Guide to flashing Darky's Rom on Bell/Virgin GT-I9000M - (It's not as risky as you think!)
WARNING: I ASSUME NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOU BRICKING YOUR PHONE. IT CAN HAPPEN IN THE WORLD OF FLASHING.
For those of you who don't know the terminology, "Bricking" refers to turning your fancy new Samsung Galaxy S into a fancy new Samsung Galaxy Paperweight.
The GT-I9000M is a NAM variant of the GT-I9000 Galaxy phone model, which are basically the same phone in all aspects, other than the (M) version runs natively on the 850mhz band, and is also well known in the flashing community for being susceptible to being "bricked" due to a bad batch of phones shipped out by Samsung. I have personally had 7 of them. But don't be alarmed! From what I have learned in all the flashing I have done, I have learned that most of the problems arise from USB flashing using Odin, and not taking necessary precautions. There is always a risk (hence the disclaimer), but this guide is aimed at my fellow Canadians (and others) with the I9000M to flash with as little risk as possible, as there are a few threads and some great roms out there in tune with us, but not enough, and hopefully someone finds mine and gets their Galaxy running the way I got mine to.
EDIT::::
Thanks to d_Train2k:
You should upgrade your touch key's firmware before updating the kernel. Myself and others have had issues with the back key becoming "stick" after flashing to Darky's and if you try to update the touch key's firmware after you've changed your kenrel, the menu/back buttons stop working entirely and you will need to flash the stock rom to get them back.
Here's how to update the touch keys
Go to your dialer and type the following:
*#*#2663#*#*
Then click Touch key FW update.
ALSO: This guide assumes you are on Stock JL2 Firmware. If you are not, please search the forums or the posts by some of the users below, on how to first upgrade your firmware to the latest JL2 from Bell/Virgin Canada. (thanks guys for helping out, this is my first guide ).
ANOTHER NOTE:
Recovery 3e:
Flashing JL2 puts your phone on recovery 3e, which will give you errors if you try to flash an update.zip. This is why you need to do it with Odin. ****Make sure you use the proper files!!...Extract the .tar file from the Kernel you downloaded!!***
First of all, this particular thread involves instructions on flashing what I believe is one of the most amazing ROMs out there, that being Darky's Rom v9.0 Extreme Edition. 2nd, I have spent a lot of time and frustration on this sh**, and am tailoring this towards those who may be new to this or have had problems trying to accomplish it. It may not the best or easiest or smartest or WHATEVER but it's the way it worked for me, and it's the way it should work for you.
Edit::
Darky's Rom is amazing, but so are so many others....this guide applies to any custom firware you want to flash...AS LONG AS IT'S COMPATIBLE WITH YOUR PHONE--READ READ READ!!.I've personally tried Darky's latest, (9.2), Doc's Kitchen Rom, Hamster's Rom (Awesome Rom Jim!), and the latest and greatest Rom from SeeARM, which you should definitely check out; it's catered to us with the I9000M
Just please remember...Don't ever forget to disable lagfixes, wipe caches, do resets, etc. Always start fresh when flashing anything! I am a firm believer in this!
NOTE: I am also myself in the process of gathering input for a custom rom of my own based on our Canadian JL2 firmware, and am looking for input into what to include.....feel free to leave comments below or in the thread I posted in Android Development about it Thanks!
--Here We Go--
1. We need to Root your phone. First of all, before anything, plug your phone into your computer and make sure the drivers for your phone install properly. Your computer needs to recognize it has a phone attached to it! If it does not, there are endless topics on installing proper drivers a Google search away. Do not skip ahead! Make sure the drivers are installed!
If you are already rooted, stop reading and move on. If you are not, you need to download an awesome program for windows called Super OneClick Root. You must have Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed on your computer, if you don't google it and get it done. Get Super OneClick HERE...You'll see the latest version download link a bit down the page. Credits to CL Shortfuse!!! He made this possible .....and I stole a couple links
NOTE: (You will have to register on XDA to download this file, but it only takes a minute, and trust me, if you are even reading this then you WILL want to be registered on this site. It's amazing, and you will find a LOT of help here.)
2. Download another awesome program called "Odin". Get version 1.3 HERE. (Once again, you'll have to sign in to the wonderful world of XDA ).
Make sure USB Debugging is set ON by going to
"Settings --->Applications ---->Development---and checking USB Debugging. **DO NOT MOUNT YOUR SD CARD WHEN PLUGGING INTO YOUR COMPUTER!!**
Run Odin, Plug your phone into your computer. When Odin recognizes the phone by saying "Added!", you are ready to go.
