yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
All - I recently rooted my phone. I was excited to start experimenting with ROMs and then got completely overwhelmed.

It was hard to figure out the differences among ROMs, and when I tried to learn how to flash them and try different ones I felt that the instructions for flashing ROMs in the individual threads seemed written for people with a lot more experience than I have.

When I started seeing terms I didnt understand, talk of flashing modems, etc. I totally got intimidated and gave up :o

Can anyone help direct me to the best guide on this site (I have searched around) for a beginner to experiment with ROMs? Easiest to follow instructions? I followed the ROOT instructions on this thread and found them pretty easy to follow step by step.

Also I know we arent supposed to have "best of" conversations, but are there any ROMs that are easier to install than others, where it might be a good starting point to experiment and learn?

I have Titanium backup but I know people talk about things like "nandroid" and while I have found threads that mention these things, I am really struggling to confidently put it all together.

Any advice or guidance? Is this too much of a total n00b question?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lyndone58:
http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1785999

Once you have a custom recovery, you are golden.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] Mike:
All you need is an ICS radio for any jelly bean ROM except for the leaks. You need leaked radio for a ROM based on one of the jellybean leaks.

As for flashing instructions you can follow the op as there will always be instructions posted, but personally I wipe data/factory reset, cache, dalvik, format/data, format/system and format/cache all x3. Yes it's excessive, but I've never had a problem.

Normally you will wipe then flash rom-->gapps-->any other tweaks (ie. Audio, GPS patch, etc)

All ROMs are easy to install. Just follow the instructions in the OP and you should be good to go

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Sent from my Skyrocket i727 running Team Dirt

--------------Nexus 7 running AOKP PUB--------------
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Thanks for the responsiveness. I did install a customer recovery (TWRP) as part of my root process.

But here is where I am breaking down...when people say things like "wipe data/factory reset, cache, dalvik, format/data, format/system and format/cache all x3" and "flash rom-->gapps-->any other tweaks (ie. Audio, GPS patch, etc)" I get totally lost.

So I have TWRP am I supposed to run some type of backup or something with it before flashing? This is sort of the staged piece Im struggling to understand...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
Yes, always do a backup! Boot into twrp and push backup, it's very simple.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] MrGriffdude:
And when flashing make sure your wipe your data and cache under wipe! Otherwise the custom ROM you flashed won't work properly!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
Among other things, yes
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
OK thanks and is that what people are calling a "nandroid"?

After I flash do I need to use this backup or is it just in case things go wrong and I want to go back to the pre-flash setting?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
Yes, that's a nandroid.

The backup is only used in case you want to return to pre-flash
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] vincom:
yes to the backup question

first read my stickies, the links are in my sig, sigs are at the bottom of the post

read and learn as much as you can as you dont want to brick your phone > your phone is as useful as a brick
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Awesome. So I create a backup (from what Ive read sounds like only Systems and Data). Its ok to have it on internal storage and compressed?

Then I use TWRP to wipe data, factory reset and clear cache? Is that correct?

And then I will move on to " dalvik, format/data, format/system and format/cache all x3"...not sure what this means yet but reading up on it. Are these all things I do through TWRP?

Thanks so much for holding my hand through this - I really am trying not to use you guys as too much of a crutch!

Part of what is confusing me, for example, is when I look at this thread - http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1801686 - I dont see anything about the format system, dalvik, etc...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Thanks. I have read the STICKY's in your signature and they were very helpful. Your help is what got me rooted all on my own!

That being said they left me confused at a few steps so thats what Im trying to make sure I get right here.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] droid512:
Which steps confuse you what is your end goal?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] vincom:
thats not our phone

you do have a i727 aka skyrocket, do me a favor, remove the battery and see what model your phone is. if it is i727 dont read other phones instructions
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
doh! :eek:

Wrong phone! Yes I have a skyrocket.

I followed your instructions to put TWRP on and created a backup. So now I just download the ROM and go back intro TWRP, do the factory wipe reset and then choose the ROM?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] vincom:
my advice read the 1 stop sticky, the guide and info sections.

twrp>wipe>cache partition, dalvik, system, reset > then flash roms only from this i727 forum here http://xdaforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1383
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Im on it. Will let you know how it goes!

