Sunday, July 17, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
10 Fuel Saving Device - Hoaxes #2
6: Water Injection
This technology actually has historic roots. During World War II, aircraft engineers needed a device to combat detonation -- premature ignition that could damage engine parts -- in piston-powered fighter aircraft. Their solution involved injecting a mixture of water and alcohol into the air intake, cooling the engine and helping maintain proper fuel ignition.
After the war, hot-rodders adopted water injection for their own high-performance engines. The technology showed up on a handful of successful race cars, but it has declined in use as advanced materials, engines and fuel technology reduced the risk of detonation.
Detonation, like misfiring, is not a problem most drivers of modern cars will ever experience. It typically only occurs in cases where a driver runs a highly modified engine (which often experiences much higher than normal internal pressure) on low-octane gasoline. In a normal vehicle driven under normal conditions, the scenario that invites detonation is highly unlikely. Water injection may be a useful tool for specific high-performance situations, but it's not a particularly useful or effective device for improving your daily driver's fuel mileage [source: RallyCars.com].
7: Ignition Enhancers
This group of fuel-saving devices may have had a touch of merit in years past. These special spark plugs, spark intensifiers and related devices are supposed to improve the rate and amount of fuel burn each time an engine's cylinder cycles, reducing the amount of unspent fuel that gets flushed out the engine's exhaust.
In the early days of internal combustion engines, this type of thinking made some sense. Mechanical distributors could develop faults that caused spark plugs to misfire, resulting in one or more cylinders simply pumping unburned fuel through the chamber. Products that enhanced spark plug reliability could improve efficiency in these low-performance engines.
But that type of problem has virtually disappeared in modern engines. Thanks to computerized engine controls and newer, more reliable ignition technology, most modern cars only misfire if there's a significant problem with the engine. There's really no need to enhance ignition reliability: The engine already takes care of that.
Likewise, the claim that an ignition enhancer makes fuel burn faster or hotter is baseless. Fuel will burn at a set rate, regardless of how hot one makes the spark that ignites it. Ignition enhancers might have once been useful modifications, but now they're simply hoaxes to separate uneducated drivers from their money [source: Tony's Guide to Fuel Saving Gadgets].
8: Fuel Ionizers
This type of fuel-saver gadget can be found for both diesel and gasoline-powered vehicles, and often attaches somewhere along the line between the fuel pump and injector. Its creators often claim that it produces an ionic field, which separates fuel molecules from each other as they pass through it. This, they say, causes the fuel to form a more vaporous cloud in the combustion chamber, making it easier for the fuel to burn quickly and cleanly.
This type of device preys on drivers' misunderstanding of how modern engines work. A modern engine's fuel injectors are finely tuned to produce an ultrafine mist of fuel in the combustion chamber. The technology behind this system is so advanced that only a tiny fraction of the injected fuel is not burned. Even if these devices did make the fuel vapor burn better (debatable, to say the least), the miniscule amount of extra fuel burned would not account for the significant mileage gains that the products' sellers claim [source: Tony's Guide to Fuel Saving Gadgets].
9: Intake Vortex Devices
The internal combustion engines in cars and trucks are essentially large air pumps: The action of the pistons sucks in a precise mix of fuel and air, which is then ignited and vented out through the exhaust. The energy of the burning mixture forces the engine to suck in more of the mix, repeating the cycle. And this next piece of fuel-saving quackery plays off misunderstandings about that process.
Engineers pay close attention to airflow into an engine. The amount of turbulence in the flow can affect how fuel and air mix as they enter the combustion chamber, and this can impact an engine's efficiency. The creators behind intake vortex gadgets often claim that their devices alter this airflow in a way that improves fuel-to-air mixing, improving fuel burn and consequently getting more mileage out of each gallon [source: Allen].
The main warning flag with vortex generators is that they're actually based on antiquated engine technology. Automobiles built before engine management computers became commonplace did rely on the shape and length of intake bodies to manipulate fuel and air mixing. But modern vehicles have computers that constantly adjust fuel flow to match airflow: Create a turbulent airflow in the intake (as a vortex generator does), and the car simply adjusts the amount of fuel it injects [source: Tony's Guide to Fuel Saving Gadgets]. The result? The car may actually run worse, since it's compensating for altered airflow by altering the fuel flow. The computer's fuel-flow rate is calibrated at the factory to provide the right amount of fuel for each combination of driving speed and engine load. Alter this, and you're more likely to hurt performance than improve it [source: Allen].
