[Samsung Galaxy Fit GT 5670] a.cid:
5. Installing Custom Roms

Though Samsung has possibly tried its best to create the best stock roms (compared to other manufacturers), it still has a lot of potential. Custom roms are made to achieve this potential, helping you get more returns from your Fit.​

Q) How to install custom roms?

A) Before proceeding, you will need to have any custom recovery installed, since the stock Samsung recovery cannot be used here. Preferably, use CWM5 by tj_style (the one explained above). Also, remember that your phone’s data (not the one stored on sd-card) will be erased/reset, so be sure to make a backup.

Now, download the custom rom of your choice from the Development Section of our sub-forum.

Optional: Check if the zip file you have downloaded is proper (i.e. not corrupt).

To do this, simply use WinZip (Windows) or other similar program to extract the file on your desktop. If the extraction has completed without any errors, then the file is proper, but if you get any errors while extracting, then the file is corrupt and you will have to re-download it.

Now, copy the file onto your sd-card.

Reboot into recovery mode.

Select “wipe data / reset”.

After this completes, select “wipe cache partition”.

After this, select “advanced”>”wipe dalvik cache”.

Now that you have wiped all data, select “install zip from sd” from the main recovery menu, then “choose zip from sdcard”.

[*] Optional, but recommended: Select “mounts and storage”>”format /system”.

(Important, if you are installing any variation of CyanogenMod 7 (cm7) for the first time, or are moving from a stock based custom rom to a cm based custom rom...else you will be stuck on the "android" text screen)

Now select the custom rom that you had placed on your card, and wait for it to install.

Optional: When the install completes, wipe data, cache and dalvik cache again (steps 5,6,7)

Select “reboot system now”, and be prepared to wait till the phone restarts. (Note: first boot may take upto 10 minutes, so do not panic)

Enjoy your new rom!!!

If you want to get back to your stock rom, you will have to flash the stock rom using Odin.

Also, all custom roms are pre-rooted, so you don’t have to bother with rooting again (though you might have to update superuser and its binaries)​

For your first custom ROM, I would suggest sticking to stock based custom roms...

Some sim cards aren't compatible for CM7 and CM9/10 (cm = short for CyanogenMod)...we don't know the cause and effect relationship between them, as of yet...

So, if your CM doesn't boot into the homescreen, try removing your sim card...

If it then boots up without any additional steps required, then unfortunately, you belong to the group of people who can't use CM7 with their current SIM...

The only workaround available are:

Use phone without SIM (unrealistic, since it wouldn't do the primary functions of a phone then)

Change your SIM card

Use stock based custom rom's, and forgo CM entirely

6. Creating and Deleting Sd-card Partition

Partitioning sd-card is basically virtually “dividing” your sd card into parts, so that you can use each one separately for different purposes.

So, in easy words, you can virtually increase your phone’s internal memory and ram (both of which are unsatisfactorily low in our device)

However, there is a disadvantage to partitioning, mainly a slightly slowed phone. This “slowdown” is caused mostly if you:

Have a low-speed (technical word = “class”) sd card

Have moved dalvik cache to sd partition that you have created

Have attempted to use a swap partition

But a lot of people don’t mind this slowdown a lot, since a partition allows them to have access to more apps.

Also, you will lose hot-swapability, i.e. you won’t be able to remove your card from your phone, will the phone is running.​

Before you proceed, you SHOULD backup all of your data on your card since it will be deleted, as the card will be formatted during the process.​

Q) How to create a sd partition?

A) You will need

• A good micro sd-card, with a class greater than 4

(the class is usually printed on the card itself, it’s the number inside the letter ‘C’)

• A rooted galaxy fit running android 2.3.x (preferably on a stock rom), with ClockworkMod recovery

Steps:

Backup all your data.

Reboot into CWM.

Go under “advanced”>”partition sd card”.

Select the size of your second partition (On my first try, I made a partition of 1024MB but found it too big with a lot of space unused, so I deleted the partition and made a new one of 512MB)

This is your choice, choose one depending on the total size of your card, the no. of apps/games you’ll have etc.

After selecting that, select swap size as 0MB (This one also is your choice, but I’ll explain why to take 0MB, and not anything else)

Now wait till the process is completed, and reboot.

As far as I know, CWM v5 makes a partition of EXT3 format, by default.

Q) Why to select swap size as 0MB?

