Rom/Kernal questions

[superaj]

Why is it important to wipe data and clear cache before flashing a new rom. From what I have read you do not need to do that with a kernal. When I do that it erases everything settings, my accounts, my apps.

Also how do I know what kernal I have installed? When I go to the about phone menu it does not seem to change. I never checked when I was running voodoo but I did take that off. Im running the stupidfast test kernal now.

 

[namebrandon]

Easiest way (that I know of) to display kernel information is to use SetCPU and look in that app at the system info / settings. It should display kernel info, and usually the account name under which it was compiled.. A kernel I built on my linuxVM would say brandon@ubuntuvm.. geeknik's kernel(s) should say geeknik@xxxx.. JT's will say willxyz@xxxx or something like that (I forget his login name, but he said it was a South Park reference...?)

You don't need to clear cache/data when flashing a kernel. An easy (yet technically inaccurate) way of thinking about it is comparing it to hardware..

A kernel is like a CPU, and a ROM is like the hard drive. If someone gave you a new, upgraded CPU, you could just (usually!) drop it in and go, not much you need to do from a software level. A ROM would be like a friend giving you his old hard drive... You'd want to wipe it clean first, before using it.. You don't want his old data, or your current data to cause any issues, so it's best to start clean.

Like I said, that's far from being technically correct, but it's somewhat accurate from a high-level / conceptual overview.

 

[shaundizzle]

Why is it important to wipe data and clear cache before flashing a new rom. From what I have read you do not need to do that with a kernal. When I do that it erases everything settings, my accounts, my apps.

Also how do I know what kernal I have installed? When I go to the about phone menu it does not seem to change. I never checked when I was running voodoo but I did take that off. Im running the stupidfast test kernal now.

Your supposed to wipe data for a fresh restart. You really don't HAVE to but its recommended. Typically if you don't wipe you can run into a bunch of force closes on certain Apps, especially on the stock ones as each rom has their own tweaks.
And yes a factory reset will wipe all your data haha.
Try downloading titanium backup to restore your apps.
What also works is going into clockwork recovery>backups and restore>advanced restore>restore data from your most recent backup.
Keep in mind titanium is better to do cuz you can choose to only restore apps or certain apps to prevent force closes. Restoring data is more if your encountering a problem and need to wipe your phone but are keeping the same rom or upgrading your rom.

To figure out the kernel go into about phone and it'll be under build number.

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[superaj]

Thank you both for your help........

I think I get it now.....