yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Hi Harbb, thanks for the reply.:)

1. Sorry new to xda so couldn't link url, but I think I got it thanks, and I found one for unrooting. But how do you install a custom rom without rooting?

2. Well I was looking into roms, and codename looks good but does not come with Gapps. CM9 also looks good, but still in beta, I think I'll wait for the final release of CM9. Got any specific ones you like? Also what is the point in changing kernel?

3. Since there is a vodafone flag under your name I presume you work for voda aus? So do I have to flash it back to stock to rma it, or can I just give it in, rooted + custom rom, and expect them to replace it for me granted the phone is still <1yr, and if it is not, I guess it costs a bit to fix it.

4. But wouldn't overclocking cause your phone to overheat. Sometimes my stock nexus is sunning really hot, and other times the screen is not responsive, and I presume overclocking will just add to that. I see undervolting as a benefit, but you could just configure your phone to go into aeroplane mode/turn of 3g/etc using timerifficor tasker if battery is an issue.

Thanks for the help, but whats a NANDROID backup. Also, isn't there another one called titanium or something?

Cheers,

continuum
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Icecoldmeat:
Nandroid is a backup you make in ClockworkMod Recovery.

Titanium Backup is a backup of all your apps (+ data).
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
1. Once you have an unlocked bootloader, you are given permission to use "fastboot" to flash a custom recovery. The custom recovery has, practically, full access to the rest of the system (which is essentially what root/su is). From the new custom recovery you can flash the .zip file which is the ROM, or kernel, or backup all of your files that you couldn't even access before, or format several partitions to your liking. Rooting is just copying over the su command so you can have access to the entire system, which you can't have without it.

2. CodeName Android has a seperate gapps .zip file, it's linked in the thread somewhere. Just wipe (a full wipe includes data/factory reset, format /system and format /boot, i recommend doing this between different ROMs), flash the ROM .zip first, then gapps.zip second, then reboot into your new ROM. I really liked stock. Recently i moved to Slim ICS. It's all about preference, features, etc. All of the devs here are great and there is no harm in trying out a handful of ROMs, say for about 2 days each. See which one you feel at home with. Same with kernels. Pick a handful with the features you want and try them for a couple of days.

3. No, I don't work for Vodafone. That just says which carrier I'm with. With regard to warranty, put it this way. Unless you get some serious hardware failure or storage failure, you will be able to put the phone back into the locked and stock state. If the phone just up and dies one day, feel free to send it in as-is and they should sort it out for you as it is a hardware problem. This -could- be due to overclocking, and they can argue it, but i can't recall anyone having issues like that so nothing to stress about, just don't abuse your phone. Otherwise, you can usually be able to bring it back to a locked state and in this case i would do that just in case. You can find the warranty policy here. It's quite broad, but so long as it's a manufacturing problem it is clearly covered.

4. Possibly, yes. As i said before, different CPUs are better in general than others due to variances in manufacturing. Lowering voltage may lower temperatures too, so if it is stable this could be an upside to UVing. It's all about being stable though, if your phone can't handle 1200mhz, don't OC it. If it is and you are happy with the battery life and possible lessened lifetime of the phone while stable, go right ahead. Generally no harm in trying, just go up (or down) incrementally. I'll note that while not in use, the phone should be in "Deep Sleep", which completely shuts off nearly all components of the phone aside from the radio (for cellular reception). Undervolting or Overclocking has no effect whatsoever here.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Cheers, so basically its like a windows recovery image. But for the nexus s 19203 (I think, its the slcd one), nexus hacks is saying to use TWRP. Can you still do nandroid backup with that?

So for a beginner, your suggesting it would be easier to unlock the bootloader, and load a custom rom with root already incuded, such as CM9, right?

So essentially:

1. Find a rom, and the drivers for my device, store these on my pc

2. Wipe phone (I presume by going into settings and pressing factory reset? and then wiping everything)

3. Turn off phone

4. Follow the nexusshacks to fastboot oem unlock and TWRP recovery

5. Nandroid backup??

6. Flash the rom

7. Flash Gapps

8. Reboot, disconnect from pc, and then let everything initialize.

9. Enjoy :)

Ahh, my bad, new to this forum, and though you were a voda rep :o

So I guess as long as your not extreme overvolting, you'll be fine.

I'll try mucking about eventually, but am a bit scared about heat build up.

Also, any word on when the full CM9 will come out?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
I believe the initial estimation was around march, and by how early CM9 ROMs are going i tend to believe them. Likely more toward the end, though, before a stable is released.

