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I am very confused.
I have a Motorola Droid on STOCK 2.1 which I would like to root and install a froyo custom ROM. I have read so many guides / articles / posts on the doing so. I have stumbled upon "Guide to Rooting Android 2.1 On A Motorola Droid" at droidlife.com. My question is the following:
The guide says I should flash/install SPRecovery using RSDLite first. This will help me install a rooted ROM. But towards the bottom of the guide I am also told to install ROM Manager to install other custom ROM's. I have read that installing ROM Manager will "disable" the SPRecovery. Is this okay?
Should I use SPRecovery to install the very first rooted ROM onto the phone and then use ROM Manager to install ANY other ROMs thereafter. After I install a rooted ROM (using SPRecovery) will I never use it again after I install ROM Manager. Thanks.
On my wife's Droid, I followed the guide and used SPRecovery to install the original rooted ROM. Then, I put ROM Manager on there to start trying out different ROMs. I haven't used SP since the original flash. You still can flash ROMs with SP, but ROM Manager makes it much easier, especially when you become a flashin' fool, lol. With the SP, you have to rename every ROM you put on there to "update.zip," and they can become difficult to keep track of.
RomManager will ask you to install clockwork. This is fine as it will give you the option to instal SP again if you want.
Honestly I do not know the difference between the two and just let Rom Manager do the work for me.
thank you very much...much clearer...
So it seems i should use SPR to install the first rooted ROM and then go with ROM Manager's Clockwork Recovery to handle any future ROMS thereafter. Please let me know if I misunderstood. Thanks.
That's pretty much the best idea, I flashed sprecovery through terminal then after I installed a custom rom switched to rom manager and clockworkmod recovery. Clockworkmod is a little easier to use if you need to flash manually which I mostly do and has some more features that sprecovery doesn't. The main one being for sprecovery you have to rename all zips to update.zip and keep it in root of sdcard. With clockwork I created a directory with subdirectories for roms themes kernels and etc. You can choose to install a zip in clockwork and navigate to where its stored. A little neater, as well both have backup which is always recommended. The reason for using clockwork is mine has issues with mounting sdcard and system when I choose to flash from rom manager. It reboots to recovery and does it automatically which mine has issues with( can't figure out why) but through recovery its self its convenient. Mostly the only time I have to rename a zip to install is for baseband updates.
Sent from my Droid using XDA App
I am almost too chicken to post because reading all the developer threads I feel like such a noob.
I recently rooted my Nexus One, thanks to a developer that created a painless one button rooting app. The problem is after downloading and installing many apps that require superuser access I am finding out that I am limited in what I can do without unlocking the bootloader.
I want to find a theme that replaces the standard white bar "which will cause screen burn" with a black bar.
I backed up all my apps, "Titanium Back Up"
I backed up my ROM??? "Maybe not" using a program call Rom Backup. "I have not figure out how to to nandroid backup "not sure the right name"
I googled found many procedures on unlocking the bootloader but I can not get it work.
Download ADK
Found a place that has Fastboot download it
I even found out I need to copy file from ADK folder to the Fastboot folder
Held down the power button trackball got the correct screen "even though my old eyes have a hard time reading the little character"
connected my phone
Ran the batch file
It returns saying wait for device.
The device is connected, in the right mode, my device manage says the is an Android device connected.......
But no matter what I do I can not get the screen warning me that to unlock my bootloader I void my warranty.
I found here some theme labled that hey work Nexus One 2.2 and I want to try them but Metamprgh will not load new themes on a radio that has a locked bootloader.
I am not worried about losing my warranty I live in Canada if I ever need warranty work it be a hassle anyway.
I thought unlock the bootloader.
When the phone powers up login my Google Account, reload Titanium Back up to restore my my phone.
Back up the Rom once more using Rom Backup if I want to recover my stock Rom
Run Metamorph and play with the themes
But I can not unlock the bootloader ....... "waiting for device"
How can I unlock the Bootloader, I there a more current method?
What can I be doing wrong I see a device in my Device Manager?
Will my method for restoring my phone work, never done a full phone wipe?
FYI this forum is scary there should but a developer and a Noob section.
You don't need to unlock your bootloader. My bootloader is locked and I'm rooted. It seems like you're missing superuser.apk. You need that too allow all of the programs like ROM manager and Titanium Backup root permissions. I'm not sure how the one click app works but I know that it probably should have installed the superuser application to allow those apps root access. Check and see if its in your application draw. You might want to try "one click rooting again" because it seems like it didn't work.
