Database Users

[Q] Which ROM Do you suggest?

I'm looking to upgrade my phone to a custom ROM, but I'm not sure which one is the best for my needs. This is what I am looking for:
Fyro Update
Increased Phone Speed
Increased Battery Support
Adblock for browser and apps
Also, how do I flash my ROM? I have the drivers to connect my phone to my computer, and that's about as far as I got. Secondly, will I lose my apps and their data? I already have my contacts and SMS backed up.
Thanks guys
jt

As a shameless plug - I whole-heartedly recommend SyndicateROM. It'll fulfill three of your four features already (including ad blocking in apps and the browser), and when the OFFICIAL, FINAL (ACS prides itself on stability and feature-completeness) Froyo release is out, it will be updated right away!

That's actually the one I was looking at. Is there instructions on how to flash your ROM? Will I lose my apps and their data?

After rooting you'll need Clockwork Recovery mod(CWM). Look for a Dev who has created a root with a CWM install (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770388).
1. Follow steps to root and install CWM.
2. Download a ROM and put it on your SDcard (Start with ones that have been around for a while and have been tested quite a bit. Avoid Froyo ones till you feel comfortable with CWM and Odin {if you ever use it}).
3. Reboot into CWM, BACKUP everything (this is key for your data to come back), wipe x3 (including cache)
4. Install ROM from SDcard(reboot, may take a few minutes to load for the first time)
5. Reboot into CWM, and advance restore (DATA only). reboot
6. Enjoy with all your data.
Hope this helps

Epic Experience + Phoenix is the best battery life I've had on any ROM.
Performance feels like stock, which is to say, this phone is really fast just as is and I don't think its screaming for better performance out of the box. Its not like it feels sluggish like the Evo does.

All these devs do great work! You can't go wrong with any of these roms. This belongs in the General Discussions section!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Streamline8 said:
After rooting you'll need Clockwork Recovery mod(CWM). Look for a Dev who has created a root with a CWM install (http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770388).
1. Follow steps to root and install CWM.
2. Download a ROM and put it on your SDcard (Start with ones that have been around for a while and have been tested quite a bit. Avoid Froyo ones till you feel comfortable with CWM and Odin {if you ever use it}).
3. Reboot into CWM, BACKUP everything (this is key for your data to come back), wipe x3 (including cache)
4. Install ROM from SDcard(reboot, may take a few minutes to load for the first time)
5. Reboot into CWM, and advance restore (DATA only). reboot
6. Enjoy with all your data.
Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hoping you can help me a little further;
1) Done successfully
2) Done
3) How do I boot into CWM? I installed Titanium back up, and ROM manager - not sure if that's needed or not
Thanks guys
PS, sorry for posting in the wrong section

tuttjs said:
Hoping you can help me a little further;
1) Done successfully
2) Done
3) How do I boot into CWM? I installed Titanium back up, and ROM manager - not sure if that's needed or not
Thanks guys
PS, sorry for posting in the wrong section
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
camera button, down volume and power on.

I suggest you try them all and figure out what you like or don't like. Also try out the ODIN program so when you accidentally bork your phone you will know how to fix it right away.

Got it. I assume this is backing up to my SD card. Do I not wipe my SD card?
Thanks, this should be the last question!

tuttjs said:
Got it. I assume this is backing up to my SD card. Do I not wipe my SD card?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only way you will wipe your SD card is if you partition it for A2SD support. The factory reset wipes all your data and might be a good idea if you are going from one rom/kernel to another. CWM backs up to your SD card. I have about 6 backups and can restore several different roms if I want. If you try all the roms out and make backups of all them it will be easy to go back to what you want.
A program called ROM Manager will make it easy to rename your backups.

Complete wipe/reformat to start brand new

I've searched around various forums to learn how to do a complete wipe of the system to start completely brand new. I'm not talking about simply deleting user data, but system folders as well that may have gotten modified over time. I'm looking for the equivalent of an iPhone restore (it completely wipes out everything and loads the specified firmware).
So far I've seen people saying just to click on factory reset/restore in Android's settings or in CWM, but those only take care of user settings and files. I've also seen some people say that what I want is not possible.
Please clear it up for me. Is there a way to wipe everything (or reformat) to start off new with a chosen firmware from Asus? If not, then what's the closest thing I could do to achieve what I want?
Thanks

+1
need to go back to the start. sick of the android.launcher always force closing.
help would be appreciated.

