Why is there no Building Block ROM machine? - HTC One V

Hi,
I wonder, why ROM creation can't be automated for a single device? I mean something like a point and click utility, that allows to fully customize a ROM and flash it thereafter. Each ROM (with exception of the modaco.com) seems to be fully tailorsuited by a single guy. Wouldn't it be possible to take the modules, these ROMs consist of and put them up into an application, that creates a ROM out of them, just as those Windows repair disks (BartPE, etc.) do?

Related

Performance benefits of baking programs in ROM

Hi all,
I tried searching for an answer to the above but couldn't find a direct answer to it:
Are there any performance benefits of baking a program into a custom ROM vs installing the program into ROM after a "lite" custom ROM is flashed?
Presently my preference is to use a "lite" ROM with very basic programs and maximum available ROM/RAM after install. I'm considering whether its worth the trouble to bake my own ROM with my frequently used custom programs (e.g. phonealarm, wisbar).
The obvious disbenefit of baking a 3rd party program into a custom ROM is that its a little "harder" to upgrade to a newer version of the program -- i'm assuming installing over an older version in ROM takes away any performance benefit which the ROM version would have (pls correct me if i'm wrong here).
thanks for any comments in advance!
Im planning a Custom ROM Bake Guide at some point, im planning on baking in my standard apps such as Coreplayer/Phonealarm and VJay Apps.
AFAIK, the only advantage of cooking in apps is to make them readily available after a hard reset. I believe that cooking in 3rd party apps that get refreshed often is counter-intuitive as the ROM based versions will always take up space. Essentially an upgrade will then take double the space (even if you can actually install it).
There may be something to do with program vs. storage memory utilization though that would make it advantageous. I've never actually played with it.
Sleuth255 said:
AFAIK, the only advantage of cooking in apps is to make them readily available after a hard reset. I believe that cooking in 3rd party apps that get refreshed often is counter-intuitive as the ROM based versions will always take up space. Essentially an upgrade will then take double the space (even if you can actually install it).
There may be something to do with program vs. storage memory utilization though that would make it advantageous. I've never actually played with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for your insight.
From what I understand, all programs (WM5/6) needs to be loaded into RAM before execution and cannot be executed in place (XIP). So the only speed advantage i could imagine would be any 'addressing benefits' of programs pre-baked vs post-installed.
A somewhat related question would be whether there's a speed difference in installing a program in Storage ROM or Extended ROM.
cheers!
Just my 2 cents worth. In the Wizard forum, they mentioned that the lite version is much faster and responsive because the device\windows files are less. In the current cooking, everything needs to be in the \windows directory and then move to the different folders. as more files and application gets dump, it will generally move slower and affect the device response.
One way to check is whenever we access the \windows directory, we often has to wait a while before the contents gets display in the file explorer.
Now we are able to maximize the Storage Card space with a lite rom like Tazio . Hence, we can select our own cabs to install into different directory than \windows, oftenly \program files . eg: like JJ's Blacks etc....
However, if the cabs install back into the \windows directory, then there is no benefit as the no files in \windows directory increase slowing down the access.
Hence, most people will see a benefit with clean rom rather than application cooked into the rom.
cheers,

Android on X50v (and maybe others in future)

Yes, I've decided to take on a mammoth task, welcome to "ROSS"... "Replacment Operating System Structure" for Mobile phones & PDA's =]
The website is located here!
Yeah, you all think i'm crazy "hang on, you can't port Android to X50v!"
Well, not YET, but with help It will be done.
What is android you may ask?
Android is google's open source platform for Mobile phones and PDA's =]
So yes, I plan to create a operating system for X50v to replace WM6 with and allow users to develop/change bits of the operating system they don't like.
There will be a few "flavours"
Lite: Basics, very Basics, just Wifi/bluetooth support, a simple GUI and No applications (just a few settings). This free's up a LOT of RAM + ROM
Medium: The one "hopefully" most people will use, This is the standard one, basic office applications (replacing all the standard WM6 ones) a few games, decent GUI etc.
Heavy: The one that leaves least RAM and ROM available, the one with the most applications + usability, although it may lag a little.
Of course, we're going to build a "super-lite" version first, just to make sure it's flashable to the X50v =]
Maglite_RUS & Football may be willing to help, maybe not, we hope for his help + support throught this project
but first we need a team!!!
If you have any experience in making ROMS for X50v (ONLY, we will work on others after the X50v is done) or developing operating systems (various Linux distro's included) and Java (what the majority is coded in) then please please sign up. I plan to help develop the applications rather than the operating system myself, but I will work on ALL aspects of the project of course
If you're interested, and have found this link of google or something, then don't hesitate to email me here
Feel free to discuss =]
Hi Obsidiandesire...
This could be a great project!
It's very nice to see you're a PPC enthusiast like me...
I'm a PC software developer (not PPC) with quite experience but to start this project we need some black belt coders...
Another Linux project was already started here
http://www.handhelds.org/moin/moin.cgi/DellAximX50 but the developing speed was not so fast...
Another issue would surely be the ROM compaction problem that will kick in also on a different OS.
The only thing that could solve this on x50v would be to hack the bootloader in a way to load OS from SD or CF , so all data will be written on a fast write NAND device... By the way this would mean loosing the internal ROM!
But your approach seems to be the most sensible one, as one would never lose the possibility to startup the phone's default os (windows mobile).
It seems quite an interesting project, i have to admit i have a strong will to help you out, as i am also a professional programmer, however i am not a java, or C developer (long time i do not do anything in C), so i guess i am more of a designer myself
Well, i will keep up with this post and maybe we will colaborate in the future, i feel it's time to have our own software in the mobile's, i hate the microsoft's approach to the os handling.
Glad to see we're getting some interest in this project!!!
Hopefully, soon we could set up a website and start developing =]
who knows, we may be the lucky winners of the google competition and get $10 million! (not much use to me because im british lol)
So, you're Idea would be basically multi-boot?
sounds good, but we'd need to modify the bootloader (maybe hold enter, power + reset to switch to ROSS-Mobile?)
Sounds good! and i've just started learning Java too, so this project could take a while, hopefully, if it starts getting quite a bit of attention, we could move it to other platforms (HTC touch etc) which would make us Gods within the PDA community
I do like the posibilities of Android as it looks like it could make good use of the graphics chip in the X50v and it wouldn't have Windows Mobile lagging it down
How much RAM does it have again? It would be as powerfull as an old PC if you overclock it slightly (700mhz, 32MB RAM, 16MB graphics or something like that) and slap on a minimal OS and you could have your own [email protected] Pocket version! lol
Sorry if i've gone off on a tangent, i'm really excited about Android and it's possibilities.
First steps though, how would you get the DEFAULT android software to boot on the X50v? I think this should be our goal before starting on the project itself
this is cool. if anyone gets this to work i would be happy to be a tester. i don't know much about programming but have flash other devices with Linux.
A bit a info i picked up on flashing Linux on ipaqs is that you had to flash a new bootloader that would boot both wince and Linux. don't know why both but maybe to return to wince because to flash the boot loader you did it with a app that ran on wince and after that you would boot the bootloader and make a serial connection so that you could send the linux distro and erase wince.
Thanks for the info, more help on how to do this would be great! (I could try this on my X50v for testing purposes)
would it not be actually possible to boot the android/linux directly from a storage card? so as to effectively allow users to 'dual' boot?
duke_stix said:
would it not be actually possible to boot the android/linux directly from a storage card? so as to effectively allow users to 'dual' boot?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Each time you would boot a os you would erase saved data (hard reset) because you would need the memory were the settings are for each os. but thats is what i think i haven't flash a device for a long time so im out of date on this as far as if they gotten a doul boot win ce and linux but i assume that this will be a problem with win ce and android dual boot.
You would have to put both os in the flash mamory(were the os goes) and find a way to save the settings from a os and store them so that it can load the settings for the other os and vice versa
but you could do it like linux on a palm zire72. i have linux on my zire but linux is on the memory card when i reset the device it will reboot onto the palm os, so no flashing happens just load the bootloader through the palm os and linux kernel loads, but at the same time palm os is hard reseted, this is palm but same linux that is used on ppc. You would need to find a way too load a bootloader during win ce but dont see that this is possible. only one os at a time.
And Obsidiandesire i will try to get an old friend that used to work on porting linux to ppc he might help on the bootloader part but haven't herd from him for a long time but will try hard on finding him. but as long as we get many people this might be possible. i will post later if i find him.(good luck on your leg)
or, the flash memory card from which you 'boot' the android/linux from could actually hold a partition which served as a flash drive/storage drive aswell? so effectively it would mean you would require something like a 1gb or 512mb card, splitting that to allow you RAM and ROM space but i cant see why that would be too difficult. it would just be a matter of tricking the linux to thinking the local on-drive storage is its 'root' drive and the default drive to save to and to completely and totally NOT access any of the WM stuff on the flash memory that is hard-soldered onto the handset.
not sure if this helps, just bandying ideas around at the mo!
duke_stix said:
or, the flash memory card from which you 'boot' the android/linux from could actually hold a partition which served as a flash drive/storage drive aswell? so effectively it would mean you would require something like a 1gb or 512mb card, splitting that to allow you RAM and ROM space but i cant see why that would be too difficult. it would just be a matter of tricking the linux to thinking the local on-drive storage is its 'root' drive and the default drive to save to and to completely and totally NOT access any of the WM stuff on the flash memory that is hard-soldered onto the handset.
not sure if this helps, just bandying ideas around at the mo!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see what you mean, but then the card might not be recognised in windows =/
However, denying the operating system access to writing the rom (and store everything in RAM) might work, but all settings would have to be stored on the SD card which could lead to a slow application.
The SDK (with the sample apps) itself is around 100MB, but Methinks that the final OS will be around 30MB (Without any apps)
Expanding on the partition Idea, what about partitioning the ROM itself? This might require a special WM6/5/CE ROM but one flash compared to many (everytime the device boots) could be worth it, and it could get round the setttings loss if we restrict each one to not write over the other?