Side note: Titanium Backup does not back up your ROM. It just backs up apps and their data stored on your phone so it can be restored when you flash a new ROM. The way you back up your ROM is through the android custom recovery using the nandroid feature.
Thanks Magma,
Yes Superuser is installed.
A program wants superuser access I can grant it.
Metamorph does do several checks and it needs superuser access.
It is my understanding superuser access gives apps access to system hardware but if you want to use Metamorph to change the standard Android Shell that is going to modify your ROM and you will need and unlocked bootloader.
Here is what happens when I run Metamorph it finds the zipped files on my SD card, I select a file, it exacts the package, I say update al .... PLEASE WAIT for 20 or 30 minutes, it may then tell me to reboot but nothing happens my theme is still stock Android 2.2
This is where you can find out about and download the One Click Root App, it is in this section themes and apps.
It roots you device but leaves the bootloader alone
I know titanium backup just restores all your applications and data. The way I understand it if I ever need to do a master reset, I login Google, download Titanimum back up use it to restore every thing else. Yes which every ROM I was running will not be touched.
I am pretty sure I need to unlock the Bootloader.
But to unlock my Bootloader I just as I said get please wait I tried everything.
Alright man, you need the Android sdk for your OS so go to the android site and get the SDK, then install drivers for phone, and you NEED a custom recovery to do a NANDROID of the ROM, from what i understand your like me
have everything stock but with root privileges! and i from what i know as of now, unlockBoot loader gives you the option to do fastboot, if you want to continue messing around with stuff i highly suggest you flash custom recovery like Amon-Ra or even clockwork(from market) then go to Nandroid back up, then flash a custom rom like Enomther's Rom that is nice and stock clean stable, but still able to do themes
ilostchild said:
Alright man, you need the Android sdk for your OS so go to the android site and get the SDK, then install drivers for phone, and you NEED a custom recovery to do a NANDROID of the ROM, from what i understand your like me
have everything stock but with root privileges! and i from what i know as of now, unlockBoot loader gives you the option to do fastboot, if you want to continue messing around with stuff i highly suggest you flash custom recovery like Amon-Ra or even clockwork(from market) then go to Nandroid back up, then flash a custom rom like Enomther's Rom that is nice and stock clean stable, but still able to do themes
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow lot to digest. I do have and install Android SDK the instructions in the tutorial I googled said I needed it, The Fastboot command needed files in the ADK directory.
The thing is since my command window did not see a device,
With your Nexus One in bootloader mode and connected to your computer via USB cable, go back to the command prompt and type “fastboot-windows oem unlock”.
Would even be able to flash anything?
At the end of the day I am very happy with Android 2.2 and I do not think I want custom roms at least for now. All I want is to get Metamorph to work so I can change how it looks.
try to type fastboot oem unlock
You do not need to unlock.
You used the one click root.
Now download Rom Manager and flash the Clockwork Recovery.
There, now you suddenly have a custom recovery, can flash custom roms, and flash custom themes on top of the roms.
And you still have a locked bootloader.
You don't even need to manually go into the recovery to flash your roms and themes, Rom Manager will do it for you. Chose the rom or update.zip file for the theme and it will automatically reboot and flash it for you.
From clockwork you can also make a backup of your phone. Through Rom Manager choose to back it up, and it will restart and do a nandroid backup for you automatically.
try to type fastboot oem unlock (Done but it just responds wait for device)
Now download Rom Manager Done and it seemed to back up my OEM Rom no problem and flash the Clockwork Recovery. Question is this over writing existing Nexus One ROM because as I said since really have nothing against OEM ROM I would like to keep it?
There, now you suddenly have a custom recovery, can flash custom roms, and flash custom themes on top of the roms. At this point my phone would be powered up with the Clockwork Recovery ROM? I want to use Metamorph to flash themes on top of the Nexus One ROM
And you still have a locked bootloader.Well if Clock Recovery does the job and at the end of the day I get OEM 2.2 ROM which I can theme with Metamorph I am ok never unlocking the Bootloader.
You don't even need to manually go into the recovery to flash your roms and themes, Rom Manager will do it for you. Chose the rom or update.zip file for the theme and it will automatically reboot and flash it for you.
Yes Understood I have the program
From clockwork you can also make a backup of your phone. Through Rom Manager choose to back it up, and it will restart and do a nandroid backup for you automatically. But as the questions above do I really what to keep the Clockwork Recovery ROM. I do not know what the Clockwork recovery ROM does but I do just want to theme my Nexus One OEM ROM.
