This is a simplified guide for those new to rooting & flashing a custom ROM on the Optimus V. No need to type complex commands that are hard to follow and prone to mistakes. Basically there are 3 main steps: Root, Install custom recovery, & flash custom ROM.
Windows Drivers for the Optimus V (Optional, but suggested): [Only registered users can view links. ]
Rooting
Rooting is the process of gaining administrative rights to the phone so one can do customizations that aren't normally allowed. Root by itself doesn't do anything interesting, unless there's an app that needs it. The fancy stuff comes from custom ROMs. Just remember Virgin Mobile Activation only works on Froyo ROMs, so do it before going to Gingerbread. The easiest way to root nowadays is to use GingerBreak. It can be found here:
[Only registered users can view links. ]
Instruction Steps:
1. Turn on USB Debugging (Settings - Applications - Development)
2. Copy the GingerBreak.apk to a /sdcard dir, then using a 'file manager' app (search for one in Android Market) install it like a regular app.
3. It can take up to 10 minutes, and will reboot automatically when complete (rooted), if attempt fails, reboot manually & run it again.
Install custom recovery image
The recovery image is an alternative bootup instead of normal Android Operating System. It allows low-level operations such as backup/restore a ROM, wipe partitions, and flash ROMs.
4. Download and copy the recovery image [Only registered users can view links. ] (works with new & old OV screens) onto your /sdcard.
5. Install the [Only registered users can view links. ] (save the .apk to a /sdcard directory, then open it with file manager). Run the app & select 'Recovery Image' option with the file above.
6. Copy the unextracted ROM .zip that you wish to install to the /sdcard dir. Also if installing a CyanogenMod Gingerbread ROM, the unextracted [Only registered users can view links. ] also needs to be placed in the same dir to flash right after the ROM .zip.
7. Boot into Clockworkmod recovery mode (From powered off state, hold vol-down, home, and power button until the LG logo appears).
8. FIRST, BACKUP ORIGINAL ROM! Don't continue until this is successful. use vol-up/down, camera, & back keys to navigate in recovery.
9. Wipe Data/Factory Reset, wipe cache partition. Under Advanced submenu, wipe dalvik-cache. Then uner Mounts & Storage submenu, format all partitions EXCEPT /sdcard.
10. Install the custom ROM.zip from sdcard and gapps.zip too if going to a CyanogenMod ROM
11. Reboot and enjoy the new ROM, the first boot takes longer than usual, also some problems may disappear after rebooting.
NOTES:
- NEVER use the Android Settings 'Factory Reset' from now on, only do factory reset & wipes from within recovery mode. Most ROMs should have this option removed from the Android settings.
- If restoring a backed up ROM in CWM recovery gives 'MD5 mismatch' error (likely caused by renaming a ROM backup). Try this fix:
# cd /sdcard/clockworkmod/backup/<name_of_backup>
# rm nandroid.md5
# md5sum *img > nandroid.md5
- If you ever want to restore to original stock ROM (ONLY on OV's with older screens), with original recovery and UNrooted: [Only registered users can view links. ]
Thanks for the guide. I will probably use the instructions for CM7.1 mods. However, Clockwork 3.2.0.1 recovery was not able to flash Harmonia 1.3 for me. I had to use Xionia cwma 12518.4 recovery for Virgin. Just a note for the ones who want to use Harmonia.
I'm an idiot. I can't find the /sdcard drive in my removable disk drive. I downloaded ES File Explorer and Astro, but it shows that my SD card is umounted and shows no files.
If you installed the LG drivers for Windows (first link) without problems, plugging in the phone will automatically mount the /sdcard as an E: Removable Drive on your PC, make sure Settings - Applications - Development - USB Debugging is on. Or you may have to pull notification bar down and mount the SDCARD for it to show up on the PC. Then you can drop ROM.zip or GingerBreak.apk files there.
ES File Explorer & Astro is for managing files on the phone without a PC. You should be able to go to /sdcard and install GingerBreak.apk from there (after it's been copied from your PC, or if you downloaded it directly to the phone using the built-in browser.)
What would you do if rom manager fails to flash cwm recovery? This is a problem I'm having with one of my Optimus V phones. Rom manager reports that it was flashed successfully, but it really wasn't.
Download flash_image.zip, extract it, & copy it to /sdcard/flash_image. [Only registered users can view links. ]
Download CWM 3.2.0.1, or if you can find another version somewhere (avoid CWM 3.2.0). Copy the .img file to /sdcard/recovery.img [Only registered users can view links. ]
Then through 'adb shell' or a terminal:
# su
# mount -o rw,remount /dev/block/mtdblock5
# cat /sdcard/flash_image > /system/bin/flash_image
# chmod 755 /system/bin/flash_image
# mount -o ro, remount /dev/block/mtdblock5
# flash_image recovery /sdcard/recovery.img
# reboot recovery
What would you do if rom manager fails to flash cwm recovery? This is a problem I'm having with one of my Optimus V phones. Rom manager reports that it was flashed successfully, but it really wasn't.
Sent from my LG-VM670 using Tapatalk
Also I would make sure that you actually have permanent root, with a root checker or in terminal type 'su' see if you get a '#' prompt. A recovery image can't be flashed if it's not rooted.
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