Develop Bugs

[Q] very new to htc and smartphones and i don't know anything, i need HELP

hi everybody you guys are geniuses!
i m new to this whole spartphone thing! i just bought my htc evo and i m trying to root it but i don t even know the basics! what is a flash and how do i flash? what is sd configuration and how do i do that! how do i do backup ;nandroid backup?what is a kernel and how to put it into my rom!! basicly i need all the info from the begining until i run a custom rom! i really need help on this one! thank you!

Google is your friend

_MetalHead_ said:
Google is your friend
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1
There are plenty of people around here that like to help, but asking to have the entire android guide spelled out for ya is a bit much. Go search and read up on what you can understand, then read a little further. When it starts to get confusing again, come back and ask a specific question or two. You will get a lot more help that way.

That s why I m asking! I did look it up, and it s confusing
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

utzu said:
That s why I m asking! I did look it up, and it s confusing
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You gotta look up the tutorials. Flashing means moving something to your SD card and installing it.

unrevoked is kinda advanced since ur brand new..search on youtube for how to root evo 4g
swyped htc supersonic

stay stock

Google the basics . Most people don't have time to explain everything to you. There is a lot to learn, and I would advise you to not mod your phone unless its something you like to do. Your home work too google.
What is : nand recovery, back up, restore
What is: flashing
What is: recovery
What is: sd card, what is stored on it
What is a : rom
What is a :kernel
How do I flash them?
Learn what a ".apk" file is
What two recoveries do you have to choose from?
What is root? And its history (where it came from)
What is "su command"
What is "s" off and "s" on
Like I said, if you don't like too do this stuff and aren't a geek like the rest of us then I wouldn't bother, it takes a lot of reading and learning, one thing we all have in common is we are all still learning.
Sent from my netarchy_toast, froyo beast of a machine evo!

Honestly, I would love to help, but you are asking too much. It takes weeks, months, even years to get fully acquainted with android and hacking it, especially if this is your first smartphone. If I were you, I would enjoy being stock for now. Once you figure out how to use either terminal or command prompt (Mac or pc, in that order) then maybe start making gradual changes. If you need ANY actual help, pm me as you would not be the first noob i helped. I consider it my duty (ha). Take developments from the experts, give info to the noobs. Really, get familiar with everything, look up some stuff, watch some videos, and if you still need any help, shoot me or another one of the experienced and helpful devs at the xda a pm (private message. Click their name and it will give you the option.) and you will be helped, I garuntee it.

utzu said:
hi everybody you guys are geniuses!
i m new to this whole spartphone thing! i just bought my htc evo and i m trying to root it but i don t even know the basics! what is a flash and how do i flash? what is sd configuration and how do i do that! how do i do backup ;nandroid backup?what is a kernel and how to put it into my rom!! basicly i need all the info from the begining until i run a custom rom! i really need help on this one! thank you!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hahahaha really! I mean c'mon did you even read any of the sticky's (threads at the very top of the forums)? Youll be amazed that all or most of your answers are there..
Heres a link to get you started read the page and click the links and read some more.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/wiki/index.php?title=HTC_Supersonic&useskin=vector
Not picking on ya but you need to understand the basics on yor own because its likely your phone will get messed up if you dont, and you are the only one to blame if it does. Thays why its important to fully understand what you are doing, remember flashing anything to your phone WILL void the warrantee if you screw up so be carefull.

Read for a month!
Read up on everything for a month, then start your EVO hacking experience!
Here are a few that are great starting points:
Common Misconceptions and Info
HTC EVO WIKI
How To Use These Forums
How To Search XDA
Helpful/Popular Threads
REMEMBER! - Any question you are thinking to ask, has most likely been asked and answered before on these forums SO SEARCH!
Good luck, and welcome!

I would start here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=706411
once you get that done the custom recovery is installed things will be much easier
I used that root method one my replacement evo and it worked just fine.

BrianDigital said:
I would start here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=706411
once you get that done the custom recovery is installed things will be much easier
I used that root method one my replacement evo and it worked just fine.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is if the OP does NOT have Android v2.2.
OP - If you go this route you will need to downgrade in Regaw's 2.2 ROOT METHOD, but stop before using unRevoked.

I am in an overly good mood today so i will help out with some basic information
What is : nand recovery, back up, restore - A nand back up is basically a way to back up your phone its rom and settings. a nand restore uses the a nand back up you made to put your phone back to where is was when you made the nand back up (think about a restore point on a windows computer very similar concept).
What is: flashing - Flashing is the process used to install system files. this is usually done through a recovery which i will get into below. the reason it is called flashing and not installing is because it needs to be done through recovery and is a slightly different process but in more basic terms it is basically installing your rom or radio or other system critical pieces onto the phones internal memory.
What is: recovery - a recovery is basically a program that lets you access some advanced system features, these include nand back up and restore, wiping cache, data, and dalvik, and the ability to flash (install) certain files to your phone. to get into a recovery with your phone off hold volume down and the power button you will load to a white screen with several options (this is the hboot or bootloader) select recovery.
What is: sd card, what is stored on it - Out of the gate your sd card is set up as it should be. their are a few reason you might change this however with 2.2 it has become less of a need and i recommend just leaving it be. The main reason people configure there sdcards is to allow a script called apps2sd to work. what this does is it allows you to store all your apps on the sd card they are normally stored on the phones internal memory. Froyo or 2.2 (the android os version on your phone) has the ability to allow apps to move to your sd card through the settings. now this doesn't work for all apps as it has to be turned on by the app creator but many it will. Because of this i would leave your sdcard alone while you learn the ropes.
What is a : rom - a rom is basically the operating system of your phone. what a rom does is replace the default os with a custom one that has been tweaked or built by a developer. this is the piece of the phone you interact with.
What is a :kernel a kernel is basically the software that translates what you do in the rom to the hardware. think of it as the phones steering wheel. you let the phone to do this and the kernel interprets it so the hardware knows what to do,
How do I flash them? To flash files is relatively easy you place them on the root of your sd card (basically drag and rop onto the sd card but not in any folder). then you boot into the recovery. in the recovery you shoudl be able to find the options to wipe cache, wipe data/factory and wipe dalvik. you select each of these and then yuo select flash .zip from sd. next you scroll to the file you want to flash (the rom or kernel etc you want) and select it (normally power button) you should then flash the rom. once it is flashed select back until you see reboot phone and then reboot it and you should boot up with your new rom.
What is "s" off and "s" on - s on and s off is basically the way you can tell you are rooted in the bootloader (or hboot i talked about above) at the very top you should see one of these options. what these mean is whether your phone requires a signed file (s on) or whether it can flash unsigned files (s off). for now just consider a signed file as an official file with an unsigned file being unofficial or modded.
Now hopefully this explains a bit of the basics better and gives you enough information to better understand what is going on. My recommendation is to take the steps to root flash etc 1 at a time it is easy to read through all the instructions and go wow this is confusing. it really isnt as bad as it seems and as long as you follow each step you should be fine. just do exactly what each step tells you to do and dont worry about the next steps till you are there. you still have a lot to learn and the best way you can learn it is by searching the forums think of it as your library.
many people are glad to help however as you can see from some of the posts it is expected that you at least try to learn and research things for yourself. if you get stuck on something ask and you will normally get an answer just try remember if you cant take the time to search and research things you shouldn't expect others to take the time to help. i'm not saying you did i ma jsut giving advice for the future.
anyway best of luck and hopefully this will get you in the right direction.
NOTE: i have "dumbed" down some of the explanations to give the jiest of the idea with out getting to technical so for those that are more technical it is on purposse.