My leg is getting better thankyou, seems like a severe muscle strain (The doctor said) so i should be back in school tomorrow.... great
i see what you mean by the card not being recognised by windows and offer a simple solution:
have a DEDICATED card for android and a seperate card for storage under WM.
to be completely honest with you, theres people on here spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds to have the latest device (and im one of them) im sure they wouldnt mind spending an extra few pounds for another memory card which would allow amazing functionality without actually jeapordising their current WM install (so they can have an install of WM6 to fall back onto)
what i propose is the following system:
1) MEMORY card formatted and partitioned to allow more or less the same sort of structure of memory/ram as the onboard memory does
2) INSTALL the actual android/linux to the memory card utilising the space as you would the hard-soldered memory on the phone without actually modifying the handset itself in any way whatsoever.
3) THIS method allows people to effectively dual-boot android/WM6/5 without the danger of them actually ruining their WM6 install, effectively using the android/linux platform to play about with whilst having the original WM6 to fall back onto for day-to-day usage.
shouldnt be too difficult to accomplish, im sure a modified bootloader would do the job pretty well, cant see why without the help of Olipro and Pof this cant be done!
LETS GET THE BALL ROLLING!
Seems good, but what, have the SD card for storage and CF for the OS? 'cos you obviously can't have 2 SD cards in the X50v (unless there's a CF-SD card adapter lying around somewhere on the web or on a shelf)
But as far as getting the ball rolling, yeah!!
Work on having the vanilla build of android (one included in the SDK) running before starting from scratch!
Obsidiandesire said:
Seems good, but what, have the SD card for storage and CF for the OS? 'cos you obviously can't have 2 SD cards in the X50v (unless there's a CF-SD card adapter lying around somewhere on the web or on a shelf)
But as far as getting the ball rolling, yeah!!
Work on having the vanilla build of android (one included in the SDK) running before starting from scratch!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
another problem would be on getting the bootloader to see the cf card and that maybe a problem, we would need to add one of the slots(sd or cf) to the bootloader and let us choose what os to boot or what memory to boot(sd,cf, or rom mem).
the other way if we don't want to modify anything would be loading a bootloader during winidows mobile.
i hate this time difference
i cant see why you cant actually have the android on the SD card and stick to having the CF card as storage for both WM and Linux
that way, it would mean a sort of 'standardising' for people to port over to other phones which use SD based memory cards.rather than making it bespoke to CF capable devices (of which there arent many!)
Yes, the problems will be a rebuild of the bootloader to recognise both SD + CF cards.
And loading the bootloader under Windows mobile could be good, but you'd then have to terminate WM (which could be a problem)
And which part of the USA do you live in? There's probably an 8 or 9 hour time difference :-(
@dude_stix
well, even so, you'd need both SD + CF storage, which AGAIN could be a problem. But (in my experience) CF is more expensive, and considering Android will take up less space, It seems a more viable option (in my example, a 32MB CF card would be useless if I installed Android on a 2GB SD card and nullified the rest of the space for use (which could happen))
I think the easier option would be to modify the bootloader to look for images on both cards and install on the one with the image on it.
What about drivers etc? Obviously these would be needed for most things.
drivers????
thats all i got but it would not be hard if htc releases its android devices soon so we can get ideas from them. still today linux devices have problems with bluetooth, wifi, backlight, sd, etc...
posted on 5:23 pm here in south central US (Texas)
That's a 6 hour time differance :/
The Drivers being the things (mainly DLL's in WM) that controll the wifi/bluetooth etc.
This is why Linux has problems with them, i think they have to rebuild their own or something, which could pose a problem.
Do you think we should set a website & Forums up, or is it too early at the moment?
ultraprimeomega said:
drivers????
thats all i got but it would not be hard if htc releases its android devices soon so we can get ideas from them. still today linux devices have problems with bluetooth, wifi, backlight, sd, etc...
posted on 5:23 pm here in south central US (Texas)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah... ...Drivers!!
This will be the hard one...
With WM6 cooked rom it was easy... We could reuse WM5 drivers written specifically for that device (x50v and x51v needed a specific driver for the 2700G chipset).... So if there won't be any Smartphone with such chipset with Android pre-installed it would be very hard to write that drivers from scratch... By the way somewhere I remeber I found a PowerVR driver source code for Linux that could be useful to do the job...
Cheers
Antineutrino said:
Yeah... ...Drivers!!
This will be the hard one...
...
Cheers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Isn't the drivers' job what the linux kernel is supposed to do? Why don't you go grab the kernel from the gpe/opie project and add the android image to it, partition the sd card with a windows and a linux partition like the other linux guys do, load the ramdisk like they do and see if it works. At least they have a start on the drivers for the Axim.
wovens said:
Isn't the drivers' job what the linux kernel is supposed to do? Why don't you go grab the kernel from the gpe/opie project and add the android image to it, partition the sd card with a windows and a linux partition like the other linux guys do, load the ramdisk like they do and see if it works. At least they have a start on the drivers for the Axim.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, this could be a start indeed, now how do we get android actually ON the x50v??

[Android ROM Dictionary] Newbe Friendly

I TOOK IT HERE
Android ROM and rooting dictionary: all the terms explained​
Android is a Linux-based operating system, and in Linux, there is something called root access. When you root your Android phone, you will get superuser access. It’s sort of like a special user account for system administration.
