Develop Bugs

[Q] Proper way to completely format a galaxy nexus in preparation for a custom rom?

What is the proper way to format a galaxy nexus? I want to clear everything possible and start fresh in an attempt to solve the abysmal write speeds I've been getting recently and I don't want to wind up bricking the thing in the process since I know certain partitions store the boot loader and more.
Other attempts to fix the write speed including fstrim, changing the mount command to enable trimming deleted files automatically, completely filling all free space with zeros then removing it, and none have helped yet. It gets approximately 0.10-0.15KB/s on random write with androbench, 2.0-5.5MB/s for sequencial write. I've never had anything less than 12GB free space, except when I tried filling all the free space
I want to format before reinstalling cyanogenmod and I understand there are risks involved that could brick my device so any instruction for what should and should not be touched would be greatly appreciated.

You need custom recovery installed (twrp or cwm). I have twrp. You need from recovery, for example twrp, wipe cache, dalvik cache, data and system from advanced wipe menu. After that, you should put in queue rom (which you are installing in zip format), then gapps(not all rom's need gapps, read install description for current rom) and custom kernel (not necessarily). After you just swipe on menu to proceed with installation and thats it

marko207 said:
You need custom recovery installed (twrp or cwm). I have twrp. You need from recovery, for example twrp, wipe cache, dalvik cache, data and system from advanced wipe menu. After that, you should put in queue rom (which you are installing in zip format), then gapps(not all rom's need gapps, read install description for current rom) and custom kernel (not necessarily). After you just swipe on menu to proceed with installation and thats it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure yu don't wipe "sdcard data" (there's a difference in System Data and SDCard Data). Marco207 mentioned that yu will have to wipe System Data. Rest yu may wipe anything, in fact, everything in case yu want a whole fresh ROM.

Stock LRX22C Kernel- no encryption, faster cache, no zram/swap, init.d on stock rom

Stock LRX22C kernel image with some mods i've been using that seem to help performance/memory management.
Swap is turned off and zram/swap dedicated space removed. By default the when ram gets below 533mb pages would be compressed into ram/swapped. With memory cgroups broken(and turned off), swap cant swap efficiently so its better to leave it off and and not allocate any memory for zram.
Cache is mounted as writeback, which turns off all filesystem journaling and ordering. Its faster, and not recommended on /data due to the SLIGHT risk of data loss on a hard reboot- but this is /cache so we dont care. Losing cache would not be risky like data, so speed is worth the slight risk.
Init.d is supported, but this depends on the rom- or if you want to use scripts with stock rom, add init.d folder in /system/etc
To get init.d working on stock rom- you need busybox(install from market), terminal emulator(market), and root(flash attached zip in recovery)
Do this on a terminal on your tablet
Code:
su
mount -o remount,rw /system
mkdir /system/etc/init.d
chown root.shell /system/etc/init.d
chmod 755 /system/etc/init.d
mount -o remount,ro /system
scripts in init.d also need to be 755
To unencrypt data if you are currently encrypted you must factory reset. if you are not encrypted, just flash in fastboot, WIPE CACHE, and youre done.
I will probably eventually do an entire kernel as well, but that may be a while and i will not release it until i can implement a few new things i want to try, so it will take a while.
boot.img md5= f3eff60b6e7673e203b87a968bbfe595
Flashable zip coming soon

Reserved

Than you! Could we just use flashify for flashing boot.img. I am already unencrypted so just need to wipe cache in recovery and job should be done ?

I haven't used it, but there should be no reason it wouldn't work if it has worked with other boot.img's for the n9.

Do i need to factory reset after flashing this Boot.IMG or just fastboot it and going fine.
Im encrypted to far.

thebrainkafka said:
Do i need to factory reset after flashing this Boot.IMG or just fastboot it and going fine.
Im encrypted to far.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you wanna lose encryption, you have to factory reset. If you are currently encrypted and want to stay like that, just fastboot flash and you're done

Unable to disable encryption
I tried a millions times
I flash the AOSP new rom
flash fire ice kernel
flash SU
reboot
turn off reboot into TWRP 2.8.2.1 recovery
factory reset
reboot
still encrypted???
Anything's wrong with my steps?