[Q] Flashing HTC Sense on my T-Mobile G2 (Help!) :)

Hello everyone, I'm not only completely new here, but also to the whole process of "rooting", "flashing", and other aspects of unlocking my G2 device.
This thread was not only made for helping me and directing me to where I go about "installing" the Sense UI - but along with a couple questions.
I'm sure there are several users on here who have done this process, and I ask what made you make the "switch". What does Sense have over the apparently "stock" android UI that the T-Mobile G2 is shipped with.
Second Question: If I were to install Sense on my G2; and seeing as how theoretically with the Stock UI on the G2 updated would be attained faster, would the installment of Sense on my phone hamper such "updates" in any way shape or form?
Third Question: If it turns out that I'm not satisfied with the Sense UI experience, can I quickly revert back to my Original UI? What would I lose in the process, and what could possibly happen to my phone?
Fourth Question: How "hard" would you consider this installment? I consider myself being pretty tech-savvy; however I have yet to venture in any sort of way as how to even begin "rooting" my phone. As such I believe I have come to the best for help.
Fifth Question: Is there any step by step instructions/videos out there that depicts exactly how to install Sense on my G2?
I believe this covers all of my questions at the moment, and I appreciate any and all whom of which allocate their time in attempts to ease me in the process of not only making this decision, but when/if I do indeed decide to install Sense on my G2.
Thanks everyone - and Happy Holidays!

You have to root first before being able to completey install sense ui ..from there its extremely easy with rom manager to install...
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Go to the unlockr.com it answers all your questions on the g2 section and has videos
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

kingvaj23 said:
You have to root first before being able to completey install sense ui ..from there its extremely easy with rom manager to install...
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Information and guides for all of this can be found in the stickies. That'll explain all of it better than could be answered here.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

I usually don't post but before you get roasted by everybody else ill give you a little bit of help. Go in the forum G2 android development. Read the first couple threads to learn how to use the search bar. If you want sense then look at virtuous rom. Its a pretty good version of sense I used it for about a month with no problems at all. If you go to the first post in the thread that the rom is on it will tell you how to go about doing everything. In this forum you'll also find threads that tell you many possible ways of going about rooting your G2. Just make sure that you know that whatever you do to your phone is what YOU do to your phone. I am no way shape or form trying to get you to brick your what I assume to be a new device. Just read up and follow ALL instructions carefully.

Much better said thanks lol
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

It probably makes sense for you to flash a custom ROM that is based on the Sense ROM. That way you will get all the Sense stuff. You won't get any OTA (Over The Air) updates if you're on a custom ROM, but that shouldn't matter, because hopefully whoever cooked up the ROM will be keeping it up to date anyway (and probably more quickly than HTC/carriers).
What you should do is get root/S-OFF on your phone (I recommend using the guide in the Wiki - http://forum.xda-developers.com/wik...cess_.28Permanent_Root_.2F_.22Permaroot.22.29 - plus this guide to get adb working on your PC - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=865685 ). Then, *before* you flash a custom ROM, install the ROM Manager app (from the Market) and flash Clockwork Recovery (from within ROM Manager), then that will let you do a full backup of your stock ROM, which you can easily restore to if you every want to in the future.
It's not at all hard to do once you read up and learn about the steps. It might look daunting at first, but it's pretty simple if you carefully follow the guides. If in doubt, ask questions before you do anything.

1. Sense's camera app is miles ahead of the stock Android camera, as is the music player, and there are a few other niceties as well.
2. Once you switch to custom ROMs, you pretty much lose any of the updates released from the carriers/manufacturers. The good news, though, is that developers typically get ahold of these updates and 'fix' them so you can apply them yourself. It's not really a big deal, honestly.
3. Yes. Since HTC has the G2 with stock and the Desire Z with Sense, and they're the same hardware, it's pretty simple to switch between Sense and Stock - just a simple flash.
4. Take the time to read through the walkthroughs - I recommend using the rage method and not VISIONary, but that's me personally. Read through the walkthrough entirely, download the components you need, and then do it. Setup/prep takes ~20-30 minutes, actually rooting your phone only takes like, 5-10 min. It's pretty easy if you can follow directions. Don't overthink it.
5. You need to perm-root your phone first, and install ClockworkMod recovery. I believe the rooting walkthroughs all include the ClockworkMod installation.
Once you have ClockworkMod installed and working, installing a ROM is as simple as downloading a zip file, putting it on your memory card (doesn't need to be in a special folder or anything, just toss it on there) and then choosing that zip file from a menu.
Here are some terms you'll want to know:
Recovery - like BIOS, for your phone (ClockWorkMod is the one you'll use)
Nandroid - full image backup of your whole phone. before you make *any* changes in clockworkmod/rom manager, do a nandroid backup.
SetCPU - free when you register on XDA. Lets you easily overclock your processor and setup profiles (drops the speed if your phone overheats, underclock when the screen is off, etc)
APK - the installer file for Android (kinda like an .exe)
ADB - part of the Android SDK. You can install the SDK to your computer and then use ADB to make changes to your phone from your computer via USB.
ROM Manager - free app on the Market that lets you manage ROMs - you can download new ones, upgrade the one you've got, manage nandroid backups (rename, delete, etc), boot into recovery, etc. Highly recommended.

Well said, everyone. I was very tired and should have mentioned going to the development section, specifically.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

the orange bandit said:
1. Sense's camera app is miles ahead of the stock Android camera, as is the music player, and there are a few other niceties as well.
2. Once you switch to custom ROMs, you pretty much lose any of the updates released from the carriers/manufacturers. The good news, though, is that developers typically get ahold of these updates and 'fix' them so you can apply them yourself. It's not really a big deal, honestly.
3. Yes. Since HTC has the G2 with stock and the Desire Z with Sense, and they're the same hardware, it's pretty simple to switch between Sense and Stock - just a simple flash.
4. Take the time to read through the walkthroughs - I recommend using the rage method and not VISIONary, but that's me personally. Read through the walkthrough entirely, download the components you need, and then do it. Setup/prep takes ~20-30 minutes, actually rooting your phone only takes like, 5-10 min. It's pretty easy if you can follow directions. Don't overthink it.
5. You need to perm-root your phone first, and install ClockworkMod recovery. I believe the rooting walkthroughs all include the ClockworkMod installation.
Once you have ClockworkMod installed and working, installing a ROM is as simple as downloading a zip file, putting it on your memory card (doesn't need to be in a special folder or anything, just toss it on there) and then choosing that zip file from a menu.
Here are some terms you'll want to know:
Recovery - like BIOS, for your phone (ClockWorkMod is the one you'll use)
Nandroid - full image backup of your whole phone. before you make *any* changes in clockworkmod/rom manager, do a nandroid backup.
SetCPU - free when you register on XDA. Lets you easily overclock your processor and setup profiles (drops the speed if your phone overheats, underclock when the screen is off, etc)
APK - the installer file for Android (kinda like an .exe)
ADB - part of the Android SDK. You can install the SDK to your computer and then use ADB to make changes to your phone from your computer via USB.
ROM Manager - free app on the Market that lets you manage ROMs - you can download new ones, upgrade the one you've got, manage nandroid backups (rename, delete, etc), boot into recovery, etc. Highly recommended.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really liked your explanation on everything that I asked for. I can't thank you enough!
Also thank you to everybody else that has posted in this thread - much appreciated
However I have one more question, seeing as how Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) is now on the table, and presumably the G2 (if I keep at it stock/as is) will receive it in the coming months - do you recommend installing Sense? Or just waiting for 2.3?
I'm sorry if that's not a good question, as you can see I'm still unfamiliar with Android (coming from a Sidekick LX hahaha); for what I understand is that Sense is just an overlay over the OS right? Or something of that sort?
Anyways what I'm really trying to say is, would it be easier for me to just wait it out for the Update (2.3) or go ahead with Sense?

Im Too Legendary said:
However I have one more question, seeing as how Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) is now on the table, and presumably the G2 (if I keep at it stock/as is) will receive it in the coming months - do you recommend installing Sense? Or just waiting for 2.3?
I'm sorry if that's not a good question, as you can see I'm still unfamiliar with Android (coming from a Sidekick LX hahaha); for what I understand is that Sense is just an overlay over the OS right? Or something of that sort?
Anyways what I'm really trying to say is, would it be easier for me to just wait it out for the Update (2.3) or go ahead with Sense?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You will get 2.3 quicker if you go to a custom ROM. There are builds of Cyanogen right now based on 2.3 (see the dev forum), and he is bound to release a full version before HTC/T-Mobile get round to their official 2.3 updates.
Some people like Sense ROMs, others hate them. The only way to find out for sure is for you to try one. Do a nandroid backup of your G2 ROM before you flash, then it will be very easy for you to go back to stock if you want to (e.g. if you don't like Sense).
Sense is basically a set of different apps and widgets for the phone, with a Sense framework embedded into the ROM to support these. e.g. some extra widgets you can use, different SMS app compared to stock, different camera app compared to stock, etc, etc.

Yes, Sense is an overlay, a new Graphical user interface for the OS.
As for 2.3, I'd go ahead and do the Sense ROM now, and wait for the stable 2.3 ROMs, which should be about a month or so. As noted, there are currently builds of 2.3 that you can install on your G2, but various things aren't working (WiFi seems wonky, video cam doesn't work, etc). These will be fixed eventually.
Flashing a new ROM is so easy it's not even funny - slap Sense on there now, so you can enjoy it while you're waiting for Gingerbread.

Some great responses above. But wanted to clarify, since the OP seems a bit clear. There is no way to "install" only Sense. Its too embedded into the ROM/OS as steviewevie mentioned. You need to flash a whole new ROM, which will wipe your phone. What you will then have is a phone with Froyo and the Sense UI.
Custom Gingerbread ROMs with Sense will eventually show up on XDA. But it will probably not happen until after HTC releases a device (or updates an exisiting device) with Gingerbread & Sense.
Sent from my HTC Vision using XDA App

Absolutely amazing responses people, I can't thank you all enough for your input!
However I'm having problems with what would seem so "simple" to you guys. I can't seem to be able to install ADB on my phone - I swear I've done everything that I could/followed the thread posted by stevie. Yet the command prompt won't recognize my phone.
Even more so, when I downloaded the program for my G2 (Desire Z HTC Sync Software) the software didn't even recognize my phone was plugged in via usb. I'm using the official USB that came with my phone, and when I plug it in via usb I'm able to transfer files to and from my computer/G2.
Yet it's not being "recognized" by either programs (HTC Sync or ADB/Command Prompt)
Anyone have any ideas?

Im Too Legendary said:
However I'm having problems with what would seem so "simple" to you guys. I can't seem to be able to install ADB on my phone - I swear I've done everything that I could/followed the thread posted by stevie. Yet the command prompt won't recognize my phone.
Even more so, when I downloaded the program for my G2 (Desire Z HTC Sync Software) the software didn't even recognize my phone was plugged in via usb. I'm using the official USB that came with my phone, and when I plug it in via usb I'm able to transfer files to and from my computer/G2.
Yet it's not being "recognized" by either programs (HTC Sync or ADB/Command Prompt)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So what is that does work in terms of sync/transfer for your phone ? You mention transferring files, is that if you go into "Disk Drive" mode for the connection type, to mount the SD card on your PC ?
What OS do you have on your PC ?
Have you tried a different USB port on your PC ?

I'm able to manually drag and drop files from my computer to my phone and vice-versa. For example I'm able to drag in .mp3 or video files for media uses/manage pictures - you know the regular stuff you would/should be able to do upon plugging in your phone via usb.
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate x64
And yes I've tried more than one usb on my laptop.
Keep in mind I also toggled "usb debugging" and seemingly all other necessary measures as what you've described in the thread.
When ever I bring my Command Promt, and enter in the necessary information, it comes back as "this command is unrecognizable" etc.
What is bewildering me is that my computer reads the phone connected (as I'm able to manipulate the files on my sd card) yet the "HTC Sync" program is not able to pick up my phone. And I presumed there's a connection their since the Command Prompt isn't executing the necessary information as well.

Im Too Legendary said:
I'm able to manually drag and drop files from my computer to my phone and vice-versa. For example I'm able to drag in .mp3 or video files for media uses/manage pictures - you know the regular stuff you would/should be able to do upon plugging in your phone via usb.
I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate x64
And yes I've tried more than one usb on my laptop.
Keep in mind I also toggled "usb debugging" and seemingly all other necessary measures as what you've described in the thread.
When ever I bring my Command Promt, and enter in the necessary information, it comes back as "this command is unrecognizable" etc.
What is bewildering me is that my computer reads the phone connected (as I'm able to manipulate the files on my sd card) yet the "HTC Sync" program is not able to pick up my phone. And I presumed there's a connection their since the Command Prompt isn't executing the necessary information as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have a G2, right ? So I presume you're running the stock G2 ROM right now ? I don't think that will work with HTC Sync, since I don't think the stock G2 ROM supports HTC Sync, only the Sense ROMs (i.e. from the Desire Z). You have to select a special "HTC Sync" mode to connect the phone, from the phone side, even on a Desire Z, to make it work.
I'm interested in this "command is unrecognizable" business. When do you get that, what exactly are you typing on your PC to bring up that message ?
Is the drag and drop stuff when you turn on "USB Sharing" on your G2 ?

steviewevie said:
You have a G2, right ? So I presume you're running the stock G2 ROM right now ? I don't think that will work with HTC Sync, since I don't think the stock G2 ROM supports HTC Sync, only the Sense ROMs (i.e. from the Desire Z). You have to select a special "HTC Sync" mode to connect the phone, from the phone side, even on a Desire Z, to make it work.
I'm interested in this "command is unrecognizable" business. When do you get that, what exactly are you typing on your PC to bring up that message ?
Is the drag and drop stuff when you turn on "USB Sharing" on your G2 ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah I see, I sort of figured that sort of complication might have been due to the fact that I couldn't "find" any G2 specific "software". So naturally I just went with the Desire Z Software.
As for the "command is unrecognizable business", I receive that message on step "7" of your guide for installing ABD (The Complete Way). I'm not sure why it's doing that when my phone is plugged in. When I could have sworn I did everything prior to that step.
And yes I'm able to that when I turn on "USB Sharing".

Im Too Legendary said:
As for the "command is unrecognizable business", I receive that message on step "7" of your guide for installing ABD (The Complete Way). I'm not sure why it's doing that when my phone is plugged in. When I could have sworn I did everything prior to that step.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you get that from "adb devices", then your PATH is not setup correctly. Go back to Step 4 and check what you put there.

In my experience, HTC Sync is pretty wonky, anyways, I have the Virtuous ROM on my G2 and sometimes I can get HTC Sync to recognize my phone, sometimes I can't. Typically what happens is that my phone sees HTC Sync on my computer and says it's synchronizing, but HTC Sync never shows anything. I gave up, eventually.
What are you trying to sync? I use Windows Live Photo Gallery (the newest version is pretty sweet), and just connected my phone to my computer in disk mode, then 'hid' all the folders on my memory card other than /DCIM/Images (where the camera stores photos). I can then connect my phone in disk mode, and on the little popup in Windows, choose the 'import photos to Windows Live Photo Gallery' and it only imports photos - ignoring all the other images I have on my card, from apps and such.