A NANDROID backup basically copies: /system, /boot, /data, /cache, the recovery, kernel and .android_secure (on the sdcard). Pretty much everything android on your phone is backed up and you can go back to that exact state anytime you want by restoring, or restore each one individually. I personally recommend the ClockWorkMod, TWRP isn't in development anymore and CWM now has a touch version too, though i still prefer the non-touch myself. Just make sure to get the latest version from here.

You can feel when the phone gets hot as long as you don't have a full cover, and some apps can tell you what the battery temperature is too. Stick to what is comfortable for you. Don't be worried though, you can always just clock it back to stock speeds and volts.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok, so this is what I am going to do:

1. Download the CyberGR-MOD|NS.NGN ICS v8 HYBRID, from the link you gave me, I presume this works for i9023

2. Download and install the windows drivers for my phone

3. Root my phone, with TWRP, according to that method shown by nexusshacks

4. Then install clockwork recovery touch using fastboot flash recovery ,also shown by nexus s hacks

5. Preform a nandroid back up ?? not sure how to do this

6. Flash rom ?? not sure how to do this either

7. Reboot phone and enjoy

I am presuming Gapps in included with the rom.

Please correct anything wrong, and also, how do I get onscreen buttons? The code name rom looks like it comes with them.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] novic_dev:
!!!

I recommend you to use the latest CyanogenMod Nightlie (it's already smooth and stable enough) and some great custom kernel: AirKernel of Matrix kernel :)
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Cool, but would I have to do the whole process all over again, once the final CM9 comes out, and does it update automatically, or must you update manually?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
No need for twrp, you can flash cwm straight away. Before unlocking remember to backup all your data that you can (you will lose save games and app settings). Make sure to do the wipes I told you about or your phone may not boot or be very unstable. Copy the from .zip to sdcard and while in recovery choose to install a .zip and choose which one. It's quite simple, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Backing up is done by clicking backup of course.

There is a thread in development dedicated to onscreen buttons, that might be of use. I haven't tried it before.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Well I don't have much data on there, so I'm just going to copy a couple of photo's, and then factory reset, but I thought to flash cwm you have to have root first? My nexus is just pure, stock.

Thanks, but I can't post there yet.

http://[www].androidegis.com/how-to/now-root-your-nexus-s-in-one-click-root-method/ Is this any good?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
Unsure if that one still works for ICS, possibly not. There are other methods to root 4.0.3 though without unlocking the bootloader, but it often makes it much harder to do some things. Since we don't get scalded for unlocking the bootloader (and it can be undone, AND it's easy), it is the best and preferred way by most accounts. It saves alot of hassle and we are free to use fastboot if anything goes awry. Much better than needing to do that rooting procedure again, then flashing recovery within android, etc. Since you have nothing on your phone, definitely just unlock the bootloader. Nothing like freedom :)

Unlocking the bootloader allows you to use fastboot, as i said. fastboot allows you to flash a custom recovery (and boot with a custom kernel, and some other less-used things). TWRP and CWM are both custom recoveries, so as long as you can use fastboot (via "fastboot flash recovery recovery.img") you can replace recovery.img with twrp.img, cwm.img and so on. Same process, different file.

I'll give you another hint since you'll probably run into this eventually: Stock recovery has an android and exclamation (!) mark as a splash screen. You have to press a volume key and power button to go through that splash screen. The main time you'll see this is if you flash an official Stock ROM. There is a script that reinstalls the stock recovery on boot in Stock ROMs. To get rid of it, you'll need to rename the file /system/etc/install-recovery.sh to something else (like install-recovery.sh.bak), or just delete it. You need su to do this, of course.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mahanddeem:
Harbb,

is it "OK" before reverting to a previous NANDROID backup in CWM recovery to do format system/boot/data/cache/dalvik and factory defaults ? or not or harmful ?

What is the word on that ?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Alright, thanks guys, I will try this soon.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
No need to, it is done automatically before restoring. Essentially it doesn't make a difference either way.

You're welcome, it'll all make alot more sense once you're doing it.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok guy, about to do it now. These are the steps I'm taking,

1. Download the CyberGR-MOD|NS.NGN ICS v8 HYBRID

http://clockworkmod.com/rommanager/...CyberGR-MOD|NS-NGN.&deviceName=Google Nexus S

Why Cyber, seems fast, stable, and is not a beta. Only question is how are updates going to work?

