Database Develop

[ROM] Nothing Special (Plain) v1.3 (UPDATED 03/31/11)

Development dropped in favor of Liberation.
Only difference between Nothing Special 1.3 and Liberation 1.0 is that Google Car Home has been replaced by the stock HTC Car Panel. This is to remove "holes" left by the removal of a stock app. Also, this no longer conflicts with my intent of having a stock ROM minus carrier bloat/restrictions. Google Car Home can be added by the user if they so choose.

Great job. All the stock roms seem to be outdated.
SX Reapz!

Looks nice. Is there any benefit, though, over RUUing, adb shell, and then using rm to delete CityID etc?

pianoplayer said:
Looks nice. Is there any benefit, though, over RUUing, adb shell, and then using rm to delete CityID etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A few.
Apply this ROM is faster than using the RUU, re-rooting, and then manually deleting the programs you want. On the plus side, the slower method lets you delete any program YOU want, rather than being a one-size fits all type deal.
I'm using a memory/task killing teak offered by the Android Kitchen that is a bit more aggressive in memory conservation. This should give a slight performance boost over the RUU.
So really, it's more of a convenience than using the RUU. Many people who flash ROMs don't even know how to remove programs via ADB.

what kind of feed back are you looking for, there is more bloat but that is kinda user preference I remove almost everything and leave just the apps, kinda like the magnoila desenseitize but i do it manually bucause that wont flash for me on the stock rom

so far so good, can you post the list of addons i see carhome which is a good move

tjamscad said:
what kind of feed back are you looking for, there is more bloat but that is kinda user preference I remove almost everything and leave just the apps, kinda like the magnoila desenseitize but i do it manually bucause that wont flash for me on the stock rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just wanted to make sure that I didn't screw anything up. Everyone has a different definition of "bloat." I decided to leave whatever HTC/Google apps came with the phone, and removed Verizon's additional bloat. Removing HTC's apps and cause minor stability issues that the casual user won't want to deal with. Those who know how to manually remove the apps tend to know how to deal with the minor issues that crop up.
tjamscad said:
so far so good, can you post the list of addons i see carhome which is a good move
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had Car Home listed under removed apps as the replacement for HTC Car Panel. I've copied it under features as well as per your suggestion. Otherwise, that's pretty much it.
If you want to further remove apps, a very simple way to do so is to unzip the package, delete the APKs under /system/app that you don't want, re-zip using a program like 7-ZIP (free), then flash it.
You can also do this to package ring tones in the /system/media folder so that they are stored in /system, don't take up user space, and will work correctly even when the device is USB mounted or just booting up.

do i use rom manager/ clockwork to flash this rom???

ahjdmarchi said:
do i use rom manager/ clockwork to flash this rom???
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't use ROM Manager, so I couldn't tell you how to use it in that way. I just download and flash via Clockwork Recovery.

i have used clockwork and rom manager both work just fine

how do you feel about removing the HTCSetupWizzard.apk I find it to be bothersome when i have install a new rom and that pops up. I am not tring to be a jerk just throwing things out there. its your rom

VZW backup assistant, vzw 3g hot spot

tjamscad said:
how do you feel about removing the HTCSetupWizzard.apk I find it to be bothersome when i have install a new rom and that pops up. I am not tring to be a jerk just throwing things out there. its your rom
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely not being a jerk. Like I said, no ROM will make everyone happy. Any user is free to modify the zip and delete the APKs (and corresponding odex files) from the /system/app folder prior to flashing.
HTCSetupWizard only pops up when data is wiped. On the "stable" release, if you just do a flash over, (same on any future upgrades) it won't pop up.
tjamscad said:
VZW backup assistant, vzw 3g hot spot
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Deleting VZW backup assistant causes a "hole" in HTC's setup wizard. The point of this ROM was to maintain the user experience while deleting unused bloat. Also, this ROM pre-dates both Google's backup option as well as HTC's Sense.com option, so VZWBackup is a decent free alternative.
The 3G Hotspot option isn't made by Verizon, it's an HTC app (it's the same app on their unlocked phones). Some people, for whatever reason, will pay for tethering. They need this app to do so and it's not replaceable via the Android/VCAST markets. Also, there's a way to use this app to tether for free, essentially disabling the aspect that reports to Verizon. However, due to questionably legality, I can't detail how that works here.
However, I see your points, and I'll look at it more when I get back from my business trip.

