[ROM][GEN2]CyanogenMod 7 (Android 2.3.7)

[Guest sej7278]

1. It's one touch away on one of my home screen's.
2. No need to reboot.
3. It has an option to play a very nice beep/boing sound when the battery reaches 100%. In fact, I extracted the audio file out of the app and now use it for email notifications. :) I sincerely hope the Dev doesn't mind

you probably should reboot actually, but i prefer to do it from clockworkmod whilst flashing a nightly.

an easy way to do it is from the terminal emulator app (or adb) just: rm /data/system/batterystats.bin

and as far as wiping the cache partition goes, its pretty pointless - nothing gets stored there these days other than the recovery log.

Edited August 2, 2011 by sej7278

[Guest Ray-man]

Hi CaptainSpectacular, I suggest you flash N149, I use it without any reboots etc. Before the flash wipe the Dalvik cache and the Cache partition, you will not lose any personal data.

I hope this helps you. Anil.

Hi Anil,

Just read your response above, does that mean I can flash other roms without wiping data? I'm running CM N149 now (or at least my phone is) but none of the CM7s I've tried have been completely stable on my phone including N149 so would like a quick way to try alternatives like GSF. Also, can you tell me where I can find the latest GSF downloads, I've only seen the one listed in wbaw's excellent GEN1 to GEN2 upgrade post.

[Guest sm4tik]

Well they forget to add the languages since the n145, just get latinIM.apk from any ver before 145 and add it or install in to your rom.

True, I just figured it was the merge of 2.3.5 that did it. Running a test build of the latest LatinIME with my modifications and it's working again as expected :) Still need to figure out all the wanted/needed languages.. (a whitelist is now used instead of the old blacklist)

[Guest Clitheroe1]

Hi brickornot, I'm running N149 and I easily get 10 hours with heavy use, a few movies, some game play and lot's of internet stuff. If I'm only doing internet stuff, email browsing etc. I get around 48 hours. Only caveat, make sure you calibrate your battery after the flash.

I use this app to calibrate my battery. The battery will take a few charge cycles for it to settle down and give a true indicator of power remaining.

I hope this helps you.

Anil.

I'm really envious that you can get 48 hours with general use. If I'm using the internet occasionally, email and the odd call, I'd be lucky if I get 10-12 hours. I'm currently using N128.

[Guest mullen666]

<br />you probably should reboot actually, but i prefer to do it from clockworkmod whilst flashing a nightly.<br /><br />an easy way to do it is from the terminal emulator app (or adb) just: <font face="Courier New">rm /data/system/batterystats.bin</font><br /><br />and as far as wiping the cache partition goes, its pretty pointless - nothing gets stored there these days other than the recovery log.<br />

<br /><br /><br />

simon

I know this is lazy

when will you release another CM7 nightly with soft buttons

I'm addicted to them!!!

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

you probably should reboot actually, but i prefer to do it from clockworkmod whilst flashing a nightly.

an easy way to do it is from the terminal emulator app (or adb) just: rm /data/system/batterystats.bin

If you feel hooking the handset up to ADB and running a command through Terminal is easier than running an ANDROID app & simply rebooting, cool. I prefer 3 "clicks" on my handset to your, 9-10 clicks.

and as far as wiping the cache partition goes, its pretty pointless - nothing gets stored there these days other than the recovery log.

"/cache

This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and app components. Wiping the cache doesn’t effect your personal data but simply gets rid of the existing data there, which gets automatically rebuilt as you continue using the device."

There is no harm in wiping the Cache partition, and it is quick to do.

Thanks. Anil.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Anil k Solanki

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

Can't say I've ever used SS but I've used, both, CM7 and GSF. With the same amount of usage, I generally get about twice the amount of life on GSF.

Thanks James. I will probably update my girl friends handset's to GSF.

Anil.

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

Hi Anil,

Just read your response above, does that mean I can flash other roms without wiping data?

Hi Ray-man, if you are flashing a Gingerbread ROM for another, then I don't see a problem. But read the quote below;

"/data

Also called userdata, the data partition contains the user’s data – this is where your contacts, messages, settings and apps that you have installed go. Wiping this partition essentially performs a factory reset on your device, restoring it to the way it was when you first booted it, or the way it was after the last official or custom ROM installation. When you perform a wipe data/factory reset from recovery, it is this partition that you are wiping."

I'm running CM N149 now (or at least my phone is) but none of the CM7s I've tried have been completely stable on my phone including N149 so would like a quick way to try alternatives like GSF.

If you make a Nandroid back up of your phone before, you will be covered in any eventuality. I haven't had any issues with Cyanogen nightlies since N126, it's a shame your experience has been less smooth. Ginger stir fry is apparently less feature rich than Cyanogen, but, more stable, and power conscious.

Also, can you tell me where I can find the latest GSF downloads, I've only seen the one listed in wbaw's excellent GEN1 to GEN2 upgrade post.

You can find GSF here in this thread.

Have fun. Anil.

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

I'm really envious that you can get 48 hours with general use. If I'm using the internet occasionally, email and the odd call, I'd be lucky if I get 10-12 hours. I'm currently using N128.

Hi Clitheroe1, there is no need to be envious, I'm sure you could improve your battery life by doing a few things. But first some proviso's.

1. I work from home, so most of the time I have a really strong Wi-Fi signal. The stronger the signal, be it Wi-Fi or cellular, the less work the radio's in your handset have to do, and the less power they have to use.
2. I have my screen brightness set to around 20-25%.
3. I have correctly calibrated my battery stats, this helps a lot, trust me.

I suggest starting by calibrating your battery stats. Use this app, charge the battery to 100%. Once it's completed reboot, and launch the battery app again, charge for another 2 hours, now hit the calibrate battery button in the app, not before.

Now comes the part I find most users simply don't do, the above procedure set's the 100% mark, now you have to set the 0% mark. This can be done easily, but the choice is yours. Simply keep using the handset until it turns itself off. On the way to 0% you will get two ANDROID warnings, one at 15%, and one at 5%, ignore these and continue using the phone until it goes dead. Or play a movie on loop, you decide.

You're done! Well, almost. Now charge your phone to 100% using the power adapter, not a USB port. Try this and see if your battery life doesn't improve. Just bear in mind, flashing a different ROM may mean you need to do the above procedure again. Cyanogen updates will be OK, (unless they change the Kernel).

I hope this helps you. But I will end with this, the consensus seems to be that Ginger Stir Fry has better battery life in general over Cyanogen. But fewer features, features I for one need. Built-in screen lock delay, built-in screenshots, you know the score. So you decide, if you can't get to a charge point before your handset dies then stick with Cyanogen, otherwise consider Ginger Stir Fry.

I hope this helps with your battery envy. :)

Anil.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Anil k Solanki

[Guest andyr99]

If you feel hooking the handset up to ADB and running a command through Terminal is easier than running an ANDROID app & simply rebooting, cool. I prefer 3 "clicks" on my handset to your, 9-10 clicks.

"/cache

This is the partition where Android stores frequently accessed data and app components. Wiping the cache doesn’t effect your personal data but simply gets rid of the existing data there, which gets automatically rebuilt as you continue using the device."

There is no harm in wiping the Cache partition, and it is quick to do.

Thanks. Anil.

But this takes more clicks.

[Guest targetbsp]

There is no harm in wiping the Cache partition, and it is quick to do.

The cache partition is the download cache used by the market app. The gen 2 conversion shrinks it to 2mb cause we don't use it anymore. It's true that there's no harm but there really should be no point. Assuming that that is what gets wiped when you choose to wipe cache.

Dalvik cache would be the main one if you wanted to wipe a cache.

[Guest nikonboy]

Hi All,

I am using CM7 n142+ (with soft buttons), my question is, is there any way that I could add the soft button function to later nightlies, I believe that it needs to be done at compile time (whatever that is?) but I also know that there are some very clever people on here who could probably make a flashable file to add this funtion to any nightly.

Looking forward to any ideas or suggestions (polite ones anyway!)

Cheers

Dave

[Guest gnarula]

Dear Anil,

Exactly as u mentioned....Package integrity sounds so much better, am not so good with TERMS...

Just to mention the full story : MD5 is not a fool proof system though - a totally different file can also generate the same MD5 that another file produces(1 in a billion chance may be). That was why MD5 was discarded (in 2006) and new algorithms and standards have been adopted (Presently SHA-2). Hope this helps others who stumble upon MD5's....

This would help the enthusiasts who are eager to learn about MD5 Collisions : http://www.mscs.dal.ca/~selinger/md5collision/

Regards,

gnarula

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

The cache partition is the download cache used by the market app. The gen 2 conversion shrinks it to 2mb cause we don't use it anymore. It's true that there's no harm but there really should be no point. Assuming that that is what gets wiped when you choose to wipe cache.

Dalvik cache would be the main one if you wanted to wipe a cache.

Thanks for the info targetbsp, the article I read about ANDROID partitions is already out of date even though it was only written in May of this year. Or perhaps the fact we use a custom memory layout and ROM changes things. I have a question though, I rebooted into recovery and wiped the Cache partition, but the amount used by the cache didn't change after the wipe and reboot.

Do you have any idea what is going on?

Anil.

[Guest targetbsp]

Do you have any idea what is going on?

Anil.

I'm afraid I don't. :( Unless there's 1.14mb of files Android sticks in your cache partition during boot.

It is indeed the rom that changes the fact we don't use the cache btw.

Edited August 3, 2011 by targetbsp

[Guest Simono]

Thanks for the info targetbsp, the article I read about ANDROID partitions is already out of date even though it was only written in May of this year. Or perhaps the fact we use a custom memory layout and ROM changes things. I have a question though, I rebooted into recovery and wiped the Cache partition, but the amount used by the cache didn't change after the wipe and reboot.

Do you have any idea what is going on?

Anil.

Probably cache is moved to be use /data partition. Before wipe cache partiotion look for free space on /data and after wipe look for free space on /data.

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

Probably cache is moved to be use /data partition. Before wipe cache partiotion look for free space on /data and after wipe look for free space on /data.

Hi Simono,

I tried your suggestion.

Free space before wipe and after.

I can't see a 1.14 MB difference, can you? No big deal, my advice still stands. Wipe Dalvik cache & the Cache partition, just to be sure.

Anil.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Anil k Solanki

[Guest Simono]

Who knows what transfer Theme Chooser (5,2 MB) and Settings (5,2 MB) and SIM Toolkit (9,5 MB)?

Data for 2 days and 14 hours.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Simono

[Guest Ray-man]

If you make a Nandroid back up of your phone before, you will be covered in any eventuality. I haven't had any issues with Cyanogen nightlies since N126, it's a shame your experience has been less smooth. Ginger stir fry is apparently less feature rich than Cyanogen, but, more stable, and power conscious.

You can find GSF here in this thread.

Have fun. Anil.

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

Thanks again Anil,

Yes I'm a bit disappointed that the Cyanogen roms haven't worked well for me, it's clear from this thread that I'm in a minority but I've followed all of the instructions and am running out of options. If I can't get GSF to work I'll probably abandon the whole thing and get something else that comes with 2.3 as standard but thanks to wbaw, I can restore the phone to original GEN1 with stock rom and all of the Orange bloat (I've already tried it once and it worked well). On that subject, I unlocked and rooted my phone before I discovered his GEN1 to GEN2 upgrade, any idea what their status will be if I restore (Oops! I shouldn't be asking that in this thread, sorry).

Hi Ray-man, at the very least if you're considering abandoning the whole thing, then I would consider doing this. Download N149 and Google apps again, I know it's a pain, then boot in to recovery mode and then factory reset your phone. You will lose personal data on the phone and SD card, so backup any stuff not synched with Google, pics, movies, music etc.Then Wipe the Dalvik cache, and the Cache partition. Then flash N149 and the immediately after flash Google apps. Reboot the phone, then immediately after turn off the phone and boot in to recovery again. This time go to "mounts and storage" then select "format /sdcard". After you've done that reboot.You now have a fresh install of Cyanogen and a fresh SD card. Log into Google, and leave the phone for 30 mins after entering your Google password. In that time the phone will sync with Google and download your apps and contacts etc. If you mess with it auto-sync doesn't seem to work, go figure.

This is a belt & braces method, which leaves nothing to chance. Some may argue some actions are redundant, I say you have nothing to lose, except for the 45 mins it would take in total. I make one big assumption here, I'm assuming under Menu>Settings>Account & sync you have auto sync enabled, and that if you select the account you are syncing, at the bottom of that screen. You have the relevant items selected.

If you have issues after this, I would suggest it is an app you've downloaded, or a flaky handset, or you're just unlucky. Either way, smartphones are part of our lives now. We all have to use them, so either, put a bit more time into ANDROID and get a better return on your investment. Or, get an iPhone/Win7/HP WebOS and start again.

Good luck. Anil.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Anil k Solanki

[Guest targetbsp]

I can't see a 1.14 MB difference, can you? No big deal, my advice still stands. Wipe Dalvik cache & the Cache partition, just to be sure.

Anil.

That's not necessarily as good advice as it sounds. :D Because you can't wipe the cache from Rom Manager without wiping data. So I think it's important to note that you don't really need to, or Rom Manager users will be making life unnecessarily difficult for themselves. Though obviously it is harmless to wipe cache if you want to. :)

[Guest Chris Banks]

Hi Chris, or anyone else who could advise me on this.

I've heard a lot of people say the Ginger based ROM's have better battery life than Cyanogen. I have used in this order;

1. Japanese Jellyfish, it's the ROM the phone came with when I bought it used from eBay.
2. Cyanogen 7 RC1
3. Swedish Spring RLS5
4. Ginger stir fry BETA 9
5. Cyanogen nightlies N126+ (Thanks sej7278) through N149 (Current ROM)

Maybe it's just my dodgy memory, or the fact that I've only really been using ANDROID since March of this year. So I never really got used to one ROM, before I moved on. But I never noticed any differences in power consumption.

So back to my question. Are the Ginger ROM's hugely more power efficient? Would these Ginger ROM's be better than Swedish Spring in this regard? My girlfriend's handset is running Swedish Spring. But when the Skate is released I might get one if it doesn't suck, and give my current Blade to my girlfriend so she can replace her second handset, a NOKIA 5800. (Yup, she is a two handset woman)

Damn, this is turning into a big post, sorry.

Anil.

Well I think some one else has already answered you, but in my experience and from what I can remember SS and GSF both had pretty good battery life for me, better than CM7. But I end up charging my phone every night anyway no matter the battery life, so if im honest it doesnt bother me too much...

On regard to giving your phone to your girlfriend, and current I would reccomend GSF over SS due to it being the latest version of android and stable for everyday use. Saying that by the time the skate has come out, hopefully the source code will come with it, and im sure when the CM7 devs get their hands on that, CM7 will be better in everyway... or so I hope :)

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

That's not necessarily as good advice as it sounds. :D Because you can't wipe the cache from Rom Manager without wiping data. So I think it's important to note that you don't really need to, or Rom Manager users will be making life unnecessarily difficult for themselves. Though obviously it is harmless to wipe cache if you want to. :)

Hi targetbsp, I'm talking about the "Cache partition". What are you referring to? Because as you can clearly see from the screenshot, "wipe cache partition" is a separate option in Clockwork recovery so you can indeed wipe it separately from wiping data.

Thanks, Anil.

Edited August 3, 2011 by Anil k Solanki

[Guest Anil k Solanki]

Well I think some one else has already answered you, but in my experience and from what I can remember SS and GSF both had pretty good battery life for me, better than CM7. But I end up charging my phone every night anyway no matter the battery life, so if im honest it doesnt bother me too much...

On regard to giving your phone to your girlfriend, and current I would reccomend GSF over SS due to it being the latest version of android and stable for everyday use. Saying that by the time the skate has come out, hopefully the source code will come with it, and im sure when the CM7 devs get their hands on that, CM7 will be better in everyway... or so I hope :)

Hi Chris, thanks for your advice. I will flash GSF on to my girlfriends handset, I can use the TPT install to get hers to Gen 2 and flash GSF In one fell swoop. My only concern would if any visual tweaking has been done to the ROM. It changed fairly quickly so it's hard to keep up.

I'm not sure if I can wait til the end of September for the Skate. I would dearly love to sell my girlfriends NOKIA 5800 on eBay ASAP. But other than the Skate, I haven't seen anything new with a 4 inch plus screen for less than £200.

Again many thanks for your advice. Anil.

[Guest targetbsp]

Hi targetbsp, I'm talking about the "Cache partition". What are you referring to? Because as you can clearly see from the screenshot, "wipe cache partition" is a separate option in Clockwork recovery so you can indeed wipe it separately from wiping data.

Thanks, Anil.

Like I said... 'Rom Manager' :D