So Im new to all this root/rom thing. everthing went great with unrevoked root, nandroid backup, titanium pro install/backup
So today i was looking in my rom manger program, download rom section, I went into virtuous and dl'd/installed the 3.1.0 rom, that was a little scary because it sat at the droid eye splash screen for a rather long time, then said loading for a long time as well. well everything seems to be working just fine.
My big question here is now that I have this custom rom, nothing seems any different then before other then a few apps, dsp mgr, quick boot and virt buddy.
Since im new to this im not sure what the difference is, everything looks the same as before. are most/all of the changes under the hood so to speak, things I dont really see, but there there improving something?
If I want to try another rom can I just dl it from my rom mgr and install it? or do I need to perform a specific task so I dont brick the dinc?
I kinda thought lots of stuff would look different with lots of new options
thanks for any input, links or rom suggestions, I do like sense.
Ken
Different ROM chefs go for different looks and feels in their ROMs. Virtuous is one of the chefs that sees the value in the stock, out of the box ROM and has proceeded to build on its premise. No...his ROM doesn't look all that much different than the stock one does. The power of his ROM is what he's baked under the hood. His ROM runs a bit smoother...has a bit more functionality...and the battery lasts a bit longer. His was one of the first ROMs for the Incredible and as such is one of the more fully developed ROMs out there.
If you're looking for increased functionality, Skyraider's ROMs are the ones to look at. You can customize his six ways to Sunday, and if there's something you want, he'll do his damnedest to make it happen. I've used both Skyraider and Virtuous ROMs (Sense versions) and have donated to both developers.
Other ROMs are built mostly for speed. There are folks out there that are simply obsessed with Quadrant and Linpack scores...to the point that their phones are so overclocked, they become next to useless. Ah...to each their own.
The ROM I use? It's in my signature. I tried Myn's ROM when I became bored with Virtuous, Skyraider and IncDoes ROMs. I've been on this one longer than I've been on any of the others. I simply like the feel of it, and other than a couple of very random forced closes, I have had no problem with this ROM at all.
Sometimes, the developers break stuff when they're fixing other stuff. It's understandable since none of them do this for a living and they have a rather limited and uncontrolled beta program. I found this to be true with Skyraider's ROMs, since he pushes the envelop to keep his followers happy.
Now...to your other questions. Yeah...you can download all of the other ROMs that are out there using your ROM Manager. I might clarify that some developers don't like ROM Manager for downloading and won't list theirs on the program. One reason is that sometimes a ROM will get mangled being downloaded at 3G. I download my ROMs to my PC, then copy them to the SD card so that I can flash them.
If you think you're going to be jumping into the game, download Titanium backup from the Market, then cough up the coin to get the unlocked version. It makes restoring your apps and settings so much easier. One hint: when restoring with Titanium, especially if you've drastically changed your ROM, be judicious in restoring the app data. Don't just click on "restore all" and grab an sandwich. Unless you've got a lot of programs that would take hours to manually restore their settings, it's best to do it manually. What happens is that sometimes the data built on one ROM is incompatible with the framework of the new ROM. Presto! Forced closes and other ugly issues.
On the same vein, whether the developer says to do it or not, it's always good practice to wipe before you install a new ROM. Some chefs don't give you a choice...wiping is part of the installation. It's just like Windows...most people know that if they need to reinstall their system, it's best to start from a freshly formatted disk. There aren't any bad artifacts or cooties left to cause problems. Oh...make sure you wipe everything. That includes the dalvik cache and the battery stats.
And, most importantly, backup...backup...backup. I do a nandroid backup just before I flash a new ROM, and I'll do one right after I think I've got everything the way I want it on the new one. If I find I don't like a ROM, it's a simple matter of restoring the backup from the previous ROM. A nandroid backup is just like a system image on your PC...it will restore everything to just the way it was before your started.
Oh...and bricking your phone? I've read that on the Android system, about the only real way to do that is to bork a radio installation...I know some people have caused serious problems by freaking out on how long a new ROM takes to boot and pulling their battery at the most inopportune time in the process. Radio updates are rare here in the wild and I won't touch one unless I find very compelling reason to do so.
This may get me in trouble here, but
XDA is an invaluable resource if you're gonna play with your phone. Almost all of the ROMs that are available are on their developer's forum, along with the opportunity to communicate with the developer himself.
A word of caution about XDA...the people are great there, but there are some with a fetish about forum decorum. Don't start a thread that asks a question in the developer's forum, for example.
Take some time, read through the threads...some are thousands of replies old. You'll see a pattern of the issues that have come up with a ROM and how they've been resolved, if at all.
Good luck to ya.
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