Looking for a good "stock" ROM to replace Virtuous which seems to have been abandoned.
Any first hand experiences with this ROM? I'm starting to think the silence is a good thing (no problems).

I run it with Lou's #8 and it's running absolutely flawlessly. No complaints.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

Installed this last night and so far it has been awesome! Very Snappy too.
Titanium seems to be broken, telling me it doesn't have root/BusyBox (even though I granted it root permissions), but I don't think it's the ROM since everything else that uses root works (Root explorer, ROM Manager, etc). Not a big deal since I can just use AppBrain, although a little more work involved there.
This is just what I was hoping for! Thanks.

craighwk said:
Installed this last night and so far it has been awesome! Very Snappy too.
Titanium seems to be broken, telling me it doesn't have root/BusyBox (even though I granted it root permissions), but I don't think it's the ROM since everything else that uses root works (Root explorer, ROM Manager, etc). Not a big deal since I can just use AppBrain, although a little more work involved there.
This is just what I was hoping for! Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
At the bottom of titanium click "Problems?" And it will fix that problem by downloading busybox. Hope it helps.
Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

all good no problems, when do you consider it stable? Not sure you could do anything else to it with out loosing the stock start over feel.

THis is just what i've been looking for, im not too crazy for those roms with 5h!tty mods and ugly colors, just wanted a stock without the bload, just google and HTC stuff and this one seems to offer that.
So nothing got broken in the process of removing the bloat right? will work just like the stock minus the bloat?
Would LOVE to get a ROM like this but with Sense 2.0 in it, now that would be awesome!

Great to always have a copy of this on your SD card. As a backup rom, for those of us who forget to nandroid sometimes

Mini Uninstaller (fast way of uninstalling apps)

Hello,
I have with me an app I would like to share with the HD2, and XDA community which I previously found on the Google Market which now doesnt exist anymore.
I managed to copy out the APK and I will attach below.
The app is good for
Listing all your installed apps quickly so you can remove them
Smooth scrolling
Sort by Name/Size/Last Installed/Install Location
Search
Just needs to build cache during first launch, and doesnt work on LANDSCAPE, which are the only disadvantages of it.
I personally use the Last Installed sorting mechanism, to view all the last installed and remove. I install quite a number of apps and usually when I found that it sucked, I enter this app quickly and remove them (latest apps appear on top of the list)
I have been using this since 2.2 FROYO and it doesnt seem to give errors back then. On GB 2.3, I noticed an occasional error message :
[Opps Sorry I got error ] but this doesnt stop it from uninstalling the application.
I have given this app rigorous testing and it has survived 2.2+ and 2.3+ Androids application removal, whether it produces errors or not.
I also noticed that this app has been removed from the Google Market, without reason from the developer / Google. Hence I would not mention anything about future release or support, neither do I know whether it would damage your device/ operating system but I certainly ONLY been using this app to remove applications and it has been TREMENDOUSLY awesome. Give it a try, and let me know whether you found similiar apps in terms of speed, features and outlook.
Credits to its developer, which I remember to be known as MINIGUY after a few Googles. I also couldnt find this application anymore hence I am posting it here
If this has been posted before I apologize.
Dont forget to click the THANKS button if you found this app useful
On another note, this applications is FREE and is not WAREZ

It sounds like appsaver.. is it better?

