Database Users

First time ROMing, Rogers HTC Magic, Lessons Learned

So, i'm sure there's many posts about this, but I thought I'd drop in my 2 cents. Basically, the purpose of this post is to try and help completely new users get acquainted with the world of Android "ROMing". I know there's beginners tutorials and wiki's and such, and I'm very grateful for all the time put into them by their writers, but the fact remains that they're written by experts, and as such, their expertise shines through and can sometimes confuse new users such as my self.
Up front: I'm an AT&T customer who's using a Rogers branded HTC Magic purchased from ImportGSM. I'm using Rogers cause Rogers has the same 3G bands as AT&T. I am coming from a Sony-Ericsson dumbphone. I use Gmail for my primary email and applied for a Google Voice account a while ago (got the account before getting the phone). I'm a practicing computer engineer so if I lapse into jargon, I apologize.
READ THE ENTIRE POST BEFORE PERFORMING THESE ACTIONS
OK, so you got an android phone (if you're on this forum, its most likely an HTC Magic/Dream/Hero) and you want to install new ROMs onto it (for whatever reason, just to do it, to get more functionality, to remove the carrier 'branding', whatever). You've done your research. You've read through the wikis (http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Sapphire_Hacking) and you're still a little confused as to where to start, or you're worried you're gonna brick your phone.
First, relax, as long as you follow the instructions, there's little chance of bricking your phone.
Second, some vocab:
SPL: Secondary Program Loader. don't worry too much about this, you shouldn't have to mess with it. I like to think of it as your phones BIOS. There's an off chance that you'll have a "perfected" SPL (.0006 or .0010), which basically means that you have a phone that is hardened against hackers, but as long as you use the one touch root method described below, you won't even notice it. You won't be able to use the Adb/Fastboot/Android SDK method mentioned below, you'll just get a "no access" error when you try to terminal into your phone.
ROM: Catch all term for software to be loaded onto your android. Generally comes in two flavors, a Recovery ROM, and what I call an Operating System ROM. A Recovery ROM is what gives you root access. An Operating System ROM is the user experience (where Amon_Ra or Cyanogen or others mix and match features to make a better user experience). I know that Operating System ROM might be misleading, but its the closest computer analogy I could come up with.
Now, this process will completely refresh your phone, removing all of your contacts, apps, etc. So before you start, if you have stuff on your phone you want to save, best copy them somewhere off your phone now. There's free apps out there to do all of this.
Lets get started.
Now, the first thing you're gonna wanna do is get something called "root" access to your phone. This allows you to install those fancy homebrewed ROMs that people are talking about. To get root, you have to install a recovery ROM. Installing a recovery ROM is is roughly similar to flashing a new BIOS on your computer. Except in this case, its on your phone and it gives you unrestricted access to the phone (like the Root user in Linux). There's two ways of getting Root. The first way is to install the Android SDK onto your computer and image your android with one of the recovery ROMs via your computers command line. I won't get into details on this one because its not the method I chose, and instructions are all over the web on this one. NOTE that this method doesn't work with updated Rogers phones. They installed the 'Perfected' .0010 SPL effectively removing remote command line access thus making this method a non-starter. The other way is to use the "one click root" program, which is a program you install on your Android phone. To do this, go to the one click root website (http://www.ryebrye.com/blog/2009/08/16/android-rooting-in-1-click-in-progress/). Download the .apk file and drop it onto the SD card in the Android phone (you'll have to connect the phone to your computer via USB, and select "Mount SD card". then simply drag and drop the .apk onto the SD card in your computer's file browser). Then, on the android phone, open up your file browser (I suggest Astro or Linda, both free downloads from the market) and open the .apk using the default Android application launcher. It should be a dark screen with a text box and a few buttons. The textbox should have a URL in it pointing to a .img recovery image (This is the cyanogen one). You'll first want to make a backup of your current (factory) ROM by pressing the (i believe) botton button. It'll work for a few seconds. Then you're ready to flash the recovery ROM. You can either accept the default (the cyanogen, which works fine) or specify a different ROM (such as Amon_Ra's which has slightly more capabilities) by entering in a different path (URL or path to SD card if you have a recovery image stored on the SD card). Then hit the first button to begin the flash. Wait for it to finish. DO NOT DISTURB THE PHONE WHILE FLASHING.
Once its finished flashing, congrats, you've rooted your phone. Now power off the phone, and power it back on while while holding power and Home. Hold Power and Home the entire time till you see an 'old computer' style menu come up. Should have some options such as reboot, install update.zip, install other .zip, wipe data/factory reset, etc. you should be able to use the trackball to cycle through the selections. The botton should have something like <cyanogen/Amon_Ra> recovery vX.X.X. If you see this screen, then you've successfully rooted your phone. Congrats.
Now, before you do anything else, IMMEDIATELY perform a nandroid backup. This should be on of the options in the recovery ROM. What this is doing is creating a backup of your current phone configuration so if anything goes wrong with installing the hacked ROM, you can revert to the state the phone is in now.
Next, perform a data wipe. There should be a selection for "wipe data/factory reset" or something similar. Select that. Wait for it to finish wiping your data from the SD card.
Now to install other hacked ROMs, just download whatever ROM you want to install from the xda site. Check the bottom of this page for a listing of the main ones (http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Sapphire_Hacking). It should download as a .zip. Copy the .zip file (DON'T UNZIP IT) onto the root of the SD Card (you can do this while in recovery mode by mounting the SD card or by physically removing the SD card from the phone and putting it into a card reader on your computer and copying the files). Once you have the ROM .zip on the SD card, with the SD card in the phone, select "install other .zip" or something similar and select the .zip file of the ROM you want to run. Should be some combination of the creators name (Amon_Ra or CM (for CyanogenMod)), what board the .zip is for (32A, 32B), what version the ROM is (4.1.1 or something). Then select "home" to confirm that you want to do this and wait for the periods to stop appearing. Once it stops, you should be able to select "reboot".
After it reboots (you should see different splash screens than when it was factory configured, except for the very first screen which on mine is "Rogers". Mine goes from Rogers to "Android" spelled out in blue text) you should have a fully functioning phone running a hacked ROM.
If it doesn't boot fully (which mine did a few times), try a different ROM or try wiping your data again. If all else fails, go into your recovery ROM (power and Home) and restore the Nandroid recovery image you made earlier.
Once it boots, it should have a tutorial on how to use Android.
When you get to the google login, I would suggest setting up your APN settings prior to doing that. At the google login screen, hit the menu button and select "APN Settings". Select add new APN (either an on screen choice or brought up by the menu button) and add in the APN details for your provider. You can find these easily by googling "<your provider> APN settings". Log into Google and you should up and running.
I just kinda threw this semi-tutorail together, so it may be a little confusing, but I tried to explain everything as best as I could. I know that i found all of the different ways to get root and the different ROMs and such to be very confusing. Just throwing out how I went about doing it.
Disclaimer: one click root works by exploiting a vulnerability in Android, which was closed by Google on Aug 11 or so. Therefore, if you have a factory Android build from that was released after Aug 11, one click root may not work for you, and you'll have to go the SDK route. I updated my Rogers phone in mid oct 2009, and my build was still prior to Aug 11, so don't just assume cause its after Aug 11 that it won't work on your phone.