I just did this yesterday by following the unroot guide on the sticky page. It takes you back to a 8.2.something ROM with the stock recovery and then the OTA brought me right back up to the latest .11 fw.
IT also wiped CWM and now it's bone stock.

zeus2you said:
I just did this yesterday by following the unroot guide on the sticky page. It takes you back to a 8.2.something ROM with the stock recovery and then the OTA brought me right back up to the latest .11 fw.
IT also wiped CWM and now it's bone stock.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me like this just removes/replaces the rooted files with the regular stock files, then loads the stock ROM over existing files. Yes it will appear as if you are back to out-of-box stock, but I believe you will still have random leftover files spread throughout your filesystem that had to do with modifications to root or whatever.
I'm looking for the equivalent of PC's reformat hard drive, install OS.

Spd2Last said:
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems to me like this just removes/replaces the rooted files with the regular stock files, then loads the stock ROM over existing files. Yes it will appear as if you are back to out-of-box stock, but I believe you will still have random leftover files spread throughout your filesystem that had to do with modifications to root or whatever.
I'm looking for the equivalent of PC's reformat hard drive, install OS.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went a similar route, mainly by accident. I went through NVflash, which i believe formats and recreates partitions and will flash a rom of your choice. I went straight from format to prime 1.5 in this way. Qualitatively, it does appear a bit snappier than my previous install (root from factory > upgrade to prime).

yeah! i have noticed the leftover files etc too..
I would love to know if you found a way, specially how to format /sdcard and the internal storage

Backwardsblade said:
I went a similar route, mainly by accident. I went through NVflash, which i believe formats and recreates partitions and will flash a rom of your choice. I went straight from format to prime 1.5 in this way. Qualitatively, it does appear a bit snappier than my previous install (root from factory > upgrade to prime).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is there a way to customize what it is you want to flash? I've only found guides on how to use nvflash with a permade packages.

Issue installing "Energy" ROM on Droid Razr M

Hi guys, I am trying to flash this ROM, I have to tell you that it is the first time I am doing it, but having problem. I have razr M rooted with supperSU, safestrep 3.11. I rebooted into SS3.11 and tried to create a ROM Slot, but it does nothing. I go to either rom slot out of 4 and see options, but nothing happens when I press create ROM button. I do message Space :0MB at the botom, although I have at least 10GB free on SD card and at least 2.5GB on the internal memory. Can you pelase help-Gene

gene.volchenko said:
Hi guys, I am trying to flash this ROM, I have to tell you that it is the first time I am doing it, but having problem. I have razr M rooted with supperSU, safestrep 3.11. I rebooted into SS3.11 and tried to create a ROM Slot, but it does nothing. I go to either rom slot out of 4 and see options, but nothing happens when I press create ROM button. I do message Space :0MB at the botom, although I have at least 10GB free on SD card and at least 2.5GB on the internal memory. Can you pelase help-Gene
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also replied to your question on DroidRzr.com.
When you create a new ROM slot in SS, all it does is setup the partitions for you to safely flash a new ROM. After the ROM slot is created, you need to choose the "Install" option for that ROM slot. Then, you will choose the "Energy ROM" zip from your SD. Make sure you only install aftermarket ROMs in one of the additional ROM slots, not in stock. Once you are comfortable with the new ROM, there are ways to install the ROM in the stock slot, but that will come in play later on

RikRong said:
I also replied to your question on DroidRzr.com.
When you create a new ROM slot in SS, all it does is setup the partitions for you to safely flash a new ROM. After the ROM slot is created, you need to choose the "Install" option for that ROM slot. Then, you will choose the "Energy ROM" zip from your SD. Make sure you only install aftermarket ROMs in one of the additional ROM slots, not in stock. Once you are comfortable with the new ROM, there are ways to install the ROM in the stock slot, but that will come in play later on
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He nailed it. I will note that you say you have as 3.11. The latest for the RAZR M is 3.12. It can be found on droidrzr.com. Good luck!

