"Before you do this made you have rooted your phone, go into flash recovery mode use the Jhp.ascii and use odin to enter download mode. male sure you have the dbdata.rfs, boot.bin in the directory before proceeding"
I want instructions that tell you how to root the phone properly, how/what flash recovery to use, how do I use get Odin etc what all these files are what they do how to get them etc.
Bassicaly talking someone who has never flown before into landing a plane.
I think for many of the people who write instructions things they see as completely obvious basic and what they consider common knowledge are completely unknown to new people. I find 97% of the instructions for any modding mention things where prior knowledge is assumed.
Lastly even if you know how to follow instructions, the amount of stuff available for this phones means I wouldn't know where to start. So I need to know what are the most favoured mods to do, in as complete packages as possible.For example I would rather flash with one mega rom that comes with everything than install every little tweak manually
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Here are some instructions I gave to someone in a similar situations. Install videos are available on my site sgsromreviews.weebly.com. Hope you find this useful
1. Download Odin 1.3, Tweaky ROM, CF Root Kernal and JVH firmware 2. Use Odin to flash JVH.(you need to get the phone in to download mode using the vol down key + home key + power at the same time. (If this does not work I WOULD STOP NOW AND LOOK AT HACKING YOUR PHONE TO ENABLE THIS FUNCTION) 3. In select the JVH .tar file in the PDA section. DO NOT TICK RE-PARTITION and then click start 4. The initial boot will take longer than usual so be patient, if your phone begins to vibrate constantly and for no reason then take the battery out and enter download mode again for re-flashing (if this happens feel free to email me again for further advice) 5. Once you are running JVH copy Tweaky ROM over to your INTERNAL SD card 6. Enter the back in to download mode 7. Use Odin to flash the CF Root Kernal, select the .tar file in the PDA section again and again DO NOT TICK RE-PARTITION 8. Once this has booted turn the phone off and enter clockwork recovery using the vol up key + home key + power at the same time until the white Galaxy S I-9000 writing comes on the screen then let go 9. Navigate clockwork recovery using the vol keys and the power key to select. Go down to install .zip from SD card, then choose .zip from SD card and choose to install Tweaky 10. Use clockwork to wipe data then wipe dalvik cache (found in advanced section) 11. Reboot phone and enjoy Tweaky
I have provided the download links for you, if you need more help feel free to ask.
Thanks Chris
Odin 1.3 http://www.multiupload.com/4JLU4QHUV7 Tweaky http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php? t=1059561 CF Root http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php? t=788108 JVH http://www.samfirmware.com/ (free account needed to download)
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App

Im a relatively new flasher as well, so I know exactly what you're going through just now!
That said, I've done about 15 flashes now so I feel I have a good grasp of what's required. I would also like to suggest MIUI. I have tried a few of the roms out there, but MIUI simply takes my breath away it's that good.
To give you an idea of how good it is, I've flashed it onto 4 other peoples phones because they were blown away by it!
If you need any help with what to do, PM me. I'll put together a package of everything that you need and I'll happily sit and explain each and every step to you personally if need be (if you are a gamer and use Ventrillo I'll verbally speak you through the process as well).
As for returning to stock, you can restore your phone back to it's original state by downloading stock firmware and isntalling that on your phone. It's very simple. EXBase is probably the most straightforward one there is that I have come across.

alright installed MIUI.
Looks like it will take a while to get used to compared to the stock rom. I dont know if its any better yet. Just different. I am not seeing any more features, actually kind of less, but I am sure I am missing a lot.
It is faster though.
Anyway, how do I overclock now? There seems to be no options for that.
I also dont like how its all symbols and no writing.
Al in all seems like a decent stable rom.

