Develop Bugs

How safe is clockworkmod recovery

Does clockworkmod overwrite the stock recovery? If it does then to me it is not a safe method to root a phone. If something goes wrong while flashing clockwork you will lose the stock recovery and can never reflash anything else. Is my understanding correct? This is why I am hesitant to root my phone. Please advice.
Thanks.

datzstr8 said:
Does clockworkmod overwrite the stock recovery? If it does then to me it is not a safe method to root a phone. If something goes wrong while flashing clockwork you will lose the stock recovery and can never reflash anything else. Is my understanding correct? This is why I am hesitant to root my phone. Please advice.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its fairly safe. You could always flash the recovery thru odin found here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1332103

Has anyone tried to flash clockwork and failed? What happened afterwards? I assume odin won't work anymore because it requires a recovery partition to work.
I guess what I am still confused about is if clockwork writes over the stock recovery or does it keep the stock recovery in-tacked. I would prefer the later since then you can never break your phone.

With my dilemma would it be best for me to not install clockwork and just use an insecure kernel? Thanks.

It does overwrite the stock recovery i believe. But its very safe to flash. Ive never heard of someone borking a phone installing cwm recovery.

I have literally NEVER had a problem with clockworkmod, it's one of the best pieces of mobile software I've ever used.

kabuk1 said:
I have literally NEVER had a problem with clockworkmod, it's one of the best pieces of mobile software I've ever used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Whole heartedly agree.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

datzstr8 said:
Has anyone tried to flash clockwork and failed? What happened afterwards? I assume odin won't work anymore because it requires a recovery partition to work.
I guess what I am still confused about is if clockwork writes over the stock recovery or does it keep the stock recovery in-tacked. I would prefer the later since then you can never break your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Odin has NOTHING to do with the recovery partition. ODIN only works in download mode on your phone. You can have a blank recovery partition and it'll still work, as well as the rom, and flashing other things too. The recovery partition stock has one function, to do a factory reset incase of problems. (Not to be confused with the one from inside android, that only formats /data. This one replaces the system partition as well.) CWM is very safe, I really wouldn't worry about it. Just follow the instructions carefully and you'll be fine.
Also, once you get cwm installed on there, I'd suggest doing a backup before you make any changes. Always handy to have your stock image at hand, just incase.
And also, even with stock recovery, you can still break your phone. It's not easy to brick a GS2, but it can be done. Just remember, as long as you can get the phone into download mode, it's not bricked. You can always odin back the stock partitions if you run into issues.

I was a little worried about using it with this phone. No problems to report. Just had to make backup in recovery.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

Thanks mstrk242 for the great explanation. I thought the "download" and "recovery" were two states of a single program. It is clear now that they are separate. You just cleared all my worries.
You said "It's not easy to brick a GS2, but it can be done," can you tell me how this can happen? Just curious. Thanks much.

If you're going to be rooting/flashing at all, you'll have to get comfortable with cwm, Odin, and the other tools that are available for the phone.
This is my second Android phone, both have been rooted with custom roms, and at any point I've run into trouble (which is rare) I've found the tools and the help I need on here by searching a little bit. If you're willing to spend the time doing a bit of reading and know your way around a computer a bit, you won't have a problem. Just make sure you're 100% sure whatever you're flashing is for YOUR phone hardware.
It's not nearly as scary as it sounds once you get going on it and there's a lot to benefit from it.
Cheers and good luck.
Sent from my SGH-T989 using xda premium

datzstr8 said:
Thanks mstrk242 for the great explanation. I thought the "download" and "recovery" were two states of a single program. It is clear now that they are separate. You just cleared all my worries.
You said "It's not easy to brick a GS2, but it can be done," can you tell me how this can happen? Just curious. Thanks much.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Easiest way is to flash a rom for the wrong phone and mess up the partition table. (IE flash an international version of the gs2 rom, you'll brick.)
As long as you get cwm installed on there, and flash the correct roms, you should really be ok.

You can go back to the stock recovery easily. You can do it through Odin or flash an unroot rom
Sent from my SGH-T989 with ClockworkMod ★Touch★ Recovery 5.8.1.3

What is this about bricking???

I have a few questions... I am coming from using a Nexus One and am intimately familiar with flashing Modems/Kernels/ROMs... modifying framework and other APKs for custom features... and all kinds of other fun stuff. I have been running into videos and such that I am sure their procedure works but I don't really trust that all their information is accurate. Seeing as some people putting up how-to info say I need to install 7-zip to run a self-extractable archive... they obviously don't know what they are talking about... no offense meant to them as it is a very good instructional video... I just do not feel comfortable asking them detailed questions.
With the E4GT I keep seeing people saying that you can brick your phone by flashing between GB and ICS ROMs without wiping and such. Now I would like to get a few things strait. On Nexus One the recovery kernel was held in a different partition than the normal OS. Then there was an initial bootloader that would load either the recovery or the normal OS. Now if you were to shoot yourself in the foot and do something you shouldn't with your normal OS you could always boot to recovery and start from your latest nandroid or just flash w/e you felt like. Is this not how the E4GT works? If you flash a kernel (which I would assume would goto your normal OS's boot partition being seperate from the bootloader and recovery) does it actually "brick" your phone? Do ICS ROMs mess with something in the bootloader or recovery that could prevent you from going back to recovery and reflashing whatever you want?

The permenant bricks are happening with the partitions getting screwed. Even ODINing over a stock tar will fail at that point. Normally with any device we would JTAG and write new partitions.
Only 2 things I know are. The partitions between GB and ICS are different. Our phones recovery is packed into the kernel and since we don't have the source for the ICS kernel yet I would expect their to be issues with CWM repacks on our phone with ICS.
Ive been one of the ones with no issues flashing around in ICS. But I would not dare try to flash a GB rom back. SFHUB's One Click ODIN's are a quick way to flash over an EL29 or prior tar but you can do it the old fashioned way as well.

Read here, On how to avoid
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1525495

xST4T1K said:
Read here, On how to avoid
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1525495
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I really appreciate your informational thread. The problem is... I went through all this information as well as some other stuff prior to posting this. While the information is nice it is basically "follow these procedures and things should work according to my experience". What I am looking for is detailed information as to what is causing tons or people (relative to what i saw in the N1 community) mentioning these bricking issues. I am trying to gather and consolidate this information as I can not find it readily available.
RainMotorsports said:
The permenant bricks are happening with the partitions getting screwed. Even ODINing over a stock tar will fail at that point. Normally with any device we would JTAG and write new partitions.
Only 2 things I know are. The partitions between GB and ICS are different. Our phones recovery is packed into the kernel and since we don't have the source for the ICS kernel yet I would expect their to be issues with CWM repacks on our phone with ICS.
Ive been one of the ones with no issues flashing around in ICS. But I would not dare try to flash a GB rom back. SFHUB's One Click ODIN's are a quick way to flash over an EL29 or prior tar but you can do it the old fashioned way as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is more along the lines of what I am looking for. So... from what I gather here:
1. As far as it is known... something having to do with partition allocation information is different between GB and ICS ROMs.
2. E4GT version of Android's recovery is not held seperate from the running OS and is dependent on the Initramfs (and contained within) that is used by the actual running OS.
3. In order to flash back to GB you must use SFHUB's One Click ODIN which uses a known procedure that works. (Why does this work where others methods do not? Possibly, when update script runs from package used in recovery [modified ICS recovery] it has to do with partition information the recovery is expecting is different from actual? ICS kernel source so its exact method of actually executing an update script is unknown?)
Please correct post to correct any information you see here which is incorrect or acknowledge what information you believe to be correct.
EDIT: Correction to 3 as I didn't read post properly and also in response to RainMotorsports post. Also, changed SGS2 in 2 to E4GT
EDIT: Changed "kernel" in 2 to "initramfs" Detailed information about all this can be found in Sfhub's detailed explanation post within this thread which you can find here:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=24398615&postcount=13

You can go back to gingerbread as many times as you want, just use the one click odin el29 above. That's the safest and simplest way. I've done it countless times.

Goblinlord said:
2. SGS2 version of Android's recovery is not held seperate from the running OS and is dependent on the kernel (and contained within) that is used by the actual running OS.
3. If you flash to ICS do not flash back to GB??? (though this goes against the information contained in xST4T1K's post)
Please correct post to correct any information you see here which is incorrect or acknowledge what information you believe to be correct.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For 3 as said just use the odin one click. Now everyone recommends using EL26 with CWM for some reason but EL29 works. When going backwards always use the version that wipes the data partition - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 will take you to stock rooted EL29 and you can odin over the kernel with cwm or just use sfhubs auto rooter to gain it.
Its recommended to either use ODIN (or an odin one click) to upgrade an ICS leak or to ODIN back to EL26/29 then flash a rom. It has been possible for some of us to do it from ICS but there have been bricks its just a precaution so do it the right way for now. Mobile ODIN also has some issue but I have done 2 tar leaks using it as well.
As for 2 to the best of my knowledge its just the E4GT. The recovery partition on our phone is unused and recovery is packed into the kernel. Very stable on GB, but we don't have the ICS source and the ICS repacks have some issues. To change or gain recovery all you have to do is flash a kernel.

RainMotorsports said:
For 3 as said just use the odin one click. Now everyone recommends using EL26 with CWM for some reason but EL29 works. When going backwards always use the version that wipes the data partition - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 will take you to stock rooted EL29 and you can odin over the kernel with cwm or just use sfhubs auto rooter to gain it.
Its recommended to either use ODIN (or an odin one click) to upgrade an ICS leak or to ODIN back to EL26/29 then flash a rom. It has been possible for some of us to do it from ICS but there have been bricks its just a precaution so do it the right way for now. Mobile ODIN also has some issue but I have done 2 tar leaks using it as well.
As for 2 to the best of my knowledge its just the E4GT. The recovery partition on our phone is unused and recovery is packed into the kernel. Very stable on GB, but we don't have the ICS source and the ICS repacks have some issues. To change or gain recovery all you have to do is flash a kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Perfect ^^... thanks for the information this is exactly the type of information I was looking for.

OP, check PM.

There was actually some talk from a few that were using JTAGs to unbrick only to find out that the NAND was fried in a way you would only expect to see from something hit by an EM surge. While odd, it's not impossible and we can only speculate at the changes in 3.0.15 ICS kernels from Samsung vs. the GB ones. I'm no electrical expert so I won't speculate on what would cause it.
I know how the Nexus was coming from a G2/Desire Z a lot of things were very similar. This phone is completely different. So far as I can tell the recovery and kernel share the same space. While you could flash 4EXT as your recovery and never change it but constantly change kernels - you must flash the recovery w/ the kernel on this. Probably has something to do with us having ODIN - that might be taking up residence where the recovery or fastboot would normally reside. I could be completely wrong though. As far as the 7zip thing. I don't know what videos you're talking about specifically but I do know a lot of people tell others to install it just because it's one of the most useful things when modding. Whether it be an apk or an entire rom. This is of course when your speaking about Windows. Linux has its own built-in goodies.