A) Swap partition is made with the objective of utilizing it as VIRTUAL RAM. Now this may sound as a good thing, but in reality the ram in our fit is way faster than the average class 10 micro sd-card. So, instead of speeding up your system, it will slow down your system horribly after a certain point.

So, in short, you shouldn’t be using a swap partition, hence there is no point in creating one if you are not utilizing it.

You are still free to create a swap partition, but I shall not be providing support for that in this thread.​

Q) What if I want to delete all my partitions and get back my sd card the way it was?

A) There are a few ways to delete your partitions and reset your card, and I’ll explain the easiest one.

Backup the data on your card.

Make sure your card is in the phone’s card slot, and that your phone is booted/running.

Go into Settings>Storage, then select option “Unmount sd card”

When the card is unmounted, you will be able to select the option “Format sd card” (which you previously couldn’t)

Select the option and wait for it to complete.

If you want to delete the ext partition, I recommend doing it after a clean install of a stock rom. Else, make sure to move all your apps from the ext partition to your phone.

7. Setting up and using Link2sd

Now that you have created an ext partition, you need to make use of it (duh).

There are a lot of ways and scripts to transfer apps from your internal memory to the sd ext partition, but the most consistent method I found was Link2sd.

This method works across all roms (rooted stock and custom, both) that I’ve tried, even on all variations of CyanogenMod7 (CM7) as well as on ICS CM9 and JB CM10, and is very easy to setup and use.

However, if a custom rom already has DarkTremor's a2sd (a2sdgui app will be present) or any similar script, then DO NOT configure them.

For example: Creeds v3 has a2sdgui, and if i want to use Link2sd, then after flashing Creeds, I SHOULD NOT run a2sdgui, and directly install (and configure) Link2sd...if you run/configure a2sdgui, then it will clash with the working of Link2sd.

Similarly, if any custom rom has any memory hack already implemented, then you cannot use Link2sd...
​

Steps to setup Link2sd:

Download Link2sd from Play Store (it’s a free app).

After it gets installed, run it, and allow root access.

You will get a message to select the format of your sd partition, select “ext3”.

Link2sd will then automatically create mount scripts that it requires to work, and will then tell you to reboot your phone.

Do a proper reboot, and not a ‘hot reboot’.

After rebooting, open up Link2sd, press menu then select “settings”.

Select/check the options “automatically link newly installed applications to sd”, “auto link notification”, “relink lib files at boot” (and “fast scroll”, if you want).

For “install location” option, select “internal”.

Then go to “auto link settings” and select/check all the three options (you can skip/ unselect “link dalvik-cache file” if you wish)

Done

Now, every new app that you will install will automatically be moved to your sd ext partition.​

Link2sd is also an excellent (and fast loading) app manager, with which you can freeze, uninstall, re-install…though you can move only user apps to sd-ext partition.

Also, there is no point in having your entire phone memory empty, so you probably should unlink the dex (dalvik cache) of your apps. I usually link only the apk and lib files, and leave the dex files unlinked and on the phone storage, so as to avoid any sluggishness in operation., though if your phone memory still fills up, you can link the dex of your rarely-used apps, and leave the dex of important and frequently used apps on the phone storage.​

Suppose a custom rom has s2e/app2sd pre-implemented, then after a fresh install, FREEZE the app (rather than uninstall), and then install Link2sd...

Also, if you get error "mount script not created", then choose partition as ext4 (rather than ext3 mentioned below), even though your partition might be ext3...(don't know why this happens with some roms :confused: )

If on some ROM, you get “device/resource busy”, then you need to format your SD-EXT partition from CWM (should be under “mounts and storage”)

[DO NOT confuse this with deleting and re-creating a partition]

8. Installing apk’s through root explorer method.

At times, some of your apk files won’t get installed in the normal way, so you can use this approach to install them. This method is coomonly referred to as "root explorer method".

For this, you will need:

•A rooted phone

•Root Explorer or any other file manager.

Since root explorer isn’t a free app, you can use this free File Manager (my personal preference).

If you are unable to uninstall a newer version of any app, then first uninstall the old version, and then use this method.

Steps:

Get the apk file of the app that you want to install.

Now launch Root Explorer

On the top left side, it will be written as “Mount as r/w”, click that, and allow root access. (basically mount system as read and write, if you are using other file managers)

Now place the apk file at either /data/app or /system/app (if you want it as a system file)

Now set appropriate permissions (For /data/app, the default permissions are rwx rwx rwx and for /system/app, the default permissions are rw- r-- r--)

Reboot your phone, and then check your app drawer, you will find your app installed.