I don't know how to flash

[irocroe]

How do I flash? I am so new to all of this..... I am so sorry that I am sounding so stupid.

 

[fatboy97]

How do I flash? I am so new to all of this..... I am so sorry that I am sounding so stupid.

Read and follow this guide: http://forums.androidcentral.com/thunderbolt-rooting-roms-hacks/77350-guide-how-backup-restore-install-roms-thunderbolt.html

 

[recDNA]

http://forums.androidcentral.com/th...-backup-restore-install-roms-thunderbolt.html

 

[TBolt2011]

Those guides are awesome, but when I was learning, they didn't feel like they were enough. I'll lay it out simply, and hopefully it'll be enough of a lift from the guide so you feel confident.


First of all, you need to root. Since you're asking how to flash ROMs, I'll assume you've done that part at least.

Normally a ROM Developer will post something in this forum saying the name of the ROM, what it is, etc. Find the one that interests you, and there should be a link at the bottom of his/her post to download the ROM as a .zip file (from Megaupload or something similar). The download is usually somewhere around 300MB, just fyi. DON'T unzip that file after you download it. Find it in your computer's downloads folder, connect your phone to the computer as a Disk Drive, and then drag the .zip you downloaded from your computer to you phone. Don't put it in any other folder. You want the ROM to be on the base level of your SD Card.

After you've done all that, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WAY TO CREATE BACKUPS. ROM Manager, Titanium Backup, etc. If you don't know what those are, they're in the Market for rooted users, and you can explore them yourself.

IMPORTANT: Then make the backups (I do all my apps and system data to Titanium and then backup my current ROM with ROM Manager), and get to the bootloader of your phone.

Once you're in the bootloader and have your backups made, go to "install zip from SD Card" and choose the file you just put onto your phone from the computer. It will wipe ALL of your phone data, but will not touch anything on your SD Card whatsoever.


If you need more help after the guide and this, I'm sure someone will be nearby. I have to go to work now though.

Good Luck!!

 

[yodatom10]

Those guides are awesome, but when I was learning, they didn't feel like they were enough. I'll lay it out simply, and hopefully it'll be enough of a lift from the guide so you feel confident.


First of all, you need to root. Since you're asking how to flash ROMs, I'll assume you've done that part at least.

Normally a ROM Developer will post something in this forum saying the name of the ROM, what it is, etc. Find the one that interests you, and there should be a link at the bottom of his/her post to download the ROM as a .zip file (from Megaupload or something similar). The download is usually somewhere around 300MB, just fyi. DON'T unzip that file after you download it. Find it in your computer's downloads folder, connect your phone to the computer as a Disk Drive, and then drag the .zip you downloaded from your computer to you phone. Don't put it in any other folder. You want the ROM to be on the base level of your SD Card.

After you've done all that, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WAY TO CREATE BACKUPS. ROM Manager, Titanium Backup, etc. If you don't know what those are, they're in the Market for rooted users, and you can explore them yourself.

IMPORTANT: Then make the backups (I do all my apps and system data to Titanium and then backup my current ROM with ROM Manager), and get to the bootloader of your phone.

Once you're in the bootloader and have your backups made, go to "install zip from SD Card" and choose the file you just put onto your phone from the computer. It will wipe ALL of your phone data, but will not touch anything on your SD Card whatsoever.


If you need more help after the guide and this, I'm sure someone will be nearby. I have to go to work now though.

Good Luck!!

Just want to make one small correction. If your flashing your rom through the bootloader. You need to wipe data and cache. The rom will not do it for you. If you don't wipe. You will run into issues. You may not need to wipe when upgrading the same rom unless the dev says so. But if u are flashing a new rom a wipe is mandatory

 

[CMRobinson]

Buy a trenchcoat, leave the rest of your clothes at home, stuff bail money in the hidden pocket.....


Seriously, there's nothing more I can add that these wonderful folks haven't already told you.

 

[defcon999]

After you've done all that, MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A WAY TO CREATE BACKUPS. ROM Manager, Titanium Backup, etc. If you don't know what those are, they're in the Market for rooted users, and you can explore them yourself.

IMPORTANT: Then make the backups (I do all my apps and system data to Titanium and then backup my current ROM with ROM Manager), and get to the bootloader of your phone.

WHen you start ROM Manager, the top choice from within the app is "Flash ClockworkMod" (CWM)...install that.

Once you're in the bootloader and have your backups made, go to "install zip from SD Card" and choose the file you just put onto your phone from the computer. It will wipe ALL of your phone data, but will not touch anything on your SD Card whatsoever.


If you need more help after the guide and this, I'm sure someone will be nearby. I have to go to work now though.

Good Luck!!

Once you install ROM Manger, you can install ROM's from there by picking "Install ROM from SD Card". When you navigate to where you are storing your ROMS....in my case, I have a folder called funny enough....."ROMS", and you pick the ROM you want to flash too, it will ask you

1. Backup Exisiting Rom

2. Wipe Data and Cache

3. Wipe Dalvek Cache

I don't use #1. When I install a new ROM, I use #2, if I install patches (the DEV's will tell you if you need to wipe data or just cache), then I will use #3.