[Q] Questions before rooting/Cyanogenmod

Hi all, I'm thinking of rooting and possibly installing Cyanogenmod on my Incredible. I just had a few questions before starting, and would really appreciate some help. I'm planning on using unrevoked3.
1. I've seen a few warning messages in some tutorials I've read involving the type of screen on the phone, but I'm short on specifics of the dangers. How can a find out whether I have a AMOLED or SLCD screen, and what are the precautions involved with the rooting/installing Cyanogenmod for each type?
2. When installing Cyangenmod, will my texts, contacts, settings, apps, etc. be wiped? It it right that most of these can be backed up with Titanium Backup or other apps? Will I have to re-purchase any paid apps? Can I just restore backups, or do I need to re-download?
3. If for any reason I'd like to return to the stock HTC ROM, is that possible? How? Is this done with Nandroid backups? Is there a way to reset to defaults?
4. Is there any compelling reason to purchase ROM Manager and Titanium Backup, or will I be fine with the free versions?
5. Is flashing the radio necessary at any point in rooting or installing Cyanogenmod? (I am most unfamiliar with this topic)
More questions may follow. Thanks, and sorry if I'm being a nuisance.

Responses/opinions are below your questions, in blue.
Rixanu said:
Hi all, I'm thinking of rooting and possibly installing Cyanogenmod on my Incredible. I just had a few questions before starting, and would really appreciate some help. I'm planning on using unrevoked3.
1. I've seen a few warning messages in some tutorials I've read involving the type of screen on the phone, but I'm short on specifics of the dangers. How can a find out whether I have a AMOLED or SLCD screen, and what are the precautions involved with the rooting/installing Cyanogenmod for each type?
Your device, if purchased recently is most likely SLCD. How to know? Do you still have the box? It should indicate type. Type of 3 or greater is SLCD. There are a few threads here on XDA you can search for to verify screen type from device, but idk how to tell you that.
2. When installing Cyangenmod, will my texts, contacts, settings, apps, etc. be wiped? It it right that most of these can be backed up with Titanium Backup or other apps? Will I have to re-purchase any paid apps? Can I just restore backups, or do I need to re-download?
Foremost, you should wipe all user data/factory reset before you flash CM or any ROM other than what you are currently running. See stock ROM and backup guidance below.
Unless you back up your texts, they will be wiped - there are apps that do several things with them, search for what works for you - such as having them e-mailed, stored, etc. Your contacts, if phone and not google-based will also be wiped. There are threads detailing how to convert phone to google contacts. Paid apps are tied to your gmail account, and will be available for d/l when gmail is reactivated on CM. Don't recommend TB to restore backups, especially not system apps, but to each his own, and ymmv.
3. If for any reason I'd like to return to the stock HTC ROM, is that possible? How? Is this done with Nandroid backups? Is there a way to reset to defaults?
Return to stock HTC ROM is done via RUU. Plenty of RUU threads to be found. Recommend just after rooting to back up your 'stock' setup, then you have the stock ROM, only rooted. The default settings will remain, but with root access. Going through the RUU process to go fully stock will remove root. Conversely, Virtuous ROM is a nearly 100% stock ROM, rooted, with enhancements. A best practice in modding your device is to periodically back up the contents of your SD card to your PC so you will have those contents if/when the SD card fails.
4. Is there any compelling reason to purchase ROM Manager and Titanium Backup, or will I be fine with the free versions?
In order to get the CM nightlys through ROM Manager, you will need ROM Manager Premium. Absent that, TB Premium is well worth the money. Supporting the developers via premium/paid apps keeps them developing for the device.
5. Is flashing the radio necessary at any point in rooting or installing Cyanogenmod? (I am most unfamiliar with this topic)
If your device is new, you probably do not need to flash the radio. Read the several very good radio threads on XDA for granular explanations. Many ROMs specify in the feature list the minimum radio version required. Note that flashing a radio can be risky if done incorrectly. Opinions vary on best version. I've had no issues with any ROM I've flashed with v 2.15.00.07.28. Also take note of the HBOOT version required/recommended in a ROM's feature list.
More questions may follow. Thanks, and sorry if I'm being a nuisance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No nuisance worries. ALL of us were asking the same/similar questions at one point; knowledge sharing is the embodiment of the open-source community.

Thanks for the useful information. Another question, hopefully someone can respond to this one quickly. I went ahead and started rooting, and unrevoked has just been sitting there saying Pushing Recovery... (3575808 bytes) for the past 10 minutes, at least. Nothing is happening to my phone, it's acting normal. Is the process supposed to be so slow? I've installed the proper drivers.

That is normal.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Wow, that was quicker than I expected. Thanks a bunch!

are you rooted?

Nope. Still "Pushing Revovery". Hopefully this is still normal...if not could someone let me know what to do?

Just want to say it's better not to pay for ROM Manager in my opinion. I do have the premium license and it is handy for CM7 nightly downloads, but I don't even use if for that purpose any more. Other than that it doesn't offer any advantages, as it still requires you to perform certain functions manually.

runagt2 said:
Just want to say it's better not to pay for ROM Manager in my opinion. I do have the premium license and it is handy for CM7 nightly downloads, but I don't even use if for that purpose any more. Other than that it doesn't offer any advantages, as it still requires you to perform certain functions manually.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
^^^^^^ +1 on that - there used to be more stuff in the premium section, now it's just CM. So if you want CM nightlys, go for it, else stick to the free version.

Duly noted, thanks. BTW, that root yesterday went nowhere. I closed up unrevoked and unplugged my phone, it seems fine. I'm gonna try again when I get some time, but does anyone know what might have happened? It never got past that pushing recovery stage.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

so i just rooted my phone...im a noob and i was just asking which cyanogenmod should i install? the stable 6 or the 7 rc?

ezegm said:
so i just rooted my phone...im a noob and i was just asking which cyanogenmod should i install? the stable 6 or the 7 rc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Depends of if you want leading/bleeding edge stuff - CM7 release candidate, or a stable version.
As a first ROM other than stock, you gotta choose whether you want solid/smooth and issue-free, or participate in the things that come with a release candidate.
My opinion - gingerbread is not all that compared to what we have now - but that's just my opinion.

I have another question. Which Rom has the most stable and mostly stock HTC sense 2.0 found in the desire z or desire hd/inspire 4g? I really am liking sense and I tried out the cm7 rc, it was good but I had some problems like when I install an app for the first time, it force closes unless I uninstall and install again. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, let me know. I'm willing to try out other Roms but I wanna be safe and not do much.

Try IncRom - stable, fast, insane battery life. For a more tricked out Sense Rom, try Incredibly Reengineered.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA Premium App

ezegm said:
I have another question. Which Rom has the most stable and mostly stock HTC sense 2.0 found in the desire z or desire hd/inspire 4g?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sky Raider 3.5 is an excellent Sense ROM as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=764787

Warm Z is a good choice as well.
ezegm said:
I have another question. Which Rom has the most stable and mostly stock HTC sense 2.0 found in the desire z or desire hd/inspire 4g? I really am liking sense and I tried out the cm7 rc, it was good but I had some problems like when I install an app for the first time, it force closes unless I uninstall and install again. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, let me know. I'm willing to try out other Roms but I wanna be safe and not do much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk

Okay, I need help. Every time I try to run unrevoked it's either communications with phone unexpectedly interrupted or failed to push recovery image. I installed the HBOOT drivers and I'm 99.9% positive I never installed HTC sync. Any ideas?

Are you connected to PC with the original USB cable? Some aftermarket cables don't work well communicating w/ PC, and are said to only charge but not transmit data.
Is there a one-click UnrEVOked out now? Think I saw that somewhere....
Other guides:
http://jonsuh.com/2010/11/root-your-droid-incredible-how-to/
http://dougpiston.com/?p=29
Edit: SD card has ample room, and is formatted FAT32, yes?

Yeah, I'm using the original, with charge only and USB debugging. I should mention that these errors happen the instant I plug my phone in. However, I do notice that "CD Drive (E Verizon Mobile" and two inaccessible F and G (which would normally be the internal storage and the SD card when set to disk drive) drives appear under my computer when I plug the phone in on charge only. Could this have anything to do with it?
The only versions of unrevoked I know of are unrevoked3, which roots and flashes Clockworkmod recovery as soon as you plug in your phone with the program open. There's also unrevoked forever which sets your security to S-OFF, but I'm pretty sure that's not what I'm looking for.

Rixanu said:
Yeah, I'm using the original, with charge only and USB debugging. I should mention that these errors happen the instant I plug my phone in. However, I do notice that "CD Drive (E Verizon Mobile" and two inaccessible F and G (which would normally be the internal storage and the SD card when set to disk drive) drives appear under my computer when I plug the phone in on charge only. Could this have anything to do with it?
The only versions of unrevoked I know of are unrevoked3, which roots and flashes Clockworkmod recovery as soon as you plug in your phone with the program open. There's also unrevoked forever which sets your security to S-OFF, but I'm pretty sure that's not what I'm looking for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock unrooted ROM, getting errors on USB plugin? That may be something else.
For context, the version of unrevoked that's out does S-OFF automatically, users get no choice in that. Make sure you follow the steps in the guide(s) -
It sounds like you may have a toggle yet to click on the device so it's not giving you wonky errors on plugin - the guide(s) will tell you what needs doing.
Edit: There shouldn't be any popup prompts for Verizon Mobile when you plug the device into the USB when connected to PC.
Also, the elements of unrevoked must be unzipped, and they don't execute until you click on them - after device is successfully connected to PC.
The step-by-step guides should fix you up.

A new guy's stupid questions:

Please be patient with me, I'm new to the entire smartphone era.
I've spent the last week or so scouring these forums deciding what I can and cannot do with my brand new Epic. What I unfortunately was unable to find were directions put into laymans terms as exactly how to properly flash your phone (I am still even unsure as to the correct terminology for many things). When I read the wiki and the forums I'm lost about a paragraph in.
It would be incredibly appreciated if any of you had tips for a new person to these forums and to this lifestyle itself. I'd love to know how to properly modify my phone without breaking it (and not feel like I'm reading a medical dictionary). When/if I do mod my phone, I'd like to know how to go about restoring it should I for whatever reason need to take it in to the extremely... helpful.. Sprint store here in my area. I'm pretty quick to learn and as I said, I'd really love if someone willing to be patient with me would explain to me the ins and outs I would need to know to take advantage of my phones capabilities.

Well most roms now use ext4 filesystem instead of RFS (default) so you have to install Clockwork Mod 3 which will auto convert it
CWM3 directions:
Download Here
On phone go to applications -> development -> usb debugging (turn on)
plug phone into usb port, run the run.bat from the CWM folder (it might say something like restart server and wait for phone to reconnect i generally just close the window and run the run.bat again then it'll mount as r/w and install)
Then after your phone reboots transfer any ec05 ext4 rom to your sdcard, i suggest This one.
After that turn off your phone completely.
Hold volume down, camera button, power. This will boot into clockworkmod.
CWM will backup all data, format, then restore the data... it'll take a few minutes.
Now if you want to start fresh click wipe data / wipe cache and also go to advanced/wipe dalvic cache. If you want to keep all your apps just proceed to the next step
go to Install from sdcard, browse sdcard for the rom.zip, select it, let it do its magic, after its done go back to the main menu, reboot system, and you're done
EDIT: Cwm controls -> volume up/down to naviage, Power = back, Camera = select. I think you can also use the keyboard arrows and stuff but i find it easier using the buttons

I think you should start him with cw2.5 instead of 3.0. 3.0 will brick his phone unless he is ready to flash a rom right alway!!

Those directions are much easier to follow.
What are the negatives to doing this to your phone (besides the ultimate brick)? Would doing this allow me to give my phone the ability to hotspot it?
How would I go about restoring it should I not like Syndicate and wish to return to stock?

OmegaMateria said:
Those directions are much easier to follow.
What are the negatives to doing this to your phone (besides the ultimate brick)? Would doing this allow me to give my phone the ability to hotspot it?
How would I go about restoring it should I not like Syndicate and wish to return to stock?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I was you I wouldn't be in such a rush to flash a rom. Root first and take from there. It took me a whole month to flash a rom before I felt comfortable with the terminology. Catch up on some reading first

hi I also am still new to this even though i flashed my phone at least a 100 times and got my buddys epic rooted i followed this forum http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=798067. they did a great job with links to get cwm2.5 and also the adb files. so when you root your phone the computer will find your phone. One thing that did keep me held up for a while was when you have your phone in debug mode. connect the phone to the usb. but do not press connect on your phone. hope this helps some. I spent about 3 long days reading and gathering everything before trying and like a day and a half trying.

shook187 said:
If I was you I wouldn't be in such a rush to flash a rom. Root first and take from there. It took me a whole month to flash a rom before I felt comfortable with the terminology. Catch up on some reading first
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're probably very right.
What permissions does rooting get me? To root my phone I should use clockwork or something different? If so, you suggested 3.0 and someone else 2.5. Opinions on both for a newbie?

shook187 said:
I think you should start him with cw2.5 instead of 3.0. 3.0 will brick his phone unless he is ready to flash a rom right alway!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No such thing will occur. He might get it into a position of where he can only use odin but certainly not a brick. I have heard of only 1 person bricking their phone in 6 mths and that was a dev cuz he was messing with the bootloader. Jump in at your own pace.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

OmegaMateria said:
You're probably very right.
What permissions does rooting get me? To root my phone I should use clockwork or something different? If so, you suggested 3.0 and someone else 2.5. Opinions on both for a newbie?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I never suggested 3.0, I would do 2.5. 3.0 Requires you to flash a rom cause it won't boot without a rom. If you use 3.0 without flushing a rom, you'll get stuck at the samsung screen.

shook187 said:
I never suggested 3.0, I would do 2.5. 3.0 Requires you to flash a rom cause it won't boot without a rom. If you use 3.0 without flushing a rom, you'll get stuck at the samsung screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, my mistake!!
I'll check out 2.5. Anything I should know about rooting in general?

OmegaMateria said:
Sorry, my mistake!!
I'll check out 2.5. Anything I should know about rooting in general?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The main thing which you already mention is the free wireless tether.

CWM 2.5.5 = the RFS root method. You can use it to install EC05 roms that have RFS support
It allows you to run programs with superuser... such as wifi tether, wireless tether, titanium backup, root explorer... thats about it for the basic user
If you want tweaks/fixes what you want is a custom rom... most all will have
Call log fix (remove the sms notifications from in your call log), Kernel fixes/updates/added features, deodexed, zipaligned, custom boot animations, voodoo audio/color, custom touchwiz, etc..
You wont brick your phone regardless, but if you do it exactly as i typed you wont have any problems either . The reason you want to put a rom on your sdcard before you boot into CWM3 is so you can flash a compatible rom that has a ext4 kernel...
EDIT: and regarding the negatives, well you wont brick your phone unless say your battery dies as you flash it... The ext4 non-journaled will actually make your phone last longer over the RFS system. The only thing I can think of is the root method removes the Free HD games and Asphalt 5 Demo which the official OTA updates check for when u get them. Doesn't matter though because you can update your rom through CWM anyways lol.
About positives, atleast for me: Longer battery life, faster phone, less annoying bugs, sexy look, custom boot/shutdown, free wifi tether/wired tether, automatic backups set every night at 5am.

