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mysticmead
Android Expert
yes reboot after flashing Gumbo... until you do it won't sleep. setcpu.. set it for ondemand and 528/160 then click refresh..
to check if Gumbo is installed click menu/settings/about phone if it says kernel 2.6.27GK-0.31 then you have Gumbo
another thing that drains the battery is signal strength.. if you only have 1 or 2 bars.. you'll use more battery as the phone tries to boot power to reach the tower. I get 4-5 bars.. I have been unplugged since 9am.. so 12.5 hours and I'm just above 50% remaining
androidtp
Android Enthusiast
okay so i've rebooted, checked and it has 2.6.27GK-0.31, set my cpu to 528/160 with ondemand and clicked refresh. wha exactly is supposed to happen with those settings? (setcpu)
and my signal is pretty good but when it's not i switch to the "1" or whateva it's called. thanks for the info btw
mysticmead
Android Expert
what should happen.. well... when needed the CPU will give the full 528mhz processing speed to the apps... when not needed (idle/sleeping) the CPU will now slow down to 160mhz... this is where the battery performance comes from. after all.. if the phone is idle, why run the CPU at full speed?
androidtp
Android Enthusiast
well explained!! thanks!
Hi, everyone.
I've had my Hero since November and, like many others, while I loved the phone I was disheartened by how laggy and slow it was. Waking up from sleep, making calls, daily tasks, etc. It got to the point where I didn't want to check or answer text messages or pull it out in front of people to do something - lest they see me staring at it and waiting.
I knew of and heard repeatedly of rooting but wanted to really wait until I had the time and attention to give it to do it properly. Last Friday, on a whim, I just gave it a shot. It's been unbelievable. I followed the great guide here, and everything went smoothly.
I swear I've used my phone more this weekend than since I purchased it. It's an entirely different beast. I am so thankful to ccapasso for summarizing everything so concisely, and the community for all the feedback, fo allowing us Hero owners to do this.
However, I do have some questions - not necessarily about how to root and install the Fresh ROM and Gumbo kernel - because I was able to do so easily with the instructions here. Rather, I have questions about what we did! I was asked by a fellow HERO owner about what exactly rooting and flashing did and realized I didn't really understand it. While I've completed all the steps, I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to explain what is what... I love tinkering, and it's rare that I do without fully understanding what I'm doing (I DO know what I'm doing most of the time, honestly - lol).
So, I pretty much understand what it means to "root" the phone. Basically, it's to gain full access and control over the phone. From there I'm not sure what's happening. (I did the manual root method)...
1) After rooting, the NAND backup option... is that something that is native to the phone and is only accessed by rooting, or is it something that is added during the rooting process? I understand it's a backup program but how powerful is it... I'm hoping it's like a full image backup so that if I completely FUBAR my phone and I can restore the NAND backup and get it right to that state again?
2) The Nandroid folder - is this where the Nand backup is? Can I make multiple and periodic Nand backups?
3) If Fresh is a custom ROM (as I understand it, someone has taken the "guts" or operating system for the Hero (or other phone) and tweaked the settings, programs etc to something "better", I'm having trouble how we can flash or install this to the phone yet still retain the settings, apps, preferences, etc that were on our phone before we flashed it. I figured a customer ROM would totally replace the phone's stock or out of box configuration and require you to re-set it up (though I am elated it's not).
4) What is a "kernel" and how does it help a ROM? Originally I thought it was a mistake to install a ROM and then kernel on top of it.
5) Knowing the above will probably help answer this but when I find out more about ROMS and if I want to try a new ROM, is it as simple as the steps before with rebooting the phone with HOME pressed and then choosing another ROM?
I want to thank everyone again for the help so far, and in advance to clearing up any of the above. Rooting wins.
I've had my Hero since November and, like many others, while I loved the phone I was disheartened by how laggy and slow it was. Waking up from sleep, making calls, daily tasks, etc. It got to the point where I didn't want to check or answer text messages or pull it out in front of people to do something - lest they see me staring at it and waiting.
I knew of and heard repeatedly of rooting but wanted to really wait until I had the time and attention to give it to do it properly. Last Friday, on a whim, I just gave it a shot. It's been unbelievable. I followed the great guide here, and everything went smoothly.
I swear I've used my phone more this weekend than since I purchased it. It's an entirely different beast. I am so thankful to ccapasso for summarizing everything so concisely, and the community for all the feedback, fo allowing us Hero owners to do this.
However, I do have some questions - not necessarily about how to root and install the Fresh ROM and Gumbo kernel - because I was able to do so easily with the instructions here. Rather, I have questions about what we did! I was asked by a fellow HERO owner about what exactly rooting and flashing did and realized I didn't really understand it. While I've completed all the steps, I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to explain what is what... I love tinkering, and it's rare that I do without fully understanding what I'm doing (I DO know what I'm doing most of the time, honestly - lol).
