ROM Building: The Basics Part IIII - Sprint Samsung Galaxy S III

Welcome back everyone,
We are in knee deep waters now, probably committed and ready to get going on the last of set of tools that need to do some serious modding.
If you are not up to speed, please go to Part I, Part II and Part III.
Get up to speed on those tutorials first before we continue. Remember, this is not Call of Duty, this isn't even Star Wars, this War of the MegaZord 5. We are in the serious stretch of the basics of modding the final frontier son!
Our target today is to utilize the Smali and BakSmali tools.
As you recall from the previous tutorials, the Smali and Baksmali have been put in our very specific folder
Code:
C:\other\Smali\
So, what does the Smali/Baksmali code need to do for it to work? We will need a JAR file. The JAR is a java archive file. You can also open those files with 7-zip, in each of the JAR files we will look at has a classes.dex file which we will need
Each Jar file in our
Code:
MD4_Version_1\system\framework\
Will have a classes.dex file inside, since the name is the same for all files, this is very tricky to manage unless you are organized so remember that each classes.dex file you take out, you remember where the new one needs to go.
So, lets open the following file in 7-zip,
Code:
android.policy.jar
Take the classes.dex file and place it in the folder where the Smali.jar file is and Baksmali.jar files are.
Now open a command prompt to that location and execute the following code,
Code:
C:\other\Smali>java -jar baksmali.jar -o output classes.dex
You will not receive feedback from this command. Do not stress if it looks like nothing happened, of course coincidentally, a new folder has been created in our folder called output(You can name it whatever you want just trying to keep it simple.
This folder will have a de-compiled set of .smali code that will allow us to modify very critical settings and make amazing mods.
The good news is we have the technology now we need the....wait wrong show,
We have the ability to take any classes.dex file and modify it and we can recompile it and execute a mod perfectly.
To recompile, we will need to execute the following code
Code:
C:\other\Smali>java -jar smali.jar -o newclasses.dex output
This will create a new file called newclasses.dex
We will need to place it inside the android.policy.jar
Of course, take the file and place it on your desktop, rename it to classes.dex and place it in the android.policy.jar and your mods are ready to go.
So that's all you need to do because the signatures cannot be messed with so this is the best way to do it.
Now, to the modding part, we have the tools to do all the mods you can set your furry little thoughts on.
learned how to implement the following with all of the code belonging to their expert makers.
Removed increasing ringtone
Call Record built into phone
Quick Unlock implemented(only reason I got into this ROM modifying because it annoyed me to press OK button to unlock, only thing iPhone got right...lol android wins)
Sounds modified
Default Sounds Set
Free Tethering working
1 percent battery
Removed apps from system/app to reduce clutter
Modified default wallpapers from Samsung
Phone contacts Theming
4 in 1 reboot enabled
No Sound on Camera
TouchWiz default layout
Seems basic enough but it is all I need, sure there are much fancier things to add, but these tutorials are about adding only what you want.
If all of these sound like you need them or want them, I can go into how to implement these. Not sure what the level of interest is at this point from people as these are not terribly tricky but sometimes, the code made from the original developer does not match exactly and then you have to find it and implement it.
Of course, this comes at a great cost to time, as I was working one each mod, I made 17 versions had to back track to version 12 as a mod I implemented had a bug I did not know exists until I did a fresh install.
This happens a lot by the way. The other day, I had Bluetooth on and connected to headset, a call came through, answered it, switched from headset to speaker and phone just turned off, I am sure there is another bug from another thing in another place that I overlooked.
My point is, making any mod will require a LOT of time. I installed each ROM after that glitch to make sure everything worked. I used Titanium Backup to assist me in my endeavor but it was a hassle to change all my settings to what I needed(there is a way to set your settings any way you want as well while working in the ROM)
The thing is, each developer here takes a great deal of time and effort to do this and sure they have the expertise but it was because they got down in the nitty gritty and found a way to make it happen. They also usually do it out of their good will and hearts(well most of the ones I know). It has to be the most inspiring thing ever to find a group of people that are not doing this to make money but they take time out of their lives and help us Nooblets out. I mean it is our super phone we want to modify right? And I want to say thanks to them. I want to say thanks to everyone who I mooched off their code for to get what I need, because without you, I would be on Google doing something unpronductive. Luckily, things started to work and mods made more sense and it is not so intimidating as it once was...of course several hundred flashes later, it better make more sense.
Thanks for everyone who reads this and gains something. This concludes the part of the tutorial I set out to accomplish and that was to get all the tools needed to make anyone a ROM builder(at least modifier).
Team Venum thanks for your great support as always you guys rock, I dabbled with their ROMs when I had an issue with exchange email
The MOAR team who helped me understand ROM structure for their crazy ROM.
loserskater for his quick unlock code which was by far amazing, I still look through the code and think he made it up on the spot.
lmike6453 who got me closer to figuring out loserskater's epic code.
So many more to thank but cant think of where all my research is, guess I should have listened to my own advice and stayed organized.

zalooa said:
Welcome back everyone,
We are in knee deep waters now, probably committed and ready to get going on the last of set of tools that need to do some serious modding.
If you are not up to speed, please go to Part I, Part II and Part III.
Get up to speed on those tutorials first before we continue. Remember, this is not Call of Duty, this isn't even Star Wars, this War of the MegaZord 5. We are in the serious stretch of the basics of modding the final frontier son!
Our target today is to utilize the Smali and BakSmali tools.
As you recall from the previous tutorials, the Smali and Baksmali have been put in our very specific folder
Code:
C:\other\Smali\
So, what does the Smali/Baksmali code need to do for it to work? We will need a JAR file. The JAR is a java archive file. You can also open those files with 7-zip, in each of the JAR files we will look at has a classes.dex file which we will need
Each Jar file in our
Code:
MD4_Version_1\system\framework\
Will have a classes.dex file inside, since the name is the same for all files, this is very tricky to manage unless you are organized so remember that each classes.dex file you take out, you remember where the new one needs to go.
So, lets open the following file in 7-zip,
Code:
android.policy.jar
Take the classes.dex file and place it in the folder where the Smali.jar file is and Baksmali.jar files are.
Now open a command prompt to that location and execute the following code,
Code:
C:\other\Smali>java -jar baksmali.jar -o output classes.dex
You will not receive feedback from this command. Do not stress if it looks like nothing happened, of course coincidentally, a new folder has been created in our folder called output(You can name it whatever you want just trying to keep it simple.
This folder will have a de-compiled set of .smali code that will allow us to modify very critical settings and make amazing mods.
The good news is we have the technology now we need the....wait wrong show,
We have the ability to take any classes.dex file and modify it and we can recompile it and execute a mod perfectly.
To recompile, we will need to execute the following code
Code:
C:\other\Smali>java -jar smali.jar -o newclasses.dex output
This will create a new file called newclasses.dex
We will need to place it inside the android.policy.jar
Of course, take the file and place it on your desktop, rename it to classes.dex and place it in the android.policy.jar and your mods are ready to go.
So that's all you need to do because the signatures cannot be messed with so this is the best way to do it.
Now, to the modding part, we have the tools to do all the mods you can set your furry little thoughts on.
learned how to implement the following with all of the code belonging to their expert makers.
Removed increasing ringtone
Call Record built into phone
Quick Unlock implemented(only reason I got into this ROM modifying because it annoyed me to press OK button to unlock, only thing iPhone got right...lol android wins)
Sounds modified
Default Sounds Set
Free Tethering working
1 percent battery
Removed apps from system/app to reduce clutter
Modified default wallpapers from Samsung
Phone contacts Theming
4 in 1 reboot enabled
No Sound on Camera
TouchWiz default layout
Seems basic enough but it is all I need, sure there are much fancier things to add, but these tutorials are about adding only what you want.
If all of these sound like you need them or want them, I can go into how to implement these. Not sure what the level of interest is at this point from people as these are not terribly tricky but sometimes, the code made from the original developer does not match exactly and then you have to find it and implement it.
Of course, this comes at a great cost to time, as I was working one each mod, I made 17 versions had to back track to version 12 as a mod I implemented had a bug I did not know exists until I did a fresh install.
This happens a lot by the way. The other day, I had Bluetooth on and connected to headset, a call came through, answered it, switched from headset to speaker and phone just turned off, I am sure there is another bug from another thing in another place that I overlooked.
