So Boost upgraded the Android OS on Prevail, but it has left your phone unusable due to limited internal memory? This happened to me, because I had ONE, SMALL user-installed app that I cannot live without, but could not move to the SD card (why they restricted app-movement so much is a question for another forum, or possibly even a good psychiatrist & philosopher team). I will note here that I could not even try to send a text message over 3 Bytes, let alone actually use the Browser or any other apps when I started this project, making my phone a BRICK as far as I'm concerned. I was NOT willing to sacrifice the data saved/used by my app, which made uninstall of the app not an option. Anyhow, what I did to get my phone working again…
I'm not positive if each and every step is essential, but it is how I did things, and it worked for me, so I'm only going to say how I did it, as what I did worked. This does involve rooting the phone, so as everyone likes to say, "I'm not responsible if you brick your phone," though my purpose in creating this new thread is to help you avoid the bricks.
Step One: Recovering enough Internal Memory to actually be able to start working (my internal "free" memory was 3 Bytes, not sure what the cutoff is before the phone just won't do SQUAT to work with rooting/modding, but 3 prevented it all). I recovered as much Internal Memory as I could by uninstalling updates to every pre-installed app (you can re-update them later). As you uninstall updates, if something tries to update itself automatically, find it in Market (use search if needed) & disable automatic updates. Find all user-installed apps that are installed on the phone, and move what you can to the SD card. Uninstall any remaining user apps (what cannot be moved from phone storage to SD card) that you can handle reinstalling - bear in mind that uninstalling apps wipes data for the app out. If you can't bear losing data / re-installing some app - uninstall its updates, if there are any. Now you have some free internal memory, and should be able to work with the Prevail to fix it into a more usable phone.
Step Two: Obtaining backups. I'm going to emphasize that I would never do something risky to a machine without having a backup. I don't want to step on any toes, but I am going to provide the most direct links to what I used that I can, with references to the original posts that I found, rather than links to posts that contain several optional links that I didn't use. I downloaded EJ06 Gingerbread Rooted Image with CWM5 made by Chin Checka for my "backup safety-net ROM image," but you can pick another if you like (there are several to choose from), found in [FONT="]Odin (Return phone to Stock/Factory)[/FONT] post. I put this into a folder that I won't "accidentally" delete from my computer.
Step Three: Getting the right driver. Cripes, it took me the longest time to find the frakking USB driver for Prevail. I forgot where I found it, but here's a link to the Windows USB Driver for Samsung Galaxy phones (works for the Prevail). Note for later: To actually use the USB driver for more than charging, I had to enable USB Debugging mode (Settings > Applications > Development) & USB Mass Storage mode (Settings > Wireless & Networks > USB Connection) on the phone.
Step Four: Rooting the phone. For this one, I will refer you to [FONT="][ACS] One Click Root Samsung Prevail/Replenish Shabbyfied[/FONT] post, as the post is short, sweet, and covers exactly what I did, without a bunch of links that I didn’t need/use. There is another method posted elsewhere in these forums; however, that method can be very frustrating, as it doesn’t always work (didn’t work for me with about ten tries). Again, I downloaded into my "Prevail" folder that's tucked safely into a spot where it won't get accidentally deleted.
Step Five: On the phone, download (and install) Link2SD, by Bulent Akpinar.
Step Six: Partitioning the SD card. I used the PC software: Easeus Partition Master Home Edition. This requires removing the SD card from the phone, inserting it into a MicroSD adapter, and plugging it into your computer. I used “Resize/Move” for the existing FAT partition, placing 0 in front of it and 1024 after it (where it says “Unallocated Space…”
; then I clicked to highlight the unallocated space, and clicked “Create,” choosing “EXT2” & “Primary” options. Then, I clicked the “APPLY” button (big green checkmark button in the toolbar), clicked “Yes,” and closed the program when it was finished. Remove the SD card from PC & reinsert in phone. IMPORTANT: Ensure that the ext2 partition is AFTER the fat partition, and that both are Primary partitions!!!!
Step Seven: Installing a good Recovery Mod. I downloaded & installed HROARK's CWM5, and highly recommend it. I'll refer you to [FONT="]ClockWorkMod v5.0.2.6 (file system/recovery utility)[/FONT] post, as there are good instructions without “fat.”
Step Eight: Open Link2SD. Click the menu button (bottom left button on the Prevail). Click "More" and click "Recreate Mount Scripts." Wait for a pop-up that will vanish faster than I can read (I did manage to get most of it read by redoing it 5 times). Reboot the phone. If that pop-up shows up on the reboot (if so it'll vanish just as fast as it did the first time, so pay attention), redo the procedure. Once the phone reboots without that pop-up, the SD card is fully usable - Link2SD can now move apps to the ext2, and you can store music, pictures, and other stuff on the big part of the card.
Step Nine: Open Link2SD and move the apps that you can (and still want to keep) to the SD card. Check the Uninstallable Preloaded Apps List (not good to brick the phone now that it's working nicely); then Uninstall any pre-installed apps that you hate.
Step Ten: Install any new apps / re-install previously uninstalled apps that you want. As your internal memory gets filled (or as you install each app, your choice), move what you can to the SD card (with Link2SD), to keep that internal memory clean.
