[ejames82]

hello,

great forum and website.

my wifes lg optimus v phone freezes and takes a long time to boot to 'useable mode' (what I mean by 'useable mode' is, when you can make phone calls and be called). if you touch anything while it is booting (after you turn it on), the phone will take even longer (as if more work has been loaded on to it) to reach 'useable mode'. I also noticed it showed the incorrect time on the screen while it was booting. I assume this meant it was still processing.

eventually it is ready in about two minutes. I call the phone to verify this. I don't see any other way to tell when it's ready.


my investigation reveals a reoccurring problem with internal free space. I keep seeing that she has less than 30mb free space. when I first inquired about this possible cause of the unwanted behavior, the phone had only 19mb of space. she then did some maintenance and the phone was temporarily fixed. this has happened again for now the third time, which is why I say the problem is reoccurring.

I haven't done any of the maintenance on the phone myself. only my wife has done this, and what she did, I can only guess she deleted some apps. no roms have been installed. the phone is not rooted. basically the phone was bought and used. before I do anything I wanted to be sure what I am dealing with, and my options.

1. I see that there are new optimus v's and old optimus v's. which do I have? how do I find this out? I have seen that this matters if I install certain maintenance tools.

2. there are more than one type of screen. how do I find out what I have? I have seen that this matters, should I install software that is compatible.

3. is there anything else, in terms of hardware, that I should inquire about before I proceed?

4. what should I know about software? the type of OS that it has, the browser, the apps, the rom, anything else?


new batteries and a new charger were very recently purchased from ebay from a recommended link via this site, so the batteries are probably satisfactory. however, the phone goes through the batteries quite quickly. according to my wife, less than a day.


any help given will be most appreciated

[adamhos]

I believe the difference was the older op v's had a glass screen and the new have plastic

The new root method is safe for both, unless you have the updated software (i think its zv9...look in your phone info to find this)
...if you see zv4 or zv5 root the phone following these instructions
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sho...108282
[HOW-TO] Simplified Root + Recovery + Custom ROM

By rooting, and installing a custom recovery, you can back up everything and remove all the factory installed bloat

You will also have the ability to flash custom made roms, that are trimmed and optimized

Definitely root...you won't look back

Just remember to backup everything and let your wife know you may f up and delete everything on accident( trust me I know from experience lol)

The optimus v is a great phone for rooting, it is very simple and virtually unbreakable


Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Android Central Forums

[ejames82]

Hello adamhos,

I assume for this to work the phone has to be recognized by the pc. is this true? the reason I ask this is that for some reason the phone is NOT being recognized. it does however, charge. as soon as it is plugged in to the pc, a picture of a battery and a progress bar inside the battery shows. I think there is a very good chance that the cable is not the cable that came with the phone. the origin of the cable is uncertain. I have read threads about this happening to other people. without the connection from the phone to the pc, we cannot put the gingerbreak on the phone.

the phone has the zv4 software. model is VM670.

thanks for the reply.

[adamhos]

You do not need a computer, it would be wise to figure out why you can't see it on your pc, but you do not need a pc

Everything in that guide can be done through your phone

Fyi your phone needs to be on and you need to enable USB mass storage when plugged in

You can always remove the sd card and write to it using a card reader

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Android Central Forums

[ejames82]

hello adamhos,

I have tried two different computers with linux, windows 7, and xp, and still the pc does not see the phone via the cable. I found the way to enable usb mass storage (that is to say that I found it in the menu). the title bar/toolbar at the top needs to be dragged downward, then the menu pops up. still it doesn't allow me to exchange files from pc to phone. I have used the linux terminal and looked in windows disk management and there is nothing there. if I was to venuture a guess, I would say that drivers are missing.

we have an SD card dreader that is like a flash driver with a slot for the card. it is working perfectly, so I am getting all the files I think I will need.

I am going through the info that you provided, and instead of just grabbing one file or two and putting it on the SD card, I am getting all that I think I will possibly use. there are gb's of space available. there is one that I was unable to get because the host no longer provides a download. that is for gapps.zip. I see places that are 'supposed' to have it, but it looks like those places are just trying to trick me into downloading malware.
I just don't want to shut off the phone, remove the card, plug in the reader, etc, etc, I just want to have everything and do it all in one shot, and have extra roms to spare for peace of mind.

just letting you know that I didn't disappear. I have been really busy with this. I have to work tomorrow til late in the afternoon, so I am getting as much done today as possible. I will finish downloading, then go back and review the info you have provided. I am also thinking about installing that optional windows driver on the pc. will let you know.

thanks for the reply.

[ejames82]

adamhos,


haha we have a connection between the phone and pc.

I installed the drivers provided there (the optional driver, the very first one at the top-before 'rooting') and xp was showing a 'usb device recognized', but the drive letter still was not shown in 'my computer'. so I continued to install all of the drivers (on the pc, NOT the phone and there are about 3 drivers) provided.

the pop-up came up to 'safely remove hardware' and it had 'google device' listed, but still nothing in 'my computer' however. then it occurred to me that the phone still needed to be re-enabled . after I enabled usb mass storage the window came up allowing me to access the files on the phone. I'm in.

now I will get back to reviewing the info you provided and proceed to root this phone (I really hope anyway).

I am sure you will chime in when you get a chance.

thanks.

[adamhos]

I can send a link to some gapps , check your pm

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Android Central Forums

[AndyOpie150]

FYI: When you install the LG USB drivers the phone should not be plugged in to PC. After install of drivers, reboot PC. This will install the other 2 drivers. There are 5 in all.
If your still not getting a popup window after selecting "turn on USB connect" then go to Start/Computer. Select the SD card icon.
If no SD card icon, unplug phone,turn phone off, plug phone back in and turn on.
If it still doesn't see SD card, then go to phone menu/settings/applications/ development and enable USB debugging. Then as fast as you can turn it off and back on.
My Linux distro doesn't require any USB drivers and sees the ext.4 partition on the SD card as well.
Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

[ejames82]

adamhos,


I'll check it out.



AndyOpie150,


'FYI: When you install the LG USB drivers the phone should not be plugged in to PC'
ouch. the 'enable usb mass storage' was not yet enabled, but point well taken.

'After install of drivers, reboot PC. This will install the other 2 drivers. There are 5 in all.'
right after posting this I will do that.

'If no SD card icon, unplug phone,turn phone off, plug phone back in and turn on.
If it still doesn't see SD card, then go to phone menu/settings/applications/ development and enable USB debugging. Then as fast as you can turn it off and back on.'
I will soon find out.

'My Linux distro doesn't require any USB drivers and sees the ext.4 partition on the SD card as well.'
I use os4 and my wife has ubuntu and neither could find the phone.



to all,
I have the gingerbreak on the SD card and I installed ES file manager, but I don't get an option to install the file. I am able to negotiate to the file.
I click on the file and I get a choice:
open with
1. astro
2. ES zip viewer

I chose ES file manager earlier and the phone recommended to me to install UC browser, which unfortunately I did. UC didn't help at all.
I don't know how to install the gingerbreak. I have available to me google play. there is no 'market'.

thanks for all the replies and the help thus far.

[A-android-B]

Google play or market are the same thing. Check the file extension of the ginger break file. Sometimes it downloads as .zip instead of .apk. just change it if it is wrong. It needs to be.apk

Sent from my VM670 using Android Central Forums

[ejames82]

A-android-B,

I have both extensions. I cannot get an 'install' option. there is not much I can do with those files. there are files inside as well, but I don't want to mess with them unless someone who has prior experience suggests so.

thanks for the reply

[AndyOpie150]

adamhos,


I'll check it out.



AndyOpie150,


'FYI: When you install the LG USB drivers the phone should not be plugged in to PC'
ouch. the 'enable usb mass storage' was not yet enabled, but point well taken.

'After install of drivers, reboot PC. This will install the other 2 drivers. There are 5 in all.'
right after posting this I will do that.

'If no SD card icon, unplug phone,turn phone off, plug phone back in and turn on.
If it still doesn't see SD card, then go to phone menu/settings/applications/ development and enable USB debugging. Then as fast as you can turn it off and back on.'
I will soon find out.

'My Linux distro doesn't require any USB drivers and sees the ext.4 partition on the SD card as well.'
I use os4 and my wife has ubuntu and neither could find the phone.



to all,
I have the gingerbreak on the SD card and I installed ES file manager, but I don't get an option to install the file. I am able to negotiate to the file.
I click on the file and I get a choice:
open with
1. astro
2. ES zip viewer

I chose ES file manager earlier and the phone recommended to me to install UC browser, which unfortunately I did. UC didn't help at all.
I don't know how to install the gingerbreak. I have available to me google play. there is no 'market'.

thanks for all the replies and the help thus far.

You can tap file and get options and long press and get more options. It's been awhile, so I don't know which will give you the install option ( assuming it's not a zip file, but an apk file).

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Android Central Forums

[ejames82]

I have both gingerbreak files, the apk and the exe. they are on the SD card.
I also have a folder that is called gingerbreak v1.20 I think it was created when I extracted the gingerbreak zip file.

when I touch the folder I get a list of items
assets folder
META-INF folder
res folder
AndroidManifest.xml
classes.dex
resources.arsc

the assets folder contains all .png files
the META-INF folder contains
CERT.RSA when I touch this file I get 'application not available'
CERT.SF application not available
MANIFEST.MF application not available

the res folder contains
drawable-hdpi folder contains icon.png
drawable-ldpi folder contains icon.png
drawable-mdpi folder contains icon.png

AndroidManifest.xml application not available
classes.dex application not available
resources.arsc application not available

by long-pressing any of these files or folders I get these choices
open
delete
cut
copy
compress

the only option that does anything significant is 'open' which is the same as tapping. basically I can't do anything with that folder or any of it's contents.

in regards to the gingerbreak.zip. if I touch it application not available
long-pressing it gives me
open
delete
cut
copy
send

in regards to the gingerbreak-exploit-source... if I touch it application not available
long pressing it gives me
open
delete
cut
copy
send

when I select 'open' it's always the same as touching the file. so long-pressing provides no benefit.

I have tried everything I can think of. I admit I am inexperienced with this phone, so if there is a trick that I don't know about, or any ideas, I welcome them as I have your suggestions thus far. I am suspicious of the SD card (it's useability). would it hurt to take out the SD card and try stuff? I am wondering if anything can be learned, like if the phone suddenly works 'good'. I am considering formatting the card. when a computer has a substandard hard drive attached it is prone to exhibit strange behavior. that's why I suspect the card.

thanks for the reply.

[adamhos]

Open the apk
It should bring up a security warning about downloading non market stuff
Uncheck the box and install

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Android Central Forums

[thewraith420]

Open the apk
It should bring up a security warning about downloading non market stuff
Uncheck the box and install

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Android Central Forums

Actually..... You have to check the box to allow apps from "unknown sources"

Tapatalk'n it from my VM670 running OM-Mandylion IHO on LS670ZVJ firmware

[adamhos]

My bad

Sent from my HTCEVOV4G using Android Central Forums

[ejames82]

I was hoping that I had the 'install from unknown sources' box unchecked, but it was checked already. still unable to root phone.

thanks for the replies. when I get a solution I will share it.

[ejames82]

I successfully rooted the phone.

I wish I had changed one thing at a time, then I would know exactly which change it was that solved the problem.

one thing that I tried that didn't solve the problem was using windows XP error checking on the card. start>Rclick my computer>manage>disk management>Rclick the drive>properties>tools>error checking there are two boxes there, I leave them unchecked. I have used this method to fix a sony book reader.

I also would like to point out that the jack where you plug the usb cord into the phone was flawed. if I was using windows I would keep hearing the chimes which means the phone is either connecting or disconnecting. to establish an adequate connection and see a pop-up window representing the phone would require me putting pressure against the top of the cord while pulling on the bottom (it required seroious manipulation to force contact). the reason I mention this is that any file delivered by usb may not be trustworthy. the files I kept having trouble with were delivered via usb. good phone or not, a bad jack does not represent quality. lg should do better.

I considered the possibility that a security program may be blocking this procedure in several different ways. I found that netqin (I hope I got the name right) was out of date and from what I could see, was doing no good. maybe actually doing harm. so I removed it, along with their 'booster'. I know they're good programs. maybe later I will use them again.

I also reformatted the SD card to FAT32. I used gparted (common for linux), but windows provides tools as well. for windows XP I think it can be found here: start>Rclick my computer>manage>disk management>Rclick the drive>properties before I did this I copied all of the files off. after formatting I put the files back on.

I deleted the questionable gingerbreak files and decided to get new files and try again. I attempted to go right to the link provided above (thanks adamhos) and download the gingerbreak 1.20apk via 3g and see if my luck could be any better this way. the file downloaded as smooth as silk and to my amazement an 'install' button accompanied it. I long-pressed 'install' and it said 'installation successful'. for anyone interested, there is a tutorial on youtube that shows a guy installing gingerbreak, and I was following his tutorial for reference. when I installed gingerbreak, it took about two minutes and rebooted. then I checked to see if 'unroot the phone' was white (which means you're root and can use this option, if you're still not root, it will be grey). it was white. I also installed 'root checker' from play-google and it verified I was rooted.

I know I need to do a backup and install custom roms now (I have some investigating to do), right now I want to remove some of this bloatware that is draining the life out of this phone. so I will check into this and if I need any help I will start a new thread. I will keep my eye on this thread and continue to discuss this if asked (this is my idea of fun).

thanks for all the replies.

[adamhos]

Install a recovery now

Then you can make a backup

Sent from my PG86100 using Android Central Forums

[adamhos]

I would recommend installing flash image GUI and installing a recovery asap

Once you have a backup then start removing things

Sent from my PG86100 using Android Central Forums

[_alexkta]

http://forums.androidcentral.com/sho....php?p=1150713

I used this to flash my recovery, just skip the first 3 steps

Sent from my LG-VM670 using Xparent Cyan Tapatalk 2

[thewraith420]

I would recommend installing flash image GUI and installing a recovery asap

Once you have a backup then start removing things

Sent from my PG86100 using Android Central Forums

+1 its important to have a custom recovery and backup before starting to mess around in the system folder it'll save you a big headache if you accidentally mess something up(it happens!) .

Tapatalk'n it from my VM670 running OM-Mandylion IHO on LS670ZVJ firmware

[ejames82]

I have been gathering up all the info I can find, plus all the roms, and acquired flash image gui from the google-play.
maybe I should have just jumped into this recovery, but I have a 'healthy dose of cowardess' (it has served me well over the years) plus I have to work tomorrow.
any more links to roms or suggestions on apps are encouraged.
I would also like to have the option available to me to return to stock rom (that cowardess thing I spoke of earlier). so any info on how to do this would be great.
and, I know, make a backup asap. I will NOT forget to do this.
thanks to ALL again.

[ejames82]

I have successfully flashed this recovery:

VM670NH_recovery.img

now I will see if I can succeed in making a backup.
I didn't realize the importance of the new recovery image until I explored what was provided by the phone by pushing home, volume up, and power (before I flashed the recovery). there is no option for backup (so I chose reboot and got right out of there before I messed anything up). I am assuming that this recovery image provides options for backup. with the original recovery image, and according to my extensive google search, a full backup is hard to obtain, hence the recovery flash.
for some reason I also associated rom with recovery, which was totally inacurate by me. sort of like the computers bios and operating system are totally different.
the original recovery image offered very little in the way of options.

[ejames82]

I thought things were going well for me. I pushed home, volume up and power. I selected backup and restore. there was a picture of a hat and a circle. after 15 minutes there was still the picture of the hat and circle. it looks like the program stalled. it doesn't seem like it should take over 15 minutes to get to the next menu. I tried it again and still the same. I will try the thunder recovery image and see how that goes.