10: Hydrogen Generators
Hydrogen has long been a tantalizing alternative to petroleum fuel, and for good reason. It's abundant -- the gaseous element combines with oxygen to make water -- and carries a tremendous amount of energy. For years, scientists have worked on producing a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine, in the hopes that this power source could become a clean-burning alternative to gasoline.
But hydrogen has some serious drawbacks that have slowed its adoption as an automotive fuel. It's not naturally occurring -- it must be extracted from water or other sources -- and the processes to obtain it require a lot of energy. Likewise, the light gas is difficult to store in large enough quantities to be useful for transportation. And the very energy density of hydrogen that makes it so attractive as a fuel also makes it dangerous if not handled properly [source: Alternative Energy News].
But that hasn't stopped a long string of inventors from offering mileage-boosting devices that claim to create hydrogen and add it to a car's fuel, boosting mileage with this high-energy wonder gas. Many of the so-called hydrogen generators work in the same fashion: An onboard electrolysis device pulls water from a storage tank, and, using electricity generated by the car's alternator, splits the hydrogen and oxygen. These are then injected into the engine, supposedly giving the car a power boost and saving fuel [source: Allen].
The problem with these onboard generators is one of capacity. Remember, it takes a great deal of electricity to split the strong bond between water's hydrogen and oxygen atoms. That energy has to come from somewhere, and in a car, that means a significant additional load is placed on the alternator. The car may be producing hydrogen fuel, but it's burning more energy than it creates.
As a result, hydrogen generators typically produce miniscule amounts of the gas. And while this gas may indeed make it into the car's fuel system (some sloppier generators could contain enough leaks to vent any hydrogen before it reaches the engine), it simply isn't enough to produce the claimed power or mileage boosts [source:Tony's Guide to Fuel Saving Gadgets].
Taken from http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/fuel-saving-devices/10-fuel-saving-device-hoaxes1.htm
10 Fuel Saving Device - Hoaxes #1
1: Fuel Catalysts
These devices insert pieces of various metals into the fuel. The claim behind them is that the metals produce a catalytic reaction in the fuel, removing impurities and making it a more efficient energy carrier. Some of these devices even claim to remove harmful bacteria from the fuel.
The merits of these devices are hard to measure without the aid of a mass spectrometer or other equipment that can measure the chemical changes that might take place in the fuel. But this could all be a moot point, given another factor: Modern engines are optimized to run on modern fuel in its current state. Changing that state moves the fuel away from the optimal fuel the engine is designed to burn. This may only be a minimal change, but it still strays from the standard engineered into the engine and its control systems. If the catalyzed fuel does indeed have properties that make it burn cleaner or faster, the engine's controls may not be able to adapt in a way that realizes any mileage improvements [source: Tony's Guide to Fuel Saving Gadgets].
2: Fuel and Oil Additives
The auto parts stores are full of them: racks of cans, bottles and cartons containing additives that claim to enhance power, reduce wear and improve engine performance -- and all you have to do is pour them into the oil pan or fuel tank. Thanks to their relatively low cost, these are some of the most often-seen mileage-enhancement devices. But not all of them work as advertised.
Modern car and truck engines are the result of decades -- even centuries -- of refinement. Parts do wear out, and any device that turns a series of small explosions into propulsion is bound to wear down over time. But vehicle engineers test engines for tens of thousands of hours, often under conditions worse than a road-going car would ever encounter, and design their products accordingly. As a result, even fuel and oil additives that work as claimed may only show minimal benefits when used.
Some oil additives, for example, are advertised with a striking commercial: an engine is run with the additive in it, and is then drained of oil and restarted. Miraculously, the oil-less engine runs. What the advertisement doesn't say is that the engine, like many modern engines, is likely sturdy enough that it can run temporarily with no oil in the pan. The running engine is less a tribute to the oil additive than to the engineers who designed its tight tolerances and high-wear materials [source: Tony's Guide to Fuel Saving Gadgets].
Some additives may indeed work. But understanding which ones can make a difference for your car or truck requires a thorough understanding of both the engine and the additive.
3: Fuel Vapor Injectors
Gasoline's ability to burn changes along with its physical state: In liquid form, it burns too slowly to be useful for combustion. But when vaporized, gasoline burns at the explosive rate needed to power an internal combustion engine. Hucksters have been leveraging this fact for years.
