Database Users

Can you reverse flashing a recovery image?

Hi Guys,
I'm a little new to all this so please bear with me..
Just rooted my MT4g and want to make a nandroid backup before i do anything. However i see that i need to use CWM to flash a custom recovery image in order to make the backup.
Is there anyway to reverse that recovery image back to stock? Incase i need to revert the phone completely back to stock...
Thanks.

Sorry, i think i found it!
I'm guessing this is it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=843289
Please close this thread if that's it.. sorry for spamming.

If you completed the root process then you already have CwM recovery. Just use Rom Manager to make a backup. If you have to revert back to stock the process will reinstall the stock recovery img for you.
shortskoolbus said:
Hi Guys,
I'm a little new to all this so please bear with me..
Just rooted my MT4g and want to make a nandroid backup before i do anything. However i see that i need to use CWM to flash a custom recovery image in order to make the backup.
Is there anyway to reverse that recovery image back to stock? Incase i need to revert the phone completely back to stock...
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Hmm okay. I did successfully root the device and I was following this write up to backup the phone using nandroid which says i need to flash a custom recovery ROM.
I just tried to backup current ROM and it gives me a message saying i must flash CwM recovery first and gives me an option to install it. But i'm guessing it's possible to restore that from the link in my second post?

You can use clockwork to restore your factory rom, but if you want to revert your recovery back to stock you will need to fastboot flash the stock recovery back on. This is assuming you have first flashed the stock rom which will leave you without clockwork rom manager installed. There's a few unroot guides that will help you if you need to send your phone back to tmo. I would suggest becoming familiar with ADB and Fastboot. That knowledge will give you more options in a pinch.
Swyped on my rooted MyTouch4G

Thanks much!
Yes i am doing a lot of reading right now, but wanted to make sure all the files i needed were out there for the MT4G already. Looks like the factory recovery is out there and it can be flashed back so i'm not to worried.

shortskoolbus said:
Thanks much!
Yes i am doing a lot of reading right now, but wanted to make sure all the files i needed were out there for the MT4G already. Looks like the factory recovery is out there and it can be flashed back so i'm not to worried.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes all the files are out there that you would need to pretty much do whatever needed. Check out the links in my sig for some good things.

Change recovery, then restore rom

Hi,
Couple weeks ago I tried Ubuntu for phones. The install failed (yeah I know, Ubuntu...), wiped my phone, and installed a crappy recovery instead of my beloved touch recovery.
Now I'd like to reinstall the touch recovery instead of the crappy canonical's one, but I don't want to lose everything on my phone.
How can I backup my rom and settings on my computer, install the good recovery, then restore all my datas ?
Thanks for help !

up

Never tried Ubuntu, but I hope the standard recovery update script works the same on yours.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1995440
You don't need to wipe anything to install a new recovery.

ksilver89 said:
Never tried Ubuntu, but I hope the standard recovery update script works the same on yours.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1995440
You don't need to wipe anything to install a new recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That was simple ! Thank you very much.

Major Problem using TWRP

Hey guys, I am not new to this scene and have been running, flashing, roms since the S2. Today I ran into a major problem I cant seem to fix. I am running TWRP 2.5.0.2, always have for about 4 months with no issues. Today I did a complete Titanium Backup + recovery backup of my rom. After that I wiped for a fresh new rom install and noticed the rom I placed onto my internal storage is not there (it was def there in its own folder but through TWRP its not there). No biggie right? Just mount USB storage and put it somewhere else that TWRP can get to, but then USB wont mount on Windows now. No biggie right? Ill just restore the rom, put it in another directory, then wipe and reflash. However none of my backups are showing up when I hit restore, I had like 3 backups and everything is gone.
At this point what do I do? I tried everything to mount usb from recovery but windows wont take it (win 7). Any help would be appreciated, thanks.

doesntmatterx said:
Hey guys, I am not new to this scene and have been running, flashing, roms since the S2. Today I ran into a major problem I cant seem to fix. I am running TWRP 2.5.0.2, always have for about 4 months with no issues. Today I did a complete Titanium Backup + recovery backup of my rom. After that I wiped for a fresh new rom install and noticed the rom I placed onto my internal storage is not there (it was def there in its own folder but through TWRP its not there). No biggie right? Just mount USB storage and put it somewhere else that TWRP can get to, but then USB wont mount on Windows now. No biggie right? Ill just restore the rom, put it in another directory, then wipe and reflash. However none of my backups are showing up when I hit restore, I had like 3 backups and everything is gone.
At this point what do I do? I tried everything to mount usb from recovery but windows wont take it (win 7). Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nevermind guys I was able to get around it by putting the SD card from my S4 into the S2 and putting the rom files into another location. Once that was done placed it back into the S4, booted into recovery and flashed it. (phew!)

doesntmatterx said:
Nevermind guys I was able to get around it by putting the SD card from my S4 into the S2 and putting the rom files into another location. Once that was done placed it back into the S4, booted into recovery and flashed it. (phew!)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good:

xBeerdroiDx said:
:good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I take it back, stuck in a boot loop even after 2 fresh ODIN unroot tasks. Nothing I do gets me out of this, been a long day getting longer now

Can anyone help? Been at it for hours, I have tried everything, phone still reboots at the Samsung logo (the bluish one )
Unrooted 3 times
Launched stock recovery, wiped factory reset
wiped partition cache
removed battery
Cannot connect to Kies for Emergency restore.

Did you do an internal 'sd card'/media data wipe?
Best bet would be to Odin back to stock and start from scratch:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Then from there just use casual to root and install TWRP in one easy step and you're back:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2297900

seanpr123 said:
Did you do an internal 'sd card'/media data wipe?
Best bet would be to Odin back to stock and start from scratch:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2261573
Then from there just use casual to root and install TWRP in one easy step and you're back:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2297900
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I know what I did, I was using Touchwiz and instead of doing a regular wipe I did a format and input "YES". I heard TW has major issues with this and thus screwed me up completely.
To add to my list above I tried this method and also did not work. http://androidfannetwork.com/2013/05/02/fix-your-soft-bricked-att-samsung-galaxy-s4/
Sean, I flashed from Odin like 3 times, how can I install TWRP if I cant get the phone to load up (boot loop)- Ill read up on casual. Thanks.

doesntmatterx said:
I know what I did, I was using Touchwiz and instead of doing a regular wipe I did a format and input "YES". I heard TW has major issues with this and thus screwed me up completely.
To add to my list above I tried this method and also did not work. http://androidfannetwork.com/2013/05/02/fix-your-soft-bricked-att-samsung-galaxy-s4/
Sean, I flashed from Odin like 3 times, how can I install TWRP if I cant get the phone to load up (boot loop)- Ill read up on casual. Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you do a factory reset in the stock recovery after Odin? That'll usually get you past the boot loop.

Should I ODIN with the RE-Partition Option?

Just Odined again and no dice. I booted into stock recovery and noticed after wiping factory I get "Can't open /efs/log/boot_cause" which pointed me to this fix someone on the Galaxy note forum said they did and it worked but I dont understand the steps, need some elaboration.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=39523753&postcount=4

jd1639 said:
Did you do a factory reset in the stock recovery after Odin? That'll usually get you past the boot loop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yep did that mulitple times, also did wipe cache partition in the same stock recovery. I get to the Samsung logo where the blue halo spins around the name, then it freezes there and reboots.

Hmm, never had to mess with EFS stuff on our phones before.
Did you make a backup ever in TWRP by chance?
Sorry if you tried the stock recovery options there's not much more I'm familiar with.
The good news is since you were able to Odin and get 3e back, you are technically warrantied again and could work with AT&T to get a new phone since your phone just stopped working out of the blue one day

seanpr123 said:
Hmm, never had to mess with EFS stuff on our phones before.
Did you make a backup ever in TWRP by chance?
Sorry if you tried the stock recovery options there's not much more I'm familiar with.
The good news is since you were able to Odin and get 3e back, you are technically warrantied again and could work with AT&T to get a new phone since your phone just stopped working out of the blue one day
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL thanks, yes I may have to do that. I had a backup and it was wiped.

Anyone have any suggestions at all? I can't be the only one who has had this boot-loop / partition problem without a fix... or maybe I am lol.

doesntmatterx said:
Anyone have any suggestions at all? I can't be the only one who has had this boot-loop / partition problem without a fix... or maybe I am lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try flashing using cwm. It'll probably work fine. Then you can go back to twrp. That's worked on other devices. Seems one you flash it once with cwm then twrp works from that point forward. Idk why

doesntmatterx said:
Anyone have any suggestions at all? I can't be the only one who has had this boot-loop / partition problem without a fix... or maybe I am lol.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did your odin flashes include the pit files ? Have you tried flashing twrp or cwm with odin?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app

jds3118 said:
Did your odin flashes include the pit files ? Have you tried flashing twrp or cwm with odin?
Sent from my SCH-I545 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried flashing with a PIT file I found online but it fails through ODIN everytime. I tried on multiple versions of ODIN as well. I also cant seem to find readily available PIT files to test as well, (perhaps the one I used does not work). Also I did try to flash a CWM through ODIN but failed, but again there isnt anything that I have read that says "hey you can do this that way and it will work".
From what I understand I need to be rooted to install CWM or TWRP, and since I unrooted to try and fix the problem I cannot root myself through conventional methods. Everything I found online requires the phone to completely start up. (to the menu screen etc)

What stock firmware are you flashing with odin? I get firmware from sammobile.com. since you had a custom recovery I'm guessing you where on mdl firmware to start with.

jd1639 said:
What stock firmware are you flashing with odin? I get firmware from sammobile.com. since you had a custom recovery I'm guessing you where on mdl firmware to start with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never flashed a custom recovery through Odin < I can try that though, where can I get one? Im assuming this firmware will have root with CWM or TWRP?
Ive only flashed using official Samsung firmware from sammobile.com I tried both that are available for SGH-I337 with the PIT file as well and no dice.

doesntmatterx said:
I never flashed a custom recovery through Odin < I can try that though, where can I get one? Im assuming this firmware will have root with CWM or TWRP?
Ive only flashed using official Samsung firmware from sammobile.com I tried both that are available for SGH-I337 with the PIT file as well and no dice.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you know what firmware you were on? Was it mdl or mf3?

New here. Need help with soft bricked S4

Hey all.
Hope I am in the correct forum section.
I am having difficulty with flashing a custom rom and was hoping for some direction.
Can someone please confirm i am in the correct forum section I will give details of what has happened, what I have tried in my next post.

No1Daemon said:
Hey all.
Hope I am in the correct forum section.
I am having difficulty with flashing a custom rom and was hoping for some direction.
Can someone please confirm i am in the correct forum section I will give details of what has happened, what I have tried in my next post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Device/Phone model number?
Any samsung bootllop can be solved here though
"If someone helps, never forget to hit thanks ? "

Thanks for the reply
Some details then
Model is Samsung S4 GT-I9505
I rushed into booting and selected an aokp rom and then selected the latest apps file for it and got stuck in an endless boot loop.
I am now trying to install a GPE Rom
gpe-rom-for-galaxy-s4-android-4-4-4
I am still able to get into recovery and download mode.
I flashed philz_touch_6.15.6-jflte.tar.md5 using odin3 on windows then rebooted into recovery and did a clean up for new rom and factory reset then attempted to move the rom onto my phone and thats where I have run into trouble. I am trying to use adb to push the file into it because I seem to have somehow wiped the sdcard(i.e. in phil recovery under mounts and storage there is no /sdcard to mount or unmount.
Thins I tried:
Using a micro sd card and copying the file to it and inserting it in the phone and installing from /sdcard1 but it just aborts the install and gives me a failed error
I tried to push the file with adb by opening terminal cd to downloads where the rom is located and used
Code:
adb push rom.zip /data/media/0 rom.zip
but this never completes. it is supposed to return the size of the files but nothing happens. I know adb can see the phone as when I type adb devices I get back a response saying recovery
Can anyone give me any pointers or advice. Happy to start from scratch but so far every tutorial/discussion on installing roms etc i have followed has failed.
Incidentally I do not have a backup because I thought I made one successfully when I fist rooted but when I went to restore it it gave me a md5 hash invalid error
Thanks

Have you tried a different recovery? You can try TWRP 2.8.1.0 and see how it goes. Just us odin to flash the recovery and use a usb card reader to put the rom onto the SD Card. To be safe you can also try a different rom, if you are after a GPE rom, I recommend Dan's GPE rom.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2557353

That is one of the roms I was hoping to install before I successfully flashed it back to stock.
Will look into it.
I couldn't use a card reader to put the rom on because I was having difficulty reading the external sd card in recovery.
I tried many different recoveries. TWRP, CMR and Philz but had no luck with any of them.
Do you know if all packages get made into a complete rom to install with Odin? like I did with my stock rom?
Just seemed an easier way to install it.

My english is very bad.
Your back Stock Rom with Odín download firmware SamMobile.
Custom, download custom again its possible corrupt download, wipe data, system, caché, Factory reset.
You have use one recovery or not installing previous backup for MD5 Missmatch
Format SD in the phone.
Proccess very slow with Odín install Stock Rom, root, recovery, install custom
Try with recovery using for previous backup for restore backup.
Mi inglés es muy malo, en inglés no te lo puedo explicar mejor.

No1Daemon said:
That is one of the roms I was hoping to install before I successfully flashed it back to stock.
Will look into it.
I couldn't use a card reader to put the rom on because I was having difficulty reading the external sd card in recovery.
I tried many different recoveries. TWRP, CMR and Philz but had no luck with any of them.
Do you know if all packages get made into a complete rom to install with Odin? like I did with my stock rom?
Just seemed an easier way to install it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Dont flash a custom rom on an already bootlooped phone.
Either flash your stock rom or you can restore a backup via recovery.
Then start experimenting again..as flashing and more flashing and more more flashing on a bootloop can cause a few things to go crazy.
It is not recommended. But then your choice. Its not a big task of coming to a stock firmware then continuing with things...
"If someone helps, never forget to hit thanks ? "

DeepankarS said:
Its not a big task of coming to a stock firmware then continuing with things...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I found it a big task and I am used to this sort of thing. I got there eventually but thanks for the advice. Will keep that in mind in case I get stuck in a boot loop again.
Will pay more attention to backups etc when I flash the next one.

No1Daemon said:
I found it a big task and I am used to this sort of thing. I got there eventually but thanks for the advice. Will keep that in mind in case I get stuck in a boot loop again.
Will pay more attention to backups etc when I flash the next one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No generally what happens it people skip things while being hyper relating to flashing.
Basics are never to be left out. When adb terminals and things weren't there, the tedious processes were used to recover.
(flash stock..flash recovery..flash things then when you're in a boot loop if factory reset doesn't work)
And you should always have a backup+updated stock firmware handy.
If either doesn't work for you always have a support
"If someone helps, never forget to hit thanks ? "

GT-I9505 Constantly restarting

Hi all
Got an I9505 on O2 and since lollipop update it restarted a few times by itself. Now it keeps going into a loop where it will restart and the home screen loads, you can use it for about 20-30 seconds and it will reboot again!
Initially when I researched I though it was an app problem but couldn't find the culprit. Then I took it into the Samsung repair centre and they said it needed a clean flash by them. This didn't work and they fitted a new mother board and this still hasn't worked.
I can say that it has twice happened when the Wifi hasn't been working properly so I have turned it off but other than that I have no idea!
Also I have tried rebooting into safe mode but it still does it, aaarrrggghhhh!!!
Any ideas where I can go from here please?
P

Return to kitkat if you can. Otherwise use a custom rom. These would be my suggestions. Since Samsung's repair couldn't fix it, warranty should not be a problem anymore.

Thanks, I am more than willing to try a Custom ROM. Any recommendations? And how easy is it as never done before!

PJBXDA said:
Thanks, I am more than willing to try a Custom ROM. Any recommendations? And how easy is it as never done before!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's fairly easy. Depending on what S4 model you have. Some models have a locked bootloader and that makes the whole thing trickier.
This is what I did:
1) Root with CF-Auto-Root. Thread here.
2) Backup all my apps.
3) Install a custom recovery (TWRP). Download and instructions here.
4) Flash custom rom. Most roms have their own instructions.
You can skip 1 and 2 if you don't want to backup.
Installing a custom recovery can be done using Odin. I recommend TWRP since it's the only one I've used.
Lollipop GPE rom. I've used this rom and didn't have any issues. CM12 seems a bit faster, but the GPE was more stable and bug-free.

Thanks I tried to install the CM12 before you posted using the instructions there but it failed, I assume that it needs to be rooted.

PJBXDA said:
Thanks I tried to install the CM12 before you posted using the instructions there but it failed, I assume that it needs to be rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You need a custom recovery to install any rom. It doesn't matter if it's rooted or not.
Get a custom recovery. Get all the necessary zip files (rom, gapps, etc). Place all the zip files on the external sd card. Boot into the custom recovery. Wipe /data, /cache and /dalvik-cache.
Go to Install (if on TWRP), go to the location where you saved the downloaded rom zip and select it. The swipe the slider to begin flashing. Afterwards flash the gapps zip. Reboot.
Also, don't use the recovery posted in the CM12 thread. It was specially made by the dev and will convert your file system to f2fs. What it basically means is that it will wipe your internal storage completely.

GDReaper said:
You need a custom recovery to install any rom. It doesn't matter if it's rooted or not.
Get a custom recovery. Get all the necessary zip files (rom, gapps, etc). Place all the zip files on the external sd card. Boot into the custom recovery. Wipe /data, /cache and /dalvik-cache.
Thanks, doing that now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

PJBXDA said:
GDReaper said:
You need a custom recovery to install any rom. It doesn't matter if it's rooted or not.
Get a custom recovery. Get all the necessary zip files (rom, gapps, etc). Place all the zip files on the external sd card. Boot into the custom recovery. Wipe /data, /cache and /dalvik-cache.
Thanks, doing that now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
On the CF-Root page it says to open Odin and click on the PDA button but I cannot find a PDA button!
Edit: It is the AP button on the newer version!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

GDReaper said:
You need a custom recovery to install any rom. It doesn't matter if it's rooted or not.
Get a custom recovery. Get all the necessary zip files (rom, gapps, etc). Place all the zip files on the external sd card. Boot into the custom recovery. Wipe /data, /cache and /dalvik-cache.
Go to Install (if on TWRP), go to the location where you saved the downloaded rom zip and select it. The swipe the slider to begin flashing. Afterwards flash the gapps zip. Reboot.
Also, don't use the recovery posted in the CM12 thread. It was specially made by the dev and will convert your file system to f2fs. What it basically means is that it will wipe your internal storage completely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When you say go to install, do you mean install update... in the recovery menu? I do not have an install from zip option

PJBXDA said:
When you say go to install, do you mean install update... in the recovery menu? I do not have an install from zip option
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have a custom recovery installed. That is probably the stock recovery. You can't flash a rom using the stock recovery.
You absolutely need a custom recovery if you want to flash a custom rom.
Custom recoveries are: TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project), CWM (ClockworkMod Recovery) and PhilZ Touch Recovery. Either one should work. But you necessarily need one.

GDReaper said:
You don't have a custom recovery installed. That is probably the stock recovery. You can't flash a rom using the stock recovery.
You absolutely need a custom recovery if you want to flash a custom rom.
Custom recoveries are: TWRP (Team Win Recovery Project), CWM (ClockworkMod Recovery) and PhilZ Touch Recovery. Either one should work. But you necessarily need one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I have installed TWRP, then it asked me to install Busybox which I did. Tried to Install from Zip and it went back to the original recovery and now when I am trying to restart the phone I just get messages telling me things have stopped working (Google play, settings etc etc) and a black screen!
Currently factory resetting and will try again

PJBXDA said:
Thanks I have installed TWRP, then it asked me to install Busybox which I did. Tried to Install from Zip and it went back to the original recovery and now when I am trying to restart the phone I just get messages telling me things have stopped working (Google play, settings etc etc) and a black screen!
Currently factory resetting and will try again
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Follow the link I gave you. They have several instrunctions on how to install TWRP. You can install TWRP with Odin too.
Here, There are 3 ways to install. Use Odin. It doesn't require root and should be the easier one. Just UNTICK auto-reboot in Odin before flashing. Once it's done, turn the phone off and use the key combo to get into TWRP recovery.

GDReaper said:
Follow the link I gave you. They have several instrunctions on how to install TWRP. You can install TWRP with Odin too.
Here, There are 3 ways to install. Use Odin. It doesn't require root and should be the easier one. Just UNTICK auto-reboot in Odin before flashing. Once it's done, turn the phone off and use the key combo to get into TWRP recovery.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I am in, got through to the TWRP recovery and flashed the files but now I have a blue face with a pulsing white light behind it and have had for about 10 minutes. Any idea what is happening please?

PJBXDA said:
I think I am in, got through to the TWRP recovery and flashed the files but now I have a blue face with a pulsing white light behind it and have had for about 10 minutes. Any idea what is happening please?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess that's the CM12 logo. First boot after flashing always takes some time because the rom is configuring stuff.
If you still don't get into android, turn off the device and turn it on again. If you've done everything correctly there is no reason why it shouldn't boot.

GDReaper said:
I guess that's the CM12 logo. First boot after flashing always takes some time because the rom is configuring stuff.
If you still don't get into android, turn off the device and turn it on again. If you've done everything correctly there is no reason why it shouldn't boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is their logo but it seems to be taking forever, any idea how long a first boot should take?

PJBXDA said:
It is their logo but it seems to be taking forever, any idea how long a first boot should take?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It shouldn't take that long. For me it always took under 5 minutes. Tell me exactly what you did.

GDReaper said:
It shouldn't take that long. For me it always took under 5 minutes. Tell me exactly what you did.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did as you said, in the end I tried flashing the other GPE ROM and that has worked but I do not really like it. Trying the Cynogen again by downloading direct to the SD card and not copying it over. I want to say a very big thank you GDReaper for all your help, it is and has been very much appreciated.

PJBXDA said:
Did as you said, in the end I tried flashing the other GPE ROM and that has worked but I do not really like it. Trying the Cynogen again by downloading direct to the SD card and not copying it over. I want to say a very big thank you GDReaper for all your help, it is and has been very much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No problem. You could try a different build. Or you could try a CM12 based rom. SaberMod worked fine for me. And it's the closest to the actual CM12 you can get.

GDReaper said:
No problem. You could try a different build. Or you could try a CM12 based rom. SaberMod worked fine for me. And it's the closest to the actual CM12 you can get.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cheers, I have CM12 up and running now. Downloaded the files straight to the SD card and they worked. Seems OK but might try others, how do I go about trying SaberMod, do I need to flash that? Sorry to keep asking what are no doubt pretty obvious questions but I'm pretty new to this!
Want to get rid of the google search box for starters!

PJBXDA said:
Cheers, I have CM12 up and running now. Downloaded the files straight to the SD card and they worked. Seems OK but might try others, how do I go about trying SaberMod, do I need to flash that? Sorry to keep asking what are no doubt pretty obvious questions but I'm pretty new to this!
Want to get rid of the google search box for starters!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
SaberMod is a rom. SaberMod CM12.1.
They are very similar. The difference is how they tackle optimizations.
Yes, you will have to flash it. But you can also stick with normal CM12 if you don't have any issues.
The google search box from the home screen or the recents?
You can change the launcher to get rid of it from the home screen.
To remove it from the recents there is an option somewhere in the settings.