Thinking about rooting...

[MRW1215]

I'm not completely unfamiliar with the rooting/ ROM process, as I eventually rooted and ran CM7 on my Thunderbolt. I wasn't really that interested in doing that with the Nexus, as I'm very happy with the basic, stock experience. So why am I interested in rooting and playing around with ROMs now? Just boredom, on my part, really. Anyway, I do have some questions, though.

First, is there any way to keep my game save data safe? I have several games that I have progress in, and I know unlocking wipes the phone. I don't want to start all over on all my games, but I'm not sure if there's any way to back up the data prior to being rooted, yanno?

Next up, what are the best, most stable ROM/ kernel combinations right now? I see so many different things, and I'm unfamiliar with terms like "nightly" and "alpha", etc. I'd be interested in CM9, but every CM9 ROM I see labels it as an "alpha" or "nightly", and I don't want to run something that still has some prevalent bugs.

I'm mostly interested in improved battery life, but I'd also like a ROM that has notification bar power toggles, as well as the ability to customize your lock screen. I really like the stock ICS look and "theme", though, so I don't want something that's completely different in that regard. Something else I think would be cool is the ability to "customize" your notification bar; what I mean is, I really like a few pics I saw of a MIUI ROM where the notification bar was completely transparent, rather than the pure black it usually is.

 

[SOTK]

First of all, if you're worried about saved data, just root without unlocking the bootloader. After rooting, install titanium backup and backup all your apps and data. Next, copy and paste the entire contents of your SD card to your computer. Once your satisfied that your data is safe, unlock the bootloader and flash a custom recovery (either CWR or TWRP).

Asking for opinions on Roms is very subjective. You're ultimately gonna get several opinions from several different people. It's personal preference. The only way for you to find out what works for you is to start flashing; however, I will state that AOKP is pretty much the gold standard in custom AOSP Rom's right now and many teams owe AOKP for paving the way. I'd recommend starting with this Rom and I'd flash Milestone 5 for starters. Milestone releases of this Rom are considered stable. Anything labeled B with a number after it is Rom release which has new or tweaked features and might not be as stable. This same concept can be applied to the term "nightlies" or beta. Alpha releases are really experimental and usually not stable at all.

I don't care for MIUI so can't speak to it but will say that as far as I know there isn't a fully completed and stable version of it yet (many beta releases). The same goes for CM9 (mostly beta/nightly releases). These two Roms are still a work in progress; however, many say the latest CM nightlies are running well but just aren't fully featured yet.

At any rate, hope all that helps. My advice is to do some reasearch. Do some reading and ask some more questions, but personally, you're pretty safe with AOKP.

Oh, and as far as kernels go, I recommend starting with the latest stable versions of either Franco.kernel or ImoseyOn Lean Kernel. Both allow for great battery life (I'm currently running AOKP B36 with latest Franco.kernel nightly and seeing great performance and good battery life).

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[loraque]

I don't know a good way to backup apps on a non rooted device.

CM9 calling their rom alpha is mostly due to features, not stability. I doubt you will find one more stable. The franco kernel is the kernel most load for an alt. Try whatever is included first, and look into what a custom one gets you. Might not be worth the headache, but fast USB charging is pretty cool.

Sent from my GT-P7510 using Android Central Forums

 

[MRW1215]

Oh, okay, so how do you root without unlocking?

 

[MRW1215]

Oh, never mind, I rooted without unlocking, and used Titanium Backup to back up my stuff. Thing is... when I connect my phone to the computer, it won't show the Titanium Backup folder with all my back ups, so I can't copy it to my computer... How do I get it to show the folder?

 

[SOTK]

Oh, never mind, I rooted without unlocking, and used Titanium Backup to back up my stuff. Thing is... when I connect my phone to the computer, it won't show the Titanium Backup folder with all my back ups, so I can't copy it to my computer... How do I get it to show the folder?

Interesting. Never had that happen. So, all the rest of your SD folder/files show up on your computer? Hmmmm....OK, can you sync titanium backup to Google Drive or Dropbox? I do that occasionally with both. It still bugs me that the folder isn't showing up. Try checking "Show system files/folder" and "Show Hidden Files" in Folder Options in Windows.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[2defmouze]

Reboot...?

 

[MRW1215]

Interesting. Never had that happen. So, all the rest of your SD folder/files show up on your computer? Hmmmm....OK, can you sync titanium backup to Google Drive or Dropbox? I do that occasionally with both. It still bugs me that the folder isn't showing up. Try checking "Show system files/folder" and "Show Hidden Files" in Folder Options in Windows.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Yeah, from what I can tell, everything else shows up fine. I suppose I could sync it to Dropbox or Drive, but my home Internet is kinda slow, and for the last day or two it's been unusually slower, so it would probably take forever to sync and redownload later.

Reboot...?

Tried that, didn't work either.

Does MyBackupPro work the same as Titanium? I have that, too, so maybe I could just back everything up with that...?

Edit: Huh. Just reconnected my phone again, and now it appears to be showing up. That's strange, but oh well.

 

[anon(596177)]

Yeah, from what I can tell, everything else shows up fine. I suppose I could sync it to Dropbox or Drive, but my home Internet is kinda slow, and for the last day or two it's been unusually slower, so it would probably take forever to sync and redownload later.



Tried that, didn't work either.

Does MyBackupPro work the same as Titanium? I have that, too, so maybe I could just back everything up with that...?

Edit: Huh. Just reconnected my phone again, and now it appears to be showing up. That's strange, but oh well.

When you make alterations to your sd card from inside your phone while you are plugged into the PC, sometimes you need to unplug the phone from the computer for a second and reconnect it in order to see the new stuff, I noticed this with TiBu as well.

You can also change the save location of the backups form "preferences" in the menu.