You have to format data. Not a simple factory reset. In TWRP it's the option to the right of Advanced Wipe. Type yes to wipe all userdata. Back up everything on your local storage before doing it. Dilligaf's instruction to factory reset only applies you are using stock recovery.

Benefit of no zram and swap? Wouldn't more apps get refreshed?

MrPhilo said:
Benefit of no zram and swap? Wouldn't more apps get refreshed?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When ram gets below the set threshold, (533mb), swapping takes place. This is fine and dandy when mem cgroups are working so kernel knows to swap NON-important pages. Swap is slow. Much slower than ram. The things that swap should not be things that are gonna cause lag or slowdowns. With mem cgroups off, more important pages could also be swapped, which may be something that causes massive lag when its read from swap(which is what happened a lot on this device) I'd rather oom killer kill old stuff than important stuff be swapped and cause lag.
FOR ME, I haven't had the massive lag and stutters I did when zram was on. Memory is still an issue, and will be until some memory leaks are fixed. IMO, zram was just making it worse. Its something I am still messing with and looking into as I have time.
Read & read
Specifically this:
The memory cgroups are automatically configured at boot time if the feature is enabled in kernel.
If memory cgroups are available, the ActivityManager will mark lower priority threads as being more swappable than other threads. If memory is needed, the Android kernel will start migrating memory pages to zRAM swap, giving a higher priority to those memory pages that have been marked by ActivityManager.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse

i've flashed clean google image, then performed a factory reset, then flashed this kernel and performed one more factory reset, but i'm still encrypted, what's wrong?

GlebVoronin said:
i've flashed clean google image, then performed a factory reset, then flashed this kernel and performed one more factory reset, but i'm still encrypted, what's wrong?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For some reason, a factory reset in TWRP won't always get it done for unencrypting.
Try this > fastboot format userdata
And note that it will wipe your SDcard.

@di11igaf,
Now that 5.0.2 is out, can you confirm that the kernel for LRX22Y is the same as C?

cam30era said:
@di11igaf,
Now that 5.0.2 is out, can you confirm that the kernel for LRX22Y is the same as C?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The kernel for LRX22L is not the same as LRX22C, but I don't know which are the differences. Only the 'bootloader.img' and 'vendor.img' are exactly the same.

Clean Flash Custom Rom

I know I saw this process in a recent thread but I've misplaced it. If anyone can point me to it, I would be grateful.
I want to clean flash CM 13 on my OP3.
From what I remember, I'm supposed to store the CM 13 zip file and gapps file in the SD Card folder. Is that truly correct? The OP3 doesn't have an SD Card though I did find a folder.
If I do a factory reset and wipe everything, won't that folder also get wiped? Then how would I install the ROM from the phone?
Sorry, I know this is a straightforward process for many of you, and dirty flashing is easy. But I think a clean flash is better and I'd rather not guess and end up with a bricked phone I have to fuss with.
Again, I know this exact process is in a thread somewhere but I can't find it.

the phone storage is /sdcard/
u can use something like ES File Explorer and create a folder called CM13 or whatever u want
u do have ur bootloader unlocked and twrp installed, correct?
yes u will just the get cm zip file and put it in a folder (ex. /sdcard/CM13/)
i put the gapps in the same folder
create a nandroid backup
wipe/advance wipe - wipe caches/data/system !!!!Do NOT WIPE - INTERNAL STORAGE OR OTG!!!
then flash cm zip and gapps

Hi, thank you. Yes, bootloader unlocked, twrp installed and I've done it in the past on a different phone but couldn't sort out clean flashing from dirty flashing. I've done it correctly in the past, and it's also gone very wrong for me. I think I mistakenly wiped internal storage once and that was a disaster.
Somewhere I've also read about a factory reset through trwp.
I don't need to do that, or wiping caches/data/system is the same thing?
.

