ROM Manager: Do You Use It?

[Murph5150]

I'm guilty of throwing on my 1st Jelly Bean ROM using ROM Manager (Vicious Jelly Bean V5 signed). It ran without a hitch. When it came time to upgrade to Android 4.1.1, I went the long way with dmmarck's help; dropping the file on the root of my sd card.

So, at the end of the day, does anyone fool around with ROM Manager or does everyone take the long road when downloading a ROM?

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Android Central Forums

 

[oxymoron]

Be aware that the responses you get, will be directly related to how experienced that person is. Most people that use it, do so because they probably used a toolkit to unlock and root, and flash a recovery. It's automated, you need not know what is happening during the process. It just happens. The obvious next step (and usually the purpose of unlocking) is to flash a ROM. Why not use something that does it for you? Hello ROM manager.

What happens when something goes wrong (I.e. won't boot/boot loop) ? These people come here asking for help. That's not a bad thing, there's usually someone here to help. But, sometimes there isn't. It can be scary for a person that doesn't know what to do, or how to fix it. A utility that runs from your OS, cannot help you if you can't get to your OS. You need to know how to manually (and more effectively, BTW) do the tasks that ROM manager does.

I'm not harping on you Murph... this is a general statement. Almost all of us have used ROM manager at one time or another. Almost all of us that have been doing this for a long time, also have discontinued use of it long ago. Why? Short answer... it's unnecessary, and we don't trust automated processes as much as we trust ourselves.

The answer to your OP. No. I never use it. I did use it on occasion to rename nandroids, but since TWRP that's also completely unnecessary.

While there is no right or wrong answer, there is one more beneficial

 

[atlas9171]

Nope don't use it, don't really care for it personally.

Like Oxy mentions, you should learn to do everything manually just in case, boot loops suck, had to deal with one last night that I couldn't get the phone out of, it may happen to you some day and you will need to know how to get back to stock and start over. I don't have anything against the toolkits, unlocked and rooted my phone last night using one just to take the easy route.

Easy is nice but if nobody is on hand to help when it all goes wrong you need to be able to figure out how to get the phone back in working order and it's best to learn before it happens.

 

[cyberdalek]

I have used it to update Clockworkmod but not to flash a ROM. I learned the steps to flashing a new ROM and found that they were easy enough that using it was unnecessary.
I do not have a great deal of experience with rooting devices. The first device I rooted was my TouchPad. I just unlocked my Nexus (using Wugs) in March and didn't flash a custom ROM until JB.
When I DL a ROM I usually do so because of a recommendation on these forums and I follow the link provided. It's only a couple extra steps to flash it manually.


Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[dmmarck]

I think we know my thoughts on the matter .

 

[bbudnick5001]

Personally I have never used RM for anything other than flashing CWM. Now that I am on TWRP I never use that app. When it comes to me I always download ROMs straight to my phone and then use a file manager app to organize everything. Let me say that I have only been in flashing stuff for a few months but I have found that I can keep flashable zips of both recoveries on my phone as well as a backup or two on each recovery. This has saved my butt and I have never needed my PC to help fix a problem. Anyway just my .02

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Android Central Forums

 

[davidnc]

Rom Manager = Evil

There I said it lol

 

[ConTejas]

I use it to reboot into recovery. That's it. I find the manual way much more satisfying. First thing I've autoflashed was r241 from franco's app yesterday and I was so let down I wiped and flashed a new rom :-!

 

[stacman.nexus]

I use it only for naming nandroids, but the last couple of times I've ended up with md5 mismatches when trying to restore, so I think it's served its last purpose.

For ROMs I prefer to download them to my PC so I have a virgin backup, and transfer to the phone for flashing.

 

[2defmouze]

I think we know my thoughts on the matter .

Lol yes I believe our opinions have been made abundantly clear

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[TabGuy]

Be aware that the responses you get, will be directly related to how experienced that person is. Most people that use it, do so because they probably used a toolkit to unlock and root, and flash a recovery. It's automated, you need not know what is happening during the process. It just happens. The obvious next step (and usually the purpose of unlocking) is to flash a ROM. Why not use something that does it for you? Hello ROM manager.

What happens when something goes wrong (I.e. won't boot/boot loop) ? These people come here asking for help. That's not a bad thing, there's usually someone here to help. But, sometimes there isn't. It can be scary for a person that doesn't know what to do, or how to fix it. A utility that runs from your OS, cannot help you if you can't get to your OS. You need to know how to manually (and more effectively, BTW) do the tasks that ROM manager does.

I'm not harping on you Murph... this is a general statement. Almost all of us have used ROM manager at one time or another. Almost all of us that have been doing this for a long time, also have discontinued use of it long ago. Why? Short answer... it's unnecessary, and we don't trust automated processes as much as we trust ourselves.

