Root About to flash BAMF, first some questions

[cmotion]

So I rooted a while back, left the stock ROM on, just removed some bloat and flashed Ziggy's kernel and used setCPU to downclock while the screen was off to help battery life. My idea was, what isn't broke doesn't need fixin... I'm coming from a Droid Eris so rooting was basically a necessity on that phone, whereas here it was mainly done for battery reasons. However, I'm now getting the ROM flash itch and figure I'll start with Das BAMF. I remember reading something about Clockwork having some issues, and there was a detailed thread over at xda about how to delete and downgrade to an earlier recovery version (which I will try to find again if need be). Anyway, I'm asking all you flash addicts if you had to do the fix to clockwork and what exactly that entails. Also, the version I'm using is 3.0.2.4 for reference. Any help/advice would be appreciated. Also, just so I'm clear on the steps (coming from Amon_RA on the Eris and not being as familiar with CWM), you:

(1) Download the ROM
(2) Make a nandroid backup of your current setup
(3) Clear dalvik cache, cache(?), and wipe data
(4) Flash .zip from sd card
(5) Reboot? or do you have to "Choose zip from sd card" somewhere in there?

Anyway, excited to try out my first custom ROM on the Thunderbolt. Oh, one more question, when flashing a ROM, does it automatically flash a new kernel with it? I'm guessing it maybe depends on the ROM. I apologize for not doing a proper search on all these things before posting this, I feel like people over here are slightly less crazy than some of the xda members when it comes to that, and I know we have some really helpful people here who are more than happy to share their advice and knowledge. OK, that is all.

 

[digdug1]

i think this should help you

***HOW TO*** Flash Roms on the THUNDERBOLT - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

 

[cmotion]

Thanks for that link. Definitely a great walk-through of flashing new ROMs. The thread I was talking about over at xda was called CWM Problems ... apparently it has something to do with this: "UPDATE: To fix 3.0.2.4 from not formatting /system"... I guess it says to go into rom manager and click to erase the recovery, clear the cache and then reflash 3.0.2.4. Anyway, I was just wondering if I should do this before I try to flash a new ROM. Guess it couldn't hurt, right? OK, I've convinced myself. Off I go!

 

[digdug1]

^^ yea do that. i posted a thread here a while back advising just that. im downloading this rom right now as well. seems sweet

 

[scotty85]

Anyway, I'm asking all you flash addicts if you had to do the fix to clockwork and what exactly that entails.

check out this thread:CWM Problems - xda-developers

basically,you simply open rom manager,make sure "erase recovery" is checked in settings,clear the download cache,then flash clockwork 3.0.2.4 again. this should replace the goofed up version(if its there) with a fixed one. depending on how early you rooted, clockwork may or may not a prollem. flash it again as described here to be on the safe side

Also, just so I'm clear on the steps (coming from Amon_RA on the Eris and not being as familiar with CWM), you:

(1) Download the ROM
(2) Make a nandroid backup of your current setup
(3) Clear dalvik cache, cache(?), and wipe data
(4) Flash .zip from sd card
(5) Reboot? or do you have to "Choose zip from sd card" somewhere in there?

i dont recall the exact menu choices,but thats basically it. the procedure is the same for the TB as it was for the eris,its just CWM menus are a little different than what youre used to with Amon_RA. Amon has a recovery for the incredible,maybe well see one for the TB as well

Anyway, excited to try out my first custom ROM on the Thunderbolt. Oh, one more question, when flashing a ROM, does it automatically flash a new kernel with it? I'm guessing it maybe depends on the ROM.

right at first,kernels had to be flashed seperately thru hboot or fastboot,but that has now changed and your rom of choice will come with the developers kernel of choice,wich you can leave in place or flash a new one in recovery. follow the developers directions when flashing the kernel,but as a general rule,youll flash the kernel without wiping data,just cache and dalvik cache.

hope that helps

 

[scotty85]

"... I guess it says to go into rom manager and click to erase the recovery, clear the cache and then reflash 3.0.2.4. Anyway, I was just wondering if I should do this before I try to flash a new ROM. Guess it couldn't hurt, right? OK, I've convinced myself. Off I go!

lol,you put this up while i was typing. yes,thats exactly what you do. have fun!

 

[cmotion]

Thanks digdug and Scotty! One final question, is the part about clearing the download cache and checking the "erase recovery" box in rom manager a one-time thing or does it have to be done more than that? I flashed a newer version of CWM than I had 3.0.2.5 I believe so maybe they fixed the problem there? Anyway, did all that in rom manager, booted into recovery, did my wipes, flashed das bamf, going through my setup now... will report back momentarily.

 

[digdug1]

Thanks digdug and Scotty! One final question, is the part about clearing the download cache and checking the "erase recovery" box in rom manager a one-time thing or does it have to be done more than that? I flashed a newer version of CWM than I had 3.0.2.5 I believe so maybe they fixed the problem there? Anyway, did all that in rom manager, booted into recovery, did my wipes, flashed das bamf, going through my setup now... will report back momentarily.

One time thing.

 

[cmotion]

Sweet! Successfully loaded up Das BAMF 1.4 on my TB. Does it take some time for new ROMs to "settle in" as far as smoothness and battery life or should it be rockin' ready to go from the start? I know with the Eris sometimes it would take some time for the ROM to, again, "settle in" and reach maximum awesomeness. The reason I ask is I've had a few stutters while changing screens, which hasn't happened to me before running Stock ROM w/one of Ziggy's kernels. Speaking of kernels, on the one that comes with BAMF, it seems like using Smartass (again, in the half day I've had the new ROM) doesn't allow the phone to idle at the lowest clock speed, 245, like it did when I was using Ziggy's kernel. That's why I'm asking the question about things "settling in" because if that's the case I'll give it another day or two before flashing a new kernel. Thanks again for everyone's help with all this!