Have fun!

 

[FrankXS]

How do I flash? I am so new to all of this..... I am so sorry that I am sounding so stupid.

I'm not even rooted, but I know how... I know you can do it with the help of the folks here. They're terrific!

-Frank

 

[TBolt2011]

Just want to make one small correction. If your flashing your rom through the bootloader. You need to wipe data and cache. The rom will not do it for you.

Thanks so much for adding that! I forgot to note them separately, wow >.<

 

[irocroe]

Ok, if I change ROMs, will I lose all my contacts? Will backup asst work to get them back? Will I lose my pictures?

 

[fatboy97]

Ok, if I change ROMs, will I lose all my contacts? Will backup asst work to get them back? Will I lose my pictures?

My Backup Root is a great app to backup some data from apps... like Angry Birds... I'm sure you could backup your contacts, but the easiest thing is to have your contacts on your Gmail account and then after you log in after flashing a new ROM they will all download automatically. Pictures are on your SD card, so they will still be there when you flash a new ROM.

 

[anthony2558]

Buy a trenchcoat, leave the rest of your clothes at home, stuff bail money in the hidden pocket.....


Seriously, there's nothing more I can add that these wonderful folks haven't already told you.

haha I got to this thread to late.

 

[defcon999]

haha I got to this thread to late.

Dude, if you would just put down that tire in the picture you might be able to move a little faster!.....LOLOL

 

[Green_Laser]

Dude, if you would just put down that tire in the picture you might be able to move a little faster!.....LOLOL

Hehe, good laughs in this thread.

Btw, for those looking to do stuff to your tbolt, go to YouTube and search " how to root with revolutionary", after you find that video by Nate, then subscribe and watch his other videos. They are great, such add how to install a kernal, or how to install a rom etc, not only that, you can ask him questions through YouTube and he does a great job of getting back to your question(s).

 

[TBolt2011]

Well here's what I was worried about when I flashed, and I just did it without looking back to get all of my questions answered, haha.

- Will I lose my contacts?
- Will I lose all my apps?
- Will I lose EVERYTHING (texts, pictures, videos, etc.)?
- Are my home screens going to stay the same?



What I found out was that you lose EVERYTHING saved to your phone. You have to do a factory reset in order to flash a ROM. However, anything on your SD card is safe: pictures are a good example.


You'll have no contacts left. You can run the backup assistant to restore them, and that solves that problem (as long as you have your contacts saved to it in the first place).


You'll lose all your apps. That comes with the factory reset. Any data that is included with those apps (texts, game save data, login data such as Facebook) will have to be redownloaded. Your Google account will pick some to redownload, but even still it doesn't restore your data; just the app itself.


What I do instead of relying on my Google account to memorize what apps I had is Back up ALL apps+system data with Titanium Backup. This still will not save texts!! If you want to save your texts, download "SMS Backup and Restore" and run the program in it.


Anything saved on your SD Card, such as pictures and videos, is safe even through the factory reset.


Your home screens will all be back to stock. They'll be mostly full of widgets - not completely empty - but the point is that you'll have to set all the screens back up the way you like them.



Hope that answered anymore questions you'd have.

 

[nate44]

eh, all the info you need on properly backing up and restoring data is covered in Pete's sticky thread. You should be careful on backing up and restoring system data. Which is a common mistake people make, and the cause of most problems.

 

[defcon999]

You'll have no contacts left. You can run the backup assistant to restore them, and that solves that problem (as long as you have your contacts saved to it in the first place).

If you have everything linked to your Google account....it will sync everything back...I do this all the time.

You'll lose all your apps. That comes with the factory reset. Any data that is included with those apps (texts, game save data, login data such as Facebook) will have to be redownloaded. Your Google account will pick some to redownload, but even still it doesn't restore your data; just the app itself.


What I do instead of relying on my Google account to memorize what apps I had is Back up ALL apps+system data with Titanium Backup. This still will not save texts!! If you want to save your texts, download "SMS Backup and Restore" and run the program in it.

I don't use Titanium so I don't know. I use MyBackup Pro and it does back up MMS and SMS messages and will restore them also. It will ALSO back game DATA (Angry Birds etc.). BUT in order for it to backup the DATA, you have to be ROOTED.

I use HeyTell a lot and it backs up and restores all the contacts that you have established so you don't have to send an invite again and again.....the Girlfriend started getting annoyed after I flashed every other day. Then I discovered.

Anything saved on your SD Card, such as pictures and videos, is safe even through the factory reset.

Your home screens will all be back to stock. They'll be mostly full of widgets - not completely empty - but the point is that you'll have to set all the screens back up the way you like them.

If you use "MyBackup Pro" it will back up your home-screen with all the widgets in place. The may show the default missing ICON, but after you restart your phone, they should come back. If they don't, it might mean that the APP isn't installed. When you restore there is a CHECK BOX that says "Android Home" (see my attached image). There is a couple more choice not shown (calendar, Playlists). You don't see SYSTEM SETTINGs because I didn't originally back it up. But I agree.....DO NOT BACK UP YOUR SYSTEM SETTINGS....that is a bad thing if you restore and forget to uncheck that box.