Connecting a second mouse or keyboard directly to a hosted virtual machine VMware

Mice and keyboards belong to a special class of USB devices known as Human Interface Devices (HID). By default, you cannot connect these devices to the virtual machine due to the risk of removing all human interface from the host computer. However, you can instruct the VMware product to allow these devices by modifying the virtual machine settings.

Caution: Before performing these steps, ensure that you have access to a second keyboard and/or mouse. Do not perform these steps if you only have one mouse and/or keyboard, as you will not be able to use the device(s) with your host computer while the virtual machine is running.

To connect an external keyboard and/or mouse directly to your virtual machine:

1. Shut down the virtual machine that needs the mouse/keyboard.
2. Plug the second mouse/keyboard into your host.
3. Edit your virtual machine's .vmx file to include these lines:
   
   usb.generic.allowHID = "TRUE"
usb.generic.allowLastHID = "TRUE"
   
4. Power on your virtual machine.
5. Go to VM > Removable Devices.
6. Find and select your keyboard/mouse.
7. Click Connect (Disconnect from host).

Add Steam Overlay to MineCraft 1.7

To add MineCraft to your Steam library with the new launcher you need to do an extra step instead of just adding Minecraft.exe to Steam. With the new launcher, minecraft actually launches with the exe javaw.exe.

So Go to Program Files and find javaw.exe under Java\jre7\bin
Add it to Steam
Right click on javaw on Steam library list and go to Properties
Add this for Target:
"C:\Program Files\Java\jre7\bin\javaw.exe" -jar "C:\Users\USERNAME\Desktop\Minecraft.exe" 
That is where i store my Minecraft.exe
If you stored it in a different place you would change the location to "C:\WHATEVER\Minecraft.exe"

Installing Rei's Minimap for Minecraft 1.6.4

Download Rei's Minimap from:

http://goo.gl/0zKQql

Go to C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\.minecraft\versions

Create a New Folder called "1.6.4r"

Copy and paste .jar and .json from the original 1.6.4 folder

Open the .jar with winrar and put in Rei's Minimap files

Delete the META-INF folder in the .jar

Save the jar

rename the .jar to 1.6.4r.jar

rename the .json to 1.6.4r.json

open .json in text editor

change id to: "id": "1.6.4r"

Set version to play in profile of launcher

Enjoy MiniMap

Formatting a microSD card for use with MiniSD Adapter for EZ Flash IV

On the EZ-Flash forums, there are plenty of people who have had trouble using microSD cards with microSD -> miniSD adapters. The most common problem is the dreaded (and poorly capitalized) “FAT filesystem Error”. There are people who have had other, more intermittent problems, and I can’t account for those. But, at least in my case, the FAT filesystem Error was fixable.

You’ll need Linux. A live CD will do just fine (if you don’t have one, grab Porteus, which is about 235MB and has a bunch of nice stuff.)

Flash memory (USB disks, SD cards, and the like) can be formatted in one of two ways: with a filesystem on the card itself (like a floppy disk), or with a partition table, which contains one large partition that holds the filesystem (like a hard drive.)
Windows and Linux both recognize both types of formatting. However, the EZ-Flash IV only recognizes floppy-style formatting. This is unfortunate, because many microSD cards use the other method. But with Linux, this can be changed.

The first step is to boot up Linux, then open a terminal (command prompt). In the terminal, become root (in Porteus, you already are; in Ubuntu, try “sudo -i”.) Run the command:

fdisk -l

This should show a list of devices. One of them is your SD card. It will usually look something like this:

Disk /dev/sdb: 2032 MB, 2032664576 bytes
62 heads, 63 sectors/track, 1016 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 3906 * 512 = 1999872 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x1d7f1d7e

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1        1016     1983996    6  FAT16

Once you’re confident that it is your SD card and not your hard drive or a USB drive (be careful - look at the size in MB on the top line, and unplug USB drives before running “fdisk -l” to be safe), you can format the card. Of course, this will erase all files on the disk you are formatting.
In this example, fdisk shows “/dev/sdb” as the disk, and “/dev/sdb1” as the only partition. Right now /dev/sdb1 has a FAT filesystem, but we want /dev/sdb to have a FAT filesystem. This can be done with: (as root)

mkdosfs -F 16 -I /dev/sdX

Replace /dev/sdX with your SD card path (in this example, /dev/sdb).

How to Manually Get into Clockwork Recovery Mode

Now to get in the Recovery Mode.

Switch ON the phone while pressing and holding Volume Up + Home + Power buttons together.

You will get an exclamation mark now. Again, hold your Volume Up + Power buttons. You should now be in your Recovery Mode.