One of the more common gadget hoaxes on the market is the fuel vapor injector. Allegedly, this device converts the fuel into a fine vapor before it reaches the engine, which supposedly lets the fuel burn more efficiently.
The problem with these devices comes not at the point of ignition, but at the tail end of the modern car or truck. An exhaust sensor measures the amount of oxygen in the vehicle's exhaust, which can indicate whether the engine is taking in the correct fuel-to-air mixture. Adding extra vaporized fuel through a vapor injector can cause the engine to run rich, with too much fuel and not enough air. The engine's computer would then adjust its fuel injectors to achieve the proper fuel-to-air ratio. At best, this means the engine would run exactly the same as it did without the vapor injector. At worst, a poorly installed vapor injector could cause part of the cylinder bank to run rich, sapping engine performance as the computer makes additional adjustments to address the imbalance [source: Allen].
4: Engine Ionization
These devices, which often attach to spark plug wires or the car's distributor, supposedly improve fuel burn by creating an "ionic corona" around the engine. Supposedly, this performs the same function as fuel ionizers, just closer to the point of ignition.
As mentioned before, the supposed molecular breakdown caused by ionic forces can't really happen. The molecular separation the ionizer claims to produce is what happens during combustion, and gasoline in its unburned form is a poor conductor. It stands to reason that, if gasoline were volatile enough to break down when exposed to a small electrical field carried by a bolt-on ionizer, the much larger field generated by the spark plugs, alternator and distributor would cause the same breakdown well before the gasoline reached the engine [source:Herning].
This is possibly one of the worst hoaxes thrown at drivers. In tests, ionizing devices revealed themselves to be little more than bundles of cleverly packaged wire, which could cause short circuits or fire hazards if attached to the wrong parts of a car's engine [source: Allen]. This is definitely one hoax to avoid at all costs.
5: Fuel-line Magnets
These devices, like fuel ionization systems, allegedly prepare the fuel to burn better when it reaches the combustion chamber. Rather than using electric fields to do the job, however, fuel-line magnets claim to use powerful magnetic fields to break down fuel into its basic components.
As is the case with fuel ionizers, fuel-line magnets serve little purpose other than to separate uninformed drivers from their money. Petroleum fuels are ubiquitous because of their stability -- although they can't pack the same punch as fuel sources like hydrogen, they're much safer and easier to handle. Petroleum fuels, in fact, are too stable to be significantly altered by something as small and simple as a magnet placed on a fuel line. Even if a magnet could produce a significant electrical field, that field would be altered by the metal of the fuel line, tank and components. If anything, an extremely strong magnet might disrupt some of the car's more sensitive electronics, although even this is unlikely, given the careful engineering that has gone into today's reliable electronic components [source: Allen]
Thursday, July 07, 2011
All You Can Do With Samsung Galaxy S
1. NOT bricking your phone.
--Why, when, where: Everyone's afraid of bricking their phone. I see the term "bricking" is being a bit overused in these forums though. Everyone is using it, even for the case where the phone can actually be "repaired" with a few simple hacks, IMHO the term "bricking" should only be used in the case where you get your phone in a state where it is inoperable AND you can not in any way repair it yourself.
--Prerequisites: A bit of common sense.
There are a few simple steps that you can follow, to get the risk of "bricking" (as in, you can not repair it yourself and need to somehow get Samsung to either repair it for you, or give you a new device) to a minimum:
1.1. Before trying any of the other steps, make sure that you can get to both the "Recovery mode" and the "Download mode" using the 3-button-combo. If this doesn't work for your device you can try following the steps described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=810686
1.2. Try to avoid flashing stuff that contains a bootloader. The only way to permanently brick your phone so that you can not repair it yourself (at least AFAIK) is to flash a bootloader and then interrupt that flashing. If the bootloader didn't get flashed properly and it's broken, there isn't much you can do about it, and you need to somehow get Samsung to either repair it or give you a new one (if you're lucky). If the bootloader is fine, there is almost always a way to "repair" your phone yourself.
1.3. Do not interrupt the flashing processes. When using Odin or Heimdall to flash stuff to your phone, there is always the risk of bricking it if you interrupt the flashing process. If the bootloader is fine though and you can get into the "Download mode", you might be able to repair it.
