First of all, let me apologize for being very ignorant about most of the stuff on here, even though I am very interested. I have looked and can not find a definitive answer, although I believe I should have antivirus, I have no idea what to use. I have Norton Systemworks on my PC. I also want to root my phone to be able to get rid of some of the factory installed garbage on it. I have been told that it is not wise to delete some of the installed apps because android uses parts of some to make others work. Is there anyway to do a total recovery image of my stock phone so if I totally screw it up, I can fall back on it? I think so, based on what I have read here---but honestly, I got a headache yesterday reading on here and trying to learn. I am not a super-techy guy, I just want my phone to do what I want it to, and none of the extra crap that I don't want. And lastly, should I wait to root my phone until Gingerbread comes out, or will it really matter? While I do know what a rom does and is, I do not understand kernels or most of the other things on here, so i actually need 'hand-holding' through some of this. Thank you for your help...anything you can tell me will help out.
hey man. i am willing to help you thorugh this entire thing. pm me for any more questions, but here is a start. it seems you have a baisic computer working knowledge, so this wont be too hard. first, a kernel is the scripts that let the hardware communicate with the software. the nice thing about this is it can easily be modified and built upon. a few devs have added scripts and stuff to the stock kernels to make them much more powerful and battery efficiant.
this recovery image you are talking about wont fix you phone if you screw it, but it will take you back in time to when you made the backup. you can also unroot to take off any mods you have applied. always remember to MAKE A NAND BACKUP WHENEVER YOU DO ANYTHING WITH YOUR PHONE THAT COULD REMOTELY BE CONSICERED A MODIFICATION. otherwise, you can end up with a very expensive paperweight.
there are partitions on the phone's memory. there are things like userdata and cache, but there are three main ones that we will mess with: system, recovery, and hboot. system is the rom of the phone. it is the software. it si obvious why this would be altered: to get better, more efficiant, or cooler software. then, we have the recovery. this is a factory tool for resetting and manual updating. this is packed with security, but there is no security that keeps us from changing the recovery. get where i'm going? if we change the recovery to one that has been heavily cracked and maybe built from scratch by a very talented dev (i reccomend amonra's recovery) then we can make the phone believe it is being updated when we are really modifying it.
the hboot is a developmental factory partition that is used for total firmware updates and google/android development. removing the security from this is the first stage in rooting.
i would highly reccomend rooting, and would be happy to 'hold your hand' along the way. i hope this helps and does not just confuse you more.
dk
oh, almost forgot. dont wait for gingerbread. the devs will make some roms that will include gingerbread packed in. i actually reccomend you root before gingerbread so you dont have to wait for a root method for that.
lookout antivirus can be found in the market.
Guys no offense. My galaxy doesn't even have froyo so I have no room to talk but I wouldn't get to worried about gingerbread yet. LOL it hasn't even been officially announced
Sent from my SCH-I500-Fascinate using XDA App
ksizzle9 said:
Guys no offense. My galaxy doesn't even have froyo so I have no room to talk but I wouldn't get to worried about gingerbread yet. LOL it hasn't even been officially announced
Sent from my SCH-I500-Fascinate using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
agreed. cyanogen will probably port it in about january or february. long time, no need to wait.
dkdude36 said:
hey man. i am willing to help you thorugh this entire thing. pm me for any more questions, but here is a start. it seems you have a baisic computer working knowledge, so this wont be too hard. first, a kernel is the scripts that let the hardware communicate with the software. the nice thing about this is it can easily be modified and built upon. a few devs have added scripts and stuff to the stock kernels to make them much more powerful and battery efficiant.
this recovery image you are talking about wont fix you phone if you screw it, but it will take you back in time to when you made the backup. you can also unroot to take off any mods you have applied. always remember to MAKE A NAND BACKUP WHENEVER YOU DO ANYTHING WITH YOUR PHONE THAT COULD REMOTELY BE CONSICERED A MODIFICATION. otherwise, you can end up with a very expensive paperweight.
there are partitions on the phone's memory. there are things like userdata and cache, but there are three main ones that we will mess with: system, recovery, and hboot. system is the rom of the phone. it is the software. it si obvious why this would be altered: to get better, more efficiant, or cooler software. then, we have the recovery. this is a factory tool for resetting and manual updating. this is packed with security, but there is no security that keeps us from changing the recovery. get where i'm going? if we change the recovery to one that has been heavily cracked and maybe built from scratch by a very talented dev (i reccomend amonra's recovery) then we can make the phone believe it is being updated when we are really modifying it.