I went straight to cwm 3.0.0.6 as a noob but I must have read 1000 posts in various forums regarding root, the file system(s), custom software/ROMs/kernels. The key is read post after post about where others have had issues until you no longer come accross any new issues. Then you know what you are getting into. Just remeber, glitches can occur and during flashing, there are writes that have no error checking and sometimes require a reflash at best and a system restore at worst. It comes with the territory. It is unlikely you will brick your device as long as you are careful to follow insructions, although the reality is (no matter how many times you hear how safe it is) that there is a very very slight chance that a glitch while using software such as odin could send you back to the Sprint store for a new one. Its exceedingly rare, though.
The small risk was worth getting the phone that I wanted originally - instant responsivness, access to every customization and dev. level control of the hardware (free tethering!) - everything runs better - games,browsers,vids (look better and sound better), music sounds better, etc. Etc. There are some seriously talented devs. here. If you decide to take the plunge, check out k0's ACS Frozen ROM and mysteryEmotionz (sp?) Theme(s). When you go from stock to those, you can't help but wonder WTF sprint and samsung are thinking. Yeah, its that good.
Good luck!
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

blu9987 said:
CWM 2.5.5 = the RFS root method. You can use it to install EC05 roms that have RFS support
It allows you to run programs with superuser... such as wifi tether, wireless tether, titanium backup, root explorer... thats about it for the basic user
If you want tweaks/fixes what you want is a custom rom... most all will have
Call log fix (remove the sms notifications from in your call log), Kernel fixes/updates/added features, deodexed, zipaligned, custom boot animations, voodoo audio/color, custom touchwiz, etc..
You wont brick your phone regardless, but if you do it exactly as i typed you wont have any problems either . The reason you want to put a rom on your sdcard before you boot into CWM3 is so you can flash a compatible rom that has a ext4 kernel...
EDIT: and regarding the negatives, well you wont brick your phone unless say your battery dies as you flash it... The ext4 non-journaled will actually make your phone last longer over the RFS system. The only thing I can think of is the root method removes the Free HD games and Asphalt 5 Demo which the official OTA updates check for when u get them. Doesn't matter though because you can update your rom through CWM anyways lol.
About positives, atleast for me: Longer battery life, faster phone, less annoying bugs, sexy look, custom boot/shutdown, free wifi tether/wired tether, automatic backups set every night at 5am.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went into the run.bat file in the one click root and removed the 2 lines that give the command to delete the free hd games demo and asphalt 5 demo. Ran the one click root, and I still have those 2 installed on my phone. Beats having to reinstall them again in the future and preventing an update because of the missing apps.

Tirregius said:
I went straight to cwm 3.0.0.6 as a noob but I must have read 1000 posts in various forums regarding root, the file system(s), custom software/ROMs/kernels. The key is read post after post about where others have had issues until you no longer come accross any new issues. Then you know what you are getting into. Just remeber, glitches can occur and during flashing, there are writes that have no error checking and sometimes require a reflash at best and a system restore at worst. It comes with the territory. It is unlikely you will brick your device as long as you are careful to follow insructions, although the reality is (no matter how many times you hear how safe it is) that there is a very very slight chance that a glitch while using software such as odin could send you back to the Sprint store for a new one. Its exceedingly rare, though
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I've spent the entire week when not at work reading about it to see if it's worth it. I have a hard time following the directions I find though because they're normally written for experienced folks and not beginners.
Apart from Rooting it (as explained very well earlier) I still have no clue about flashing, how it works, or how to do it. Nor do I want to just fiddle around with it and break it. I can't find a good guide on ODIN or backing up that I can understand comfortably enough to risk flashing my phone so I'm kindof at a loss.

Go on YouTube and search "randyshear". He has step by step videos for pretty much everything. Makes it easy
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

OmegaMateria said:
Yeah I've spent the entire week when not at work reading about it to see if it's worth it. I have a hard time following the directions I find though because they're normally written for experienced folks and not beginners.
Apart from Rooting it (as explained very well earlier) I still have no clue about flashing, how it works, or how to do it. Nor do I want to just fiddle around with it and break it. I can't find a good guide on ODIN or backing up that I can understand comfortably enough to risk flashing my phone so I'm kindof at a loss.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was the same way and to some degree still am. What I did was read and read. I read the WIKI several times realizing that a lot of it was written for someone more experienced than I. I also read how to restore a bricked device and return to stock a few times. I installed everything to return to stock on my PC so if I had a failure I already had my path back to working stock. I went to CM 2 just to get some experience. Then I went for it to CM 3 and Syndicate 1.0 and have been incredibly happy that I did.
Also know that terms like brick are used a lot but is then followed up with my phone will do this or that. In the definitions a brick is literally as good as a brick for a phone. The term is used way too much incorrectly so don't let that scare you. You will see when reading that there are only a few things to do if there is a problem. Frequently you will read to re download the files or use a different cable or USB port. If you keep reading you will become more comfortable with your ability to find the answers if there is a problem because there are people on here that seem to take great joy in helping people like you and I out and they have the experience and knowledge to help.

Trust me ... keep reading and searching and you will start to put the pieces together. Don't be discouraged. If you are really interested in this stuff, you WILL get there.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Definitely agree with JohnCorleone, Randyshear has a ton of very good youtube vids. Helpful with rooting also with picking a ROM. Just to add my two-cents. The "epic cookbook" http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=967014...Helped me over and over again. alot of info, without alot of scavenging throughout threads. Good luck

There is no need to flash a rom right off the bat. Rooting with one click will give you a good jumping point. I would one click root to cw3 let it convert to ext4 then do a backup. Use titanium backup to remove all the junk bloatware.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Confirm Steps & Apps to Install New ROM on G2 (Mimicry 1.3.2)

I have had my G2 for about 18 months and have been running into a lot of issues recently. I've decided to fix those issues by rooting & getting a new ROM installed. I'm a tech savvy guy, but have not done anything on the phone end due to not wanting to break whats working. I've decided to go with the Mimicry 1.3.2 ROM since the install process uses Aroma and is very straight forward. Before I pull the trigger, I just want to make sure I have all the steps clear so that I don't go "Oh sh**" in the middle because I missed a step. There's also a couple of steps that I'm not clear on. Here's what I researched:
-Root phone using HTC's bootloader unlocker
-Format phone's flash memory to EXT4
--What is the best app to do this with? Will my phone work with Gingerbread after I make this change?
-Download Mimicry 1.3.2 and Google Apps put the zip files on my phone (not SD card)
-Power off phone and then push the volume down and power buttons together and choose to install the ROM
-Answer prompts in Aroma (including installing WiFi calling)
-Flash Google apps
--How exactly is that done?
-Restart phone and start setting up apps again.
Does that look correct and is there anything that I'm missing? Thank you in advance for your help.