timpohladthomas said:
He nailed it. I will note that you say you have as 3.11. The latest for the RAZR M is 3.12. It can be found on droidrzr.com. Good luck!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I installed V3.12, although in the applications view it says V3.12 and when I go to the safestrap recovery it says v3.11 (TWRP v2.2.2.1) strange ??
I go in Boot Options/ROM-Slot-1 chose wither 1GB, or 2GB or 3GB while System partition size of 1024MB and Cache partition size of 300 MB are already selected, at the bottom I see "Free Space:0MB (while I still have 10GB of SD and 3GB of internal free memory). Create ROM slot button does notv respond or does nothing when I press it.
Can you please help? Gene

gene.volchenko said:
I installed V3.12, although in the applications view it says V3.12 and when I go to the safestrap recovery it says v3.11 (TWRP v2.2.2.1) strange ??
I go in Boot Options/ROM-Slot-1 chose wither 1GB, or 2GB or 3GB while System partition size of 1024MB and Cache partition size of 300 MB are already selected, at the bottom I see "Free Space:0MB (while I still have 10GB of SD and 3GB of internal free memory). Create ROM slot button does notv respond or does nothing when I press it.
Can you please help? Gene
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Safestrap must not be recognizing the free space on your internal sd card. I would recommend uninstalling safestrap, just to be safe confirm your root with root checker, and then install safestrap again. Just use a 1 gb rom slot to avoid any problems that may be occuring due to memory. Post back if the problem persists.

bgregs514 said:
Safestrap must not be recognizing the free space on your internal sd card. I would recommend uninstalling safestrap, just to be safe confirm your root with root checker, and then install safestrap again. Just use a 1 gb rom slot to avoid any problems that may be occuring due to memory. Post back if the problem persists.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi, I finally was able to install the ROM and power the phone up, but cannot really enjoy it, because cannot use company emails... My company requires storage formatting and wile this option exist on this ROM, it looks like it does not work, neither through the option provided via exchange remote service nor locally by going to settings\ security\format. Is there an option to do that? Also I am constantly running on the low memory. I wiped all apps from stock rom slot, did factory reset and wiped cashe etc, allocated 2gb to Rom slot1 and after installing rom there, before any apps installed, I only have 1.1gb free. Is there any way to increase storage? Last but not least camera with phosphere works even kind of in sphere mode, but the alignment movement is as slow as it could possibly be, it takes a min to move from first picture to the second. Did any guys experienced that?
Thanks a lot in advance for help---Gene

gene.volchenko said:
Hi, I finally was able to install the ROM and power the phone up, but cannot really enjoy it, because cannot use company emails... My company requires storage formatting and wile this option exist on this ROM, it looks like it does not work, neither through the option provided via exchange remote service nor locally by going to settings\ security\format. Is there an option to do that? Also I am constantly running on the low memory. I wiped all apps from stock rom slot, did factory reset and wiped cashe etc, allocated 2gb to Rom slot1 and after installing rom there, before any apps installed, I only have 1.1gb free. Is there any way to increase storage? Last but not least camera with phosphere works even kind of in sphere mode, but the alignment movement is as slow as it could possibly be, it takes a min to move from first picture to the second. Did any guys experienced that?
Thanks a lot in advance for help---Gene
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As far as the email goes, I'm not sure. I'm not sure which ROM you're using now, but I believe that the 4.2 camera that is available on the ROMs for our phone isn't fully functional yet. Last I checked photoshpere doesn't work, but I could be wrong. The way I increased storage on my phone was to install my new ROM on to the stock partition. This is possible with safestrap, but you will want to make sure you have a backup of your stock ROM just in case something goes wrong. Once you make the backup of your stock ROM, download the custom ROM on to a different partition and set it up as you like. Then, make a backup of the custom ROM in recovery. Delete the partition that you created for the custom ROM and RESTORE the custom ROM backup on the stock partition. Restoring is important because installing does not work (I bricked my phone doing that). Then install safestrap on your new custom ROM and enjoy all the free space you had with your stock ROM!