The answer to your OP. No. I never use it. I did use it on occasion to rename nandroids, but since TWRP that's also completely unnecessary.

While there is no right or wrong answer, there is one more beneficial

I respectfully disagree with your assessment. Experience has nothing to do with it. I'm a very experienced driver but I could never replace the transmission on my car. I can write in assembler language but I don't, I write code in a higher level language. I can make marinara sauce from scratch but I'd rather just pop the top off a jar of sauce. I can walk the golf course but rent a cart. I can saw wood with hand saw but use a circular saw instead.

Tools are there to aid in making something easier. I've only been installing ROMs on my Nexus for about a month. I'm not experienced by any means. But I know how it works. I'm a quick study. I have a computer science degree from UCLA. I could take all the manual steps if I needed to. But I don't need to. I've flashed my phone about 30 times in the last month. All of them by ROM Manager. All without incident.

I know that if an incident occurs I can manually boot my phone and take care of it. If I encounter errors I know I can come here and be fixed in less than an hour.

Tools make one's life easier. Ask any drywall installer if he'd rather use a screwdriver or an electric drill to install dry wall.

My time is valuable. RM let's me download and install the daily Skank in only a few klicks. I don't get a thrill out of using the manual method. It's tedious work. My phone is a tool, not a hobby.

Now, should RM fail me I'll have to spend time fixing the issue. But it hasn't failed me yet. It would appear that it has failed some of you in the past and you're skeptical. I haven't been bit yet. Maybe it has improved over time and it's worth a second look.

However, if you enjoy the manual process then I can understand your desire not to use RM. I'm just glad there are choices.

I enjoy the idea of using a new ROM and all it has to offer. I don't enjoy the process of getting the new ROM on my phone.

 

[dmmarck]

I respectfully disagree with your assessment. Experience has nothing to do with it. I'm a very experienced driver but I could never replace the transmission on my car. I can write in assembler language but I don't, I write code in a higher level language. I can make marinara sauce from scratch but I'd rather just pop the top off a jar of sauce. I can walk the golf course but rent a cart. I can saw wood with hand saw but use a circular saw instead.

Tools are there to aid in making something easier. I've only been installing ROMs on my Nexus for about a month. I'm not experienced by any means. But I know how it works. I'm a quick study. I have a computer science degree from UCLA. I could take all the manual steps if I needed to. But I don't need to. I've flashed my phone about 30 times in the last month. All of them by ROM Manager. All without incident.

I know that if an incident occurs I can manually boot my phone and take care of it. If I encounter errors I know I can come here and be fixed in less than an hour.

Tools make one's life easier. Ask any drywall installer if he'd rather use a screwdriver or an electric drill to install dry wall.

My time is valuable. RM let's me download and install the daily Skank in only a few kicks. I don't get a thrill out of using the manual method. It's tedious work. My phone is a tool, not a hobby.

The highlighted portion shows why you're the exception to the rule.

Also, I elaborated a bit here:

Why do you dislike ROM Manager?

This is a complicated question. It is my belief that if you want to do a job the right way you make sure you learn it thoroughly--in and out. Using an application like ROM Manager skips several steps and lets you flash stuff willy nilly, which is never good when it comes to such pricey luxury items. Further, think of it this way--it puts yet another step, yet another wall, between recovery and you, the end user. If you want control, take it. Trust me on this--flashing and wiping stuff in recovery is a piece of cake once you do it a couple times. Once you learn how to do it you'll know how to bail yourself out, particularly by restoring a backup or using the adb interface to push a fresh, clean, life-saving rom to your SDcard. Learn how to do it

http://forums.androidcentral.com/ne...oting-hacking-your-nexus-7-a.html#post2070003

 

[TabGuy]

dmmark,

Thanks for the reply. I believe that RM gives me more freedom.

For example, I was looking at the documents about the Thunderstick ROM. I especially liked the 5 button Navigation Bar. So, while I was in a meeting, I used RM to download ThunderStick, backup using Nandroid, and flash ThunderStick. I played around with ThunderStick for about 15 minutes in the meeting and decided I liked CM10 (Skank) better so I booted into recovery and restored the backup. My phone was back to the way it was when I entered the meeting.

All of this happened in less than 30 minutes. Without a PC involved.

I could never have done that the manual way. However, I might have paid better attention in the meeting! ;-)

 

[2defmouze]

dmmark,

Thanks for the reply. I believe that RM gives me more freedom.

For example, I was looking at the documents about the Thunderstick ROM. I especially liked the 5 button Navigation Bar. So, while I was in a meeting, I used RM to download ThunderStick, backup using Nandroid, and flash ThunderStick. I played around with ThunderStick for about 15 minutes in the meeting and decided I liked CM10 (Skank) better so I booted into recovery and restored the backup. My phone was back to the way it was when I entered the meeting.