digger16309 said:
Hi, thank you. Yes, bootloader unlocked, twrp installed and I've done it in the past on a different phone but couldn't sort out clean flashing from dirty flashing. I've done it correctly in the past, and it's also gone very wrong for me. I think I mistakenly wiped internal storage once and that was a disaster.
Somewhere I've also read about a factory reset through trwp.
I don't need to do that, or wiping caches/data/system is the same thing?
.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you wipe internal storage, you will lose the zips for your ROM and GAPPS. You can connect your device and have it recognized on your PC from within TWRP if you do accidentally wipe your internal storage.
Factory reset doesn't wipe the system partition as that would remove your OS. Most Roms will wipe your system partition before it installs itself so generally you don't have to wipe the system partition manually, but it's good practice.
Clean flash = wipe dalvik, cache, data; then install ROM (which will wipe system before it installs, or manually wipe system before the ROM install for good measure).
Dirty flash = flash ROM, then wipe dalvik and cache. The only time you should do this if the ROM you're looking to flash says it can be done (ie. CM nightlies).

[FLASHABLE_SCRIPT][UPDATED_ERRORS FIXED] Increase system space to 1.2/2GB [15/7/2017]

-By following this you can can increase /system space from default 800MB to 1.2GB/2GB
-You can flash gapps on CM ROMs without insufficient space issue.
-You can flash regular MIUI ROMs too,without any issue.
Statutory warning
*Repartition can kill your phone forever if anything goes wrong,so proceed with caution (and make sure you have at least 30% battery)
*This process would format your internal sdcard,backup its contents
*I'm not responsible If your phone dies during this procedure under any circumstances beyond control
Prerequisites:
1)Redmi 1s partition script_system space 1.2GB.zip/2GB.zip
2)Parted
3)Twrp v3.0.2-1.zip
4)Download and copy all these files to external sdcard
Procedure:
1)Flash Twrp recovery(incase if aren't already using it).
2)Boot in to Twrp--->Advanced--->File manager--->Browse to the location of file "parted"--->Select "parted"--->Copy File--->/sbin.
3)Now using Twrp File manager browse /sbin--->parted--->select parted--->chmod 755.
4)You can also use "aroma file manager" instead of Twrp file manager for copying "parted" to "/sbin" and changing it's permissions to 755.
5)In Twrp flash "Redmi 1s partition script_system space 1.2GB.zip/2GB.zip" and wait for the script to finish execution(recovery will reboot automatically once this process finishes).
6)In Twrp--->Wipe--->Advanced wipe--->Mark in "Dalvik/ART Cache"__"Cache"__"System"__"Data"__"Internal Storage"--->Swipe to wipe.
7)Reboot recovery.
8)Install your ROM(don't flash gapps now).
9)Back again to Twrp start screen select "Wipe"-->Advanced wipe-->select/mark "System"-->press "Repair or change file system(notice that size hasn't increased to 1.2GB/2GB)-->Resize file system.
10)Back(though size of partition appears unchanged, its actually increased to 1.2GB)-->Back>select/mark"System"-->Repair or change file system-->Notice size of partition increased.
10)Back to Twrp start screen and flash gapps,that's it.
Reset to default partition:
1)I am also giving link for flashabe script file "Reset to default partition.zip" for restoring default partition sizes.
2)Boot in to Twrp--->Advanced--->File manager--->Browse to the location of file "parted"--->Select "parted"--->Copy File--->/sbin.
3)Now using Twrp File manager browse /sbin--->parted--->select parted--->chmod 755.
4)You can also use "aroma file manager" instead of Twrp file manage for copying "parted" to "/sbin" and changing it's permissions to 755.
5)In Twrp flash "Reset to default partition.zip" and wait for the script to finish execution(recovery will reboot automatically once this process finishes).
6)In Twrp--->Wipe--->Advanced wipe--->Mark in "Dalvik/ART Cache"__"Cache"__"System"__"Data"__"Internal Storage"--->Swipe to wipe.
7)Reboot recovery.
8)that's it you are back to default partition.
PS:
1.Need for "Resizing System partition"(step 9) comes only with CM14.1(haven't tried other CM versions or other custom roms) no need to do that if you are flasing MIUI ROMs(i,e you can skip step 9 if you are flashing MIUI ROMs)
2.If you still need more System space or want to further modify partition table(only if you know what you are doing),you can edit "update-binary" file inside the zip as per your needs.
Credits:
1)forumber2_ Samsung Galaxy S III.
2)slst_for his valuable input.
3)owaisnaim & fefifofum Twrp for redmi 1s.
Downloads:
1)parted:https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6_hhjS3nx4IU05yLVc2Mk9uOEk
2)Repartition script Redmi 1s_1.2GB system space:https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6_hhjS3nx4IRkJFZzAtMjZEa2s
3)Repartition script Redmi 1s_2GB system space:https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6_hhjS3nx4IRXlDZUU1cEJ3Smc
4)Reset to default partition:https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6_hhjS3nx4IeGtXb0liazdLWVk
5)TWRP 3.0.2-1.zip:https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B6_hhjS3nx4IdzFHXzdfNXVCYm8

good work mate

Great tutorial! Have a some questions:
1. After successfully doing this, If I decided to full clean wipe system, data, cache, dalvik cache, internal storage, and format data, the size will be reset? Do I need to do all the steps again?
2. If I decided to go back in default partition size I just flash that to reset all the steps? Or there will be a steps to reset all I've done?
Thank you.
Sent from my HM 1SW using Tapatalk

vhick said:
Great tutorial! Have a some questions:
1. After successfully doing this, If I decided to full clean wipe system, data, cache, dalvik cache, internal storage, and format data, the size will be reset? Do I need to do all the steps again?
2. If I decided to go back in default partition size I just flash that to reset all the steps? Or there will be a steps to reset all I've done?
Thank you.
Sent from my HM 1SW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
no you just have to go to
wipe >mark on system>click repartition
go back you can see system size 1.2gb

after doing this can i flash latest twrp ?

vhick said:
Great tutorial! Have a some questions:
1. After successfully doing this, If I decided to full clean wipe system, data, cache, dalvik cache, internal storage, and format data, the size will be reset? Do I need to do all the steps again?
2. If I decided to go back in default partition size I just flash that to reset all the steps? Or there will be a steps to reset all I've done?
Thank you.
Sent from my HM 1SW using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1.You can do all the wiping as usual, size of partition wil stay as it is and won't get reset,but if you're flashing current version of cm14.1 again you need to resize "System" partition before flashing gapps.
2.You additionally need to change "System" partition too to F2FS and than to EXT4(like you do with "Data" partition),in case you're going back to default partition.
I forgot to mention point 2 in OP,I will now add this there

vinayak.ghimire said:
after doing this can i flash latest twrp ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ya you can.

and whats the size of userdata and cache partition ?

vinayak.ghimire said:
and whats the size of userdata and cache partition ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Based upon the scenario, the only concern is the system partition coz newer or update partition is too large. Cache partition is ok because it only use as a temp file partition. The userdata partition is large as internal storage because it shared as the same partition. That is the good thing at xiaomi phones, data partition is large as long as you have space in internal storage.
Sent from my HM 1SW using Tapatalk

vinayak.ghimire said:
and whats the size of userdata and cache partition ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Install diskinfo app and check

Thanks for the script. It will help us a lot in now and in future also.
I know, i am asking too much. I bet we all are from developers but I will be very glad if you can provide me link of flashable file of TWRP and philz recovery 6.55.
Thanks Loads.

Anyone have checked this tutorial working ??

I checked this tutorial working fine. Thanks for this awesome tip. Here the flash able zip of twrp

Here is screenshot

apoorvpandey41 said:
I checked this tutorial working fine. Thanks for this awesome tip. Here the flash able zip of twrp
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks mate appreciated.

Thanks man works perfectly fine. Awesome tutorial.

Guys please help me:
Today morning I reparationed my Redmi 1s as the Op said. it went successful. after using for 5hours I've found an update from CM. So I updated using CM UPDATER APP. after reboot I've lost my Google play store and Google app (after updating to todays CM update using CM UPDATER APP). When I went to see the system partition size, it's size went back to the default 782mb (around 782mb, I don't remember exact size).
I checked whether it is disabled or what in apps. But I can't find there also. I tried Show system apps and reset app preferences, but nothing showed them.
I tried to get them back (play store and Google app) by resizing the partition to 1.2 gb (wipe>advanced wipe> Mark system>change or resize partition>back> checked system partition size whether 1.2gb or not>wipe cache and dalvik cache> reboot to system). But nothing worked.
So please help me in getting them back. Please exclude solution such as factory reset or flash gaggs again.
Is anybody else also facing the same issue or it's just me?:crying::crying::crying:

freeshared said:
1.You can do all the wiping as usual, size of partition wil stay as it is and won't get reset,but if you're flashing current version of cm14.1 again you need to resize "System" partition before flashing gapps.
2.You additionally need to change "System" partition too to F2FS and than to EXT4(like you do with "Data" partition),in case you're going back to default partition.
I forgot to mention point 2 in OP,I will now add this there
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
please give detailed instructions to get back to default partition as i am not anymore able to flash any rom on my device. Sometimes it strucks at patching system image unconditionally and sometimes shows error 7 in twrp. And not even being able flash using adb sideload. Please give detailed instructions to revert back to default partition

sharathe100111 said:
please give detailed instructions to get back to default partition as i am not anymore able to flash any rom on my device. Sometimes it strucks at patching system image unconditionally and sometimes shows error 7 in twrp. And not even being able flash using adb sideload. Please give detailed instructions to revert back to default partition
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1)Detailed instructions for returning back to default partitions are given in op under the sub header "PPS", nothing more to add to it,just follow as it is.
2)I myself havent faced any issues till now iam currently on cm14.1 6-12-2016 version
3)Saw your posts on cm41.1 thread too,so you're on latest twrp
but still facing error 7,If possible post a screenshot of error 7(coz it never happed for me)
4)coming to the issue at hand,could you able to mount cache,system and data partitions.In twrp go to wipe>>advanced wipe>>select "cache">>Repair/change filesystem and see if everything(regarding partition size)is ok there.
Then do same for system and data too and check how are those partitions,if possible post screenshots.
Post your relpy as soon as possible.

freeshared said:
1)Detailed instructions for returning back to default partitions are given in op under the sub header "PPS", nothing more to add to it,just follow as it is.
2)I myself havent faced any issues till now iam currently on cm14.1 6-12-2016 version
3)Saw your posts on cm41.1 thread too,so you're on latest twrp
but still facing error 7,If possible post a screenshot of error 7(coz it never happed for me)
4)coming to the issue at hand,could you able to mount cache,system and data partitions.In twrp go to wipe>>advanced wipe>>select "cache">>Repair/change filesystem and see if everything(regarding partition size)is ok there.
Then do same for system and data too and check how are those partitions,if possible post screenshots.
Post your relpy as soon as possible.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you brother for your reply. Now i am on miui as i am not being able to go to CM14 anymore. But i can flash CM11. (it seems i can use only kitkat).
Here are the screenshots: for MOUNT, ADVANCED WIPE, CACHE, SYSTEM, DATA. And problem struck on patching system image unconditionally

How do I erase everything on galaxy s3 i747

Hi,
I have i747 that has a clockworkmod recovery. How do I erase as much as possible of everything so that my phone is as clean as possible before I install a new ROM on galaxy s3?
I tried to factory reset phone, did all the 'delete/erase' options within clockworkmod recovery (except advanced section) and yet I see some residual folders from the previous installation. is there a way to completely erase wipe out everything without bricking the phone?
Thanks!

user-747 said:
Hi,
I have i747 that has a clockworkmod recovery. How do I erase as much as possible of everything so that my phone is as clean as possible before I install a new ROM on galaxy s3?
I tried to factory reset phone, did all the 'delete/erase' options within clockworkmod recovery (except advanced section) and yet I see some residual folders from the previous installation. is there a way to completely erase wipe out everything without bricking the phone?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You should really flash TWRP recovery before proceeding. CWM hasn't been maintained or updated in a long time. It is likely to give you problems flashing anything new.
To completely blank a phone in TWRP I use Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> Dalvik, Cache, System, Data. Followed by Wipe -> Format Data then type "yes" to confirm; always a good idea if you're switching between Touchwiz and AOSP in particular. That will leave you with totally blank internal storage. You'll have to flash a ROM from an external SD, or load a ROM zip over USB while booted in recovery because internal storage will be wiped clean.
It might be a good idea to look into what bootloader and modem you're running too. If you're still using CWM, you might be on pretty old firmware that isn't going to work right with newer roms. Just don't start flashing bootloaders/modems willy-nilly. Samsung made this phone kind of easy to hard brick on the newer firmwares. There's a right way to update it, if you find you have to.

jason2678 said:
You should really flash TWRP recovery before proceeding. CWM hasn't been maintained or updated in a long time. It is likely to give you problems flashing anything new.
To completely blank a phone in TWRP I use Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> Dalvik, Cache, System, Data. Followed by Wipe -> Format Data then type "yes" to confirm; always a good idea if you're switching between Touchwiz and AOSP in particular. That will leave you with totally blank internal storage. You'll have to flash a ROM from an external SD, or load a ROM zip over USB while booted in recovery because internal storage will be wiped clean.
It might be a good idea to look into what bootloader and modem you're running too. If you're still using CWM, you might be on pretty old firmware that isn't going to work right with newer roms. Just don't start flashing bootloaders/modems willy-nilly. Samsung made this phone kind of easy to hard brick on the newer firmwares. There's a right way to update it, if you find you have to.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks so much for providing such a detailed answer!! You make many very good points!!
Just to reflect on those...
1) Yes, CWM recovery has not been updated for about 2-3 years. I have 6.0.4.7 version. Where do I check how stale it really is? I tried googling for CWM recovery and saw tons of links with everyone talking about CWM but ZERO sites with actual CWM .zip or .img file
2) I did 'adb bugreport' and was able to find information on my bootloader and a modem:
Bootloader: I747UCUEMJB
Radio: I747UCUEMJB
I am not too sure for what I would need to use this information for though
3) when completely blanking the phone (doing all those wipe/erase actions you mentioned), would that erase the recovery as well or is recovery is kept on a some other partition that never gets touched
4) When installing TWRP over CWM, would TWRP override CWM or install side to side along with CWM?
Thanks!

The will need to run an updated bootloader and modem before installing the latest custom roms.

user-747 said:
2) I did 'adb bugreport' and was able to find information on my bootloader and a modem:
Bootloader: I747UCUEMJB
Radio: I747UCUEMJB
I am not too sure for what I would need to use this information for though
3) when completely blanking the phone (doing all those wipe/erase actions you mentioned), would that erase the recovery as well or is recovery is kept on a some other partition that never gets touched
4) When installing TWRP over CWM, would TWRP override CWM or install side to side along with CWM?
Thanks!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
3 - Those wipes will just blank /system, /data and other partitions that would affect a rom. More critical areas like bootloader, modem, and recovery will remain untouched and intact.
4 - TWRP will overwrite CWM in the /recovery partition. They can't coexist.
2 - If you're comfortable with Odin, this thread might be the easiest and safest way to get updated. The Odin tar will get you up to NE4 firmware that should work with all the newest roms. Before modding, you could check for updates a few times in that stock rom. There should be two, one from NE4 to NJ1, and one NJ1 to NJ2. NJ2 is the newest and almost certainly last update for the i747.
If you don't like using Odin, there are recovery flashable zips to update the firmware for i747 too. You just have to be very careful how you go about it or you can brick the phone.

audit13 said:
The will need to run an updated bootloader and modem before installing the latest custom roms.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was able to install the most recent octos just a few days ago with my stale configuration: old bootloader and old cwm recovery. My phone i747 currently has nougat.
When you speak of 'latest roms' what exactly do you have in mind?