Hnktc said:
It sounds like appsaver.. is it better?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i think ive tried appsaver but this is an app that lists out all your apps pretty quickly and lets u just choose to uninstall them
its like add/remove programs, but way way faster than anything ive tried especially 200 apps
default manage applications takes nearly 15 seconds to load, while this takes 1-2 seconds, tops

Thanks for the app. I will give it a try! :0)

I realized that this application was ripped and published as someone else's work as follow up
its called "Uninstaller" in market , which uses the same error message, logo, text, font, settings, buttons, icons
you are free to use both as they produce the same results and same settings

Titanium Backup WAL database conversion

Titanium Backup recently enabled conversion of app databases to a new WAL format. Is this safe to do? Can any dev's shed any light on this new file type?
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

Avoid
This ****s me I did this on my Samsung Galaxy, it WIPED ALL SETTINGS on my phone. no warning that it is dangerous!
Had to revert back, and then restore all settings again.

I learned quickly not to do anything that hasn't been discussed and tested by these talented people with XDA. And its still not 100 percent safe even then. I noticed by the release notes for the new TB Pro that its for all 2.3 roms, recognized by sqlite3, and is supposed to be faster than the old app database file type. What I don't know is the side effects, and what effect it has on rom updates applied over the change
Droid 1 Rooted (ChevyNo1 0.9MV Kernel, LGB2.6)
Droid 3 Rooted (Stock Kernel, Custom lite De-bloat)

Settings wiped out confirmed plus MAYBE a few very destructive glitch (Unconfirmed by others):
Power button only lists one entry: Power off instead of the original three - Confirmed by bonks
Home button not working (In respect, task switcher not available) - Confirmed by 0nebukadnezar0
Search button not working - Confirmed by bonks
Android market not connecting - Confirmed and solution provided by 0nebukadnezar0
SMS wiped
Nexus S Stock ROM 2.3.4 rooted (Kernel Netarchy Nexus 1.3.7)
Added symptoms :
Lost APN settings (0nebukadnezar0 on Galaxy S)
Screen lock not working (0nebukadnezar0 on Galaxy S and bonks on Motorola Droid 3 rooted)
Facebook authentication lost (0nebukadnezar0 on Galaxy S)
Some other application's settings (0nebukadnezar0 on Galaxy S and bonks on Motorola Droid 3 rooted)
Do not run this batch until further update!

Do not use this function!
I've also been hit by this. I paid for this software and it should really have a warning that:
1. it affects all application data: I was under the impression it affects only the TB internal database
2. it converts user data of the complete device: I had thought twice if this had been clear
3. one should create an up-to-date backup first
Instead it highly praised that this is a performance improvement traded against little higher storage usage. Why shouldn't I want to enable such a feature?
Had I known the implications I would've created a full backup first and thought twice. Now I had to go back to a three day old backup. My phone was completely wiped. No error message. Still some settings were missing after restore: TB still seems not to be able to correctly restore ActiveSync settings, and all widgets were gone from my start pages.
This is extremely unsatisfactory for an app I paid for. Please, developer: Improve your warnings in an application like a backup app which handles sensible data.

I noticed it in the change log, and was like " Uhh... why, in the last 6 months, have I not heard of this new super fast database conversion before now... I better ask someone before I mess with it"
Luckily I did, I'm still running the stock rom minus vcast and a few additional bloaties removes, and have dreaded altering anything without the bootloader unlocked, as this is my second device, the first returned returned DOA. I appreciate your testimonials guys, our stories will save the devs a few headaches, and will give titanium devs some live input on the batch operation. If Pzouza or Chevy has any comments on it, the input would be welcomed, as this is the first most of us have heard of it
Droid 1 Rooted (ChevyNo1 0.9MV Kernel, LGB2.6)
Droid 3 Rooted (Stock Kernel, Custom lite De-bloat)

verkerria said:
I noticed it in the change log, and was like " Uhh... why, in the last 6 months, have I not heard of this new super fast database conversion before now... I better ask someone before I mess with it"
Luckily I did, I'm still running the stock rom minus vcast and a few additional bloaties removes, and have dreaded altering anything without the bootloader unlocked, as this is my second device, the first returned returned DOA. I appreciate your testimonials guys, our stories will save the devs a few headaches, and will give titanium devs some live input on the batch operation. If Pzouza or Chevy has any comments on it, the input would be welcomed, as this is the first most of us have heard of it
Droid 1 Rooted (ChevyNo1 0.9MV Kernel, LGB2.6)
Droid 3 Rooted (Stock Kernel, Custom lite De-bloat)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 Droid3 rooted and de-bloat via titanium