If you follow these simple advices, it might save you money, nerves and also some time without your phone (the time that it takes Samsung to repair it, which can sometimes, depending on country, be even a couple of months).
2. Flashing stock firmwares.
--Why, when, where: You should usually do this if your phone doesn't work with your current firmware, if there is a new firmware out that might work better or if you just want to go to a stock firmware.
--Prerequisites: Odin, a stock firmware (from www.samfirmware.com for example).
NOTE: Apparently there are people that report that using Odin v1.3 might interrupt the flashing and leave you with a soft brick and that v1.7 doesn't have this problem. I have always used v1.3 and never had problems because of it, but if v1.3 isn't working for you, you might give v1.7 (or even heimdall) a try before giving up.
The steps to flashing a stock firmware are already described in a couple of other threads, like:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=818556
Nonetheless, here a quick sum-up of what you have to do:
2.1. Open up Odin.
2.2. Put your phone in the "Download mode" with the 3-button-combo (Volume Down + Home + Power).
2.3. Connect your phone to your computer (DO NOT CONNECT THE PHONE BEFORE OPENING ODIN OR THIS WILL NOT WORK).
2.4. Odin should recognize your phone and one of the "com" boxes should light up yellow. If this isn't the case, try repeating the previous steps and eventually connect your phone to another USB port.
2.5. Select your firmware in Odin.
2.5.1. --OPTIONAL-- If you want your phone to be like new, you can select "Re-Partition" in Odin, which will make it repartition your Internal SD. In this case you also have to use a .pit file (WARNING -- you will lose all of your installed applications and settings).
2.6. Take a deep breath and click the "Start" button.
2.7. Wait for the firmware to be flashed and for the device to be restarted.
2.8. You now have a stock firmware. If you also selected "Re-Partition" in Odin, all your programs and settings will be gone and your device will be like new.
3. Rooting your phone and flashing a custom Kernel.
--Why, when, where: Rooting your phone will get you super-user permissions to Android (super-user is Linux's equivalent of "Administrator rights" in Windows). This will allow you to execute some programs that need root permissions, access partitions that you otherwise couldn't and do other cool stuff with it.
--Prerequisites: Stock firmware (as most --if not all-- of the custom ROMs or kernels have root permissions already), Odin or Heimdall.
There are many ways to get root permissions on your device, like with special apps (OCLF for example), with CWM (aka ClockWork Mod) or, my preferred method, flashing a kernel that has this built-in. For this example I will use the SpeedMod Kernel, which is my preferred one. If you have another kernel that you like and that has root built-in, you can use that one.
3.1. Download your preferred kernel (the version for Odin, not the one for CWM).
3.2. Open up Odin or Heimdall.
3.3. Put you phone into "Download mode" and connect it to your computer (DO NOT CONNECT THE PHONE BEFORE OPENING ODIN OR THIS WILL NOT WORK).
3.4.1. If you are using Heimdall, unpack your kernel until you end up with a file called zImage. Select that in Heimdall in the box for "Kernel (zImage)" and click Start.
3.4.2. If you are using Odin, select the file you downloaded in the PDA box and click Start.
3.5. After your Phone reboots, go into "Recovery mode" and go to "Advanced Speedmod ULK features" -> "ROOT / Install Superuser".
3.6. After rebooting the phone again, you should have root permissions.
4. Deodexing your apps and framework.
--Why, when, where: The system applications and the framework files on the Android OS are normally 'odex'ed. By deodexing, you will get rid of the .odex files that come with every apk and jar file and you will be able to edit the apks like any other apk. It will also save you a wee bit of space, and make your apps launch a wee bit faster.
--Prerequisites: Stock firmware (as most --if not all-- of the custom ROMs are deodexed already), xUltimate (this is what I found to be the easiest, if you know any software that is better, please let me know), root permissions.
You can download xUltimate from here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeu...xultimate.html
There are more ways to deodex your apps, but I found xUltimate to be the easiest.
4.1. First of all, you need to get the files from "/system/app" into the subdirectory "origi_app" and all of the files from "/system/framework" into the subdirectory "origi_frame". Both "origi_app" and "origi_frame" should be in the folder you extracted xUltimate to. If they don't exist, create them yourself. There are actually two ways to get the files there, either with xUltimate itself (options 1 and 2) or by copying them to your SD with "Root Explorer" for example and then copying them from your SD to your computer (or with adb of course).