KCRic said:
There was actually some talk from a few that were using JTAGs to unbrick only to find out that the NAND was fried in a way you would only expect to see from something hit by an EM surge. While odd, it's not impossible and we can only speculate at the changes in 3.0.15 ICS kernels from Samsung vs. the GB ones. I'm no electrical expert so I won't speculate on what would cause it.
I know how the Nexus was coming from a G2/Desire Z a lot of things were very similar. This phone is completely different. So far as I can tell the recovery and kernel share the same space. While you could flash 4EXT as your recovery and never change it but constantly change kernels - you must flash the recovery w/ the kernel on this. Probably has something to do with us having ODIN - that might be taking up residence where the recovery or fastboot would normally reside. I could be completely wrong though. As far as the 7zip thing. I don't know what videos you're talking about specifically but I do know a lot of people tell others to install it just because it's one of the most useful things when modding. Whether it be an apk or an entire rom. This is of course when your speaking about Windows. Linux has its own built-in goodies.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the info KCRic. If you could provide a link for the thread you refer to about the NAND memory being fried it would be great. Also... I completely agree with 7-zip being useful as I have used it now for many many many years... my point was more... the person didn't even know the difference between an self-extracting executable and an archive file.

Please look at the following thread for background on the problem and speculation as to technically why the bricks are happening:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1504808

My theory on to why restoring a gingerbread and is that the fact that on ICS the recovery actually has access/see add'l hidden partitions that the gingerbread recovery does not access or see (example the triangle away tool which needs ics) Most likely when the restore is done the nand gets rewritten to the wrong partitions due to new hidden partitions not accounted for and in a sense overwriting something crucial and ends up in either destroying the partition and bricking the device. I'm no expert on the matter though so take this with a grain of sand.

I am reading from mobile so only skimmed through this. Some questions are probably already answered. Excuse the typos, it is a pain to type long replies on mobile.
The 7zip thing is probably because i package everything as 7zip self-extractors, which on windows means you just double-click on the *-sfx.exe and choose the directory to unpack to. The roms are relatively large so compressing them makes sense and 7zip does a better job compressing and is cross platform. Anyway on platforms other than windows you just treat the -sfx.exe file like a regular 7zip archive and use 7zip or other archive tool to unpack, similar to if zip or rar was used to compress.
Regarding why there are bricks, there are two more prevalent ways of bricking this phone.
1) flashing an intl gs2 factory or leaked rom that includes the intl bootloader. On our phone, the intl bootloader disables the usb port so you can no longer recover using any tool that uses the usb port. If you happen to have custom recovery still on the phone, you can use an update.zip to update your rom, kernel, and modem, but your usb port is still useless.
2) using an ics kernel combined with a custom recovery to wipe, restore, or otherwise do partition operations that affect /data. This is not a deterministic brick in that you can have the same operation work fine many times, but then suddenly have it fail. There were some more deterministic variations of this type of brick involving a temp flashed cwm touch, where wiping/factory reset would very frequently cause the /data brick.
So what is the /data brick? Apparently a change in the ics kernel combined with certain custom recovery operations can cause a hardware failure in the emmc memory for the data partition section. This will cause all future attempts to format, overwrite, restore, the data partition to hang or fail. We know it is a hardware failure because even using jtag to bit blast the proper software fails. Often people don't realize their data partition has bricked right away because they are in the midst of wiping/factory reset or restoring a backup. Then something isn't working right so they go and use odin to get back into a known state, but find odin hangs on the data partition. This may lead them to think odin is not working right or even that odin caused the problem, but in reality, odin is just the messenger that your emmc is screwed. The damage was done earlier. We know that to be the case, because
1) in all instances it was traced back to on operation with an ics kernel and custom recovery
2) this type of brick never existed before the ics kernels (linux 3.0 kernels came out)
3) galaxy note on ics has the same type of emmc brick
4) we know there were changes to the emmc code because different areas of emm are exposed in ics kernels which were not exposed in gb kernels
Your only recourse for this type of brick is to return for replacement, as even jtag fails.
Regarding odin, if you are coming from another platform, it is basically like fastboot in that it is a failsafe type flash using low-level bootloader routines which do not depend on working kernel or rom. Most types of soft brick can be easily addressed by odin. As to why it is safer, it is using low-level bootloader routines so doesn't depend on the ics kernel which we have found to be problematic in certain situations listed above.
Regarding recovery, I also came from a platform where recovery was a separate partition. This made sense to me. Alas, this phone does not use a separate partition for recovery. Instead reckvery is packed into the initramfs of the normal android kernel. if you flash a new kernel, that comes with a new initramfs, and you will get whichever recovery was packed into its initramfs, whether that be stock or custom recovery.
Ironically, there is a separate partition labelled recovery.bin that for some reason is not used. The contents are exactly the same as the kernel, so in the current state it just serves as a backup of the active kernel.
In closing, I would suggest treating this phone as a new platform and don't make assumptions based in past experience. Being android, there are similarities, but there are also important differences/quirks to be aware of which are easily missed if assumptions are made.

RainMotorsports said:
For 3 as said just use the odin one click. Now everyone recommends using EL26 with CWM for some reason but EL29 works. When going backwards always use the version that wipes the data partition - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101 will take you to stock rooted EL29 and you can odin over the kernel with cwm or just use sfhubs auto rooter to gain it.
Its recommended to either use ODIN (or an odin one click) to upgrade an ICS leak or to ODIN back to EL26/29 then flash a rom. It has been possible for some of us to do it from ICS but there have been bricks its just a precaution so do it the right way for now. Mobile ODIN also has some issue but I have done 2 tar leaks using it as well.
As for 2 to the best of my knowledge its just the E4GT. The recovery partition on our phone is unused and recovery is packed into the kernel. Very stable on GB, but we don't have the ICS source and the ICS repacks have some issues. To change or gain recovery all you have to do is flash a kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Coming from the Evo this is all new to me so I am sorry but I just wanted to double check. Right now I am still on eg30 and rooted. It is ok then to just use the odin one click to flash el26/29? Then I have to also flash cwm again correct? Sorry for the noobish questions, just trying to avoid any problems.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Natedog1 said:
Coming from the Evo this is all new to me so I am sorry but I just wanted to double check. Right now I am still on eg30 and rooted. It is ok then to just use the odin one click to flash el26/29? Then I have to also flash cwm again correct? Sorry for the noobish questions, just trying to avoid any problems.
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow your on EG30 nice lol.
Yes you can one click or regular odin straight to EL29 if you want. There are one clicks for ICS up to FC24 (No FD02 yet) so if your not going to a custom rom just stock rooted you can use those too.
EL26 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1416477
EL29 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
FC24 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1573752
You can go from EG30 to EL29 using the no data ones and not lose anything. Going to ICS or going backwards you should always use the normal ones that erase your data.
You still need custom recovery to flash a rom. You can use sfhubs autorooter on a rooted install to gain it or odin over a kernel.

RainMotorsports said:
Wow your on EG30 nice lol.
Yes you can one click or regular odin straight to EL29 if you want. There are one clicks for ICS up to FC24 (No FD02 yet) so if your not going to a custom rom just stock rooted you can use those too.
EL26 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1416477
EL29 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1433101
FC24 - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1573752
You can go from EG30 to EL29 using the no data ones and not lose anything. Going to ICS or going backwards you should always use the normal ones that erase your data.
You still need custom recovery to flash a rom. You can use sfhubs autorooter on a rooted install to gain it or odin over a kernel.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah I just picked up the phone the other day after my evo crapped out. It is like learning a new language going from the evo to this. Modems, odin, triangles.... Trying read as much as I can before doing much. Thanks for your help. I appreciate it a lot.
I am a little apprehensive about flashing an ics rom after reading about all the issues everyone is having. I do miss the hell out of cm but I think I should hold off on flashing that for now. Is it "safe" to flash fc24 one click even though it is ics?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

Yes if your going to ICS its as safe as it gets. ODIN is samsungs fastboot. The firmwares are stored on tars. SFHUB packages tars in a one click setup for odin so you dont have to deal with odin itself. Writing a full tar with odin write a whole firmware rather than just the rom or just the modem etc like when using recovery.
The other option is to flash an ICS rom through custom recovery preferably EL26 or EL29.
As far as triangles go if you want to know about those. If you flash a custom kernel or anything else not signed by samsung through ODIN it will show a triangle at boot as well as increase the counter shown in the download mode. This is just there to tell the phone company you have been messing with it.
I have never tripped the triangle myself but a USB jig on older bootloaders or the Triangle away app on ICS will take care of it.

Using ODIN to flash the FC24 + rooted is not a bad place to start *in my opinion* to try out ICS on the E4GT. But there are lessons to this too - please make sure you are using a good quality USB cable (such as the Sammy one), don't flash if your system is at risk of shutting down in the middle (such as a laptop with a sketchy battery and no A/C) and by all means, if it looks like it is hanging... give it time before resorting to unplugging the USB cable. The last part is the modem and takes several minutes, no matter how fast your PC is.
No matter what you decide, good luck and don't be afraid to ask any questions. It is far better to err towards caution and ask for advice than go on our own and risk ending up with a paperweight instead of a phone.

Thanks garwynn i was actually just coming back to add that. Yeah I always recommend to people to flash with a laptop if they have it in case of a power outage.

Thanks for the tips and the advice guys. Much appreciated. Right now the ics roms are pretty much all leaks correct?
Sent from my SPH-D710 using xda premium

[Backup] Stock Rom

Here is a stock rom backup for the Sprint G S III. I made the backup after doing a data wipe, so the rom is pure, no lingering data, ect.
Instructions:
-unzip the .zip file
-move the backup folder into your existing CWM folder on the S III internal memory
-restore in recovery
Again, this is a stock backup as some people need it.
https://dl.dropbox.com/u/19699565/fresh_GSIII_backup.zip
From my dropbox, so hit it easy.

Nice, know of some that will appreciate this.

bizdady said:
Nice, know of some that will appreciate this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Me too
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA Premium App

<3

Warning: if you flash this make sure you clear Google wallets data as shown in a qbking77 video so you don't brick the secure element
Sent from my SPH-L710

How is this in any way a stock rom?

nabbed said:
How is this in any way a stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give him a break. At least this isn't in development.
And he at least did something that could be useful until we get a real stock rom .zip or .tar
~E.R.A.

nabbed said:
How is this in any way a stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You have been in every thread criticizing everyone else s contributions...what the hell have you contributed?

nabbed said:
How is this in any way a stock rom?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's not, it's a backup. That's not the point, it's still useful to many users that have possibly screwed their device but still have access to recovery. Especially until something official comes out.

will there be a stock package on odin different than just the stock boot image? my phone is bricked for no apparent reason(see my thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1731416) and flashing the stock boot image in odin does nothing. i Also cant get into CWM to flash my backup...

pizzlewizzle said:
will there be a stock package on odin different than just the stock boot image? my phone is bricked for no apparent reason(see my thread here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1731416) and flashing the stock boot image in odin does nothing. i Also cant get into CWM to flash my backup...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Eventually there will be, but a lot of people [to include major developers] still don't have the phone yet, so we'll have to be patient. I looked over it, though currently are you able to get into recovery still or no? Additionally did you try re-flashing the cwm recovery in odin?

I can get into download mode but not into CWMR. The only thing i have tried flashing since it bricked is boot-stock-sprint-sph-l710.tar (which sort of worked the first time). I'm at work and don't have my phone on me so i guess i could try flashing CWMR again later but this is really weird. Thanks for the reply. This is my first Sprint phone, but on my Droid X we had a program similar to Odin where you could push a .sbf file that included everything stock and basically just reset your phone to stock. Do these exist for Sprint phones? The . SBF files were usually rather large(around 350mb or so) but the boot-stock-sprint-sph-l710.tar is around 10 or 15 mb so i know it doesn't include all the system files...
Thanks again

teh roxxorz said:
Eventually there will be, but a lot of people [to include major developers] still don't have the phone yet, so we'll have to be patient. I looked over it, though currently are you able to get into recovery still or no? Additionally did you try re-flashing the cwm recovery in odin?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Lol i just replied the same thing over on another thread he posted in. Stop jumping around pizzle! if you can get into Odin chances are good you can flash cwm and then restore the backup

hahaha sorry about that. When I try and boot into recovery it looks like its about to go to Recovery and then freezes on the Galaxy S III screen. I'll try reflashing CWMR when I get home...Thanks for the advice

So is a back up a nandriod?
I have made a few but never resorted one, you just flash it same as a ROM and your done?
I misplaced my stock nandroid when I flashed CM10 build 2 and my extFs SD card had to be formatted to use again, I was sure I had in on PC but can't find it.
Thanks!

[Q] Flashing roms to S3 and recovery Q's. Frustrated.

I'm not new to rooting, ROMS or Kernels but I'm no expert either. I've flashed all sorts of ROMS on my old EVO 4g. This Samsung is a little trickier, though. I've got it rooted. No problems there. I haven't permanently installed CWM recovery though. I've read where you need to rename certain files so the S3 won't re-load the factory recovery and though I've tried, my phone won't let me rename the files. So there is problem one (once these files are renamed, is there a way to go back if you so choose? CWM says it's permanent). That said, I've got ROM manager installed on the phone and can boot into CWM that way. I've pulled a full nandroid backup before I started any of this, so I should be able to go back no problem. But, how in the heck do I flash an AOSP rom? I have no external storage, so I'm trying to use the on board flash. But I can't access that through CWM, so I can't flash it. On top of that the instructions for the Carbon ROM I'm wanting to use say's to select the wipe data/factory reset selection in CWM. When I do that, of course it wipes everything on my internal SD card so there wouldn't be a .zip file to select anyways! This is freakin' frustrating, especially after coming from an older EVO. It was so much easier.
I keep reading about using adb sideload but after all of my reading, there is no (that I can find) repository for the "end all/be all" how-to on flashing the SPH-L710. No one explains it 100% or it's for a Nexus or something. A solid tutorial would be helpful!
So I guess this boils down to:
Can I go back to stock recovery?
How do I flash a ROM using the internal memory?
How do I do this with adb (assuming I have to).
Thanks in advance, guys and gals!'
And yes, I've searched.

Ive heard that there are issues with newer devices and their recoveries. You can read through http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2391616 maybe the solution is in there.

Look for the pre rooted Odin tar - it will give you root and a custom recovery in one step, and is currently one of the easiest root methods available.
As for the file renaming, using the Odin method will bypass any need for it - as long as you make sure "auto reboot" is NOT checked, you can safely disconnect the phone when the Odin flash completes, remove and replace the battery (I might have that detail mixed up from my OG Epic days, but the correct instructions will be found with the Odin file), then boot into custom recovery before anything else, you can flash your custom rom and reboot as normal.
Since you'll be flashing over a mostly factory-fresh stock rom (root is the only change), you shouldn't need to do the factory reset (I think some recoveries for our phone do correctly preserve the internal storage, but I can't remember which ones). And the part of the stock rom that replaces the recovery with stock will only run when the rom (not recovery) boots, so by flashing a custom rom without ever booting the stock one, you bypass that issue completely - that's why you don't want Odin to auto reboot your phone after the flash.
I think I've covered the important parts to get you up and running, but I'll double check your post for any questions that I missed. If you end up with more questions, don't hesitate to ask
Edit: I did miss some things
Can I go back to stock recovery?
- sure, but there is no good reason to unless you're returning to complete stock in order to sell the phone or to have it repaired or replaced... the easiest way for that is to Odin the non-rooted stock tar package
How do I flash a ROM using the internal memory?
- it should work, I did this yesterday using CWM Touch. The possibly confusing part is that the internal memory is considered an sd card, but if you see two options then one will be clearly labeled as external (I say if because I don't know whether any recoveries hide that one when no sd card is actually present).
How do I do this with adb (assuming I have to).
I actually don't know the answer to this one, but if you use the Odin method then it won't be necessary
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

I think you are over complicating yourself. You should have started by flashing custom recovery with odin and that's it then in custom recovery flash the Teamepic root zip. That's it voila your done. Easiest thing in the world.
You can either download your future rom to internal or external memory and using the custom recovery of choice flash it.
In actuality it's much much simpler than any HTC device.
Here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=34579827
Also all your questions here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=38172219
Remember search is your best friend, Have a great day!

Ed, you always find a way to say it more concisely, and you always have the links that I can't find the time to look for, lol
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app

[Q] Rooted but need HELP with ROM & Recovery Plz!

Hi Guys (and Gals),
I'm sooooo tired. I have a couple of Sprint D700 phones that I am trying to customize and I'm stuck. I've been reading forums and Googling for hours over several days and weeks and I just can't seem to get to the next step. FYI, I'm a software developer by trade, so I'm frustrated that I cannot figure this out.
I'm trying this on a guinea pig phone first (not currently active on an account). So, it has all of the latest Sprint upgrades. Then, I did a factory reset. I was able to gain root access using Framaroot 1.6.1. Then, I downloaded Root Explorer, Terminal Emulator and ROM Manager.
I want to experiment with some Custom ROMs, but everything I do so far is blocked by the existing stock recovery (3e?). From what I've read, I need CWM 5.0.2.7. So, I tried to load that version of CWM via ROM Manager. However, it will not boot to CWM - it keeps going into stock.
Then, I recently read something that the Samsung phones need an updated Kernel in order for the CWM install to work? And if I understand correctly, the only way to do that is via ODIN (which I've also downloaded on my PC)? Or is there a version of recovery manager that has a digital signature that will pass the check by the stock recovery and let it install?
I've tried to find some versions of Kernels and really don't know what to try - a lot of the download links are dead.
I want to hang on to these phones a little longer because I like the size and the qwerty keyboard, so I've refused to give up so far.
I realize that the answers are somewhere in these threads, but I am having trouble sifting through information that is sometimes outdated or has dead links to files. Please help - what do I need to do next?
Thanks so much!

Making progress but still confused...?
OK, I have just tried to ODIN a new Kernel. I tried Shadow Kernel v2.0. Everything appeared to work properly in ODIN. However, when I reboot, the phone still goes into the old recovery (not CWM). When I look in the settings, the Baseband and Hardware versions both say "Unknown".
My current build is GINGERBREAD.FC09, Firmware 2.3.6.
What Kernel do I need to flash?
BrianN_Cols_OH said:
Hi Guys (and Gals),
I'm sooooo tired. I have a couple of Sprint D700 phones that I am trying to customize and I'm stuck. I've been reading forums and Googling for hours over several days and weeks and I just can't seem to get to the next step. FYI, I'm a software developer by trade, so I'm frustrated that I cannot figure this out.
I'm trying this on a guinea pig phone first (not currently active on an account). So, it has all of the latest Sprint upgrades. Then, I did a factory reset. I was able to gain root access using Framaroot 1.6.1. Then, I downloaded Root Explorer, Terminal Emulator and ROM Manager.
I want to experiment with some Custom ROMs, but everything I do so far is blocked by the existing stock recovery (3e?). From what I've read, I need CWM 5.0.2.7. So, I tried to load that version of CWM via ROM Manager. However, it will not boot to CWM - it keeps going into stock.
Then, I recently read something that the Samsung phones need an updated Kernel in order for the CWM install to work? And if I understand correctly, the only way to do that is via ODIN (which I've also downloaded on my PC)? Or is there a version of recovery manager that has a digital signature that will pass the check by the stock recovery and let it install?
I've tried to find some versions of Kernels and really don't know what to try - a lot of the download links are dead.
I want to hang on to these phones a little longer because I like the size and the qwerty keyboard, so I've refused to give up so far.
I realize that the answers are somewhere in these threads, but I am having trouble sifting through information that is sometimes outdated or has dead links to files. Please help - what do I need to do next?
Thanks so much!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Success - Finally got CWM - Ready to play with ROMs
OK, I finally got to where I needed to be. I'm not sure if I'd ODIN'd incorrectly or what. However, I did a factory reset from the stock recovery. Then, I tried ODIN with Shadow again. This time I did it with ODIN 3.07 instead of 3.09. I don't know if I did something wrong with the 3.09 version - the button names were abbreviated - maybe I hit the wrong selection for "PDA".
This time it booted right into CWM 5.0.2.7. Geez, I'm supposed to be smarter than this.
If anyone is starting this fresh and has this phone with all of the latest OTA updates (no root - stock everything), then I think this is the path to take. For those of you that have read my rantings, thank you for your time. Any comments (including humor at my expense) will be joyfully appreciated.
BrianN_Cols_OH said:
OK, I have just tried to ODIN a new Kernel. I tried Shadow Kernel v2.0. Everything appeared to work properly in ODIN. However, when I reboot, the phone still goes into the old recovery (not CWM). When I look in the settings, the Baseband and Hardware versions both say "Unknown".
My current build is GINGERBREAD.FC09, Firmware 2.3.6.
What Kernel do I need to flash?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

BrianN_Cols_OH said:
OK, I finally got to where I needed to be. I'm not sure if I'd ODIN'd incorrectly or what. However, I did a factory reset from the stock recovery. Then, I tried ODIN with Shadow again. This time I did it with ODIN 3.07 instead of 3.09. I don't know if I did something wrong with the 3.09 version - the button names were abbreviated - maybe I hit the wrong selection for "PDA".
This time it booted right into CWM 5.0.2.7. Geez, I'm supposed to be smarter than this.
If anyone is starting this fresh and has this phone with all of the latest OTA updates (no root - stock everything), then I think this is the path to take. For those of you that have read my rantings, thank you for your time. Any comments (including humor at my expense) will be joyfully appreciated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Steps to Root FC09
Odin v3.09 doesn't work that well with the D700, as that version no longer has the "PDA" field. Version 3.07 and lower work fine.
Flashing a kernel will not also flash a recovery; unless the kernel dev packaged CWM or TWRP in his zip file. The kernel thread will state if it comes packaged with a recovery.
Typically, all custom roms for the Epic are pre-rooted. So you would only have to download Superuser or SuperSU from the Play store to keep it updated.