My point is, making any mod will require a LOT of time. I installed each ROM after that glitch to make sure everything worked. I used Titanium Backup to assist me in my endeavor but it was a hassle to change all my settings to what I needed(there is a way to set your settings any way you want as well while working in the ROM)
The thing is, each developer here takes a great deal of time and effort to do this and sure they have the expertise but it was because they got down in the nitty gritty and found a way to make it happen. They also usually do it out of their good will and hearts(well most of the ones I know). It has to be the most inspiring thing ever to find a group of people that are not doing this to make money but they take time out of their lives and help us Nooblets out. I mean it is our super phone we want to modify right? And I want to say thanks to them. I want to say thanks to everyone who I mooched off their code for to get what I need, because without you, I would be on Google doing something unpronductive. Luckily, things started to work and mods made more sense and it is not so intimidating as it once was...of course several hundred flashes later, it better make more sense.
Thanks for everyone who reads this and gains something. This concludes the part of the tutorial I set out to accomplish and that was to get all the tools needed to make anyone a ROM builder(at least modifier).
Team Venum thanks for your great support as always you guys rock, I dabbled with their ROMs when I had an issue with exchange email
The MOAR team who helped me understand ROM structure for their crazy ROM.
loserskater for his quick unlock code which was by far amazing, I still look through the code and think he made it up on the spot.
lmike6453 who got me closer to figuring out loserskater's epic code.
So many more to thank but cant think of where all my research is, guess I should have listened to my own advice and stayed organized.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It was nicely done, thanks. :good:

Related

[Updated] - How-to Theme Development

To create themes, or to edit themes to your liking, you will need a working knowledge of android, adb, how to resign apk's, knowledge of your own O/S.
Before you start be aware that you will may end up wiping your phone once, if not more. So lets go over the things that you will need.
You will need JF's RC30, RC8, or ADP1 V1.3, depending on what version you intend to create for.
Here is the link to these: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=466174
You will also want to get the dev bootloader installed on your phone and to HIGHLY suggest everyone trying your theme to install it as well.
Link to dev bootloader: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=455860
You will also need to resign all the apks located in /system/app and framework-res.apk located in /system/framework. When you push all of these to your phone.
JesusFreke was kind enough to build a custom signing tool for me that would allow me to right click on an apk and resign it from there. I am posting it here for others to use as well. Note that this is a courtesy of JF, so thank him for it. I cannot stress how much time this has saved me and will save you.
Here is the link: Http://www.FightForthePits.com/testsign(2).zip
Before using this you need to know how to set this up:
I will assume that you have the sdk downloaded and extracted somewhere(if not, do that now), extract both files to the tools directory of your sdk.
Now you will need to add the tools dir of your sdk to the environment variable CLASSPATH.(This is for XP, Vista coming soon)
To do this, right click on My Computer click properties, then choose the tab that says advanced. Click the button that says environmental variables. Go to system variables find the one that says CLASSPATH, double click it, go to the end of variable value. There should be a semicolon ; at the end. type in the path to the testsign.jar located in the tools directory of your SDK, for example the path to my testsign.jar was c:\sdk\android-sdk-windows-1.0_r1\tools\testsign.jar If CLASSPATH is not in your system variables then create it. Secondly, Find the system variable called PATH and add to the end of it, the full path to your sdk directory. For example, mine was c:\sdk\android-sdk-windows-1.0_r2\tools
Now right click the reg file that you extracted and choose to install it, or merge.
Now, right click an apk, do you see an option that says ResignApk? That's how you will resign your .apks and .zips.
If you find the right click menu not working for some reason you can type the following in cmd to sign your files: java testsign whateverfiletosign
Now through doing this you have done two things, first off you have made the resigning process extremely easy, secondly you will not have to cd to the tools dir of the sdk to use adb or any other tool in the sdk.
You will also need a version of linux installed or running vmware with linux, if you want to create, or edit, an update script, which will install the theme onto the users phone.
You will need to be specific in addressing what version your theme is for, RC8, RC30, or ADP1. Make sure every file gets signed. Make sure you test the update.zip before you release it.
Every .apk contains the images relating to itself. However, every apk has the ability to use the images in framework-res.apk. The images for every apk is located inside of itself. To find these images open up the apk, you can rename it to .zip or open it with an archiver of your choice, winrar, winace, etc. Then after opening the apk open the folder called res and inside of that there are folders that are named Drawable, drawable-land, drawable-port, etc. This is where the images are stored.
Ther are some things you cannot edit unless you rebuild the entire apk from source, which we will not go into here.(another tutorial, another time) Just know that at this time you SHOULD NOT edit, or even open images with the extension .9.png. If you do you will have problems...Trust me. These are special images called ninepatch images and android resizes these images to fit wherever android, or any other apk, needs it to. if you do open them or edit them they will no longer render correctly when resized. I believe that in order to edit these you must do so and then put them into the source and rebuild the entire apk.
Before getting started you must also realize that you cannot simply resign one or two apk's and stick them in your phone and expect them to work. You must resign every apk inside of /system/app and framework-res.apk and put them on your phone at the same time.
To simplify this process for you though, I have provided an empty update.zip which you can place all of your resigned apps into and use to update your phone to your custom theme. You can also download someonelses theme and use there files, since they are resigned already. It may also be easier to see what files do what and go where since they have already been edited and are easy to point out.
Now, your ready to start changing things up.
You will now need to open the apk, which you can do by adding .zip after .apk, effectively changing it to a zip. Note that if you are using windows you will need to unhide known file extension types. you can also use your favorite archiver such as winrar, winzip, etc.
See here to unhide known file extension types for Xp: http://www.mediacollege.com/microsoft/windows/extension-change.html
See here to unhide file extension types for Vista: http://maximumpcguides.com/windows-vista/how-to-change-a-file-extension/
After opening the apk go to res and copy the folders that have drawable in their name. Go to your desktop, or wherever, create a new folder called Images, or whatever. Open the folder, paste the drawable folders in there. Now you can see what the files look like without opening them. Btw, you may also want to add -frame, or -launcher, to the end of the folders you cope over to keep them separated from others.
Finally, you've edited the images put them all in the apk renamed it back to an apk and resigned it. Now it's time to push it to your phone and see the changes you've made.
Important! : Whenever pushing files to the phone NEVER do it while the phone is running. Do this in recovery mode! If you do this while the phone is running normally you will begin to lose space in /system.
So, boot into recovery plug your phone in and open a cmd prompt. From the cmd prompt type adb shell mount /system then type the following: adb push c:\whereveryourfileis\whateveryourpushing.apk /system/app (system/framework if your pushing framework-res.apk)
Now reboot your phone. If it doesn't boot, try doing a wipe, if that doesn't work reinstall an update and try again. There are alot of things people can do wrong, I can't explain them all here. If you get real stuck, you can ask for help here or contact me on Gtalk [email protected].
So now your theme is done and your ready to make an update.zip for others to install your theme.
I have created a template for you to make your own update.zip. Just download, add the system apps to app, and framework to framework. Zip it up, SIGN IT, TEST IT YOURSELF, and then distribute it!
Empty update.zip template: Http://www.FightForthePits.com/Androidstuff/update_empty.zip
If anyone has any questions please try asking for help in this thread before emailing me for help Usually I will respond to questions in this forum.
I hope this Tutorial has been helpful. I will add on to it as needed.
Stericson
Links of interest:
Downloading SDK: http://code.google.com/android/intro/installing.html
Using ADB: http://code.google.com/android/reference/adb.html
Working with ninepatch should be straightforward if you use the draw9patch tool included in the SDK. Documentation on usage here:
http://code.google.com/android/reference/draw9patch.html
JF could also save theme users a wipe by resigning /system/app/* and /system/framework/framework-res.apk in his builds with the test keys. Nice tutorial, btw.
However it doesn't. I have used that to no avail. I believe you need to edit the images, put them in the source then rebuild the apks from the source.
As for JF's update, it does not currently wipe your phone after install. So, for him to do this he would have to have his update do a wipe. So technically, they would still have to do this initial wipe.
Stericson
Stericson said:
However it doesn't. I have used that to no avail. I believe you need to edit the images, put them in the source then rebuild the apks from the source.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point. I thought you could simply drop a similarly dimensioned PNG in but apparently there is some metadata that only the android tool can create.