Brother HL-2270DW Out of Toner - How to reset the Brother TN-420 tn-450 toner cartridges

I recently purchased a Brother HL-2270DW. It printed less than a ream (500 pages) with the cartridge the printer came with. It said it was out of toner - it was supposed to last 700 pages.

Apparently Brother installed a "flag gear" on their toner cartridges that slowly moves as you print and when it reaches a certain position and triggers a sensor the printer will refuse to print and says to replace the cartridge. This is caused by a developer rotation gear. Generally it will want to stop based on the dot count, and toner concentration to avoid running the toner cart empty resulting in poor print quality. By resetting the flag gear to "continue" it goes to the number of developer rotations before stopping which is typically the longer of the two. 

When a new toner is installed the developer rotation count and bias is reset by the new sensor flag. Also another thing to consider is that warm up, opening doors, one page print outs, and power off and on requires developer rotations lessening the life of the unit. So the more continuous printing you do the longer the life of the unit if you’re basing it off page counts.

All you do is unscrew this plastic cover on the gears and turn the developer gear and flag gear so they are set, 180 degrees. Then you rescrew the plastic cover back on. See this video for details

You can also manually refill it when it ACTUALLY runs out, but for now you should be fine.

 

Get Your Paypal Account Verified Without Bank Account, Credit Card

First of all, you're going to want to go to NetSpend and click on "Open an account!" It should be the big green button.

Next, you're going to want to type in all your information. You should put in your real email address, so that way you can get the debit card. You don't need the debit card to get Paypal verified though.

Now you are going to want to keep NetSpend open but also open Paypal. Log in to your account on Paypal. Now click on "Get Verified," which is right under the big orange "Welcome." If you need a picture click on this.

After you are done that you have to click on the orange button "Link Bank Account". Now go to your NetSpend account and click on "Paypal Transfers" under "Add/Manage Money" Then put your Routing Number and Account number from NetSpend into your PayPal page. Then click the big orange button "Continue"

Now you're going to have to wait a few days, so if you are still going to need my help from here I would suggest you bookmark this page. After a few days once you go to "Transaction History" under "My Account" on NetSpend. You should see two random deposits under a dollar.

When you see two random deposits on your NetSpend account, you have to go to Paypal and you are going to want to click on the same "Get Verified" as in before. Now click on the big orange button that replaces the "Link Bank Account" Now it should say "Confirm Bank". It is going to ask you to type in the two deposit amounts. Go to NetSpend and then get the two deposit amounts, and then type them in your Paypal "Confirm Bank" page. Then click the orange "Submit" button.

"Is this legal?" you might be thinking. Well, yes it is. It's perfectly legal because you are giving valid information to Paypal. You don't even have to ever do anything with you're NetSpend account, but you can if you want.

I hope this helped, and have fun with you're verified Paypal account.

Manage pop-ups in Google Chrome

Google Chrome prevents pop-ups from automatically appearing and cluttering your screen. Whenever the browser blocks pop-ups for a site, the  icon appears in the address bar. Click the icon to see the pop-ups that have been blocked or to manage pop-up settings for the site.

If you're having trouble blocking pop-ups, saving your homepage, or setting your default search engine, then an unwanted program may have taken over your settings. Check out troubleshooting steps to help resolve your issue or try resetting your browser settings.

See pop-ups for a specific site

To see blocked pop-ups for a site, follow the steps listed below:

1. If pop-ups have been blocked, you'll see the  icon in the address bar. Click the icon to see a list of the blocked pop-ups.
2. Click the link for the pop-up window that you'd like to see.
3. To always see pop-ups for the site, select "Always show pop-ups from [site]." The site will be added to the exceptions list, which you can manage in the Content Settings dialog.

To manually allow pop-ups from a site, follow the steps below:

1. Click the Chrome menu  on the browser toolbar.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click Show advanced settings.
4. in the "Privacy" section, click the Content settings button.
5. In the "Pop-ups" section, click Manage exceptions.

Allow all pop-ups

You can allow all pop-ups by disabling the pop-up blocker. Follow these steps:

1. Click the Chrome menu  on the browser toolbar.
2. Select Settings.
3. Click Show advanced settings.
4. in the "Privacy" section, click the Content settings button.
5. In the "Pop-ups" section, select "Allow all sites to show pop-ups." Customize permissions for specific websites by clicking Manage exceptions.

Using a Chrome device at work or school? Your network administrator might configure the pop-up blocker for you, in which case you can't change this setting yourself. Learn about using a managed Chrome device

How To Install A ROM Or App From Zip File To Android Device From Recovery

Please note that the terms ‘installing’ and ‘flashing’ can be used interchangeably here and will mean the same thing.