Start OneClick on your computer, by right-clicking and selecting "run as administrator". Universal Root tab should be selected by default, if you have the Captivate it goes without saying you should click on the "Captivate" tab. Click on the "ROOT" button. You should see something like this:
Let the program work it's magic.
**I tried to keep this simple, but you will find a more detailed version of using the program from the link I gave you above.**
For more information about making it work in linux:
See here
***If you're having issues with "wait for device" or if RATC is looping, try this
Unplug your USB Cable
Go to Settings > Applications > Development
Uncheck USB Debugging
Plug in your USB Cable
Unplug your USB Cable
Check USB Debugging
Plug in your USB Cable***
Now wait a couple minutes for the kinks to work out, and look for an app in your drawer called "SuperUser". You should now be rooted and good to go!
Disconnect your Phone.
3. Koushik Dutta's ClockWorkMod Recovery.
This Kickass Android recovery module graciously given to us Android freaks for FREE and the backbone of 1,000,000's of successful flashes will be the next thing you add to your phone. There are different methods, but I have found the easiest way is downloading an app from the market called "Rom Manager" (Download the Premium version to support the developer and for more options!), and selecting the first option in the app to flash the latest ClockworkMod Recovery. The app will ask you for Superuser permissions, select "Allow". It should tell you that the latest CWM Recovery was downloaded successfully.
4. Flash a new Kernel. This is not absolutely necessary, but I have found that since I have started flashing Kernels before flashing new ROMs, I have been absolutely problem free. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but hey, again this is mainly for i9000M owners so you understand my paranoia. If it works, don't change it! **Note--You can also flash the kernel through Odin. Select the Odin version and put it in the "PDA" section, bypassing my instructions in step 3 to get the ClockWorkMod Recovery. BUT since flashing with odin is riskier with this model of phone, I believe using the app from the market and flashing the kernel after from the phone is safer **
Download Speedmod's latest Kernel, HERE, or VooDoo's latest, HERE.
Transfer the Kernel (.zip) file to your phone's root directory: Plug your phone into the computer, (make sure your external sd card has been removed) and pull down the notification bar on your phone. Press home to quit Kies first if you are in that mode. Tap the bar that says "Select to copy files to/from your computer". An explorer window should pop up on your computer, select "open folder to view files". Copy and paste the Kernel zip file here. Once it's completed, unplug your phone from the computer, open the Clockwork App you used to flash the recovery image, and select "Reboot Recovery". You are ready to flash the Kernel!
Once in Clockwork recovery mode, you should see an image like this:
Don't worry if the version in the picture is not the same as yours, the app will flash the latest version for you
Depending on certain minor details, your "Select" button for this menu may be the home button or the back button, so be careful! (The power button always works though, so better to keep your thumb away from the back button in case of accidents and use that ).
use the volume up/down buttons to highlight "Wipe Cache Partition". Select it with the power button. It should ask for confirmation, give it.
Next, Select the "Advanced" option. Select "Wipe Dalvik Cache". Confirm.
Now, flash the Kernel. Select "Install zip from SD Card". Then select "Choose Zip from SD Card". Find Kernel file that you copied to your phone earlier, and select it. Confirm the action.
Your phone will do some funky stuff now, Don't Panic!! It's normal. Be patient, and wait for your phone to tell you that the operation is complete. Find and select "Reboot system now". Your phone will reboot, with a brand new improved Kernel!
5. Download Darky's Rom V8.0. A lot of people have had issues with flashing v9.0, like market disappearing etc., so the way that worked the best for me and a lot of others is to flash v8.0 first then 9 overtop with a no-wipe version. You can get v8.0 Wipe Edition HERE. When you have downloaded it, copy it over to the root folder of your phone exactly as you did with the kernel file in step 4.
6. Flash Darky's Rom. Reboot your phone into recovery again, using the Clockwork app. When in recovery, select "Wipe Data/Factory Reset" from the menu. Confirm this, and let it do it's thing. Now select "Install zip from SD Card". Select "Choose zip from SD Card". Scroll to the file that represents Darky's Rom v8.0 Wipe edition, and select it. Confirm installation. When everything is all said and done, select "Reboot System Now". You should boot into Darky's Rom v8.0!!
7. Download the Darky App and install it from the market to configure your new ROM. (Search "Darky" on the market, only one selection will appear).