4.2. Deodex the apps and framework with xUltimate, options 3 and 4.
4.3. After deodexing is finished, the deodexed files will be located in the directories "done_app" and "done_frame" in your xUltimate folder. You have to get these files back to their original directories, in /system/app and /system/framework. Again, there are a couple of ways to do this, either with adb (MOST RECOMMENDED ONE), or with "Root Explorer".
6. Protecting your screen.
--Why, when, where: This is not about protecting your screen from scratches, but rather about protecting it from degradation over time. As you might already know, AMOLED screens are prone to the "burn-in" effect. To elaborate a little: AMOLED uses Organic LEDs to display the amazing graphics you see on your display. These OLEDs are very good at displaying bright, colorful pictures, they have a downside though -- they fade over time. That means, the more a specific OLED is used, the less light it emits. If the whole screen would degrade at the same pace, that wouldn't be such a BIG problem, but the very nature of the OLED screens makes them degrade unevenly. That means the OLEDs that are used more frequently (like clock, phone signal, wifi, notification bar), get dimmer faster and this leads to ugly "shadows" on fullscreen apps. To be able to keep your screen as beautiful as new, I got a couple of tips, so that the display degrades more evenly and you avoid the ugly "shadows".
!! Most users won't even notice these degradations, also they won't be noticeable in 90% of use-cases and they will only appear after longer use (6 months+), but you can still use these tricks if you want your display to be almost as good as new a couple of years from now !!
6.1. Don't set brightness to 100%. At least not all the time. You should best be using a brightness setting that fits your ambient light, or the "Automatic brightness" setting. This will ensure that the OLEDs don't wear out as fast (the brighter you use them, the faster they will degrade).
6.2. Use a grey notification bar. The notification bar is the biggest "static" element on the screen. Most apps that are not fullscreen, will also show the notification bar, and this leads to an uneven degradation in that area if it isn't a neutral color. If you use a white notification bar, the OLEDs there will get dimmer faster and you will get an ugly shadow when using fullscreen apps, if you use a black notification bar, it will not degrade as fast as the rest of the screen and that area will be "brighter" in fullscreen apps, that's why I recommend a medium grey.
6.3. Use as little static elements as possible. If you don't need the clock in the notification bar, get rid of it. Get a theme that uses grey or green icons (see next step why) and try not to leave the phone on over night displaying the same static image.
6.4. Avoid blue. As you can see here for example: http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/8057/new1ls.pngthe blue OLEDs are degrading at a much faster pace than the green or red ones, this is why you should avoid using blue wallpapers or blue themes, they will make your display degrade faster than if you use a green theme and a green wallpaper for example.
These tips won't make your screen live forever, it will degrade too, but by using these tips, at least you can assure that you will have the most of your awesome display even in a year or two from now.
8. Unlocking your phone.
--Why, when, where: If you bought your phone with a contract, chances are that it might be locked in that specific network. If you want to also use other SIM cards in it, that are from another provider, you will have to unlock the phone (!! WARNING !! in most cases this will lead to a void warranty, please consult your contract).
--Prerequisites: Root privileges, adb.
8.1. Get the /efs/nv_data.bin file from your device to your computer. You can do this either with adb or by copying the file to your SD card with "Root Explorer" and then copying it over to your machine from the SD (Be sure to keep a backup of this file and the /efs/.nv_data.bin.md5 file.)
8.2. Open up the file in a hex editor, go to the address 0x181468, where you will see something like this:
FF 01 00 00 00 00 46 46 46...
We are interested in that first '01', that means the phone is locked. Just change it to '00' and save the file. Copy it back to your SD card and then with "Root Explorer" back to it's original location (or 'push' it directly with adb). Then remove the .nv_data.bin.md5 file and restart the device (Again, be sure to make copies of these files before modifying or deleting them!). After this, you should be able to insert any SIM card into your device and it should work without the need for any further hacks.
9. Setting up 'adb' on your machine.
--Why, when, where: adb (aka "Android Debug Bridge") is a tool that will let you execute remote commands on your android device. It is useful for debugging, accessing and copying files from/to your device and much more.
--Prerequisites: The android SDK, which you can download from here:http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and the USB drivers for your phone, which you can get by either installing Kies or by downloading and installing these drivers: http://www.mediafire.com/?a6ni32dk6nn953b (password is 'ragin' -- I didn't test them, so feedback on these is welcome).
9.1. Unpack the downloaded android-sdk.
9.2. Go to the unpacked directory and launch the SDK Manager.
9.3. Go to "Available packages" -> "Third party Add-ons" -> "Google Inc. add-ons" and tick the box next to "Google Usb Driver package" and the click on the "Install Selected" button. This will download and install the Google USB Drivers.
9.4. Whenever you want to connect to your phone through adb, make sure that you have enabled "USB Debugging" under "Settings" -> "Applications" -> "Development".
9.5. You should now be able to open up a command line ("Start" -> "Run..." -> Type "cmd" and click "OK"), cd to the subfolder "platform-tools" under the folder where you unpacked android-sdk and run "adb" in there.
Take some time to get used with the commands that adb offers, as these will help you to debug problems when you encounter some.
11. Do NOT overcharge
--Why, when, where: Almost all new batteries have an overcharging protection. This means that the protection that is built into the battery will not let it charge to 100%. This is a feature, not a bug! This will help prolong your battery life while also keeping it safe from overheating/explosion/etc. Do not try to trick it and unplug and plug again until you see 100%, just get used to the fact that you can't have 100% battery anymore and live with it, or you risk destroying your battery.
The full version can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=939752
The owner for this article is http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?s=7898a7500d1b0fd8ebecb0520451b9b7&u=3520867
--Why, when, where: Everyone's afraid of bricking their phone. I see the term "bricking" is being a bit overused in these forums though. Everyone is using it, even for the case where the phone can actually be "repaired" with a few simple hacks, IMHO the term "bricking" should only be used in the case where you get your phone in a state where it is inoperable AND you can not in any way repair it yourself.
--Prerequisites: A bit of common sense.
There are a few simple steps that you can follow, to get the risk of "bricking" (as in, you can not repair it yourself and need to somehow get Samsung to either repair it for you, or give you a new device) to a minimum:
1.1. Before trying any of the other steps, make sure that you can get to both the "Recovery mode" and the "Download mode" using the 3-button-combo. If this doesn't work for your device you can try following the steps described here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=810686
1.2. Try to avoid flashing stuff that contains a bootloader. The only way to permanently brick your phone so that you can not repair it yourself (at least AFAIK) is to flash a bootloader and then interrupt that flashing. If the bootloader didn't get flashed properly and it's broken, there isn't much you can do about it, and you need to somehow get Samsung to either repair it or give you a new one (if you're lucky). If the bootloader is fine, there is almost always a way to "repair" your phone yourself.
1.3. Do not interrupt the flashing processes. When using Odin or Heimdall to flash stuff to your phone, there is always the risk of bricking it if you interrupt the flashing process. If the bootloader is fine though and you can get into the "Download mode", you might be able to repair it.
If you follow these simple advices, it might save you money, nerves and also some time without your phone (the time that it takes Samsung to repair it, which can sometimes, depending on country, be even a couple of months).
2. Flashing stock firmwares.
--Why, when, where: You should usually do this if your phone doesn't work with your current firmware, if there is a new firmware out that might work better or if you just want to go to a stock firmware.
--Prerequisites: Odin, a stock firmware (from www.samfirmware.com for example).
NOTE: Apparently there are people that report that using Odin v1.3 might interrupt the flashing and leave you with a soft brick and that v1.7 doesn't have this problem. I have always used v1.3 and never had problems because of it, but if v1.3 isn't working for you, you might give v1.7 (or even heimdall) a try before giving up.
The steps to flashing a stock firmware are already described in a couple of other threads, like:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=818556
Nonetheless, here a quick sum-up of what you have to do:
2.1. Open up Odin.
2.2. Put your phone in the "Download mode" with the 3-button-combo (Volume Down + Home + Power).
2.3. Connect your phone to your computer (DO NOT CONNECT THE PHONE BEFORE OPENING ODIN OR THIS WILL NOT WORK).
2.4. Odin should recognize your phone and one of the "com" boxes should light up yellow. If this isn't the case, try repeating the previous steps and eventually connect your phone to another USB port.
2.5. Select your firmware in Odin.
2.5.1. --OPTIONAL-- If you want your phone to be like new, you can select "Re-Partition" in Odin, which will make it repartition your Internal SD. In this case you also have to use a .pit file (WARNING -- you will lose all of your installed applications and settings).
2.6. Take a deep breath and click the "Start" button.
2.7. Wait for the firmware to be flashed and for the device to be restarted.
2.8. You now have a stock firmware. If you also selected "Re-Partition" in Odin, all your programs and settings will be gone and your device will be like new.
3. Rooting your phone and flashing a custom Kernel.
--Why, when, where: Rooting your phone will get you super-user permissions to Android (super-user is Linux's equivalent of "Administrator rights" in Windows). This will allow you to execute some programs that need root permissions, access partitions that you otherwise couldn't and do other cool stuff with it.
--Prerequisites: Stock firmware (as most --if not all-- of the custom ROMs or kernels have root permissions already), Odin or Heimdall.
There are many ways to get root permissions on your device, like with special apps (OCLF for example), with CWM (aka ClockWork Mod) or, my preferred method, flashing a kernel that has this built-in. For this example I will use the SpeedMod Kernel, which is my preferred one. If you have another kernel that you like and that has root built-in, you can use that one.
3.1. Download your preferred kernel (the version for Odin, not the one for CWM).
3.2. Open up Odin or Heimdall.
3.3. Put you phone into "Download mode" and connect it to your computer (DO NOT CONNECT THE PHONE BEFORE OPENING ODIN OR THIS WILL NOT WORK).
3.4.1. If you are using Heimdall, unpack your kernel until you end up with a file called zImage. Select that in Heimdall in the box for "Kernel (zImage)" and click Start.
3.4.2. If you are using Odin, select the file you downloaded in the PDA box and click Start.
3.5. After your Phone reboots, go into "Recovery mode" and go to "Advanced Speedmod ULK features" -> "ROOT / Install Superuser".
3.6. After rebooting the phone again, you should have root permissions.
4. Deodexing your apps and framework.
--Why, when, where: The system applications and the framework files on the Android OS are normally 'odex'ed. By deodexing, you will get rid of the .odex files that come with every apk and jar file and you will be able to edit the apks like any other apk. It will also save you a wee bit of space, and make your apps launch a wee bit faster.
--Prerequisites: Stock firmware (as most --if not all-- of the custom ROMs are deodexed already), xUltimate (this is what I found to be the easiest, if you know any software that is better, please let me know), root permissions.
You can download xUltimate from here: http://www.droidforums.net/forum/xeu...xultimate.html
There are more ways to deodex your apps, but I found xUltimate to be the easiest.
4.1. First of all, you need to get the files from "/system/app" into the subdirectory "origi_app" and all of the files from "/system/framework" into the subdirectory "origi_frame". Both "origi_app" and "origi_frame" should be in the folder you extracted xUltimate to. If they don't exist, create them yourself. There are actually two ways to get the files there, either with xUltimate itself (options 1 and 2) or by copying them to your SD with "Root Explorer" for example and then copying them from your SD to your computer (or with adb of course).
4.2. Deodex the apps and framework with xUltimate, options 3 and 4.
4.3. After deodexing is finished, the deodexed files will be located in the directories "done_app" and "done_frame" in your xUltimate folder. You have to get these files back to their original directories, in /system/app and /system/framework. Again, there are a couple of ways to do this, either with adb (MOST RECOMMENDED ONE), or with "Root Explorer".
6. Protecting your screen.
--Why, when, where: This is not about protecting your screen from scratches, but rather about protecting it from degradation over time. As you might already know, AMOLED screens are prone to the "burn-in" effect. To elaborate a little: AMOLED uses Organic LEDs to display the amazing graphics you see on your display. These OLEDs are very good at displaying bright, colorful pictures, they have a downside though -- they fade over time. That means, the more a specific OLED is used, the less light it emits. If the whole screen would degrade at the same pace, that wouldn't be such a BIG problem, but the very nature of the OLED screens makes them degrade unevenly. That means the OLEDs that are used more frequently (like clock, phone signal, wifi, notification bar), get dimmer faster and this leads to ugly "shadows" on fullscreen apps. To be able to keep your screen as beautiful as new, I got a couple of tips, so that the display degrades more evenly and you avoid the ugly "shadows".
!! Most users won't even notice these degradations, also they won't be noticeable in 90% of use-cases and they will only appear after longer use (6 months+), but you can still use these tricks if you want your display to be almost as good as new a couple of years from now !!
6.1. Don't set brightness to 100%. At least not all the time. You should best be using a brightness setting that fits your ambient light, or the "Automatic brightness" setting. This will ensure that the OLEDs don't wear out as fast (the brighter you use them, the faster they will degrade).
6.2. Use a grey notification bar. The notification bar is the biggest "static" element on the screen. Most apps that are not fullscreen, will also show the notification bar, and this leads to an uneven degradation in that area if it isn't a neutral color. If you use a white notification bar, the OLEDs there will get dimmer faster and you will get an ugly shadow when using fullscreen apps, if you use a black notification bar, it will not degrade as fast as the rest of the screen and that area will be "brighter" in fullscreen apps, that's why I recommend a medium grey.
6.3. Use as little static elements as possible. If you don't need the clock in the notification bar, get rid of it. Get a theme that uses grey or green icons (see next step why) and try not to leave the phone on over night displaying the same static image.
6.4. Avoid blue. As you can see here for example: http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/8057/new1ls.pngthe blue OLEDs are degrading at a much faster pace than the green or red ones, this is why you should avoid using blue wallpapers or blue themes, they will make your display degrade faster than if you use a green theme and a green wallpaper for example.
These tips won't make your screen live forever, it will degrade too, but by using these tips, at least you can assure that you will have the most of your awesome display even in a year or two from now.
8. Unlocking your phone.
--Why, when, where: If you bought your phone with a contract, chances are that it might be locked in that specific network. If you want to also use other SIM cards in it, that are from another provider, you will have to unlock the phone (!! WARNING !! in most cases this will lead to a void warranty, please consult your contract).
--Prerequisites: Root privileges, adb.
8.1. Get the /efs/nv_data.bin file from your device to your computer. You can do this either with adb or by copying the file to your SD card with "Root Explorer" and then copying it over to your machine from the SD (Be sure to keep a backup of this file and the /efs/.nv_data.bin.md5 file.)
8.2. Open up the file in a hex editor, go to the address 0x181468, where you will see something like this:
FF 01 00 00 00 00 46 46 46...
We are interested in that first '01', that means the phone is locked. Just change it to '00' and save the file. Copy it back to your SD card and then with "Root Explorer" back to it's original location (or 'push' it directly with adb). Then remove the .nv_data.bin.md5 file and restart the device (Again, be sure to make copies of these files before modifying or deleting them!). After this, you should be able to insert any SIM card into your device and it should work without the need for any further hacks.
9. Setting up 'adb' on your machine.
--Why, when, where: adb (aka "Android Debug Bridge") is a tool that will let you execute remote commands on your android device. It is useful for debugging, accessing and copying files from/to your device and much more.
--Prerequisites: The android SDK, which you can download from here:http://developer.android.com/sdk/index.html and the USB drivers for your phone, which you can get by either installing Kies or by downloading and installing these drivers: http://www.mediafire.com/?a6ni32dk6nn953b (password is 'ragin' -- I didn't test them, so feedback on these is welcome).
9.1. Unpack the downloaded android-sdk.
9.2. Go to the unpacked directory and launch the SDK Manager.
9.3. Go to "Available packages" -> "Third party Add-ons" -> "Google Inc. add-ons" and tick the box next to "Google Usb Driver package" and the click on the "Install Selected" button. This will download and install the Google USB Drivers.
9.4. Whenever you want to connect to your phone through adb, make sure that you have enabled "USB Debugging" under "Settings" -> "Applications" -> "Development".
9.5. You should now be able to open up a command line ("Start" -> "Run..." -> Type "cmd" and click "OK"), cd to the subfolder "platform-tools" under the folder where you unpacked android-sdk and run "adb" in there.
Take some time to get used with the commands that adb offers, as these will help you to debug problems when you encounter some.
11. Do NOT overcharge
--Why, when, where: Almost all new batteries have an overcharging protection. This means that the protection that is built into the battery will not let it charge to 100%. This is a feature, not a bug! This will help prolong your battery life while also keeping it safe from overheating/explosion/etc. Do not try to trick it and unplug and plug again until you see 100%, just get used to the fact that you can't have 100% battery anymore and live with it, or you risk destroying your battery.
The full version can be found here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=939752
The owner for this article is http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?s=7898a7500d1b0fd8ebecb0520451b9b7&u=3520867
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)