Well first off I would stay away from HTC official unlocked bootloader, its worthless and will give you headaches in the future
use the wiki to root, either follow the wiki in cyanogen or here on xda, if you even slightly tech savvy it will be easy
following that guide you will have clockwork recovery, but I suggest moving to 4ext recovery, among many reasons is the ability to format to ext4. Otherwise the next easiest way to format would be to flash a super wipe script with ext4 format written to it (just search xda and you'll find it easier)
Now after you are rooted with an engineering s-off hboot consider flash the .19 radio, not super important but many find this to have the best reception and battery life.
Next make sure your SD card is fat32, I also suggest an ext4 partition there as well (easily done through recovery) but skip the swap
Now feel free to flash mimicry, and may I add this is one other best ICS Roms for the vision, and blk_jck is a very helpful Dev as well.
Good luck, if you run into issues there will be answers all over xda, just search a bit, happy flashing!
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

Thanks
Thanks for the heads up on the HTC bootloader. I'll check out the Wiki on how to PermRoot my phone.

Mimicry, recovery, soft bricks, and new ROM
Agree with demkantor, the step-by-steps so painstakingly described in cyanwiki are your best bet.
Likewise, using 4ext in place of clockwork is also my recommendation, as I've used both now and
find the latter more polished and stable.
I recently rooted and updated for the first time. Got successfully as far as ICS using cyan's instruction,
then decided to use mimicry after reading about the radio updates etc posted by madmaxx. I think the sequence in which i
carried these out was flawed, because after updating the radio instruction sets, I re-flashed mimicry to take advantage of the
updated radio features and to install the wi-fi telephony; that was my downfall. I got caught in a boot-loop. Oh sh*t, indeed.
I could not, for the life of me, get past the HTC white screen. Being a total noob, I had no
idea where to go to next. I searched this website and cyan's a lot, and realised the term for what I now had was a 'soft
brick' or 'semi brick'. Could not get the device to be recognised via ADB, and could not access the sdcard directory.
I scratched my head for a few days (I had bought another phone prior to playing with the old G2), and came up with the
idea of just accessing the sdcard via my laptop, directly. In the midst of this, I turned on the phone (after taking the card
out), and voila, the phone now cycled into engineering hboot !
I subsequently was able to edit the sdcard directly via the laptop (using an micro sd card adapter), and removed the pc10?.img file
that was left over the radio update. Having recovered to this point, I re-flashed mimicry 1.3.1 (via 4ext) and so was able to get a completely
functional phone again.
The point of all of the is this: 1. To all the previous post-ers, both here and at cyanwiki...You guys rock. Can't say that enough. Even more:
2. A 'soft brick' may be anything but...a little bit of not-very-complicated experimentation afterward can pay off big time. Lastly, I tried
mimicry 1.3.2, but kept getting a heap of error messages. Needless to say, I was a bit spooked by the previous stuff-up, so I quickly reverted
to 1.3.1, which appears to be 100% stable (IMHO).
Cheers

1.3.2 adds few framework level changes and no device level changes. Definitely nothing that should cause errors or problems booting anyway.
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

Good Info
timram said:
Agree with demkantor, the step-by-steps so painstakingly described in cyanwiki are your best bet.
Likewise, using 4ext in place of clockwork is also my recommendation, as I've used both now and
find the latter more polished and stable.
I recently rooted and updated for the first time. Got successfully as far as ICS using cyan's instruction,
then decided to use mimicry after reading about the radio updates etc posted by madmaxx. I think the sequence in which i
carried these out was flawed, because after updating the radio instruction sets, I re-flashed mimicry to take advantage of the
updated radio features and to install the wi-fi telephony; that was my downfall. I got caught in a boot-loop. Oh sh*t, indeed.
I could not, for the life of me, get past the HTC white screen. Being a total noob, I had no
idea where to go to next. I searched this website and cyan's a lot, and realised the term for what I now had was a 'soft
brick' or 'semi brick'. Could not get the device to be recognised via ADB, and could not access the sdcard directory.
I scratched my head for a few days (I had bought another phone prior to playing with the old G2), and came up with the
idea of just accessing the sdcard via my laptop, directly. In the midst of this, I turned on the phone (after taking the card
out), and voila, the phone now cycled into engineering hboot !
I subsequently was able to edit the sdcard directly via the laptop (using an micro sd card adapter), and removed the pc10?.img file
that was left over the radio update. Having recovered to this point, I re-flashed mimicry 1.3.1 (via 4ext) and so was able to get a completely
functional phone again.
The point of all of the is this: 1. To all the previous post-ers, both here and at cyanwiki...You guys rock. Can't say that enough. Even more:
2. A 'soft brick' may be anything but...a little bit of not-very-complicated experimentation afterward can pay off big time. Lastly, I tried
mimicry 1.3.2, but kept getting a heap of error messages. Needless to say, I was a bit spooked by the previous stuff-up, so I quickly reverted
to 1.3.1, which appears to be 100% stable (IMHO).
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that info. I am taking a look at the Cyanogen Wiki and seeing what I have to do. I'm thinking that I will jump directly to Mimicry 1.3.2 instead of installing Cyanogen 9 first. Hopefully that file doesn't hang out there and causes that boot loop to happen to me (thanks for that explanation, BTW).
So do I have to use that ClockworkMod to load the ROM, or does EXT4 do the same thing (as far as loading the rom goes)?

...where thanks is due
many thx, blk jack, I should have specifically mentioned your awesome contributions as well, and
have remedied with thanks meter as i came/come across it.
Will re-try the 1.3.2 shortly. If I run in to the same glitches, I will try and make note of the specific errors
(or any other bugs, for that matter) and let you know.

Use the following guide, it is incredibly simple yet swift. Contains root methods for both the DesireZ and the T-Mobile G2 :
http://wiki.cyanogenmod.com/wiki/TMobile_G2:_Rooting

Checking it out now
iamnoobie said:
Use the following guide, it is incredibly simple yet swift. Contains root methods for both the DesireZ and the T-Mobile G2 :
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm actually looking at that wiki right now. I just finished backing up all the contents on my SD card. I can't backup the apps on my phone since it's not rooted, and I can't use a backup app unless I'm root. So it looks like that is a catch 22. Personally, I don't mind wiping everything anyways since I'm going to be making the jump to ICS. I guess I'll have to beat all those levels in cut the rope again :crying:

@deadeye
actually, the only important bits are your contacts, sms's, phone logs, etc (if these matter to you), which i think you can backup via gmail. Additionally, any other (or all) files on the SD card, you should be able to just copy directly onto a folder in your laptop or desktop (see the post I made above). HTH.

timram said:
@deadeye
actually, the only important bits are your contacts, sms's, phone logs, etc (if these matter to you), which i think you can backup via gmail. Additionally, any other (or all) files on the SD card, you should be able to just copy directly onto a folder in your laptop or desktop (see the post I made above). HTH.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for that. I've now downloaded the Android SDK and am now trying to test the connection to my G2 using adb. So far, no connection. Grrrr. I'm looking around now to see how to get my phone detected by adb since it doesn't seem to have anything on the cyanogen wiki.

you downloaded adb.exe from within the sdk right? find the folder it is in (usualy platform tools) hold shift right click within the folder and choose open command here
now type adb devices, you should se some letters and numbers that means you good if not need to trouble shoot some more
alternatively you can change the path within enviromental variables so you can open a cmd anywhere
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

HTC Sync
demkantor said:
you downloaded adb.exe from within the sdk right? find the folder it is in (usualy platform tools) hold shift right click within the folder and choose open command here
now type adb devices, you should se some letters and numbers that means you good if not need to trouble shoot some more
alternatively you can change the path within enviromental variables so you can open a cmd anywhere
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried the adb devices command and it didn't return any connected devices. Looking in the xda wiki, they are saying that I need to have HTC Sync installed. I'm downloading that right now. They probably should put that in the cyanogenmod wiki also.

