Root What's stopping people from making their own mods with CWM?

[droogie]

Hi people,

I was talking with hroark13 earlier about a boot-frozen, not quite boot-looping Samsung Galaxy Prevail of mine. Nice guy, btw... gave me cogent help that was in the right direction & he hung around after-hours to see me through.

My phone is still crap after the fix, but I got a great tip tonight, and that is to use ClockWorkMod to do complete phone/system/root/OS backups.

We are all using the same phone in this forum.

In theory, your backups would be compatible with my phone, right?

And mine with yours, using this recovery tool called CWM?

I mean, since it's all the same phone...

Pretty similar to the Galaxy & Galaxy S, too, right?

I haven't used this to restore a working backup yet, but I get the impression that it's a phone in a box.

Assuming you could wipe all personally identifying data and then dump the OS contents into your backup image (mine thinks it's 2007!), we could all try out different configurations and assortments of apps.

Is this naive in some way or is it just too late at night?

Like for example, I could release
"DemGyalGettinMehMOD" v0.1 - DGGMM(ftw)
" Edition"

and put it out there? From a cheap ripoff of other mods + apps all the way to cobbled together configurations that are unique?

I'm sure some cheeky monkey would try to make a trojan distro or harness it secretly but it would be found.

So in this way, they could become as swappable as Linux or Winbuilder LiveCDs are as alternate OS'.

On the underground... before someone released one with commercials or trial/bloat.

Your thughts.

 

[hroark13]

there are several ways to distribute roms/mods/themes

batch scripts that use adb.exe, like the way you first did ShabbyMod

CWM flashable zip file, this seems to be the poplular way now, and is the popular way on most of the other android phones that have CWM or a similar custom recovery like AmonRa

Odin partition image, this writes the whole partition, including the file system type, like ext4, rfs. When it comes to unbricking Odin is god

Doing a CWM Nandroid backup and restoring to a different phone, you could do this, but the Nandroid is very picky, when you do a backup in CWM there is a folder on the SD card called ClockWorkMod\Backup\ there will be another sub folder that is a date and time of when you did the backup, you can not rename that folder, if you do the MD5 checksum wont match and CWM wont let you restore it.
Also restoring someones CWM Nandroid, will copy their contacts and other personal things.

So it could be done, but it is the easy, lazy, sloppy way to do it

The CWM Nandroid backup should be used whenever you are going to install mods or themes to the phone, you dont have to do it before you install every app from the market, but if you spend a good amount of time setting up that app with settings and such, then you should do it before and after

You should read more of the threads on the forum, people are making some mods that make the phone faster and such

 

[droogie]

Yes, I am interested in this, now...

How did you get to be so knowledgeable? Just reading?

This is my first smartphone, but I am pretty tech-savvy otherwise.

For the moment, my interest is in the area of making several loaded images, with specific apps for specific uses. If I am not mistaken, CWM is somewhat akin to "Norton Ghost" for your phone.

By namedropping Norton Ghost, I am probably putting a date on my era of knowledge, but uh... I don't care. Am I basically correct?

Using CWM, one could make image after image and then just trade them out like Atari cartridges; each one with a new purpose of being?

Let's be honest. Even with a huge SD card, this phone lacks the internal elbow room.

What about an emergency communications package containing apps you would normally not use, like the ones that turn the phones themselves into a p2p decentralized viral messaging network? Encrypted connections and stuff?

 

[hroark13]

Yes, I am interested in this, now...

How did you get to be so knowledgeable? Just reading?

This is my first smartphone, but I am pretty tech-savvy otherwise.

yeah a lot of reading, I wanted to learn Linux and this is a pretty good way to do it

i have been involved in various computer/electronic type hoobies for a while now, I am probably older than most people posting here, I am 39

 

[droogie]

35 here. Check my edit to last reply ^^^.

I am "kind of" comfortable navigating a Linux file system and have used LiveCDs to indulge my interest, but at the same time, I am so invested in Windows XP I refuse to leave it!

The time is coming when I will be forced to make the jump to Linux. I, too, like that this phone could be a minimester "crash" course in itself.

How many phones have you broken in your day?

 

[hroark13]

35 here. Check my edit to last reply ^^^.

I am "kind of" comfortable navigating a Linux file system and have used LiveCDs to indulge my interest, but at the same time, I am so invested in Windows XP I refuse to leave it!

The time is coming when I will be forced to make the jump to Linux. I, too, like that this phone could be a minimester "crash" course in itself.

How many phones have you broken in your day?

i did brick a prevail that Odin can not fix, I was trying stuff I should not have done.

We have some talented people making mods and themes for this phone, and it is running pretty good now

Messing with Android will definatly hone your Linux skills and you can have fun doing it

I also have an Evo 4g and an Epic 4g which I have used ROMS, and mods that other people have made, those phones have a lot of developers working on them because they are popular phones, so I really could not contribute much, with the Prevail there are not many people putting stuff out for it, we need some people who have a lot of kernel compiling experience, I am trying to learn it but it is hard

 

[droogie]

we need some people who have a lot of kernel compiling ecperience, I am trying to learn it but it is hard

...'bout to scare me to death!

 

[ARocker]

there are several ways to distribute roms/mods/themes

batch scripts that use adb.exe, like the way you first did ShabbyMod

CWM flashable zip file, this seems to be the poplular way now, and is the popular way on most of the other android phones that have CWM or a similar custom recovery like AmonRa

Odin partition image, this writes the whole partition, including the file system type, like ext4, rfs. When it comes to unbricking Odin is god

Doing a CWM Nandroid backup and restoring to a different phone, you could do this, but the Nandroid is very picky, when you do a backup in CWM there is a folder on the SD card called ClockWorkMod\Backup\ there will be another sub folder that is a date and time of when you did the backup, you can not rename that folder, if you do the MD5 checksum wont match and CWM wont let you restore it.
Also restoring someones CWM Nandroid, will copy their contacts and other personal things.

So it could be done, but it is the easy, lazy, sloppy way to do it

The CWM Nandroid backup should be used whenever you are going to install mods or themes to the phone, you dont have to do it before you install every app from the market, but if you spend a good amount of time setting up that app with settings and such, then you should do it before and after

You should read more of the threads on the forum, people are making some mods that make the phone faster and such

I've read through this post and I now have a question. Id like to be able to flash Shabbymod 9 using CWM.

Could you say:

Take a flashable CWM theme zip, add files from Shabbymod 9 and flash it in CWM?

Not very elegant, I know, but im in the same boat as droogie. Is there a proper way to do it?

 

[ARocker]

Anyone?