yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
First off if you're on ANY recovery that isn't CWM 5.0.2.7 you DO NOT NEED TDJS SUPER WIPE OR CACHE WIPE SCRIPTS!!!! Seriously stop flashing these people you're filling up threads with problems caused by both of these scripts and bad flashing methods. Here's how to PROPERLY flash a ROM..

If on CWM 6.0.x.x

1. Wipe factory data/reset

2. Wipe cache

3. Go into mounts and storage

4. Format /system

5. Format /data

6. Format /cache

7. Enter advanced

8. Wipe dalvik

9. Flash ROM then gapps

10. Reboot and let the ROM settle for 5-10 minutes if flashing TW ROMs, this step is unnecessary for AOSP based ROMs.

11. (Optional) if flashing a new radio flash AFTER the ROM has been initially booted for the first time. No wipes are necessary when flashing a new radio but it HAS to be flashed after the ROM is loaded and settled in. Flashing a radio first and then a ROM has caused issues like the phone not even recognizing there is a network for it. ( phone remains in emergency mode )

If you're on a Cyanogenmod nightly a full wipe IS NOT REQUIRED. The proper method of dirty flashing is just wiping cache, ( NOT FORMAT CACHE IN MOUNTS & STORAGE )

wiping dalvik and flashing your ROM. Simple as that.

If using TWRP 2.2+ the steps are essentially the same or use TDJs wipe scripts. They work perfectly fine with TWRP. Feel free to wipe 2x or even 3x if it makes you feel safer about your installation.

And THAT'S IT. People are cluttering up threads with issues than can totally be avoided by flashing the right way. I hope this helps some of you iron out these insane tiny quirks I keep reading about.

Happy flashing folks.

EDIT:

I forgot to note.. if you're still using one of TDJs roms or any other rom that automatically wipes with TDJs SUPER CACHE WIPE, do NOT use any other recoveries other than CWM 5.0.2.7 or TWRP 2.2+. With any other recovery such as CWM 6.0.x.x+, the wipe script breaks the roms ability to reboot properly and the only way to solve this is to use TDJs CACHE WIPE which in turn breaks your recoveries ability to work properly.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] suaverc118:
Thanks man this was needed. Yes threads get filled with this so often. I dirty flash like you mentioned accept I format system first. I also clean flash like you mentioned but never formatted cache and dalvik just system. That's good to know. Thanks

But I will add those new steps. I format system when dirty flashing because on the cm10 Site they mentioned that.

Again thanks
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
I edited OP with a little bit more information for safer flashing.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] playya:
Sad we need to keep telling people how to flash. If you are not sure what you are doing I think you should be very careful before you destroy your expensive toy. Everyone should have an idea on how to flash and restore from a bad flash before they even root. Also as my sig says let Google be your friend people if you run into issues instead of running to a thread and clogging it up...

Thanks for post and this is a bump to keep it on page 1 and hopefully more people will notice it.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Goofy317:
So I messed up and used the darkside scripts with 6.0.1.4 and I can't get my phone to boot, like you mentioned. It also destroyed the recovery, does nothing at all. What can I do, if anything, to fix?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Can you boot into recovery at all? If you can.. download the TWRP 2.2.2.0 zip in its thread and flash it. Its going to hang in the install process but should say twrp has been installed. At that point reset your phone by holding the power button. As soon as you feel the phone vibrate hold down both volume buttons and you should boot into TWRP recovery.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] tickerman:
I have been using the darkside wipe! It has been working great. I don't think that it will brick my phone or anything.....
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Darkside superwipe will only mess your ROMs ability to reboot on touchwiz ROMs. The only way to fix this is flashing the darkside cache wipe which WILL break clockwork mod 6.0.1.4 like the user above. Point is.. don't use either scripts at all on CWM. Wipe the old fashioned way.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] fe1ixs:
I agree. even after switching to twrp I still find the script useful. But op warning about using script with cwm version 6xxx might be true. I have issue with boot when i was on cwm 6 and i had to Odin cwm 5.0.2.7 again to get into recovery menu.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ultratt:
Thanks, always forgot the formatting steps
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Never forget those! Those completely format your partitions.. like formatting a hard drive before you install Windows.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Davy Jones:
Thanks for the guide. One question, how do you format partitions on TWRP? Do you need to?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Luckily enough, TWRP does this in the wipe section already when you hit system, cache and dalvik. Its an awesome and well thought out recovery!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Davy Jones:
Oh cool, I was already really liking TWRP and this makes it even better.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Khameleon:
This thread should be a sticky.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] apicia:
Agree.

Sub'n.

I just followed this and it answers many questions. I have great luck with CWR 5.0.2.7 and the darkside scripts. Everytime I had an issue, I would run the darkside cache script and all was fixed.

