Develop Bugs

Wow.

Hi all,
I have been a winmob user for over 5 years and i know pretty much everything about them. (see join date) Though 3 days ago i got a a8183 desire.
My god i have a lot to learn about Android. Winmob seemed so much simplier to pick apart with registry and custom roms.
Anyways i have been reading thread after thread for days yet i still have a couple of questions that i cannot get clear answers for.
I have a a8183 telstra desire running on optus. I have updated to the latest offical 2.2 ROM. (Everyone mentions OTA (over the air) though i downloaded it and installed thru windows).
So i would appreciate if someone could help me out with my questions/assumptions.
1. From what i have read you cannot r00t a froyo OS. Is that right? Though i have found an app z4root that will do it temporarily until reboot. Unrevoked doesnt seem to work.
2. To change system files you need not only root though you need the clockworkmod recovery part of the bootloader. (eg. to replace HOST file for adblocking).
3. You need permanent r00t to install the clockworkmod (so i cannot do this).
4. You cannot remove default ROM apps from your phone without the clockworkmod.
5. You need clockworkmod to install custom ROMs.
So from what i gather.. r00t is good. though really only cause it gets you the clockworkmod recovery which is where you can really hack it.
And to get this i need to downgrade to 2.1, r00t, clockwork then use a hacked rom for 2.2?
Your help is greatly appreciated.

hi sage, i too came from windows mobile so i know how you feel, lucky for me i jumped on the android bandwagon earlier with the htc hero, after i got bored with my HD1, anyway your wrong on quite a few points, so i'll point you in the right direction.
1) the latest version of unrevoked (www.unrevoked.com/recovery) is more than able to root the froyo roms, its a one click app and can root your device in minutes
2) to easly modify system files you need s-off (this is equivalent to HSPL on wm devices) after you have rooted, you need to search for alpharev, this is a linux live cd, you just burn it and boot it and it will security unlock your device.
3) when you download and run unrevoked, it will not only root your device but insatall the latest version of clockworkmod recovery. (just hold vol down and power when your device is off to access hboot, and choose recovery from the list) so unrevoked kills 2 birds with one stone
4) to remove the apps in the /system/ partition there are 2 ways, from recovery using adb, or if you flash the s-off mod, you can remove them directly from your device using a file manager.
5) yes you need clockworkmod or another custom recovery to install custom roms, but now you know how to do it, thats not a problem

Hi Sage,
If you're looking for an easier way to get rid of all the Telstra apps (more like a blob of links really ) on your phone you may want to try one of the stock HTC WWE ROMs. It's clean and you can flash it via exe, just like in WM. The latest RUU I believe is the 2.29.405.2. Also, be aware of the risks of rooting your phone.

thanks for your response guys
Ok so i am now r00ted and running Leedroid's WWE ROM! (thank you!) it was actually pretty easy.
I think unrevoked was failing cause i was using a USB HUB.
OK so now i just want to remove some more of the default apps that come with it.
So i will try alpharev to security unlock my device. (is this permanent or if i reflash my rom it will come back?)
once i have done this i can then delete anything i like thru r00t explorer?
At this stage i am trying to just make some more room for apps. As a number of them wont move to SD Card.
A couple of last questions if i may. I have an new SD Card on order. Am i able to simply copy everything from my existing SD to my new and then swap it over in my phone and it will all be ok? Or do i need 'clone' it with some tool?
Where in the system paths do i remove 'shortcuts' within all apps? (or even simply rename them.)
Much appreciate your help. Android is growing on me. I especially love adb logcat!

ok.. i am now security off'd alpharev worked a treat.
i am now using r00t explorer to try and delete items from /system/app though they come up read-only so i cannot delete them
i take when i get to remove these the phone will have more stoage space for apps yeah?
i also still cannot find where the all apps shortcuts sit! (so i can rename/remove).
and lastly now i have the alpharev bootloader so gonna google how to change that
i did use the Leedroid apps2sd ROM. though most of my apps are still going to phone memory and i cant move them across.
Is there a fix for this? i guess once i work out how to delete these read-only files ill be ok anyway.