This may be a dumb question, but once I flash a new ROM will I need to redo my desktop, shortcuts,icons, etc? Will I need to restore all my apps and settings using TitaniumBackup or do they remain?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
Man, you better be careful! I don't know how you end up in a completely different forum.

Download Rom

Place on external sd

Boot into twrp

Make backup

Wipe cache

Wipe dalvik cache

Factory reset

Wipe system

Flash a radio if needed

Flash Rom

If cm based Rom, flash gapps

Reboot
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] Mike:
Backup with Titanium and restore w/ data for necessary apps. I do w/ data for things such as Apex launcher and other apps that have data I want to keep. If you do this then your icons for your launcher that was backed up will come back after the restore. Any widgets will need to be manually placed back on homescreens

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Sent from my Skyrocket i727 running Team Dirt

--------------Nexus 7 running AOKP PUB--------------
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Yeah not too smooth. I got caught up googling around for helpful links and reading on XDA that I ended up following a thread on how to flash, rather than realizing it was for a different device.

Thanks for the patience.

Just to double check...on Titanium Backup I want to choose Back Up all Apps + System Data....then post flash, I restore with the System Data...correct?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
Don't restore system data. Apps only
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Do I place the zip file on the SD card and then use a file manager to unzip? Does the TWRP do this automatically?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
No don't mess with the zip. Place on root of sd card. Twrp does all the work
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
OK Im in the middle of it right now. I did all of the wipes.

Now Im up the instruction "Flash ROM"...is this the Install command in TWRP?

When I do that it selects "use internal storage" and doesnt let me choose "use external SD"...when I saved the files I saved them into a folder called "/sdcard/external_sd"...this is where I found them now on internal storage.

OK to go ahead? Does this sound right?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
It lets you pick which to install from. It won't flash if you place the zip inside of folders. It needs to be on the root of the directory
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
This is like watching a train wreck!
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Guys you are AWESOME. I am now running CM9.1 - excited to see if it was worth all the trouble I put you through!

So now the final step I guess is to get back my apps and desktop shortcuts, etc.

Do I just redownload Titanium Backup from Google Play and then run a restore with data? Will that bring everything I need back, including contacts, google account info, etc?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Hahah yes but hopefully one I will survive.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
So far so good. Good for you! It's a lot easier the next time. Once you get titanium back on only restore the apps. You might also look at only restoring the ones you want rather than all of them at one time. You can always go back and restore the others.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
You should have backed up your contacts to Google before flashing.

Yeah you download tibu. You can restore apps but not system data. Personally I don't restore anything, ever. I do it manually to avoid any problems. But a lot of people do batch restores with it. It's personal preference for me and only takes 45 min or less.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
If I want to get back my as-configured desktops, my touchdown email program with its proper configurations, my contacts, etc. can I restore only apps or do I need "All Apps with data?"
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
I'd try apps only first. The data can mess things up. You probably won't get everything to look like it did before. you're on a new rom. So you have to play around a little to get it to look like you want.

If you don't get contacts and some of your other data back you can go into restore system data. De-select everything and then scroll through and only select the icons that have the titanium emblem on then. These are contacts, Wi-Fi,etc. Doing this might cause some problems but it's usually pretty safe. It's better to select fewer of these at first and then see what you're missing.

Crazy's way of restoring is better and is what I typically do but does take more time. I'm also not sure what you had Google backup before you flashed the rom.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Well, I seem to have mostly gotten there! Things are pretty much up and running and back as before.

Really appreciate everyones help! I view this as a major achievement :)

One problem I am having is I keep getting this message "Unfortunately the process android.process.acore has stopped", after which I get "Contacts has stopped" and sometimes "Exchange services has stopped".

Any ideas what thats about?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
Yea, it's probably something that was restored by titanium. And probably means you have to re-flash the rom. Titanium can cause more problems than its worth.

Did it happen before you restored anything?

Ps, did you do a batch restore with ti?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
yes it started after restore and yes it was batch of multiple apps
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
Ti caused the problems. Did you back up your contacts on Google? The first thing to try is to boot into recovery,twrp, and then in advanced look for fix permissions. Run that. It will then ask of you want to reboot. Say yes. If you're lucky it'll fix the issues. If not you're going to have to re-flash.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
I will try that.

My contacts aren't in google. I use Microsoft exchange and touchdown.