the hboot is a developmental factory partition that is used for total firmware updates and google/android development. removing the security from this is the first stage in rooting.
i would highly reccomend rooting, and would be happy to 'hold your hand' along the way. i hope this helps and does not just confuse you more.
dk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Like mhoodie, I, too, am a newbie in need of hand-holding. How do I make a nand backup? My EVO is rooted 2.1 with XDA- WiFi Tether, no 147.651.~.~. How to upgrade to Froyo and maintain root? How can a friend with brand new Evo root and load XDA- WiFi Tether? AFTER these I'd like to know how to flash a ROM. You can communicate with me through this forum or [email protected] or 908-251-3532. Of course I'll contact you any way you like.
Dsims6465
sounds good. i would love to help. i have finals coming up, so i might be a bit busy the next few days, but i will try to help as much as possible. gtalk seems like the way to do it.
these forums helped me when i was a noob, so i'm trying to help out now. next on to do list: pay back for all the roms. (i wish)
mhoodie said:
First of all, let me apologize for being very ignorant about most of the stuff on here, even though I am very interested. I have looked and can not find a definitive answer, although I believe I should have antivirus, I have no idea what to use. I have Norton Systemworks on my PC. I also want to root my phone to be able to get rid of some of the factory installed garbage on it. I have been told that it is not wise to delete some of the installed apps because android uses parts of some to make others work. Is there anyway to do a total recovery image of my stock phone so if I totally screw it up, I can fall back on it? I think so, based on what I have read here---but honestly, I got a headache yesterday reading on here and trying to learn. I am not a super-techy guy, I just want my phone to do what I want it to, and none of the extra crap that I don't want. And lastly, should I wait to root my phone until Gingerbread comes out, or will it really matter? While I do know what a rom does and is, I do not understand kernels or most of the other things on here, so i actually need 'hand-holding' through some of this. Thank you for your help...anything you can tell me will help out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I wouldn't worry about using an anti-virus on android, they're pretty much useless and will do nothing but eat up your battery. Once you root you can install a custom recovery that you have to reboot the phone in and that can create backups of all your partitions. Those are called nandroids and are basically a snap shot of how your phone is set up at that moment. You must be rooted to do any of this though.
Ok, just because I do not quite understand....why is it that I do not need antivirus on my Evo since I surf the web, download apps, and open emails.....on a PC, the same things without protection against virus, trojans, etc... will get my pc and life screwed in a very short time? And, by 'screw my phone up', I mean if I delete something that I need.....can I just go back---also, is there anywhere a list of the apps that android uses to run other things. Specifically, I want to get rid of the exchange mail, amazon mp3,qik, peep, friendstream, nascar, stocks, news, news and weather. I have no need for these apps, and as most of you know for whatever reason, evo will run them whenever it wants.
i have no idea about antiviruses, but you can delete anything that is either a widget or an app in your launcher. everything else is proceed with caution.
definitely root...antivirus is a personal thing...I do use lookout and its free in the market.
after you root...I suggest using titanium backup to uninstall most if not all of those apps you mentioned.
you could also go the custom ROM route...most ROMs out there already have most of those apps removed already.
mhoodie said:
Ok, just because I do not quite understand....why is it that I do not need antivirus on my Evo since I surf the web, download apps, and open emails.....on a PC, the same things without protection against virus, trojans, etc... will get my pc and life screwed in a very short time? And, by 'screw my phone up', I mean if I delete something that I need.....can I just go back---also, is there anywhere a list of the apps that android uses to run other things. Specifically, I want to get rid of the exchange mail, amazon mp3,qik, peep, friendstream, nascar, stocks, news, news and weather. I have no need for these apps, and as most of you know for whatever reason, evo will run them whenever it wants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Antiviruses being useless, so far, on android is just my opinion. If you feel better having one then by all means go for it.
There is a thread around here somewhere that has a list of all the apps you can safely delete, I don't have a link to it atm but you should be able to find it with a quick search.
Imo root now, nothing is holding us back with unrevoked forever, as for bloatware, have you tried flashing a rom? VirusRom Anthrax B4 is my poisen, and its bloat free¡
mhoodie said:
Ok, just because I do not quite understand....why is it that I do not need antivirus on my Evo since I surf the web, download apps, and open emails.....on a PC, the same things without protection against virus, trojans, etc... will get my pc and life screwed in a very short time? And, by 'screw my phone up', I mean if I delete something that I need.....can I just go back---also, is there anywhere a list of the apps that android uses to run other things. Specifically, I want to get rid of the exchange mail, amazon mp3,qik, peep, friendstream, nascar, stocks, news, news and weather. I have no need for these apps, and as most of you know for whatever reason, evo will run them whenever it wants.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, personally, I never have and never will use antivirus programs on my computer. As long as you are knowledgeable, you shouldn't ever get viruses or anything. You just have to know what you are doing.
always willing to help
im no genius but i have been messing with rooting and android since the tmobile g1 and i had to learn all on my own. what everyone is telling u makes absolute sence but the main thing to stress is tell your friend to not update using sprints update firmware because all they do is patch the loophole to gain root access. dont wait for gbread. jump on team douche and cyanogen and enjoy the real power of android and the evo. any quetions [email protected]
Ok, so does it matter what procedure I use to root or do they all do basically the same thing, and then differences begin when I start changing the kernels and Rom around? I am going to try to root in a couple of weeks. Maybe next saturday, and I want to get as much understanding as I can before I jump in. I am sure once I play around with this for a bit I will have no problem, but I am very much a hands-on learner and its hard for me to learn something that is new to me just by reading, especially when most of what I am reading makes very little sense to me. So, thanks to everyone for their patience and help!
Myn's WarmTwopointTwo
Hi there. I was in the same boat as you are. I learned all by trail and error and by reading forum after forum. There is a ton of info out there and it can be a little too much and there are a lot of contradicting statements... I just rooted about 3 weeks ago using unrevoked3. It's the easiest way to root your phone and the safest, at least I believe that. There are other ways, but it include using the command line and things like that. With unrevoked its a very simple user friendly, 3 step process. I would highly recommend rooting your phone, once you do you will never look back. It bring out the full potential in the EVO. The best thing I like about it is I can get about double the battery life of the stock version. Check this ROM out - although it is the only one I tried I am so in love with it, I have absolutely no urge to try another ROM. Here is the second release of this ROM - the third one is in beta testing, which I am doing right now and it is 100% amazing. In order to become a beta tester, all you have to do is donate, or wait until this friday when the final version is released - FOR FREE! Here is the link for the release #2: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=793471#. You can read the thread if you have any questions about it - I know there are 600+ pages. Check out the first page and all the features that are included in this ROM. All the bloatware you speak of are not installed with this ROM. You have the option to install them. Then the other thing is the kernel. With the release 3 of WarmTwoPointTwo it comes with an HTC kernel, which I found to actually be the best out there for this ROM. I have been getting about 29 hours with moderate use with a single charge on the battery!! Pretty good huh? Please let me know if you have any more questions....You can send me a private message if you wish...I'm here to help you. Everyone on this site has been great with helping me and it seems they are willing to help anyone. I hope this helps. Oh you I just remembered you might wait until saturday to root. If you do that, I would def. recommend release #3, but if I were you I would not wait that long!
Here's a screen shot of just my home screen. Notice how much you can customize EVERYTHING. I will post more screen shots when I get time tomorrow.
I am getting ready to root my phone and when I connected to the pc, it was the first time. Drivers installed except for ADB. Is this something that I should skip, or do I need to get a driver from htc for this?
adb is very neccesary. it is obtainable from android's dev page. sorry no link (ipad) just google android go to dev section and hit download sdk.
I feel really stupid on this forum. Everyone is so smart and knows what their doing most of the time. You all talk the lingo and I'm lost half the time. I'm trying to play catch up, read and learn as much as I can. How did all of you learn this stuff? I'm searching these forums and googling everything! I'm a new Android user(obviously)and I love my Nitro, minus the horrible battery life. I really like the fact that these phones can be modified a lot. So far I've rooted my phone and did the no carrier, blue icons and battery % mods.
