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So I performed a successful root last night of my Dinc and couldn't be happier it didn't brick! Now since I'm rooted, I have a few questions. Since I believe in fair play, I think I want to stay with the stock rom for now, and customize at a later date. I figure I should at least give it a fighting chance. Until then, I was wondering if I could at least install a custom boot animation, and a custom kernel.
Any decent out there for custom boot animation?
And is installing a custom kernel even possible with the stock rom?
By the way, I'm a new member, and look forward to gathering a lot of good information here. Thanks for having me!
The Black Droid said:
Any decent out there for custom boot animation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=759691
The Black Droid said:
And is installing a custom kernel even possible with the stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
and Yes:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=866736
*Note that stock ROM is a Sense ROM, so make sure you don't try to use any AOSP Kernels.
I'd suggest chad's incredikernel:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=848453
specifically:
http://chad0989.dyndns.org/2.6.32.27-incredikernel-12232010-plus25v.zip
I've tried a lot of kernels, and for Sense- none really compare to his. Great battery life and better performance.
Yes there are several kernals you can use. I currently have the following invisiblek kernal (download link)
http://android.grdlock.net/index.ph...ory=HTC Incredible/invisiblek/kernels/testing
I've been moving between Virtuous (a Sense ROM with a few needed tweeks), the current CyanogenMod nightly, and MIUI. All of which can be downloaded and installed through ClockworkMod's ROM Manager (available in the android market). Welcome and best of luck.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
farkmeil said:
Yes there are several kernals you can use. I currently have the following invisiblek kernal (download link)
http://android.grdlock.net/index.ph...ory=HTC Incredible/invisiblek/kernels/testing
I've been moving between Virtuous (a Sense ROM with a few needed tweeks), the current CyanogenMod nightly, and MIUI. All of which can be downloaded and installed through ClockworkMod's ROM Manager (available in the android market). Welcome and best of luck.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
invisiblek is pretty much the AOSP version of incredikernel.
So to say what I said before to the OP, if you're going to stick with the stock ROM then make sure you don't flash an AOSP Kernel (including invisiblek) !
Thanks for the quick responses guys. I'm pretty new to all of this, so I am going to need a step by step guide on how to add the custom boot anime and custom kernel. If you could provide links to these guides, you would be life savers. Thanks again!
The Black Droid said:
Thanks for the quick responses guys. I'm pretty new to all of this, so I am going to need a step by step guide on how to add the custom boot anime and custom kernel. If you could provide links to these guides, you would be life savers. Thanks again!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The guide for the boot animation should be in the link provided at the top of the post.
For flashing a Kernel, basically just download the file and place it in the root of your SD card (not in any folders).
Then boot into recovery (boot while holding down arrow, scroll over to recovery, press power button) and install .zip from SD card. You'll find where you put it, then apply it and it'll restart and you'll have your new kernel.
POQbum said:
The guide for the boot animation should be in the link provided at the top of the post.
For flashing a Kernel, basically just download the file and place it in the root of your SD card (not in any folders).
Then boot into recovery (boot while holding down arrow, scroll over to recovery, press power button) and install .zip from SD card. You'll find where you put it, then apply it and it'll restart and you'll have your new kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I looked around in that thread, and believe it only gives you links to download splashes or boot animations, but no actual step by step instructions
I started out like you... rooted then stuck around on stock for awhile. Once I started into my first ROM, I've tried several now. It will blow your mind!
For your future reference, Warm 2.2 and Warm Z are fantastic, and are both Sense roms you will recognize.
For something completely different, try MIUI.
I have root explorer, so does this sound like the right way to install my new boot animation?
"Mount your droid to your PC and place the bootanimation.zip file at the root of your sdcard. Then using root explorer navigate to your sdcard, long press on the bootanimation.zip file until a popup menu appears. Select "Move" or "Copy". Once you select one, "Paste" and "Cancel" buttons will appear near the bottom of your screen. Now, press the back button to move to the root of your file system. Then navigate to data/local/ and then press "Paste". You'll be prompted to overwrite the existing bootanimation.zip. Press "OK". Then reboot."