Unfortunately removing system apps wont give you more space to install apps, they are stored under a different partition, /system and /data are not on the same disk so you can save as much space on /system as you want but it won't affect /data at all.
With running out of space you have a few choices:
Go to settings..applications..then manage and move as many apps to SD as you can. This is fro-yo apps2sd, not all data is moved and not all apps can be moved, so you will probably run out of space again anyway.
Or
Reboot into recovery and partition your sdcard to create an ext partition, when you boot your rom ALL apps will be moved to the ext partition leaving lots of free space. Backup your sdcard before you partition it, you will lose all data.

Sage said:
ok.. i am now security off'd alpharev worked a treat.
1) i am now using r00t explorer to try and delete items from /system/app though they come up read-only so i cannot delete them
2) i take when i get to remove these the phone will have more stoage space for apps yeah?
3) i also still cannot find where the all apps shortcuts sit! (so i can rename/remove).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) Press on Remount as R/O, this should allow you to delete/replace system stuff & ringtones, fonts...etc.
2)No, because apps install to data/apps & not system/apps.
3)You mean like the applicatiuon menu when we used to delete shortcuts or rename them? Hahaha man that was sooooooooooooo long time ago for me. Anyway, the applications installed are displayer & you can't hide them or rearrange them like Winmo. You might want to try Launcher Pro to hide apps in the apps drawer.
If you need more info, ask freely because 2 years ago I went through the same

mr.r9 said:
1) Press on Remount as R/O, this should allow you to delete/replace system stuff & ringtones, fonts...etc. Typo..You meant R/W
2)No, because apps install to data/apps & not system/apps.
3)You mean like the applicatiuon menu when we used to delete shortcuts or rename them? Hahaha man that was sooooooooooooo long time ago for me. Anyway, the applications installed are displayer & you can't hide them or rearrange them like Winmo. You might want to try Launcher Pro to hide apps in the apps drawer.
If you need more info, ask freely because 2 years ago I went through the same
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hmm..actually the new MTD partition table hack should be able to free space on the /system, adjusting partitions with less for /system and /cache and more for /data/app should give enough space..Though I'm not sure if he wants to try this right now, since it's considered an advanced task and maybe he'd like to get more accustomed to Android before attempting it? His wish though..
And well, there's yet another method to remove system apps, other than the other two methods. This is to modify the zip file of the custom rom to remove the actual apks from /system and reflashing it on top of the actual flash..

droidzone said:
And well, there's yet another method to remove system apps, other than the other two methods. This is to modify the zip file of the custom rom to remove the actual apks from /system and reflashing it on top of the actual flash..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ohh yes indeed. OP, you can edit the zip before installing it to your device. You can remove/replace application in system/data and fonts...etc. Just remember to change signature verification to off in your recovery.

my god. i have spent days on this baby and im only barely scratching the surface
much appreciate all your help guys!
ok.. so its time to use app2sd i hear that app2sd+ is better though? (it moves more data to SD yeah? appcache?)
i only have 2Gb microsd right now so i might wait until i my 8GB arrives before i flash a new ROM and start again (again!)
i also noticed these online kitchens. http://cookmyrom.co.cc
which look great! tho they are still a version behind the leedroid i am using tho its a good way to get rid of some default apps.
i certainly like the idea of reparitioning the default disk though not quite ready for that yet especially when app2sd+ sounds much more straight forward.
i am dumbfounded that you cant remove 'shortcuts' from the All Apps! or even rename them!! my god. i would think that was first thing available on such an open source OS.
So i have now created a folder called "Folder" to reduce the clutter.. and now i guess i cant even rename it!?? and if i create another one its called "Folder" too!
lol.. this OS is so advanced yet some basic stuff seems to be overlooked.
I did try launcher pro though it removed my HTC Sense (which i like). So i might need to keep looking for an app to help organise my All Apps and my desktop (is desktop what its called?)
And just how do i add ringtones?
love your work guys thanks again.

Create a folder called Ringtones on the root of your SD to have...ringtones.
When you open a folder, long press on the header to rename it.
As for organizing, I stopped caring & started to use search, but maybe if you want you can try an app called folder organizer.

mr.r9 said:
Create a folder called Ringtones on the root of your SD to have...ringtones.
When you open a folder, long press on the header to rename it.
As for organizing, I stopped caring & started to use search, but maybe if you want you can try an app called folder organizer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
nice one thank you!

