How To Flash a Custom ROM

[andygu3]

apps I had b4 rooting/ flash

To be honest, I would go ahead and download everything that you want from the market first. Then download Titanium Backup and set up a schedule in TB. All apps will be backed up in TB, then if you decide to flash a new rom those apps will be backed up. Then you can use the batch/restore option in TB.


If you plan on flashing roms, I would highly recommend spending the money and buying TB Pro

 

[jbraden]

Thank you again. I'll quit bugging you.

 

[andygu3]

Thank you again. I'll quit bugging you.

No worries, ask away if you have any troubles, many helpful people here in these forums

 

[boblo]

is fresh fast?

 

[chino233]

I flashed a rom cyanogenmod 7&6 n now its always rebooting everytime its on setup wizard wat I do wrong n I used da rom manager from da market I kno a bad idea but I can't find da recover for da hero

 

[kenh0y]

I have a rooted HTC Sprint Hero with 2.1 rom that I'm trying to upgrade to 2.3. After flashing Cyanemod 7.1, don't you also have to install the Google apps file before rebooting? If yes, should this be done after flashing the new rom and before rebooting it?

I can't download Rom Manager, which I understand I need to flash ClockworkMod Recovery. Rom Manager needs 2.2 to run. Is there another program besides RM that will flash the recovery?

Thanks, Ken

 

[KitsapAndroid]

I have a rooted HTC Sprint Hero with 2.1 rom that I'm trying to upgrade to 2.3. After flashing Cyanemod 7.1, don't you also have to install the Google apps file before rebooting? If yes, should this be done after flashing the new rom and before rebooting it?

I can't download Rom Manager, which I understand I need to flash ClockworkMod Recovery. Rom Manager needs 2.2 to run. Is there another program besides RM that will flash the recovery?

Thanks, Ken

Ken, I haven't messed with my Hero in a while, but yes, you need to flash the GAPPS after the ROM and before the reboot. You can flash a recovery manually through ADB, but it's a bit more work. I would just look for an older .apk of ROM manager that still works with 2.1. Then you can get a recovery on the handset and begin the upgrade process. Once you have CM7 you can update your recovery to the newer ones with ROM Manager. The Hero is a fun little phone to tinker with, and so long as you don't try to flash a GSM ROM, it's virtually impossible to brick. Good luck and Happy Flashing!

 

[LBPHeretic]

You can sideload ROM Manager, which can be found here: ClockworkMod ROM Manager - Recoveries . You can even download it directly from your handset's web browser. Just use a file explorer like EStrongs File Explorer to find the .apk file on your microSD card and install it.

Once you have that installed, choose the top option to flash ClockworkMod Recovery. I would recommend trying out CyanogenMod 7.2 which can be found here: CyanogenMod Downloads . Be sure to flash the GApps after you flash this ROM. As a general rule, you should flash GApps again even if you are flashing a new nightly over top of an old one since flashing ROMs wipes the /system partition. I hope this helps.

 

[xevious]

I've read up on quite a number of testimonies on how their flashing of a custom ROM has gone. Some say you need to wait 10-20 minutes on the first boot. Often it's a mystery as to whether or not things are going right.

To take the mystery out of it, it's so useful to run ADB while the process is going. Hook up your phone via USB, open a command window in the platform-tools folder and run "adb logcat". You now get to watch the progress.

The first time my bootup was taking so long, I ran the logcat and started to see all kinds of problems:
*** FATAL EXCEPTION IN SYSTEM PROCESS: PowerManagerService
java.lang.NullPointerException (many of them)
SurfaceFlinger died, exiting...

... and many other failures. The clue was that these repeated in a loop. In the command window, you can select and capture the log and paste it in a text editor to read it.

My problem was solved by doing the following before applying the ROM again: wipe dalvik cache, wipe data/factory reset (wipe all user data), format boot, and format system. When I did this, my reboot took just a few minutes after the ROM image was applied.


So, using adb logcat is a very sensible way to do these ROM flashes. This way you really know what is going on, rather than waiting endlessly and trying to decide if you should pull your battery or not.