I got my phone detected by adb! I did some preliminary checking and I think I should be good to go on rooting. I think I will root my phone tomorrow when I have plenty of time to troubleshoot any issues that my come up.

This is just the thread I was looking for. I'm also an old (60) tech-savvy guy who has never rooted his phone, and was nervous about which set of rooting instructions (cyan-wiki or Setherio/Strawmetal?; the latter is more recently updated, seems a bit more detailed, and has newer versions of some utilities) which recovery, ClockworkMod or ext4, and which ROM, Cm9 unofficial or mimicry or even AOKP...
You all seem to feel cyan-wiki instructions better (right?) ext4 and mimicry... Shall I go for it? Last suggestions?
Thanks,
Dave
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using xda app-developers app

prairie-dad said:
You all seem to feel cyan-wiki instructions better (right?) ext4 and mimicry... Shall I go for it? Last suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Cyan wiki worked for me! (strawmetal didn't - I blame myself though).
ext4 and mimicry are what I'm running now (after going through CWM, CM 7.2 and CM9 RC1 & RC2) and I'm very happy with both. Mimicry is great!

prairie-dad said:
This is just the thread I was looking for. I'm also an old (60) tech-savvy guy who has never rooted his phone, and was nervous about which set of rooting instructions (cyan-wiki or Setherio/Strawmetal?; the latter is more recently updated, seems a bit more detailed, and has newer versions of some utilities) which recovery, ClockworkMod or ext4, and which ROM, Cm9 unofficial or mimicry or even AOKP...
You all seem to feel cyan-wiki instructions better (right?) ext4 and mimicry... Shall I go for it? Last suggestions?
Thanks,
Dave
Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
setherios guide is just for the downgrade process
the cyanogen wiki, xda wiki, and strawmetals pdf guide are all more or less the same guide, just writen a tad differently
as for the recovery 4ext is far superior but feel free to switch recoveries later if it complicates thing, very easy to do
as for a rom choice there are many good ones and it will be hard to recommened one so try a few, make nandroid backups, and see where your prefernce lies. if you like ics then my personal opinions are elitemod ics or mimicry, both are great. don't care much for sense so you will have to explore by yourself on those (you will need the dz hboot if you want any sense roms - easily done)
if you want gingerbread try ilwt or elitemod cm7 (this is still the rom I almost always use, even curently)
have fun, read, read some more, search when stuck... this is should all be easy as you say your tech savvy - happy flashing!
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium

minor glitches, but rooted and s-off fine
demkantor said:
setherios guide is just for the downgrade process
the cyanogen wiki, xda wiki, and strawmetals pdf guide are all more or less the same guide, just writen a tad differently
as for the recovery 4ext is far superior but feel free to switch recoveries later if it complicates thing, very easy to do
as for a rom choice there are many good ones and it will be hard to recommened one so try a few, make nandroid backups, and see where your prefernce lies. if you like ics then my personal opinions are elitemod ics or mimicry, both are great. don't care much for sense so you will have to explore by yourself on those (you will need the dz hboot if you want any sense roms - easily done)
if you want gingerbread try ilwt or elitemod cm7 (this is still the rom I almost always use, even curently)
have fun, read, read some more, search when stuck... this is should all be easy as you say your tech savvy - happy flashing!
Sent from my HTC Vision using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
all went well till the very, very, very end. I went to reboot into clockwork recovery, and...nothing doing! holding down the trackball, volume down and power...and waiting and waiting...just got me into the bootloader with no option to go to recovery...just reboot, reboot the boot loader, and power down.
So I thought, maybe I somehow failed to get the recovery img where I wanted it...no big deal. I logged onto the old Market (this is 2.2, after all) and purchased 4ext (which is what seems to be everyone's choice) and installed it. Then I said I wanted to reboot with mimicry and gapps, hit "go," and...it rebooted into ClockworkMod Recovery...where it now sits, I assume backing up the existing system. Mimicry 1.3.2 and gapps images were sitting on my sdcard root, btw.
Very odd, and a little perplexing...I will wait it out a while before powering off and up again.
any thoughts? Must I remove clockwork mod manually (I assume that when I installed 4ext it made itselfthe default recovery method...) or does 4ext just sit atop Clockwork Mod...and what I am seeing now is normal...? I've been waiting a few minutes now, and see nothing but the Clockword Mod icon, the top hat.
Sigh...but pretty clearly almost all the way home.
Thanks to all,
dave

I've never used an app to install a recovery, always used fastboot.
But to answer your question 4ext does replace clockwork, it does not sit on top of it. Just downloading the app well... downloads the app. You must then go into the app and choose to download and install the recovery, after this from within the recovery flash your ROM (and gapps etc. If needed)
I have the 4ext app just for the purpose of supporting the Dev as anything that does me good deserves my money but I really have never bothered much with it so off hand I can't tell you the exact steps to do this but I'm sure it s very straight forward.
Good luck and let us know how all turns out
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium

darn ClockWorkMod/4ext clash!
demkantor said:
I've never used an app to install a recovery, always used fastboot.
But to answer your question 4ext does replace clockwork, it does not sit on top of it. Just downloading the app well... downloads the app. You must then go into the app and choose to download and install the recovery, after this from within the recovery flash your ROM (and gapps etc. If needed)
I have the 4ext app just for the purpose of supporting the Dev as anything that does me good deserves my money but I really have never bothered much with it so off hand I can't tell you the exact steps to do this but I'm sure it s very straight forward.
Good luck and let us know how all turns out
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks...I sat and looked at it for a while, then hit power, and up came the ClockworkMod menu...and did nothing. When I asked _it_ to load a zip from the sdcard...it still sat there stupidly...nice menu but no action. so I rebooted with trackball/volume-down and power...and still can't get to the bootloader menu...the only way is to attach via usb, and do adb reboot bootloader...which gives me a bootloader menu showing no recovery app...just the same options as before. ugh. I wonder what the recovery.img is...? I went through the steps of installing 4ext...and it said it had installed itself.
well, I will poke around a tad more...midnight now...at least I have a working phone on 2.2, rooted, S-OFF, etc.
dave
---------- Post added at 07:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:42 AM ----------
prairie-dad said:
Thanks...I sat and looked at it for a while, then hit power, and up came the ClockworkMod menu...and did nothing. When I asked _it_ to load a zip from the sdcard...it still sat there stupidly...nice menu but no action. so I rebooted with trackball/volume-down and power...and still can't get to the bootloader menu...the only way is to attach via usb, and do adb reboot bootloader...which gives me a bootloader menu showing no recovery app...just the same options as before. ugh. I wonder what the recovery.img is...? I went through the steps of installing 4ext...and it said it had installed itself.
well, I will poke around a tad more...midnight now...at least I have a working phone on 2.2, rooted, S-OFF, etc.
dave
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mimicry is booting now. All good. I ended up using the clockwork mod version, 3. something, that I installed when following (too slavishly?) the CM wiki's instructions (otherwise excellent!) Then (and now) I have problems booting into the bootloader, and it doesn't show a recovery option... Running 4ext (which I purchased) seems to be great (looks really useful) until rebooting...when CWM comes up instead.
I kept using volume up or down to pick what I wanted, then pushed the power button to select...wrong! It's the trackball you click, which I only hit upon by accident. Once I got that working, I flashed mimicry and Gapps, and I am off to the races again.
Thanks to all, but I want to figure out what is with recovery for the future.
What buttons do I push to get to bootloader...so far all I have gotten to work is via USB cable and "dab reboot boot loader."
dave