So let me see if I got the steps straight.
Head to the download section find the Clockwork recovery ROM.
Copy it to my SD Card.
Open ROM Manager and install it.
Reboot my Nexus One, the ROM manager forces the Reboot and I will be running my phone with Special ROM, old version of Android?
Then do I load my back my OEM ROM and modify it with Metamorph?
or is what loading the Clockwork ROM actually do is it is not a full ROM when I load it with ROM Manager what it does is add to my existing OEM ROM. This process will then let me modify the ROM with themes. When I reboot after loading the Clockwork ROM I will find the phone looks and behaves the same as always "running Android 2.2" but the Clockwork ROM will add files and when I use Metamorph it will work......
............. Man I am such a noob, but i guess at one time we were all noobs.
You are still mixed up:
Clockwork is not a rom. It is just replaces the stock recovery.
To install the Clockwork Recovery you:
1. Download Rom Manager
2. Press the first item "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery"
Done, nothing has changed, except your recovery partition is now different, which allows the flashing of other stuff.
Anything you do from now on could wipe your curent install, so make sure things are backed up in case you want to go back.
Now from Rom Manager you can flash any other rom or update.zip
The biggest issue you might face is that I don't think you can theme the stock froyo rom. You will need a special de-odexed rom. So you would have to go to the development section and find a custom 'stock' rom. Then flash that one though Rom Manager.
Keep in mind, when you do all this, you will not get any OTA updates anymore either, unless you flash back to the real stock rom and the stock recovery. But most people don't care, since the custom roms will be updated eventually to the latest, if not before.
Clarkster said:
You are still mixed up:
Clockwork is not a rom. It is just replaces the stock recovery.
To install the Clockwork Recovery you:
1. Download Rom Manager
2. Press the first item "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery"
Done, nothing has changed, except your recovery partition is now different, which allows the flashing of other stuff.
Anything you do from now on could wipe your curent install, so make sure things are backed up in case you want to go back.
Now from Rom Manager you can flash any other rom or update.zip
The biggest issue you might face is that I don't think you can theme the stock froyo rom. You will need a special de-odexed rom. So you would have to go to the development section and find a custom 'stock' rom. Then flash that one though Rom Manager.
Keep in mind, when you do all this, you will not get any OTA updates anymore either, unless you flash back to the real stock rom and the stock recovery. But most people don't care, since the custom roms will be updated eventually to the latest, if not before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I need to learn how to use the search better. If I had read this first I assume I could have updated the radio without unlocking the bootloader. arg.
Yes I did not understand, ROM Manager first entry is Clockwork Recovery.
You said I can install themes using ROM manager?
I click on "Install ROM from SD Card", I had a pretty scary moment not know what I am doing I tried it the phone reboot to an "exclamation mark and Android". I pulled the battery and it booted.
This make me wonder if yor find an unstable theme or ROM how can you use ROM manager to restore a backup?
Could the reason Metamorph did not work is having "Clockwork Recovery"?
AstroDigital said:
Yes I did not understand, ROM Manager first entry is Clockwork Recovery.
You said I can install themes using ROM manager?
I click on "Install ROM from SD Card", I had a pretty scary moment not know what I am doing I tried it the phone reboot to an "exclamation mark and Android". I pulled the battery and it booted.
This make me wonder if yor find an unstable theme or ROM how can you use ROM manager to restore a backup?
Could the reason Metamorph did not work is having "Clockwork Recovery"?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sorry, but I am going to have to recommend you do a lot more reading in the development section, the wiki, and all the sticky posts. Don't try anything until you understand how linux works, partitions, bootloaders, how Android roms work, even how a metamorph works.
Spend a few weeks or a month reading about everything, through the whole threads before trying to jump in. That's how I learned everything.
You seem intelligent enough to do everything, but what you lack is an actual understanding of what those things are, so you just need to spend a lot more time on it.
When you do fully understand everything, it will be a breeze and you will enjoy it a lot more. You will be less likely to completely screw your phone, and if you do you will know exactly how to recover.
I need to learn how to use the search better. If I had read this first I assume I could have updated the radio without unlocking the bootloader. arg.
You saying yes it is true I need to unlock bootloader?
Sorry, but I am going to have to recommend you do a lot more reading in the development section, the wiki, and all the sticky posts. Don't try anything until you understand how linux works, partitions, bootloaders, how Android roms work, even how a metamorph works.
You maybe right, maybe I should give up for now. Learn to do a backup and restore using nandroid. Just not sure how much time I am willing to invest just to gain the able to put themes on my phone.
AstroDigital said:
I need to learn how to use the search better. If I had read this first I assume I could have updated the radio without unlocking the bootloader. arg.
You saying yes it is true I need to unlock bootloader?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, you shouldn't do anything yet, read up on stuff for fun until you know what is going on.
For instance, in what I quoted above, you understood the exact opposite of what he was saying.
He was upset that he didn't find out about this way to root before he unlocked. He didn't have to unlock and is now disappointed he did.
OP. What ROM are you currently running? Stock FRF91 or something else?
To my understanding you need a De-Odexed ROM to apply themes that modify the framework.
Hi all,
Just a few, hopefully fairly straightforward yes no answer, questions for someone to kindly help me out with. I have been S-OFFed for quite a while now and also rooted and want to finally take the plunge and try out a modded ROM...not sure which one yet though, but hopefully ill work that one out for myself! I have a few questions before hand:
1. What is and do I need 4EXTrecovery to flash all ROMs? I have the latest ClockWorkMod recovery installed via ROM Manager, 5.0.2.0. Is this sufficient? If I do need it do I flash it the same way as a ROM?
2. In theory all I need to do now is choose the ROM, rename as .zip file and download to my SD card, open up recovery and install? Should be able to do this using ROM manager?
3. What are kernals and do I need to flash new kernals/radios for the new ROM to work properly, or is this dependant on the ROM? Can I do this with only ClockWorkMod?
4. Will backing up my current ROM back up all my apps and music etc or do I need to use Titanium backup for this? Don't really want to have to reinstall all my apps and thousands of songs!
I think that's it. Thanks to whoever for sparing the time.
M
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA App
Pleaaase....!
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA App
VaderXI said:
Hi all,
Just a few, hopefully fairly straightforward yes no answer, questions for someone to kindly help me out with. I have been S-OFFed for quite a while now and also rooted and want to finally take the plunge and try out a modded ROM...not sure which one yet though, but hopefully ill work that one out for myself! I have a few questions before hand:
1. What is and do I need 4EXTrecovery to flash all ROMs? I have the latest ClockWorkMod recovery installed via ROM Manager, 5.0.2.0. Is this sufficient? If I do need it do I flash it the same way as a ROM?
2. In theory all I need to do now is choose the ROM, rename as .zip file and download to my SD card, open up recovery and install? Should be able to do this using ROM manager?
3. What are kernals and do I need to flash new kernals/radios for the new ROM to work properly, or is this dependant on the ROM? Can I do this with only ClockWorkMod?
4. Will backing up my current ROM back up all my apps and music etc or do I need to use Titanium backup for this? Don't really want to have to reinstall all my apps and thousands of songs!
I think that's it. Thanks to whoever for sparing the time.
M
Sent from my HTC Incredible S using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1) To be sure i would install 4Ext.
2) When you download the ROM it's already a .zip. I prefer to boot manualy (restart and hold vol down and Power buttons).
3) Some Rom's has kernel included. If not, the thread should list the recomended kernel and Radio. Can be flashed from Recovery.
4) You should always flash SuperWipe befor installing a new Rom. A backup from Recovery (Nandroid) will take a image of your current Rom that you can flash back to. Apps can eaily be backup'ed and restored with Titanium. Songs is on your SD Card.
jkolner said:
1) to be sure i would install 4ext. done
2) when you download the rom it's already a .zip. I prefer to boot manualy (restart and hold vol down and power buttons).
3) some rom's has kernel included. If not, the thread should list the recomended kernel and radio. Can be flashed from recovery. can i flash new radio even though do not have radio s off?
4) you should always flash superwipe befor installing a new rom. A backup from recovery (nandroid) will take a image of your current rom that you can flash back to. Apps can eaily be backup'ed and restored with titanium. Songs is on your sd card.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You don't have to worry about flashing a new kernel. If your phone is already gingerbread 2.3 you won't have to worry about a new radio. Backing up your apps isn't really a big deal once you reset your phone with the new ROM and sync Google.com the market will remember what you've already downloaded and it'll show up under "my aps". As for your music its under sd/. Just download the ROM and place it on your SD card anywhere. Hard reset into recovery menu and wipe all cache as well as factory reset. Than select "update from .zip" select the file from where you placed it and away you go!
All sorted....thanks for your help
Good info from this thread..
thanks..
Backing up stock ROM before flashing a new ROM... is this possible? If yes, how should I go about it?
Yes... Possible..
Install CWM-reboot in cwm-choose backup.
It will take backup of current rom(stock if u r using)
This is not a guaranteed procedure to backup the stock ROM for *all* situations. Once you install a new ROM, the stock kernel may also get overwritten.
If you were to go back and restore the Nandroid backup of your stock ROM, it may not work because the kernel may not be the same as before.
So my question still remains open.... How to backup (or extract) the stock ROM from your phone (as a precaution) before you install a new ROM?
I am planning to flash a custom rom on my phone (for the first time).
Model : Xperia SP(C5302)
Build : 12.1.A.1.205 (Stock) running JB 4.3 with LB
I have rooted my phone using the towelroot method and installed supersu. I have also installed custom recovery from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2649923
I am planning to flash this custom rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-sp/development/cyanogenmod-11-locked-bootloader-users-t2868398
So I have a few questions that I am not clear about(even after searching the forums). And sorry if they are dumb. I really want to understand as much as possible before flashing roms.:fingers-crossed:
1. After reading the thread of my recovery, from what I understand, the recoveries are installed in /system. But on OP of the custom rom, I am about to install, there is an instruction to format /system before flashing the rom. So my question is if I format the /system partition, won’t my recoveries be removed (by the recoveries itself) before I even flash the rom?
2. Also will the recovery still be available to me if say I enter bootloop for some reason during flashing the rom?(asking for the same reason as above that is wiping my /system should also remove my recoveries)
3. Does CM 11 come with any inbuilt custom recovery? If not can I install the one I am already using (assuming installing a custom rom will remove my installed recoveries)?
4. Say I screw up during the flashing procedure. So if I want to rectify this I should first flash the stock .205 ftf, root, install a recovery again and then restore using the nandroid backup. Am I correct?
5. Is it necessary to wipe cache and dalvik cache before flashing rom? I see this instruction in some roms but not in others. And dalvik should be wiped after flashing rom and gapps, right?
6. Should I install supersu again after I flash the rom. I read in an article that it causes problems with CM. As far as I know CM11 comes pre-installed with superuser. But it also supposedly causes some problems.
7. Is it safe to restore user app+data, messages and contacts backed up using Titanium backup on a newly flashed rom? I have seen conflicted views on this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And that’s it for my questions (for now at least... ).
A Big Thanks in advance for all your helpful answers
Prat92 said:
I am planning to flash a custom rom on my phone (for the first time).
Model : Xperia SP(C5302)
Build : 12.1.A.1.205 (Stock) running JB 4.3 with LB
I have rooted my phone using the towelroot method and installed supersu. I have also installed custom recovery from here http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2649923
I am planning to flash this custom rom http://forum.xda-developers.com/xperia-sp/development/cyanogenmod-11-locked-bootloader-users-t2868398
So I have a few questions that I am not clear about(even after searching the forums). And sorry if they are dumb. I really want to understand as much as possible before flashing roms.:fingers-crossed:
And that’s it for my questions (for now at least... ).
A Big Thanks in advance for all your helpful answers
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
First of all, I am only explaining the one I know about
1. Well, wiping the system will remove the recovery. That's why you'll have to flash the ROM after wiping the system. Do not ever reboot the phone after wiping the system but haven't yet flashed the ROM zip, else you'll have to do more work to flash the Stock ROM. This is due to the fact your phone does not have an OS to boot into! When flashing the ROM zip, the recovery will be automatically installed.
2. This is based on luck, most of time you'll end up unable to boot into anything. A fix is to flash the Stock ROM again.
3. Every ROM has recovery built with it (unless stated otherwise in the thread)! Upon flashing, it will be automatically installed too.
4. The methods you mentioned is correct. However, only restore the nandroid backup if you want to stay on stock. You could always retry to flash the ROM again. Nandroid backup is an image backup of your android. If you restore your nandroid backup, you'll end up with your previous version of android (like the way before you started flashing the ROM)
5. Wiping /cache and dalvik-cache is a really good practise! It doesn't really matter when you will need to wipe them, but personally I wipe them all before flashing the ROM. Wiping /data and performing a factory reset through recovery is recommended if you're coming from a different ROM. That's why backing up user apps through TiB (Titanium Backup) is recommended for you to easily get your installed apps back. Remember, nandroid backup and apps backup from TiB is different to each other.
6. No, this might cause extreme conflicts. No, I am using SuperUser as long as I have used CM. It never fails to give root permission at all despite the hatred I sense in some apps that overly-recommends SuperSU.
7. Of course it is very safe to restore them backups with TiB. However, based on my experience, messages and contacts were unable to be restored due to the difference in ROM version. I don't know if anyone else faces the same problem as mine. As of this, I really recommend your contacts to be synced with Google.
Heads up!
Based on this post, the dev of the ROM you wanted to flash, MrSteve555, recommends PhilZ when flashing the ROM.
TechnoSparks said:
First of all, I am only explaining the one I know about
1. Well, wiping the system will remove the recovery. That's why you'll have to flash the ROM after wiping the system. Do not ever reboot the phone after wiping the system but haven't yet flashed the ROM zip, else you'll have to do more work to flash the Stock ROM. This is due to the fact your phone does not have an OS to boot into! When flashing the ROM zip, the recovery will be automatically installed.
2. This is based on luck, most of time you'll end up unable to boot into anything. A fix is to flash the Stock ROM again.
3. Every ROM has recovery built with it (unless stated otherwise in the thread)! Upon flashing, it will be automatically installed too.
4. The methods you mentioned is correct. However, only restore the nandroid backup if you want to stay on stock. You could always retry to flash the ROM again. Nandroid backup is an image backup of your android. If you restore your nandroid backup, you'll end up with your previous version of android (like the way before you started flashing the ROM)
5. Wiping /cache and dalvik-cache is a really good practise! It doesn't really matter when you will need to wipe them, but personally I wipe them all before flashing the ROM. Wiping /data and performing a factory reset through recovery is recommended if you're coming from a different ROM. That's why backing up user apps through TiB (Titanium Backup) is recommended for you to easily get your installed apps back. Remember, nandroid backup and apps backup from TiB is different to each other.
6. No, this might cause extreme conflicts. No, I am using SuperUser as long as I have used CM. It never fails to give root permission at all despite the hatred I sense in some apps that overly-recommends SuperSU.
7. Of course it is very safe to restore them backups with TiB. However, based on my experience, messages and contacts were unable to be restored due to the difference in ROM version. I don't know if anyone else faces the same problem as mine. As of this, I really recommend your contacts to be synced with Google.
Heads up!
Based on this post, the dev of the ROM you wanted to flash, MrSteve555, recommends PhilZ when flashing the ROM.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for such detailed answers. That cleared most of my doubts
Just some last few questions(promise!)
1. If wiping /system does remove the recovery before I install the rom, how is it possible to access it even to flash the rom? Shouldn't it like just close right when I wipe /system. Or does it not work like that?
2. Just to be sure the nandroid backup I made on my stock rom won't work if I later try to flash it through recovery while using CM,right?
Prat92 said:
Thanks for such detailed answers. That cleared most of my doubts
Just some last few questions(promise!)
1. If wiping /system does remove the recovery before I install the rom, how is it possible to access it even to flash the rom? Shouldn't it like just close right when I wipe /system. Or does it not work like that?
2. Just to be sure the nandroid backup I made on my stock rom won't work if I later try to flash it through recovery while using CM,right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Wiping system wont close the recovery at all. It still runs and you can still navigate within it. But remember do not reboot unless you've flashed the ROM! The mechanism of how the magic works is yet to be acknowledged. So I can't tell why it doesn't closes upon wipe. My best guess here is that the recovery might be running on a temporary partition perhaps. I hope a developer see this post and explains the magic.
2. Nandroid backup works all the time (if they are no errors when you are creating them). Nandroid backup is simply a backup of your whole device. If you're on CM, restoring nandroid backup will get your phone back to the way when you attempted the nandroid backup (stock ROM, rooted, and triple recoveries installed). Nandroid backup is useful when you're about to try something that may damage your ROM, without doing so much work to restore your device.
Say, you created a nandroid backup in cwm in which Cyanogenmod was installed. And then you flashed something afterwards. If that "something" damages the ROM and gives you bootloop, you can simply flash Stock ROM, root it again, install recoveries again, and restore the nandroid backup. Then, voilà, cyanogenmod is back. This will simplify your work rather than flash CM again, then gapps, then restore your apps and all those other things that will consume so much time
So a new nandroid backup will backup the whole device, in a form of an image.