So basically, I find the file I want to use as my new boot animation, then rename it bootanimation.zip, and proceed with the instructions. Sound about right? But what about the sound I want to go along with it? How do I tie this in with the boot animation?
The Black Droid said:
I have root explorer, so does this sound like the right way to install my new boot animation?
"Mount your droid to your PC and place the bootanimation.zip file at the root of your sdcard. Then using root explorer navigate to your sdcard, long press on the bootanimation.zip file until a popup menu appears. Select "Move" or "Copy". Once you select one, "Paste" and "Cancel" buttons will appear near the bottom of your screen. Now, press the back button to move to the root of your file system. Then navigate to data/local/ and then press "Paste". You'll be prompted to overwrite the existing bootanimation.zip. Press "OK". Then reboot."
So basically, I find the file I want to use as my new boot animation, then rename it bootanimation.zip, and proceed with the instructions. Sound about right? But what about the sound I want to go along with it? How do I tie this in with the boot animation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also, When I use root explorer to look for the stock boot animation in data/local, it isn't there. I am using the stock rom on the dinc, so where is it???
Edit, I found the boot animation zip in system/customize/resource
So should I just move and paste my new boot animation here and label it VZW_bootanimation.zip like the stock one is labeled???
The Black Droid said:
Also, When I use root explorer to look for the stock boot animation in data/local, it isn't there. I am using the stock rom on the dinc, so where is it???
Edit, I found the boot animation zip in system/customize/resource
So should I just move and paste my new boot animation here and label it VZW_bootanimation.zip like the stock one is labeled???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I remember right, I mounted my SD card to my computer and just replaced it through my PC. I think the way you're doing it will work too, but best to get someone elses opinion since I changed mine weeks ago and don't fully remember how
you could also put the animation on your phone using the adb commands
adb devices
adb shell
cd /system/customize/resource
ls
(check for bootanimation.zip, if its there then delete it like so...)
rm bootanimation.zip
(then)
adb push bootanimation.zip /system/customize/resource
If you find it being called VZW_animation.zip then rename the bootanimation.zip to that. Then delete the old one and push the new one in.
Pretty much the same dance if you're using terminal on your phone, you'd just have to cd to your sdcard and copy it to your bootanimation directory.
Also make sure you unmount system before you reboot if you use the adb route.
...wow can you tell I had some experiences making my boot animations work?
Do your self a favor and just go ahead and flash a new rom like incredibly re-engineered or something. I like the evo port in that rom a lot. I tried a few in the beginning and landed on this rom setup. Make sure you do a wipe first. Oh, always backup. Just do a quick backup of your stock rom, and then try out a few different roms. If you decide you'd like to stick with the stock rom, then just restore it and you're right back to where you were when you back'd it up.
Hey guys, did I flash a new kernel when I flashed incredibly re-engineered to my phone? Even if I have the stock kernel I still have no complaints with speed and I'm used to smartphone kind of battery life...I came from a windows phone...need I say more? Battery life is pretty darn good though, last the whole day, even when I've been using it a lot that day as an mp3 player or gps and wifi and what-ever. I even have the stock 1300 bat in her.
Sent from an Incredible phone
Well guys, using root explorer, I made it all work. Wanted to share my final creation. I didn't delete the stock boot animation though, just renamed it(in case I need to send it in) but all seems to be running well. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MxQvK8YVrY
The Black Droid said:
Well guys, using root explorer, I made it all work. Wanted to share my final creation. I didn't delete the stock boot animation though, just renamed it(in case I need to send it in) but all seems to be running well. Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MxQvK8YVrY
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't care much for the audio clip though. Does anyone know where I can find a bunch of 15 second sound clips???
