Root [International] Rooting S3 International 3G

[Madbat]

When booted into twrp, you can select to save to phone or sdcard. Default is phone. Get a better file explorer app. My files is a poor excuse for a file explorer. I use es file explorer. The backup should be in twrp/backups/"serial number"/name of backup. The backup will be named with a date, a time, and your phones build number. It sounds like you successfully made a backup. It will have files in it like system.img, system.ext4, data.img . etc.

 

[gregg1100]

Hi Madbat,
I can't find the files anywhere in the phone, whether on device or SD card.
I was going to try the manual way of backing up tonight, but wanted to ask if that was ok to do it. Ie; if I back up a wonky backup, perhaps that would give me trouble down the line

Just opened TWRP Manager- into settings and there is a place to decide where to put the backup file. I have just made a new folder called Greg Nandroid BU, which I can see in My Files and ES File Explorer. Also made a folder in SD card called Greg ROM for my new rom.
What I did see when I opened tWRP, was there were two backup files--one called Classic and the other was Live. The classic only backs up to DEVICE, the Live is a purchased one.

Or will it be easier to do a manual backup???
Thanks

 

[Madbat]

Boot in to twrp by powering off, then hold power+home+volume up. When you see "recovery booting" in the corner release buttons. Tap backup. In about the middle you may see storage device, tap that and change to SD card. Make sure all boxes are checked (you don't need cache) then swipe start. It sounds like you've already done it but it won't hurt to do it again.
So you don't have a folder called twrp anywhere? There should already be. /storage/ext sdcard/twrp/ or sdcard/twrp.

 

[gregg1100]

I can see a folder in both ES file explorer and My files called TWRP on SD card, but nothing in it.

I have put Omnirom V5 zip file in my Greg Rom folder on SD card. It says that it includes GApps, which is good cos the app in Store seems not to want to download.

Is Omnirom all I need to have on phone, as I intend to get phone all set up and finished tomorrow??? Doing the backup now, but will put rom on tomorrow. Is that ok to do ??

Thanks for your help

 

[Madbat]

Actually now that I think, I have a few android devices. A couple use twrp, but my s3 does not. Granted I have the u.s. sprint one. But as far as I know twrp is problematic on the sprint s3. I use philz touch. The international one may be different. The whole process of rooting, installing recovery and making a backup should take about 20 minutes.

 

[gregg1100]

Hi Madbat,
Backup was nearly 20 mins--I have copied file to pc as well.
International one worked well with twrp. It even backed up EFS file.

Keeping with TWRP, where do I start to flash rom??
Power up, power and home- then follow instructions?? There is a WIPE box- go into there and do what it says ??

What is MOUNT on twrp??

Can't get to download GApps, but rom is supposed to install them, I think.
Thanks again. Now 01.16 here, so will call it a night. Nearly there.

 

[Madbat]

Good to hear it worked! Don't worry about mount, its more of an advanced feature for other purposes. As for the ROM, I'm not familiar with it so questions are best posted in the place you got it. Normally you boot twrp, wipe data, then tap install and choose the ROM you downloaded then tap install again and choose gapps. But I don't know about that ROM. Most official builds of aosp Roms don't include gapps but I have no idea where you got it or anything. So best to post there. Keep in mind this is going to completely change your phone and wipe all your apps.
I've read for omni to flash in twrp you have to untick box for secure in update settings. But best to read the thread where you got it

 

[gregg1100]

Hi Madbat,
Got hold of Omnirom from here;

[ROM][29Jun] ●●●► Om… | Samsung Galaxy S III I9300, I9305 | XDA Forums

It appears to me to have GApps incuded.

It says that it is Kitkat anyway, so no worries there. Twrp has a little box to sort out the KK sd card writing failure. I take it that some of the sammy bloat will disappear when this rom is installed.
Your last reply is really helpful, so I will install the rom later on.
Thanks.

 

[Madbat]

There will be NO Samsung bloat after you flash. Everything you know about your phone will change; menus, everything.
You can open the zip and see if it has google apps in it. Open it in es file explorer and see.
Edit: it does appear to have gapps. It appears to have aroma so all the pre install wiping is done for you as well

 

[gregg1100]

I flashed the rom twice- failed both times. Good job for nandroid backup, eh ??

As to why- not got a clue. Something I am not doing, obviously.

I turned off phone, booted into recovery then up came twrp 8 box. I followed xda instruction to Wipe-factory reset. Up came another box which asked if I wanted to backup eFS, already done. Tapped Install- clicked on omnirom zip then slid to flash. Waited for that, then rebooted.

Perhaps I should pick another rom. Is Neat Rom any good ??

 

[Madbat]

So what happened? Did you get an error code? When you reboot a new ROM the first time it will take a while to boot

 

[gregg1100]

I actually successfully flashed Android Revolution Hd-SG3 52.0 rom on my phone. Yippee. My first rom flash.
But it was too like 4.3(actually was 4.3), so I restored the stock rom and tried OMNI rom again. Failed again.

At start of flash I noticed it said " no file contexts" and at the end it said " set metadata_recursive. Some changes failed"

When I rebooted, it came back after a few minutes into the TWRP main screen again--like a loop.

Any idea from that as to what went wrong please??
Do you have to have MD5 files verified when flashing ticked or not ??
I can't see nothing on xda omnirom page about it, just installation instructions.

 

[gregg1100]

Tried Cyanogenmod CM11, 10 and Omnirom again---all failed. Only one to go on phone was Android Revolution, which I didn't like.

Pass.

 

[gregg1100]

Reading on xda site I saw something that said " if you have a metadata issue, you are using wrong recovery"

How do I get over this please. ?? I downloaded the recovery for my phone-S3 GTi9300 from where it said I should, only to find that is probably wrong.
I have learnt a bit to use TWRP, so would like to keep with that.