2. Download and install the windows drivers for my phone (I'm on windows 7)

http://downloadandroidrom.com/file/NexusS/rooting/nexussrootICS.zip

3. Follow these until step 7

http://nexusshacks.com/nexus-s-root/how-to-root-nexus-s-or-nexus-s-4g-on-ics-or-gingerbread/

4. Then install clockwork recovery touch (Link: http://downloadandroidrom.com/file/NexusS/cwm/nexussrecoverytouch.zip)

and follow these instructions:

http://nexusshacks.com/nexus-s-hack...orkmod-touch-on-rooted-nexus-s-or-nexus-s-4g/

5. Preform a nandroid back up, I'm guessing this is a part of clockwork recovery, and click the following after:

data/factory reset

format /boot

format /system

From advanced, click reboot recovery, and wipe data/factory reset & cache again.

Next, storage select, format /system /data /cache /boot & format /sdcard, mount usb, and copy CyberGR-MOD|NS.NGN ICS v8 HYBRID over to sdcard.

6. Plug out cable, and lash rom by going into clockwork recovery and clicking install zip from sdcard, top flash rom

7. Reboot phone and enjoy

Before I go ahead, if something screws up, and the phone completely dies (software side), is there a way to force it back to stock? And are these steps correct?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
Data/factory reset also formats /cache. For a full wipe: data/factory reset, format /boot, format /system. No need to worry about any wiping .zips. No reason to do it twice either, but if you really want peace of mind do as you wish. This is ALL you need to do for wiping.

They are correct, but also somewhat redundant. Follow my wiping directions and you will be perfectly fine. If you ever want to flash a new kernel, you only need to wipe dalvik cache prior to flashing it.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Thanks mate. I've edited step 5, and am doing it now.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
As i said too, no need to do the wiping again as you have at the bottom of step 5. Also note that data/factory reset formats /data, /cache and .android_secure (on sdcard), so doing the separate formats is essentially the same as doing the data/factory reset.

There is a sticky at the top of the general section with all of the stock OTA ROMs (Full and Update ones). Just wipe and flash one of the Full ROMs and you'll be back to stock in no time.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok, I'm trying to unlock bootloader, but my cmd isn't finding the folder.

Win 7 x64.

My rig:

CPU: Athlon ii x4 635 @ 3.6GHZ

GPU: Powercolor 6950 1GB
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
Copy the contents of that .zip file you mentioned to C:\NexusS, and also place the new recovery image in that same folder.

Open command prompt. Type: "cd /NexusS" and then "fastboot oem unlock", then use the volume keys and power button to select yes. Now type in "fastboot flash recovery rec[TAB-BUTTON]", where TAB-BUTTON is the.. TAB button on the left of your keyboard. This will auto-complete the name of the recovery file, assuming it starts with the letters "rec".
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok, but the problem is that my cmd is stuck on C:\users\continuum, and when I copy the file over there, it doesn't pick it up.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] sean1984:
easy way to set up android sdk http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1474895 maybe this could help you :D
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] mahanddeem:
Harbb is a very nice guy...

Thanks man
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Thanks, but sorry, I have no idea how to use that.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
The steps on NexusSHacks show you exactly what to type. cd (change directory) lets you change the current path. If you copy the folder with adb, fastboot, etc inside it to C:\NexusS, then type "cd /NexusS", you will be in that folder. Now you can easily refer to each file inside by typing the filename.

It is all in the video, just watch it over.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] albundy2010:
For those that struggle with cd into a directory or just want a quicker way, there is always just shift +right click. Open a command prompt window here.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Cheers guys, sorry for the late response, I was out. I shall now continue hacking :)
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok, not working, I've tried everything :(. The files are definitely in that folder.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root> cd \nexussrootICS

The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root>cd \nexussrootICS

The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root>cd /nexussrootICS

The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root>cd /nexussrootICS

The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root>\nexussrootICS

'\nexussrootICS' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root> \nexussrootICS

'\nexussrootICS' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root>/nexussrootICS

'/nexussrootICS' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root> /nexussrootICS

'/nexussrootICS' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.

C:\Users\AAA\Desktop\Root>grrrrr

'grrrrr' is not recognized as an internal or external command,

operable program or batch file.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
You're in a folder called "Root" already, isn't that the folder with fastboot inside it? If it isn't, make sure it is and then you're already in the right directory. No need to cd anymore, just "fastboot oem unlock".
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Nah mate, it goes root (has the roms, nexussrootICS, etc) and then nexussrootICS.