Fixed! Time to go to [FONT="][GUIDE] Noob's Guide to 'Galaxy Prevail -All Things Root' 0.3[/FONT] (posts 1 & 2), "Step 4a" (we've already done the first few steps of that post) and find any other stuff that you would like to add or remove. Happy Droiding!
If I have helped you, please click on the Thanks Button and give my thread a rating by clicking on the stars above.
I'm not positive if each and every step is essential, but it is how I did things, and it worked for me, so I'm only going to say how I did it, as what I did worked. This does involve rooting the phone, so as everyone likes to say, "I'm not responsible if you brick your phone," though my purpose in creating this new thread is to help you avoid the bricks.
Step One: Recovering enough Internal Memory to actually be able to start working (my internal "free" memory was 3 Bytes, not sure what the cutoff is before the phone just won't do SQUAT to work with rooting/modding, but 3 prevented it all). I recovered as much Internal Memory as I could by uninstalling updates to every pre-installed app (you can re-update them later). As you uninstall updates, if something tries to update itself automatically, find it in Market (use search if needed) & disable automatic updates. Find all user-installed apps that are installed on the phone, and move what you can to the SD card. Uninstall any remaining user apps (what cannot be moved from phone storage to SD card) that you can handle reinstalling - bear in mind that uninstalling apps wipes data for the app out. If you can't bear losing data / re-installing some app - uninstall its updates, if there are any. Now you have some free internal memory, and should be able to work with the Prevail to fix it into a more usable phone.
Step Two: Obtaining backups. I'm going to emphasize that I would never do something risky to a machine without having a backup. I don't want to step on any toes, but I am going to provide the most direct links to what I used that I can, with references to the original posts that I found, rather than links to posts that contain several optional links that I didn't use. I downloaded EJ06 Gingerbread Rooted Image with CWM5 made by Chin Checka for my "backup safety-net ROM image," but you can pick another if you like (there are several to choose from), found in [FONT="]Odin (Return phone to Stock/Factory)[/FONT] post. I put this into a folder that I won't "accidentally" delete from my computer.
Step Three: Getting the right driver. Cripes, it took me the longest time to find the frakking USB driver for Prevail. I forgot where I found it, but here's a link to the Windows USB Driver for Samsung Galaxy phones (works for the Prevail). Note for later: To actually use the USB driver for more than charging, I had to enable USB Debugging mode (Settings > Applications > Development) & USB Mass Storage mode (Settings > Wireless & Networks > USB Connection) on the phone.
Step Four: Rooting the phone. For this one, I will refer you to [FONT="][ACS] One Click Root Samsung Prevail/Replenish Shabbyfied[/FONT] post, as the post is short, sweet, and covers exactly what I did, without a bunch of links that I didn’t need/use. There is another method posted elsewhere in these forums; however, that method can be very frustrating, as it doesn’t always work (didn’t work for me with about ten tries). Again, I downloaded into my "Prevail" folder that's tucked safely into a spot where it won't get accidentally deleted.
Step Five: On the phone, download (and install) Link2SD, by Bulent Akpinar.
Step Six: Partitioning the SD card. I used the PC software: Easeus Partition Master Home Edition. This requires removing the SD card from the phone, inserting it into a MicroSD adapter, and plugging it into your computer. I used “Resize/Move” for the existing FAT partition, placing 0 in front of it and 1024 after it (where it says “Unallocated Space…”
; then I clicked to highlight the unallocated space, and clicked “Create,” choosing “EXT2” & “Primary” options. Then, I clicked the “APPLY” button (big green checkmark button in the toolbar), clicked “Yes,” and closed the program when it was finished. Remove the SD card from PC & reinsert in phone. IMPORTANT: Ensure that the ext2 partition is AFTER the fat partition, and that both are Primary partitions!!!!Step Seven: Installing a good Recovery Mod. I downloaded & installed HROARK's CWM5, and highly recommend it. I'll refer you to [FONT="]ClockWorkMod v5.0.2.6 (file system/recovery utility)[/FONT] post, as there are good instructions without “fat.”
Step Eight: Open Link2SD. Click the menu button (bottom left button on the Prevail). Click "More" and click "Recreate Mount Scripts." Wait for a pop-up that will vanish faster than I can read (I did manage to get most of it read by redoing it 5 times). Reboot the phone. If that pop-up shows up on the reboot (if so it'll vanish just as fast as it did the first time, so pay attention), redo the procedure. Once the phone reboots without that pop-up, the SD card is fully usable - Link2SD can now move apps to the ext2, and you can store music, pictures, and other stuff on the big part of the card.
Step Nine: Open Link2SD and move the apps that you can (and still want to keep) to the SD card. Check the Uninstallable Preloaded Apps List (not good to brick the phone now that it's working nicely); then Uninstall any pre-installed apps that you hate.
Step Ten: Install any new apps / re-install previously uninstalled apps that you want. As your internal memory gets filled (or as you install each app, your choice), move what you can to the SD card (with Link2SD), to keep that internal memory clean.
Fixed! Time to go to [FONT="][GUIDE] Noob's Guide to 'Galaxy Prevail -All Things Root' 0.3[/FONT] (posts 1 & 2), "Step 4a" (we've already done the first few steps of that post) and find any other stuff that you would like to add or remove. Happy Droiding!
If I have helped you, please click on the Thanks Button and give my thread a rating by clicking on the stars above.
