Database Users

[Q] ClockworkMod Recovery Issues

Hi All,
I need real help with ClockworkMod Recovery. I have been installing Android on HD2 using storage card (haret.exe) method. Then I moved to NAND without any problems.
But I am not able to understand ClockworkMod Recovery at all. I looked at lots of threads and also the main thread for ClockworkMod Recovery. I know how to install it. I have installed it on my phone. But for some reason I was stuck in the loop after installing the ROM {[22 JAN] -=MDJ's CyanogenMod 7 v. 2.6 [A2SD+][GRH78C][RMNET][Kernel: MDJ S10.4 OC]}. I did exactly same as the video tutorial says. My radios and HSPL is fine. Coz I am able to use the same ROM in NAND mode. But still in ClockworkMod Recovery mode the phone kept restarting and never got to the main screen.
I also do not know what ext2, ext3, ext4 partitions are. Do I need to make them before installing the ROM? Also on the main thread for ClockworkMod Recovery, it has 3 partition files. 250MB, 350MB and 450MB. I do not know what that is. Which one to use for which ROM and what are the differences between them?
What is the use of ClockworkMod Recovery if I have to flash this partitions every time I install new ROM?
Also can someone tell me what backing up the ROM means? Does it mean I can back up my current one and flash new one, and if I do not like the new one I can restore the old one in the same state (with my APPS and SETTINGS)?
Please please help me with ClockworkMod Recovery fundamentals. I would really appreciate it.
One more thing, I would not post a question if I haven't looked around enough for answers. As you can see I have been doing this from months, but only asked one question before and this is the second one. So please do not take me for someone who does not look around for answers. I do, its just that I did not find anything real good to explain me from the bottom. So please someone help me out.
Thanks in advance.

EXT partitions can be thought of as extended partitions on your SD card. They are used to "extend" your storage capacity. Some ROMS place some of the ROM files on the SD-EXT partition. This is done particularly for the EU HD2 where it has only half the storage on-board that the TMOUS HD2 does. If you are using a ROM that requires one you do have to create the partitions before installing/flashing the ROM.
The three different flash.cfg files on the CWM thread are files used to instruct DFT how to re-partition your on-board storage (NAND). There are several partitions, up to 16 at the moment. Some ROM's use 4 partitions, some use 6 or more. Typically, non-CWM ROM's use only 4 partitions (boot, system, data, cache), whereas CWM ROM's use those same ones as well as a miscellaneous and recovery partition.
The main reason for the different files is that some ROM's use more space for the system partition. The different flash.cfg files just simply allocate more or less space to the system partition.
You don't technically have to flash new partitions every time you flash a new ROM. As long as you know how to modify the ROM to work with your current partition setup it will work. Or, get ROM's that use the same type of partition layouts. Since the release of CWM, more ROM's are becoming available for installation via the ZIP deployment method in CWM, which means they ALL use the same partition (with exception of the system partition size) setup.
If you have a TMOUS HD2 with plenty of onboard storage it's easier to just create a larger system partition and never have to worry about repartitioning. That's what I did. I have a 450 MB system partition and every time I deploy a new CWM ZIP ROM I don't have to repartition anything.
You nailed it on the head about backing up via CWM. It backs up all your partitions (boot, system, cache, sd-ext, data, etc) and saves them to your SD card. That way you can flash a new ROM or do a hard reset. Then later if you want you can do a full restore and be exactly where you left off before doing so. That is, if you flash a ROM that has the same partition layout. If you flash a ROM with a different partition layout, the restore may or may not work until you repartition the same as the original ROM was when you flashed it.
The only issue with all this is that since there isn't a set standard yet for ROM's and their partition layouts any ROM chef can define their own partition scheme which can make for a hassle when trying different ROM's. I expect that at some point there will be a standard set of partitions that will be used between all different chefs to make things easier. CWM ROM deployments and updates are definitely the future of this and how all native Android devices are handled. I imagine that will become the case down the road for the HD2 as well.
Hopefully that clears it up for you a bit. Sorry about writing a novel...