As for JF's update, it does not currently wipe your phone after install. So, for him to do this he would have to have his update do a wipe. So technically, they would still have to do this initial wipe.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
True, but a user who is upgrading to a JF update after having put in customized (and test-key signed) system apps will have to wipe again anyway =) Anyone using custom themes will have to wipe every time a JF update (or any update) comes out. However if JF resigns, custom theme users would not have to wipe and stock theme users only have to wipe once. (Nevermind the fact I think everyone should wipe when updating...)
thx stericson this will help big time how long before I can get resigned rc30 last night when you said all the apk. need to be resigned I was like this is going to be a long night but I see jf hooked you up save some big time with his resigning tool
jashsu said:
Good point. I thought you could simply drop a similarly dimensioned PNG in but apparently there is some metadata that only the android tool can create.
True, but a user who is upgrading to a JF update after having put in customized (and test-key signed) system apps will have to wipe again anyway =) Anyone using custom themes will have to wipe every time a JF update (or any update) comes out. However if JF resigns, custom theme users would not have to wipe and stock theme users only have to wipe once. (Nevermind the fact I think everyone should wipe when updating...)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah, good point
The resigned apps will be released maybye sometime tonight...I had them done but ran into a script problem on adp1 and I have yet to try the rc30 and rc8 ones yet. so I won't release those until I've tested them. If you want to be a Guinea pig however, just let me know
Stericson
Stericson said:
Ah, good point
The resigned apps will be released maybye sometime tonight...I had them done but ran into a script problem on adp1 and I have yet to try the rc30 and rc8 ones yet. so I won't release those until I've tested them. If you want to be a Guinea pig however, just let me know
Stericson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The resigned apps have been released, each update file will resign all of apps in /system/app and framework-res.apk. However, these updates make no changes to them whatsoever...Meaning your phone will look just like a brand new phone without any modifications.
rc30 works thx Stericson made it easy for use
Issues with using the update.zip above
Hi all,
I just wanted to point out that after I applied the update.zip above and rebooted applications kept force closing randomly and constantly even through the initial setup (where you have to click the green android to start).
Prior to this, I had JF's RC30 1.3, and the engineering bootloader V2 no sigcheck.
First I did just a alt+s then a alt-w and alt+s. And still nothing.
I'm new to all this so I'm not even sure where to begin troubleshooting. Should I be using the HardSPL?
Thanks in advance and I appologize if this isn't the right place for this post.
Update:
After reflashing with JF's 1.3 RC30 and the problem persisted I noticed that there was a new release 1.31 and this has fixed the problem. I hope this helps anyone else who runs into the same problem.
I still don't know what went wrong though, can anyone shed some light on this? thanks.
Truly there's no telling, sounds like J'f's update fixed it. Can I ask what version you tested?
I would also like to announce that now, thanks to JF, again, you do not have to wipe your phone completely to apply the resigned app updates. However, you will have to re-enter your google info and your call history and other minor things will be gone, but all of your apps will be retained.
Stericson
Alright, I am a little confused........
So I downloaded testsign.zip and extracted it to the tools folder. Then I went into environmental variables and added CLASSPATH with the value D:\Android\tools\testsign.jar and now I am not sure what to do next. Can someone give me some clarification. And btw I am on XP but I can get on linux at home if I need it, but I am a total noob to all this stuff so be gentle.
I'm using http://www.fightforthepits.com/Androidstuff/update_Rc30.zip and have been encountering issues when the phone boots up. As soon as the initial phone setup comes up I get process force close errors, I extracted launcher.apk, edited the files I wanted, repacked it, signed it and then resigned the update.zip. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? I'm already running JF's RC30 1.31
Did you repack it in linux? Did you resign Launcher.apk? Also, that update file was never meant to be used as a template for an update since it kind of wipes your phone. You should be using update_empy, to push your own theme.
If you want to do only one file at a time, flash that update(update_rc30) then adb push your file into system/app. There are lots of things that you can mess up, most of them are hard to catch too. At any rate, everyone who has made a theme can tell you it's not just a straight forward process, expect errors. I've had more than I count I know....
Trial and error is your best teacher
Stericson
Stericson said:
Did you repack it in linux? Did you resign Launcher.apk? Also, that update file was never meant to be used as a template for an update since it kind of wipes your phone. You should be using update_empy, to push your own theme.
If you want to do only one file at a time, flash that update(update_rc30) then adb push your file into system/app. There are lots of things that you can mess up, most of them are hard to catch too. At any rate, everyone who has made a theme can tell you it's not just a straight forward process, expect errors. I've had more than I count I know....
Trial and error is your best teacher
Stericson
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Must .apk's be signed if they're pushed over ADB? I'm not running Linux, I'm repacking/signing in windows.
I also had the issue with force close when installing the resigned update from the first post, apps that shouldn't even run on start up were force closing.
Also the IM application was gone, had to do a wipe and go back to jf 1.31 to correct it
I will take another look at the update I provided...
Stericson
did you ever figure out how to change the text on the status bar from black to white?
to do that you have to rebuiuld the entire apk from source and edit an xml document
Stericson
has anyone tried making the icons bigger? I noticed they are 48x48 if we go bigger will that affect anything? Also has anyone been able to remove the text below the icons on the home screen? Oh and where is the tab located that has been made invisible?
*edit
well I tried making the icons bigger and it doesn't really do anything, they don't show up bigger on the screen. Might have something to do with the text underneath, not sure.
Kyeld said:
Must .apk's be signed if they're pushed over ADB? I'm not running Linux, I'm repacking/signing in windows.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes they must be signed.

*OUTDATED* ROM porting for kaiser/vogue [Linux] NOOB friendly!

THIS IS NOW OUTDATED!!
It uses the old sqsh method WITH a rootfs. So if you're using the NoMoRootfs method, this won't work. Please use the already complete builds in the Kaiser/Vogue threads as they are working the best at this moment.
DISCLAIMER:
I take no responsibility for anything that may happen to your phone/computer. Use at your own risk.
PURPOSE:
This is for informational/testing purposes. And for people to stop asking, "can somebody port X rom!!! PLZ!!!"
PREFACE:
I made this as a quick tool to port ROMs from the Dream/Sapphire forums to work with our phones. It's a very quick and dirty script I threw together using bash, so there's probably some problems with it. This tool is simply designed to make a copy of the Dream/Sapphire ROM. Once you get the setup, it's really easy and you'll be porting like crazy.
I did this all on Ubuntu 9.10 so things might not work properly if you're using another distro.
THANKS:
All credit goes to the people that made this possible, in no particular order...
dzo, vilord, mssmison, zen, enatefox, pmos, jamezelle, craig0r, cyanogen, and so many more. If I forgot you, I'm sorry, but you know if you helped in some way.
THE SETUP:
1) Download this file
2) Extract the folder to your desktop. Then copy and paste the following code into the terminal:
Code:
sudo mv -f $HOME/Desktop/Android/genext2fs /bin/genext2fs; sudo chmod 755 /bin/genext2fs; sudo dpkg -P squashfs-tools; sudo dpkg -i $HOME/Desktop/Android/squashfs-tools_3.3-7_i386.deb; sudo rm -r $HOME/Desktop/Android/squashfs-tools_3.3-7_i386.deb; sudo chmod 777 $HOME/Desktop/Android/*.build.script
3) Now go into synaptic package manager, search for squashfs-tools, select it and under Package, check Lock Version so that way it won't try to update.
4) Now cruise over to the Dream android development forum or the Sapphire android development forum and download the ROM you would like to port. Place the zip file in the Android folder. (no need to rename)
5) Place any .apk's you would like built into the system in the Apps folder.
ADVANCED SETUP:
If you would like to tweak the system before building, open the script in a text editor and you'll find a line to uncomment that will halt the script until you are ready.
HOW TO RUN:
Either run the script from a terminal
Code:
./$HOME/Desktop/Android/HERO.build.script
or
./$HOME/Desktop/Android/Donut.Build.script
Or double click and Run in Terminal
You will get a prompt for your password to use the sudo command. THIS IS NOT SAVED ANYWHERE OR MAGICALLY SENT TO ME. It is just to get the system.sqsh setup for you to use.
You will now see a Donut/Hero folder inside the Android folder. Inside that will be a nice little system.sqsh with the date ready to boot!
*Rename to system.sqsh when you put on your SD card*
Grab the latest basefiles from vogue-android and you're good to go.
~~~~~~ To get an output of what's happening run in a terminal as described above but add " > build.txt" and you'll see a txt file in the Android folder. ~~~~~~~
CHANGING SYSTEMS:
If you want to port a new rom, replace the .zip.
UPDATES:
1) Download the updates from HERE
2) Extract to the Android folder overwriting if necessary.