The Black Droid said:
So I performed a successful root last night of my Dinc and couldn't be happier it didn't brick! Now since I'm rooted, I have a few questions. Since I believe in fair play, I think I want to stay with the stock rom for now, and customize at a later date. I figure I should at least give it a fighting chance. Until then, I was wondering if I could at least install a custom boot animation, and a custom kernel.
Any decent out there for custom boot animation?
And is installing a custom kernel even possible with the stock rom?
By the way, I'm a new member, and look forward to gathering a lot of good information here. Thanks for having me!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CyanogenMod all the way
WOOT!
The Black Droid said:
I don't care much for the audio clip though. Does anyone know where I can find a bunch of 15 second sound clips???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that is pretty cool and the audio is not that bad but the graphics are way cool! excellent work!
Kent_Davis said:
that is pretty cool and the audio is not that bad but the graphics are way cool! excellent work!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I have a feeling I'm going to become addicted to swapping them out
After trying a few ROMs with DK28, there were a few boot animations I liked, one of them being Nebula's. Is it possible to pull that out of the ROM install file and flash? If so which files are needed?
Thanks.
first;boot animations can be dangerous; playing around with them. Make sure to nand backup and/or keep odin at the ready
there is a bootanimation.zip in the system/media folder.
You can swap those out from one rom to another before you flash the rom.
I am not sure what type of update script you'd need, though. To just flash the animation one the rom is already installed.
here is a outside link talking about a honeycomb boot animation and how to get that on your phone; has some good info too.
http://www.androidpolice.com/2011/0...boot-animation-on-your-rooted-android-device/
... have fun and safe flashing.
Samsung Galaxy S III
I'm on Omega v13 ROM and Siyah-s3-v1.5 kernel.
Android version: 4.0.4
I downloaded a boot animation and saved the bootanimation.zip in < System/Media > and deleted the default boot animation from < Data/Local > (also tried placing the zip in data local too).
I set my boot zip with all the permissions.
I reboot my device and the boot animation is still the default one .
While looking in the system media folder I noticed files "bootsamsung.qmg" and "bootsamsungloop.qmg", I cant find on the internet what these files are, are they the default boot animation? What are they?
I'm not sure where I have gone wrong, please could someone experienced help me, i'm a newby at this lol.
Thanks,
Danny K
Bootanimation zip do you have a kernel that supports bootanimation zip files .
bootsamsung.qmg" and "bootsamsungloop.qmg", I cant find on the internet what these files are, are they the default boot animation? What are they?
Default Samsung boot animation files .QMG format .
jje
As far as I can tell, Siyah supports custom boot animation.
From what I can find on the internet
http://www.jayceooi.com/2012/06/20/how-to-install-custom-kernel-on-samsung-galaxy-s3/ - this post suggests it should work.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1818975 - that dosnt really answer the question.
Ask the dev you are getting these custom boots from .
Its always been on SGS1 and 2 kernel supports boot zip yes place bootzip in relevant location that will then replace the stock Boot QMG files from running .
Alternative is to pay a lot of money for a QMG editor .
http://forum.xda-developers.com/search.php?searchid=60562859
jje
---
This post will NOT be updated anymore, as i made a new thread which is more clean:
Custom Bootanimations Collection + How To Install
---
hi there,
ive made two cwm flash zip's that can do the job for you.. it requires busybox, but as you stated that youre using omega v13, you should have that already..
copy your bootanimation.zip to /data/local or /system/media..
boot into cwm, flash CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip and reboot to see changes take effect..
[--EDIT: IGNORE THIS!--
!!!THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Dont ever flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip more than once, or it will overwrite the backup file, and you cant get the stock booanimation back..
--/EDIT: IGNORE THIS!--]
if you want the stock bootanimation again or there is something wrong with the animation (bootloop, etc..), just flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Disable.zip ... or you can use adb to delete/replace the bootanimation.zip with a working one: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=31756526&postcount=50 .. thanks to Kryten2k35, for pointing it out.
if ive helped, hit thanks
EDIT: updated the flashable-zips, so that it dosent matter how many times you flash, it will still keep the backup created at first flash..