bgregs514 said:
As far as the email goes, I'm not sure. I'm not sure which ROM you're using now, but I believe that the 4.2 camera that is available on the ROMs for our phone isn't fully functional yet. Last I checked photoshpere doesn't work, but I could be wrong. The way I increased storage on my phone was to install my new ROM on to the stock partition. This is possible with safestrap, but you will want to make sure you have a backup of your stock ROM just in case something goes wrong. Once you make the backup of your stock ROM, download the custom ROM on to a different partition and set it up as you like. Then, make a backup of the custom ROM in recovery. Delete the partition that you created for the custom ROM and RESTORE the custom ROM backup on the stock partition. Restoring is important because installing does not work (I bricked my phone doing that). Then install safestrap on your new custom ROM and enjoy all the free space you had with your stock ROM!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so here is the issue that I'm having. I have everything set up (SafeStrap, downloaded Eclipse v1.2 ROM, have it saved to my SD card), but when I go to actually flash the ROM, the screen says that it failed/unable to flash. I've tried removing the ROM slot, creating it again, and still getting the same issue. Also tried going into the stock recovery and clearing the cache partition from there, wiping the data, etc. Still got nothing. So now I'm really confused as far as what the problem is?

jase5273 said:
Okay, so here is the issue that I'm having. I have everything set up (SafeStrap, downloaded Eclipse v1.2 ROM, have it saved to my SD card), but when I go to actually flash the ROM, the screen says that it failed/unable to flash. I've tried removing the ROM slot, creating it again, and still getting the same issue. Also tried going into the stock recovery and clearing the cache partition from there, wiping the data, etc. Still got nothing. So now I'm really confused as far as what the problem is?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's been a while since I've used SafeStrap so I'm not completely sure what the issue could be. Are you opposed to unlocking your bootloader? If not, there's a great selection of ROMs out there that are very amazing. Our phone has been receiving a lot of dev support lately and they have put much time in to some of these newer ROMs. I would recommend unlocking and installing a custom recovery to flash these with. There are many stock based ROMs out there that you can choose from if you prefer those, or there is a great deal of CM support as well. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a message and I can walk you through the steps of unlocking and installing a custom recovery!

bgregs514 said:
It's been a while since I've used SafeStrap so I'm not completely sure what the issue could be. Are you opposed to unlocking your bootloader? If not, there's a great selection of ROMs out there that are very amazing. Our phone has been receiving a lot of dev support lately and they have put much time in to some of these newer ROMs. I would recommend unlocking and installing a custom recovery to flash these with. There are many stock based ROMs out there that you can choose from if you prefer those, or there is a great deal of CM support as well. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a message and I can walk you through the steps of unlocking and installing a custom recovery!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well here's the thing. I don't think that I can unlock my bootloader now. I've tried using the steps that were provided, but I guess that since I just got the phone a few days ago, it's downright impossible for me to do so. That's why I installed SafeStrap - because of that issue. If it was possible for me to unlock my bootloader now, I sure as heck would rather do that than go through the process I've gone through for the past couple of days. I will send you a message, and maybe you can help me out with unlocking the bootloader if it's possible?

http://vulnfactory.org/blog/2013/04/08/motorola-bootloader-unlocking/
This is the only way that Ive been able to unlock my bootloader, run this utility and if it says Status code: 3 you are in luck! Even if it doesnt have the Unlocked Bootloader Warning upon startup you still are unlocked.
Good luck!

Some questions about Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and root/ROMs, etc.

Just got a GTab 2 7.0 a few days ago. A P3113, so only 8GB of storage, about half of which is the ROM and crap apps. I've rooted before (had a KF 1st gen when it came out), and just wondering about a few things with the GTab:
Right now, I don't mind the stock ROM so much. There are problem things that would be "nice to have", but right now, would like to generally stay as "stock" as possible. That being said, I'd still like to "de-crap" the ROM to free up some storage space, and I assume that might lead to it running a bit better, since so much seems to just pop-in while running other apps. So:
I know I need to root first, so my first question - how reliable is that? I'm on a Mac, but have access to a netbook running Win7, so could run Odin to "get things done". I'd hate to brick the thing, still having 51 weeks of warranty left. (I also understand that I might want to install something else to keep the flash count from showing it's been flashed).
Once root'ed, is it better to use one of the "de-crapped" ROMs floating around? And if so, which seems "best" (yeah, I know the moderators hate the "which is best" - I'm looking for stock - and STABLE)
Or, is it better to eliminate the apps myself? (Not sure if this is a wholesale "rm" to remove certain apps from a terminal app, using adb, or if they have some uninstallers embedded somewhere, or...) - so better to use one of the ROMs floating around?
Is the GTab 2 "stable", so even if you trash a ROM, you can still get into the ROM manager to restore a previously working, or stock, ROM?
I'll probably come up with a couple more questions, especially depending on the replies... TIA