I'm planning on updating my ROM soon and was wondering if there was anything special I need to do to my phone prior to flashing the new ROM?
I'm currently on JPP with the hardcore speedmod i1r2, so pretty old compared to what's out there now. I flashed the hardcore kernel previously via Odin.
If I follow the instructions on [email protected] http://insanity.rollus.net/EZbase/EZbase-2.00.pdf but replace the insanity ROM with any other ROM (e.g. JUWE ROM), will it work ok?
Thanks

MIUI is awesome i can second that !!
since i switched to MIUI on RC3 months ago, i havent looked back.
MIUI is packed full of features and gets updates weekly / sometimes daily lol
just get familiar with it and you will discover its true beauty

azzledazzle said:
MIUI is awesome i can second that !!
since i switched to MIUI on RC3 months ago, i havent looked back.
MIUI is packed full of features and gets updates weekly / sometimes daily lol
just get familiar with it and you will discover its true beauty
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
(Be aware I don't know much about MIUI or smart phone software in general.
and I just installed it about an hour ago)
What features is is packed full of? I want to know so I can try it out/make use of it.
The only new thing I see extra is that maxthon internet browser.
Everything else I notice that is different, its funnily enough things missing compared to stock.
For example where are is the ability to add all the shortcuts/apps etc on the main screen by just holding the screen down? A lot similar features like this seem either not there or or at least harder to find/make use of comapred to stock.
Some things are just definitely taking a step back, for example adding a Doom 1 style grey border on the camera.
And my fav live wallpaper, Aurora, doesn't work on MIUI. It just crashes and I have to force close?
Also TV out doesn't work, and choppy movie playback?
And my 3d performance seems to have gone down about 15% from stock Stock, frames hit about 570, MIUI, about 470.
I'll be using it for longer but I gotta figure out what all the hype is about.

I think a stock rom + speedmod and lagfix is the most easy and the fist step to any new user of SGS?
as its really simple to apply

yihinlau said:
I think a stock rom + speedmod and lagfix is the most easy and the fist step to any new user of SGS?
as its really simple to apply
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So by flashing to MIUI from complete stock phone, did I achieve all of this plus more? OR did I miss something? E.g do I have lagfix as well? Or do I need to install this on top of MIUI?
I followed the install instructions step by step. 3.11 MIUI.
It seems like my Benchmark scores aren't flying like I expected them to, and the phone still lags/jerks on animations doesn't respond etc...
My Quadrant standard score went from 1000 on the stock phone to 1700 when I flashed to MIUI.
I also decided to install setcpu and overlocked to 1.2 ghz then 1.4 on both the on demand and performance setting
And still my score only goes up to about 1900 quadrant standard score on 1.4ghz :S
I find it strange that people are getting much higher much more easily.
For example how did this phone get 2500 just on 1.2ghz? Is it MIUI that sucks?
http://www.intomobile.com/2010/08/1...ck-hits-1-2ghz-delivers-off-chart-benchmarks/
I feel like I would have to go to 2.5Ghz to get that score.
Not to mention 3100? Wow?
http://www.addictivetips.com/mobile/overclock-samsung-galaxy-s-to-1-6-ghz-blows-off-competition/
What am I doing wrong here? What are they using?
like I said I also noticed 3d perf went down from stock 2.2
On the stock 2.2 the total frames was higher. For example in the test with the corridor and cube, my frames would reach about 570 at the end of the test on 2.2 stock ROM.
On MIUI ROM it only reaches about 476.

[Q] Totally confused about kernel/ROM/lagfix

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

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

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

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

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

First time using Android, please give some advices!

Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?

chaoscreater said:
Hi all, in a couple of days time I will be receiving my first ever Android device, the Motorola Milestone. I've already done some research on the phone as well as on Android itself, and understood most of the necessary basics. However, there are still many things I don't understand quite yet, and would like some help with clarifying them.
My first question is regarding the custom roms. I myself have been a long time user of Windows Mobile so I know most of the stuff that is relevant to Android as well. From what I know, the bootloader on the Milestone is still locked, but people have found ways to load custom roms on it. Can someone link me to the guide on how to do this? Now before someone tell me to search on the forum or on Google (which I already have), I just want to point out that the ones I found seemed to be outdated, and that they're for older Android versions??
My 2nd question is, do custom roms like IceandFire or Froyomod come with their own custom kernels? Because I want to be able to overclock my phone, and if it comes installed with its own kernel then I don't want to risk bricking it by flashing another kernel on top of it......I hope that makes sense??
3rd question is, which rom is the best for speed and battery? I'm guessing it's IceandFire and it builds upon the latest CM7?
And lastly, are there any crucial apps that you guys recommend I should install, or any tweaks etc I should use?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=983516
This is still the best way to get a custom ROM loaded up onto your phone. What you want to start with is flashing the vulnerable recovery from http://android.doshaska.net/rootable by using RSD Lite. To do so, you need to put the phone into Bootloader mode (power+Dpad-up) You can google RSD Lite, make sure you use the latest version along with the latest USB Driver version from Motorola.
RSD Lite is a very finicky program, if you have any errors flashing, your best bet would be to try this post: http://androidforums.com/droid-all-...hing-process-0x7100-rsd-lite.html#post1274587
Once you flash the VR (vulnerable recovery), you will want to put OpenRecovery on your SD Card. I recommend using OR 1.46 and placing FuFu's minimod on the SD Card as well. It will overwrite existing files in OR (look for it in Milestone Development). From here you can root the phone in OR (by using power+x, then camera+volume up) and reboot, backup all data you want saved, before flashing a ROM.
Once that is done, get the custom ROM that you want (I find speed + battery can be Cronos, CM7 or FroyoMOD for a Froyo ROM) and place it in OpenRecovery/updates. You will also want the most up-to-date version of Google Apps for Cronos or any Gingerbread ROM (except MIUI).
Gapps: http://goo-inside.me/gapps/gapps-gb-20110613-signed.zip
Now, turn the phone off, and put it into recovery mode (power+x, then camera+volume up), select apply update.zip and you are now into OpenRecovery.
Here is where you will flash your custom ROM and Gapps. Wipe both cache partition and dalvik cache, then wipe all data. Select Apply Update under Miscellaneous Menu and select the ROM you want. Once it is done, wipe both caches (not data) and flash Gapps. Wipe caches again. Finally, change the baseband to your country and reboot.
The first reboot will take a while, as the ROM is configuring itself for first time use.
That is how to flash a custom ROM and get started.
2- Custom kernels are not available for Milestone, as our bootloader is locked. Overclocking the phone is done through the 10overclock file in system/etc/init.d . All ROMs that I know of are overclock, most to 1GHz (from 550MHz). You will not be able to flash any kernels, and DO NOT try ROM Manager, it will temporarily brick your phone.
Crucial apps, I would say are Root Explorer, TitaniumBackup. Those are the two that are very useful for root users, if you flash multiple ROMs or need to access system files.
Hope this helped.

awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?

chaoscreater said:
awesome, thanks for the reply mate!
Hmm 2 things i'm confused with. Isn't there an app called "Milestone Overclock" that lets u overclock without installing custom kernels?
Also, from what I know you need to have the bootloader unlocked in order to install custom roms. I already know that Motorola is still keeping the bootloader locked and that as of now, there isn't a way to unlock it. Then how come we can install custom roms?
Also, since you mentioned ROM Manager, I did a quick search and it seems to be able to manage multiple custom rom installs that you have. But then you said don't try it or it will brick the phone, so I don't understand whether I can install it or not?? Personally, I love testing out different roms as well as new builds. It would be nice to dual boot or choose between different roms to use. But i'm not sure whether I want to go forward with this since your comment implies to me that I shouldn't install Rom Manager?
Lastly, this is the part I found most confusing with Android (or with Windows Mobile as well). I found some guides that tells you to install Clockwork Recovery Mod or something like that. Some of them even mentioned using Nandroid or something. There seems to be different methods & tools/softwares for different devices (or even the same device) and it can be confusing to keep up with them. My question is, are there major differences between them? Which one is better and should I keep them up to date?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have tried Milestone Overclock, but I never really used it to overclock the phone. I prefer changing the voltages and speeds with the 10overclock file. If you read the description of Milestone overclock, it "tricks" the kernel into thinking it's supposed to run at a certain speed.
ROM Manager and Clockwork Recovery Mod do not work on Milestone. The only recovery that works with the Milestone is OpenRecovery or Androidiani OpenRecovery. Unfortunately, the only way to flash the ROMs is through OR or AOR, so you will have to repeat the processes every single time. I have gotten used to where all of the options are for FuFu's Minimod, so I am able to do it quite efficiently
The best way to backup a ROM, system data and the such is by Nandroid backup. That is the only sort of backup that you can do. It is recommended to do one every time you flash a custom ROM, but I only did it after I rooted and before I flashed my first custom ROM. You can do it through OR. That is the only way that will work. CWM and ROM Manager will just temp brick the phone and you will have to reflash a stock SBF all over again.