Sage said:
...So i have now created a folder called "Folder" to reduce the clutter.. and now i guess i cant even rename it!??...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Open the folder then hold where it says folder to change its name.

Ok. Now have app2sd working!
thanks to all of you. Beginning to love this android phone now. I feel sorry for all the people who use them as they come from the factory! Thank god for all the xda people who rip them to shreds and make them better

If i can have one last question. Any way to remap hardware buttons to start an app?
Like when you hold down the search button it launches Google Voice. I want it to launch a different app..
I did a search and found the hardware button remapper though it only does hardware to hardware.. not hardware to app

For Folders(Assuming you're using full HTC Sense), just open it and hold the title bar. Took me some time to figure out. You cannot easily rename the apps in "All apps", but you can remove them(Which is essentially uninstalling them) from Settings > Applications > Manage, unless they are system apps which need to be manually deleted either via S-OFF + Root explorer(OR something similar) or ADB + Custom recovery(Clockworkmod or Amon Ra).
For setting a custom ringtone, open the music app, select the music > Menu > Set as ringtone.

so no love on the hardware remap for apps?
Oh well i have done a lot of googling and it seems it cant be done (well at least not easily).
My last question is when you launch an app from a folder the folder stays open.. any way to force close or change its behaviour?

for those following this. I found the Tasker app remaps hardware buttons amongst doing amazing other things.
Still no love on closing folders though.

i ended up using tasker to create app widgets to replace the folders...

If you want app widgets, there's also "Desktop Visualizer".
In terms of killing of an app, have you tried "Settings -> apps settings -> development" then there's an option there for "stop apps via long press"?

[Q] Deleting stock broswer

Is it possible to delete the stock browser with a custom ROM? At the moment if I try and do it from the Manage applications view it doesn't give me the option. But I was wondering if I could manually locate it and delete it without causing any stability issues?
Thanks

You can. ADB from recovery (S-ON), Root explorer (S-OFF).
But I don't know if it causes stability issues - never tried it.

It can be done and has no bearing on anything - just means you can't browse until you get one from the Market

Yes, can confirm that! I'm using Dolphin HD - so removed the stock about an hour ago. No problems.

I can add stock email, news/weather & chat apps to this list - no effect on other apps performing these functions, at least on Oxygen 2.0.1 anyway...

Brilliant, next question. Where is the stock app stored, as I will manually have to remove it.

Zammo76 said:
Brilliant, next question. Where is the stock app stored, as I will manually have to remove it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me it was system/app/Browser.apk
Removed with Root Explorer.
Sent from my customized HTC Desire using TTP

Ah yeah got to that file using Astro but it's only 684KB, yet when I look in Manage Applications it says that the Internet is 13.76MB.
Unless this includes other data rather than just the Browser, but I'm not so sure?

It surely includes other data (like history, cache etc.)

Probably cache and some settings. In manage applications, clear the data (if that's possible), then remove the .apk

in my opinion the best way to remove system apps is to install Titanium Backup (have the phone rooted), then go to apps in titanium backup then hold your finger on it , the menu appears, slide down and click on remove(using recovery bug)...

I have Titanium Backup but I can't seem to find the stock Browser under the Backup/ Restore tab the only thing I have which is remotely like that is:
[BOOKMARKS] Internet 2.2
Am I looking in the correct place?

Only you can remove it, if you have S-OFFed your phone. And I cant help you with that,I have it deleted already. But should be over there somewhere.

I've rooted my phone using the Unrevoked method and have CWM. But when I've checked the H-Boot screen it says I have S-ON, how do I get it Off?

S-OFF tutorial
Also, I forgot to mention, you can remove files via ADB from CWM/AmonRA. Guide here.

Thanks for this I think I'm going to try the ADB method as it looks a little easier. Plus I did read someone if you remove S-Off it can be permanent and effect warranty.