So, I pretty much understand what it means to "root" the phone. Basically, it's to gain full access and control over the phone. From there I'm not sure what's happening. (I did the manual root method)...
1) After rooting, the NAND backup option... is that something that is native to the phone and is only accessed by rooting, or is it something that is added during the rooting process? I understand it's a backup program but how powerful is it... I'm hoping it's like a full image backup so that if I completely FUBAR my phone and I can restore the NAND backup and get it right to that state again?
2) The Nandroid folder - is this where the Nand backup is? Can I make multiple and periodic Nand backups?
3) If Fresh is a custom ROM (as I understand it, someone has taken the "guts" or operating system for the Hero (or other phone) and tweaked the settings, programs etc to something "better", I'm having trouble how we can flash or install this to the phone yet still retain the settings, apps, preferences, etc that were on our phone before we flashed it. I figured a customer ROM would totally replace the phone's stock or out of box configuration and require you to re-set it up (though I am elated it's not).
4) What is a "kernel" and how does it help a ROM? Originally I thought it was a mistake to install a ROM and then kernel on top of it.
5) Knowing the above will probably help answer this but when I find out more about ROMS and if I want to try a new ROM, is it as simple as the steps before with rebooting the phone with HOME pressed and then choosing another ROM?
I want to thank everyone again for the help so far, and in advance to clearing up any of the above. Rooting wins.
ccapasso
Android Expert
Sadly, I do not have time right now to answer all of your questions as I am at work, but on lunch. Hopefully someone else can continue to answer them for you.
....Begin answers within 5 minutes....
1. The nandroid backup is as you guessed, a complete backup of your phone. It isn't exactly native to your phone, as it can technically be used by someone else if you shared it with them. The best way I can describe it is think of it as something similar to System Restore in Windows. It will restore your phone back to what it was like when you created the backup.
2. Yes, the backup is in that folder. Yes you can create multiple, and when you do, you will see how they are named (usually by the date created if I remember correctly). Be sure to take a copy of these off of your phone and store them on your computer/USB/external Hard drive or something. This way you have a backup.
3. .....I'll let someone else explain that one.
4. I'll let someone explain this one better, but it is perfectly fine to flash a kernel on top of a ROM, if that ROM is compatiable with that kernel.
5. When trying a new ROM, there are usually several steps. First, always read all that you can about the ROM you are wanting to go to. Some require a wipe first, others do not. Always, always, always wipe when going from 1.5 to 1.6, 2.0 or 2.1. Same with going backwards.
....End 5 minutes....
....Begin answers within 5 minutes....
1. The nandroid backup is as you guessed, a complete backup of your phone. It isn't exactly native to your phone, as it can technically be used by someone else if you shared it with them. The best way I can describe it is think of it as something similar to System Restore in Windows. It will restore your phone back to what it was like when you created the backup.
2. Yes, the backup is in that folder. Yes you can create multiple, and when you do, you will see how they are named (usually by the date created if I remember correctly). Be sure to take a copy of these off of your phone and store them on your computer/USB/external Hard drive or something. This way you have a backup.
3. .....I'll let someone else explain that one.
4. I'll let someone explain this one better, but it is perfectly fine to flash a kernel on top of a ROM, if that ROM is compatiable with that kernel.
5. When trying a new ROM, there are usually several steps. First, always read all that you can about the ROM you are wanting to go to. Some require a wipe first, others do not. Always, always, always wipe when going from 1.5 to 1.6, 2.0 or 2.1. Same with going backwards.
....End 5 minutes....
ccapasso - you're an incredible asset to the community. I really appreciate you taking that time to answer what may seem like some obvious questions/answers for me (and others, I'm sure). I'm the kind of guy that not only likes to understand what's going on but often tries to share it with others.
Armed with what you've already given in this thread and the additional details you just gave, I'm going to delve deeper into each one of the topics (no doubt it will be easier for me to make sense of now with this info) and hopefully when I get enough of a grasp on it I can share an easy write up for others to understand the details behind the steps. Good stuff!
Armed with what you've already given in this thread and the additional details you just gave, I'm going to delve deeper into each one of the topics (no doubt it will be easier for me to make sense of now with this info) and hopefully when I get enough of a grasp on it I can share an easy write up for others to understand the details behind the steps. Good stuff!
mysticmead
Android Expert
#3...
a custom ROM is not an entire software load.. it's close.. but not 100%. the ROM is a collection of files (apps, images, themes, sounds etc.. ) that have been stream lined to run as smooth and fast as possible while remaining stable. you may see the term zipaligned.. that's part of the stream lining process. the ROM also takes out some of the apps that were added by Sprint (that load on boot even if you don't use them). it adds a couple apps that are useful tools or apps for a rooted phone (wireless tether, SU etc..).
basically, a custom ROM is this... a fast easy way to totally change the look and performance of the phone by applying one file instead of adding/removing each file by itself.