3) Copy and paste the following code into a terminal:
Code:
sudo chmod 777 $HOME/Desktop/Android/*.script
CLEANUP:
If you follow the advanced setup and/or accidentally closed the terminal before the build finishes, run the cleanup script. This will unmount everything that might be mounted and delete all folders that are made during the process.
DOWNLOADS:
If you're too lazy or just want a quick link:
Main "Android porting" folder
Updates
Input, testers, bugs, and tweaks to the scripts are appreciated!
FAQ:
Why does my system.sqsh not work?
Most likely cause is that you're not using the correct version of squashfs-tools. You'll have to find version 3.X for the distro you're using. Version 4.X will NOT work!!!
When I try to boot a system.sqsh I just made I keep getting something about android power wake locks. WTF?
You're probably trying to port an eclair or cyan ROM. These don't work at the current state. Hopefully soon I'll get these working.
Will update more when they arise.
CHANGELOG:
11-27-09:
-Created a cleanup script in case the terminal is closed during the build process.
-Bug fixes in Donut and Hero scripts
11-24-09:
-Added an Apps folder for apk's you want built into the system.
-Bug fixes in scripts
11-22-09:
-Combined everything needed into a zip file
-WAY easier to setup
11-20-09:
-Added feedback to make more user friendly
-Append time to system.sqsh
loserskater said:
Input, testers, bugs, and tweaks to the scripts are appreciated!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will try today... Downloading
Tried and working. Had to change the script for it work with ubuntu version that i use. Thanks this is really great
garynsa said:
Will try today... Downloading
Tried and working. Had to change the script for it work with ubuntu version that i use. Thanks this is really great
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What did you change?
Glad to see it's working.
loserskater said:
What did you change?
Glad to see it's working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
hI
For some reason I cannot use -a in the genext2fs command. Had to remove that..
One of the Donut is working. Couldnt get the Cyanogen build working . Struggling with hero build also.
Will try again in the next couple of days and post results.
Thanks
garynsa said:
hI
For some reason I cannot use -a in the genext2fs command. Had to remove that..
One of the Donut is working. Couldnt get the Cyanogen build working . Struggling with hero build also.
Will try again in the next couple of days and post results.
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Make sure you use the genext2fs that I referenced.
That one works with -a and might take care of some issues. try that and see if it works.
Updated script to now move system to a Hero or Donut folder.
Working on the cyanogen build now...
EDIT: Here's a cyanogen script that gets it to boot, but sits at a black screen. I haven't had much time to test it so it might boot further than that if you leave it. If somebody wants to test this out or tweak it in some way go for it.
It uses the donut.sqsh in the Android folder so you shouldn't have to do anything with it except make it executable.
EDIT 2: Still working on cyan builds... that script didn't work.
great job i like to see stuff like this to motivate people!!! also note this will work with any donut or hero build from the sapphire forum
jamezelle said:
great job i like to see stuff like this to motivate people!!! also note this will work with any donut or hero build from the sapphire forum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good point, forgot to mention that. Updated first post.
I'm hoping it will help people start to learn to tweak system's. But I have a slight feeling wer're going to start seeing a lot of "MLIGN/DWANG/etc's Android Rom" threads from random people.
Hi
Was able to port the DWANGs build using your script. Thanks a lot for making life this simple. Howev3er, hero build is still not working. Tried your genesxt2fs. Is it possible to get the links to correct base hero version to use? I tried magic and normal version. It keeps giving me black screen and doesnt completely boot. I think the base hero version is not the right one i am using
Thanks
OK, I think I figured out the problem. The apps folders weren't copying over from the data folder to the system folder correctly. Testing now, and will update first post with new scripts.
EDIT: Finally got the Hero builds working correctly. You should still be able to use any hero.sqsh.
loserskater said:
OK, I think I figured out the problem. The apps folders weren't copying over from the data folder to the system folder correctly. Testing now, and will update first post with new scripts.
EDIT: Finally got the Hero builds working correctly. You should still be able to use any hero.sqsh.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
The new script is great.. I was able to get the hero to boot I still have 2 check a few thing willl post later in the night with more
Thanks a lot
garynsa said:
Hi
The new script is great.. I was able to get the hero to boot I still have 2 check a few thing willl post later in the night with more
Thanks a lot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Glad to see its working. Thanks for the feedback!
Most things working
Hi
was able to get the hero ported and a few things worked
1. Calls
2. SMS
3. Wifi (getting ips)
4. Working with partition rootfs (speed quite great with this)
Not working
1. Camera
2. GPS
I am using he ION build to build the hero roms (based on the inputs of Zen). May be I need to use another hero rom for the camera to work? I recommend that the links to the recommended build to be used as template (donut, hero...) be updated on the first thread to make it easy for others to have a single starting platform
garynsa said:
Hi
was able to get the hero ported and a few things worked
1. Calls
2. SMS
3. Wifi (getting ips)
4. Working with partition rootfs (speed quite great with this)
using u
Not working
1. Camera
2. GPS
I am using he ION build to build the hero roms (based on the inputs of Zen). May be I need to use another hero rom for the camera to work? I recommend that the links to the recommended build to be used as template (donut, hero...) be updated on the first thread to make it easy for others to have a single starting platform
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If using a hero.sqsh doesnt fix the problem it sounds like it might be the rootfs (probably not copying over correctly). Ill take a look at it when I get home and update the first post with hero/donut.sqsh's.
Im also thinking about combing the 2 into just one script and youll be able to just type which build you want when you run it. What do you think? Or is the 2 seperate scripts more convenient?
loserskater said:
If using a hero.sqsh doesnt fix the problem it sounds like it might be the rootfs (probably not copying over correctly). Ill take a look at it when I get home and update the first post with hero/donut.sqsh's.
Im also thinking about combing the 2 into just one script and youll be able to just type which build you want when you run it. What do you think? Or is the 2 seperate scripts more convenient?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Personally i prefer the separate scripts mainly because each requires a different base templates. However if you prefer to combine them may be have sub-folders within the main so that the work happen for each port within the sub-folder.
Few suggestions if you like (please ignore if not correct.. being a non-programmer of linux I can be a bit off )
1. Let the folder names be requested at start and use them
2. If possible to put in a log of the run to check if there were issue or not (because i use double-click to run the script sometimes there is a problem that i face if i dont watch the window. for now i have put some waits to check the errors. Had this issue while testing to port one)
If I can help (except on coding as I dont know it.. generally change the script just enough to work... )
Queries/questions
1. Is there a way to test the build on the comp itslef rather than to keep booting on the phone (takes a lot of time and the phone is not usable all that time...)
Thanks for all the work
garynsa said:
Personally i prefer the separate scripts mainly because each requires a different base templates. However if you prefer to combine them may be have sub-folders within the main so that the work happen for each port within the sub-folder.
Few suggestions if you like (please ignore if not correct.. being a non-programmer of linux I can be a bit off )
1. Let the folder names be requested at start and use them
2. If possible to put in a log of the run to check if there were issue or not (because i use double-click to run the script sometimes there is a problem that i face if i dont watch the window. for now i have put some waits to check the errors. Had this issue while testing to port one)
If I can help (except on coding as I dont know it.. generally change the script just enough to work... )
Queries/questions
1. Is there a way to test the build on the comp itslef rather than to keep booting on the phone (takes a lot of time and the phone is not usable all that time...)
Thanks for all the work
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'll try to make the script more user friendly with prompts if something doesn't happen correctly. And also work on naming folders.
But first I want to figure out the camera/gps issues...
There isn't a way to boot it on the comp that I know of. I'll upload blank data.img's for each build so that they'll boot faster but other than that I think moving to SD Card and booting is the only way. But once all these bugs get sorted out, you won't have to do it as often!
EDIT: Which folders would you like to name? Just where the system.sqsh gets stored?
loserskater said:
I'll try to make the script more user friendly with prompts if something doesn't happen correctly. And also work on naming folders.
But first I want to figure out the camera/gps issues...
There isn't a way to boot it on the comp that I know of. I'll upload blank data.img's for each build so that they'll boot faster but other than that I think moving to SD Card and booting is the only way. But once all these bugs get sorted out, you won't have to do it as often!