jason2678 said:
3 - Those wipes will just blank /system, /data and other partitions that would affect a rom. More critical areas like bootloader, modem, and recovery will remain untouched and intact.
4 - TWRP will overwrite CWM in the /recovery partition. They can't coexist.
2 - If you're comfortable with Odin, this thread might be the easiest and safest way to get updated. The Odin tar will get you up to NE4 firmware that should work with all the newest roms. Before modding, you could check for updates a few times in that stock rom. There should be two, one from NE4 to NJ1, and one NJ1 to NJ2. NJ2 is the newest and almost certainly last update for the i747.
If you don't like using Odin, there are recovery flashable zips to update the firmware for i747 too. You just have to be very careful how you go about it or you can brick the phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am actually quite familiar with Odin. I used to root i747 with it. Then I wanted to update to the latest official rom and ironically soft-bricked the phone to the point where it was dead...nothing worked at all. If I remember correctly I wrote i9305 Rom to i747 phone. Then I found out that during boot the phone internally still scans through sd card and was able to take advantage of that to install recovery and consequently cyanogenmod os. I remember tons of Adb done. Since then the phone regained all functionality and now works very smooth with freshly installed octos. However, I see I am missing some hard drive space ie unusually large usage by octos. This makes me wonder if the 'bad original partition + bootloader +modem' are still in there but not invoked for some reason and the explanation behind my what appears to be successful installs is working os, etc are written to a separate partition which is now invoked. Is this hypothesis legit or not real? Is it at all possible that my cwm somehow is installed on a partition that is delete-able or that cannot be a possibility and all recovery goes into write-protected space?
And while we are in this topic, what are the obvious advantages of a newer boot loader if I can still install whatever custom roms?

user-747 said:
I was able to install the most recent octos just a few days ago with my stale configuration: old bootloader and old cwm recovery. My phone i747 currently has nougat.
When you speak of 'latest roms' what exactly do you have in mind?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes, a phone will not display the correct imei with the latest custom ROM unless the phone is running the most recent bootloader and modem for the particular phone.

audit13 said:
Sometimes, a phone will not display the correct imei with the latest custom ROM unless the phone is running the most recent bootloader and modem for the particular phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks! Good to know.

I think this phone only has a 12 GB data partition. About 1.5 GB is reserved for /system, another 1 GB for /cache, and there are a host of other partitions. That's some of your used space. The rest could be cruft from old installs left over in userdata that a standard wipe of /data didn't get unless you format internal storage.
If what you have is working for you, then I wouldn't touch bootloader and modem.

jason2678 said:
You should really flash TWRP recovery before proceeding. CWM hasn't been maintained or updated in a long time. It is likely to give you problems flashing anything new.
To completely blank a phone in TWRP I use Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> Dalvik, Cache, System, Data. Followed by Wipe -> Format Data then type "yes" to confirm; always a good idea if you're switching between Touchwiz and AOSP in particular. That will leave you with totally blank internal storage. You'll have to flash a ROM from an external SD, or load a ROM zip over USB while booted in recovery because internal storage will be wiped clean.
It might be a good idea to look into what bootloader and modem you're running too. If you're still using CWM, you might be on pretty old firmware that isn't going to work right with newer roms. Just don't start flashing bootloaders/modems willy-nilly. Samsung made this phone kind of easy to hard brick on the newer firmwares. There's a right way to update it, if you find you have to.
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Click to collapse
jason2678 said:
I think this phone only has a 12 GB data partition. About 1.5 GB is reserved for /system, another 1 GB for /cache, and there are a host of other partitions. That's some of your used space. The rest could be cruft from old installs left over in userdata that a standard wipe of /data didn't get unless you format internal storage.
If what you have is working for you, then I wouldn't touch bootloader and modem.
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Click to collapse
Thanks for the insight!
I went ahead and updated by recovery to TWRP via Odin just a few minutes ago...
I see Under Advanced Wipe another option for Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> Internal Storage. Should I also wipe out internal storage? What is it for anyway? Whats the difference between 'internal storage' and 'system'?

