[Asus Transformer TF700] macka84:
Thankyou and general info for Noobs

To All that have a TF700t.

I have been flashing custom roms since about 2008, including old htc windows mobile, android phones and tablets. I am not a rom cook, and like most, I was dissappointed when I got this tab last year at how laggy it was. Especially since I was upgrading from the TF300. I had tried multiple roms, but this one was the first to really make any breakthroughs. At current, I am running the latest Zombi pop beta, internal flash, f2fs data, Highest resolution, and it is great. It is on the latest android, stable, responsive, and no random reboots. I am running the grimlock kernal, which I think has really helped as well. The last rom I flashed on my tf300 also had a kernal written by the same person that did this kernal, and that thing is a speed demon.

Their are a couple of pitfulls with this tablet though, no amount of romming seems to fix them.

DONT install the facebook app. I don't know why, but this app will bog the tf700. Seriously if you want to check facebook with your tab, use a browser. This rom comes with the stock android browser (Not Chrome), which is built from webkit, the same engine that runs firefox and chrome, but very slimmed down.

The airdroid app also seems to have the same problem, which is a pitty, because I like that app. I don't know about the other social networks, because I dont use them.

If you do have a TF700 and thinking about using this rom, do it. Follow the instructions carefully.

I would reccomend going to F2FS Data. For those of you that don't know wha this meens, It is a file system developed specifically for flash memory. It stands for Flash Friendly File System. Android traditionally uses EXT4, Which is a Linux file system. It like NTFS (Windows) was designed for platter type hard drives, which is innefficient for flash memory. That coupled with the fact that asus for some reason used slow flash for this tab, I believe is the reason for the excessive lag on this tablet.

I was running Rom2SD, on the fastest microsd card I could get, but for some reason, this just didn't want to work with the grimlock kernal. I have since gone internal again, and it has never been faster. If you are going to try this, follow the instructions on the front page of this forum. It requires using linux with Gparted to create partitions in a specific order on the respective sd card (It is not for the faint hearted). The point was to use fast SD memory to load the rom, rather then the sluggish internal memory. But since grimlock has performed his magic, this doesn't appear to be a problem anymore.

Installing Google Apps is a personal choice. Android was and still an open source Operating System. Some people see Google Apps, (Playstore, Youtube, Gmail, Etc) as contradicting open source, as these are closed source. That, and if you need to their is not a single android app, which you cant find the apk package file for on the net and install yourself. This is not hard, but for shear convenience, and to keep everyting up to date, I keep google play at least installed. This does not stop you from installing things manually though, but you do need to enable "install from unknown sources" in settings.

Their are some really good apps, which you won't get on google play. Adaway, which comes with this rom Blocks all adds (Browser popups, in app adds). Tubemate allowsyou to download and save youtube videos.

For those that do not know what root access is, it is similar to when administrative privledges on windows. It allows you and your apps to change or access system settings on your device. This scares the crap out of manufactures, because if you do or allow the wrong thing, it may damage your tablet. By default Every Android ddevice I have owned when stock, has not had root access. With this rom it comes with root access. If you are still on stock, you have to use the asus apk to unlock the bootloader. Their is no other way. This is so asus can keep track of who has unlocked, so that when someone comes to them and says "My tablet doesn't work" they can say "Your tablet is unlocked, your warrenty is void". In any case, even when you do unlock, it still may not work, as some 2nd hand devices out their may have already been unlocked, and then re-locked by a third party, befor being sold to you. this will present itself as "Network connection error" or words to that effect. I had to get in contact with asus and explain the problem to them so they could fix their database, and I could unlock my tablet, but hopefully this won't happen to you. "without unlocking the bootloader, you may only get limited root access, and you will not be able to flash custom roms.

Now you are still on stock unrooted, but unlocked, I would seriously consider using the wheelie and nvflash programs to brick proof your tablet first. this protects against having a corrupted bootloader. This is not mandatory, but I got burnt with my last tablet this way, which was why I upgraded. I did repair my last tablet, but it was with a 2nd hand motherboard, shipped in from the states which cost me about $100 ($80USD). This allows a very base level access through an NVIDIA app, but you need to make the recovery files before you have a corrupted bootloader.