If I find latest twrp version, or find that I should use earlier version, does that mean I have to go through doing a new nandroid backup to suit the newer/older version ??
Thanks

 

[Madbat]

When they say wrong recovery, they mean use a different recovery. Most Roms for the s3 recommend using philz touch

 

[gregg1100]

Ok, so if I put philz touch on phone, will it need a new nandroid backup under philz name ???

Been looking at metadata stuff all afternoon- still don't understand it.
Lots of roms out there but seem to be for earlier android o/s- and I have read that it is dodgy to try to go back to an early o/s.
Thanks[/COLOR]

 

[gregg1100]

Been looking at Philz Touch- seems like odin method. Which is why I prefer twrp.

I got 2x 2.8 twrp download from xda site---one is an image, the other is a tar. It says to flash- where ???

Apart from the metadata error, I had a "no file contexts" at start of rom flash.
Any idea as to what that is about, please.

I have been reading about all this lot all day again, and still don't understand any of it.

Why did Android Revolution rom go straight on phone without all this messing about.
It has me beat and hacked off now.

 

[Madbat]

Dude, philz is nothing like Odin. Its a recovery, its actually clockworkmod customized with touch controls. Odin is a computer program.
If a developers instructions for his ROM say to use philz, you probably should. Doesn't really matter what you're used to. But if its a tar you flash with Odin. If its a recovery image you can install it with flashify. If you get " hacked off" every time something doesn't do what it isn't designed to do just because you want it to, you will get mad a lot. If it says use philz, use philz. If it says use twrp then use twrp. Not all Roms work with both. You can make backups with each and switch back and forth if you want. You will make many backups along the way. Every time you make major system changes you should make one. After you flash a ROM and get it set up the way you want, make a backup. That way you can go back to stock, then if you want you can go back to custom ROM just by restoring the backup you made when you got it set up. But I've watched the this thread drag on for weeks for a process that should only for take a couple hours tops, so I'm tagging out. Maybe someone else can tag in. This one is getting exhausting.

 

[marcus33]

I've never used TWRP so I can't make a comparison but I wouldn't worry about not being used to PhilZ; it's easy to use, looks nice and I've had no problems at all with it or the backups made with it.

I have NeatROM running on my S3, the Aroma version, and I find it to be similar to stock but with loads of added settings, giving more control over the interface, and pretty much full control over what 'bloatware' I want installed. In conjunction with 'X-posed Framework' there's all kinds of mods available as well. Plus it has it's own thread here in this forum.

 

[marcus33]

Apart from the metadata error, I had a "no file contexts" at start of rom flash.
Any idea as to what that is about, please.

Why did Android Revolution rom go straight on phone without all this messing about.

I think Madbat has nailed it; based on my meager experience it sounds to me also like the reason you are getting those errors is due to having the wrong recovery installed.

 

[gregg1100]

Thanks Madbat for your input.
I have been cautious I know, probably because I am nearly 70, but interested in all this stuff. Flashing roms and all this is totally all new to me. I spent 40 years of my working life driving artics. I could park a 45 foot trailer on a sixpence, they call it experience- millions can't park a car properly. The other early 10 years working as a mechanic in both car and commercial garages. Also, I can't afford to naff up the phone either. I never had time for all this, till now.
As you are leaving the thread, then I seem to be my own . We are all new to this when we start- some get on better than others, but get there in the end.
Thanks again for your help.
Greg

 

[Madbat]

I know we are all new at some point. Its great to see new people get interested in this. I was just passing the torch to someone else. There are a lot more experienced people than I. I like helping, but hand holding gets a little fatiguing. Your doing just fine, have a little more faith in your actions. But if you can't afford to brick this phone you probably shouldn't be doing all this. You risk a brick with every single step. Even if you do it all correctly there are no guarantees. Good luck!

 

[gregg1100]

Thanks to all that have helped me with this long thread- especially Madbat.

Just a last question or two;
Seems like I downloaded earlier version of twrp, with twrp manager - hence probably why I am getting metadata error- got latest twrp in 2.8 version, but that comes in 2 files-
openrecovery twrp- 2.8.0.1-gti9300.tar and
openrecovery twrp -2.8.0.1-gti9300.img

Q1/ Which one to flash ?? I was going to go with the tar one.

My nandroid backup that I did with twrp works great- needed it a good few times, lol.
Q2/ Can I start again with clockworkmod and make a new backup using cwm??. Probably no limit to having backups, just need a good memory which one and where it is on puter/phone card.
All this has been an interesting experience and appreciate the depth of knowledge that abounds on this forum.
Will probably get the Note 4 when it comes out here in UK.
Will leave you in peace now, lol.
Greg

 

[Madbat]

To use the tar file of twrp use Odin to install. If you want to use the img file just get flashify from the play store. Flashify will install a recovery IMG file with ease.
Thank you for the appreciation. I like helping. Your knowledge and skill level developed quite quickly. The note 4 will be much more advanced and is an all around more sophisticated piece of hardware. Good luck

 

[gregg1100]

Hi Madbat,
Just posting on here to say that I have Omnirom v5 installed on my S3.

Yippee

I flashed an img of twrp via Flashify, as you said- then the img of Omnirom.
It nearly went through first time, except I noticed that I had a box ticked for verification ?. It seemed to fit in with a red failure warning, so unticked, and all came good.
Just got to find out how to set up email accounts in KK 4.4.4 with Nova Launcher.
The Note 4 can hang on a bit longer, lol.
I want to see how it goes before I get one anyway, in case it does an iphone 6+, lol.
Thanks for sticking with me,
Regards,
Greg