i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....

chaoscreater said:
i see.....in that case there's no way to install 2 different roms to allow dual booting then? What about the app "Boot Manager", will that work? I found it on this site here:
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...ted-user-should-know-about-part-4-apps-26-33/
One last question, I came across this popular app that is recommended by many Android users, called Apps2SD. My understanding to this is that by default, any apps/games that you install on your device will install to the internal memory, and that this Apps2SD app basically lets you install to your memory card? So my question is, does this lag the phone somehow? I like to have many apps and especially games installed on my phone, would doing this affect the performance or something? I know this is the case for Windows Mobile, but not sure about Android.....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I follow AndroidPolice as well. I don't know about Boot Manager, I heard about it, but I haven't heard any reviews of it yet.
Two things when it comes to phone storage and apps on the Milestone: Old hardware makes for a lot of games to not work at all, and low phone storage space.
Almost every ROM comes with apps2ext support, which is a more advanced version of Apps2SD. You can follow this tutorial here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10994672&postcount=226
Apps2ext will trick your phone into thinking space on the SD Card (the ext partition) is actually part of the phone's internal memory. You will be able to get a lot more apps on the phone this way.

Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?

chaoscreater said:
Ahh cool, that saves me the trouble of me having to install an extra tweak.
Hmm I know Milestone is old, but not that old is it?? I don't know of any games now days that require heavy hardware specs or anything......i'm just hoping that emulators will work fine on it. I mean, my iPod Touch 3rd Gen only has about 120MB of free RAM, and the CPU is crap as hell and yet I could run GBA games like Pokemon or Golden Sun fine no problem (with sound of course). I'm hoping it'll at least work smoothly on the Milestone since I'll be attempting to overclock it to 1Ghz, which should run it significantly faster in theory.
BTW I found this great tweak for the CM7, here's the link:
http://chromloop.com/2011/07/how-to-make-cyanogenmod-7-for-milestone-a853-lighter-and-faster/
are there any ones similar to this? I'm a tweak junkie addict, I like to make my device run as smooth and as fast as possible. When I still had my HTC Touch Pro and Xperia X1, and even Nokia N900 (which uses Maemo 5), I tweaked the crap out of them and got more juice and power and made its performance so much better. I'm hoping I can at least do the same for the Milestone, except I couldn't seem to find many tweaks...
Oh lastly, I know one of the big problems with Android is fragmentation. There're already some apps out there in the Android market that are exclusive to certain Android versions. The same app has a version for Froyo (v2.2) and Gingerbread (v2.3). This is true for some of the mods or tweaks on XDA. So my question is, are custom roms like CM7 using Gingerbread? I'm guessing yes since it says 2.3.5? In that case, would I be able to simply install the latest mod/tweak or apps/games from XDA or the Android market? Or must I find the versions that is identical to mine?
E.g. if I install CM7, can I still install a mod that is for Froyo?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Of course you still can. The best tweak for Milestone is under Android Hacking, it's zeppelinrox's supercharger script, which you run through Script Manager. That's the best you can get.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App

I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?

chaoscreater said:
I thought custom roms like CM7 or IceandFire come with the supercharger script included?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Some do, such as HO!NO!, but not all of them do.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App