Digital Outcast said:
EXT partitions can be thought of as extended partitions on your SD card. They are used to "extend" your storage capacity. Some ROMS place some of the ROM files on the SD-EXT partition. This is done particularly for the EU HD2 where it has only half the storage on-board that the TMOUS HD2 does. If you are using a ROM that requires one you do have to create the partitions before installing/flashing the ROM.
The three different flash.cfg files on the CWM thread are files used to instruct DFT how to re-partition your on-board storage (NAND). There are several partitions, up to 16 at the moment. Some ROM's use 4 partitions, some use 6 or more. Typically, non-CWM ROM's use only 4 partitions (boot, system, data, cache), whereas CWM ROM's use those same ones as well as a miscellaneous and recovery partition.
The main reason for the different files is that some ROM's use more space for the system partition. The different flash.cfg files just simply allocate more or less space to the system partition.
You don't technically have to flash new partitions every time you flash a new ROM. As long as you know how to modify the ROM to work with your current partition setup it will work. Or, get ROM's that use the same type of partition layouts. Since the release of CWM, more ROM's are becoming available for installation via the ZIP deployment method in CWM, which means they ALL use the same partition (with exception of the system partition size) setup.
If you have a TMOUS HD2 with plenty of onboard storage it's easier to just create a larger system partition and never have to worry about repartitioning. That's what I did. I have a 450 MB system partition and every time I deploy a new CWM ZIP ROM I don't have to repartition anything.
You nailed it on the head about backing up via CWM. It backs up all your partitions (boot, system, cache, sd-ext, data, etc) and saves them to your SD card. That way you can flash a new ROM or do a hard reset. Then later if you want you can do a full restore and be exactly where you left off before doing so. That is, if you flash a ROM that has the same partition layout. If you flash a ROM with a different partition layout, the restore may or may not work until you repartition the same as the original ROM was when you flashed it.
The only issue with all this is that since there isn't a set standard yet for ROM's and their partition layouts any ROM chef can define their own partition scheme which can make for a hassle when trying different ROM's. I expect that at some point there will be a standard set of partitions that will be used between all different chefs to make things easier. CWM ROM deployments and updates are definitely the future of this and how all native Android devices are handled. I imagine that will become the case down the road for the HD2 as well.
Hopefully that clears it up for you a bit. Sorry about writing a novel...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Amazing explanation. Thanks a lottt man. Just one more question, I have TMOUS HD2 abd I did the same thing as you said. 450MB of partition. And then tried to install the MDJ's CM7 ROM. I got the message saying the ROM is successfully installed. and then I rebooted my phone. But it kept rebooting itself. Any particular reason you know of?

jalshah05 said:
Amazing explanation. Thanks a lottt man. Just one more question, I have TMOUS HD2 abd I did the same thing as you said. 450MB of partition. And then tried to install the MDJ's CM7 ROM. I got the message saying the ROM is successfully installed. and then I rebooted my phone. But it kept rebooting itself. Any particular reason you know of?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is this using the 400 MB flash.cfg file from the CWM thread? The reason I ask is that I checked that flash.cfg file and the boot partition is flagged as the bootable partition. I'm not familiar with the CM7 ROM from MDJ, but is it set to deploy via CWM with a boot folder in the ZIP file?
Also, have you run logcat (if you're familiar with that) while the issue is happening to see what is going on?

To be very frank I did not understand what you just told me sir. Only thing I can tell for sure is I downloaded the .zip file from the thread at http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877777 . And I do not know what logcat is. I am sure you must be thinking that I am an idiot. Forgive me for my ignorance.

Google is your friend!
I'm a better one: http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/index.php?title=Logcat
Edit: very interesting read by the way, Digital Outcast. Much appreciated!

Digital Outcast said:
Is this using the 400 MB flash.cfg file from the CWM thread? The reason I ask is that I checked that flash.cfg file and the boot partition is flagged as the bootable partition. I'm not familiar with the CM7 ROM from MDJ, but is it set to deploy via CWM with a boot folder in the ZIP file?
Also, have you run logcat (if you're familiar with that) while the issue is happening to see what is going on?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lott Digital Outcast for this amazing explanation. I hope I can get the Recovery mode working. I will try some different roms and see what can be done. meanwhile if you get chance please explain me your response "Is this using the 400 MB flash.cfg file from the CWM thread? The reason I ask is that I checked that flash.cfg file and the boot partition is flagged as the bootable partition. I'm not familiar with the CM7 ROM from MDJ, but is it set to deploy via CWM with a boot folder in the ZIP file?
Also, have you run logcat (if you're familiar with that) while the issue is happening to see what is going on?"
Thanks a lott once again.

[Q] Changing Partitions with NAND Toolkit

I am assuming the answer is YES. I am asking because I was not able to find this answer spelled out.
If I used the NAND toolkit to change the partition size on my hd2 is it just reflashing cwm and deleting the ROM?
What I am looking to do is...
Now that I have my ROM set up how I like it I want to reduce the partition size of the system to provide about 10mb free space and recover the other space to the app side.
Can i use CWM to backup and reflash with the new partitions and then restore from the backup??
Sent from my HD2 using XDA App

[Q] I am very confused!!!!

