[note]
Here is a bit more help to you future devs or others that like to do things themselves. Making your own flashable zip files or converting an existing flashable from CWM2.x.x.x to CWM3.x.x.x or the opposite. I also want to thank our AC Adviser, Droidxcon from the Samsung Fascinate section for looking over this step by step tutorial. He is also well known around here lately in the Epic section for helping out many of our visitors in a jam with Odin.
Ragnarokx and I always get questions asking "Hey can you convert something from CWM2 to CWM3 or vise-versa..." or " I need to flash something from this ROM into that ROM can you make this?" Ragnarokx and I don't mind doing this, its what we live for around here and is the easiest of our daily tasks or requests. So for those of you who want to understand and learn the process of what it is we do, you can take a look below and follow the step by step instructions.
Download the following two zip files.
Blank Flashable CWM2 (This is used in CWM2.x.x.x format or RFS filesystem with Amend scripting)
Blank Flashable CWM3 (This is used in CWM3.x.x.x format or EXT4 filesystem with Edify scripting)
A brief rundown without getting technical, RFS filesystem with Amend scripting is what your Samsung Epic 4g device comes formatted to run. Its gets the job done but its not without its faults. A few months ago, shortly after Froyo DK28 was "leaked" the dev's over at XDA came up with a more efficient and reliable file system and scripting that also provided a performance boost, for our purposes CWM3.x.x.x, EXT4 file system with Edify scripting was brought into use on the Samsung Epic 4g and incorporated in use on all the newest ROMs at the time.
Now those two files are "Blank" flashable zip files that we use to flash themes\apps\add ons in CWM. You would need the correct corresponding zip file to work with your version of CWM, and they work for DK28 Froyo or EB13 Froyo so there's no conflicts to worry about. Save these, they will be used later in the example. You may also want to make copies of these files to have as "blanks" to use again and again.
Here are the links to download either 7zip or WinRAR, these are required tools.
7zip
WinRAR
To start I will be using 7zip throughout this process, WinRAR is very similar in looks and operation.
Now in the screenshot below we will be opening and using the file "GTalk Restore_CWM3006" as our example. If you right click on the file, you will see the following below and it shows the proper path to "opening" the archive. DO NOT EXTRACT THE FILE.
Once you click on "Open archive" you will see the following screen shot below. The directory or folder your interested in is "system". Go ahead and open that directory. Note: The "META-INF" folder should be left alone, this is what contains the scripting and other instructions needed to tell CWM what to do with the file.
Now in the screen shot below you will see the folder called "app". Go ahead and open that directory.
Now in the screen shot below you see "Talk.apk", that is your "Google GTalk" file. That file is what will install Google GTalk to your device when flashed. Remember this example file we are looking in is a CWM3.x.x.x version. Leave this window below open or minimize it as you will need to refer back to it in a few more steps...
Now say you want to take that file or another file (example Email.apk) and be able to flash it on your device that is running CWM2.x.x.x setup.
You would find your "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip" file that your downloaded in the beginning and "Open archive" just as we did before when we opened the "GTalk Restore_CWM3006" file above. The screen shot below is the first directory you will see when you open "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip". Next go ahead and open the "system" folder.
The screenshot below shows the "/system/" directory inside the "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip" file. You will notice 4 main folders I placed in there that are most commonly dealt with. The directory folder paths or tree needs to remain as I provided so the file will flash to the correct locations, you can leave the unused folders alone. In you case for this example you want the "app" folder, go ahead and open it.
The screenshot below is the "/system/app/" folder inside the "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip" currently it is empty. This is where you will be placing the "Talk.apk" from the other zip file you have open in a separate 7zip/WinRAR window.
Okay now the screenshot below is an example of what you should look like with both zip file windows opened. The left is the "Restore GTalk_CWM3006" file opened to the "/system/app/" directory showing the file "Talk.apk". The window on the right is the "Blank Flashable CWM2" file opened to the "/system/app/" directory where you will be placing the "Talk.apk".
This is how you normally would be doing this because you can't just copy and paste from one window to another, you have to "drag and drop" the file from one window into the other. There are other ways of performing this but this is the most simple and efficient way of doing this.
Go ahead and click on the "Talk.apk" in the left window and drag and drop it to the right window.
You will be asked as you see in the screen shot below if you want to copy the file to archive, blah blah.. Select Yes to this question.
The screenshot below shows you have successfully "dragged and dropped" the "Talk.apk" file from one file/window to the other.
You have successfully transfered Google GTalk (Talk.apk) from a CWM3 flashable to a CWM2 flashable zip file. You are done with the conversion process. You can now close the file(s)/windows(s). You can rename the "Blank Flashable CWM2" file to suit your needs, usually a easily descriptive file name if your sharing it with others. Next you can take this file and place it on your sdcard and boot into CWM and flash away!
You can also use the same step by step process to convert a theme or add on by opening a flashable zip file you want to convert, look and see what folders are in use inside the "/system/" directory and then drag and drop those folders & files to the same location on the CWM flashable version you wish to convert it to. Our example above we transfered from a CWM3.x.x.x version to a CWM2.x.x.x. The same can be done going from CWM2.x.x.x to a CWM3.x.x.x. This is how we have converted many themes and add ons for visitors in the past that found an old theme from an old CWM 2.x.x.x/RFS system ROM and wanted to use it on a new CWM3.x.x.x/EXT4 version ROM.
Additional Notes:
You may have noticed inside the "/system/" folder of both Blank Flashable CWM2/CWM3 files additional folders. This is a bit more advanced, these start to get into more delicate and easily damaged areas of your devices file system. At this moment I will briefly touch on what they are.
/system/app This is where you place all your applications, Email.apk, Talk.apk, Phone.apk, Vending.apk
/system/framework This is the most sensitive area. It holds the files like "framework-res.apk" and "twframework.apk" which are basically the template for your OS. This is the most commonly "themed" two files that devs or themers modify to change things like the status bar colors, text colors, battery mods, etc... There are other files in this folder which should be left alone unless you fully understand what they are and what your doing.
/system/fonts Self explanatory, this is your font folder. If you want to change fonts, flash new fonts, etc. they would be placed inside this folder. Again, be careful because a corrupt font or a font that isn't supported can crash your device or start a flood of FC's.
/system/media This folder is where you will find things like ringers, ringtones, your bootup animation and other media related system files. They are in separate folders marked appropriately inside the /media/ folder.
META-INF folder, I mentioned this before. In this location is a series of other folders, one which contains a certain named file depending on the version of CWM. updater-script (CWM3.x.x.x) and update-script (CWM2.x.x.x). These files are the script files which gives instructions to CWM on what to do with the flashable file you are creating. It may also contain setup information on flashing the ROM, modem, kernel, file permissions and many other important commands again depending on the type of flashable. I would leave these scripts and the META-INF folder alone. They can be modified to do certain things but until you understand how to write the scripts properly you can really mess things up bad or simply the flash just won't install and you will get a "failed installation error". This I can go over another time, another day...
That is about all I will go into at this point concerning the above locations. I put them there to show examples of what you may see inside zips as you open them depending on what type of flashable file your dealing with. A better way to get a idea of what I'm talking about for files located inside these folders is to take a ROM that you have downloaded and open the ROM file up and look around inside those folders and you can see and understand more of what I'm talking about. Alot of things in Android files are easy to understand because they all use a basic descriptive file name/pattern for all the system files. So the file name most of the time tells you what it is and gives you a good idea of what it does without going into the more advanced, technical areas of the file system where even I get lost at times.. LOL.[/info]
Here is a bit more help to you future devs or others that like to do things themselves. Making your own flashable zip files or converting an existing flashable from CWM2.x.x.x to CWM3.x.x.x or the opposite. I also want to thank our AC Adviser, Droidxcon from the Samsung Fascinate section for looking over this step by step tutorial. He is also well known around here lately in the Epic section for helping out many of our visitors in a jam with Odin.
Ragnarokx and I always get questions asking "Hey can you convert something from CWM2 to CWM3 or vise-versa..." or " I need to flash something from this ROM into that ROM can you make this?" Ragnarokx and I don't mind doing this, its what we live for around here and is the easiest of our daily tasks or requests. So for those of you who want to understand and learn the process of what it is we do, you can take a look below and follow the step by step instructions.
*** NOTE: I WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY MISTAKES YOU MAKE ATTEMPTING THIS PROCESS ***
[/note][info]Download the following two zip files.
Blank Flashable CWM2 (This is used in CWM2.x.x.x format or RFS filesystem with Amend scripting)
Blank Flashable CWM3 (This is used in CWM3.x.x.x format or EXT4 filesystem with Edify scripting)
A brief rundown without getting technical, RFS filesystem with Amend scripting is what your Samsung Epic 4g device comes formatted to run. Its gets the job done but its not without its faults. A few months ago, shortly after Froyo DK28 was "leaked" the dev's over at XDA came up with a more efficient and reliable file system and scripting that also provided a performance boost, for our purposes CWM3.x.x.x, EXT4 file system with Edify scripting was brought into use on the Samsung Epic 4g and incorporated in use on all the newest ROMs at the time.
Now those two files are "Blank" flashable zip files that we use to flash themes\apps\add ons in CWM. You would need the correct corresponding zip file to work with your version of CWM, and they work for DK28 Froyo or EB13 Froyo so there's no conflicts to worry about. Save these, they will be used later in the example. You may also want to make copies of these files to have as "blanks" to use again and again.
Here are the links to download either 7zip or WinRAR, these are required tools.
7zip
WinRAR
To start I will be using 7zip throughout this process, WinRAR is very similar in looks and operation.
Now in the screenshot below we will be opening and using the file "GTalk Restore_CWM3006" as our example. If you right click on the file, you will see the following below and it shows the proper path to "opening" the archive. DO NOT EXTRACT THE FILE.
Once you click on "Open archive" you will see the following screen shot below. The directory or folder your interested in is "system". Go ahead and open that directory. Note: The "META-INF" folder should be left alone, this is what contains the scripting and other instructions needed to tell CWM what to do with the file.
Now in the screen shot below you will see the folder called "app". Go ahead and open that directory.
Now in the screen shot below you see "Talk.apk", that is your "Google GTalk" file. That file is what will install Google GTalk to your device when flashed. Remember this example file we are looking in is a CWM3.x.x.x version. Leave this window below open or minimize it as you will need to refer back to it in a few more steps...
Now say you want to take that file or another file (example Email.apk) and be able to flash it on your device that is running CWM2.x.x.x setup.
You would find your "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip" file that your downloaded in the beginning and "Open archive" just as we did before when we opened the "GTalk Restore_CWM3006" file above. The screen shot below is the first directory you will see when you open "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip". Next go ahead and open the "system" folder.
The screenshot below shows the "/system/" directory inside the "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip" file. You will notice 4 main folders I placed in there that are most commonly dealt with. The directory folder paths or tree needs to remain as I provided so the file will flash to the correct locations, you can leave the unused folders alone. In you case for this example you want the "app" folder, go ahead and open it.
The screenshot below is the "/system/app/" folder inside the "Blank Flashable CWM2.zip" currently it is empty. This is where you will be placing the "Talk.apk" from the other zip file you have open in a separate 7zip/WinRAR window.
Okay now the screenshot below is an example of what you should look like with both zip file windows opened. The left is the "Restore GTalk_CWM3006" file opened to the "/system/app/" directory showing the file "Talk.apk". The window on the right is the "Blank Flashable CWM2" file opened to the "/system/app/" directory where you will be placing the "Talk.apk".
This is how you normally would be doing this because you can't just copy and paste from one window to another, you have to "drag and drop" the file from one window into the other. There are other ways of performing this but this is the most simple and efficient way of doing this.
Go ahead and click on the "Talk.apk" in the left window and drag and drop it to the right window.
You will be asked as you see in the screen shot below if you want to copy the file to archive, blah blah.. Select Yes to this question.
The screenshot below shows you have successfully "dragged and dropped" the "Talk.apk" file from one file/window to the other.
You have successfully transfered Google GTalk (Talk.apk) from a CWM3 flashable to a CWM2 flashable zip file. You are done with the conversion process. You can now close the file(s)/windows(s). You can rename the "Blank Flashable CWM2" file to suit your needs, usually a easily descriptive file name if your sharing it with others. Next you can take this file and place it on your sdcard and boot into CWM and flash away!
You can also use the same step by step process to convert a theme or add on by opening a flashable zip file you want to convert, look and see what folders are in use inside the "/system/" directory and then drag and drop those folders & files to the same location on the CWM flashable version you wish to convert it to. Our example above we transfered from a CWM3.x.x.x version to a CWM2.x.x.x. The same can be done going from CWM2.x.x.x to a CWM3.x.x.x. This is how we have converted many themes and add ons for visitors in the past that found an old theme from an old CWM 2.x.x.x/RFS system ROM and wanted to use it on a new CWM3.x.x.x/EXT4 version ROM.
Additional Notes:
You may have noticed inside the "/system/" folder of both Blank Flashable CWM2/CWM3 files additional folders. This is a bit more advanced, these start to get into more delicate and easily damaged areas of your devices file system. At this moment I will briefly touch on what they are.
/system/app This is where you place all your applications, Email.apk, Talk.apk, Phone.apk, Vending.apk
/system/framework This is the most sensitive area. It holds the files like "framework-res.apk" and "twframework.apk" which are basically the template for your OS. This is the most commonly "themed" two files that devs or themers modify to change things like the status bar colors, text colors, battery mods, etc... There are other files in this folder which should be left alone unless you fully understand what they are and what your doing.
/system/fonts Self explanatory, this is your font folder. If you want to change fonts, flash new fonts, etc. they would be placed inside this folder. Again, be careful because a corrupt font or a font that isn't supported can crash your device or start a flood of FC's.
/system/media This folder is where you will find things like ringers, ringtones, your bootup animation and other media related system files. They are in separate folders marked appropriately inside the /media/ folder.
META-INF folder, I mentioned this before. In this location is a series of other folders, one which contains a certain named file depending on the version of CWM. updater-script (CWM3.x.x.x) and update-script (CWM2.x.x.x). These files are the script files which gives instructions to CWM on what to do with the flashable file you are creating. It may also contain setup information on flashing the ROM, modem, kernel, file permissions and many other important commands again depending on the type of flashable. I would leave these scripts and the META-INF folder alone. They can be modified to do certain things but until you understand how to write the scripts properly you can really mess things up bad or simply the flash just won't install and you will get a "failed installation error". This I can go over another time, another day...
That is about all I will go into at this point concerning the above locations. I put them there to show examples of what you may see inside zips as you open them depending on what type of flashable file your dealing with. A better way to get a idea of what I'm talking about for files located inside these folders is to take a ROM that you have downloaded and open the ROM file up and look around inside those folders and you can see and understand more of what I'm talking about. Alot of things in Android files are easy to understand because they all use a basic descriptive file name/pattern for all the system files. So the file name most of the time tells you what it is and gives you a good idea of what it does without going into the more advanced, technical areas of the file system where even I get lost at times.. LOL.[/info]
Last edited:
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