thanks alot for the tutorial! you're a saint, i've been looking all over for something exactly like this!
i will test this out and let you know!
Edit:
I was successful! Huzzah! Thanks for the guide again!
What rom did you load onto your phone?
Also,
Could you give a brief tutorial on what exactly changing the radio and spl are?

Dummy's Guide to update your I9000 from the stock software to the Official Froyo

After successfully;
researching, upgrading to the official build of my choosing, getting it to work and typing this tutorial out (for those that like me weren't knowledged in this),
I stumbled across this thread. I thought I should also share it here aswell.
Here's a N00b's (Dummy's) Guide to how to update your device from the stock software to the Official Samsung Froyo ROM (software/operating system) OF YOUR CHOICE!!
Why do this?
You get Froyo. So you get the latest version of Android to support more Apps.
It comes with some UI-tweeks, JIT-compiler, and FLASH 10.1 PLAYER!!!
Also you get a newer (better) kernel on your phone with some of Samsung's fixes for the lag and for the GPS.
You can get features/Apps not available in your native rom build and/or remove the bloatware.
This method (not incl E) can also be used to install custom ROMs (I personally can't wait for the Official English MIUI ROM).
** Denotes steps which I skipped, or was unable/unwilling to follow, or didn't quite understand
Here's the comprehensive, step-by-step, easy-to-follow breakdown/walkthrough (Section E only works on Windows Computers):
A) Remove your microSD card (this will prevent some weid issues later on)
A2) Make sure you have Kies downloaded and installed on your computer
A3) Make sure you have an extractor installed (for Windows 7, winRAR is a great free solution)
B) We need to root your device, for this goto "One Click Root/Unroot" by TGA_Gunnman at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=742403
B1) Download (2.5MB) the software (depending on your computer, mine is Win7 Home Premium 64-bit) into your computer not phone
B2) Make a folder somewhere in your computer labelled "OneClickRoot" (or anything) and drag the .rar file (the one you just downloaded) into it
B3) Extract the contents of the files by Right-Click then "Extract Here" (If you don't have this option install WinRAR)
B4) Set your phone to USB Debug mode (on your phone goto MENU > Settings > Applications > Developement > USB debugging = Checked) and then connect the phone to the computer via USB cable.
B5) Open the "Galaxy S I9000 One-Click Root" application. (This step didn't work for me, so I instead opened "rootme" batchfile which started the command prompt).
B6) Your phone will shut itself off, and then turn on in a "recovery mode". DO NOT REMOVE THE CABLE. Use the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons to get to "install from " and then hit the Home button.
B7) Now your device should be restarting again but this time it will actually go to your lockscreen.
B8) Now, you have ROOT, Congratulations.
B9) Not sure? We can test to see if you have root. Goto Market on your phone and download two Apps (Superuser and Titanium Backup, use the search to find them fast).
B10) Install both and launch Titanium Backup. As soon as you turn it on it will come up with a pop up and say something like "Your device is not rooted" or "Root is not accessible" ... if you didn't get Root.
B11) If you have root it will say something like "Titanium Backup needs to gain permission from Superuser" here click Apply. If you get to the App, well done you have indeed Rooted your phone
C) Now if you want to Backup your device before the update (recommended) you can follow steps C, otherwise skip straight to Step D.
C1) On Titanium Backup if a pop up notification comes with something like "Download an updated BusyBox" allow it to do so.
C2) Now first thing you will want to backup your Apps (all paid and free and the levels/hiscores) make sure you don't have any emulator ROMs on there (they consume too much space) and delete all those unwanted Apps
C3) On Titanium Backup, hit the Menu button > More > Create "update.zip" ...
C4) On this screen select "User application" and "TitaniumBackup-3.6.2.zip" and UN-TICK the "Sign the ZIP file (with ZipSigner)"
C5) Hit the Create "update.zip"... on the bottom and Please wait
C6) Once it finishes it, exit Titanium Backup, go back to settings and disable USB debugging (as posted on B4).
C7) Connect your phone to your computer (through Kies or PC link) and then browse your My Computer until you find Galaxy S I9000.
C8) Open that folder and then open phone. Find "TitaniumBackup-3.6.2.zip" and copy that to somewhere on your computer.
C9) Now that we have backed up your applications, lets backup your ROM.
C10) According to TGA_Gunnman you can use Clockwork MOD Recovery to do this, but this is for a different (Galaxy S) device ie "Samsung Vibrant"
**C11) Follow the steps on http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=734164 to do so, personally I skipped doing so out of fear of bricking the device (there may be subtle differences between the devices that can make your phone a paperweight/brick)
C12) Now if you did follow the Clockwork MOD, be sure to copy the "update.zip" file somewhere into your computer (better be safe than sorry)
D1) Now we need to apply the 3-Button-Combo Fix (this is the only reason for steps A-C because it is highly recommended to have this before flashing ANY rom)
D2) I recommend the Fix by RazvanG http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=821698 because it seems to be the *safest*
**D3) Firstly check if your device is compatible. I wasn't successful to dump my BML1 block, so I couldn't test if the block reads "[email protected]"
**D3) RazvanG has provided some instructions on this method see his post for more information http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=9595936#post9595936
D4) So I took a leap of faith and continued anyways with the risk of bricking my device. I have it on contract/plan so if it fails I would just return it and say Kies was updating and it failed
D5) I followed the steps on the thread but I'll reitterate it here for your convnieance
D6) Download both files (RAZ-FiX-SGS and adbRecovery) from the thread.