Since some days and i 'm downloading ROMS EU or others.
I become very confused as i'm looking for ROM that can flashed easy way as attached here that 1st snap-shot shows that after extracting ROM downloaded that there is no file DFA.EXE to run but instead of that all there are folders.
although installation instructions said that run DFA.EXE.
I did not see that file except in one and old version.
I need to have newest version.
Here i flashed my HD2 within 10 minutes and it was very good exp to this transform to android and no more windows!!!!
Guys,
How can i have a flash that contain DFA.EXE and it does not rely on SD
I downloaded 3 ROMS but all of them are folders with no DFA.EXE is there some ways that to know if ROM file has a DFA.EXE file instead of downloading and waste my time as my connection is little bit slow!!!!.
My HD version is MIDDLE EAST

The rom you opened in second Screenshot doesn't use dark forces flasher.
You will have to flash a recovery (clockwork mod). And flash the rom via clockwork mod.
It makes flashing much easier and you can make backups etc.
For tutorial see the android nand section -> roll up sticky.
Look out for how to flash your first rom and clockwork mod.
Hope that helps you
Sent from my HD2 using xda premium

It makes flashing much easier and you can make backups etc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you miss the bit where he says he wants one that doesn't rely on SD card?
@OP No there are very few roms that use daf.exe, nearly all use cwm and SD card.
You could learn how to load a cwm rom into the android sdk on the PC, then dump the system and boot folder to images and replace the system and boot images in the old daf rom folder, remembering to adjust flash.cfg partition size for the new system size.

samsamuel said:
Did you miss the bit where he says he wants one that doesn't rely on SD card?
@OP No there are very few roms that use daf.exe, nearly all use cwm and SD card.
You could learn how to load a cwm rom into the android sdk on the PC, then dump the system and boot folder to images and replace the system and boot images in the old daf rom folder, remembering to adjust flash.cfg partition size for the new system size.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Oh yes but he maybe he will notice that cwm is a very useful flasher etc.
Sent from my HD2 using xda premium

[Q] ROM Partitioning

Hi all,
I managed already to flash some different ROM into the NAND of my HD2. Right now I´m trying out MIUI_GINGER_2.3.7_STABLE_V4.1. Although many readers are reporting brilliant performance and behaviour of the ROM, my device is coming up with "not additional memory" error message when I try and install the first app from market right after new installation.
Can some expert please tell me:
1. How can I read out the current partition settings of my device?
2. How do you usually change partition sizes (using HD2 Android NAND Toolkit?)
3. Somebody tell me the optimal partition sizes for the above mentioned MIUI ROM?
Thanks upfront for your help!
Peter

Easy way to rectify this is go to hd2 toolkit set the system partion to 130, and the cache size to 2, let it do its thing, in cwm format and wipe everything, and reinstall rom. Ive ran it before with over 100+ apps before with plenty left over. Let me kno how it fares!
sent from my HTC NexusHD2 provided by Tytung

Seems I´m doing something wrong. :-(
1. I´m doing a task29
2. Via cLK Repartition I´m applying the partition data you mentioned above
3. I´m installing MAGLDR
With this status I´m not able to install my ROM without having repartitioned the device once again via MAGLDR Repartition. The result is, that I have no more than 0,93 MB memory left after having installed the OS.
How do I install the ROM correctly via CWM?
Many thanks,
Peter

PeteR1200GS said:
Seems I´m doing something wrong. :-(
1. I´m doing a task29
2. Via cLK Repartition I´m applying the partition data you mentioned above
3. I´m installing MAGLDR
With this status I´m not able to install my ROM without having repartitioned the device once again via MAGLDR Repartition. The result is, that I have no more than 0,93 MB memory left after having installed the OS.
How do I install the ROM correctly via CWM?
Many thanks,
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Why on Earth would you use the cLK repartition function when you have MAGLDR installed?
I would just use the 150Mb partition at the end of this guide, it fits the requirements set by the OP exactly.

[Q] Required partition size, Required cache size

hello all..
I'm helping a friend installing a NAND version Android on his HD2 device running WM 6.5
I've upgraded the SPL to HSPL 2.08, and installed MAGLDR. I'm at this point now.. I haven't installed ClockworkMod yet. and I'm still choosing between ROMs.
While searching, I keep finding a line talking about "the required partition size" and "the required cache size". My question is, Is this just an informative line telling you what to expect, or you need, according to this info, to reconfigure disk space, or anything else in your phone?
Also, Can I install ANY HD2 ROM using MAGLDR, and this method?
Thanks in advance,

Read the guide in my signature, everything should be clear. Each ROM requires a certain partition size, you can change it using the hd2 toolkit. Almost all ROMs will work with MAGLDR and CWM. You shouldn't have to change the cache partition size, I haven't come across a ROM which uses a 45MB cache partition yet.
Sent from my NexusHD2 using xda app-developers app

Nigeldg said:
Read the guide in my signature, everything should be clear. Each ROM requires a certain partition size, you can change it using the hd2 toolkit. Almost all ROMs will work with MAGLDR and CWM. You shouldn't have to change the cache partition size, I haven't come across a ROM which uses a 45MB cache partition yet.
Sent from my NexusHD2 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you my Nigeldg... I'll check it out.

You need to install the HD2 toolkit, boot into Magldr, choose USB flasher mode and repartition the nand storage and cache according to rom specifications.