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Root suggestions for first time root

NightAce83

Newbie
May 4, 2011
35
0
Okay I'm a long time lurker first time poster (except for my intro). As such ill try to make my concerns as intellignt as possible.

I got my epic about 3 months ago and for a time all was well UNTIL I started recognizing all the backround processes that were just eating my speed and not to mention skipped letters on my hardwar keyboard and super lag when it came to screen switches and landscape switches. So to these here forums I came and low and behold I see a possible solution to my quarrels in the form of cwm and custom ROMs (I've chosen to go with syndicate frozen).

Now while I refuse to be satisfied with mediocre (i.e. stock rom), I'm also one to be exceedingly careful when messing with the possiblity of bricking my brand new 250 dollar device (mabey I overpaid but it sure is freakin awsome).

So coming down to the point of all this (sorry for the long winded post I've had too much coffee this morning) I know that the main reason for my desire to root/rom is removal of bloatware and overclocking/undervolting. What I want to know is if the majority of you feel the risk is worth the reward and are there any other apps/mods/useful processes suggestion for me after I've done it. I just want to make sure I'm getting enough reward for my risk.

Again sorry if I've gone and asked something that's already been posted a thousand times and thank you for taking the time to read what turned out to be a far bigger post than I thought it would be lol. Also if you have any methods for installation or whatever feel free to post with your suggestions, if any.
 
I forgot to ask if I need to back up all my files and whatnot before I flash the rom....the download link says that the package automatically backs up files but it also says I have to do the 3x wipe on eveything before flashing so I'm a bit confused....I would like to retain my apps and settings but am concerned they will cause problems due to the fact they will be of the old file system (rfs or whatever) and am not sure if backed up info on the sdcard will be converted.
 
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I forgot to ask if I need to back up all my files and whatnot before I flash the rom....the download link says that the package automatically backs up files but it also says I have to do the 3x wipe on eveything before flashing so I'm a bit confused....I would like to retain my apps and settings but am concerned they will cause problems due to the fact they will be of the old file system (rfs or whatever) and am not sure if backed up info on the sdcard will be converted.

Back up your contacts, and apps. Then do this:

YouTube - How to Root Samsung Epic and flash SyndicateFrozenRom 1.1.0
 
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And its done. HORRAY!!!!!! I got it rooted and syndicate rom frozen 3.0.0.6 all in one fell swoop and only had to flash the rom twice and all thanks to the endless posts on these oh so very helpful forums and a special thanks to tschofield/qbking (pretty sure they're the same person) as his videos were instrumental in chieving my goal.....now all I need to know is where can I get my hands on a free "setcpu" app and what other advantages this process has brought me. Oh and sine everything went well do I need to flash the vision kernal I keep reading about? If so how do I go about doing that?
 
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And its done. HORRAY!!!!!! I got it rooted and syndicate rom frozen 3.0.0.6 all in one fell swoop and only had to flash the rom twice and all thanks to the endless posts on these oh so very helpful forums and a special thanks to tschofield/qbking (pretty sure they're the same person) as his videos were instrumental in chieving my goal.....now all I need to know is where can I get my hands on a free "setcpu" app and what other advantages this process has brought me. Oh and sine everything went well do I need to flash the vision kernal I keep reading about? If so how do I go about doing that?

Glad it went smoothly for you! I thought it was hilarious that in his video he posted he got the merged boot screens and as I followed his video exactly I also got the 2 boot screens lol.
As much as I love free apps I also enjoy support the Devs that take their free time developing and supporting them. If you are a member at XDA the developer provided the SetCPU app for free, I do suggest donating though as supporting the Devs is definately helpful in keeping them around :)

If your not getting FCs all the time and your running smooth then there is no reason you need to flash another kernel :) If however you do find yourself wanting to, follow Tschofield7s video here:
YouTube - How to Flash a kernel and overclock Samsung Epic 1.4ghz

Also keep in mind when using SetCPU that every Epic was not created equally so yours may not be stable at some OC settings that others are, so do not check Set at Boot until you have thorughly tested it out to make sure that your phone can handle it :)

GL :)
 
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How would you go from CWM v2.5.1.0 to version 3.0.? I've been pretty happy with my phone, but I remember when I had a Moment how much better the phone worked with custom kernels. If I could make it a little more snappy and improve battery life (emphasis on battery life) I would love to do it. Nightace83, please report back on how you like the ROM you installed.
Thanks
 
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How would you go from CWM v2.5.1.0 to version 3.0.? I've been pretty happy with my phone, but I remember when I had a Moment how much better the phone worked with custom kernels. If I could make it a little more snappy and improve battery life (emphasis on battery life) I would love to do it. Nightace83, please report back on how you like the ROM you installed.
Thanks

Run CWM3 right over the old version
 
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At Allright to start I just wanna say that not only am I satisfied with my ROM I might even have a little tech crush on it. That being said I have only encountered one issue that's left me a little inconvenienced and that is my browser. Not sure if its just my phone or wha but 75% of the time I can only view pages in portrait mode and as I'm required to turn my phone to input any data into fields this can be quite troublesome I have to close my browser frce close it in task manager and restart it to get it to work right and sometime need to repeat the process a couple times before my pages load correctly I've checked my browser settings and all looks well so I'm just not sure if I should download a different browser or if there's a better solution cause honestly the stock browser works for me. Oh one other thing is there a particular kernal or something I could flash to cut down on some of the missed letters on my devices hardware keyboard?

As fas as donating to xda it is definately on my list of things to d with or without th free version of setcpu they've saved me from a mound of frustration due to lagged out processes and screen switch lag not to mention they gave me that cool boot logo :) also while I'm at it is there a benefit to flashing tha vision kernal and do I need to do it to run "setcpu" or should I be allright without it. Just so your not too worried about me I will also be sure not to "set to boot" until I'm thorougly satisfied my phon can handle it.

Once again thank you all so much for your invaluable help in these matters. Your my techie lifeblood
 
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If I follow the videos above will I have wiped my device? If so, can I restore using the backup or is it pretty much start over? Thanks again.


If its your first time rooting and you convert over to EXT4 and if you follow the video you will wipe your device and start over :p there are other back up programs and what not out there, titanium backup is always being mentioned but I only ever use the included CWM back up as restoring contacts is as easy as syncing your google acct :p

Oh and with setcpu am I undervolted so I'm not draining battery on idle or do I need somthin else for that?

Ahh and one more thing I've noticed an abnormally quick battry drain lately is this actual drain or do I just need to do a battery wipe through cwm

You need to get Voltage Control if you would like to undervolt and you would also have to do extensive testing to make sure your phone is ok with what undervolting steps you set it for.

As for the battery drainage I dont have an issue with the battery draining abnormally fast unless I'm using the crap out of it in my shop because I get crap signal at work lol. I always run an app called BatteryCalibration after flashing a ROM just to clear those batch files. Works great. You have to have your phone on and charging while its running and it will beep when it hits 100% and then you hit the calibrate button and your done :p
 
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uh sorry to be a jackass here.. but xda was just the forum.. if you support a dev you should consider donating to them not the place where they posted it..


And your not being a jackass your further clarifying that in the thread he downloaded the app from the dev should have a donate button and that is the proper one to use when supporting them :p
 
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If its your first time rooting and you convert over to EXT4 and if you follow the video you will wipe your device and start over :p there are other back up programs and what not out there, titanium backup is always being mentioned but I only ever use the included CWM back up as restoring contacts is as easy as syncing your google acct :p



You need to get Voltage Control if you would like to undervolt and you would also have to do extensive testing to make sure your phone is ok with what undervolting steps you set it for.

As for the battery drainage I dont have an issue with the battery draining abnormally fast unless I'm using the crap out of it in my shop because I get crap signal at work lol. I always run an app called BatteryCalibration after flashing a ROM just to clear those batch files. Works great. You have to have your phone on and charging while its running and it will beep when it hits 100% and then you hit the calibrate button and your done :p

Thanks, but if I understand it correctly, I'm only backing up the phone in case of failure correct? Meaning, once I change the ROM, I'll need to reinstall all the apps and configure all my settings and homepages again and the backup could no longer be used on the new ROM. Is that correct? I know that my emails and contacts are all taken care of. Thanks again for the help. I'm not too worried about wiping, but I need to make sure I have the time to get the phone up to speed again, and make sure that I have myself organized so that I make sure to get everything back the way I need it.
 
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Thanks, but if I understand it correctly, I'm only backing up the phone in case of failure correct? Meaning, once I change the ROM, I'll need to reinstall all the apps and configure all my settings and homepages again and the backup could no longer be used on the new ROM. Is that correct? I know that my emails and contacts are all taken care of. Thanks again for the help. I'm not too worried about wiping, but I need to make sure I have the time to get the phone up to speed again, and make sure that I have myself organized so that I make sure to get everything back the way I need it.

Correct on once you switch a ROM that back up is for that ROM. Hence in Tschofield7s video he flashes Midnight over SRF then restores the SRF back up and is back on SRF. I never liked backing apps up so I always reload them one at a time just in case there is a problem app with a new ROM.
 
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I'm also a first timer and I have a question. How do I restore my contacts, SMS, pics, etc? When I go to my gmail, it doesn't have my whole contact list. I ended up merging a bunch of contacts & facebook friends and I think there are a bunch of facebook friends in my contacts that aren't on gmail. Does that make sense?

And I also don't want to lose my SMS & pics.
 
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I'm also a first timer and I have a question. How do I restore my contacts, SMS, pics, etc? When I go to my gmail, it doesn't have my whole contact list. I ended up merging a bunch of contacts & facebook friends and I think there are a bunch of facebook friends in my contacts that aren't on gmail. Does that make sense?

And I also don't want to lose my SMS & pics.
Nevermind on the contacts, I figured that out. But still trying to figure out how to make sure I don't lose my SMS/MMS history & pics.
 
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