Root Uh oh - Application Settings (com.android.settings) force close??

[scudder]

Hi...

Posting this here because I'm rooted even thought the issue might be pertinent to non-rooted users as well.

For some reason...and this has never happened before...while in my settings menu (from Home->Menu->Settings) if I try to launch "Accounts & sync" I get a force close with the following message:

The application Settings (process com.android.settings) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again

I try again, try a reboot, try a few other things...NOTHING is getting it to work.

The only thing I have done recently with my phone was try out the Titanium Backup function that allows you to "Integrate updates of system apps into the ROM" There were only about 6 apps that were integrated during that batch process and I do NOT recall com.android.settings or anything similar doing so.

Any idea why this is happened? How about a fix? (hopefully SHORT of a clean install of the ROM or something like that) I have NOT tried to wipe cache or dalvik yet...but not sure if that is the cause of my problem. Any "Data" that is backed up with Titanium that I can restore to try and fix this...perhaps simply WIPING the settings data portion from my phone?

THANKS!!

 

[Xtremedays]

Hi...

Posting this here because I'm rooted even thought the issue might be pertinent to non-rooted users as well.

For some reason...and this has never happened before...while in my settings menu (from Home->Menu->Settings) if I try to launch "Accounts & sync" I get a force close with the following message:

The application Settings (process com.android.settings) has stopped unexpectedly. Please try again

I try again, try a reboot, try a few other things...NOTHING is getting it to work.

The only thing I have done recently with my phone was try out the Titanium Backup function that allows you to "Integrate updates of system apps into the ROM" There were only about 6 apps that were integrated during that batch process and I do NOT recall com.android.settings or anything similar doing so.

Any idea why this is happened? How about a fix? (hopefully SHORT of a clean install of the ROM or something like that) I have NOT tried to wipe cache or dalvik yet...but not sure if that is the cause of my problem. Any "Data" that is backed up with Titanium that I can restore to try and fix this...perhaps simply WIPING the settings data portion from my phone?

THANKS!!

I would try wiping cache and dalvik-cache first. If that doesn't work, reflash the rom without wiping. All it will do is replace the system apps and not touch your data or settings.

 

[clint.j.monroe]

I believe you can reinstall the ROM without wiping the majority of the settings instead of completely clean install. I forget exactly what you keep instead of wiping, but that might fix your issue without forcing you to go through all the hassle of setting the ROM back up.

Otherwise, maybe use your most recent Nandroid backup prior to having that issue?

If you let us know what ROM you are using that may even help, just in case it's a known issue.

EDIT: Damn Xtreme, snuck in right before me! Looks like we're on the same page in terms of the solution though lol.

 

[dustwun77]

Assuming you use Amon Ra recovery, because that is all I have experience with,

Do you have a nandroid made of your setup before you tried that stuff with TB?

If so, you could wipe really well, cache, d-cache and data, and superwipe, some say 3x with the first 3, restore your backup, and see if the TB option you tried caused your condition.

Otherwise, the concept is the same, clean well and restore a backup to see.

 

[dustwun77]

I would try wiping cache and dalvik-cache first. If that doesn't work, reflash the rom without wiping. All it will do is replace the system apps and not touch your data or settings.

Ha, another thing I didn't know.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Xtremedays]

Ha, another thing I didn't know.

Thanks for the tip!

Usually you can do the same thing if you flash a mod or theme that you don't like and it will put it back to normal. Sometimes there might be issues with it, but it is easy to reflash the rom and try it before restoring.

 

[scudder]

Thanks to everyone for there suggestions. I have a nandroid backup from just before the rom integration so I can revert but will try easy way out first with wiping caches and/or reflashing without data wipe.

Question: I have the stock rooted 2.3.3 deodexed rom installed...nothing fancy. I've wanted to flash the ODEXED rom instead...can I do that without wiping data?

Thanks

 

[Xtremedays]

Thanks to everyone for there suggestions. I have a nandroid backup from just before the rom integration so o can revert but will try ready way out first with coursing cached and/or reflashed without data wipe.

Question: I have the stock rooted 2.3.3 deodexed rom installed...nothing fancy. I've wanted to flash the ODEXED rom instead...can I do that without wiping data?

Thanks

You can try it, but I doubt that it will work. The files are changed for different reasons and you may end up with a bunch of issues. Worse thing to happen is you have to restore a nandroid or wipe and reflash.

 

[scudder]

You can try it, but I doubt that it will work. The files are changed for different reasons and you may end up with a bunch of issues. Worse thing to happen is you have to restore a nandroid or wipe and reflash.

Thanks for the heads up...was hopeful and had to ask but I understand. I'm going to reflash the ROM I have in a few. I tried to wipe cache and dalvik and that did NOT fix my issues. I'll let everyone know how I fared with reflashing my ROM...

 

[scudder]

Thanks for the heads up...was hopeful and had to ask but I understand. I'm going to reflash the ROM I have in a few. I tried to wipe cache and dalvik and that did NOT fix my issues. I'll let everyone know how I fared with reflashing my ROM...

So, I wiped the cache and dalvik and that didn't fix my force close problem so I reflashed the ROM WITHOUT wiping data. Everything turned out fine...including fixing my problem !! The only issues that I had to deal with were as follows:

(1) I had uninstalled some system apps (mostly bloatware like NASCAR, the NOVA game app, Sprint Football, etc). Those apps were reinstalled and had to be uninstalled.

(2) Some system apps that have been updated since my ROM was released had to be updated (makes sense)

(3) I had integrated some apps into the ROM (using Titanium Backup Pro). Those apps were "un-integrated," had to be updated as necessary, and then "re-integrated" into the ROM (this included Maps, Facebook, Gmail and one or two others).

(4) My ROM came with Swype installed which, my my OWN CHOICE, I had removed so that I could reinstall the beta and beta updates. I had to re-remove the Swype apk and associated files and reinstall the beta Swype apk.

As far as I can see, ALL my settings were preserved after the reflash other than the "housekeeping" that I had to do above. I had some OTHER force-close issues with Gmail and Maps but updating those apps to current versions seemed to solve those force close issues.

Thanks to all again for the help!! I hope this little exercise helps others!!

 

[dustwun77]

What exactly is that TB integrate apps into rom function you speak of and how does it work and why do you want to do it in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?

 

[scudder]

What exactly is that TB integrate apps into rom function you speak of and how does it work and why do you want to do it in the first place, if you don't mind me asking?

Um...I think it kinda integrates the system app updates into the ROM I'm not mocking...well, I'm mocking myself because I really have NO CLUE what it does. I read about it at the Titanium Wiki/User Guide online...specifically the "Tips and Suggestions" section here:

TB - Tips & suggestions

I have been running into FREE SPACE issues on my EVO and was looking through the Titanium information online about data wiping and other things. In the Tips and Suggestions section there was mention that wiping the dalvik cache and/or using this "integration function" could free up some memory. Well, dalvik wipe is ONLY temporary as the files in there are rebuilt and the cache refilled. INTERESTINGLY I had only about 45MB free, wiped the dalvik and had about 130MB FREE upon relaunch!! But, in a matter of minutes, that cache was build back up and I only gained about 1mb or so from the wipe. There's A TON of data in the cache that the apps use.

Anyway, I integrated the system apps into the ROM with the option in the "Batch" options with Titanium and about 6 apps were "integrated"...Facebook, Maps, Gmail....forgot the rest. You can check which ones are affected by choosing "Run" for the Batch integration operation but just DO NOT CONFIRM in the next step if you just want to take a look. Anyway, after the job was ton I seemed to have PERMANENTLY recouped about 30MB of space! Apps like Facebook and Maps and Gmail, for me at least, have BIG SIZES between the app + data. My layman/ignorant/naive thought is that those apps are now "bundled" with the ROM itself and, as such, are now part of a DIFFERENT area of memory used by the ROM rather than "free standing" in the free/available memory for installing system and user apps so now I have freed up memory.

These 6 or so apps that were integrated into the room appear "as normal" in Titanium's list of apps and in your app drawer but, for some reason, do not appear, in a list of apps that can be moved or not moved when browsing through your phone using an app like a basic App2SD that allows you to see what is installed on your internal phone memory, what is installed on your external SD and what can/cannot be moved to external. I suspect that those apps, now bundled/integrated with the ROM, simply do not reside in the same "place" in the internal memory and therefore do not show up in an App2SD app.

One other thing. I was prompted to update my Google Maps from 5.9 to 5.10 after I had integrated the Maps app into the ROM as the 5.9 version. I knew from seeing recently that my Maps app was bout 10MB total of app + data. When I updated the integrated Maps app, everything updated FINE, however, the app was NO LONGER integrated with the ROM! It "came out" and, as such, reduced my free internal memory by the approximately 10MB size of the app + data! I re-ran Titanium and selected the batch operation and, sure enough, Maps was listed as capable of being integrated into the ROM. I ran the batch function and recouped my 10MB or so.

So, long story short...frees up memory...seems to be without a problem. Why or how?...I'm not exactly sure!! Hopefully someone else can elaborate but hope this helps!!

 

[ocnbrze]

i think that you are spending to much time and thought on this. just get a class 10 card and partition it. most roms now support a2sd.

 

[scudder]

i think that you are spending to much time and thought on this. just get a class 10 card and partition it. most roms now support a2sd.

Ahh...I was wondering when you were going to chime in with a comment like that! ;-);-) Honestly, I enjoy the learning process...it's my way of talking it out...

Anyway, have an recommendation for a decent sd card?

 

[dustwun77]

Ahh...I was wondering when you were going to chime in with a comment like that! ;-);-) Honestly, I enjoy the learning process...it's my way of talking it out...

Anyway, have an recommendation for a decent sd card?

done good, guy! i appreciate the info. But, not going back to read the whole thread again, this process, at some point, made your system unstable or something?

 

[ocnbrze]

Ahh...I was wondering when you were going to chime in with a comment like that! ;-);-) Honestly, I enjoy the learning process...it's my way of talking it out...

Anyway, have an recommendation for a decent sd card?

Newegg.com - Patriot LX Series Class 10 16GB Micro SDHC Flash Card Model PSF16GMCSDHC10 (16GB)

 

[scudder]

done good, guy! i appreciate the info. But, not going back to read the whole thread again, this process, at some point, made your system unstable or something?

I really can't say that the "ROM integration" that I attempted was the cause of my Settings force close issue just because the problem occurred afterward. So, no clue what caused the instability. I have a TON of crap on my phone so might have just been overloaded.

I will say that after reflashing the ROM and getting some things straight, I RE-integrated the apps into the ROM via Titanium. So far so good....

 

[scudder]

Newegg.com - Patriot LX Series Class 10 16GB Micro SDHC Flash Card Model PSF16GMCSDHC10 (16GB)

Thanks!! Just ordered TWO (one for a friend) for $24.99 each and got free shipping at Amazon (over $25 purchase):

Amazon.com: Patriot Signature 16 GB Class 10 MicroSDHC Flash Memory Card PSF16GMCSDHC10: Electronics

 

[ocnbrze]

Thanks!! Just ordered TWO (one for a friend) for $24.99 each and got free shipping at Amazon (over $25 purchase):

Amazon.com: Patriot Signature 16 GB Class 10 MicroSDHC Flash Memory Card PSF16GMCSDHC10: Electronics

wow that is a good deal. nice let us know how it goes for you. i love my card. no issues with it so far.

 

[scudder]

wow that is a good deal. nice let us know how it goes for you. i love my card. no issues with it so far.

I'd DEFINITELY defer to suggestions from this Forum (and YOU in particular!) about a card but was interesting to read the comments at the Amazon site. I think it a fair statement that most people are more likely be chatty and post a review about a BAD experience if, for no other reason, to vent. It was AMAZING seeing the reviews of people who couldn't be happier with the card you recommended and those who would have given NEGATIVE 5 star rating if they could!! I mean, anything from receiving TWO dead cards to a blanket statement that the card "does not work with Android." Just amazing the experiences with the card...wonder how much of the negative comments could be chalked up to "user error" ya know??

 

[kevinetrisd]

how did u fix it cause my phone keep saying it i need help to fix this promable

 

[Rxpert83]

how did u fix it cause my phone keep saying it i need help to fix this promable

What did you recently do? Flash anything?

If not, go into recovery and fix permissions aka uid mismatches

 

[MizzouBrent]

Usually force close issues can be fixed by fixing permissions. I would recommend doing it in recovery. With RA, you just need to go to the "other" menu, and depending on which version you're running, it will either give you the option of fixing apk uid mismatches or fixing permissions.