I have tried going directly into nexussroot ics and typing fast boot oem, but it says command not accepted.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Yay, just unlocked bootloader :D
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Done, seems all good.:D:D:D

Thanks for the help guys, and a special thanks to you Harbb.

I'll be editing and posting the steps again soon, so its is better structured, but the steps on page 2 are basically what I followed.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
Good to hear you finally figured it out buddy.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok, I am looking for a VERY fast and VERY stable rom. Customization is not really a big deal. Any recommendations?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] muller37:
My personal recommendation is Codename Android with Matr1x 17.5 cfs kernel.

Never had a re-boot, battery lasts up to 3 days (depending on usage) with deep idle on (flash patch to get working), looks stock but has extra options if you want, very fast if you use smartassv2 and noop or deadline, BLN which is really useful and Voodoo sound. (Need nexustools from market to select some options)

Just my opinion though and i know others may disagree :)
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Ok, instructions up on first page.

Anyway, I'm finding the cyberGR to be a good rom, its smooth (after a couple of adjustments here , very stable. I got ~2000 on a quadrant (not oc's or anything) which imo is pretty good, however, the only thing that really improved according to quadrant was the i/o which I have not idea what that is. Battery life is good enough, lasted a whole day easy, imo if your lasting 3 days mate, your sacrificing allot of performance. I charge my phone everyday as well, so battery is not a big deal for my, as long as there is no drain. Cyber also has Gapps pre-installed, and has all these other things like notification toggles which is really handy. Only downside of the rom is it is a but hardcore, so it was a but intimidating when I first installed it.

I will try codename soon, but I still don't get what the point of custom kernals is? Also do you flash the rom, and then gapps?

I don't want to oc my phone, but I noticed that the lowest multipler on my phone is 100mhz. I was thinking to raise this to 600mhz (what the first gen android had), but will that have side effects such as overheating and battery drain?
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] Harbb:
ROM first, gapps second. Generally reboot into the ROM once before flashing a new kernel, i hear this has caused random issues in the past.

Don't stress too much about quadrant. You be the judge on how quick and smooth each ROM/kernel is.

You can (well, i can at least) easily last 3 days if you keep screen use under about 3 hours with very little refining the setup for battery life, if any at all assuming you have no excess drain with the screen off.

A custom kernel gives several different features and performance increases that interact directly with the hardware. For example, Deep Idle can lower drain while playing music with the screen off. BLN lights up the capacitive buttons when you receive a text or phone call, and BLD turns them off if you don't use them for a few seconds while you are using the phone. Overclocking and the likes also need custom kernels. Then there are lots and lots of performance tweaks that have to be done kernel-side. And we here on the Nexus S forums have the best kernels around ;)

Don't jack up the minimum frequency above 200mhz. It will increase performance, rape battery life and cause slightly more heating up. It is there to save battery, and you can switch governors to deal with CPU load - i wouldn't be changing the minimum frequency. This is the software that chooses which frequency (100, 200, 400, 800, 1000, etc) it should be at given a specific timeframe and load. There is lots of information about these around the place, and bedalus has a good thread somewhere in general relating performance to drain with various governors.
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] muller37:
as far as the 3 days charge goes, i usually charge everyday in work whether i need to or not but i wanted to see how long it would last for and it lasted 3 days 1 hour to 4% left. it was relatively light usage though but was oc to 1200 and is great on performance. you could get 1.5 to 2 days with normal usage i reckon.

You do have to flash gapps after the rom due to legalitys and was missing things like google music and maps etc but can get missing things from market.

Custom kernels make things faster and add things like notification leds and voodoo sound improvements etc. they also contain good performance and battery improvements.

you can raise lowest cpu speed to make it snappier turning screen on but it will be running at 600 when not doing anything which will drain battery quicker. 200 may be better but its up to you to tinker and find your own sweet spot.

all my own opinions though so up to you. there is no bad rom on xda as far as i'm concerned. these developers are great.

(Harbb probably explained it better than i did)
[Nexus S Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting] continuum51:
Cool, thanks, but imo mucking around with kernals is still a but too hardcore for me.

Hut hey, its good for comparing against stock. I am hammering by stock quadrant score, so its all good.

But see, the issue with that is you are really limiting your phone use during that time. I was looking for a happy medium, between functionality, and battery, and seems like I have found it, and I can see people requiring long battery life, but I guess, it not really a requirement for me atm.

Don't forget the galaxy nexus mate :) they got some pretty beast ****.

Fair enough, I have my governor on performance, is that any good. They should really define then better, seriously, what is smartassv2 meant to be? Lionheart, another example.