D7) Make a new folder (adbRecovery) on your computer and extract the adb .zip file into there
D8) Connect your phone to the computer and copy the RAZ-FiX-SGS.zip into your phone's memory
D9) Delete the old Update.zip file AND rename the RAZ-FiX-SGS.zip to Update.zip
D10) Again, turn on USB debugging (you know how) and open "Recovery" batch file from your computer
D11) This will initiate a command prompt (on Win7) and restart your phone
D12) Your phone will go into recovery mode (like we've seen before)
D13) You need to navigate (Volume buttons) to "apply sdcard; update.zip" and hit the Home button
D14) Your phone will turn off and restart and should get to your lockscreen
D15) So you're at the lockscreen? SUCCESS! (mine didn't brick *pheww*)
D16) Now let's test to see if the 3-Button-Fix worked
D17) *IMPORTANT* Firstly browse into your phone's internal memory and delete update.zip (the one we put there from RazvanG)
D18) Now that you have done so, you can safely just turn off the device
D19) Hold the Volume Down + Home button ... then hold the power button, as soon as the device begins to turn on release the power button (keep holding Volume Down + Home)
D20) If you get a Yellow triangle with the Android robot and "Do not turn off Target", well done, you have the 3BF so you have a means to ensure that you can always recover your phone if you do brick, well done!
D21) You can *safely* remove the battery and restart your phone ONLY if you don't have a Update.zip in the root of your phone
D22) If you don't want to take a leap of faith try this method (safest method but doesn't work for some people): http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=860773
E1) Now is the fun part (we've just past the difficult parts)
E2) You need to hunt down the version of (official Samsung)software you wish to install ... just go through member's reviews and recommendations
E3) You need to find the product code of that build, you can do this navigating through this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=846913
OR by asking members (they can find out with http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=787163)
E4) For me this was the Virgin mobile Australia build (XSA - an unbadged, no-bloatware, unlocked Froyo build with a free copy of Navigon Navigation)
E5) Make sure you update your Kies to "ver 1.5.3.10103_102" (latest as of the time I'm writing)
E6) Go visit this thread http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=835628 for information (the software may have been upgraded)
E7) Download (300KBs) the Kies Registry patcher 1.6.0.0 (latest as of writing) <<This only works on Windows computers, sorry Mac'ners>>
E8) Launch the Kies Registry Patcher WHEN KIES IS OPENED
E9) Click on File > Backup (and save this somewhere in your computer - this is your original product code - better safe than sorry)
E10) Make Enable Spoof to True
E11) Now where it says "Spoof Product Code as" type in the product code of your desire (mine is XSA)
E12) Hit Write Registry and it should say "Registry pathed successfully"
E13) Connect your phone via USB cable to the computer
E14) On your phone select "Samsung Kies" when the pop up comes ... it should be at the "Connected" screen (DO NOT HIT HOME BUTTON)
E15) On Kies it should find your phone, and a pop up on the corner will say "There is a firmware update available for your phone" hit that pop up
E16) Now you will see another pop up and it's asking if you want to "Back up contacts before upgrading firmware" ... seems like a good idea, tick the box and hit Upgrade
E17) If the screen on the phone shuts (ie standby) don't be alerted. Hit the power button to wake it up. DO NOT HIT THE HOME BUTTON!
E18) Another pop up will come to name the contacts file - I just hit save so its the original filename in original (Samsung)folder
E19) Another Pop up will come to say "Save to PC completed" - hit OK, its just letting you know the contacts saved properly
E20) Now you get another Pop up to start the Firmware Upgrade - This is an important area, note down the: Model Name, Current Version and Latest Version (if something goes wrong this info maybe valuable for developers)
E21) Mine is (model)GT-I9000, (current)PDA:JG4 / Phone:JG3 / CSC:JG2 and (latest) PDA:JP5 / Phone:JP3 / CSC:JP4 ......... notice they are diffirent, this is what I was looking for
E22) Hit Upgrade! (Allow Kies to function when Windows 7 or Windows Vista prompts you)
E23) Tick the "All information has been verified" and Click Next
**E24) Let Samsung record your phone number in their database? I don't care (I'm on insurance/contract/plan) and I hit "Allow saving" ad Clicked Next
E25) Wait patiently, its downloading the rom from the server, DO NOT UNPLUG THE DEVICE
E26) A progress bar will appear, your USB will get disconnected, reconnected several times, the phone will be stuck on the yellow triangle screen - these are normal
E27) The progress bar will slowly be filled from grey to blue and a progress bar will appear on your phone - almost there!
E28) The progress bar on the computer will finish and the pop up will read "GT-I9000 Upgrade completed" - Click Close
E29) Your phone will restart and will enter "recovery mode" some yellow texts will appear and scroll forward
E30) The phone will reboot again and you will see the boot image with the Galaxy S logo
E31) The phone will be stuck on that logo for awhile - be patient
E32) The phone will now get to your lockscreen, unlock it
E33) You will have to go through your initial setup firstly its the Swype tutorial, then data settings, and finally the account settings emerges
E34) If the Kies connection screen comes up: hit the home button
E35) Now you should have come to your Homescreen go and test everything (all your passwords, all your bookmarks, all your contacts, all your images/music/videos and all your apps (except bloatware) should be there but the order of all the widgets/apps in TouchWizz will be reset to abc-order)
E36) Goto Settings > About Phone Does it say Android 2.2?
E37) Well done you have passed Android Hacking 101, you are officially smarter than 50% of iPhone and Blackberry users
E38) Donate me a beer, nah just kidding, enjoy everything for free but feel free to donate to the developers that help make this possible

this is a guide for I9000 international
I9000M owners please be advised that the I9000 might cause you to lose the 850 band, and might also trigger the internal SD problem

AllGamer said:
this is a guide for I9000 international
I9000M owners please be advized that the I9000 might cause you to lose the 850 band, and might also trigger the internal SD problem
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You made it into a thread, thanks!
Hopefully this might help fellow xdanians

Aww Mate this is awesome, I have the same Carrier and I had OPTUS crap on my Phone from custom roms, Now I'm back to Stock Froyo!!!!
A great tool to Start from afresh.....
But
At Instruction E11 - Select your product code from the drop down Box and it will populate the next field for you.

Gonna put into my favorites

Wow.
I don't think anybody that don't now much would read that.
I know allot and i would never use it either.
You should stick a warning sign on this tread.
I did read about half of it and then i just stop and shake my head.
I hope this tread is a joke.....
Sent from GT-I9000 jpo. My own kernel for z4mod and with 342MB Ram

DamianGto said:
Wow.
I don't think anybody that don't now much would read that.
I know allot and i would never use it either.
You should stick a warning sign on this tread.
I did read about half of it and then i just stop and shake my head.
I hope this tread is a joke.....
Sent from GT-I9000 jpo. My own kernel for z4mod and with 342MB Ram
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elaborate?
Joke? No it's no joke but I should disclose (as always) this is a tried-and-true way of getting you to update your software but in no way can I be held responsible for damages.
Things may vary slightly in between different phones which is why the links for each source/thread is up there.
I found myself knowing what to do, but always guessing how to do it.
This is a step-by-step process of how and what I did to upgrade my phone to any ROM I want.
If this was posted up before I attempted my upgrade, I would've been so happy that someone really simplified it for me

This is a noobs guide??!!! Simplified??!! I think that everyone will appreciate the time you have spent typing this up and trying to help, but I'm with DamianGto, dude this guide is scary and just explains how YOU got YOUR particular phone running froyo and lets face it, you certainly didn't go about it the easy way!
Once again I think the time you have spent and the willingness to help is admirable, but there are much simpler and noob friendly guides out there

nagrom78 said:
This is a noobs guide??!!! Simplified??!! I think that everyone will appreciate the time you have spent typing this up and trying to help, but I'm with DamianGto, dude this guide is scary and just explains how YOU got YOUR particular phone running froyo and lets face it, you certainly didn't go about it the easy way!
Once again I think the time you have spent and the willingness to help is admirable, but there are much simpler and noob friendly guides out there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well you need root + busybox to get the 3 button fix.
If anything a n00b did, they can recover with 3 button trick otherwise they will have a brick.
This is why this guide is long, to ensure things are a-ok.
If you found a friendlier guide can you post the link, much apprecated ;D

How do I exit downloading mode if I forgot to erase update.zip ?

What is it ? Kies
A2) Make sure you have Kies downloaded and installed on your computer
Thanks

Well I think this is an excellent guide that has great potential!
However, a couple of crucial mistakes, which if fixed could help make the guides less confusing...
At beginning of (D) you talk about (A-C) being solely so you could fix your 3 button download (which I don't think is actually true!)
.... But, you should mention 3 button download at the very start of the guide anyway!!
Also, you should include a quick test at the very start to check for 3 button download, because mine is already fine, so a newbie might run all those extra steps when they already had working 3 button download anyway! (The more sections that can be skipped the better!). You can then steer people to the sections they uniquely will need.
However, titanium backup isn't needed for 3 button download fix, but is a wise step before running a rom update. And this works best with root anyway. Hence I don't think your opener for (D) is very accurate. You didn't just complete those steps JUST to get download mode. The backup was important anyway!
Do others think there should be a stage added for backing up contacts etc?
A stage for backing up efi?
Anything else wise that should be in here?

[Q] [Question] Install Apps and Recovery mode

Hi!
I just passed to an android nand rom, before i had android from sd. It was very simple for me to install apps, i just passed the files .apk to the folder Android Apps in the folder of Android Sd and when i reeboted the phone the app was installed.
Now my question is, i have nand android and tried to place an .apk app in the root of the sd, reeboted, and nothing was installed.
I tried to search for an answer but nothing, can somebody please explain me how to install apps in this nand version?
And also.... how can i remove boot sound? i cannot enter in recovery mode... in the sd version i had the option to reebot in it by holding the power button (but really never worked), and now in nand version i have only the option to Reebot, Shutdown, or Put in silent mode.
Thanks!

Hmm..are you talking about installing typical apps or some special apps? cause for most of apps you can install them as simply as coping the .apk file to your SD or even download them directly from the web to your SD,then browse to where you copied/downloaded them using your file manager and simply click on the app to install it,or there is the hard way by using 'adb' and the command " install -s yourappname.apk".About that recovery issue,you can't access recovery mode from the power menu on HD2 android,however we do have a working recovery image in some other way,so you might wanna do some reading HERE first. Hope i helped or even understood you correctly,if you need more help just be more specific and i'll be glad to help you further.Cheers!
matt-86 said:
Hi!
I just passed to an android nand rom, before i had android from sd. It was very simple for me to install apps, i just passed the files .apk to the folder Android Apps in the folder of Android Sd and when i reeboted the phone the app was installed.
Now my question is, i have nand android and tried to place an .apk app in the root of the sd, reeboted, and nothing was installed.
I tried to search for an answer but nothing, can somebody please explain me how to install apps in this nand version?
And also.... how can i remove boot sound? i cannot enter in recovery mode... in the sd version i had the option to reebot in it by holding the power button (but really never worked), and now in nand version i have only the option to Reebot, Shutdown, or Put in silent mode.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

hummm..
hi, i'm really glad you answered and i thank you..
my problem now is.. i don't have a file manager because i cannot install this famous apps like i did in the past with sd version. Usually i placed the apk file in AndroidApps and the app whas installed in automatic when i reeboted. Now in this nand version i don't have this folder and in rom i don't have a file manager... (still i don't understand why android doesn't have one in stock like wm had).... and so i cannot install nothing... i neither cannot access to phone storage because if i select the option when i connect the phone to connect with Htc Sync the phone gets stuck searching for Htc Sync in my computer... I don't know which is the solution now and i don't understand why nobody in forum speaks about this problem i have.
Thanks!

matt-86 said:
hi, i'm really glad you answered and i thank you..
my problem now is.. i don't have a file manager because i cannot install this famous apps like i did in the past with sd version. Usually i placed the apk file in AndroidApps and the app whas installed in automatic when i reeboted. Now in this nand version i don't have this folder and in rom i don't have a file manager... (still i don't understand why android doesn't have one in stock like wm had).... and so i cannot install nothing... i neither cannot access to phone storage because if i select the option when i connect the phone to connect with Htc Sync the phone gets stuck searching for Htc Sync in my computer... I don't know which is the solution now and i don't understand why nobody in forum speaks about this problem i have.
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not really a problem,dude. simply go to market and install ANY file manager you like then you would be able to do whatever you want,i would recommend 'esfile manager' it nice one and works almost with every build.You can also do it using 'adb' on your pc.
"(still i don't understand why android doesn't have one in stock like wm had)"<--That will always be a wonder to me,it seems kinds stupid not to add it,maybe they depend on you to access market and get one yourself.

thanks
ok, thankyou mate. in all cases i'll try to flash another rom with the ClockworkMod Recovery, i've seen the video and it seems a very good program, also because of the backup and restore option, i really like it.