EDIT: Which folders would you like to name? Just where the system.sqsh gets stored?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi
Thanks for the answers. For me it should be both (but the starting folder is main. Other can be a sub-folder like u have now to be renamed as choice)
garynsa said:
Hi
Thanks for the answers. For me it should be both (but the starting folder is main. Other can be a sub-folder like u have now to be renamed as choice)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you referring to the Android folder? Or just a folder where everything is kept when it runs?
loserskater said:
Are you referring to the Android folder? Or just a folder where everything is kept when it runs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Android folder... but its not a big deal as one can easily change it while startign the script

[Guide] Android Cooking Guide for HD2 [Guide]

heartsurfer008 said:
Well I am desparetly trying to cook a NAND build for my HD2 but there is pretty much less info available for me [a big NOOB in cooking] to try out my luck at cooking..!!!
So I'll appreciate if someone would put some light on it..!!!
PS: - I would appreciate if somebody can provide a detailed info..!!!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Finally the tutorial
Make your own Android Build for the HD2 by domineus ​I have always lived by these words- if you give a man a fish, he can eat for a day; but if you teach a man to fish you can eat for a lifetime. Android on the HD2 has always been an interesting thing for me and I know a lot of people that want to create their own builds, but have no idea how. If you ask a build creator or maybe someone in the htc-linux-chat how to get started, there may not be an answer. In fact, some of the perplexing behavior has left me puzzled in several ways - as if how to get an android build is a vaulted secret of knowledge like the holy grail. To be honest, it's not. It's a bit of hard work, a few nods in the right direction, and ultimately it's a community involved project. Just like miui development is a community project spanning actual continents to get this thing on our device every single week! It has led to a lot of questions, in my inbox, of how to begin. For a long time, the answer to the question was not answered until Cass helped me out. I want to do the same and contribute how to get a build of miui (or any android build) to the HTC HD2.
Things you will need
In order to properly start android development, it would be a good idea to make sure you have the following (a lot of it is no duh when you think about it)
A computer running linux
I can't stress that enough. While there is a lot of things you can do in windows, you will need some sort of linux distro in order to get android properly running on your HD2. There are a lot of linux distros you can use; with many using ubuntu as it is the most user friendly. I use Fedora and I am quite happy with the results. It's simple and effective. It gets the job done. Get a distro that you feel can get the job done.
Android SDK - either windows or linux
Android SDK is something that can be freely accessed and downloaded from the following location:
http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html
It is a developer environment, but probably the most important thing you can use here (for the time being) is logcat. Logcat provides you to visually see the libraries and files working together to get android to work as well as if you run into an issue, it is the first thing you should resort to. For instance, boot reloop? Take a look at your logcat and try again.
A kernel
There are quite a few kernels available for android previously and they are divided into evo kernel or nexus one kernel. Many builders have transitioned to an evo kernel for PPP and a few other nice details but it is totally up to you. I highly recommend hastarin's kernel. For most of the time, it works well. But as you have noted, on MIUI, it hasn't been working as fantastic on other builds.
Donor Files
This is a bit difficult to find because it appears that the files that work best are nexus one builds without CM6.1 modification. So far, only one chef has that and it is tytung's nexus one build. Regardless of whose files you're using (e.g. tytung or darkstone's system which is the preferred choice) you will need a well working android build. You will be pulling several files in order to port.
MIUI itself (well any build honestly just miui is a good example)
This is a given. However, if you download from miui.com you will probably have an untranslated rom with odex files. That's bad. And in Chinese! It would be a good idea to browse the English forum for a deodexed rom with appropriate english translation (apps and frameworks)
-If pulling files from windows, you will need this
system extractor
http://uranus.chrysocome.net/linux/explore2fs-old.htm
I use that if I download in windows. It's relatively straight forward and it allows you to pull the files you need from the system.ext2 you're using and copying them to folders necessary.
build.prop
This you will need. You can find one here:
http://www.multiupload.com/B59IU3S6XY
Patience
Probably the most important thing. One thing I have noticed is you need patience to make it through. Sometimes, your build works, sometimes it doesn't. And it is difficult to still keep going. But gotta pull it all in and keep trying...it does pay off.
Okay so you have your files, a nice linux distribution, your build you want to port (MIUI preferrably) and you're ready to go. Now it's time to begin the process!
Step One - The Setup
I usually grab my files in windows before transitioning to my linux distro to finish the process. If you using windows 7 and you are using explore2fs, you will definitely have to right click on the exe and make it compatible by selecting compatible with windows vista. The file should also need to be run by administrator. If you don't know how to do that you can google compatibility in windows 7.
First thing is first. Create a new folder, you can call it donor_files if you want because name is arbitrary. The most important thing is to just name it. Within that folder, create a new folder called system. Enter the system directory and create a new folder called etc. Within etc, select Once that is done, create a new folder within etc called firmware. Once completed, return back to the system folder, create the folder called lib. In the lib folder, create a new folder called hw. So your folder should look like this:
Folder Name
-system
--etc
---firmware
--lib
---hw
So far so good? Excellent. Now, if you're in windows you will need to do a few things. Extract the system.ext2 of your donor build and place it somewhere you will remember (like your desktop). Now open up explore2fs, select file, and open image file. Under files of type (drop down), select all files and navigate to your system.ext2 file. You should now see the ext loaded on the left side of the program's workspace. Located is a very small + that allows you to view all directories in your ext2 file. Click that.
You will see several system folders on the left and files on the root. Since you haven't selected a specific folder, in the right hand view, you should see the file build.prop. If you did select a folder (like app) you will see some files. And that's okay too. Get a feel of the program.
Now you will do a test file pull. On the left hand side, select the folder etc. On the right window, you will see several files. We want AudioBTID.csv. Once you see the file, right click on AudioBTID.csv and select export file. Navigate to the donor file folder (or whatever you named it) and place the file in system/etc of that folder. Congratulations you just pulled your first file! But you will need a lot more files. Within the same directory, pull gps.conf, hosts, media_profiles.xml and the ppp folder. Now, navigate to firmware and pull the following files:
BCM4329B1_002.002.023.0360.0362.hcd default_france.acdb htcleo.acdb
BCM4329B1_002.002.023.0436.0439.hcd default_nel.acdb yamato_pfp.fw
bcm4329.hcd fw_bcm4329_apsta.bin yamato_pm4.fw
default.acdb fw_bcm4329.bin
Ideally you should not be able to find htcleo.acdb. You can find it here
http://gitorious.org/xdandroid_leo/q...eo/htcleo.acdb
Now in explore2fs, go to the lib directory and pull these files and place them in your lib directory:
libcamera.so
libcamera_client.so
libcameraservice.so
libhtc_ril_wrapper.so
libmm-omxcore.so
liboemcamera.so
libomx_aacdec_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_amrdec_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_amrenc_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_avcdec_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_m4vdec_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_mp3dec_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_wmadec_sharedlibrary.so
libomx_wmvdec_sharedlibrary.so
libOmxCore.so
libOmxVdec.so
libOmxVidEnc.so
libqcomm_omx.so
libstagefright_omx.so
Once those files are pulled, navigate to the hw folder of the system and pull the following files:
sensors.htcleo.so
lights.htcleo.so
Once those files are pulled, you can save your donor files to a flash drive and then boot into your linux distro. Login to superuser in terminal. For fedora, the proper method involves typing in su --login and entering your password you set up. Minimize your terminal window.
Extract the miui (or any other build) to your desktop (the focus is the system folder). Ensure the rom is deodexed and in your own language (if its miui, you will have to apply the proper language translations). Now copy the files you pulled from your donor build and apply it to the appropriate folders (usually a copy and a paste-literally). In this instance there will be duplicate files, overwrite them. That's the point! Do not forget the build.prop file I linked to earlier. You should add that to system folder.
So the files are copied, the next step is to restore the minimized terminal window (the one that is logged in as root). cd to where your system is located (not to the system folder itself). Now you will have to enter the following commands in terminal
chmod -R 777 system/etc
chmod 755 system/bin/*
chmod 755 system/xbin/*
rm system/etc/firmware/default*acdb (if you have sound in call issues)
touch system/etc/ppp/active (If you have latest wrapper and need ppp)
chown root:2000 system/bin/pppd
chmod 4755 system/bin/pppd
chown root:root system/xbin/su
chmod 4755 system/xbin/su
chown root:root system/xbin/hci*
chmod 4755 system/xbin/hci*
dd if=/dev/zero of=system.ext2 bs=1048576 count=256
mke2fs -F system.ext2
sudo mount -o loop system.ext2 /mnt2
cp -rp system/* /mnt2
sudo umount /mnt2
A few words on this that I must bold. the /mnt2 directory may not exist. If not, try mnt, that usually works
Once this is done, you will have a nice system.ext2. The only thing you'd need now is a rootfs, a kernel, clrcad.exe and a startup.txt file. Once that is done, you can test your build out.
Any questions
Special thanks to Cass and the htc-linux-chat for the few pointers they gave me.
The guide is by "domineus - http://www.miui-dev.com/" & I take no credit what so ever​
Thanks to "white-energy" for giving us the link..!!!
Hope to have many more Chief's for our HD2, so that we [especially me] can satisfy our hunger to try different builds/ROM's..!!!
Happy Cooking..!!!​
PLEASE PRESS THANKS IF YOU FOUND THIS THREAD USEFUL..!!!​​
+ 1... nobody wants to share information?
I don't know if this help but you can try
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=897940
These kind of thread pop up once in awhile, but it's going no where, I've never seen well known chef show up in this kind of thread.
knowledge is power, maybe they dont want to share the power
Can anybody out there give us a step by step guide for cooking a NAND ROM for HD2..???
http://www.miui-dev.com/forums/showthread.php?481-Howto-Make-your-own-Android-Build-for-the-HD2
Instead of making a ext image, you should make a yaffs image.. so it can work on Nand
white-energy said:
http://www.miui-dev.com/forums/showthread.php?481-Howto-Make-your-own-Android-Build-for-the-HD2
Instead of making a ext image, you should make a yaffs image.. so it can work on Nand
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you, please check post 1..!!!
I've been looking for something like this. I want to create my own build for the recovery flasher. I guess the only thing needed would be how to convert from regular nand to recovery.
Thanks bro.
velayo said:
I've been looking for something like this. I want to create my own build for the recovery flasher. I guess the only thing needed would be how to convert from regular nand to recovery.
Thanks bro.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was lookin for the same & credit goes to domineus & white-energy
& "white-energy" comes up with a NAND ROM..!!!
Congrats..!!!
white-energy said:
http://www.miui-dev.com/forums/showthread.php?481-Howto-Make-your-own-Android-Build-for-the-HD2
Instead of making a ext image, you should make a yaffs image.. so it can work on Nand
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you sure its the only difference? Are the nand drivers stored only in the bootimg/initrd and not somewhere in the system.img?
yes or no will do for me thx
Is there a way to edit system.bin files, that comes with the NAND builds. I suppose that is where the ROM is. I want to unpack, edit the included apps and repack. How it is done? How the bin file is done. Google does not give any satisfiable links, did a quick search, though...
i am confused
Which explore 2fs do I download? There are 3 different ones one for binary one for code and optional update source code. I am a noob and tired of not having roms I am happy with. I have windows 7 and xp. I realize this will take time and I am good with it everything thats worth anything takes time.
deckoff said:
Is there a way to edit system.bin files, that comes with the NAND builds. I suppose that is where the ROM is. I want to unpack, edit the included apps and repack. How it is done? How the bin file is done. Google does not give any satisfiable links, did a quick search, though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you mean system.img not system.bin
You can extract them with the unyaffs.exe or with the unyaffs command under linux. I have written a guide with attatched utilities here
Additionally birksoffsjunk (seasoned WM guru & chef of ChuckyDroid, ChuckyROM, & Dexter) has made a batch program to make this process easier. It's a work in progress & somethings are still buggy so follow the thread
Between the utility birkoffsjunk made & the tutorial I wrote you should be able to successfully edit & run your own build. Hope this helps.
deckoff said:
Is there a way to edit system.bin files, that comes with the NAND builds. I suppose that is where the ROM is. I want to unpack, edit the included apps and repack. How it is done? How the bin file is done. Google does not give any satisfiable links, did a quick search, though...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you mean system.img not system.bin
You can extract them with the unyaffs.exe or with the unyaffs command under linux. I have written a guide with attatched utilities here
Additionally birksoffsjunk (seasoned WM guru & chef of ChuckyDroid, ChuckyROM, & Dexter) has made a batch program to make this process easier. It's a work in progress & somethings are still buggy so follow the thread
Between the utility birkoffsjunk made & the tutorial I wrote you should be able to successfully edit & run your own build. Hope this helps.
anyone know how to edit or anything about initrd.gz?
hnamanh said:
anyone know how to edit or anything about initrd.gz?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's an archive that can be decompressed and edited thru linux.
White-Energy use system.bin in his rom
Regarding initr and zimage, there is a guide that you can point me on ?
Thank you
KillaHurtz said:
I think you mean system.img not system.bin
You can extract them with the unyaffs.exe or with the unyaffs command under linux. I have written a guide with attatched utilities here
Additionally birksoffsjunk (seasoned WM guru & chef of ChuckyDroid, ChuckyROM, & Dexter) has made a batch program to make this process easier. It's a work in progress & somethings are still buggy so follow the thread
Between the utility birkoffsjunk made & the tutorial I wrote you should be able to successfully edit & run your own build. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have only green HTC
Hello
I would like to use Android on my HD2. I was searching and testing many ROMS but I didn´t find any rom which is usable for me. I would like to have a ROM that is without Sense, has Multilanguage support and is on Android 2.2 version.
So I decided that I would make my own.
0) I was reading
HTML:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=10291851&postcount=1
and made this procedure.
1)downloaded some ROM from here
2)unpacked this rom in linux with :
Code:
unyaffs system.img
then I got this directories:
Code:
app bin build.prop etc fonts framework lib media usr xbin
3)I downloaded update-cm-6.1.1-N1-signed.zip from CyanogenMod Forum > Downloads > Stable Mod > Nexus One and unpacked. I got : META-INF system boot.img.
4)I copied everything what was described step 0 from directories from step 2 to directory system from step 3
5)I downloaded and copied build.prop from step 0 to system
6) I updated permition like it is described in step 0
7) I created system.img with command : mkyaffs2image . ../system.img
Then I copied this system.img from linux to my windows and put this file in directory in which was different NAND rom. (replaced system.img). After that I flashed my phone and it did not work. Screen was frozen after booting and only green HTC was on display.
Can somebody please help me and give me some advice or some small howto. Does anybody know what can be wrong?
Thank you
Michal Fichtner
I appreciate the guide but damn that is hard to read. It really needs some sort of structure to it, titling proper paragraphs etc.
Hi,
it is possible to combi the dropdown energy widget froom miui and the gingerbread lockscreen into Desire HD Build?
Thats was awesome !
Sorry for my bad english

[Q] Can I get a li'l help w/ merging diff framework-res.apks?..

'K, so'm new 2 android hacking, but I'd like 2 make a framework-res.apk that includes StarBurst's MotoBlur x-itions here, SAShady's CRT Off animation here, & Gingerbread's Overscroll & MotoBlur Orient8ion animations when they become available. How would I go about merging the MotoBlur x-itions w/ the CRT Off animation, as they're both framework-res.apk files? Also, where mite I extract Gingerbread's Overscroll & MotoBlur Orient8ion files, is it from a stock Gingerbread framework-res.apk & MotoBlur (possibly Photon 4G) framework-res.apk? &, how would I know which files 2 extract? Are there any particular s/w tools that I need?
Thnx.
That's going to be a bit of work. I just went through the learning process of decompiling, modifying, and recompiling .apks myself. I don't have the most efficient method down yet, but I can get you started.
First up, are you using an odexed or deodexed ROM?
Thnx 4 the help.
Sycobob said:
...I just went through the learning process of decompiling, modifying, and recompiling .apks...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'd really dig a link(s) to these resources. &, I'd b usin' the Stock ROM, which I'd imagine is odex'd.
EDIT: Man do I feel foolish. I just typed out way more than I needed to, thinking framework-res.apk was odexed. *sigh*. Oh well, I guess I just started the tutorial I was thinking about posting.
This won't be too hard:
Pull your stock framework-res.apk from /system/framework/.
Gather the other modded .apks
Decompile each of the .apks (luckily framework-res.apk doesn't rely on other stuff, so decompiling is easier)
Drag the modified file(s) from one of the decompiled, modded .apks to the stock one overwriting the old file(s)
Repeat for each mod
Recompile the new uber-modded .apk
Push it back onto your phone
Decompiling
You're going to need Apk Manager for decompiling and recompiling.
Place the .apks you want to decompile in the 'to be modded' folder of Apk manager
Run the script in the Apk Manager folder
Enter 22 to 'Set Current Project'
Pick the .apk you want to decompile
Enter 9 to decompile (no dependencies)
Repeat 3-5 for each .apk
Recompiling
(In Apk Manager) Enter 22 to 'Set Current Project'
Enter 11 to compile
Enter y (this is a system app)
Enter y (I haven't been able to get it to work when I answer no here)
Follow the prompt and delete the files you've modified from the 'keep' folder
Go back to the command prompt and press a key to continue
As for actually finding the changes, you're on your own here. I guess you can look for files with different sizes/modified dates or try to search the forums to see if people mention what they had to change for the mod. If two mods change the same file, you're going to have to open the file and make both sets of changes then toss it into the .apk.
Pro tip: if you have Eclipse set up with the Android SDK, you can go to Window > Preferences > XML > XML Files > Editor and check "Split multiple attributes each on a new line" so that when you hit Ctrl+Shift+F while looking at the messy decompiled .xmls it will instantly format it into a more easily read form. <--This is why I love Eclipse
If you don't know how to push the file back into place, it's a bit of a pain without a modded boot.img that allows you to use 'adb remount'. Copy the .apk somewhere on your phone. From command prompt (with phone plugged in):
Code:
adb shell
su
stop
mount -o rw,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
cp /wherever/your/file/is/framework-res.apk /system/framework-res.apk
mount -o ro,remount -t ext3 /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 /system
reboot
Unless you have CWM and know how to write/reuse an update.zip.
Thnx, Sycobob. I'm just afraid that there'll be an overlap in overwritten files. But'll c.
Sycobob said:
...and updating the archive...ext3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
&, what d'ya mean by upd8ing the archive, is it signing? Also, I'd thought all of the E4GT partitions were ext4. Didn't even activ8 my E4GT, 'cause'm still tryin' 2 get my TP2 repaired, so I can flip it. Maybe u can help me w/ another Q - I've been lookin' all ovr 4 info on android OS, &'ve been able 2 find what each partition is, using adb cmds, but cannot find, 4 the life of me!, a glossary of sorts on all of androids system files, a la "framework-res.apk is..." I really wanna get n2 android hacking/modding w/o havin' 2 use an app 2 make any & every change that I'd wanna make 2 the OS. Comin' from WiMo, I was very familiar w/ the registry, exploring & hacking it, but there's no real equivalent n android. Also, do go here & vote 4 my Brushed Aluminum Barely There Case with Kickstand suggestion. We're already n 9th place. Thnx again 4 ur help.
System packages don't get signed. By updating, I mean dragging the file into the WinRAR archive which automatically replaces the existing file in the archive, therefor updating it.
All the partitions are ext4. This is where my newbishness shows, I have no idea why I have to use ext3. /dev/block/mmcblk1p21 isn't the correct path either, but it works. In one of ptfdmedics posts he uses the same options. If I use the 'correct' mount -o rw,remount -t ext4 /dev/block/mmcblk0p9 /system it doesn't work. *shrug*
Also, I just realized something I missed in my first post. If you modify an .xml the resources.arsc in the .apk needs to be regenerated. This is done when you decompile and recompile the package. I'll be editing my previous post to reflect this.
As far as a glossary, I have no idea where to find one. I would mind having access to something like that though. If you find something, please post it.
EDIT: don't worry too much about overlap. I'd imagine it'll be easy to find the changes you need to make, then you can just copy+paste the relevant lines. Pro tip: if you have Eclipse set up with the Android SDK, somewhere in Window > Preferences > XML > XML Files > Editor > Check "Split multiple attributes each on a new line" and when you hit Ctrl+Shift+F while looking at the messy decompiled .xmls it will instantly format it into a more easily read form. Adding this to previous post.
Thnx, 4 all of ur help. I've got a lotta wrk ahead of me 2 experiment w/ this stuff. Now, just gotta find the time.

ROM Building: The Basics Part III

Welcome back everyone
For those who are not familiar with the series, I recommend checking out part I and then part II to get caught up on our continued efforts to modify a ROM to your every whim and need.
We will be utilizing some really cool tools today. They come at a price of patience and perseverance, you know, kind of like what Valve expects from all of their loyal customers, and the worst part is....they could release the HL3 in 10 years, and I would still throw money at my screen.
I digress again.
Today we learn how to decompile those sneaky APK's and the necessary Framework files. They are located in the 2 most important folders:
MD4_Version_1/system/app
MD4_Version_1/system/framework
We need to start at the beginning of this topic.
To begin, let us test your ability to use JAVA....Wait STOP! Java? Programming? We do not need to be experts at programming at all, in fact, implementing mods is really a copy and paste procedure for us noobs, but if you know how to JAVA, maybe you can create your own mods that you can share with the community. Also, I am not a programmer, but I do know how to use logic to trial and error the crap out of the mods until they work.
To test if you have JAVA installed, open up a command prompt in Windows (because if you have Linux, you are not going to even be on this beginner's tutorial now are you?)
type in:
Code:
java
You should see
Code:
C:\>java
Usage: java [-options] class [args...]
(to execute a class)
or java [-options] -jar jarfile [args...]
(to execute a jar file)
where options include:
-server to select the "server" VM
-hotspot is a synonym for the "server" VM [deprecated]
The default VM is server.
-cp <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
-classpath <class search path of directories and zip/jar files>
A ; separated list of directories, JAR archives,
and ZIP archives to search for class files.
-D<name>=<value>
set a system property
-verbose[:class|gc|jni]
enable verbose output
-version print product version and exit
-version:<value>
require the specified version to run
-showversion print product version and continue
-jre-restrict-search | -jre-no-restrict-search
include/exclude user private JREs in the version search
-? -help print this help message
-X print help on non-standard options
-ea[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
-enableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
enable assertions
-da[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
-disableassertions[:<packagename>...|:<classname>]
disable assertions
-esa | -enablesystemassertions
enable system assertions
-dsa | -disablesystemassertions
disable system assertions
-agentlib:<libname>[=<options>]
load native agent library <libname>, e.g. -agentlib:hprof
see also, -agentlib:jdwp=help and -agentlib:hprof=help
-agentpath:<pathname>[=<options>]
load native agent library by full pathname
-javaagent:<jarpath>[=<options>]
load Java programming language agent, see java.lang.instrument
-splash:<imagepath>
show splash screen with specified image
Wait, you did not see this did you? Well it happens, you probably got an Unknown Command or some shenanigans that doesn't look similar to the above?
Do not worry, we will need to add JAVA to the environment variables. First head over to JAVA and download the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). Install as you would by clicking next next next next and next and next.
When it installs, it goes to a specific location. The problem is, sometimes Windows does not recognize that path, which is why when you execute the JAVA command in a command prompt it tells you unknown command. We have to tell Windows to search in the java installation folder that you just installed for the JAVA.exe program so Windows can add it to the list of areas to search when you execute a command.
To do this, we will need to add the path in the environmental variables, java explains that sometimes this should not be necessary. But use this for more information and an understand of how to do this to different operating systems.
My path was the default "PATH" for java
Code:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Java\jre7\bin
Once that has been added to the environmental variables, test out the java code and see if it looks like what I have from above.
After this is done, we will need to install the Android SDK, this can be found here
The SDK, is a software development kit. It will allow for a user to create software for your android phone. This tutorial will not be doing that because that is a very heavy order. It will require the release of the Kraken. I do not recommend releasing the Kraken. Unless it is harmless Cthulhu. He's so adorable.
Anyway, this will install platform tools for us to push files to our phone and allow us to to execute these commands.
Remember, we can add the tools of the SDK to our PATH variable so we can execute these tools in any command prompt and at any location.
If you are having trouble at this point, let me know in the comments below and we can try and address this issue.
Now that we have the basic tools down, we need to understand what the heck that APKTOOL, SMALI and BAKSMALI do.
These tools are used to decompile the our APK and JAR files.
Keep this in mind at all times
APKTOOL will decompile and combile APK FILES
SMALI compiles DEX FILES
BAKSMALI decompiles DEX FILES
Do you know what any of these 3 are? Maybe you do, maybe you don't.
The APK stands for Android application package. It is basically the app. In windows, it would be equivalent to the program. The APK is unique in the sense that all the files in the app are actually zipped inside an APK file.
That logic only deduces, we can open almost any APK file with 7-zip. This is good news until we realize, the APK files are actually encoded in a way. We cannot make serious mods until we de-scramble the code hidden in the APK.
This is where APKTOOL comes into play. The APKTOOL can de-compile the encoded files and put it into a folder for us to work with. We can then make our mods, recompile and then put it into our ROM.
After explaining Smali and Baksmali, we will begin a basic mod.