#4. The kernel... that's the main piece of software in the Linux OS. Without it, Linux doesn't run. remember, Android is Linux based. There are many differnt settings in the kernel that control how each portion operates. in the case of the Gumbo kernel, the lowmemorykiller that is built into Linux is tweaked to have more aggressive settings. this allows the OS to kill apps that are idle and using system resources. by freeing the resources, the CPU can run smoother making the phone faster.
a custom ROM is not an entire software load.. it's close.. but not 100%. the ROM is a collection of files (apps, images, themes, sounds etc.. ) that have been stream lined to run as smooth and fast as possible while remaining stable. you may see the term zipaligned.. that's part of the stream lining process. the ROM also takes out some of the apps that were added by Sprint (that load on boot even if you don't use them). it adds a couple apps that are useful tools or apps for a rooted phone (wireless tether, SU etc..).
basically, a custom ROM is this... a fast easy way to totally change the look and performance of the phone by applying one file instead of adding/removing each file by itself.
#4. The kernel... that's the main piece of software in the Linux OS. Without it, Linux doesn't run. remember, Android is Linux based. There are many differnt settings in the kernel that control how each portion operates. in the case of the Gumbo kernel, the lowmemorykiller that is built into Linux is tweaked to have more aggressive settings. this allows the OS to kill apps that are idle and using system resources. by freeing the resources, the CPU can run smoother making the phone faster.
98preludef20bBoosted
Newbie
Hello,
So i was going through the command prompts on the walkthrough and it was all going good tell i rebooted and when i typed in su it gave me the message su denied?? whats that mean? i tired to search around on the forums but i couldnt find it.
thanks
So i was going through the command prompts on the walkthrough and it was all going good tell i rebooted and when i typed in su it gave me the message su denied?? whats that mean? i tired to search around on the forums but i couldnt find it.
thanks
tatonka_Hero
Android Expert
98preludef20bBoosted
Newbie
Yeah step 16 with the Su command
98preludef20bBoosted
Newbie
I followed ever step to the letter, i used to hack moto's so i know 1 wrong step will fudge ur phone, i copy and pasted all the cmd prompts and only typed it out after i got su denied 2x. The only step i did not do exactly the same is step 3 with installing htc sync then "unmounting my sd" i could not do it through my phone??? so i manually did it through my system tray on my computer i am sure this is the problem but when my phone is connected via usb i cannot unmount my sd card?
98preludef20bBoosted
Newbie
Ahh I see now. I have that option but I did not know it was just for the sd. I'm sure that is where I had the error. Thanks!
Im sorry if this question has been answered already, but I cannot find an answer. I have two Sprint phones and want to flip flop my Hero from one phone number to the other (the other being the one I use most often). If my phone is rooted and then I flip flop the phones will this cause any problems? I really want to do switch the phones, but do not want to mess up the Hero in any way. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
mysticmead
Android Expert
changing the numbers is based on the ESN... that has nothing to do with being rooted.
mysticmead
Android Expert
as long as you got the Enjoy the shell message.. then it's all good... then of course that you did a COPY/PASTE of the commands after that.. if you did a copy/paste, then you should have no problems with step 10
androidtp
Android Enthusiast
After rooting and installing all the food components my internal memory seems so low. I don't have that many sizeable apps installed and my cache remains cleared thx to cachemate. Did something else get installed to take up my memory? before the rooting I was always at 80mb. Now its high 50s low 60s.
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated!
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated!
androidtp
Android Enthusiast
After rooting and installing all the food components my internal memory seems so low. I don't have that many sizeable apps installed and my cache remains cleared thx to cachemate. Did something else get installed to take up my memory? before the rooting I was always at 80mb. Now its high 50s low 60s.
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated!
Any suggestions is greatly appreciated!
98preludef20bBoosted
Newbie
"Step 4: Make sure USB Debugging is off by going to Settings>Applications>Development. Now connect the phone to your PC via USB cable."
its on the first page..
its on the first page..
98preludef20bBoosted
Newbie
I got my phone through all the cmd prompts but when i open the pre-kitchen i get this: get the error messages failed to push files and failed to find phone(i have done everything it says to do). says i need driver, and when i run the diagnostics it says i am missing java but it says its fine and i can still load the kitchen
sprint cdma hero
sprint cdma hero