Hi..
I can answer some of your questions. I hope that helps!
1- Rooting is easy and reliable. you may use "CF-Auto-Root" tool (search for it in XDA forum).
But you need to remember that rooting and custom ROMs void your warranty.
2- If you just need to free some storage space, you may use an app such as "Clean Master" to uninstall system apps and get rid of temp and junk files.
3- If you opt to use a custom ROM make sure it is very well supported and maintained.

aisais said:
Hi..
I can answer some of your questions. I hope that helps!
1- Rooting is easy and reliable. you may use "CF-Auto-Root" tool (search for it in XDA forum).
But you need to remember that rooting and custom ROMs void your warranty.
2- If you just need to free some storage space, you may use an app such as "Clean Master" to uninstall system apps and get rid of temp and junk files.
3- If you opt to use a custom ROM make sure it is very well supported and maintained.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - but prior to using Clean Master I assume I better either get a stock image to reload, or use CWM so I can make a backup of the ROM before messing something up?

tundrwd said:
Thanks - but prior to using Clean Master I assume I better either get a stock image to reload, or use CWM so I can make a backup of the ROM before messing something up?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Taking a backup is always good thing to do. I suggest you try clean master to know how it works and what does it do.

aisais said:
Taking a backup is always good thing to do. I suggest you try clean master to know how it works and what does it do.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks - I plan to use Clean Master. Allows me to be selective about what I remove/move, instead of getting a ROM from someone and they removed the ONE THING I really wanted.

Ok, got it rooted and CWM installed.
HOWEVER, when I boot into CWM, I DON'T see an option to backup my ROM (I've used TWRP before on my KF, so the menu is different).
What I've got on my screen in CWM:
Android system recover <3e>
Volume up/down to move highlight;
power button to select.
reboot system now
apply update from ADB
apply update from external storage
wipe data/factory reset
wipe cache partition
apply update from cache​
That's it. Where's the option to do a ROM backup? Oh, used file P3113_SAMSUNG_RECOVERY_SUPERSU-0.96_BUSYBOX-1.20.2.tar.md5.zip Had CWM and Root all in one. I do have GT-P3113_ClockworkMod-Recovery_6.0.1.0.tar as well. Should I just go through procedure again to flash this CWM? Will it still retain SU?

nandroid backup ok to use? Seems it's just a wrapper for a backup script...

Ok - I'll reply to myself.
I don't know what was wrong with the CWM I installed via the aforementioned file (P3113_SAMSUNG_RECOVERY_SUPERSU-0.96_BUSYBOX-1.20.2.tar.md5.zip), but I went to the CWM site, D/L'ed the latest touch enabled CWM for the P3113 (6.0.2.3, I believe), and installed it over the existing recovery image on the device (I had to create my own .tar.md5 - easy with *nix).
Anyway, I now have access to the backup options by scrolling down. The image from P3113_SAMSUNG_RECOVERY_SUPERSU-0.96_BUSYBOX-1.20.2.tar.md5.zip, simply wouldn't scroll beyond what I listed earlier. Now can scroll down, make backups, etc.
Haven't tried yet to re-install the image I made with nandroid - I'm a bit leery of that - so I'll just get the stock 4.1.1 ROM from sammobile, and keep it around....

tundrwd said:
Ok - I'll reply to myself.
I don't know what was wrong with the CWM I installed via the aforementioned file (P3113_SAMSUNG_RECOVERY_SUPERSU-0.96_BUSYBOX-1.20.2.tar.md5.zip), but I went to the CWM site, D/L'ed the latest touch enabled CWM for the P3113 (6.0.2.3, I believe), and installed it over the existing recovery image on the device (I had to create my own .tar.md5 - easy with *nix).
Anyway, I now have access to the backup options by scrolling down. The image from P3113_SAMSUNG_RECOVERY_SUPERSU-0.96_BUSYBOX-1.20.2.tar.md5.zip, simply wouldn't scroll beyond what I listed earlier. Now can scroll down, make backups, etc.
Haven't tried yet to re-install the image I made with nandroid - I'm a bit leery of that - so I'll just get the stock 4.1.1 ROM from sammobile, and keep it around....
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's exactly what I did today, grabbed the stock image for a backup, rooted with Odin and CWM then flashed a CM based 4.3 ROM. Piece of cake.