Ight,just make sure you are downloading a rom with the '.zip' format for clockwork not any nand build,not all of them are packed into '.zip' at least not yet.Glad i could help.
matt-86 said:
ok, thankyou mate. in all cases i'll try to flash another rom with the ClockworkMod Recovery, i've seen the video and it seems a very good program, also because of the backup and restore option, i really like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

last question
a last question, i've seen that if i pass from a daf rom to a zip rom it's better if i whipe the system before flashing, maybe not wiping can cause issues, you know how to?
thanks

Sure,after you install clockwork you will find an option inside it's sub menu 'called wipe...something something' don't really recall,but it's there you will find all the instructions for clockwork in the thread for it.
matt-86 said:
a last question, i've seen that if i pass from a daf rom to a zip rom it's better if i whipe the system before flashing, maybe not wiping can cause issues, you know how to?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

cannot wipe old data

Hi
I brought a used one a500,no matter what i do,fromer owner info is still there,and will sync tohis gmail.
i try the factory restore by go to privacy and do factory reset,no use.
i uninstall some apps,afteri turn unit off then on everything comes back same.
I drag icons to different page,after turn on and off restore as same.
if i udate to 3.1 it will stuck on android logo and blink.
I also try resrt by holding power and upvolume with a usb keyboard which i press home and have a menu that i can go to wipe all data,but came back same.
need help to set it back to fresh.
thanks
jimmy

This is what I've found to clean my tablet completly. I took it from bits and pieces I've found in the forum and wrote myself this walkthru as I did it. Hope it helps.
How to do a true Factory reset a500
YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING!!!!!
Switch off
Put in sd card with update.zip (Select the one for your area)http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1113878
Press Vol-down (in portrait-bottom) + Power
If display goes on: Release power but hold vol-down
Toggle Lock switch in (On>Off>On>Off);in portrait(top>bottom>top>bottom)
Screen will display:
Erasing Userdata..
Erasing Cache..
Power-off while android screen is showing
Press Vol-up (in portrait-top) + Power (w/ sd card that has update.zip)
Should give a totally clean Iconia.
YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING!!!!!
This will also restore your ORIGINAL STOCK RECOVERY

should i use the one same as mine on the tab
Thanks,
I will try it out.
which one should i use,the same as mine or different one.
I lived in us Hawaii

Probably the one you have as long as its the FULL one. (about 356MB) For me it was 4.010.11_COM_GEN2. I live in the US. You'll find it in the ABOUT TABLET.

Is that 3.1 update
Is yours a 3.1 update,I went to office depot this morning and I can reset their unit easily by going to privacy and factory reset.
I don't know what happen to mine.
My friend just brought a new one and update to 3.1,can I copy the rom from his unit to sd card,then use it on my machine.
Thanks
Jimmy

Do you have stock or custom recovery?
If you're using CWM recovery, you need to make a modification to erase all data
see the CWM thread (OP) for instructions:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1126364

cannot download from link
Hi,
I tried to download the correct rom from the link u gave me,it was denied.
Any suggestion,i use a samsung galaxy to download.I also tried different rom,same thing happen.
thanks

Still don't work
I did download from somewhere,do I need to put on a folder or just leave at sd card.
When it reboot from sd,it said fail to get it.
Any idea
Jimmy

I did download from some place,I put in sd card (zip file),it get error when rebooting from sd,do I need to unzip and put in a folder.
Thanks
Jimmy

Just had a thought that might help you. On your tablet, go to apps, settings, privacy, and unmark "backup my data". Let it sit for a few minutes then hit the Factory reset option.
I do IIf that doesn't work the file you'll need is the "Acer_A500_1.141.07_4.010.11_COM_GEN1". It took me forever to find it and when I did it was buried in a post. "Search" XDA or google it. I can't upload it as the file is too big. Ive tried to find it again and couldn't. If I do, I'll post the link.
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...461992b1.zip&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13143094568866

still not work
Hi,
I try what you told me,when i get to boot menu then choose up date from extenal storage,it show some error
E:unkown volume for path[/scared]
E:error opening /sdcard: No such file or directory
E:unknown volume path [sdcard]
Need help
UOTE=engine95;16987353]Just had a thought that might help you. On your tablet, go to apps, settings, privacy, and unmark "backup my data". Let it sit for a few minutes then hit the Factory reset option.
I do IIf that doesn't work the file you'll need is the "Acer_A500_1.141.07_4.010.11_COM_GEN1". It took me forever to find it and when I did it was buried in a post. "Search" XDA or google it. I can't upload it as the file is too big. Ive tried to find it again and couldn't. If I do, I'll post the link.
http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...461992b1.zip&jsonp=vglnk_jsonp_13143094568866[/QUOTE]

Seems like it don't recognise the sd card.After i remove the card and put it on galaxy it will add a folder name lost directory on my sdcard
Any idea.
Thanks

1. Did you try the unmarking backup method? Did it work?
2. Your SD Card should have at least 2 files on it: Lost Dir and android secure-which is a hidden file.
I cant remember if the Acer_500 file needed to be decrypyed or not. http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=14209794&postcount=1
You need to pull the update.zip and put it on the root of SDcard.
Read these 2 posts. These are where I got alot of info. Thanks to all these reference posts and files.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=15379983&postcount=1
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=16170060&postcount=371