Disclaimer: Although we have done our best to make the following procedure as safe as possible, you should still follow this guide at your own risk.
Rooting your device renders its warranty void.
ALWAYS take backups before rooting or flashing a custom ROM or app to your phone.
Flashing a defective ROM or app to your phone might brick it so choose the ROMs and software that you flash wisely and never install a ROM or application from an untrusted source.
AddictiveTips will not be liable if your device gets damaged or bricked during the process.

Official ROM updates from device manufacturers or carriers are released in conveniently packaged installation files that you can run on your computer while your Android device is connected to it, and they automatically take care of updating your phone’s system. Similarly, most applications are available directly in the Android Market for easy installation, or come packaged as convenient ‘.apk’ files that you can just run on your Android phone to install. The case is not the same with most custom ROMs and several custom applications, which come in .zip files rather than PC installers or .apk files.
The idea of installing a customized operating system to their smartphone can be quite intimidating for inexperienced users. Though once they get used to it, some of them end up trying out different ROMs for their devices several times a day. While we don’t exactly recommend that you flash every new ROM that is made available for your Android phone, we are here to help you get over the fear of flashing a ROM that enhances the capabilities of your device so that you can use it to its fullest potential.
Here is a quick look at what we will be covering in this guide. Feel free to skip to the real deal if you already meet the prerequisites.

• Before We Begin: Battery Check
• Before We Begin: Unlocking the Bootloader (Stock Android Devices Only)
• Before We Begin: Rooting
• Before We Proceed: Installing a Custom Recovery
• The Real Deal: Installing a Custom ROM to your Phone
• The Real Deal: Installing an App From a Zip File to your Phone

There are certain steps that you might not require, and we shall be mentioning them in each section.
Before We Begin: Battery Check
Before you proceed with any of the following steps, make sure your phone’s battery level is not too low. It is recommended to have it at 50% or more. Do NOT take this lightly. If your phone’s battery runs out while you are attempting to flash a custom ROM, there is a significant chance of your phone getting bricked and becoming unusable PERMANENTLY.
Before We Begin: Unlocking the Bootloader (Stock Android Devices Only)
Note: This step applies only to Android devices with stock version of Android installed. At the moment, Google Nexus One and Nexus S are the only two such devices available. You may skip this step if you are using any other Android device.
Users of stock Android devices such as the Google Nexus One or Nexus S also need to unlock its bootloader before they can proceed. To do this, simply follow our guide on what is the bootloader and how to unlock it for stock Android phones. Once you have done this, you may proceed to the next step.

Before We Begin: Rooting
Note: You may skip this step if your device is already rooted, or if you already know how to root it.
Before you can install a custom ROM to your device, your phone needs to be rooted.  Rooting is basically administrator or root level access required to perform administrative tasks on your Android device. To root your phone, you can refer to our detailed guide on how to root an Android device. Once you are done with the rooting process, you may proceed to the next step.
Before We Proceed: Installing A Custom Recovery
Note: You may skip this step if you already have a custom recovery installed on your device.
Rooting grants you the necessary access level to execute administrative tasks on your Android device but it is the recovery that provides the tools necessary to actually perform those tasks. While every Android device ships with a recovery, the stock recovery is quite limited in what it lets you do, and you need a custom recovery image to perform advanced operations on your device. We have covered this process in detail in our guide on how to install a custom recovery to a rooted Android device that you can follow. Once you have a custom recovery installed on your phone, you will be ready to proceed to the next step.
The Real Deal: Installing a Custom ROM to your Phone
Now that you have a custom recovery installed on your phone, you can perform all sorts of wonderful advanced operations on your device and this includes the ability to flash a ROM or application from a zip file. The procedure is pretty standard for most ROMs, though there are certain ROMs which require additional steps for their installation. Since those steps differ from ROM to ROM, we shall be mentioning those in our reviews and guides on those ROMs, and feature only the standard instructions here.
There are two paths to follow from here. You can either use ROM Manager to specify the actions you need performed in Recovery, and it will take care of everything for you, or you may manually reboot your phone into recovery to perform the steps yourself. We will cover both methods here. If you used the ROM Manager method to flash ClockworkMod recovery, you already have it installed. If you used some other method to flash the recovery, or flashed a recovery other than ClockworkMod, you might not have ROM Manager installed but you can get it for free by searching for it at the Android Market.