EDIT2: Remember to get the disable-zip file too! if you end up with a bootloop because of a bad animation, you can just flash the disable-zip, replace the non-working bootanimation with a working one, and flash the enable-zip again... so its a good thing to have both on the device, when trying out animations..
EDIT3: the enable and disable flashable zips works on stock roms, just tested it.. the only thing that is required for it too work, is cf-root w/ cwm, and busybox installed.. it also works on Jellybean roms, but its worth to mention that loopable bootanimations will NOT work on ICS, only on JB.. if you use a looped animation on ICS you will get a bootloop, but on JB it will pass through the bootup..
allmooossttt
anbech said:
hi there,
ive made two cwm flash zip's that can do the job for you.. it requires busybox, but as you stated that youre using omega v13, you should have that already..
boot into cwm, flash CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip and reboot..
copy your bootanimation.zip to /data/local.. and reboot to see changes take effect..
!!!THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Dont ever flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip more than once, or it will overwrite the backup file, and you cant get the stock booanimation back..
if you want the stock bootanimation again, just flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Disable.zip ... And then you can flash the enable-zip again..
if ive helped, hit thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay well it got the custom boot animation working
but lol.. thats the only thing the phone will display now -__- i waited a while so i tried swiping the screen and it made the unlock sound and i press the lock button and it does the lock animation then locks, press home button and still can only see the custom boot animation.
Guess il go back and disable it :/
Any ideas lol?
Dannyk90 said:
Okay well it got the custom boot animation working
but lol.. thats the only thing the phone will display now -__- i waited a while so i tried swiping the screen and it made the unlock sound and i press the lock button and it does the lock animation then locks, press home button and still can only see the custom boot animation.
Guess il go back and disable it :/
Any ideas lol?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats a problem with your animation.. Inside the bootanimation.zip there is desc.txt file.. Open that, and where it says: p 0 0 part0... Or something like that, change it to p 1 0 part0... If there are more parts, change those too.
The first digit - is how many times that part should be played (0 means infinite/forever)
The last digit - is the delay before the animation begins to play, in milliseconds.
Part0 - is the folder with the animation
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
anbech said:
Thats a problem with your animation.. Inside the bootanimation.zip there is desc.txt file.. Open that, and where it says: p 0 0 part0... Or something like that, change it to p 1 0 part0... If there are more parts, change those too.
The first digit - is how many times that part should be played (0 means infinite/forever)
The last digit - is the delay before the animation begins to play, in milliseconds.
Part0 - is the folder with the animation
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you show me how should a .desc file look?
I have tried a few different boot animations from different websites, all do the same thing.
Dannyk90 said:
I have tried a few different boot animations from different websites, all do the same thing.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are they for SGS3 as SGS2 is a different size .
jje
anbech said:
hi there,
ive made two cwm flash zip's that can do the job for you.. it requires busybox, but as you stated that youre using omega v13, you should have that already..
boot into cwm, flash CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip and reboot..
copy your bootanimation.zip to /data/local.. and reboot to see changes take effect..
!!!THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Dont ever flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip more than once, or it will overwrite the backup file, and you cant get the stock booanimation back..
if you want the stock bootanimation again, just flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Disable.zip ... And then you can flash the enable-zip again..
if ive helped, hit thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks!
Works for me on stock XXBLG8/Siyah kernel with modified desc.txt file in the bootanimation.zip file
JJEgan said:
Are they for SGS3 as SGS2 is a different size .
jje
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
They didnt say.
I cba with all this anymore, im going back to stock -_-
Dannyk90 said:
They didnt say.
I cba with all this anymore, im going back to stock -_-
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you changed anything before running my enable-flash-zip? in that case, what have you changed?
Have you tried open the bootanimation.zip with winrar / 7zip or something similar? If so, there should be a file named "desc.txt" and at least one folder usally called part0..
You could try flash omega again, and then flash my enable-zip, and copy bootanimation.zip to /data/local...