All of this happened in less than 30 minutes. Without a PC involved.

I could never have done that the manual way.

Why couldn't it be done the manual way? I download ROMs directly to my phone all the time and do everything in recovery.. Would have taken me the same amount of time. Just food for thought.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[dmmarck]

dmmark,

Thanks for the reply. I believe that RM gives me more freedom.

For example, I was looking at the documents about the Thunderstick ROM. I especially liked the 5 button Navigation Bar. So, while I was in a meeting, I used RM to download ThunderStick, backup using Nandroid, and flash ThunderStick. I played around with ThunderStick for about 15 minutes in the meeting and decided I liked CM10 (Skank) better so I booted into recovery and restored the backup. My phone was back to the way it was when I entered the meeting.

All of this happened in less than 30 minutes. Without a PC involved.

I could never have done that the manual way.

Other than downloading or finding the rom, you can do all of that manually--particularly with TWRP, which is why I prefer it. Once the rom is downloaded it takes ~ 20 minutes from flashing to fully set up (including market restore).

Not only that, but you ensure several things:

(1) That the wipes are done
(2) That the /system partition is wiped and clean
(3) That you're flashing all of the files you need; what if you want to add in your favorite kernel? Simply add it to the queue or flash it after. What about a modification? Same thing.
(4) If you forget something, simply wipe and do it again.

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the allure of such an application. However, saying it's faster or easier--particularly with the advent of TWRP--is not necessarily accurate IMHO. Once you get down the basics of flashing (see my dirty v. clean flashing/wiping stuff in the Skank thread and in the Kraken guide) it literally becomes an exercise in muscle memory .

Now, where ROM Manager (and GooManager Beta) really excel is having a multitude of roms at your finger tips. Ideally, if were to use CWM, I would use RM to update the rom download, then boot in and do it manually.

But like I said, if you know how to restore stuff, if you know how to go in and actually fix stuff--then you're the exception. But ROM Manager, aside from a button that says restore, does not offer that solution. It offers very limited options, and if you haven't ever used adb or fastboot or the custom recovery in its manual forms you will be stuck and in trouble sooner than later.

Lastly, while I'm not a computer science major or programmer, I do have years of experience with this, so my opinions are formed not necessarily from "expertise," but rather from my own misgivings, shortcomings, bricks, etc. If RM hadn't screwed me over in the past I probably would be a bigger fan. But alas, it has weaknesses.

Nice discussion btw .

 

[TabGuy]

Why couldn't it be done the manual way? I download ROMs directly to my phone all the time and do everything in recovery.. Would have taken me the same amount of time. Just food for thought.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Well, you're right. And, I've done that also, when I first started flashing. But I let RM do the download. It's easy to find them and manually install them. But a couple of times I forgot a step. Once I forgot to backup. Got distracted by what was actually going on in a meeting. So, I've since let RM do the tasks.

Think of it as valet parking vs. manually parking the car. Some people won't let another person park their car and would never use valet. Me? I don't care, let them park it.

 

[cyberdalek]

With all this ROM Manager talk I decided to open the app today and found that there was an update to Clockworkmod so of course I updated it. Now my phone spends a much longer amount of time at the Google screen... Battery pulls and/or over two minutes wait times.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

Is it the ICS bootloader now mucking things up? All I did was update.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

[dmmarck]

Well, you're right. And, I've done that also, when I first started flashing. But I let RM do the download. It's easy to find them and manually install them. But a couple of times I forgot a step. Once I forgot to backup. Got distracted by what was actually going on in a meeting. So, I've since let RM do the tasks.

Think of it as valet parking vs. manually parking the car. Some people won't let another person park their car and would never use valet. Me? I don't care, let them park it.

The difference, I think, is that apps can (and have, in my case) locked up. I had RM lock up on my DINC going to restore it. Sent my phone into all sorts of hell. Going into recovery removes that risk.

Now, with devices that we have now, that's a lesser concern, but still a concern. The last thing you want is that thing to freeze, FC, etc. during a critical step--and it's happened.

Remember, rooting is very risk in and of itself. So I'd rather preach "eliminate all risk" rather than "be ok with some risk, so long as some steps become easy."

 

[dmmarck]

With all this ROM Manager talk I decided to open the app today and found that there was an update to Clockworkmod so of course I updated it. Now my phone spends a much longer amount of time at the Google screen... Battery pulls and/or over two minutes wait times.

Any suggestions on how to fix this?

Is it the ICS bootloader now mucking things up? All I did was update.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

Flash TWRP .

 

[cyberdalek]

Flash TWRP .

If I did, would it help my boot time? Is there a guide for changing from CWM to TWRP?
I have been thinking about it for a while but I haven't had any issues with CWM so didn't see the point.
Why did an update change my boot time?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus