yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
I come here with my tail between my legs ducking from any backlash I may get from any users here. I spent the better part of the evening Googling around, asking in IRC, and trying to get this part working.

I ran into several issues. Some of them are quite comical to me.

I Googled around, as well as utilized the links that were provided to me in this thread. I learned that Clockwork and Rom Manager are from the same dev team, but they are two separate products. Likewise, I was hearing other users confirm that Clockwork is the bees knees but that Rom Manager is kind of "ehh" with predictability and reliability.

After I ran into some road blocks I ended up asking in the IRC Android chat room. Some users in there directed me to some guides. I read through them. Of course, each one was different. So to a user like me, I have no idea which one is the better one to go with. The one guide kept talking about how I need to run a .sh script. So, of course, I download the files supplied and extract them. No .sh script. I ask in the IRC chat and I caught hell because I should read the directions more clearly. I read through them several times and got no where. Ultimately, some users in the IRC chat decided to link me to the guide they recommended. Later, I too ran into a road block there.

Moving along, I went into the XDA-Devs chat once I found myself at the next road block. There some users spoke to me about what I was trying to do. I linked to them the guides the Android users told me to use and they were wondering why I was using such old guides to do this simple task.

This is where my frustration is brewing. There are a million and one ways to do everything. There's no structure. No consistency at all. I've done a ton of reading and I still feel like I know next to nothing about doing a "simple" recovery. I know phones are different. I know ROMs are different. But holy hell. Doing "xyz" task on one Android phone vs the same task on another Android phone is as different from driving a lawnmower vs a dump truck.

At this point I installed Android SDK on my Ubuntu machine. However, "adb shell" was yielding a command not found error. It's nearly 2 am. I'm packing it up for tonight.

That said, let's back up a bit here. My goal is this. I have an LG Optimus T. I have it rooted. I would like to utilize Clockwork in order to do a recovery as Clockwork came heavily recommended by many sources I read about. Then, I would like to utilize the XDA site for a list of available ROMs for my phone and choose one of my liking.

Is this guide, right here what I should be using to get this job done?

Along with that, how exactly do I need to install SDK on Ubuntu so it works without headache?

Thank you to everybody who has been patient with helping me learn this stuff so far.
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
that guide works. after you flash the recovery from that guide, don't think that you are always stuck with it. you can always flash another recovery in recovery. as for sdk, do you need it to flash recovery? those commands to flash recovery can be done on the phone using a terminal emulator. (about installing sdk on ubuntu, I will check on that tmrw because I'm doing this on my phone, and over where I'm at I should be sleeping)

EDIT: and here's a list of roms for our phone http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=16535249

EDIT: for sdk, have you tried this?

http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?p=11823740#post11823740
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
Okay. I wasn't sure if it was safe to run those commands from the phone. I was tempted to but, ahh, figured I'd wait.

Now these instructions are exclusive to the Clockwork mod, correct? So if I get any other recovery (Amon Ra, for example) there will be specific instructions for that exact recovery too as well, right?

I'll give this a shot later and see where I end up. Thanks for your help!

Edit... It's a shame those commands aren't in an sh script already. Just a fun idea... What I'd add them to a blank text file and on the phone just chmod +x it and run it. Would that work??
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
the commands are fairly similar:

cwm (from your guide):

#mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system

#cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image

#chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image

#mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock5 /system

#flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery.img

#reboot recovery

amonra (from here):

# mount -o remount,rw -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system

# cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image

# chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image

# mv /system/etc/install-recovery.sh /system/etc/install-recovery.sh.bak

# mount -o remount,ro -t yaffs2 /dev/block/mtdblock1 /system

# flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery-RA-GNM-thunderg-1.1.0.img

# reboot recovery

after you flash either cwm or amonra, you wont have to do this again when you flash another recovery. to flash another recovery, you would just have to flash the recovery zip in recovery. these zips can be found here
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
Oh, I wasn't aware of that. That sounds pretty cool. Good to know this won't be a continuous thing, as once I get moving I think I'll flash quite a few different things to my phone to check out what different users are doing. I have the Linux addiction, where my poor desktop is littered with countless VMs of different distros to see what others are like, so I'm sure a phone won't be any different.

That said, I want to clarify a few things to make sure I'm on the same page (please correct me if I'm wrong). The entire idea of doing this is to get a recovery made, in other words, a "backup image" so I can restore it if I get into trouble. AKA, this is my Ghost image.

The thing I don't understand is why would I want to make another recovery as you mentioned at the end of that last post, Clockwork vs Amon Ra, etc? If I have a recovery, I have my Ghost image.

<analogy> Why would I want to make another recovery with Acronis (Amon Ra) if I already have my backup with Ghost (CWM)?? </analogy>

Is it just because Amon Ra and Clockwork have different features?

Once my recovery is made (in my case I'm sticking with Clockwork since I see you use it along with the same phone I have) then I can just go to town flashing ROMs as much as I wish, right?

Also, a recovery isn't prejudice to phone brand make/models as ROMs are, correct? ROMs are customized for specific phone brands whereas the recovery is the same process for all Android devices, correct?

I think a certain somebody who's been posting quite a lot in this thread is very deserving of a case of beer after this. :P

EDIT - Okay, I need to slow down a little bit. After all the entire point of doing this isn't so much to mess with custom ROMs, but to get my phone to save to SD card by default. I have an 8gb Class 4 Sandisk MicroSD card. But as you mention first, I need to do the recovery. So once I get the recovery made with say, CWM, then I can look into the true A2SD to get the SD to function in the demeanor I want.

It's funny, I got so caught up with trying to understand this stuff that I completely lost touch with what my original intention was with my phone.

Likewise, if I do tinker with custom ROMs, do I have to run A2SD each time so the phone knows where to save? Or is that a "system" setting that gets unaffected by installing different custom ROMs for my device?

Also, this looks enticingly easy:

http://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=13347868&postcount=249
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
my understanding is that amonra uses something called amend and clockwordmod uses edify. with this in mind, amonra backups will not work in cwm, and cwm backups will not work in amonra. amonra supports ext2/3/4 while cwm only supports ext4. a little more info on that here

i actually prefer amonra since it gives you more control (you can choose what to back up, choose the kind of partition you want, etc). i only chose cwm because it seems to be the developers' pick between the two.

when you flash a rom, you need to make sure it is compatible with your recovery (usually the original post well tell you; if there is nothing, your recovery is most likely supported).

the process of flashing a recovery is pretty much the same on any phone except that you must flash the .img file meant for your phone.

and yes, recovery first before apps2sd

when it comes to choosing apps2sd for our phone, i suggest using ungaze's data2sd since it provides a way back. a lot of people use darktremors a2sd, but it can cause problems and the way i see it, the only way to undo it is by reflashing the rom (but it might screw up your apps; mine got screwed up but it was probably something i did wrong). the reason why i said all of that is because you should undo the a2sd when you are about to flash another custom rom. that other custom rom may not be compatible (and even if it is compatible, id still say undo the a2sd because ive seen many having issues doing that, such as being stuck in a bootloop, having issues with the rom or the apps, etc; better to be safe than sorry)

if i had flashed my recovery using the sh file, that wouldve made my life so much easier :p my heart was literally beating out of my chest when i was typing in each letter of the commands

if i missed anything, please dont hesitate to ask again :D
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
some roms do not support ext4 (or at least it is not supported when it comes to apps2sd). this is why you can have an ext4 partition on one rom that can cause problems on another rom (for what reason i have no idea since im not a developer; it all comes down to how the rom is made)

and about recovery, recovery is not an image (sorry if i gave you that impression; you flash the image file to get the recovery "mode"). recovery, like someone said earlier, is kind of like safe mode on windows. when you boot into recovery, you are given a set of options to execute (you tell it what to do and itll do it; the phone wont fix itself automatically). the recovery and rom are two separate things. you would boot into your rom like you would boot a computer. you can also boot into recovery like you can boot into safe mode. when you boot up your phone, the recovery is never involved (the only time recovery is ever involved when you boot your phone is if you boot straight into recovery or if the phone fails to boot normally, which in that case it will just boot straight into recovery). this will all be clear when you see recovery for yourself :D

in your edit, are you referring to making a backup in either one of the recoveries? (just a heads up: backups are made as zip files and can be called "nand backups"). the backup made in one recovery will not work in another recovery. this is because of how the backups are made. like i said in one of my posts, amonra uses amend and cwm uses edify.
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
Ok I see. If a rom doesn't support the file system then yeah it'd be a no brainer as to why it would fail with data on another partition. I wonder..... Would it just continuously boot loop or relocate the data folder by creating a new one on phone memory or what... I'd rather not find out though... I wonder if a lot of roms support ext4... If they're hard to come by that alone might dictate which route I end up going. I just hope once I set this up it won't be impossible to find roms that support my sd customization as well as the file system and of course... My actual phone...

Thanks again bro! If your ever in southern pennsylvania I owe ya a few rounds.... :P

EDIT - I did some reading between Amon Ra and CWM. To my surprise when I Googled both names, I'm finding a LOT of people praising Amon Ra, with more responses than I expected talking about certain issues they had with CWM. I definitely think I'm going to go the Amon Ra route...
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
no problem :D the most you can do is show some love to my thanks meter :p
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
Well, we're in good shape. Sort of. I installed 2.3.5 CM7 from the repository thread I found. It sure runs nice!

I'm still trying to work out how I get the SD thing to happen. I partitioned my 8gb micro SD card in 2gb vs 6gb chunks within recovery. Then I put the .zip from the apps2sd/data2sd that was linked in the CM7 thread and booted into recovery and launched it.

I can see in CM7 settings within the regular ROM itself I have the option to choose automatic, internal, or external in regard to where apps install.

The only problem is, when I install an app, it's still eating away at my internal memory, which is 200mb.

I'm just not seeing it hack away at the external memory like I had expected it to. I'll keep tinkering with it though, but it's not as straight forward as I thought it'd be.

Oh, also, I ended up cheaping out. I talked to some users who had used ROM Manager for years and they said they never had an issue. Figured I'd give it a shot, so I did. Sure works great so far!
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
EDIT: before you do this, try moving your apps to the sdcard the "fake way" and see if that works

EDIT: it seems as if its only compatible with ext2. do you have an ext2 partition?

the last time i tried apps2sd, it didnt turn out well :p

but what i would do is this:

remove apps2sd (by either using the undo zip provided or by reflashing the rom)

move all applications to the sdcard (settings>applications>sdcard and make sure everything is checked; also check install to external in cyanogenmod settings)

when you move apps to the sd card (the fake apps2sd way using settings>applications), part of the application is held in the /data folder and the other part in the /sdcard/.android_secure. i think you need part of the app in the android_secure folder first before you can move the /data folder (this is my guess)

now flash the zip again :D

P.S. if it doesnt work, post in the forum you got the apps2sd from. if you get the answer, please post it here so i can learn how to do it :D
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
I'm a little confused. Does CM7 support this natively and I just wasn't aware of it? Reason I ask is I reflashed my phone and wiped everything. When it came-to I rebooted again and installed the GAPPS zip. Once again when it came up I went into the settings menu. Mind you, I never installed the data2sd thing that you posted wayyyy back on the first page.

Within the CM settings menu it asks where I want to install applications by default with 3 options. Automatic, Internal, External. Now like I said, External did nothing.

But when I popped the MicroSD card into my laptop, GParted came up saying it was a read only file system, for both the fat32 partition and the ext3 partition.

I have to wonder if that is what's holding it back? I tried to formatting it but GParted won't let me. I can't even nuke the existing EXT partition and re-add a new one.

That said, I guess there's several things I'm not sure of.

1 - Does it have to be specifically EXT2? I've heard all sorts of different answers from countless sources.

2 - Does CM7 support this by default with the internal/external option in the CM settings menu?

3 - Does the read only file system thing GParted fired at me make any sense? Should it be read-write or is read only correct?

Also, with this setup after a fresh flash, I seem to only be using 11mb of space. Is the ROM really only that big?
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
1. for ungazes data2sd, yes. for others such as darktremor's app2sd (which have caused problems for some people), no. these are the only two i know of that work for our phone, but there could be others

2. yes. although this is an unofficial rom, it is very close to being the real deal. (btw checking this option will not affect your current apps. itll apply only to new apps. you'll have to move your current apps manually)

3. im pretty sure it should be read/write. to mount it as read/write, i just use root explorer (a paid app, but there are ways to get it for free ;)), which gives you an option to toggle between read/only and read/write. btw, you dont need gparted to format your partition. all of this can be done in recovery (cwm gives you the option to format your partition. for amonra, you must recreate the partition to format it)

11mb does seem pretty small for a rom but then again, its all just lines of text that make up each file
[General Questions and Answers] JaSauders:
Well, we're done here. I have successfully gotten to where I wanted to be with my Android device.

My goal was to allow the SD card to help with storage of applications since my onboard internal memory was on the lower side. It wasn't unbearable but low enough that a user like myself who likes to click "install" far too often was a bit of a hindrance. I have achieved that plus far more.

My phone is currently rooted, running CM7 2.3.5, and running insanely faster than it was with the stock T-Mobile ROM.

I did however have some headaches. For example, no offense to any developers, but I just could not get the a2sd to work that was recommended in the description of CM7 for the Optimus T. I have no idea what I was doing wrong. The instructions were very clear. Install it in recovery. And... well... there wasn't anything else to do, however my internal memory was still being eaten up when I installed new apps. I certainly believe it could have been user error, but nonetheless, I wasn't able to get where I wanted to be.

In the Cyanogen IRC chat I spoke to a very knowledgeable user who owned the Optimus V. Same phone as me but it's the Virgin Mobile version (and Sprint too I believe). He told me to just get Link2SD from the market, so I did. Evidently within the application you can set it to automatically install these apps to the SD card. So I gave it a shot.

I fired up market on my computer and installed about 10 apps. I looked at my phone, opened up Link2SD, and to my surprise all of the apps I had just installed had red notations under them signifying they were on the SD card. A quick scan of my storage space revealed I had used none of my internal memory.

Done deal.

Thank you, sweetnsour, for your insanely high amount of dedication and patience with helping a new user learn the essentials of the Android platform. Also a huge thanks to the developers of CM7, z4root, these forums, Androidforums, users in the Android related IRC chat, and the developers of Link2SD for making a simple application that allows me (if I so choose) to automatically install apps to the SD card.

All of this rolled up and you have one. sweet. smartphone. :cool:

EDIT - the only last thing I am wondering about is the proper file system to use on the spare partition. I think I recall link2sd asking me if I wanted ext 2, 3, 4, or fat. Since fat isn't journaled, I wonder if it would better my chances for the SD lasting as long as possible? That said, most users I spoke to said they've been doing this for anywhere from a few months to back in 2008 when the first android came out without any issues. Hmm... Worst case scenario, if an SD card tanks, I just gotta put a new one in and redownload my apps. Easy enough. :)
[General Questions and Answers] timmymarsh:
This is one of the best threads ive seen in gen Q&A for ages!

Well done to the OP for reading, understand and asking after searching.

Thanks to those who contributed and helped the OP in getting to be where he wanted (mainly sweetnsour).

Happy users who understand a greater community, we are all here to help each other is one way or another! :D

Greetz.
[General Questions and Answers] sweetnsour:
i never knew it could be this easy :p

if you have a lot of apps, this may take a while. to backup your sd card, just copy all of its contents onto a computer (and speaking of transferring data from one place to another, if you ever decide to get a new sd card, all you have to do is copy everything from your old sd card to your new sd card). as for the ext partition, you can make a backup of it in recovery (nand+ext backup).
[Acer Iconia A500] officetally:
Just wondering how you can change the fonts, (by possibly flashing a .zip font file, program, etc.?) for a custom rom, thanks.
[Acer Iconia A500] sanaell:
let say

- take the font list from the tablet

- take the font you want get in your tablet

- rename the font you want with the name from the tablet

- send those font to your tablet

restart your tablet, and normally you get the font changed by the one you wanna...
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] jialingkuan:
Thanks evryone. I hope you can help me.

Yesterday ,I usual mobile phone to connect to the PC,

but,the pc tips me:"USB does not recognize(Unknow Driver)",

I've done a lot of action, including: replacement of data line, a replacement computer, but still no.

At present, the machine has been used for WIFI update to the official system 2.3.4.already unlocked,but unroot.

What am I to do to recover????Please help,thank you.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] SovereigN7:
Not sure how to solve that problem, but perhaps you could delete any related drivers for your nexus s and try to install this driver after.

Weird that it won't be picked up by a different computer.
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenmuggy:
Is it possible to theme launcher pro to have app drawer's with trans bg???

If so that would just make my day!!!

Sent from the Trans-Epic Express
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Tha_Dynasty2049:
I thought you could edit them in the drawable-hdpi folder?
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenmuggy:
I just had the thought pop in my head, but I'm @ work so I can't check it out

I hope its that easy...lol

Sent from the Trans-Epic Express
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] .OmEgA:
Sounds like we know what youll be doing after work lol. Id take a stab at it but working on the new house

Posted from my pedo van.
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenmuggy:
Lol yup... & you & your signature can stay away from my house...lmao

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[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] .OmEgA:
Rofl!!! Come on, I gots candyz!

Posted from my pedo van.
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gtuansdiamm:
I've themed it before

Back when I was on a rom that refused to work with touch wiz

Man was it a pain there was so many failed attempts by me cause there are so many images you have to edit (like 5 but I didn't know which ones to change to which so it was a pain)

I'll give you my themed version you can start from there

http://db.tt/yqi1wIG

Sent from my super awesomely amazing

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[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] shane6374:
Then hope fede didn't change it in 8.6 like he did with everything else.
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] xplus93:
Just use go launcher ex, it has the best app drawer I have seen in any launcher. Its transprent and has folders. Plus the go widgets are better than lpp widgets and they're free.
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] corythug:
+1 for go launcher. App drawer has me addicted, can't use anything else.
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenmuggy:
thanx man i will mess with it when i get off work
[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gtuansdiamm:
Id do it for you if I knew how you wanted it now that my computer its up and running again

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[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenmuggy:
Well... all I want is the app drawer bg transparency @ about 70-75%

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[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] gtuansdiamm:
I'll try tomorrow mourning

Anything else?

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[Epic 4G Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] greenmuggy:
Nope nothing more :)

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