So if ireflash, what should I have titanium do differently to avoid this?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
I would have it only restore your contacts. You can do that in system data, but De-select everything but those. You might have to also restore your accounts there (al though it would be better to do those manually). I'm not familiar with touchdown so maybe that too. If you get a few of those working do a nandriod backup so you don't have to start from scratch each time. You can just restore the work you've done so far. Then it would be best to get the rest of your apps from play store. Although you could selectively restore them from ti, do a nandriod everyonce in awhile. Just look for the stuff you know you want and skip the rest of it.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lyndone58:
Take time to install and configure one app at a time.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Thanks for the troubleshooting help. I need to correct my earlier statement.

I just did a factory reset and before rerunning titanium I am getting the same error messages...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
What Rom?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
CM 9.1
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] vincom:
i might link this thread in the sticky for newbs as to what happens when you dont read enough before flashing/modding the phone. we can stay here all day/week to go through the growing pains of flashing, restoring, radio, data, etc, issues.

cm is not the same as stock firmware from samsung, restoring apps is a hit and miss with titu(titanium backup), resetting wont fix issues it will bork more things up on a custom rom.

as to ur contacts fc, did you install gapps(google apps)? if yes just goto play and install what ever app you had before that handled your email

cm10 should of been your choice of roms
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] xcrazydx:
You really need to start over, get the correct gapps, and not restore from tibu.

Although, your Rom choice is quite outdated anyways. I would use something newer, but it's up to you.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
I really do appreciate all the help you gave me, but Im not sure why you say this.

I read A LOT of your posts and others before undertaking this. I rooted weeks ago and did a lot of reading to try to understand. It may seem like reading up is straightforward to you, but I assure you its not.

I dont want to sound ungrateful - you and the others in this thread have been EXTREMELY patient and helpful. But I do feel I read what was out there and followed the instructions of everyone very very closely.

I did install gapps (as was instructed in the thread I read). I was also given different advice although plenty of it did say to just restore apps from titanium and thats what I did.

I realize this is a variable process that can outcome many different ways with different combinations, and I will try to remedy it with some of the suggestions here...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
It's OK. It's a learning process everyone has to go through. You actually learned a lot on what works and what doesn't. The reading is helpful but until you go through the flash process a lot of it doesn't register. Are you back up and running?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
No not yet. Im trying to do a complete wipe and reflash now. Then I will see whether, before adding anything back, I still have that message. I will also use CM10.

If that goes well, my plan it to start restoring piecemeal, and maybe through the app store as suggested rather than titanium...will let you know how that all goes for sure.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Im about to try and flash CM10 but I havent succeeded in finding an instructions thread for the stable version (I only found the alpha). Can someone guide me to that? Is it here (it just says Alpha for this one): http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=1775133

Ive gone through all the wipe steps and am about to flash CM10 and gapps, but dont know if there is anything else specific to this ROM I need to do (is this a JB ROM that requires me to flash a new radio or something like that?)
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
Cm10 is different Rom, actually there's a whole bunch of them. Can I make a suggestion on the Rom? I'm using vincoms super lite. Down load it and the full gapps package. See his op in the development section. Follow his instructions. You'll do a full wipe like before, flash the rom. Don't reboot yet but go back to install and then flash the gapps package. The Rom is very fast, easy to backup and restore, and had great battery life.

---------- Post added at 05:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:20 PM ----------

Don't need a new radio, only the rom and gapps
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Id like to try the super lite. I had avoided it because when I read around the forum people said its strength was super lite and good battery life, but that a lot of apps might not work with it...so I avoided it because I thought that would be confusing for me to figure out...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
Just get the full gapps package. There is a lite version but that won't be good for you, there are too many additional things you would need to add.

Ps there are two versions of the rom, get the one that doesn't have the gapps built into it.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Awesome. Ive done that and so far things are running. Here is what I am trying to figure out: I use a program called Touchdown for Exchange to synch to my work exchange and manage email, calendar and contacts.

On my stock version the system contacts (which is what I think things like the phone app, GoSMS, etc. rely on) would automatically synch my contacts out of exchange so that all the info would be available to these apps.

I have restored touchdown and all my contact info is in the program, but Im not sure how to get it into the android system for use with the other apps? It looks like I need to add my exchange account or something like that to the Accounts under setttings maybe?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
That's most likely where you need to go. In settings, accounts, see if you can set them up there
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Right now I am working on this step.

I went into Restore All System Data and the selected "choose myself" and then deselected everything. But I dont see Titanium Emblems next to anything. Wrong screen?

NEVER MIND I THINK I MAY HAVE FOUND THIS.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
Good, should give you an option of xml or snapshot
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
Im working on this and still having trouble getting the contacts to synch. IN the meantime if I want to restore to my original nandroid how do I do that?

I tried going into recovery,wiping and then clicking restore and the original backup I made (which I see in the directory). But when I do that I see the "Samsung" intro screen but then nothing...all black.

Do I Need to reflash the stock ROM first or something like that?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
You don't need to do the wipes when you restore, but it shouldn't make a difference. Try it again w/o them.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
The one thing I cant seem to get working:

As I mentioned I synch my email, contacts, etc vis exchange using a program called Touchdown.

After flashing this ROM, I can get Touchdown and all my contacts data back, but I cant get it to synch into the android system for us with phone book, IM, etc.

If I go to Settings >>> Accounts I see Google (which is not what I use for this) and "+ Add account". If I click on the + it brings me to a screen called "Add an account"...I see Google and then underneath it, slightly indented, I see "Touchdown". If I click on that nothing happens. And I dont see any choice that lets me manually add a new account like ActiveSync with Exchange.

Im stumped about how to get this last bit working...?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
I'm assuming you downloaded touchdown from the play store. I see its a corporate email client. Do you need anything from your Corp it department to initiate it? I know I need them to push some info onto my phone in order for me to set mine up. We use fusion mobile. That may be the issue.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] bps119:
This is incorrect, if you don't wipe system, you will most certainly go into a bootloop. I wipe everything when restoring backups.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lazer77:
Personally, never wiped anything when restoring a backup and never had a problem. Every phone seems to handle things differently tho.
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
TOuchdown is working fine. The app is sync'ing to my servers and pulling down emails and contacts.

But on the android the information is not being synched so that android's contacts arent puling in my contacts fro, Touchdown...
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
I tried to do a restore. Wiped everything but when I hit restore after a few seconds the phone screen went black and didnt seem like it had intention of lighting up again ever (I waited about 1 or 2 mins..bootloop?). So I pulled the battery, put it back in, went back to restore mode and reflashed the ROM, which worked. But I didnt seem able to get back into my backedup version. Any advice?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] jd1639:
The screen went black when you were in twrp? Never have seen that before. Did you try it again?
[AT&T Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket SGH-I727] lirong:
It went black after I chose the restore. JD I really appreciate all of your help. I would like to learn how to do a restore but I think it would be best for me to put an end to everyone's suffering in this thread :)

I can always start another one on the restore.

But I would like to take a few minutes to summarize my experience flashing a new ROM so that all the effort you, Vincom, Crazy and others put into helping me on this thread can hopefully help other newbies as well.

1. I am not up an running on vincom's Slim JB. I think I have mostly gotten everything I need up and running and so far it feels really good. Havent used it enough to know for sure on battery, etc. but Im very happy with where I am at on this ROM.

2. For people who are considering whether to flash a ROM: as vincom noted above, there is a lot of reading to be done. I do think even after being diligent a lot of this is a little unclear, so dont be afraid to ask for help. Some people more willingly and others more sternly, but a lot of experience people here are willing to help you try and get it right.

3. My guess is that everyones experience flashing will be a little different. Depending on what you have on your phone, how standard or complex your apps and needs are, how streamlined you like to be, etc. It will all affect what works and doesnt after a ROM, and the more complex the more things there are to go wrong. Im not saying dont flash, but BE PREPARED - it may take time, effort and patience to get things just right. This forum is a great resource, and there is a lot of other googling you can do, but make sure you are willing to put in the time and energy to solve problems and tweak things.

4. I am guessing that part of the improvement I get in experience from vincom's Slim JB ROM just comes from having cleaned things up as part of the flashing process. So if you have performance issues and are nervous to experiment with ROMs, you would still probably benefit a lot from an occasional factory wipe, and then restore apps (whether through Titanium which I learned to be careful of) or through Google Play. Just make sure that critical data is backed up and you should be fine.

Thanks everyone!