[Q] Simplified Root Instructions?

This is the first time I've ever rooted an Android device. The process has been fraught with uncertainty and misinformation from around the internet. I'd like to describe what I have come to understand is the current preferred method, and ask a few questions to hopefully get my S5 where I want it to be.
I don't want to do anything to crazy (yet, anyway). I just want to remove some bloat and get the notification panel as close to vanilla Android as possible.
So far, I have ran towelroot, which was incredibly simple.
I installed SuperSU from the Play Store. During installation, it got stuck at "Disabling KNOX...". I have since learned that this is common and a reboot usually fixes it. However, I have also learned that I probably don't want to disable KNOX yet anyway, since I am not going to flash a custom ROM until there is one that is known to be stable and is able to create the vanilla Android experience that I want. Some people said that I should have installed SuperSU from chainfire's page instead of the Play Store, but I think that was old information.
Edit: I'm editing these steps as I go along:
1. Install busybox and the Safestrap APK
2. Use Safestrap to set up a new ROM slot and use that slot from now on (consider the italics a strikethrough)
^Even though the instruction video on the Safestrap page said this, apparently that's not what most people do. They use Safestrap to make a nandroid backup, and then use only one slot, the stock ROM slot, to experiment or flash a new ROM.
3. Install Titanium Backup
Edit: I also had to install SD KitKat Fixer and then reboot afterward to allow TB to write to the SD card...
4. Use Titanium Backup to backup all apps and data to SD card
5. Use Titanium to freeze processes that I carefully choose
Edit: I froze everything from the list here.
6. Install Xposed framework
7. Find the modules to customize Android how I want
Does that sound right? Any tips/advice?

ergalthema said:
So far, I have ran towelroot, which was incredibly simple.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
By doing this, you are rooted.
Even if you are not going to flash a custom rom, you can and probably should disable KNOX. Doing so will not trip the counter.
Install busybox and the Safestrap APK - This is indeed necessary if you want to install another ROM to customize. The whole point of safestrap is to flash ROMs and is not related to rooting itself. The other use of Safestrap is to create a complete backup of your current system so that if you mess something up, you can restore to a known, working state.
Use Safestrap to set up a new ROM slot and use that slot from now on - This is fine if you want to switch between ROMs. I know some people like to do this, but I am not one of them.
Install Titanium Backup - absolutely
Use Titanium to freeze processes that I carefully choose - correct and there are threads with lists of APKs to freeze. You will also want to make sure you freeze SDM so that it doesn't prompt for security updates.
Use Titanium as a backup? (not sure about this) - this is to backup your apps, texts, things like that but NOT your ROM
Install Xposed framework
Find the modules to customize Android how I want

jcollier said:
Install busybox and the Safestrap APK - This is indeed necessary if you want to install another ROM to customize. The whole point of safestrap is to flash ROMs and is not related to rooting itself. The other use of Safestrap is to create a complete backup of your current system so that if you mess something up, you can restore to a known, working state.
Use Safestrap to set up a new ROM slot and use that slot from now on - This is fine if you want to switch between ROMs. I know some people like to do this, but I am not one of them.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first step in installing Xposed in this thread is to do a nandroid backup. I'm not totally sure what that is, but someone in another thread said implied that Safestrap essentially does the same thing. That is why I was planning to use Safestrap.

ergalthema said:
The first step in installing Xposed in this thread is to do a nandroid backup. I'm not totally sure what that is, but someone in another thread said implied that Safestrap essentially does the same thing. That is why I was planning to use Safestrap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is what I meant by this: "The other use of Safestrap is to create a complete backup of your current system so that if you mess something up, you can restore to a known, working state."
A nandroid is a backup image of your system so that you can restore it if you screw something up. Safestrap isn't "essentially" doing the same thing, it is doing exactly that thing. Safestrap is a way to make a custom recovery work on our phone without an unlocked bootloader.