Same thing happened to me. Not very pleased. Titanium Backup usually warns against dangerous options. This batch option not having one gives a false sense of security. I'm restoring a month old nandroid backup via clockworkmod now and then hopefully restoring my TB backups.

same thing on my Galaxy S:
- home button does not work anymore
- Market "Server Error", this has been cleaned through "Clear Data" under Manage applications
- lost 3G settings, it was necessary to enter the APN configuration manually
- screen lock does not work anymore
- lost the facebook authentication
- some other apps have lost her settings

Titanium Backup DB modes
Rooted Droid 3 with TB pro
Power button only lists two entries rather than I think the three or four it had.
Home button not working
Search button not working
Screen lock not working
Some other apps have lost their settings
-> Widgets needed to be readded
-> All email accounts had to resync
What I did:
Wokeup, saw TB update, downloaded & installed, tried new feature in TB for faster databases.
Ran the "Convert DBs to Rollback Journal mode (works on all ROMs)" batch process. It completed successfully.
Ran the "Convert DBs to WAL mode (faster, slightly bigger, Android 2.3+ only)" batch process. It completed successfully.
Hit the home button, tried to open an app. Force Close. Tried a few more apps, all force closed.
Restarted.
The white animated "DROID" screen infinitely repeated itself.
Removed battery.
Powered On.
Successfully reached Home screen (ADWLauncher EX).
My fault for trying these new features without looking into it first, but I did not think they would be dangerous.
Now, are Journal mode and WAL mode the two available types of DBs. Could I just run the Rollback Journal mode to revert back? Is this safe?
Their wiki says it's safe but has anyone tried this? matrixrewriter.com/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=TB+-+Technical+FAQ&highlight=rollback%20journal
(#32 and #33)

Woah, glad I googled this before running it on my Galaxy Tab. Will avoid.

From Titanium Support:
We're truly sorry about this issue. Yes, today we discovered a terrible bug in the SGS2 stock ROM, which explains what happened. Titanium Backup has converted your databases to WAL fine, but the SGS2 stock ROM itself does not support WAL properly: instead of opening the WAL databases, it will silently erase them and then claim that the open has succeeded!
Before allowing any conversion to WAL, Titanium Backup performed a verification, which we have tested and properly fails on older ROMs. On the SGS2 though, the verification passes because the test database is fine after the conversion - well yes it's fine, but it's empty.
We have improved the WAL testing code and we will release an updated version as quickly as possible. The new version has been tested well on SGS2 and detects the problem properly (ie: it prevents conversion to WAL format). This only applies to stock ROMs though, as CyanogenMod (for example) does not contain the buggy Samsung code and fully supports WAL without issues.
If you have no backups of the erased databases, we're very sorry to confirm that it cannot be recovered, unfortunately. Please accept our deepest apologies for this issue. If you would like a refund, please let us know because we stand behind our product.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I converted back to journal mode but this did not fix any of my issues. I'm guessing that the lockscreen, home button, and search buttons had some kind of association to a database from the manufacture install which I don't know how to recover. Any ideas?

Bad Titanium Pro!
GldRush98 said:
Woah, glad I googled this before running it on my Galaxy Tab. Will avoid.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
ditto to that, I was just about to hit that button and thought maybe I should do some googling...

All, the standard rule to all root users, is to do full nandroid backups before making any serious changes to your phone. changing database formats is a major change. You should have all done a full nandroid, then a full tb backup. That's the main rule of thumb if you start down the road to root. Anytime you play with root focused apps, you're playing with fire. At some point we all get burned. I have plenty of times, but always get back with a nand restore. we all learn eventually. I know I've messed up a few phones this way, but that's the joy of going the root route. Its all in fun.
I wasn't aware of this feature and definitely will be trying it now that its been posted.
Sent from my DROID3 using XDA App