Ok so I finally got my Milestone today!
I'm about to start rooting it and install CM7 on it. But before I do that, I have one important question. I know for Windows Mobile, almost all of the device requires you to do a hard reset after flashing a custom rom. I was wondering if the same needs to be applied to Android custom roms? Because it doesn't seem like it, I did a quick Google search and found this:
http://androidforums.com/optimus-v-...4-do-not-factory-reset-your-rooted-phone.html
So ya I'm not sure....
UPDATE:
Ok so I got my Milestone rooted, and installed CM7 on it. I came across a weird problem while doing it though. First of all, I'm using a 8GB Kingston microSD class 2, and it's brand new and hasn't been used before, so it obviously has nothing stored on it as it's empty to begin with. Ok, so as I followed the instructions, the first step is obviously rooting the Milestone, so I simply copied OpenRecovery to the memory card while my Milestone was connected to my PC. The weird thing is, when I opened "My Computer", I didn't see my memory card. Instead, I see "Milestone", so I opened it and then I see my memory card "Removeable Storage". I opened it again and here's the actual weird part, there're 2 files stored in it, called:
DevIcon
DevLogo
At first, I didn't think it was a problem because I thought they were just some dummy file or something. Also, the memory card is empty other than those 2 files. So after copying OpenRecovery to it and rooting it successfully, I then proceed to copy the CM7 custom rom file to the memory card. But this time, I still see the same thing. I don't see my OpenRecovery folder on it at all, there're no other files other than those 2 files on it. I tried Unmount and Mount in the SD Card settings, also unplugging my USB cable and re-plugging back in but it's the same. In fact, after 'Unmounting' the memory card, I couldn't even access it on "My Computer", as nothing shows up after I open "Milestone". Only 'Mounting' works, but again I only see those 2 files and nothing else.
HOWEVER, I then tried to take out the memory card and use my own microSD card reader, and bam I can see all the files on it, such as OpenRecovery and even the nanDroid backup that I made while following the instructions on that guide. So this is weird, why can't I access or see the contents on my memory card while the phone is connected to the PC??

I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?

chaoscreater said:
I don't wanna create another topic for this since it's unnecessary, so here's my final question. In case something goes wrong in the future, what's the best way for me to revert back to stock?
I know I can use nandroid for this, but here's what i'm confused about. Nandroid makes a backup of the complete system, including the settings and apps installed correct? But what if you flash a custom rom, and then use a nandroid backup of the stock rom, will that still work? Or would you have to install the stock rom first for you to be able to use the nandroid backup?
Lastly, if the nandroid backup works regardless of whether you're using a different rom than the rom that the nandroid backup was made, then which option is better:
use nandroid to revert to stock, or using this guide here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11902513&postcount=7
Now I understand that for Milestone, custom roms are not actually flashed since the bootloader is locked. So would using nandroid be good enough?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The best way to revert to stock will be to flash an sbf for your region that will wipe everything. They have those sbf's on and-developers.
Sent from my Milestone using XDA Premium App

Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.

chaoscreater said:
Ahh I see, so in what situations will we be using nandroid to restore from the backup?
Also, the SBF file i'm using is from the guide that you linked me in your 2nd post. I'm using the EUROPE one because apparently it covers most of the countries around Europe, which includes New Zealand (where I live). I've had no problems with it, but just then I checked out the AND-Developers site like you suggested, and found this here:
http://and-developers.com/sbf:milestone221
It doesn't seem to have New Zealand but it does have Australia, which is like a neighbour to us. Will it be better if I flash the SBF to that instead?
Also, will flashing a SBF change the radio? Or does only changing the baseband change the radio? Because i'm getting weak signals from 2G/3G sometimes, and my Wifi has problems sometimes not being able to connect properly. Either that, or it shows that i'm connected but i'm not getting any data, apparently a lot of people have problems like this after I did some searching around.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. when you're phone will not start anymore, it's good to have one before every new flash cause you never now what's gonna happen.
2. funny thing is i know where New Zealand is (not near Europe) . about the baseband ... yes every sbf has the region specific baseband 's (you cant flash a radio only change baseband 's).
baseband can be found on dexter's (http://dext3r.komodin.org/) page but they are already included in OR (not sure about fufu's). i can't be very precise because i don't remember.
custom rom's don't think they change baseband 's, (the .zip ones)