With root access, you have complete control over your phone’s operating system. It will let you install lots of great system apps, such as backup tools, that only are available to root users, and you’ll have the option to flash themes and custom Android ROMs. You can look at custom ROMs as different editions of the Android platform, and when you flash a new ROM, you install someone’s vision of Android.
For example, when I bought the HTC Desire in April 2010, I initially used the stock HTC firmware for a couple of months, which basically is HTC’s customized version of Android. Then I got bored with it, and I started using a ROM called MIUI by a group of Chinese developers. It added a lot of functionality and had a unique UI design. Then I got curious of HTC’s new device Desire HD, and I flashed a custom ROM that was based on the firmware of that phone. And when Android 2.3 Gingerbread arrived, I started using a virtually unmodified version of Android – Google’s vision of it.
In other words, when you have root access, you can use your phone as a hardware shell that you simply can put new versions of the Android operating system into. This post won’t discuss how to get root access, but it will try to explain all the funny words that you will encounter when reading about custom ROMs in forums such as xda-developers. There is an entire terminology surrounding Android ROMs and rooting, and these words sound like complete gibberish when you’re not used to them.
So I’ve tried to write a rooting dictionary that explains the most common superuser and Android ROM terms. I’m no expert, so please correct me in the comments if I’m wrong, and feel free to suggest additional words to include in this root access and ROM dictionary.
Android ROM and rooting dictionary
A2SD+​
A2SD+ is an extension of Android 2.2 Froyo’s native support for installing apps on the SD card, but it virtually installs every app to the external storage. You can more or less expand your internal storage with the size of the partition you create on your memory card — because you need to partition your SD card to use A2SD+. It’s great if your Android phone has a limited amount of internal storage space. Most Android ROMs have built-in support for A2SD+.
AOSP​
AOSP is short for Android Open Source Project, and when the term is used in ROM descriptions, it usually indicates that the ROM in question is based on the Android source code provided by Google itself, and not on some other ROM project or a company’s firmware.
Bootloader​
The bootloader executes code before any operating system is launched. On Android devices, the bootloader is usually locked because manufacturers want you to use the version of Android they’ve provided. With a locked bootloader on Android phones, custom ROMs cannot be flashed.
BusyBox​
BusyBox is an app on your phone that will give you access to additional Linux/Unix based commands. You may need BusyBox installed to perform some root level tasks, and some other apps that require root access may need BusyBox installed as well. BusyBox is self-dubbed “The Swiss Army Knife of Embedded Linux.”
ClockworkMod Recovery​
I won’t get very technical here, because I can’t, but you can think of the Recovery Mode as Android’s equivalent of the BIOS on your computer. Not quite, since Hboot may be more similar to your PC’s BIOS, but you get the picture. It’s a boot menu that is shown without Android being loaded, and it gives you access to certain features such as doing complete backups of your phone (Nandroid backups) and installing custom ROMs. ClockworkMod is the most popular Recovery Mode, and it’s installed with the app ROM Manager.
CyanogenMod or CM​
CyanogenMod, often abbreviated CM, is a custom version of vanilla (more or less unmodified) Android. It’s the most popular custom ROM for Android – a community effort, and many other ROMs are based on CyanogenMod. Among other things, it adds a bunch of extra customization features and options.
Dalvik & Dalvik cache​
Dalvik is the cryptic name of the virtual machine (VM) in Android, and it’s the basis for running apps (with the .apk filename extension) on the platform. Before Android apps are launched, they’re converted into the compact Dalvik Executable (.dex) format, which is designed to be suitable for systems that are constrained in terms of memory and processor speed. Dalvik was originally written by Dan Bornstein, who named it after the fishing village of Dalvík in Eyjafjörður, Iceland, where some of his ancestors lived.
The Dalvik cache is a simply the cache used by Dalvik, and it’s the result of Dalvik doing optimizations of running apps. Some Android ROMs allow you to move the Dalvik cache to your SD card, in order to free up internal storage.
Data2SD / D2EXT / D2SD​
If a ROM supports data2SD, D2EXT, or simply D2SD, it means that the /data folder on your Android phone’s internal storage can be moved to your memory card instead. That’s a good thing, because it will free up precious internal megabytes and leave more room for apps and games. Some say that having the data stored on your SD card is slightly slower, though.
D2ext is a short way of saying “data to the extended file system”. It requires that you have created a partition on your SD card.
Deodexed​
The term “deodexed” has been mocking me ever since I rooted my first Android phone. What the frak does it mean, exactly? Well, it’s probably the hardest term to explain in this rooting dictionary, but I’ll do my best.
Apparently, when a ROM has been deodexed, it means that its apps have been prepared so they can be modified. Deodexed ROMs feature apps that have been repackaged in a certain way. Android applications, .APKs, contain .odex files that devs supposedly use to save space. These .odex files are extracted from the application packages and put in the /system/ folder on your phone, to speed up boot processes and to allow parts of applications to be preloaded.
However, this makes hacking and modifying those apps difficult because parts of the apps have been extracted to another location. Deodexing means that all pieces of an application package are put back together into one file, and it makes sure that a modified .APK won’t conflict with some separate odexed parts located somewhere else. Developers of custom ROMs choose to deodex their ROM packages, since it lets them modify various .APKs, and it also makes theming possible after the ROMs have been installed.