Good advice up to here, but you might want to hold off on using Exposed. As I understand it, Exposed lets you tinker with the existing stock ROM. I don't think I would want to do that, and I have rooted and ROM flashed several Android devices over the years. But its up to you.
With your being new to rooting, I'll offer this advice:
Titanium Backup (a.k.a. "TIBU") is a good way to back up all your apps. Here are some suggestions in using it:
--Buy the PRO version. It has more features, is not very expensive, and helps support a really cool app that is very handy.
--Set the Preferences/Backup folder to your REAL external SD Card. It will default to internal storage (also called "sd card"....don't get me started lol) which is IMO totally useless. If you lose internal storage due to corruption or whatever, you would lose all your backups. Having them on the REAL SD card you can also archive them to your PC.
--Set your Max Backup History to some number larger than the default "1". I use 7. Why? Well, have you ever seen the developer of one of your favorite apps suddenly screw it completely up in some update? Or, worse yet, sell out to some other vendor who now made it a PAY SUBSCRIPTION app?? I have. By keeping multiple backups you can roll back in time to previous versions that you know WORKED when those things happen. I have several apps I will never update, especially on the Store, for various reasons. (TIBU used to be able to disconnect the link to the Store so apps didn't try to update, but Google broke their ability to do that).
--When you do make TIBU backups, select "app and system data" which is IMO incorrectly worded and causes confusion. It should read "app and APP data". Because that is what it really does. Backs up the data IN your system that is associated ONLY with the APP. NOT any "system files". When you restore a backup, restore "app and system data" and you not only get the app installed, you get all your data it created, as well as all your customized settings restored! It is a real time saver. And you can "usually" even do this with a new device, using the TIBU backup folder on an SD card you had in some previous Android device. I've done it many times.
Safestrap installs a custom version of TWRP recovery. From that you can make the aforementioned "nandroid" backups of your complete system. (You won't see the word "nandroid" in TWRP while you are doing this. It just calls them backups). Couple of caveats with TWRP (and the Safestrap version):
--The date/time stamp used in both TWRP and its alternative, Clockworkmod Recovery (CW) will always be wrong. I've read (in short) there is no way for them to fix it. BUT........you most certainly CAN edit the backup file name to be whatever you like while setting it up to make the backup. So I recommend deleting the portion of the name that is the screwed up date it will generate, and putting in a date you can read, like my preferred format of 2014-07-10-1727 which is today at 5:27 PM, or whatever format you like.
--By default, TWRP recovery uses (in the Advanced settings) an inane "power saving" feature of the display, which will maddeningly keep turning it off and making you think the phone died while it is in the middle of making your backup. A - ALWAYS keep your phone on the charger when working in Recovery!! Don't even start unless it has at least 40% charge. B- Turn OFF the inane "power saving feature" and get some peace of mind. The screen will stay lit forever, until you reboot system when you are done.
--By default, TWRP will be set to use INTERNAL STORAGE as the place to keep your nandroids. Again, I consider that a very bad idea. Use a REAL External SD card and keep them there. And make regular backups to your PC of the SD card. I've seen a great many SD cards suddenly fail without warning. Your device will pop up and tell you the SD card is corrupt, and you need to format it. Usually, there is no way to recover the lost data on the card when that happens.
--On my Galaxy S5, making a nandroid of the stock OS via Safestrap took up over 4GB! That is almost 4 x what I normally see making a nandroid of a custom ROM on some previous device. So make sure you have plenty of room on whatever SD card you choose to use.

jcollier said:
Even if you are not going to flash a custom rom, you can and probably should disable KNOX. Doing so will not trip the counter.
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I didn't know it wouldn't trip the counter. I'm curious why I should disable it though.

I followed the video exactly and when I get to the point of the first Restore (around 9:00), it says "Restore Complete - Failed". There is a button to Reboot System. When I tap that, the phone won't turn on. I have to pull the batter to get it back on. I guess I'll be uninstalling Safestrap. If I "Uninstall Recovery" from the stock ROM slot, will the space be freed up again and the phone be returned to the same state as before I tried using Safestrap?

ergalthema said:
I followed the video exactly and when I get to the point of the first Restore (around 9:00), it says "Restore Complete - Failed". There is a button to Reboot System. When I tap that, the phone won't turn on. I have to pull the batter to get it back on. I guess I'll be uninstalling Safestrap. If I "Uninstall Recovery" from the stock ROM slot, will the space be freed up again and the phone be returned to the same state as before I tried using Safestrap?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
May I ask what it is that you are restoring? Have you already made a (nandroid) backup? That's what the restore function is made to restore. If you tried to use Restore on some other kind of file, then it would try to overwrite your ROM (OS) with it, and make the phone unusable. If that happens, I think your only fix would be to Odin back to stock and start over from scratch. I believe there is a link to do that in the thread telling how to root the S5.

Zoandroid said:
May I ask what it is that you are restoring? Have you already made a (nandroid) backup?
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The video at 9:00 explains it. I think it is basically flashing the backup I made of the stock ROM to the newly created ROM slot in order to begin running from the new ROM slot.

ergalthema said:
The video at 9:00 explains it. I think it is basically flashing the backup I made of the stock ROM to the newly created ROM slot in order to begin running from the new ROM slot.
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Click to collapse
Oh, OK. Since there aren't any ROMs available yet, I did not pursue that aspect of Safestrap. So you have stepped outside my range of experience with it. Hopefully someone else can help you.
If you get to a point in your endeavors where you find a solution to apply ad-blocking to the S5, please let me know in a PM. I've had no luck so far. It appears this will be yet another issue that will only be solved with some creative developer work. Google has done something in KitKat to block not only apps like Ad-Aware and Adblock Plus from working, they also seem to have some kind of snooper utility that, if you try to search online with the S5 for ad blocking, will pop up a browser page saying Google "cannot access" the page! Pages which my PCs can see easily. Crafty little PITAs for sure! I thought it might just be Chrome doing this, so when I tried to get Firefox from the Store, I was stuck in an endless downloading loop. I had to kill that and restore a copy from TIBU. They are doing everything they can think of to lock down a smartphone and spoon feed us only what THEY want us to see. Including copious advertisements.
There was a time when Android meant "freedom". I guess that time has passed. Now it is time for someone else with very deep pockets to re-kindle a hassle-free smartphone OS. It is a shame. Android has so much potential.

ergalthema said:
The video at 9:00 explains it. I think it is basically flashing the backup I made of the stock ROM to the newly created ROM slot in order to begin running from the new ROM slot.
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Click to collapse
Why flash the stock ROM in a newly created ROM slot? You should only create a ROM slot if you decide to run a custom ROM. If not, you can use safestrap to create the backup (nandroid) and save it to your SD card so you always have a "safe" restore point essentially. I run a custom ROM in my stock slot. And for the record... There are several ROMs in the development section which are quite stable. Also, you can check out the Safestrap thread there as well. If you read through the thread you'll have a better understanding of how it works and what bugs there are right now.
The thing that I find great about XDA is that folks will always try to help each other out. Good luck!
Sent from my SM-G900V using XDA Premium 4 mobile app

Do we have a thread where folks are reporting having tried various versions of the available ROMs for the Verizon S5, and can make a simple statement about what works and what doesn't? I think that would be a really good idea. Without something like that, the only way to really know which ones are trouble free is to slog through and read each and every post on every ROM thread, most of which will usually be outdated information anyway.
Maybe it could be done as a Poll so it doesn't grow into something just as long to read as the above.

Zoandroid said:
Do we have a thread where folks are reporting having tried various versions of the available ROMs for the Verizon S5, and can make a simple statement about what works and what doesn't? I think that would be a really good idea. Without something like that, the only way to really know which ones are trouble free is to slog through and read each and every post on every ROM thread, most of which will usually be outdated information anyway.
Maybe it could be done as a Poll so it doesn't grow into something just as long to read as the above.
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That would be great - especially for the people who aren't on this site all day and don't know what is good and current.
shoresteve626 said:
Why flash the stock ROM in a newly created ROM slot? You should only create a ROM slot if you decide to run a custom ROM. If not, you can use safestrap to create the backup (nandroid) and save it to your SD card so you always have a "safe" restore point essentially. I run a custom ROM in my stock slot. And for the record... There are several ROMs in the development section which are quite stable.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm realizing that's probably what most people do. In the instructional video posted on the main Safestrap OP, it instructed to keep the original stock slot intact, and use a new slot for experimenting with another ROM. I would love to know a stable ROM that gives the most vanilla Android.