Help Any clues into telling 'Wipe' or 'Non Wipe' Roms?

[tsam19]

I recently downloaded the April UK carphone warehouse I9100XWLP7_I9100XEULP5_XEU.zip - version of ICS 4.0.3 from hotfile via:

SamMobile Firmware Page

How can I tell if this is a WIPE or NON WIPE ROM ?

I'm flashing over the UK Orange ROM Gingerbread 2.3.5 and want to completely wipe the old directories and folders that are installed in the phone.

Using odin is ok, I place the triple I9100XWLP7_I9100XEULP5_XEU.zip in the PDA section and DON'T check repartition.

One flashed do I need reboot the phone into any particular mode and clear caches or dalvik files, or does that get done prior to flashing with the new rom?

As Im sure I read somewhere this procedure.

Cheers

 

[Hawker]

All official roms i'm aware of are non wipe roms. When you think about it, they have to be.
However, i would always recommend doing a full wipe before flashing any rom. It doesn't take long to get your phone back up to normal once done and it can save you a lot of grief further down the line.

As for wiping cache and dalvik, it's always a good idea, and will never do any harm.

 

[tsam19]

I followed these instructions:

• Open Odin (but don't connect phone to pc)
• Put your device in Recovery MODE (Home + Volume up + Power)
• Wipe Data/Factory reset
• Wipe Cache
• wipe Dalvik cache
• Take Out Your battery & put it back in
• Put your device into Download MODE (Home + Volume Down + Power)
• Click PDA and select *.tar.md5
• Then finally click START!

Flashed the ICS 4.0.3 ROM and after it had completed there were a lot of old folders left in the directory from apps I'd had with:

GB 2.3.5 I9100BVKJ4_I9100ORAKJ4_ORA.zip

That's why I asked about the wipe or non wipe roms.

I know from previous experience when I've used WIPE ROMS the phone seems faster to use.

Using this non wipe version - (April UK carphone warehouse I9100XWLP7_I9100XEULP5_XEU.zip) has made the phone a bit sluggish and I'm wondering if I've missed something out on the pre flash prepare procedure?

How do you completely wipe the phone clean so the phone is fast when flashed with a non wipe rom?

 

[Hawker]

For non rooted phones, just do a factory reset. For the extra yard, format the internal sd card too (usb storage)
For rooted phones, this can also be done through cwm recovery. This will also give you the option to format the system partition. Custom roms usually do this in the installation script. I'm not sure if this gets done in official firmware flashes.

 

[tsam19]

I had the GB 2.3.5 rooted prior to flashing the ICS 4.0.3 Rom.

I took out the micro SD card and formatted it in Windows.

Does it matter that you have to remove the battery after wiping the caches in the recovery mode prior to flashing in download?

What is the purpose of removing the battery?

Now that I've installed the ICS 4.0.3, I have rooted that too !

I think what I've done already is sufficient, I wasn't too sure because of all the old history still left on the phones directory for old apps.

I will just keep a look out for a WIPE version ROM of I9100XWLP7_I9100XEULP5_XEU.zip

Cheers

 

[Hawker]

Removing the battery, calibration etc does not matter a single jot on a gs2 due to the nature of the battery's chip, "fuel gauge" so any apps or battery calibration advice can be ignored.

as for the external card, i would format it in the device instead of windows.