Select the options you want, (Apps, Wipe/No wipe, Kernel if you want a different one, etc.). You don't have to apply anything, there are no menu options; just exit the app. What it does is create a file called "Darky" on your SD Card. Your rom will read this file and flash accordingly! Cool huh. **NOTE:--For this time you will be selecting "No-Wipe" version.**
8. Download Darky's Rom V9.0.2 HERE.
Repeat Steps 5 and 6 using the file you just downloaded, minus the factory reset bit. It's very important that you make sure the settings you want are selected in the Darky Configurator app before you do this!
At the end of step 6, you should be up and running with Darky's Rom v9.0.2 Extreme Edition. Lucky you.
So there it is....it's the safest way I've found to do this, maybe you or someone else has a better way but this is what worked countless times for me. Also, being that flashing with odin is very commonly a cause of problems with our I9000M versions, read back and see that you flashed NOTHING with odin, only used it for the Oneclick Root!
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE FOR ANYONE AND EVERYONE WHO MADE ALL OF THIS POSSIBLE!! I HAVE CONTRIBUTED NOTHING TO THIS BUT ADVICE, AND HOPE IT HELPS SOMEONE
BE SURE TO READ, READ AND READ AGAIN ANY AND ALL INFORMATION IN THE LINKS I HAVE GIVEN, AND FIND SOME ON YOUR OWN. FLASHING IS A RISKY BUSINESS BUT IT CAN HAVE KICKASS RESULTS IF YOU DO IT RIGHT.
GOOD LUCK!
Marky.
Last edited by MarkyWylder; February 13th, 2011 at 11:45 PM.
Reason: Upate
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to MarkyWylder For This Useful Post:
So, I think I need a bit of help but first wanna say: Awesome guide! Been looking everywhere for an idiot's guide to flashing the i9000m. I've gone through 6 different bricked handsets since September and I didn't even try to root/flash my phone once, so I definitely appreciate you taking into account the temperamental nature of this particular SGS.
Anyway, I seem to have run into a bit of a brick wall and was hoping maybe you could point me in the right the direction. When I tried to enter the CW Recovery mode, I just ended up in my stock recovery mode. After a little research it seems this is because i have the 3e version of the recovery mode that now requires updates to be signed (when I click "apply update" in stock recovery mode I just get the following msg:
E: failed to verify whole-file signature
E: signature verification failed
I figured the obvious solution was to just flash via odin. So I tried that as well, but the process always fails and I get the error message " Can't open the serial(COM) port.". I've installed all the samsung usb drivers as well, so I'm not really sure how to get around this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
So guess all I needed to do was restart my computer. After that I was able to flash with Odin.
Another word of caution you may want to add to your guide is that you should upgrade your touch key's firmware before updating the kernel. Myself and others have had issues with the back key becoming "stick" after flashing to Darky's and if you try to update the touch key's firmware after you've changed your kenrel, the menu/back buttons stop working entirely and you will need to flash the stock rom to get them back.
Here's how to update the touch keys
Go to your dialer and type the following:
*#*#2663#*#*
Then click Touch key FW update.
Last edited by d_train2k; February 7th, 2011 at 09:14 PM.
So guess all I needed to do was restart my computer. After that I was able to flash with Odin.
Another word of caution you may want to add to your guide is that you should upgrade your touch key's firmware before updating the kernel. Myself and others have had issues with the back key becoming "stick" after flashing to Darky's and if you try to update the touch key's firmware after you've changed your kenrel, the menu/back buttons stop working entirely and you will need to flash the stock rom to get them back.
Here's how to update the touch keys
Go to your dialer and type the following:
*#*#2663#*#*
Then click Touch key FW update.
Thanks for that bit, I will update my post with it
As for the problem you had with Odin before you rebooted your computer, had you tried using Odin more than once without unplugging the phone and plugging it back in? Odin is vestry picky like that, I have always closed Odin and reopened it as well as unplugging the phone before each attempt.
As well, the recovery issue you were having, did you select the option from rom manager to flash the recovery and reboot from the program, or power off and use the 3 button?
By the way, this post is a little dated but for those of you who are doing this for the first time it still applies to all the new firmwares out that are compatible with the phone, like Doc/Stefunels or Darkys. Just make sure you are careful, disable your lagfixes and do your wipes, and use cwm recovery to flash your new kernels and roms. The whole idea of this was to use Odin as little as possible because it known for not playing nice with our i9000m Now reflashing is as simple as using your phone only, from start to finish.
You have made a very good point though..to keep Odin handy and make sure your buttons work
I have been trying for over 2 hours but no matter what I do I CAN'T get the android ABD drivers to load. Is there something I am missing? This is beginning to be a real headache!
This might not be the right place to ask this but here goes.