But try send the link to the bootanimation that youve got, and i can test it for you..
usally a desc.txt file looks like this:
720 1280 20
p 1 0 part0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
or
480 800 25
p 1 0 part0
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
EDIT: try download this custom bootanimation test, and copy it to your /data/local
bootanimation.zip
if this one works, it is the animations you tried that dosent work for this device or need some modification for it to work..
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
I didnt change anything.
Yeah thats what i did, i looked at each desc file and they all seemed pretty much the same.
I noticed my battery was going down faster with this root and kernel on so im back on stock now.
I cant link it, its from Rom Tool Box Pro collection of boot animations. Theres a free app of it too if you dont have it. (from play store)
Im guessing it was the rom/kernel that wouldnt let it work properly.
Thanks for helping though
Dannyk90 said:
I didnt change anything.
Yeah thats what i did, i looked at each desc file and they all seemed pretty much the same.
I noticed my battery was going down faster with this root and kernel on so im back on stock now.
I cant link it, its from Rom Tool Box Pro collection of boot animations. Theres a free app of it too if you dont have it. (from play store)
Im guessing it was the rom/kernel that wouldnt let it work properly.
Thanks for helping though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yeah ok, i have omega and siyah too, so dont think thats the case.. but youre welcome
see ya
anbech said:
hi there,
ive made two cwm flash zip's that can do the job for you.. it requires busybox, but as you stated that youre using omega v13, you should have that already..
boot into cwm, flash CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip and reboot..
copy your bootanimation.zip to /data/local.. and reboot to see changes take effect..
!!!THIS IS IMPORTANT!!! Dont ever flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Enable.zip more than once, or it will overwrite the backup file, and you cant get the stock booanimation back..
if you want the stock bootanimation again, just flash the CWM_CustomBootanimation_Disable.zip ... And then you can flash the enable-zip again..
if ive helped, hit thanks
EDIT: updated the flashable-zips, so that it dosent matter how many times you flash, it will still keep the backup created at first flash..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have a loop on this Rom: [ROM][22Aug][XXBLG9 V2.2][XXDLH6 V3.0RC2] WanamLite Smooth,Stable & Battery Friendly
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1705866
Atomregen said:
Have a loop on this Rom: [ROM][22Aug][XXBLG9 V2.2][XXDLH6 V3.0RC2] WanamLite Smooth,Stable & Battery Friendly
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1705866
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried checking the desc.txt file in the bootanimation.zip file? If its 0 (zero) after p, it will loop the animation forever..
If it is 0 try change it to 1..
You might check post #13 in this thread so that you can compare..
Ok thanks to you.
Yes there was a 0 because the start sequence takes longer for other phones, it should be play the second folder until it is launched.
and sorry, I overlooked the other post.
Atomregen said:
Ok thanks to you.
Yes there was a 0 because the start sequence takes longer for other phones, it should be play the second folder until it is launched.
and sorry, I overlooked the other post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thats good to hear
For the boot sound you might want to check /system/media/audio/ui folder. And search for PowerOn.ogg...
Sent from my GT-I9300 using xda app-developers app
Do I need an alternate kernel to use the custom boot animation?
I am still on stock-rom and kernel.
Update: No, I dont. Tried it today and the bootanimation.zip in this thread does work, but others from here: hxxp://androidbootanimation.com/category/1280x720-boot-animations/ dont (black screen only).
I tried to convert the *.png to *.jpeg from the Nexus-Animation, but no change
Hey all,
as i wanted to use a different bootanimation i discovered that stock kernel doesn't like that .
So i thought that i could at least go back to the Original one without problems but that doesn't work either.
Do i have to flash a different kernel now to get rid of the lame stock animation or is there another way?