Smali and Baksmali are actually java archive files. They contain instructions to take a DEX file and de-compile them into very interesting SMALI code. DEX is an EXE file for our Android system. We can only de-compile a classes.dex file for now, for it contains the majority of the rest of the tweaks. As a result, doing this is important and very difficult unless you understand what is going on. We will definitely have examples so do not fret, did I mention a half life reference yet...I don't think so.
So back to APKTOOL, we are going to need to understand what it does before we begin. I am assuming you got your APKTOOL downloaded from here, go to your C: drive and create a folder in there called APKTOOL in there, unzip the downloaded file, there will be a file Setup.bat, execute that file and a command prompt window with Green text will appear, I recommend selection 1 first to ensure you have the latest version, but we do not need to do this.
We will need to press option 2, but it says we must place some files in the other folder first. The files needed are actually the framework files, basically, the way our rom interprets the files are needed for this APKTOOL to operate.We will need to go to our ROM's
MD4_Version_1/system/framework/ folder and copy 2 files
Code:
framework-res.apk
tw-frameworkres.apk
These files will be copied into
Code:
C:\APKTOOL\other
This needs to be done before you select option 2.
Once the files are copied, press 2, then we need to install the first two options, so go one by one and install both.
Then when you are back to the main menu, press 3 and setup the directories for your need.
Personally, I took the
Code:
C:\APKTOOL\other
folder and moved into my own working directory. Assume that the locations will be selected by you for organization. I will use the following folder for reference:
Code:
C:\other
This will have all of the tools I need, while you are at it, create a new folder in their called Smali and copy the Smali.jar and BakSmali.jar files in there, they will of course be named something else like smali-1.4.2.jar and baksmali-1.4.2.jar
Rename the files to make life easier
Code:
from
smali-1.4.2.jar
to
smali.jar
and
baksmali-1.4.2.jar
to
baksmali.jar
Back to APKTOOL, now back to me, Now back to APKTOOL, now back to me.
We will be victimizing a specific APK to get modding started.
Before we get started, this is where we start version controlling more seriously. As each mod you add could cause a freeze, hang, bootloop or whatever, so go to the folder of your ROM, select the four files
META-INF
system
boot.img
installbusybox
right click them and "Add to Archive". Zip file only remember, compression level( Normal to no compression is fine)
Now
Lets grab a copy of SecPhone.APK located in the system/app folder
And put it into
Code:
C:\other
Open a command prompt and navigate to that location of the APKTOOL
Execute the following command
Code:
apktool d SecPhone.apk SecPhone
If done successfully, you will something like
Code:
C:\other>apktool d SecPhone.apk Secphone
I: Baksmaling...
I: Loading resource table...
I: Loaded.
I: Decoding AndroidManifest.xml with resources...
I: Loading resource table from file: C:\Users\<Your User Name>\apktool\framework\1.apk
I: Loaded.
I: Regular manifest package...
I: Decoding file-resources...
I: Decoding values */* XMLs...
I: Done.
I: Copying assets and libs...
C:\other>
This means it successfully decoded the file. We will have a folder called SecPhone that has a bunch of folders.
Navigate to the following folder:
Code:
C:\other\Secphone\res\raw
There are 2 .ogg files. Well well well, I thought we took care of these, hmm, guess we need to change these to whatever you need to. Let's assume you did this already and have replaced them. We will need to stop the "mods" for now, for we are learning a process not a mod per se.
So we are done "modding" the file, I know it is not a BIG mod but we are trying to learn how to do this now so we can do the heavy stuff later. Now we can continue to recompile the file.
Go back to command prompt and direct yourself to
C:\other>
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The put in the following command:
Code:
C:\other>apktool b SecPhone new-SecPhone.apk
Notice we changed 3 things, the d became a b, the second option is the folder we are recompiling, the third is the name of the new file
You should then see something that might be worrisome:
Code:
I: Checking whether sources has changed...
I: Smaling...
I: Checking whether resources has changed...
I: Building resources...
aapt: warning: string 'reject_cause_location_reg_fail' has no default translatio
n in C:\other\SecPhone\res; found: es pt
aapt: warning: string 'reject_cause_location_registering' has no default transla
tion in C:\other\SecPhone\res; found: es pt
aapt: warning: string 'stms_version' has no default translation in C:\other\SecP
hone\res; found: ja
I: Building apk file...
C:\other>
The warnings will be acceptable for the time being as they are related to a different language setting. If you are in English, you will be fine. If you are not, then that is a different tutorial altogether. Also, there is a very particular code bug that occurred the very first time I ran these commands and caused a catastrophic failure, more than any Movie-to-Game adaptation could ever be,
But you think you are done here, well that is not true. You see,
We have compiled the new APK file but unfortunately, it is a system file, we cannot sign this file to tell Android it is legit, we will have to cheat at this point, just like Valve did by creating any other project except Half Life 3 after number 2, you know they have enough funding for it, they are making it, and if I get kidnapped, I will probably be in a basement at Valve which I won't mind if they give me a grav gun. On a side note, while Brian Cranston would make a great Gordon Freeman, I still think Hugh Laurie would do a good job, just saying.
So back to our dilemma. We have created a new file called new-SecPhone.apk, open it with 7-zip, do not do anything yet, open the SecPhone.apk file you should have, it is the original file in the C:\other folder, we will need to drag two files for signature's sake
Copy the
Code:
Meta-INF Folder
AndroidManifest.xml
directly into the new-SecPhone.apk file. This can be done by dragging the files.
This will allow Android to think the file is signed and legit.
Take the new-SecPhone.apk file and copy it to your desktop and rename it to SecPhone.apk
Then place it into your ROM's system/app folder.
Your "first Mod" is ready to go, pretty easy actually but I really think the method is what many of us lack and this centralizes the effort. When you want to mod any System file, this process has to be done.
Its not a crazy mod, that will be after we explain how to modify files with Smali and BakSmali.
That will be in the next part of this set of series. These keep getting longer, I know, but we have a boat ton to cover. I think a central place to go-to for this information is important instead of jumping around to so many places for information. Eventually, the plan is to stick them as one big post I hope so we can integrate the vast amount of knowledge flowing.
Let me know what you think in the comments below, feedback is important, I felt this is so far the most complicated of the series and it will only get crazier. Luckily we can ask questions and keep this series going with an understanding for ROM building and see how much effort goes into someone else's effort modifying one of these ROM's out there, this is just a stock ROM mod tutorial, imagine something like CyanogenMod or any crazy ROM with a boat ton of features. It is time consuming and they deserve mad props for their amazing work.
Again great stuff. Can't wait for the next tutorial!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
bigpappags3 said:
Again great stuff. Can't wait for the next tutorial!
Sent from my SPH-L710 using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He is very informative, and puts it in ways I can understand!
------------------------
Sprint Galaxy S3
Need Help? PM
Hit the "Thanks" button if I helped!
I'm stuck
I've downloaded the APKTOOL zip, and there is no setup.bat file in the unzipped package. There are only two files in the package and nothing else. One is an application called aapt, the other is a batch file called apktool. Both of which when executed briefly open a command prompt window that closes before I can read what they say. I've followed every direction to a "T" thus far, and can't figure out what to do. I thought that perhaps I had a bad download, but I've re-downloaded the file several times without success. Any suggestions would be incredibly helpful.
Might have a solution
balcoresbane said:
I've downloaded the APKTOOL zip, and there is no setup.bat file in the unzipped package. There are only two files in the package and nothing else. One is an application called aapt, the other is a batch file called apktool. Both of which when executed briefly open a command prompt window that closes before I can read what they say. I've followed every direction to a "T" thus far, and can't figure out what to do. I thought that perhaps I had a bad download, but I've re-downloaded the file several times without success. Any suggestions would be incredibly helpful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well it seems they have changed up quite a few things on the Wiki page, the version I was using was 1.5.2, the package has moved around and it seems these instructions are as obsolete as they are dependent on a website to not change things around.
They still offer the 1.5.2 of course but in the archives, suppose it was my fault linking to a constantly changing website than to link to the files directly that I used which I was considering.
This is the link
https://code.google.com/p/android-apktool/
zalooa said:
Well it seems they have changed up quite a few things on the Wiki page, the version I was using was 1.5.2, the package has moved around and it seems these instructions are as obsolete as they are dependent on a website to not change things around.
They still offer the 1.5.2 of course but in the archives, suppose it was my fault linking to a constantly changing website than to link to the files directly that I used which I was considering.
This is the link
https://code.google.com/p/android-apktool/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks @zalooa. I'll give it a go tonight for sure. I appreciate you getting back to me!

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