I have flashed in Darky's 9.5 Extreme rom onto my I9000M (Bell). It works great except for the fact that I have no data connection. I can send and receive texts and phone calls but I have not data connection. When I boot the phone I can see the 3G/H symbol in the notification are for about 3 seconds then it's gone. The bars are always there but no data. I have tried loading in 6 or so different modem files but none of them work (or I am doing something wrong). Any ideas? I am running a DarkCore recovery kernal not the CWM one. All the files that I have downloaded all have CWM in them so I am not sure if the Dark Core recovery is any different than CWM and maybe the modems I have been installing aren't really getting installed but the Baseband number does change when I install a modem and reboot, so that's a good sing. I am a total noob to this so I don't really know where to go or what the next step shoule be.
This might not be the right place to ask this but here goes.
I have flashed in Darky's 9.5 Extreme rom onto my I9000M (Bell). It works great except for the fact that I have no data connection. I can send and receive texts and phone calls but I have not data connection. When I boot the phone I can see the 3G/H symbol in the notification are for about 3 seconds then it's gone. The bars are always there but no data. I have tried loading in 6 or so different modem files but none of them work (or I am doing something wrong). Any ideas? I am running a DarkCore recovery kernal not the CWM one. All the files that I have downloaded all have CWM in them so I am not sure if the Dark Core recovery is any different than CWM and maybe the modems I have been installing aren't really getting installed but the Baseband number does change when I install a modem and reboot, so that's a good sing. I am a total noob to this so I don't really know where to go or what the next step shoule be.
TIA to everyone.
You are probably missing the correct APNs. Go to settings -> Wireless -> Mobile Networks -> Access Point Names. If you are missing the correct ones, you will need to enter them manually. You should be able to find the ones you need on Google.
I'm trying to flash my rom with Darky's but I can't find any instructions on doing it with Firmware 2.3.3... My phone by the way is the I9000M on Bell. Can I follow these instructions for Gingerbread as well or should I downgrade back to Froyo? If there is already a forum on how to root with Gingerbread, my apologies!
You mean you want to flash to darkys rom And to get the gingerbread edition you will need to flash a JVQ based rom through odin, which will give you darky 10.2 ressurection edition, you can keep that or go for the full experience and put the extreme edition on your internal sd and CWM it on! Do not follow these instruction, they are not compatable. I assume you want a GB edition, So if you do here is the link: [GUIDE] Final v10.2 - Official DarkyROM - Gingerbread (JVQ 2.3.4) - Noob-Friendly | DarkyROM
I flashed many many many roms on my i9000m and have a lot of help for you if you need it! I recomend to go with the 10.2 edition seeing as how your already on GB unless you want 9.5 because that is also a deadly rom!
Good luck with whatever you choose
[APP][Update] SGS kernel flasher v1.6.2 - flash a kernel within android
h t t p ://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877444
Hi guys, (i9000M) my phone died once already from a flash, and my warranty is over. i was paranoid above flashing again. but i found this guide, and wanted to try it. i used this guide to help me take the plunge from Stock JL2 to Darky's 9.5. and it worked flawlessly. I've only been on Darky's for a couple of days, but so far so kick butt. i read it doesn't affect the Sbl.bin, but I can't confirm it. the only thing i didn't like was that the instructions say to flash with Odin to get the Speedmod Kernel. But, I found a way to flash it without Odin. I downloaded an app called SGS kernal flasher. I added the link above. and downloaded speedmod-kernel-k13d-500hz.tar and flashed it from within the app.
[APP][Update] SGS kernel flasher v1.6.2 - flash a kernel within android
h t t p ://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=877444
Hi guys, (i9000M) my phone died once already from a flash, and my warranty is over. i was paranoid above flashing again. but i found this guide, and wanted to try it. i used this guide to help me take the plunge from Stock JL2 to Darky's 9.5. and it worked flawlessly. I've only been on Darky's for a couple of days, but so far so kick butt. i read it doesn't affect the Sbl.bin, but I can't confirm it. the only thing i didn't like was that the instructions say to flash with Odin to get the Speedmod Kernel. But, I found a way to flash it without Odin. I downloaded an app called SGS kernal flasher. I added the link above. and downloaded speedmod-kernel-k13d-500hz.tar and flashed it from within the app.
Your warranty is not over if your on bell..Im on my third phone from bell due to phone failures from flashing and have not spent a cent for any of them(knock on wood). Cant say i have tried that! I was always into odin, you dont hear much about flashing via that app even from darkys forum so I would ASSUME its more stable with odin! ..My 2 cents
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Flashing Darky v9 On Gt-I9000M, Minimal Risk :)
--Here We Go--
Click on the "ROOT" button. You should see something like this:
