[Galaxy Ace S5830 General] evil_penguin:
Previous thread Name was [GUIDE]What Is Meant By Firmware, Stock & Custom ROMs And Flashing

Welcome to the world of Google Android.

Do terms like ‘Android ROM’ confuse you? Is your understanding of ‘flashing’ limited to acts of exhibitionism? Do you feel left out or clueless when your friends talk about flashing the latest custom ROM to their Android device ? here is a guide for you to make your life easier :)

Hey guys, this is a guide which will help many people (new users).

Understanding ROM’s and Builds

A ROM is essentially a custom version of Android. Each tweaks, combines, or optimizes Android to offer something standard versions lack. Within ROM’s, you have what are known as builds (basic branches of Android code) that offer certain features and characteristics.

Think of it as a crude metaphor for Microsoft Windows. There’s XP, Vista, and Windows 7. All three are Windows operating systems and can typically run the same programs, but there are major differences between them. Within each OS, there’s further distinction between Vista Home, Vista Pro, and Vista Ultimate. Likewise, one ROM can spawn multiple versions. For instance, there are several flavors of Drake’s Hero ROM..

Be advised that some ROM’s require a wipe (erases all information stored on your phone) before or after installation. This is done when you enter the recovery mode and perform a “factory data reset.”

What is

Firmware

?

The read-only operating systems that we just discussed above are also called

‘firmware’

, as they stay firmly in place without modification access to the users of the device. Modification of firmware is still however possible, just not under normal usage. Many devices require specialized hardware to be used for the purpose while other devices have the storage set as read-only through software protection only, which can be removed or overridden without the need for any specialized hardware, just by using software written for the purpose, often but not always requiring connection to a computer.

Thus, the terms ‘operating system’ and ‘firmware’ both refer to the same thing and can be used interchangeably when applied to such devices.

Flashing

The ROM memory used in smartphones and tablets etc. is often same as flash memory found in SD cards and USB flash drives, simply optimized for better speed and performance while running the operating system. As explained above, it is read-only under normal usage and requires a special procedure for any modifications to be made to its contents. The procedure of modifying or replacing the contents of such flash memory is known as flashing. Thus, in layman’s terms, flashing is essentially the same as installing or modifying the firmware of a device that is stored on its protected flash memory.

2 – Mobile Operating Systems

ROM as the Operating System

When it comes to smartphones and tablets, the term ROM is used to refer to the firmware stored in the internal memory of the device, rather than the internal memory itself. It can also refer to a file prepared for the purpose of replacing this firmware with another version of using a special method.

Thus, when you are told by someone to download a ROM, they are referring to the file that contains the firmware in a format ready to be installed to your phone to replace it’s existing firmware.

Similarly, when asked what ROM is your phone running or when told by someone their phone is running a particular ROM, they are again talking about the particular variant of the firmware

.

Types of ROMs

->

Unlike most desktop operating systems, mobile operating systems can be found in installable format in multiple forms, which can be categorized as follows.

A)

Truly Stock ROMs / firmware

:

This is the operating system in its default form, without any modifications made to it except for any device-specific support required to run it on the particular device. Truly stock firmware provides the standard user experience of the operating system without any cosmetic or functional changes made.

B)

Manufacturer or Carrier branded Stock ROM / Firmware

:

This type of firmware has had enhancements added over the default operating system by the device manufacturer or the mobile service carrier. This often includes interface enhancements, proprietary applications and in most cases, restrictions intended to limit the use of the device with a specific carrier or region. There are often further restrictions preventing installation of firmware not released by the carrier or manufacturer.

C)

Custom ROM / firmware:

Independent developers who like to customize their devices beyond the standard options provided often tend to release the fruits of their labor for the rest to enjoy, in form of custom ROMs.

3 – Stock Vs. Custom ROMs

Both stock and custom ROMs have their merits and demerits and choosing between the two requires careful consideration. In this section, we are going to make a comparison between the two types of ROMs to help you make the right choice. Let us begin by taking a look at their advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Stock ROMs

Stock firmware is the result of a lot of research and testing done by the operating system vendor, the device manufacturer and/or the mobile service carrier. Therefore, it carries several advantages:-

1>It is usually quite stable upon release.

2>Almost all bugs are patched during the extensive beta testing before release.

3>It carries the official support by the firmware vendor, device manufacturer and the mobile service carrier.

4>Updates are pushed automatically to the device by the carrier.

Along with its advantages, stock firmware also carries its disadvantages and these include:

1>Updates aren’t frequent, as development is done mostly by corporations who have to follow a scheduled release cycle.

2>Providing feedback to the manufacturer in case of any issues is either impossible, unwelcome (often with Apple devices), or a long, tedious process.

3>Similarly, getting official support can be a hassle as well, involving a tedious process.

4>If the device manufacturer and operating system developer are different (as is the case with Android and Windows Phone 7), any updates released by the operating system vendor need to be edited by the device manufacturer or mobile carrier to add compatibility and additional software before release. Hence, some devices get updates delayed by months.

5>Updates are often released first in the United States, leaving the rest of the world waiting. (A world does happen to exist beyond the United States, we’ve confirmed it ourselves!)

6>Worse still, when manufacturers choose to no longer release official updates for their older devices in favor of newer ones, their users are essentially stuck with old versions of the operating system. This case is evident with many Android devices barely a year and a half old.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Custom ROMs-

Custom ROMs are as good or as bad as the effort put into them by their developers. Key advantages of custom ROMs are:

1)First and foremost, choice! There are thousands of custom ROMs out there for a range of devices, each offering a diverse set of features not found in the stock ROM.

2)Update frequency – custom ROMs are often under active development and newer releases of the core operating system are incorporated in them way before updated official ROMs are released.

3)Providing feedback is as easy as leaving a message on the development forum for the ROM in question.

Getting support with your issues at the forums is similarly easy, as not only the main developers themselves but also other experienced users of the ROM from the community are glad to help you with your issues and in the process, improve the ROM for everyone.

4)Custom ROMs usually have all the extra restrictions removed

5)Performance enhancements and optimizations found in many custom ROMs can make them much faster than stock ROMs ,enabling users to get the most out of their devices.

5)Overclocking options are built into some custom ROMs, further speeding up the devices.

6)Undervolting options found in some ROMs on the other hand result in improved battery life.

7)Old phones with little internal memory can benefit most from custom ROMs that allow them to use the external SD card memory for the apps exactly the way they would use the internal memory.

So with all these advantages, there should be no reason to stick with the stock ROM, right? Not necessarily! Like all things in life, custom ROMs come with their disadvantages as well:

1)Due to the lack of extensive testing prior to release, many custom ROMs can be buggy in the beginning and installing a ROM with missing or corrupt critical files can even brick your phone.

2)Several custom ROMs that are ports of ROMs from other phones can have missing functionality that hasn’t been made to work on your phone with the ROM yet.

Installing a custom ROM usually involves wiping your phone to factory settings, so you lose your data and start from scratch. Fortunately, Android’s built-in contact syncing along with apps offering message, call log and app backup/restore make this process easier, letting you retain your data.

The installation process can be cumbersome and requires you to root your phone and often circumvent its security features to allow for custom ROM installation in the first place.

Installing a custom ROM will in most cases void your phone’s warranty, though often the process is reversible, meaning you can turn your phone back to stock as long as it isn’t bricked.

Choosing the Right Custom ROM

With several custom ROMs available for most Android devices, choosing the right one isn’t always easy.

The question of ‘which is the best ROM for _____ phone / tablet’ is as often frowned-upon at the forums as it is asked, since there is no universal answer for it. One ROM may be the best for me while another might suit you better.

The only solution is to read a lot, go through the feature list, read user response and if required, ask the developer questions at the forum page for the ROM. Attempt to install the ROM only after you are fairly satisfied that doing so will not harm your device to the extent you can’t fix.

Power saving tips:

Dont use a live theme

Use a dark wallpaper

Turn off wi-fi & bluetooth when not in use

Stop friendstream, facebook & peep updating every 5mins. Set mine to manual.

Set email app to manual

Set screen brightness to auto or 40% (lower if you can put up with it).

How does one flash a kernel?

The process is a simple as flashing a ROM, put the .zip on ur sdcard, go into recovery,wipe cache,dalvik-cache, install .zip from sdcard, reboot phone and ur done.

You can find stock firmwares here -

sampro.pl

sammobile

Important (Read it carefully)

-> Forum & Marketplace Rules & announcements

Android 2.3(Gingerbread) user guide

Android 2.2 (froyo) user giude

Addons (links)​

....

Simple ways to speed up your Android Device

A Few CM7 Tip and Tricks

[HOWTO] Enable CRT Animations on all Android 2.3 Devices

[Video][HOWTO] Create simple MIUI Lockscreens for Yourself

ANDROID TIPS & TRICKS

[TUT] How to force install apps to SD card without ROOT!!!

Some other guides by our awesome developers-

A Newbie Guide for your Galaxy Ace by EmoBoiix3

[Newbie Guide] adb/fastboot/bootloader/android 101 + Q & A by seraph1024

Newbie Friendly How To's w/ Instructional Videos by dcogen

[GUIDE]Overclocking,its benefits and risks for Ace by Prawesome

TUT]Decompiling an apk,converting dex to jar(NEWBIE FRIENDLY) By Prawesome

[TUTORIAL] UOT Kitchen By ingbrzy

[GUIDE][CM7] Changing Boot Animation by tanmayjindal

[TUTORIAL] How to upgrade, root, flash Recovery & Custom ROM Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 by hubix

How to unbrick Samsung Galaxy Ace

Video giudes-

A simple introduction to the basic use of the Android operating system. (Youtube)

How to root Galaxy ACE on Gingerbread (youtube)

How to Root Samsung Galaxy Ace S5830 on Froyo(youtube)

What is Root? ( Android )(youtube)

How to use Odin to update galaxy ace (youtube)

Guide: How to download eBooks to Android!

Useful posts -

[UPDATE] DEODEX+ROOT - it`s easy! by Lovetz

All samsung galaxy ace roms,tweaks,kernels by mv_style

That should be enough to get you started.;)

I hope this guide helps you.......

Dont forget to press Thanks button ;)