Put a bootanimation.zip in /data/local and it will play when you boot.
strumcat said:
Put a bootanimation.zip in /data/local and it will play when you boot.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I put it in /data/local and in /system/media but it still just shows the stock one. fixing permissions didn't help either.
stock kernel shouldnt mess with bootanimations at all. maybe ramdisk/init.rc would, not sure if bootanimation service is there (i think so). i'm using JRO03L/3.0.31-custom and custom bootanim work fine from /data/local.
have you tried other bootanimations, or you only tried with one particular bootanim zip? maybe its not packaged right?
Sent from my i9250
bk201doesntexist said:
stock kernel shouldnt mess with bootanimations at all. maybe ramdisk/init.rc would, not sure if bootanimation service is there (i think so). i'm using JRO03L/3.0.31-custom and custom bootanim work fine from /data/local.
have you tried other bootanimations, or you only tried with one particular bootanim zip? maybe its not packaged right?
Sent from my i9250
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read on this Forum that the stock kernel doesn't allow chanigng of the bootanimation.
I didn't know that and replaced the bootanimation in /system/media with one i downloaded and changed the name too bootanimation.zip.
It didn't work so i wanted to get back to the Original which i made a backup of. But now the one that was there in the first place doesn't work either.
Also /data/local never had a bootanimation.zip before i put it there myself.
The animation i have now is the stock android one (android in like.. a metalc blue thats blinking?!) and the bootanimation.zip is the on ethat came with the JB OTA.
Apparently the Kernel thing is bull and i am an idiot. The permissions wheren't changeed correctly and now everything works fine.
greetz Donsaibot
This might be a late reply but I had exactly the same problem like you .
I didn't know what was the reason . I fixed it by making a flashable boot animations in cwm.
It's easy to do .
1- Download an empty flashable boot animation zip file or make your own.
2- navigate to( data/local ) inside that zip file and paste your boot animation.zip there.
Note : Use astro file manager to move and paste your boot animation.zip there without extracting anything.
Make sure your boot animation file is called ( bootanimation.zip)
3- Flash in cwm and enjoy.
donsaibot said:
I put it in /data/local and in /system/media but it still just shows the stock one. fixing permissions didn't help either.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Did you rename it? It must be named bootanimation.zip and you must remove any other in there.
Data/local will override system media so whichever is in data/local will play.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
I already fixed it.
The permissions weren't changed correctly so the bootanim wasn't used.
Can you mark a thread as "Answered"?
Is there a way to backup my boot anymation? When I installed a custom kernel it chanhed my animation I want the stock one that I had. So is there a way to back up the stock animation then flash the kernel then restore the boot animation and keep the kernel?
ecristobal10 said:
Is there a way to backup my boot anymation? When I installed a custom kernel it chanhed my animation I want the stock one that I had. So is there a way to back up the stock animation then flash the kernel then restore the boot animation and keep the kernel?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It depends really. Are you running a stock-based (i.e. TouchWiz, so not AOSP-based) rom? If so, do you mean the boot animation you would have were you unrooted stock? The stock touchwiz boot animation is of a particular-to-samsung (I think anyway) format, and in order to play it a particular binary is used which is called up via the kernel. If the kernel has been made to avoid pointing at said binary then it matters little as it won't know how or where to look for the stock boot animation (although you could try to rename the samsungani binary as bootanimation (back up bootanimation first obviously) in /system/bin... not sure if that would work though).
If you are running a stock-based rom but were NOT referring to the unrooted stock boot animation, then you just need to hunt down where you got that boot animation from originally - if it was from a modified stock rom the file (called bootanimation.zip most likely) would be in /system/media. I believe the same would apply for an AOSP-based rom (meaning they use /system/media/bootanimation.zip for boot animations), so you would just need to hunt down the original.
Not sure that helped at all...
Also, if/when you do find the anim you want, you might not even need to rename it. As long as you have the file, you can install it as the active bootanim through romtoolbox pro.
Edit: not at all attempting to discredit dwith. I've done both. Both work. I'm just lazy.
As fir backing uo, keeo a copy of the file on your sd or in the cloud somewhere. Even if there's a bit if redundancy in storage, it's preferable to loss, imho.