Ya ur right, NZ is not anywhere near Europe lol
but I did do some research on which SBF I needed before I flashed it, and I found out that the Europe SBF works for NZ as well, it was mentioned somewhere I can't remember.
About the baseband, I'm still a little bit confused. First off, I already know that you can change the baseband under OpenRecovery. The thing is, there are no options to change the baseband to New Zealand, so which one should I pick? Also, here's the part I'm confused about. You said that the baseband are region specific, and yet we can choose the baseband we want in OpenRecovery.
So since I flashed the SBF for Europe, what will happen if I then change the baseband to say Argentina (one of the options under OpenRecovery)? Will it crash or something?? I don't even know what baseband i'm using right now, I haven't changed anything, I only flashed the SBF for Europe and that's it. I can still go online using 2G/3G and txt no problem, but I'm just not sure if the baseband i'm using is suppose to be correct for New Zealand or not...
BTW just another side question (sorry I'm really new to the Android scene!):
I've found a few custom roms that doesn't use the current kernel we have for Milestone. As far as I know, the bootloader for Milestone is locked, therefore we can't properly flash a custom rom onto it, as well as replacing the kernel as well. So what I'm confused with is, if some of these custom roms don't use the current kernel on the system, then how does it work? Does it use its own kernel, and if so then shouldn't that replace the system's own kernel before it can be used??
Here's one of the custom rom topic where I read from, in case ur wondering:
This is the Froyo FRG22 image for our Milestone. but as this is not using the kernel, there are some limit to functions based on kernel requirement. But its close, and works great and is alot faster.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?

chaoscreater said:
About the baseband
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
changing baseband's that are not supported by your network op will lead to no signal whatsoever.. i don't remember if there is a problem with only data. try other baseband, in theory it will not crash anything, so do a nandroid backup before
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734802
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is an old post from "25th July 2010, 05:52 AM" moto started to leak kernel from January 2011 give or take a month, so back then froyo was used with the eclair kernel. kernel from milestone was never changed to other than moto signed, only modules loaded at an early stage, thanks to kabaldan/nadlabak and other if exists
custom roms =
moto kernel
kernel modules (this helps on overclock , app2ext ... others)
mods to system files, apps
hope you understand cause i don't know if i make it clear at the end of the post
edit:
The same goes for the custom roms. I don't understand how they can run on Milestone even though it's not properly flashed. Like some others have mentioned, the so-called "custom roms" that we have now are just a layer of image or skin on top of the stock rom. The weird thing is, it runs faster and most of the pre-installed stock apps that came with the stock rom are removed, thus giving us more space for internal storage. But how does this work if the custom roms haven't actually flashed onto our phone? Or did it overwrite/modify the files on the stock rom? If so, then isn't that just flashing onto the phone then?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i doesn't make any sense, you will end up with no memory , only kernel remains, other things gets rewritten.
Code:
http://www.vodafone.co.nz/roaming/welcome-to-nz.jsp
this get out of what i know. with the frequencies,
basebands/frequency i have 900/1800
for data check if there is a problem with your apn settings

I see, thanks for your thorough explanation
Ya I know that changing my baseband will probably give me better signals, but I'm asking which one is best for Vodafone NZ because there isn't a baseband for New Zealand.
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings? Don't worry that's been solved already. I flashed to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF and now it's working very stable. But like I said, after flashing to that I now have problems with connecting to my operator whenever I switch to 2G. However, 3G works fine so there's no problem with that.
BTW, I have another problem. After flashing to the New Zealand v2.1 SBF, I couldn't access my OpenRecovery anymore. I didn't delete or change any files on my memory card, so if I could access OpenRecovery and root my device as well as flash a custom rom when I was still on Froyo, then why can't I do it again when I flash to Eclair?
I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmation so I know that it is indeed the case.

I *think* I know the reason, is it because it patched the vulnerable recovery or something? I think this is what I need to do to fix this:
http://android.doshaska.net/rootable
I haven't done it yet coz i'm busy these days, but i just need a confirmatio
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true story . it should say something about eocd marker and fail.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=698059
For the data part, were you talking about my wifi problem, and suggesting I check the APN settings?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
sorry... i don't know, last night i thought i read something else, about working 3g and 2g not ..must be the skittles... to much rainbow
i suggest finding out what country baseband are similar to New Zealand and flash/apply that one )