methods for flashing roms and installing google apps after

[pstellato73]

OK. I am very new to rooting and flashing and all that. I rooted my Droid last night with absolutely no issues using the super One Click v1.5.3-shortfuse method. I did a clockwork recovery and a nandroid backup. I downloaded cyanogen Mod 6.0.0 Droid froyo. I was previously on the official froyo 2.2 prior to the root. I also downloaded and installed Rom Manager prior to all this. I was able to get the wireless tether to work and an overclock app, which i uninstalled for now.

I flashed cyanogen mod 6.0.0 for droid tonight and did not realize that all the google apps would be removed from the flash. I found that out the hard way, so I panic'd. I tried looking for a link online to the market app and couldn't find one, so I rebooted into recovery and tried to only restore my data thru nandroid advanced restore. Well, that put me into a boot loop. I pulled the battery and tried to reboot into recovery again, it took me a few tries, then i remembered reading about holding down the X key and power button at the same time. That worked and I restored my nandroid backup from tonight.

This kind of put me off to the whole flashing rom thing, but i would like to try it again. What method do you use to get all the google apps back on your phone after you flash a new rom?? I also downloaded Sapphire 1.1 for the droid and he at least added a zip file for all google apps, but I am unsure of the total process. All these instructions out there and videos on youtube fail to mention that you have to install another update.zip for the gapps or is that not the case???

So, number 1. do you need to use the zip file for gapps from the creator of the rom you are flashing or can I use the sapphire 1.1 gapps update.zip for all my roms going forward and 2. What is a step by step after you flash the rom to the phone? Do you just install a zip from SD card in the boot menu from clockwork recovery?

I am just trying to get a grasp so this doesn't happen to me again. Also, what other good ROM's are recommeded for the Droid?

Thanks in advance and I appreciate the feedback.

 

[Brett]

seems like you were having a an interesting day haha. we have all been there.

ill try my best to answer your 3 questions

1) certain roms like Cyanogen and Sapphire are built from source which means the base code that google releases. If you install a rom like those 2 you will usually have to install the google apps apk separately. the good news is that both cyanogen and sapphire usually give you the option to install google apps when you use Rom Manager to install them.

Other roms that are not built from source (even though some devs say they are from source) like Bugless Beast, JRummy's Roms, Chevy's Simply Stunning etc. will have it included in the zip file that you download for the rom.

Now you may ask "Why does the Cyanogen Rom and Sapphire rom make me have to install google apps seperately?". That is a good question. The reason is because they are their own roms that are straight from source. They own 100% of their rom since it is not base off another manufacturers releases. If Cyanogen and the Sapphire team wanted to, they could technically sell their rom to people to use (thank god they don't haha). Other devs would not be able to sell their roms because they don't own the right to their roms. They are just taking bits and pieces from other manufacturers builds and making their own concoction.

2) This question is not clear to me. I do not know if you are asking about installing a zip file of a rom or the zip for google apps.

If you are talking about google apps then you can install it through the recovery from my knowledge. you just have to search for the apk. I think cyanogen has the file on his site or forum. Koush probably includes it in his ports of cyanogen.

3) now for the hardest question. I personally like the latest builds of Chevy's Simply Stunning rom. It ran fast and his kernels were pretty good as well. This question is obviously subjective because each person has their own personal preferences. A few good ones to check out are Shadow Rom, if JRummy has released a new one recently, Pete's Bugless Beast. I haven't had a droid for the past month (since verizon sent me an incredible after 4 faulty droid replacements) so i do not really know what the newest roms are like but i would assume they are relatively the same.

Good luck

 

[pstellato73]

Thanks Brett. as for number 2, yes. I was talking about google apps. and for those ROM's like chevy's or Bugless Beast will the google apps be installed with the Rom or do you have to install separately?

You bring up another question when talking about kernels. I noticed that there are many different kernels with different overclock speeds. What speed would be safe to overclock to? Does it depend on the ROM?

Right now with the stock kernel on my droid, I think it only goes up to 800mhz with SetCPU that I have installed. and it is still fairly slow from time to time.

When flashing different Rom's do you have to do a factory wipe before each one is installed?

Thanks again. I want to use my rooted droid to its fullest and i do like to tinker. With my Blackberry I changed themes all the time and installed the newest hybrid out so I have bricked a few phones before. Makes it interesting.

 

[Brett]

from my previous experiences with those 2 roms (chevy's and Pete's BB) they both have google apps included in the rom

overclocking is hard to recommend settings. each motorola droid is slightly different. not each one idividually but there are droids that can use kernels set for 1.2 GHZ and there are others that can handle it over 800 Mghz. What seemed to have the best results for me was Chevy's low volatage 1.2 Ghz. I would set it at a Min. of 250 and Max of 1.2 Ghz with "on demand" as the setting. I would then put in the fail safe settings so if it he 37 degrees celcius it would drop to 250-550If you flash a kernel and you get stuck in a boot loop, just pull the battery and boot into recovery and install a lower kernel.

these are just setting that i have used. they might not work the best for you but the only way to find out is trial and error.

as for doing a factory wipe. i never did a factory wipe. What i did do before flashing a rom was reboot into the recovery and then wiped the data and cache 3 times each. this way i knew everything was wiped completely.

 

[pstellato73]

So if I were running Cyanogen Mod 6 for the droid, what kernels are out there that work well? I downloaded one from within the cyanogen downloads in Rom Manager and it wouldn't boot up, just sat at the motorola logo for a few minutes. I pulled the battery and had to restore my backup from stock because I never backed up using Cyanogen (only 1/2 day or so). I didn't even have all my settings the way I wanted.

And if were to go with chevy's SS rom are only chevy's kernels recommended? I read yes and then read generic if it works go with it, if not reboot into recovery and install a new one. But I only downloaded one.
Still a little confused no matter how many videos and sites I visit and I am not technically or technologically challenged.

 

[Brett]

From what I remember chevy's and p3droids kernels should work for most roms. I used to use chevy's low voltage 1200 mghz kernel for most of the roms I flashed for the Droid.