user-747 said:
Thanks for the insight!
I went ahead and updated by recovery to TWRP via Odin just a few minutes ago...
I see Under Advanced Wipe another option for Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> Internal Storage. Should I also wipe out internal storage? What is it for anyway? Whats the difference between 'internal storage' and 'system'?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I'm not 100% sure what the Internal Storage wipe does under Advanced Wipe, and I don't feel like making then restoring a backup right now just to test it . I never use it. If I had to guess, I bet it wipes /data and possibly a few other partitions without preserving user files in /data/media/0, see below, but don't know that. It certainly won't blank the whole internal storage; some areas like recovery, modem, and aboot are far too important and won't be touched.
Here's what I can tell you. Doing Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> system, data, cache, dalvik is typically good enough for flashing a new rom (switching from Touchwiz to AOSP can require some additional care), some would even say overkill the way rom installers are scripted today, but old habits die hard. However, Advanced Wipe -> Data will wipe /data without wiping /data/media. Since android got multi-user support, files reported to be in /sdcard are actually stored in /data/media/0 for the primary user, so that means that downloads, pictures, user app files and things like that can be left behind by just wiping data since /data/media is left untouched. It is useful if you don't want to shuffle your files off then back on the device to flash something new or if you're using a device without an external SD and have a rom zip stored on device in /sdcard, but it leaves stuff behind if you're looking for a clean start.
To completely blank /data pick Wipe -> Format Data and TWRP will format /data and leave nothing behind, not even /data/media like the normal Advanced Wipe -> Data preserves. Just make sure you're prepared for the phone storage to be blank. You'll have to flash from external SD or push files from a computer over usb. TWRP does automatically start up mtp and adb shortly after booting if you need to push files over usb.
/system is a partition of special reserved space just for the rom and system apps and not user files. It is usually mounted read only when booted up normally to keep us from messing anything important up. I hope this helps and doesn't just muddy the waters more.

jason2678 said:
Honestly I'm not 100% sure what the Internal Storage wipe does under Advanced Wipe, and I don't feel like making then restoring a backup right now just to test it . I never use it. If I had to guess, I bet it wipes /data and possibly a few other partitions without preserving user files in /data/media/0, see below, but don't know that. It certainly won't blank the whole internal storage; some areas like recovery, modem, and aboot are far too important and won't be touched.
Here's what I can tell you. Doing Wipe -> Advanced Wipe -> system, data, cache, dalvik is typically good enough for flashing a new rom (switching from Touchwiz to AOSP can require some additional care), some would even say overkill the way rom installers are scripted today, but old habits die hard. However, Advanced Wipe -> Data will wipe /data without wiping /data/media. Since android got multi-user support, files reported to be in /sdcard are actually stored in /data/media/0 for the primary user, so that means that downloads, pictures, user app files and things like that can be left behind by just wiping data since /data/media is left untouched. It is useful if you don't want to shuffle your files off then back on the device to flash something new or if you're using a device without an external SD and have a rom zip stored on device in /sdcard, but it leaves stuff behind if you're looking for a clean start.
To completely blank /data pick Wipe -> Format Data and TWRP will format /data and leave nothing behind, not even /data/media like the normal Advanced Wipe -> Data preserves. Just make sure you're prepared for the phone storage to be blank. You'll have to flash from external SD or push files from a computer over usb. TWRP does automatically start up mtp and adb shortly after booting if you need to push files over usb.
/system is a partition of special reserved space just for the rom and system apps and not user files. It is usually mounted read only when booted up normally to keep us from messing anything important up. I hope this helps and doesn't just muddy the waters more.
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Thanks!
I will try to do wipe and reinstall Rom tonight and will update this thread. While we are in this topic, when flashing twrp via Odin in phone's download mode, I noticed that it says: Qualcomm secureboot: enabled. Does this mean my bootloader is locked?

user-747 said:
Thanks!
I will try to do wipe and reinstall Rom tonight and will update this thread. While we are in this topic, when flashing twrp via Odin in phone's download mode, I noticed that it says: Qualcomm secureboot: enabled. Does this mean my bootloader is locked?
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No, the i747 never had a locked bootloader. You couldn't boot unsigned stuff like CWM, TWRP, or octos if it did.

jason2678 said:
No, the i747 never had a locked bootloader. You couldn't boot unsigned stuff like CWM, TWRP, or octos if it did.
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Thanks!

user-747 said:
Thanks!
I will try to do wipe and reinstall Rom tonight and will update this thread. While we are in this topic, when flashing twrp via Odin in phone's download mode, I noticed that it says: Qualcomm secureboot: enabled. Does this mean my bootloader is locked?
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Click to collapse
I went ahead and did all the wipes and formats you recommend and all worked like a charm. OctOs installed like a charm, my disk space is regained, gapps are working, IMEI is good. so far I cannt find anyting that does not work. Thank you @jason2678 for your valuable feedback on my questions!!