DSPManager​
This is an equalizer app that Android devs like to include in their ROMs.
EXT2/3/4​
This refers to ext2, ext3, and ext4 partitions on your SD card. They’re extended file systems for Linux that can be used by Android, usually in order to preserve internal storage space. Many custom Android ROMs require that you have an ext2, ext3 or ext4 partition on your memory card. Ext2 is the oldest type of extended file system, and ext4 is the newest. Some say that ext4 will put an unnecessary strain on your memory card, because it writes to it so much, and I think the ext3 file system currently is most common. To use one of these file systems, you need to create a special partition on your SD card with ROM Manager or GParted.
So what exactly is a partition? It’s a part of a hard disk, or a SD card in this case, that’s separated from the other parts. Think of partitioning as dividing your SD card into two sections that have different purposes.
Fastboot​
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but fastboot is essentially a boot menu that you can do stuff from before Android is launched. On the HTC Desire, you can access it by turning off the device and simultaneously pressing the Power button and the Volume down button. From this menu, you can choose to boot into Recovery Mode, and more. I’ve also seen this technical (and likely more accurate) explanation: “Fastboot is a protocol used to directly update the flash file system in Android devices from a host over USB.”
Firmware​
A phone’s firmware is basically its operating system. A “firmware update” means that the operating system, the software that controls the phone, is updated. “Stock firmware” means that the firmware is unmodified: it’s the version of the operating system the phone’s manufacturer delivers.
Flash and flashing​
To flash a custom ROM, or a firmware, simply means that you install it. So, flashing is the process of installing a new version of the Android operating system, or just parts of it, like the radio. Flashing new ROMs is done via the Recovery Mode, usually with ClockworkMod Recovery.
HBoot​
HBoot is loaded immediately when your phone is switched on, and it’s mainly responsible for checking and initializing the hardware and starting the phone’s software. It can also be used for flashing official software releases, as well as a few other things. HBoot can be compared to the BIOS on a computer.
IME​
Input Method Editor (soft keyboard)
[Thanks to Hayden4018]
IMEI​
International Mobile Equipment Identity. which you can get by by typing *#06# (works for Galaxy S)
[Thanks to turnado]
Kernel​
The kernel is the central component of most operating systems: it’s a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. The Linux kernel was initially created by legendary Finnish computer science student Linus Torvalds in 1991. Android kernels are often customized, optimized and modified for different purposes, such as over-clocking the processor or extending the battery life. Custom ROMs usually include a new kernel.
Linux​
Linux refers to the family of Unix-like computer operating systems that use the Linux kernel. The name “Linux” comes from the Linux kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Android is a Linux-based mobile operating system.
MIUI ROM​
MIUI is a heavily customized version of Android 2.2 from a team of Chinese developers, and it made a splash in the Android blogosphere back in September 2010. MIUI takes the best parts of Froyo, Samsung’s TouchWiz interface and iOS, and transforms the various elements into something quite unique that has managed to make many people excited. A lot of developers have released their own versions of MIUI, and the ROM is available for many different devices. Besides the official website (in Chinese), there’s a forum dedicated to MIUI at miui-dev.com.
NANDroid & NANDroid backups​
NANDroid will let anyone with root access make a complete system backup. It lets you create a backup of every piece of information on your phone, and it can be restored later whenever you want. NANDroid backups are usually performed before flashing a new ROM, in case anything goes wrong, or if you want to return to your previous setup later. NANDroid backups are created from the Recovery Mode, often with ClockworkMod Recovery.
Odexed​
See deodexed.
Radio​
OK, so this is not the radio you’re listening to your favorite stations with. It’s the radio on your phone that handles communication, the radio that sends and receives voice and data. Flashing (installing) a new radio can improve your reception, and bring other benefits. A radio is flashed via Recovery Mode, just as a full Android ROM.
Radio interface layer (RIL)​
Android provides a Radio Interface Layer (RIL) between Android’s telephony services and the radio hardware. Developers and enthusiasts enjoy messing around with every part of Android, and some of them modify the RIL, just like Android itself, the kernel and the radio, to make it better.
RC1, RC2 et cetera​
When it comes to Android ROMs, RC means Release Candidate. It’s a candidate for the final release of a ROM, and they can be considered ROM betas.
Recovery Mode​
As explained under ClockworkMod, the Recovery Mode is a menu that you can boot into that lets you perform complete backups of your phone (Nandroid backups), install custom ROMs and more. ClockworkMod is a very popular Recovery Mode, and you can get it via the app ROM Manager below.
ROM Manager​
ROM Manager is an immensely popular app for root users, and it lets you flash ClockworkMod Recovery, install ROMs from your SD card, perform backups and even download new ROMs over-the-air.
Root​
When someone mentions root, it usually just refers to having root access on an Android phone – also called being a root user, or a superuser. Root access is explained under superuser, and in the introduction to this dictionary.
S-OFF (security off)​
On the HTC Desire and several other HTC Android phones, the company has implemented a form of “security.” It’s called @secuflag, and it controls whether your phone has its NAND or flash unlocked. S-ON (security on) will read-lock your /system and /recovery partitions, blocking you from performing certain root level actions directly from Android.
You can disable this security measure with S-OFF (security off), although you risk bricking your phone in the process (worst case scenario).
SetCPU​
This is a popular application for overclocking or underclocking your phone’s processor, making it faster or slower. It may require a special kernel in order to work.
SuperUser​
Android is a Linux-based operating system, and in Linux, there is something called root access. When you root your Android phone, you will get superuser access. The superuser, or root user, is sort of a special user account for system administration. SuperUser is also the name of an app, which lets you grant or deny superuser privileges to other apps.
Terminal and Terminal Emulator​
Terminal Emulator, sometimes just referred to as Terminal, is an app that lets users access Android’s built-in Linux command line shell. The application emulates a Digital Equipment Corporation VT-100 terminal, and it’s mostly useful for programmers and for those with root access. For example, typing this in Terminal Emulator when a2sd is installed will move the Dalvik cache to the SD card:
su (gives the app SuperUser access)
a2sd cachesd (moves the Dalvik cache to the SD card)
Titanium Backup​
Titanium Backup is the best backup tool for root users, since it allows you to backup all your applications as well as their data.
Zipaligned​
Zipalign is a tool that optimizes the way an Android app (.APK) is packaged. It enables Android to interact with the application more efficiently, and in doing so, it has the potential to make the app and the entire Android system much faster. Zipaligned applications are launched more quickly, and they use less amounts of RAM. So, thumbs up for zipaligned Android ROMs.
WWE​
WWE means “World Wide English”, and usually tells that an Android ROM is based on WWE, or World Wide English, firmware.
Thank you very much paul-ac. Very much appreciate your effort in creating this dictionary for helping newbies like me.
Wow, very nice writeup!
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
thanks a lot it was very helpful
and for IME is it the same as (International Mobile Equipment Identity). which we can get by by typing *#06# on your standby screen.? or not
Nice one. thank you
turnado said:
thanks a lot it was very helpful
and for IME is it the same as (International Mobile Equipment Identity). which we can get by by typing *#06# on your standby screen.? or not
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the IMEI, IME if I'm not mistakin' is Input Method Editor.
Very nice post, thank you. It would have been very useful when I buyed my first android phone.
really nice
Very cool, please keep this updated
Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA Premium App
Nice copy-paste
galaxysdev said:
Nice copy-paste
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes it is!
xxxxxxxxxx
I just like to ask what WIP means? ive seen it on other forums but i havent found any extraordinary about the rom or something
thanks in advance
fulii said:
I just like to ask what WIP means? ive seen it on other forums but i havent found any extraordinary about the rom or something
thanks in advance
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
work in progress
finally i know what deodexed means
please add modem. thx
BoKKeR said:
please add modem. thx
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Radio=modem.
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What is ETA mean?.
Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk
THX !

Still only Android virtual roms possible for TP2 within Windows ?

It's been a while since i've been here, still work with the old Energy Rom in WM6.5 from June
Last time I visited this forum, they mentionned the TP2 would never be able to run Android.
Now I see there is an Android section here and I tested the latest Thunderbolt_V1 but that's a rom that runs into windows with a virtual machine.
Isn't it still possible to boot a 100% Android rom?
Somebody must find some tweaks and tricks, even if it's to heavy maybe a light-Android
No one is running android in a virtual machine on their TP2. Winmo is used to initialize hardware before xdandroid boots (don't know anything about thunderbolt, but I haven't heard good things about tiad, so maybe that wasn't your best bet for a first run). I hear there are some super unobtrusive light-weight winmo roms that will boot up without loading all the interface stuff and then auto boot to xdandroid. But it's still going to be kind of slow because it's a hack running off the sd card and optimization is a trial and error sort of thing by generous volunteers here.
As far as a real nand build, some folks are working on it, I mostly see activity at ppcgeeks. I hear it's not ready for primetime. It's possible it might never be, though I wouldn't want to discourage the kind souls plugging away at it. Best way to get it IMO is to hit some donate links for the people working on it.
Hi,
android doesn't run off a virtual machine, HaRET is a program that kicks winmo from memory, and initializes linux. Any changes you make in android are saved on real partitions, not containers or such, as is used in virtual machines, and changes are also permanent. Basically your external sd card's 3 ext2 partitions mimic the setup that is inside a normal android phone.
Thunderbolt v1 so far is a great rom for me (the first fully functioning one; because of that, android now my daily os), and its installed on your SD card. If you want an internal android os, try tiad8's NAND builds on his website, he has one or two versions (at your own risk, they're VERY experimental AFAIK).
waltibaba said:
Hi,
android doesn't run off a virtual machine, HaRET is a program that kicks winmo from memory, and initializes linux. Any changes you make in android are saved on real partitions, not containers or such, as is used in virtual machines, and changes are also permanent. Basically your external sd card's 3 ext2 partitions mimic the setup that is inside a normal android phone.
Thunderbolt v1 so far is a great rom for me (the first fully functioning one; because of that, android now my daily os), and its installed on your SD card. If you want an internal android os, try tiad8's NAND builds on his website, he has one or two versions (at your own risk, they're VERY experimental AFAIK).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Please don't direct people to other websites. NAND development started here on the TP2. He's only stolen the work of the brilliant devs here, and branded it as his own.
Did you somehow miss this thread?
NAND Testing - 05-25 Update: New LK, Recovery.img, Kernel Updates through Recovery
tiad8 is a hack and a fraud, there is the proof.
andriod for tp2 isn,t virtual it,s real and i advise you not to install it on your phone as you don't know that it is virtual and then you come and say xda briked my phone

[IDEA] Android rescue.zip project..

So i am here with a new idea. A rescue.zip which can be used to rescue any android device which have a recovery like the famous cwm.
So here is it..
Some times we people screw up our android os like hell, and to reboot the device we usualy do a recovery flash of a new os, flash back our nandroid backup ( both on worst conditions) or even do permission fix, clean cache or dalvic cache( those in 'not that worse' conditions) . So thats are all the options we got. Rit?
Although flashing recovery backups, new roms can fix all, it will also eatup our apps, current setups, contacts, msgs, etc( in case we dont have backups) and will probably screw us. All we can do is say " WTF..WTF..WTF.."
SO here is my idea,
Find out the causes of what causes a reboot, non-boot, hang,fc etc.
And keep a zip that can be flashed through recovery, that has a solution for our problem. They may be including..
1) fix permission of system, data, and user data.
2) zipalign the apps
3) fix the default clock speed of processor
4) defragment memory
5) flash a new copy of su and busy box
6)wipe data or system or ext or cache or dalvic cache
7) flash a new copy of framework.res, system-ui.apk, settings.apk with default permissions( those files are kept in separate "custom" folder on the zip, so that end user can put their own files to that "custom" folder for flashing., the reason behind it is known to all, yap. Not all devices have them in common, every device have its own files)
These are all i got for now, pls post ur ideas and knowledge for any possible cure about any problem u faced/ cured. So that we can make it an ultimate rescue.zip that have a cure for 99% problems android os have. The rest 1% will go with a clean flash.( well we cant avoid that if we did something that bad).
So my plan is to use aroma installer( now on hard learning to find how it works). Throw in some scripts, files etc. Into the zip.
And since its not a device specific .zip file, i want to know how and why any problems are caused in any device( there are many common problems, but that is not what i ask for. I ask for device/os specific problems, and not for a problem that we can cure after booting, but for a problem that can make the device un-bootable) . So u people may help me to find those problems and cures for it. For my knowledge i have experience with wildfire and hd2.
Well i will keep this thread for a week or two, so that u can post ur knowledge, and info. after that i will release the file for u.
To the admin. Of the forum, pls keep this thread as announcement so that all can take a look.
HYPERDROID EXTREEM EDITION-THE NEW BENCHMARK ROM FOR HD2.
If you plan to do this available to any android device, the file size will be so big that it will become useless. Every phone has different apk, and not only that, but those apk are different in different version of os. For example, CM9 framework should not work on google release. Worst, older CM9 framework might not work on newer CM9 and newer framework might not work on older. Also, one of the cause of bootloop that i have been experiencing since i have my GNexus is data corruption of apps. The only way i had was to wipe data. I dont think there is a way to know if your app are corrupted with script. I also seen a lot of strange problem on SGS II like the kernel being erased. Well, in this case this package would be useless. So i guess that having this package would be awesome, but wont happen. My best advice is that you could create a universal guide on how to recover from bootloop/fc/hang with the minimum of impact on the phone. This is just my opinion tho.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
You could add using flags in the updates filename, see some roms or themes for the lg optimus 2x for more information. It uses sed. For example, "update-wc-wd.zip" would wipe /data and /cache.
You could also merge these features in a customized clockwork mod recovery, the up side would be that you could automatically make a backup of the last flashed full ROM's systemui etc. this would also allow usage of the touch screen/volume keys to choose an repair option. You could even allow users to backup specific applications along with their data, and let users restore it later on after a fresh flash. I have some basic knowledge in modifying the recovery so I might help you out a little if you're interested.
chadouming said:
If you plan to do this available to any android device, the file size will be so big that it will become useless. Every phone has different apk, and not only that, but those apk are different in different version of os. For example, CM9 framework should not work on google release. Worst, older CM9 framework might not work on newer CM9 and newer framework might not work on older. Also, one of the cause of bootloop that i have been experiencing since i have my GNexus is data corruption of apps. The only way i had was to wipe data. I dont think there is a way to know if your app are corrupted with script. I also seen a lot of strange problem on SGS II like the kernel being erased. Well, in this case this package would be useless. So i guess that having this package would be awesome, but wont happen. My best advice is that you could create a universal guide on how to recover from bootloop/fc/hang with the minimum of impact on the phone. This is just my opinion tho.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I told it already, the "custom" folder is not filled. It will be kept empty. The user can put a file, which ofcourse is the file of the device he/she have or want to get repaired. All he has to do is copy and paste the file from the working zip( zip file of his currently installed rom, that encounter the problem) of his rom to the custom folder inside the rescue.zip.
And the things that are common will be scripts, but those too will contains device specific mound points, paths, etc. I think that will be common( ie, the working of script, once the mound is done). Am i right?
So all i have to figure out is mount points, paths etc.. i got a couple of them, about 15 or so. And pls help me to find the rest.
HYPERDROID EXTREEM EDITION-THE NEW BENCHMARK ROM FOR HD2.
a good idea to add is a file system chech like windows systems has. By installing a rom the installer should first check for bad sectors and mem blocks before installing the rom. After all blocks and sectors are scanned and the bad ones marked as "bad or corrupt" it should run something like defrag and place the bad blocks at the end of the file table. When all is done .. then the true rom install should start.
This will prevent heaps of problems since the curent installs just write over a bad block or sector creating the most weird problems. A fault checker/repair will take away a lot of strange forced closes and othere software/hardware failures.
Most phones wont last that long so that bad blocks or sectors can occure. But for the flashing junkies among us its a serious problem what can occure. I guess after 1000 or more installs bad sectors or blocks will occure and not all are being able to be repaired
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Mikevhl said:
You could add using flags in the updates filename, see some roms or themes for the lg optimus 2x for more information. It uses sed. For example, "update-wc-wd.zip" would wipe /data and /cache.
You could also merge these features in a customized clockwork mod recovery, the up side would be that you could automatically make a backup of the last flashed full ROM's systemui etc. this would also allow usage of the touch screen/volume keys to choose an repair option. You could even allow users to backup specific applications along with their data, and let users restore it later on after a fresh flash. I have some basic knowledge in modifying the recovery so I might help you out a little if you're interested.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am totaly newbee to lg. I have experience with htc, few samsung, etc. So can u pm me the details? Also is it usable to create recovery? I think a zip file with selectable options is more friendly. The thing is building a recovery wont make it universal( or atleast common for a couple of devices) and we will have to port them for each and every device. Thats the problem.
But any way i want ur help in building it. Can u pm me an example for mounding script in lg devices? And any thing that may become useful. Thank you.
HYPERDROID EXTREEM EDITION-THE NEW BENCHMARK ROM FOR HD2.
wilwilwel said:
a good idea to add is a file system chech like windows systems has. By installing a rom the installer should first check for bad sectors and mem blocks before installing the rom. After all blocks and sectors are scanned and the bad ones marked as "bad or corrupt" it should run something like defrag and place the bad blocks at the end of the file table. When all is done .. then the true rom install should start.
This will prevent heaps of problems since the curent installs just write over a bad block or sector creating the most weird problems. A fault checker/repair will take away a lot of strange forced closes and othere software/hardware failures.
Most phones wont last that long so that bad blocks or sectors can occure. But for the flashing junkies among us its a serious problem what can occure. I guess after 1000 or more installs bad sectors or blocks will occure and not all are being able to be repaired
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Pls pm me the idea how to make the checking script. Or links that have info in this. Thank u in figuring out such a prob. I am unaware of that.
HYPERDROID EXTREEM EDITION-THE NEW BENCHMARK ROM FOR HD2.
showlyshah said:
I am totaly newbee to lg. I have experience with htc, few samsung, etc. So can u pm me the details? Also is it usable to create recovery? I think a zip file with selectable options is more friendly. The thing is building a recovery wont make it universal( or atleast common for a couple of devices) and we will have to port them for each and every device. Thats the problem.
But any way i want ur help in building it. Can u pm me an example for mounding script in lg devices? And any thing that may become useful. Thank you.
HYPERDROID EXTREEM EDITION-THE NEW BENCHMARK ROM FOR HD2.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll send this as a PM as well, but people might learn from this. I am not talking about any specific mount points for LG phones, I just pointed out that there are some roms which use sed to check the filename of its update.zip and do tasks according to that, you need to have one line in your updater script to run the script which detects what to do. That way a user of a Galaxy Nexus would rename it to update-maguro.zip and it would know to use mount points for the maguro, while if the exact same update.zip was to be named update-p990.zip, it would know to use the mount points for the LG optimus 2x. This way you could easily keep the zip up to date for any device, because they all use the same update.zip
About the recovery, you would need to build it for every phone once, but you could make one change to the recovery source and easily compile the recovery for all phones which are capable of running CWM. I believe this method to be more user friendly, as a recovery image has support for actually choosing what you want to do, instead of having to rename the file. A recovery image also has a better way of communicating with the user. Where a update.zip can only say "Hey, I had an error and I'm quitting now, I won't give you any details what the problem was because that's just how update.zips roll", a recovery image would be able to give more advanced outputs, like "An error occurred when trying to mount /data." And then give you the option to either try again, manually fix it by using a computer with adb, or quitting.
But that's just my personal opinion. The recovery would be way harder to make, but I was the original porter of CM6, CM7 and HTC Sense to the xperia mini pro and mini back in the days. I also made a custom recovery and roms for the HTC desire Z, maintain a CWM port for the HTC Chacha which I don't even own and have used the LG optimus 2x before. (currently a maguro owner) but I'm trying to say that I've been experimenting a lot with different phones and know what the possibilities of Android are. you could even make a live Android build, tailored for recovering your phone, which is ran by an update.zip! How cool is that? That would be VERY device specific though..
let me know what you think is the best way to do this. I was thinking of making a mobile time machine app for some time so it's good I saw this thread.

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