From gingerbread to ics

[hyperized]

Hi!
I rooted and flashed my gs2 four months ago and accidentally messed something up but I fixed it however I stayed away from all that until now when I have more time. I decided to give it a try when at&t texted me and said that upgrading to ics was available. The problem is I forgot most about rooting and flashing and the vocab terms such as bootloader and PDA. So I might need someone to help me refresh my memory. Giving me links and letting me read them myself would be awesome.

I know there have been custom roms for ics long before now but I would like some advice to help me choose the best and right one for me.

Heres my gs2's specs:

Android version
2.3.6
Kernel version
2.6.35.7
Build number
UnNamed v2.21

I am also wondering if it is possible to only flash a new rom but not a new kernel at this condition because it sounds easier for me.

Any advice will be very much appreciated.

Thank you so much for your time.

 

[hyperized]

Another problem appeared.
A huge one.
In preparation to flashing a new rom, I backup-ed with ROMmanager and TitaniumBackUp for the first time. However, the phone started rebooting by itself nonstop. So I got into
CMW Recovery v5.0.2.7
tried everything from removing the external SD card to unmounting the internal SD card to factory resetting and even formatting the sdcard. Nothing worked. I am seriously worried right now.
Anyone please help?

 

[lunatic59]

You will need to reflash your kernel and then flash the rom again. Rom Manager does not play nice with Samsung phones. Don't use it. Let me know if you need step-by-step on that.

 

[hyperized]

You will need to reflash your kernel and then flash the rom again. Rom Manager does not play nice with Samsung phones. Don't use it. Let me know if you need step-by-step on that.

Yes, can i please have instructions for flashing the kernel?
Is it just downloading the file and using odin?
I tried flashing the stock rom but the bootloop at startup is still here.
And now i cant even get into recovery mode
Odin mode is fine, though.
Thank you so much.
and i will not use ROMmanager anymore.

 

[lunatic59]

You can't get into recovery because ROM Manager trashed it. It should come with a big red warning label "DO NOT INSTALL ON SAMSUNG PHONES".

If you rooted originally with the Zedomax kernel, then yes, just put the phone into download mode and reflash with odin.

With the phone OFF, hold down the vol. down and vol. up buttons and plug the USB cable into the phone. You should see the warning about flashing custom firmware. Press vol. up to confirm. Set the phone down for now.

On the PC, open odin. It should show the phone is connected by having a yellow box in the upper left with a com port listed. Click the PDA button and find the kernel file. Then you just press start and the phone will reboot when done.

From there you should be able to get into recovery.

 

[hyperized]

You can't get into recovery because ROM Manager trashed it. It should come with a big red warning label "DO NOT INSTALL ON SAMSUNG PHONES".

If you rooted originally with the Zedomax kernel, then yes, just put the phone into download mode and reflash with odin.

With the phone OFF, hold down the vol. down and vol. up buttons and plug the USB cable into the phone. You should see the warning about flashing custom firmware. Press vol. up to confirm. Set the phone down for now.

On the PC, open odin. It should show the phone is connected by having a yellow box in the upper left with a com port listed. Click the PDA button and find the kernel file. Then you just press start and the phone will reboot when done.

From there you should be able to get into recovery.

Thank you very much!!!
I flashed a new kernel
SiyahKernel v2.6.14
Now everything goes back to normal.

But I have one more question.
What would you recommend as a good ICS rom?

Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[lunatic59]

Thank you very much!!!
I flashed a new kernel
SiyahKernel v2.6.14
Now everything goes back to normal.

But I have one more question.
What would you recommend as a good ICS rom?

Thank you so much for your help!!

I guess it depends on what you're looking for. Right now I'm using ShoStock2. It gives me a basic ICS set of features with excellent battery life.