Now that my 30 days is over, I can NOT screw up my phone. Basically I'm not going to do a thing to it till I have a clue. I guess there's a de-bricking write up, but that is CONFUSING as hell to me. I just need lots of detail, pictures, or better yet, a video to learn that kind of stuff. Reading how do the CWM doesn't look too bad, only because I googled it for the Nitro and there's already a few cites that made a clear write up. Installing a custom ROM doesn't look to hard either. However, all the modifications to these ROMS is overwhelming. Back to Google I go for all of that stuff stuff. I just figured out how to use Titanium Backup Pro, I think. What isn't clear is how to restore my phone with the apps/contacts after a custom ROM is installed. I know theirs more I'm forgetting, but that's enough for now.
I'm not ranting, just slightly frustrated don't understand it all. Not really sure what I want out of writing all this. Maybe some guidance, help, insight and or some answers to some of my questions. Thanks for reading!
It's not you, it's just like picking up on a computer, it takes time. I'm still a noob my most standards. I'm on my 3rd Android phone and know my way around my phones, but I don't know anything about development and don't really know my way around the Android file system that well. Here are some common terms that may help you out.
ADB - Android Debug Bridge, used for running commands to your device from your computer
Fastboot - It allows you to connect to your phone and run commands without booting entirely into your rom
CWM - ClockWorkMod, most common non-stock recovery tool
Bootloader - This partition loads your rom or recovery depending on what you need / select
If there's anything you're curious about just ask and I'm sure someone will help out. My ADB and Fastboot definitions are from my very limited understanding.
Check this out too, should be helpful. Found it on Google.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=619153
You'll do just fine so long as you don't try to do too much too soon.
I got started by simply rooting my AMOLED DROID Incredible, following some online guides. After that, I removed some bloatware. I kept reading about how to do more and once Cyanogenmod 7 came out for my phone, I used it. I've stuck with it ever since.
There are other things I'd like to know, too, like if I can get remove stock applications when I'm already using replacements (browser, email, messaging, etc.). But that might have to wait until I upgrade my device so that I can try it on this phone and not the new one.
Anyway, I hear ya when it comes to the steep learning curve. Baby steps, man. Baby steps. You'll get there in due time.
Sent from my AMOLED DInc using XDA App
Man, you haven't lived until you brick your brand new first android phone within a week and a half of purchasing it off contract I almost shat bricks, I thought my phone was a lost cause.
1st andoid device for me too but I love the customization that it provides and dont like the risks. The biggest mistake I have made so far is getting stressed about change. Consequently, I will lose some patience and not follow a direction properly or think through a step like I should.
I did start with TB pro aswell but still broke my phone by freezing the stock launcher then later doing a factory reset. But I would have avoided that if I had been more patient and doublechecked what I had frozen prior. The good news is that caused me to dive in to Malninion's debrick guide which forced me to learn the basics of accessing this phone through the computer and issueeing commands which are all pretty straightforward albeit uncharted territory for me.
Now that I have a basic idea of how to use the basic tool kit I will be installing the cwm but I am waiting a bit longer to let any issues reveal themselves and more importantly see how folks really o er from those issues. Then after getting a better understanding of wtf cwm is ! I will instaall/ flash one of the custom roms after giving them a bit of time to sort themselves out as well.
So basically my strategy is to go slow, don't jump right on with a new dev until those more knowledgeable about it do and give it a good going over.
So now I'm trying to read how to use Titanium Backup to restore your apps after a you install a new ROM.
I found this> http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/viewsonic-gtablet-technical/12513-howto-titanium-backup-restore-apps-system-data-new-rom.html I know not to restore system data though.
Now what is frustrating is this: (If you have the donate version, don't forget to save your TitaniumBackup_license that is in the root folder.)
I have the Pro version, that I am 100% sure and it all works. What I think is my root folder, there is NOTHING in there (/root). I tried a search using Root Explorer and looked in Astro. I can't find my TitaniumBackup_license.txt file. I've google searched trying to find where it is and apparently it's a big secret that everybody knows but me.
It's really easy once you do it a few time's, if you need help let me know.
I bought two rootable FireTVs the day after xmas at Staples, and promptly rooted one. The other is safely tucked away in my *doomsday bunker* still sealed, waiting for armageddon.
During the rooting process I determined that I lack the attention span / ambition to install the necessary boot menu / rom manager and manually update the firmware in order to have an up-to-date stb. So, my question is twofold:
1) If I re-enable updates and remove the dns blocking, will my aftv gracefully update itself? I've already uninstalled SuperSU as I don't believe I need it.
2) Assuming the box is running the latest official rom, will the following (sideloaded) apps still work?
MXPlayer
FiredTv
DirecTV App
Android Terminal Emulator
I have also built my own simple smb folder navigation app, so obviously the ability to run apps from unknown sources is needed also. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's available on all FireOS versions.
I guess I have low standards, but this is really all I need for the box to be useful to me. I absolutely love the thing, save for the fact that the DirecTV App doesn't like the android version presumably because I never applied any updates.
spfautsch said:
I bought two rootable FireTVs the day after xmas at Staples, and promptly rooted one. The other is safely tucked away in my *doomsday bunker* still sealed, waiting for armageddon.
During the rooting process I determined that I lack the attention span / ambition to install the necessary boot menu / rom manager and manually update the firmware in order to have an up-to-date stb. So, my question is twofold:
1) If I re-enable updates and remove the dns blocking, will my aftv gracefully update itself? I've already uninstalled SuperSU as I don't believe I need it.
2) Assuming the box is running the latest official rom, will the following (sideloaded) apps still work?
MXPlayer
FiredTv
DirecTV App
Android Terminal Emulator
I have also built my own simple smb folder navigation app, so obviously the ability to run apps from unknown sources is needed also. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's available on all FireOS versions.
I guess I have low standards, but this is really all I need for the box to be useful to me. I absolutely love the thing, save for the fact that the DirecTV App doesn't like the android version presumably because I never applied any updates.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Be careful with the doomsday bunker firetv. If that is Series 2 in serial, you may not be able to root it. If its series 3. Ex (70900305 or 303) then you can do the Ethernet trick and root it. I'd say remove that out, root it as soon as possible and put it back in the safe. I've done just that.
Now to answer your question. I doubt you need root for what you are doing but someone else may clarify. I highly recommend keep and follow up with root. Android Rom is around the corner and features like quick support for remote desktop etc have immense benefits.
navigates said:
Be careful with the the doomsday bunker firetv. If that is Series 2 in serial, you may not be able to root it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not sure how much more careful I can be with it than setting on a shelf above my bourbon collection.
But seriously, its serial starts w/ 70900201XXXXX, are you saying its too old of firmware? If so, it sounds to me like I should let it update and put the rooted one on the shelf.
navigates said:
I highly recommend keep and follow up with root. Android Rom is around the corner and features like quick support for remote desktop etc have immense benefits.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not sure we're on the same page w/ this. I'm very much wanting to "set it and forget it". Periodically flashing roms seems to me like the polar opposite. Reminds me of the good old days of the h-card. Life is too short to run in that exercise wheel again.
spfautsch said:
Not sure how much more careful I can be with it than setting on a shelf above my bourbon collection.
But seriously, its serial starts w/ 70900201XXXXX, are you saying its too old of firmware? If so, it sounds to me like I should let it update and put the rooted one on the shelf.
I'm not sure we're on the same page w/ this. I'm very much wanting to "set it and forget it". Periodically flashing roms seems to me like the polar opposite. Reminds me of the good old days of the h-card. Life is too short to run in that exercise wheel again.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed with your point of view, but for my needs, I primarily need root as I use Kodi all the time. I also use quick support for remote support for my family and friends so that wouldn't work without root. Once you've got it setup with root, it stays there unless you mess it up or forgot the block or disable step. I've made a total of 22 firetv's and not one has gotten updated after I've disabled the com update.
As for the Series 2, If you try to update, it will take you to the latest version of the firmware. In old days, it would increment one. Secondly, you cannot do the removal of the Ethernet trick to make it think there is no update. If you block the updates, it will give you an error but will enforce the update. Last week, I had to make 3 firetv's for family. I had a combination of series 2 and 3. I couldn't do any of the 2's. All 3's so far were good.
The good news is that bestbuy versions are mostly series 3. The downside to series 3 is that you have to downgrade first and then go up.
Sounds like I was on base w/ the notion of letting my untouched box update and benching the rooted one until I know how my needs are served w/o superuser.
I've toyed with xbmc since well, the days when my I had to fight my kids to use their original xboxes. While I can't scoff at the quality and sheer amount of work that's been put into it, for my tastes it's always come across as an application consisting of a ton of fluff, a pound of functionality, and a half ounce of useability. I just want to watch movies. It shouldnt take 7 button presses to get to them. :-/