More updates...
Thanks for that addtional info. I will get rid of my version of ODIN 3.09.
So... I am doing all of this on a "practice" phone - one that is spare and not currently connected to Sprint. It appears that what I did may have wiped the /EFS folder and no, I don't think I backed it up. I didn't back up anything on this phone because it was just a practice phone (the kind of mistake you only make once). So, my phone does not display an IMEI (MEID).
Do you think that restoring a stock image and starting over will help me restore my NV_DATA.BIN info? I have another one of these phones (currently active), but I'm guessing that I cannot just steal the NV_DATA.BIN file from that phone and edit the contents to change the IMEI and MAC Address, etc. That would be too easy.
Is there any way to do a new gen of the NV_DATA info? I will try ODIN back to stock tonight when I'm home, but in the mean time if anyone has any suggestions let me know.
This is quite a learning process. I'm getting much more familiar with how these things work now, so that can only be good.
nikon120 said:
Steps to Root FC09
Odin v3.09 doesn't work that well with the D700, as that version no longer has the "PDA" field. Version 3.07 and lower work fine.
Flashing a kernel will not also flash a recovery; unless the kernel dev packaged CWM or TWRP in his zip file. The kernel thread will state if it comes packaged with a recovery.
Typically, all custom roms for the Epic are pre-rooted. So you would only have to download Superuser or SuperSU from the Play store to keep it updated.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

New issues - need help with CM 10.1...
OK, I've made progress and learned a lot. Essentially restored the bricked phone by going back to stock. Then, I started my process again.
- Used ODIN to flash rooted kernel with CM 5.0.2.7
- Flashed Cyanogenmod 10.1.3
- Flashed correct Gapps (dated 8/12 I think)
Software great, but modem not working. So, then I found the forum for the NS4G modem patches. I've tried several and I did get one to work. But, the latest version of CM 10.1 has SU built-in. When I do the modem repair, it breaks my SU root.
I've tried the nitest kernal (by the way, I like the TWRP recovery better than CM - it). I've tried several of the modem patches.
Do I need to go back to a certain stable version of CM 10? What order to I need to apply things?
Here's what I have on the phone at the moment. It has SU/root but no modem.
- Android 4.2.2
- 3.0.79-JB42-nitest-nr kernel
- CM 10.1-20130526-NIGHTLY-epicmtd (although I've tried several other builds)
I was sooooooo close. Please help? How do I get my modem working AND keep my SU/root?
BrianN_Cols_OH said:
Thanks for that addtional info. I will get rid of my version of ODIN 3.09.
So... I am doing all of this on a "practice" phone - one that is spare and not currently connected to Sprint. It appears that what I did may have wiped the /EFS folder and no, I don't think I backed it up. I didn't back up anything on this phone because it was just a practice phone (the kind of mistake you only make once). So, my phone does not display an IMEI (MEID).
Do you think that restoring a stock image and starting over will help me restore my NV_DATA.BIN info? I have another one of these phones (currently active), but I'm guessing that I cannot just steal the NV_DATA.BIN file from that phone and edit the contents to change the IMEI and MAC Address, etc. That would be too easy.
Is there any way to do a new gen of the NV_DATA info? I will try ODIN back to stock tonight when I'm home, but in the mean time if anyone has any suggestions let me know.
This is quite a learning process. I'm getting much more familiar with how these things work now, so that can only be good.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

ROM is not dependent on modem. Modem is dependent on kernel patches though.
Be sure you have a compatible kernel for your modem, whether NS4G or Epic modem. Are you using Odin or recovery to flash your modem? I've read in the NS4G modem thread a while ago, that users had to flash the modem multiple times to get it to stick. I'd suggest keep flashing and checking.
Here is SuperSU v1.69 download link. Place on SD card and flash in recovery once you get modem working.

Modem issues...
Thanks for the response. Am I wrong, or are there kernel patches that are part of the CM 10.1 install? So, I do understand what you are saying - that the ROM itself shouldn't break the modem. However, I believe there were some kernel patches in the CM install - maybe I'm totally wrong?
When I did have one of the modem patches working, I tried to separately download SuperSU, but it didn't seem to work. I really liked seeing the SU functionality built in to the ROM (it is available right from the settings menu near the developer options). Is it actually part of the kernel or part of the ROM? When it was broken, it was as if I still had root access but couldn't use it because there wasn't an SU manager. So, I don't know that root was broken so much as the SU piece that seems to manage it.
In any event, I suspect you are right about needing ODIN for the modem. So, what file should I flash as the "modem" in ODIN? I think that is the next thing I should try as I was only doing the modem patch via recovery before.
Also, is there a tuturiol somewhere that would help me understand the entire Android file system? I am a developer by trade, but I'm not super-experienced in the Linux (and Unix) realm. I would like to read up on things like
- how the storage is partitioned
- what files are part of the kernal
- what files are part of the modem
- what files are part of the ROM
- what files are part of the recovery platform
I'm guessing I won't find a CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT - LOL.
Thanks so much for replying - I'm still learning and hopefully I'll be able to give back to others once I become an expert. I apologize as I am probably asking questions that have been answered, however I've really poured through several forums and there are so many posts that I may have missed just what I needed. Once I've mastered this phone I may move on to my daughter's GS2 and maybe think about a GS3 or GS4 in the future...
nikon120 said:
ROM is not dependent on modem. Modem is dependent on kernel patches though.
Be sure you have a compatible kernel for your modem, whether NS4G or Epic modem. Are you using Odin or recovery to flash your modem? I've read in the NS4G modem thread a while ago, that users had to flash the modem multiple times to get it to stick. I'd suggest keep flashing and checking.
Here is SuperSU v1.69 download link. Place on SD card and flash in recovery once you get modem working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

More info...
OK, after some further reading, I believe what I need to try next is to load a new modem.bin file using ODIN. I would use "Phone" (not "PDA").
I think I downloaded 2 different modem versions that hopefully have what I need. I can't check them at the moment, but will try one of those tonight. if you have any suggestions as to which modem to use, please let me know (my kernel version is shown previously).
I also found some good info on the Android file system and I understand a little better how the paritions work for kernel, system, storage, cache...
Also, what is this JB Big Mem fix that I've seen in some of the patches?
BrianN_Cols_OH said:
Thanks for the response. Am I wrong, or are there kernel patches that are part of the CM 10.1 install? So, I do understand what you are saying - that the ROM itself shouldn't break the modem. However, I believe there were some kernel patches in the CM install - maybe I'm totally wrong?
When I did have one of the modem patches working, I tried to separately download SuperSU, but it didn't seem to work. I really liked seeing the SU functionality built in to the ROM (it is available right from the settings menu near the developer options). Is it actually part of the kernel or part of the ROM? When it was broken, it was as if I still had root access but couldn't use it because there wasn't an SU manager. So, I don't know that root was broken so much as the SU piece that seems to manage it.
In any event, I suspect you are right about needing ODIN for the modem. So, what file should I flash as the "modem" in ODIN? I think that is the next thing I should try as I was only doing the modem patch via recovery before.
Also, is there a tuturiol somewhere that would help me understand the entire Android file system? I am a developer by trade, but I'm not super-experienced in the Linux (and Unix) realm. I would like to read up on things like
- how the storage is partitioned
- what files are part of the kernal
- what files are part of the modem
- what files are part of the ROM
- what files are part of the recovery platform
I'm guessing I won't find a CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT - LOL.
Thanks so much for replying - I'm still learning and hopefully I'll be able to give back to others once I become an expert. I apologize as I am probably asking questions that have been answered, however I've really poured through several forums and there are so many posts that I may have missed just what I needed. Once I've mastered this phone I may move on to my daughter's GS2 and maybe think about a GS3 or GS4 in the future...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

Modem.bin
Actually, the 2 modem/radio files I have are zip files and there is no modem.bin file inside. What exactly do I flash with ODIN?
BrianN_Cols_OH said:
OK, after some further reading, I believe what I need to try next is to load a new modem.bin file using ODIN. I would use "Phone" (not "PDA").
I think I downloaded 2 different modem versions that hopefully have what I need. I can't check them at the moment, but will try one of those tonight. if you have any suggestions as to which modem to use, please let me know (my kernel version is shown previously).
I also found some good info on the Android file system and I understand a little better how the paritions work for kernel, system, storage, cache...
Also, what is this JB Big Mem fix that I've seen in some of the patches?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

BrianN_Cols_OH said:
OK, after some further reading, I believe what I need to try next is to load a new modem.bin file using ODIN. I would use "Phone" (not "PDA").
I think I downloaded 2 different modem versions that hopefully have what I need. I can't check them at the moment, but will try one of those tonight. if you have any suggestions as to which modem to use, please let me know (my kernel version is shown previously).
I also found some good info on the Android file system and I understand a little better how the paritions work for kernel, system, storage, cache...
Also, what is this JB Big Mem fix that I've seen in some of the patches?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, use the Phone slot for flashing the modem.bin.
As for the kernel patches, there are swap files that you can flash in recovery that will use the proper blobs for your preferred modem type. Typically, roms will state in the thread title if they are NS4G or not. Always assume the ROM is Epic modem.
BigMem is for capturing video from the camera app.
BrianN_Cols_OH said:
Actually, the 2 modem/radio files I have are zip files and there is no modem.bin file inside. What exactly do I flash with ODIN?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Give me about 2 hours. I'll reupload all modem files to my devhost account, located in my signature.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Thanks!
Great, thanks so much. I will look for the modem files a little later.
nikon120 said:
Yes, use the Phone slot for flashing the modem.bin.
As for the kernel patches, there are swap files that you can flash in recovery that will use the proper blobs for your preferred modem type. Typically, roms will state in the thread title if they are NS4G or not. Always assume the ROM is Epic modem.
BigMem is for capturing video from the camera app.
Give me about 2 hours. I'll reupload all modem files to my devhost account, located in my signature.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

BrianN_Cols_OH said:
Great, thanks so much. I will look for the modem files a little later.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, all Epic modems and NS4G modems are reuploaded. I also included the swap files for each. Everything with (Flashable) means to be flashed within recovery. Those swap files are the blob changes I mentioned earlier. This way you can swap modems using recovery, rather than relying on Odin.
Everything in the Odin folder can be placed in the phone slot and flashed as-is. (No need to extract the .bin file from the archive.)
As for the built-in root manager in CM, I'd try reflashing the rom first, and then messing with the modem.