Ok, after doing a full nandbackup, and TB backup of User Apps. I did successfully migrate all the DBs to WAL format. I then rebooted right into CWM, formated the cache to avoid any old data crap, rebooted back into normal phone. Ran my most common apps and had no issues I've got 217 user apps on my phone, I think I ran 20 of the core apps I use. no issues in the first 1 hour. I did confirm all the previously posted issues and experience none of them within the first hour of testing. This is probably due to me not messing with the system apps. I'll test that next for the fun of it and report back. But, I can safely say, in my case, I had no issues with this conversion of "user" apps.
Power button only lists two entries rather than I think the three or four it had.
Home button not working
Search button not working
Screen lock not working
Some other apps have lost their settings
Widgets needed to be readded
All email accounts had to resync
Stay tuned for round 2 of testing
---------- Post added at 10:52 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:39 PM ----------
Ok Round 2 WAL conversion and testing completed.
Everything works perfectly. Not sure why everyone else is having issues. I would say anyone else should be free to do the conversion. Again, this is how I did mine. I did a full nandbackup, in case i screwed things up and messed my phone up. Did a full TB backup of system apps. Then did the conversion to the system apps. Immediately after rebooted into CWM. I formatted the cache. Rebooted, let my phone load up. I did notice during the first 5-10 seconds of the loading home apps and widgets half of the widgets gave a widget error, but I was patient enough to let the phone get fully loaded. After that all widgets did start back up just fine. I tested all reported bugs and errors everyone else had, and I had no issues with anything. I'll keep an eye on things for the next few days. I'm a heavy, nerdy user of my phone, and am constantly tweaking it so i'll know if I screwed something up and report back.
Widgets all loaded fine after reboot.
Search works as it should
Long Press Power button pulls up standard 4 options.
Home works fine
Long press home pulls up all recent items (do keep in mind if you reboot there are no recent items so you have to go into apps for it to tell you recent items)
Lockscreen works as it should.
I would say this WAL conversion for both System and User apps works just fine. But, that is only in my case apparently. I am using Steel Droid 3 (v1).
Good luck to the rest of you. Oh, and I have no affiliation to TB, but I must admit that its one of my most used Root apps since it helps me unscrew myself when I do fudge things up. It is just so much faster to fix mistakes than a full nandrestore. Albeit the NandRestore is my Plan B fix it solution TB is plan A.

Where exactly is this option? I havent seen anything and just redid apps for data

WAL DB Conversion Success
I followed Izeltokatl's information by performing a full backup with Titanium Backup and ClockWorkMod via ROM manager, then updating the system and app DBs to WAL via TB, then immediately booting into recovery and wiping the cache.
I'm happy to report complete success updating my Ideos U8150 running Gingerbread 2.3.7 to WAL DB without any problems.

Even after wiping cache, the quick search function was force closing, so I just restored it from TiBu.

So what are real benefits of Wal or Rollback Journal databases of android. Is it really faster? Are there any reasons to make Rollback journal conversion on unsupported roms?
Has anybody tested it?

Some good reading.
http://www.sqlite.org/draft/wal.html
The ROM I was running was using SQLite version 3.7.2, and I unchecked 'force system SQLite' in preferences and it upgraded to the TiBu optimized version which is quite a bit newer. Seems to speed things up slightly if you convert to WAL.

[Q] Freeze Stock running apps

I'm running a few tests on the limits of the STOCK Nook HD ROM (2.0.5) and was wondering if anyone knows a safe way to try and freeze some annoyances.
Here are my main targets:
Code:
Calendar Storage
com.bn.cloud.svc
com.bn.nook.affiledownloadservice
CloudService
DeviceManagerService
FmService
Home
Library
NookconnectivityService
Profiles
Reader
Social
Shop
TestCenterService
Now if there is any information as to which ones can/cannot be safely stopped please let me know before hand so I don't waste extra time with destroying my /system.
Thanks:good:

If you're rooted, then you could try Android Assistant or All-In-One Toolkit (both free), there's an option to disable specific startup apps.