For more info Search NVFlash Brickproof TF700. I Can't post the link, because I don't post much that often.

Once you have unlocked your bootloader It is reccomended that you put on a custom recovery. The 2 main ones are Clockwork Mod Recovery (CWM), and Team Win Recovery Project (TWRP) The stock recovery is their for stock rom installations, the last of which for this tablet came out 2 years ago. For this rom, I believe it is reccomended to use TWRP, Page one has a link and instructions. You will need a computer with ADB and Fastboot. I think you can flash this from your tablet, but really not reccomended. This is where their is serious risk of corrupting your bootloader, and if you haven't Conducted NVFlash Brickproofing shown in the last paragraph and the worst happens, you may as well throu out your tablet. It will cost more to repair then replace.

Their are plenty of downloads availible with the ADB and Fastboot Binarys, If you are on windows, you will need the asus drivers. Links on page 1.

I believe the TWRP on this Thread comes with an option to format data to F2FS. This is the easyiest way. The rom installer does not do this for you. The Option to select F2FS, imply informs the installer that you already have F2FS Data, and leaves it, as oppose to format it to EXT4.

TWRP also allows you to do a complete System backup and restore. This is a good Idea in the custom rom world, because not every custom rom is perfect. SO if you install a new rom with a backup of an old good rom, and the new one doesn't work out, you can always revert back to the last one.

You will here people talk about clean install vs dirty install. With Android their are 5 main partitons. System, Cache, Dalvik Cache, Data, and internal sdcard. Usually the internalSD Card is part of the data partition, and on this tablet, it is presented as "0". The Data partiton is where all of your settings, apps and app data is kept. The Cache is like a page drive or swap area, where running app data was stored for background apps. The Dalvik Cache used to be a special Cache for the Dalvik Virtual Machine, which is no longer used. In android 5, it is now where the Post compiled app data is now stored by ART. On the first boot of Android 5, it will say "optimising app number x of y". this is where that data get stored. The system partition is where the ROM is installed to. The android OS and any System apps (The ones that you can't uninstall are installed here.

So what is the difference between a clean and dirty install. Clean wipes everythin except "0". 0 is any personal documents, photos, music etc. Not to do with you system. But All previous apps and associated data will be gone. Dirty only wipes system and Cache, leaving Data. The advantage is that you get a new system rom without having to reinstall all you apps and settings. the dissadvantage is that with the new system, some of the old apps may not work as well, and generally the system may actually be slower, less reliable or stable. You should be able to avoid this by wiping the Dalvik Cache, but a clean install may still ne necessary.

Android 5 is different to all of its predecessors because it has a new runtime. Without going into geeky details, All android apps will run with greater cpu efficiently (Faster, and using less battery power). It is a good thing. Android Runtime (ART) was released at the end of 2013 as a developer option on android 4.4, so that depelopers knew what was coming. In android 5, it has become the default.

In conclusion this is an awsome rom that I would recommend to anyone who has this tablet, even in its Beta stage. Don't Let Beta 2 fool you, These guys have been working on this rom since android 5 was released, and their have been over a dozen developmet roms released. they restart the Beta count when they upgrade to the next android release. they aren't releasing as often now because they are finding fewer bugs to fix. This is a good thing. If you have used custom roms in the past, then you know what you are doing. If you haven't Read the instructions before asking questions. These guys are great at what they do, and they do it for free, but please remember they do have lives of their own. If you do have a question they are usually happy to reply, but remember they are not paid service providers. They are very Talented enthusiasts, who do not deserved to be trolled if you are not happy with their work. XDA Developers is a global social network of Portable Device Enthusiasts, who collaborate on projects not because they are paid (Which they aren't) but because thaey love what they do. If you have a question, Google is your friend. In my time doing this, I have always been able to find the answeres I needed without asking.

Thankyou for reading. Sam