Rooting the SCH i400 - Step by Step Instructions for Newbies

I just managed to root my SCH i400 (first ever rooting of any Android device for me).
I am very surprised by how smoothly it went, despite reports & warnings everywhere about complications (like this one - which should be totally ignored if you're using SuperOneClick v2.1.1 or higher).
For the benefit of n00bs like me who may be confused by multiple sources, resources, versions and problem reports, I am posting a step by step procedure that is confirmed (by me, on Windows XP SP3) to be working smoothly, without a single hitch of complications:
Phone: Make sure setting > applications > unknown sources is checked.
Phone: Make sure phone is in debugging mode.
Phone: Make sure SD card is unmounted!
PC: Make sure Windows USB driver for this phone installed and works
PC: Make sure .NET 3.51 SP1 is installed.
PC: Unzip SuperOneClickv2.1.1-ShortFuse.zip ==> C:\Program Files\SuperOneClickv2.1.1-ShortFuse
PC: Double-click SuperOneClick.exe
PC (in SuperOneClick): Make sure you're on the Universal tab (the only other tab is Samsung Captivate, which isn't the i400).
PC (in SuperOneClick): Now click the root button and wait for the process to complete.
PC (in SuperOneClick): "BusyBox not found. Would you like to install it?" Yes!
PC (in SuperOneClick): "Root install has completed! Would you like to run a test?" Yes!
PC (in SuperOneClick): "Your device has been rooted! Would you like to donate now?"
Exit SuperOneClick, unplug phone from USB, power down phone, power on phone. -- this step might not be mandatory, I just did it to be on the safe side.
Enjoy!

Great job on this tut.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium

Nice...
I may have to sneak my wife away from her for a bit....
Sent from my DROID using XDA App

Froyo is so nice... Here's how...
Hey guys... new poster here.
Just got a (Gently used) Samsung Continuum for free from Verizon after the power button on my G Droid 1 broke.
Anyways, after rcving it and realizing that it would only support Android 2.1 - I was slightly upset.
My D1 was rooted and modded to the max many times over with just about every ROM you can get.
So after reading up about IMNUTS leaking the Froyo download for the Continuum, my hopes were raised.
It is now debinged, debloated, lightening quick and amazing!
There may not be ROMS out there yet - but I truly hope some of you geniuses decide to make a few.
Just wanted to say thanks and encourage you to do some research before rooting it.
Here's what worked for me.
Odin 1.3
Continuum PIT.pit file
froyo_modem.tar.md5
cwm_recovery_test4_adryn.tar
cyan Clockwork Mod Recovery (BLUE, not yellow) (update.zip file, which is placed on the root of your SD card - renamed to update.zip)
stock_deodexed_ec03.zip (ROM)
(Place all of these files on your Desktop for easy access)
How to do it...
1. Connect your phone to your computer and Mount it.
2. Place the cyan CWM Recovery zip file to your SD card. (rename it to update.zip & do not put it in any folders. Just drag the file to your SD card - whatever drive it is listed as. Mine is my Removeable F
3. Make a new folder on your SD card. Name it whatever you want. (Mine is named "Froyo") Place the stock_deodexed_ec03.zip file in the folder on your SD card.
4. Open Odin 1.3 on your PC.
5. While your phone is off... hold the down volume button and connect it to your computer via USB. The yellow triangle will appear and it will say "Downloading". (Some people say to take the battery out, but my Odin program would not recognize my phone without the battery. Whichever works for you is fine.)
6. In Odin - Click the PIT file button. Load the Continuum.Pit.pit file into the file field. (Just double click it once you find the file from your Desktop.)
7. In Odin - Click the PDA button. Load the froyo_modem.tar.md5 file into the file field. (same as #6. Just double click it once you find the file from your Desktop.)
8. Click Start in Odin.
It should think for a minute, then say resetting, then say PASS
Then your phone will probably turn back on - turn it off again and reconnect it to your PC in download mode as stated in #5 above.
9. In Odin - Click the PDA button again. Load the cwm_recovery_test4_adryn.tar file as you did in #'s 6 and 7 above.
10. Click Start again in Odin... same as before. (thinking, resetting and PASS)
Your phone will turn on again.
11. Disconnect your phone from the computer & turn it off.
12. Hold both Volume buttons and turn it on. It will boot into the Samsung Recovery mode.
13. Use your Volume buttons to go down to highlight "apply update.zip" Then find the place where your normal Menu softkey would be and push it. The phone should then reboot into Clockwork Mod Recovery. It will be orangish.
14. In CWM, use the Volume buttons to highlight Backup/ Restore. Use the Power Button to choose it. Then at the next field, highlight Backup and make a backup.
15. After is makes the backup, press where the softkey Back button should be to go back to the original screen. From there, do a Wipe Data/ Factory reset. Do not forget to do this part.
16. Once it does the Data Wipe - go back to the main menu and and highlight & select the "zip from SD card" choice. Find your "Froyo" folder (of whatever you named it) and apply the stock_deodexed_ec03.zip file.
17. After that, go back to the main menu again and reboot your phone.
It may take a while, but your phone should restart in Froyo.
Of course, you have to re-sign in to your Google network...
Thanks so much guys for all the posts. Without them, is nowhere near as cool.

Hanging at Step #5, Now what?
Thank you for sharing. Wish I could say it went as smoothly for me with my SCH-I400 Continuum... I'm still working on it! I followed recommendations of several different developers/rooters. I've installed .Net Framework 4.0 and the SDK developers kit (who knows, maybe I'll start a new hobby...), and now when I run Superoneclick it hangs at step #5 with this message:
link_image[1728]: 3252 could not load needed library 'libdiskconfig.so' for './zergRush' (load_library[1058]: Library 'libdiskconfig.so' not found)CANNOT LINK EXECUTABLE
I have rebooted the computer and the phone, unmounted the SD card, settings to allow unknown sources, and turned on USB debugging. I'm not sure why the config file can't be found, and I don't know where to get it...
Do I need to reinstall the SDK? Or install the additional Java developers software? Or am I over-complicating this whole thing?
Any ideas will be greatly appreciated...
-James

Perhaps the easiest way is to flash a rooted ROM through Odin (or Heimdall)... Especially if you don't use Windows. This is how I did it:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1203597

Two topics in one thread?
Hmmm... seems we have 2 things happening hear. 1: Rooting a Samsung Continuum, and 2: Flashing a ROM...
My concern is the "hang" at step five for Rooting my Continuum SCH-I400... Cant use a ROM until the dang thing is rooted, and can't seem to figure out the hang.
Tried Z4 root from the phone rather than through the PC and it hung indefinitely... Maybe there's a related issue, and I don't care if it's Superoneclick or Z4 that gets the job done.
Has anyone gotten past the same issue?
-James

bighigmt said:
Hmmm... seems we have 2 things happening hear. 1: Rooting a Samsung Continuum, and 2: Flashing a ROM...
My concern is the "hang" at step five for Rooting my Continuum SCH-I400... Cant use a ROM until the dang thing is rooted, and can't seem to figure out the hang.
Tried Z4 root from the phone rather than through the PC and it hung indefinitely... Maybe there's a related issue, and I don't care if it's Superoneclick or Z4 that gets the job done.
Has anyone gotten past the same issue?
-James
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's where you are over complicating. You don't actually have to root BEFORE you flash a new rom, if the rom is 'prerooted'. I've never rooted this thing via s1c or z4. I simply flashed the kernels via odin and flashed the rom in cwm.
Either let me fly or give me death. Let my soul rest, or take my breath. - DMX

Txwolf1980 said:
That's where you are over complicating. You don't actually have to root BEFORE you flash a new rom, if the rom is 'prerooted'. I've never rooted this thing via s1c or z4. I simply flashed the kernels via odin and flashed the rom in cwm.
Either let me fly or give me death. Let my soul rest, or take my breath. - DMX
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's fine Txwolf, but still doesn't address the issue... Or the original reason for this thread - Rooting - which is is essential for the programs I am going to run, and that is what I have been asking about...

bighigmt said:
That's fine Txwolf, but still doesn't address the issue... Or the original reason for this thread - Rooting - which is is essential for the programs I am going to run, and that is what I have been asking about...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The issue seems to be that you just have to use that little search box a little better via xda or your web browser and find more information the root program your trying to use.
When you give up on that you can take txwolf1980 's advice
PS hang on step 5 in OP? Or in 3rd post? That would be getting into dl mode lol
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium

Come on now...
ciscogee said:
The issue seems to be that you just have to use that little search box a little better via xda or your web browser and find more information the root program your trying to use.
When you give up on that you can take txwolf1980 's advice
PS hang on step 5 in OP? Or in 3rd post? That would be getting into dl mode lol
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I spent 6 hours last night troubleshooting, researching, digging deep, and "using that little search box." Seems to me You guys need to "just read the thread." It's about rooting your phone, period. If a forum is out there, I've probably read it. I'm using superoneclick to do it. SDK is installed. Net framework is installed. My error message frome SOC is above. When I am finally rooted, THEN I will install several programs - starting with a wifi tether.
I see you have the same phone as I do. Is it rooted with a one-click method? I also tried Z4root and didn't like it.

bighigmt said:
...Seems to me You guys need to "just read the thread."...
I see you have the same phone as I do. Is it rooted with a one-click method? I also tried Z4root and didn't like it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well i did read the thread...
ive been out of town for a week and finally back on my pc... i would love to help you yet more info is needed.
you are running dl17 stock 2.1 correct?
what OS is your pc running?
and yes i have same phone as you. i have used superone click on ec03 build once.
just for root. but then flashed a deodexed rom to use custom mods and apps.
and since have been flashing rooted kernels, imnuts and adrynalynne have released most all of them.
there are a few ways to root the device, best bet is, as always is go to IRC.
clarity and patience are key, we all got to practice both

I rooted EC09 with soc no problem. If I send someone the EC09 could they extract the apks and send them to me? I deleted some sys apps for the ticker and rss feeds and need them back now to use it.
Sent from my SCH-I400 using xda premium

Unzip factory.rfs of ec09 to grab missing apks and put them on sdcard and install from there.
Sent from my SPH-M580BST using Tapatalk 2

verizonless said:
[*]PC (in SuperOneClick): Make sure you're on the Universal tab (the only other tab is Samsung Captivate, which isn't the i400).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
FYI, my Windows Defender threat scanner just reported this SuperOneClickv2.1.1-ShortFuse.zip file as Exploit:AndroidOS/CVE-2011-1823, more specifically pointing at a file named Exploits/GingerBreak in that ZIP file.
I am going to delete this ZIP file as I no longer need it, but I got curious: Any idea what this means?

verizonless said:
FYI, my Windows Defender threat scanner just reported this SuperOneClickv2.1.1-ShortFuse.zip file as Exploit:AndroidOS/CVE-2011-1823, more specifically pointing at a file named Exploits/GingerBreak in that ZIP file.
I am going to delete this ZIP file as I no longer need it, but I got curious: Any idea what this means?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It means it'll root your phone. Some applications could try to do this without permission and do shady things with your phone. Nothing to worry about if your doing it on purpose.

trailblazer101 said:
It means it'll root your phone. Some applications could try to do this without permission and do shady things with your phone. Nothing to worry about if your doing it on purpose.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Im assuming by now everyone is on EG04 Gingerbread?