Zammo76 said:
Brilliant, next question. Where is the stock app stored, as I will manually have to remove it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Apps are stored in /system/apps (may vary with rom?). There are a couple of options:
Titanium backup is free from market and will permanently remove any apps - you need root and s-off for this. Root explorer can be used for the same - just delete the .apk file.
You can also do it via cmd prompt and adb, look for detailed threads about this in these forums!

OK I now have S-Off on my phone and its also now obviously rooted but I still cannot delete my stock browser. I've tried using Titanium Backup but I can't locate it to delete it, I've also tried Root Explorer but when I try to delete the Browser.apk it comes up with the following message:
Browser.apk cannot be deleted because the file system is read only.
Also I've wiped data and deleted many of the stock HTC apps & widgets but I don't seem to be freeing up much if any space. My Low on Space indicator has been on throughout even though I have got rid of the following:
Footprints,
Footprints Widget,
Friend Stream,
Friend Stream Widget,
Music,
Music Widget,
News and Weather,
Peep,
Photo Widget,
Stocks,
Stocks Widget,
Teeter,
Twitter Widget,
Weather Widget.
Does it actually free up much space un-installing these?
Can anyone please help with these issues?

Root explorer fix
Hi
The reason Root Explorer comes with that error is because the system folder is mounted ass read only (you can't edit anything on it)
Fix:
1. Browse to system/app
2. In the upper right corner there is a mount R/W button, press it
3. Now you can read and write and therefore also delete the browser.apk
4. Remember to mount as R/O when done

It doesn't free up space as they are located in /system and regular apps are installed in /data.

[Q] Removing/Uninstalling integrated/rom apps

OK, so I'm using my HTC Desire with a custom rom.
It still has the News & Weather app built in, which I really don't like to have on my system, since I use alternatives instead of those.
The news & weather app I want to get rid of came with Ginger Villain 2.* rom and I've tried to find its services/executables, but to no avail.
Uninstalling is not an option when I go the normal route.
I'd like to know the best way to entirely remove some services and apps from the OS. Perhaps I need to edit some files as root in the /etc/init.d folder, which is fine by me, as long as I can erase the binaries that are used for the apps as well.
Where on the HTC Desire storage are these applications located? And why are they not simply uninstallable the normal way?
Thanks in advance for any and all info regarding this.

jult said:
OK, so I'm using my HTC Desire with a custom rom.
It still has the News & Weather app built in, which I really don't like to have on my system, since I use alternatives instead of those.
The news & weather app I want to get rid of came with Ginger Villain 2.* rom and I've tried to find its services/executables, but to no avail.
Uninstalling is not an option when I go the normal route.
I'd like to know the best way to entirely remove some services and apps from the OS. Perhaps I need to edit some files as root in the /etc/init.d folder, which is fine by me, as long as I can erase the binaries that are used for the apps as well.
Where on the HTC Desire storage are these applications located? And why are they not simply uninstallable the normal way?
Thanks in advance for any and all info regarding this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see that you are s-off so this is easy to do. Navigate to /system /app and you will see an apk file for each app. Delete. Done!
I find root explorer the best app for this work - some other explorers won't display thus location or delete the files.

Easiest way would be Titanium Backup. Can disable apps and even better uninstall them from system if you're s-off.
You could also delete them in recovery using adb.
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

Also if you're s-off you can use Android Commander:
- reboot to recovery
-mount /system
- plug USB and start Android Commander
-delete anything you want
- reboot to system
Of course make a backup first
Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[Q] Loose the unneeded stuff

I love my Desire and the new update is working well for me. Finally got rid of that stupid facebook thingy.
Now for the rest, I bougt this Desire but still can't do what I want (or better don't want) to do with it.
I would like the new rom BUT without:
Stock
FM Radio
Footprints
Friendstream
News
News and weather
Peep
Youtube
I don't want them,
I don't need them
and sure ass hell don't use them.
There are better apps for those!!! and I can put them on my SD card
I read some threads in this forum but none of them seems to do what I want. Is there anyone here that can tell me how to remove the apps OR how to bake a GB rom without all of the crap I don't want to have. Last time before update I saw on Modace a ROM kitchen that could take away a lot of the pain but that would cost me to much in my opinion.