Now, since I upgraded CWR, I have had issues installing ROMS, bad recovery installs, etc. Just as you mentioned.

Got a new phone today. Flashed an odin CWR (didn't know the version). It turned out to be an older touch version. I CWR flashed the latest Sk8's recovery. I then followed your instructions. Installed JB ROM and Gapps and it was a success. Not boot loop.

Questions: What do I do if I want to wipe cache and dalvik or fix permissions in the future? What radio is recommended with the latest JB nightly?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Just go into CWM and wipe cache in the main menu and dalvik in the advanced menu. To be honest though you don't need to do this whatsoever. Only when dirty flashing a new nightly. In my experience atleast lol as far as gapps go..

http://goo.im/gapps/gapps-jb-20121011-signed.zip

These should work just fine :)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Bump fer new users yo
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Bump for new users
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] sllxxiii:
Thanks
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Bumpety bump bump
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] TomThom:
Thanks! I'm new to Android and just recently rooted my phone using cwm (the latest version), just a stock root. I would like to install a custom ROM, specifically liquid smooth jb.

Now I used titanium backup for my data and apps. When you flash a ROM there are no apps packaged in with it?

Do you always do a system and cache clean after you install a ROM?

And the specific ROM you want is a zip file or is it a tar file, I've seen both that's why im asking. And you put them in your as card, correct?

Thanks again! ( If there is a noob section please link it)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
When you flash a rom like liquid, it will be a .zip file. .tar files are only used for Odin purposes. Also you do not need to wipe anything after rom installation. Just properly wipe before installing and once its done, you're good to go.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] 850Mda:
I'm slowly getting the balls to go ahead and flash a rom, but i want to be sure i'm clear on everything first. So let me ask this:

I'm on CWR 5.0.2.7, so to flash a new rom all i need to do is DarkSide wipe and then i can go ahead and flash my rom then radio?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] suaverc118:
In my opinion if you are flashing jellybean ROMs I'd go with a cwm 6.x.x.x or twrp. With those do not use the dark side scripts.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
CWM 5.0.2.7 works perfectly fine. I've been using it again lately and have had 0 issues.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Yep. Just flash the darkside super wipe once or twice. Flash your rom then gapps. Reboot and you're done! Works flawlessly. After using CWM 6.0.x.x and TWRP 2.x.x.x I've gone back to CWM 5.0.2.7. After all, TDJ made the Darkside scripts specifically for CWM 5.0.2.7 :D even though they work just fine on TWRP.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] TomThom:
Well I flashed the liquidsmooth ROM and it went great!!! The thing I didnt quite understand was the gapps? When I first booted my phone I didn't see any google apps, then it hit me! LOL! So I quickly did a search here in the forums and found an official gapps.zip installed it and all good! its just amazing how responsive my phone is, thanks for posting all this info! tried to leave a good response in the liquidsmooth dev forum, but since im a new user it wouldn't allow me till i get 10 posts. I will definately donate to those devs though!!! Awesome community here!!!:laugh:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
No prob bud. People like you are exactly why I made this thread. Glad everything is running smooth for you!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] 850Mda:
Cool! i just didnt want to upgrade CWM until i completely understood why some people were messing up there phones.

And i didnt exactly understand what "gapps" were until your post. Thanks alot for posting this. I really think im going to Flash a rom now lol!. Once i find one with everything that works that is lol...
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] dianaramadani:
So, like approximately gabillionty other people, I have a rooted SGS2 that was running 2.3.6 and tried to upgrade to CM9. I went to the Cyanogenmod wiki for the instructions, thinking this would be wise. I believe this to be a reasonable assumption, however, I was wrong. Especially since the install of Heimdall by their instructions fails, because the driver install fails (I also have two versions of Odin AND I have Kies, if it matters.)

It bombed. Hence my knowing about any number of problems that people are experiencing with this. Like so many others, I was in boot loop. I flash it back to 2.3.6 and then to 4.0.3. Odin seems to be working okay for me, so I come over here (hoping I can go to CM9 from Odin), and a bit of searching finds me this How To.

GREAT!

Except...

At the risk of asking a patently stupid question...where am I to get this?

The instructions on CyanogenMod Wiki list a link to 5.0.2.7. http://www.clockworkmod.com/rommanager doesn't have it, and https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.koushikdutta.rommanager&hl=en doesn't either. Unless I'm looking for the wrong thing entirely, which is certainly possible.

Just for the record, the Cyanogen Wiki link to this is broken as well. Their mirror works. (Not that it matters, because I can't load CM9!)

What are TW and AOSP ROMs and how would someone know? Since you've written this guide, it seems you've had a lot of people ask the same questions over and over.

Why would I flash a radio?

Furthermore, this page of the CM wiki http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Latest_Version says that the latest version for SGS2 is CM7, and this page of the CM wiki http://wiki.cyanogenmod.org/wiki/Devices_Overview#Samsung_Galaxy_S_II_.28T-Mobile.29 says that it's CM9!

At this point, I'm completely reluctant to continue searching ANYWHERE, because, as you've noticed, there's at least five different sets of instructions out there that are different from this; some say wipe the dalvik cache (but don't tell you how to find it, although I did), some don't even mention it, some use Odin, some use Heimdall, some use Kies. Some say use Darkside, some don't mention it, others scream to get away. I've never even seen TWRP mentioned until your post.

I'm not trying to be obtuse, but *damn*. I had less trouble rooting and loading a custom ROM onto my G1 than I'm having with this! I get that you're frustrated; so am I, and I assume the other users are as well, because there's SO MUCH conflicting information out there. At this point, I think continuing to search is simply compounding the issue. I'm lucky I was able to get back to stock, nevermind upgrade to ICS.

So anyway, I've got a rooted SGH-T989 with 4.0.3 on it now, and would like to go to CM...and then restore my stuff from backup. If I need to use CWM 6 I need to know where to get it.

Thanks in advance.

:confused:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] suaverc118:
Heres cwm 6.0.1.5 http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1844637

Do not use any darkside scripts. If you get a bootloop just flash into recovery and wipe cache, dalvik and fix permissions.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
The problem is that there are too many recoveries available for this device.

Basically...

If you're on CWM 5.0.X.X or any version of TWRP, use the dark side wipes.

If you're on CWM 6.0.X.X, use the instructions in this thread. If you're planning on flashing any TW ROM, use CWM 5.0.x.x or TWRP use the darkside wipes. Any AOSP ROMs, use the manual instructions in this thread.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] dianaramadani:
Thank you!

Next dumb question: if I format /system, format /data and format /cache, am I going to lose my backups? Wouldn't that be in my data directory? I can always port it to the PC from the card reader if so, provided it will read it later...)

Thanks again.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] suaverc118:
If you do a nan droid/backup you won't lose any backups. If you are talking about apps you will if you are doing a clean install unless you back them up and restore, but I repeat do not restore data on apps, just the apps.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] dianaramadani:
Agreed. And too many instructions.

I still don't know what TW ROMs are, but I'm assuming from context it means "Team Win". I still don't know if CM is TW or AOSP, and don't even know what AOSP is. :-/

---------- Post added at 03:39 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:35 AM ----------
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] dianaramadani:
Oh good thing for me that isn't an issue.

Haven't had that problem; thanks for your concern though.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] sllxxiii:
Thx
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ixJay:
I use TWRP and i do not use the DARKSIDE WIPE script, is that fine?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Absolutely fine.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] eri000:
can we do this steps with other phones (htc,google nexus,galaxy w, galaxy mini ,etc)???? please answer ..this was very helpful
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] suaverc118:
At eri yes you can. It goes for any phone
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] eri000:
thank you ..but can we do this before cyanogenmod for a clean install with no bugs??
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Yes, these are the exact steps to flash cyanogenmod or any AOSP based ROM on any phone.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] TomThom:
OK, I have a question when are u supposed to do a factory reset?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] mycars12:
pretty much all the time you install a ROM from a different platform

if you are dirty flashing you don't need to factory reset
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] 850Mda:
I was just about to flash the "S Bean" rom but then i started getting nervous about restoring my apps and data and also the Gapps, are the Gapps included with the S Bean Rom? what do you do to restore my apps and data.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] yiweitech:
well you needed titanium backup to backup/restore, but if you already flashed it, you can choose to extract from nandroid backup (if you made one). if you didn't then I'm afraid you're out of luck (google auto-restores if you chose to back up, but it doesn't work perfectly. I'm not too familiar with sbean, but check, if you can find play store etc, then it works, but it always helps to keep a gapps pack on your sd,

---------- Post added at 07:05 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:00 PM ----------

remember this saying from a wise man: when in doubt, go into recovery and wipe your phone.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Yea NEVER factory restore your phone through the operating system unless you're running unrooted stock untouched. Otherwise, always use your recovery factory data wipe option.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ri123:
Yes, and my software information goes missing. Now how do i retrieve it?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ultratt:
Thanks for the guide.going to try it next time
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Huh? You mean app stuff? Use Titanium Backup. If you didn't and you wiped, you're SoL. There's no way to flash a new ROM and retain app data unless you're updating your already installed ROM to a new version.

This is a guide on how to properly wipe your phones partitions in order for your ROM install to go smoothly and problem free.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Ostyrion:
Can someone teach me how to download things while in recovery? I don't have access to anything but cwm recovery as my phone is in a continuous booting loop.

And as a side note, my laptop isn't recognizing my phone as the phone never actually goes into "phone mode" or whatever it is that the laptop needs to actually access it.

Thanks!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Download whatever ROM on your PC. Go into recovery. Plug your phone into your PC and go into mounts and storage. Then go to USB mount and voila. Window should pop up on your PC, then begin your transfer.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] crazydude10:
Is it normal that , after doing all the above (and running TDS superwipe), the data remains intact on the data partition ? :confused:

The only way i could actually delete the data present in the data partition is to use the format SD card option in the settings menu.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Ya Mon. Everything on your SD card should remain intact.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ri123:
No, i mean my baseband version...
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
Nah man that doesn't get touched. That's the radio. You don't have to flash a radio every time you install a new ROM.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ri123:
Even the IMEI? I remember a thread mentioning that the imei went missing because of the wipe.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
That must have been a freak accident. I've been using this wiping method for 2-3 years now and I've never ran into that issue. Or know anyone that has for that matter.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] ri123:
So where is all of this information stored then? Surely it must be somewhere?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RenegadeXwarS:
hey thanks for this guide, really helped me a lot
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
No prob bud. :thumbup:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] RushAOZ:
To be honest with you, I have no idea where hard coded information like IMEI is stored. A question better left up to the devs. :D
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] steventrannn:
Are these the right steps for flashing roms in TWRP?

-wipe cache

-wipe dalvik cache

-factory reset

-wipe system

-flash roms & gapps

Update nightlies:

-wipe cache

-wipe dalvik

-flash nightly
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] apicia:
I am curious if the built in CM updater wipes the cache and dalvik. Whenever my phone is not working properly, 99% of the time a cache/dalvik wipe will solve the problem.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] treefrog321:
I wondered the same thing. Some people seem to insist on fixing permissions after flashing. Not sure I understand why. I didn't do it when I flashed Jedi CM and it seems that I haven't had any problems.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Daze7:
Thanks tons for this, helps a lot. What if you're switching from nightly to stable cyanogen? Dirty flash or full wipe?
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] H3adru5H:
You can still dirty flash as long as the version of CM you're flashing is released after what you already have installed. Just wipe cache and dalvik and you're golden.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] decalman:
thanks. very good info here
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] fuzzuy:
Hi,

Sorry to bug you guys here but i am in same boat here that i have flashed with dark side using cwr 6.02.8 and i messed up my phone i can't restore and i can't factory reset also it hangs and than reboot it self i try installing TWRP 2.5 as you says it hang but still no go same any help here please and thank you in advance
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] TJSteveMX:
Happen to me one time last year and what I did it's restore my phone into stock Samsung uprooted using Odin. Go to galaxys2root.com and follow those these steps:

http://galaxys2root.com/t-mobile-ga...-to-ics-stock-on-t-mobile-galaxy-s2-sgh-t989/

But instead ics use jb:

http://stockroms.net/file/GalaxyS2//SGH-T989/JB

Then root your phone again, that's what I did. Hope this help or hoping someone else have a faster solution.

Sent from SGH-989 P.A.C.man nightly 22.3.0/UBER 3.0.80
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] fuzzuy:
Thanks man that's how I ended up doing I am back on stock ics now and rooted.

And retrieved data from titanium but lost my sms messages no biggie but bugs me :)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] mikkreign:
Awesome... I just recently switched to TWRP, and I was wondering the differences in wiping. Thanks guys, thanks Devs for all the great information, and killer ROM'S! :)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] Martunis akbar halik:
Thanks for the tutorial friend :good:
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] H3adru5H:
No problem!
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] volksieboi:
Hi everyone Sorry if this has been asked i havent had a chance to peruse the entire thread.

I recently flashed CM10.1 stable on my SG4 mini i9190. :victory:

Its an 8GB device but my storage shows 5.35 GB available. (screenshot attached)

I followed the steps as given in the ROM thread, but your steps 33 - 8 were not included in the flashing instructions. (see http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=2472669)

Also, this uses CWM 6.0.3.7 so im not sure if this has an impact.

Could this be why i only see the 5.35GB available instead of the 8GB? If not, am I missing something?

Sorry again for my noobness. :o

Your feedback is much appreciated.
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] :
This is the t989 S2 section....anything you follow or flash from here will likely destroy your phone. ;)
[T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S II SGH-T989] TJSteveMX:
That is not true.... Sorry [MENTION=4036181]kj2112[/MENTION] but I use these steps to flash everything on my s4. [MENTION=1960569]volksieboi[/MENTION] your steps where correct... Steps 3 to 6 are quite the same as factory data reset but manually. You always need to use the latest CWM in order to have success when is about flashing roms. The reason that you have less internal memory is because a few files that you have on it...

Probably this is not the place to ask this but also you don't deserve a answer like that either.