 

[scotty85]

as long as you have all your sync,etc.,settings optimized for battery life it should be good to go from the start.while i havent seen battery consumpotion need to settle in,i have experienced some lag right at first. do a couple of reboots and see if that helps any. a previous version of bamf made my phone run like crap for half the day a 2nd reboot finally smoothed it out. im not sure what the deal there was... 1.4 pretty much was only laggy during the 1st few minutes it was syncing and downloading apps.

were you using the smartass governor with ziggys kernel as well? i dont know for sure,but im thinkin its not gonna act any differently tomoro than what it does today... if youre not completely happy with it,go ahead and flash a new one

 

[digdug1]

the kernal that comes with the rom is outdated. he has a new kernal available, its 4.4.2. i highly suggest using it. much improved over the og kernal and i prefer it to ziggy's.

[KERNEL][4.14.2011][2.6.32.21] Kernels from Adrynalyne - xda-developers

 

[scotty85]

thanx digdug,i just downloaded that kernel... ill flash it in a lil bit

 

[digdug1]

your welcome scotty. that kernel rocks. my download speeds actually increased with it and so far so good on battery life.

 

[scotty85]

flashed and running

are you using any setcpu profiles? or just min and max with smartass?

 

[digdug1]

I'm using no profiles at all and ondemand. it seems to run better that way. he actually recommends this.

 

[bjanow]

+1 ^^ Hopefully, you're running 4.4.2 also.

 

[scotty85]

hmm,been runing smartass. in the kernel post it says "Tweaked voltages and smartass some to try and stabilize 4G and smartass." so i assumed that was the governor to use.

ill give it a try "on demand"

 

[digdug1]

yea he gives to option as some prefer smartass. but he recommends ondemand and has put a lot of work into it to maximize battery life.

 

[cmotion]

I'm using no profiles at all and ondemand. it seems to run better that way. he actually recommends this.

I'd be curious to try On Demand with no profiles to see how the battery holds up. I've personally found in the past that On Demand is often smoother than Smartass, but if I don't use profiles it is hell on my battery. Ziggy's kernel using Smartass for me was both smooth and it let the CPU idle at 245, which gave me great battery life. I'll definitely try out the newer kernels though... My God I'm glad I don't have an iphone!

 

[digdug1]

^^+1 im sitting pretty on 245 as well

 

[scotty85]

when i watch setcpu with ondemand,it stays at 245,then shots up to 1036 for a sec,then stays at 245 for a lil while again. why is it not staying down at 245 if im not doing anything on the phone? some process making it "think" i have noticed with other governors on other phones that this is does not happen... it will just stay at the min unless i touch the screen.

that said,ive been running ondemand with no profiles since flashing the new kernel yesterday. at the least,my battery life is not worse

 

[digdug1]

probably a background process running.

 

[cmotion]

when i watch setcpu with ondemand,it stays at 245,then shots up to 1036 for a sec,then stays at 245 for a lil while again. why is it not staying down at 245 if im not doing anything on the phone? some process making it "think" i have noticed with other governors on other phones that this is does not happen... it will just stay at the min unless i touch the screen.

that said,ive been running ondemand with no profiles since flashing the new kernel yesterday. at the least,my battery life is not worse

I'm more concerned about the phone idling at 245 while the screen is off, by checking the "Info" tab of setCPU and then looking down at "Time in State" which shows all of the available frequencies, and if I haven't been using my phone much all day, I feel like 245000 should have the highest number next to it, which doesn't seem to happen for me at least with the kernel that's included. For example, I've been at work for most of today, didn't touch my phone for most of the day (I work at a restaurant), and the "Time in State" looks like this:

245000 = 279529
...
...
768000 = 1023290
1036800 = 53918
...
...

Using my previous kernel, the number next to 245000 was definitely a lot higher, resulting in better battery life. I have some time tonight so maybe I'll give Adrynalyne's newer kernel a shot.

Edit: After reading my post I realized I very easily have the ability to make sure the phone sleeps at 245000... it's called a "Profile" and I'm an idiot :-/

 

[cmotion]

A quick follow-up: the newest kernel (4.4.2 I think) has been great! Per a few recommendations I tried this kernel using On Demand, without any profiles and the performance and battery life have been amazing. I was at work again for most of the day again and not using my phone much. I checked the Time in State again, and the amount of time in the lowest frequency was about four times the amount at 1ghz. This is very good, and tells me that my phone is sleeping like it should. Hooray!

 

[SecondShot]

A NOOBROOTER salutes you.

I wanted to write the same post but hadn't done my research on the process and wanted to complete that before asking for help - as you obviously did. So, now I think I am ready on the research side and ready for next steps too. In preparation, I followed your suggestions on Clockwork recovery reflash.

One answer i haven't seen though is one detail on the backup and recovery phase. Based on what i have read, it doesn't appear that app/settings and stuff are saved when performing a nandroid backup. Does that mean one should do a Titanium full backup of apps/settings and stuff too?

So,
A) backup apps/settings with Titanium
B) then start the ROM Process (including nandroid backup/wipe) as described

I am sure once I do it, it will be evident but after rooting, it took quite a while to get myself organized and set up with my apps etc again.

Thanks in advance!