you could either remove them with adb or android commander so go ahead and flash away whatever you like and then remove the apps you don't want, or alternatively you can always open the zip and remove the apps you don't want to be installed in the first place they're in /system/app
ADB help http://androidforums.com/desire-all...fastboot-windows-updated-1st-june-2011-a.html

bortak said:
you could either remove them with adb or android commander so go ahead and flash away whatever you like and then remove the apps you don't want, or alternatively you can always open the zip and remove the apps you don't want to be installed in the first place they're in /system/app
ADB help http://androidforums.com/desire-all...fastboot-windows-updated-1st-june-2011-a.html
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In addition to this post, here is a nice guide about system apps one can delete and which should not be deleted:
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/Barebones

[Q] How to change apps before flashing rom

I am deeply sorry if this makes ppl angry, I am sure that there are several topics about this but I simply can't find them, ergo too much information no information..
What I want to do is to change some system apps before flashing the rom, I have tried by simply unzipping the rom, changing the apk and rezipping the file but it won't even flash.
I wanna flash mildwilds oxygen version but I want to change the launcher (lpp), music player (poweramp) and the gallery (quickpic), that's all..
thx for your understanding and help.
c

doesn't make me angry at all, i've not seen a dedicated guide for this sort of thing, only picked it up from others. i now do this all the time, particularly with mildwild oxygen.
i would recommend using 7zip
- make a copy of the rom.zip, so you have something to compare, and a 'stock' backup in case you go wrong
- double click on rom.zip (which opens it, do not extract it)
- delete/replace system apps
- close 7zip to update the rom.zip
couple of other notes:
- don't delete important system apks, like settings for instance
- you can delete lots of other stuff, like languages you won't use(system/tts/lang_pico) and sounds (system/media/audio), saves a lot of space.
- i have found not all apps work on the system partition, they simply force close (don't know why). winamp, quickpic don't work for me, but most other stuff does like go launcher, go sms pro, jorte calendar, elixir. takes a bit of trial and error. you can always move them back and forth with titanium or something like SystemCleanup.
- once you've finished editing your rom.zip, you must make sure that your total system size is less than your hboot system size (<145MB if on cm7r2), otherwise it won't boot. you can check this with 7zip as it should show how big your system will be when extracted.
good luck, i find it more fun editing a custom rom before flashing...

eddiehk6 said:
- i have found not all apps work on the system partition, they simply force close (don't know why). winamp, quickpic don't work for me, but most other stuff does like go launcher, go sms pro, jorte calendar, elixir. takes a bit of trial and error. you can always move them back and forth with titanium or something like SystemCleanup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thx a lot for your help!
I played with Ginger Villain 3.3 and I actually might be able to help you now:
Amongst other app I also moved apps like quickpic and poweramp and at first they gave me fc (like you mentioned) but then I updated quickpic via the market and restored (only the data) of poweramp with titanium and now they both work
Some general tips to whoever wants to try this as well:
If you are on the Mac you can download Winzip for Mac since there is no 7zip for Mac and it's Mac clones don't allow editing directly in the zip file.
If you want to extracting .apk files from your Android in order to add the apks on another rom you can use EStrongs File Manager (source)
- Open ES File Manager
- Click on the menu button of your device
- Click on "Manager"
- Click on "App Manager"
- Long press on app you want to extract
- Click on "backup"
- Extracted .apk files will be placed on the "backups" directory of your sd card
C

charliebigpot said:
Thx a lot for your help!
I played with Ginger Villain 3.3 and I actually might be able to help you now:
Amongst other app I also moved apps like quickpic and poweramp and at first they gave me fc (like you mentioned) but then I updated quickpic via the market and restored (only the data) of poweramp with titanium and now they both work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, will try this too!

eddiehk6 said:
- i have found not all apps work on the system partition, they simply force close (don't know why). winamp, quickpic don't work for me, but most other stuff does like go launcher, go sms pro, jorte calendar, elixir. takes a bit of trial and error. you can always move them back and forth with titanium or something like SystemCleanup.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I realize this is an old thread, but it was the first result of my google search.
I've seen the force close problem and in my situation, the apk filenames had spaces in them. Once I removed the spaces, the apps worked fine. Just something to be mindful of in case you run into that problem.