You shouldn't be able to change anything regarding the Stock B&N ROM, unless you're rooted. If so, TitaniumBackup fits the bill. You can freeze pretty much all system apps there; including those which you have mentioned. However, this process requires you root your stock ROM, and that you allow superuser access to TitaniumBackup.
The apps you listed should be good to freeze, however I've not tested much with the stock ROM; so I would take caution. I'm unsure that "Home" cannot be frozen safely; I would assume that's a key process, which interacts with the user. Of course, all in the name of testing, I don't know.
All the best.

Will do
I don't think there is a safe way to disable them, i have tried a bunch of apps and most don't allow freezing and if i disable them I get reboot loops.

Rooted, now what?

I got a new wifi S2, installed the permissive kernel and rooted it. I installed TWRP and made a backup. Now I've got an uninstall app and I've removed a few things; primarily Knox and the security logger so that it quits whining at me. I have a strong desire to never ever use the cloud, create a Samsung account, or a Google account. I really just want to load some books onto it and DLNA some music and videos.
So I want to get rid of all the stuff that I'll never be able to use but it's not clear to me how to identify all that. I'm a long time Unix guy but not at all an android guy. If something prompts me to create an account I know I want to uninstall it, but damned if I can figure out how to identify what to uninstall from what icon I touched.
I've found bloatware lists but they're all somewhat old and not for the S2, so it's not clear to me if I should trust them. I'd like to avoid trial and error "uninstall and reinstall if something doesn't work" or the even more dreaded "uninstall and find out six months later that something doesn't work". Can anyone point me at a good list of what I can remove, or where I can figure out how to determine that for myself? Thanks.

Better start freezen apps instead of uninstalling them. I use titanium backup for that, but you can use whatever you like. Just be carefull freezing or uninstalling OS related apps, you can end in a bootloop, but you always have the odin flash method to reflash your system back to normal. Just don't play around with partitions or /dev .
Right now I using my tablet unrooted and untouched, so I can't be more specific which apps you can freeze without problems.

He doesn't need odin as he has a twrp backup.
I take it you are using System App Remover (root) to uninstall system apps? If so you are pretty safe as they are backed up and can be restored any time if something goes wrong.
Also are you aware without a Google account you will lose part of the functionality of an Android device?
Samsungs account you can do without. All that stuff related to it can be deleted, but don't advise removing any of the Google core services from the stock rom.
If you really want a GAPPless rom then you're better off with a non stock custom rom like CM or AOSP.
Not much in that area of development at the moment, but there are a couple of members working on it.

ashyx said:
He doesn't need odin as he has a twrp backup.
I take it you are using System App Remover (root) to uninstall system apps? If so you are pretty safe as they are backed up and can be restored any time if something goes wrong.
Also are you aware without a Google account you will lose part of the functionality of an Android device?
Samsungs account you can do without. All that stuff related to it can be deleted, but don't advise removing any of the Google core services from the stock rom.
If you really want a GAPPless rom then you're better off with a non stock custom rom like CM or AOSP.
Not much in that area of development at the moment, but there are a couple of members working on it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, thanks. If I lose functionality to avoid Google watching over my shoulder I'm all for it. I'm old and probably overprotective of what's my business and not theirs. In truth, I bought the S2 because I have a collection of chess book pdf's and djvu's that I want to be able to read while I'm sitting at my chess board. I got the 9.7 inch S2 because the old eyes aren't what they used to be. Anything I can do beyond that is icing on the cake.
I do have the app remover, and I've removed the stuff that was obvious to me (like the Microsoft Office stubs). But there are still lots of things that bring up a prompt for an account when I run them and it's not clear to me how to figure out what app to remove to get rid of that particular thing. On Linux I could use rpm -q to figure out what rpm contained a file I want to remove and I'd be good to go. I've tried googling some of the app names but the "descriptions" I end up finding are particularly unenlightening. And since this is definitely not my area of expertise I don't really want to operate in "let's remove this and see what happens" even if I can reinstall the app from its backup. I've been doing software development and sysadmin for more than 35 years now and that just doesn't seem like the way to approach this.
I was looking at CM, which seems like it might be what I'm looking for, but it's still in alpha and my skill level is probably not up to coping with that so I'm back with the problem of how to decide what to get rid of.