• Using ROM Manager

1. Download the ROM from the link given in the article featuring that ROM. It should be a zip file.
2. Connect your phone to your computer via USB and mount its storage card.
3. Copy the downloaded ROM to the storage card. It is a good idea to place it on the root of the storage card.
4. Launch ROM Manager on your phone.
5. Tap ‘Install ROM from SD Card’
6. Scroll down and tap on the zip file for the ROM that you copied to your sd card in step 3. You will be presented with a dialog box titled ‘Install Queue’.
7. In case you want to install another zip file immediately after this ROM, tap ‘Add zip’ and select the next zip file that you want flashed. Skip this step if the ROM is all you want to flash for now.
8. Tap ‘OK’. You will now see a dialog titled ‘ROM Pre-Installation’, with options to backup the existing ROM and wipe data and cache.
9. ALWAYS check ‘Backup Existing ROM’ UNLESS you can afford to lose everything that’s on your phone at the moment.
10. ALWAYS check ‘Wipe Data and Cache’, UNLESS the ROM you are attempting to flash is an updated version of the same ROM that you are currently using, and is compatible with the previous installation’s data. It is usually mentioned with the update whether you can install it over a previous version without wiping its data or not.
11. Tap ‘OK’ and confirm any prompt that you get. Your device will now reboot into recovery and the selected ROM will be automatically installed. The new ROM will be booted once the installation is complete, though you might be prompted to confirm the reboot.

• Manually

1. Download the ROM from the link given in the article featuring that ROM. It should be a zip file.
2. Connect your phone to your computer via USB and mount its storage card.
3. Copy the downloaded ROM to the root of the storage card.
4. Power your phone off and reboot it into recovery. This will involve using a combination of your device’s hardware keys. In case you don’t know how to do this, you can follow our guide on how to boot your phone into recovery. Once in recovery, you can navigate its menu using the volume up and volume down hardware keys or your phone’s trackball / optical track pad if it comes equipped with one.
5. Use the ‘backup and restore’ feature of recovery to backup your existing ROM installation, software and data. This step is known as performing a nandroid backup. For more information on how to make and restore backups, see our guide on how to perform and restore a nandroid backup. ALWAYS perform a backup before flashing a custom ROM, UNLESS you can afford to lose everything that’s on your phone at the moment.
   Note: ALWAYS choose to perform the following steps 6, 7 and 8 UNLESS the ROM you are attempting to flash is an updated version of the same ROM that you are currently using, and is compatible with the current installation’s data. It is usually mentioned with the update whether you can install it over a previous version without wiping its data or not.
6. Get back to the main recovery menu and use the option ‘wipe data/factory reset’. You will be prompted to confirm this action. Select “Yes – Delete all user data”.
7. From the main recovery menu, select ‘wipe cache partition’. You will be prompted to confirm this action. Select ‘Yes – Wipe Cache’.
8. From the main recovery menu, enter the ‘advanced’ menu. From this menu, select ‘Wipe Dalvik Cache’. You will be prompted to confirm this action. Select ‘Yes – Wipe Dalvik Cache’.
9. Go back to the main recovery menu by pressing the back button and select the ‘Install zip from SD card’ option.
10. Select ‘choose zip from sdcard’ to get a list of the files and folders on your SD card. Scroll to the ROM’s file that you copied there in step 3, and select it. You will be prompted to confirm this action. Select ‘Yes – Install file_name.zip’ where file_name.zip is the name of the zip file that you are trying to install.
11. Wait patiently while the ROM is flashed to your phone via recovery.
12. Once the installation is complete, head back to the main recovery menu if you aren’t there, and select ‘reboot system now’. Your phone will now boot into the newly installed ROM.

The Real Deal: Installing an App From a Zip File to your Phone
While most apps for Android devices are available at the app store for direct download and installation or as .apk files for direct installation, there are certain apps which are only available as zip files installable from recovery. Their installation procedure is the same as installing a custom ROM that we just featured above. However, there are a few minute differences.

• When installing an app from a zip file, you do NOT need to perform the ‘wipe data/factory reset’ step so NEVER do that unless you know what you are doing, have a complete backup and want to start using your ROM as a fresh installation with the new app added.
• You might or might not need to wipe the cache and the dalvik cache for installing apps from zip file. This varies from app to app and the developers of such apps as well as many reviewers including us mention when featuring an app whether it requires a cache and dalvik cache wipe or not. However, it never hurts to wipe these caches anyway, and it does not effect the data on your device or its storage card.

There you go, this concludes our guide on how to flash a ROM or app from a zip file to your Android device using a custom recovery. To try out the skills that you just learned, search our site for custom ROMs for your phone and start flashing, always remembering to take backups first!

What Is ClockworkMod Recovery And How To Use It On Android [Complete Guide]

ClockworkMod, abbreviated as CWM, is a popular custom recovery for Android phones and tablets developed by Koushik Dutta (Koush) – a well-known name in the Android dev community. ClockworkMod recovery allows you to perform several advanced recovery, restoration, installation and maintenance operations on your Android device that aren’t possible with the stock recovery, and is one of the most common ways used to gain root access, back up device data, install custom ROMs, kernels, themes & mods, and more. However, for anyone new to Android customization and hacking, some of its options might prove to be a tad confusing. In what follows, we will cover all that this recovery is capable of doing, and how to do it.

Here is what we shall be covering in this guide:

1. About Android recovery
2. Introduction to ClockworkMod
3. Installing ClockworkMod
4. Booting into ClockworkMod
5. Feature tour
6. Using ClockworkMod for ROM, kernel, apps, theme or mod installation.

Now let’s take a look at each of these topics in detail.

About Android Recovery

All Android devices ship with a recovery console that is basically a partition on the device’s internal memory and can be booted into. The stock recovery of almost all Android devices provides a few basic yet handy options that allow you to factory reset your device, clear its cache partition, and recover its operating system using an official ROM in zip format, but that’s all you can do with it. That’s where a custom recovery comes handy.
A custom Android recovery basically replaces the stock recovery with one that lets you do all you can do with the stock recovery, plus a plethora of more options to give you a lot more control on your device. With a custom recovery, you can install official and unofficial ROMs as well as other updates including hacks, themes, kernels etc. using zip files, wipe not just user data but pretty much every standard partition on your device, mount the storage card for USB mass storage access without leaving recovery, partition your SD card, wipe dalvik cache and battery stats, fix permissions, perform, manage and restore backups, and so on.

Introduction to ClockworkMod

ClockworkMod recovery is one of the most widely used custom Android recoveries that is available for most mainstream Android devices. It is our custom recovery of choice here at AddictiveTips and almost every custom ROM that we install on our devices is done using this recovery.
ClockworkMod recovery has been developed by Koushik Dutta (also known as Koush) – the same guy who brought us the Android ROM Manager. He can be found at his blog hacking away at Android devices, and at Twitter.

Installing ClockworkMod

For most devices, ClockworkMod has a dead simple installation process. This method does require you to fully root your device in order to be installed but once rooted, installing it is as simple as installing ROM Manager from Market, launching it and using its first option i.e. the one that says ‘Flash ClockworkMod recovery’.
However, in certain scenarios, the ROM Manager method wouldn’t work, or would simply not be the preferred method for your situation. In such cases, there are several other methods available to install ClockworkMod. We have covered the ROM Manager method as well as all these alternative methods in our guide on how to install a custom recovery to your Android device.
Multiple devices:

• How to install any version of ClockworkMod recovery using ROM Manager with a trick.
• Our ClockworkMod recovery coverage for guides on several other devices.

Booting into ClockworkMod

Once you have ClockworkMod recovery installed on your Android device, booting into it is quite simple. All you have to do is launch ROM Manager and tap ‘Reboot into Recovery’.
Also, if you have ADB installed on your computer, you can simply enable USB debugging mode on your device from Settings > Applications > Development, connect it to your computer via USB, launch a Command Prompt / Terminal window on your computer and enter this command:

adb reboot recovery

The above methods will not work in certain cases though, for instance if you can’t boot into Android in the first place due to some issue, or if you are using a device like the HTC HD2 that doesn’t natively support an Android recovery. Many solutions are available in these cases.

• Using hardware button combination on most Android devices:
  On most Android devices including ones by HTC, you can enter recovery by powering your device off and then powering it back on while keeping either the ‘Volume Down’ or the ‘Volume-Up’ button pressed, depending on the device. This will enter the bootloader from where you can select the ‘RECOVERY’ option by navigating to it with the Volume key and entering it with the ‘Power’ key.
  On most Samsung devices specifically Samsung Galaxy S series devices, you must keep both the ‘Volume-Up’ and ‘Home’ keys pressed while powering on the device, to directly enter recovery.
• Using MAGLDR on HTC HD2:
  Entering ClockworkMod recovery on the HTC HD2 can’t be done via ROM Manager or any hardware button combination but that doesn’t mean it is difficult in any way. All you have to do is power the device off, power it on by keeping the Power key pressed till you see the MAGLDR bootloader’s menu and finally selecting the ‘AD Recovery’ option.

Feature Tour

Now that you have ClockworkMod recovery up and running on your phone or tablet, let’s take a look at all the options it offers you to manage your Android device. We are using a Nexus S running ClockworkMod Touch recovery 6.0.2.5 but the details should apply to other devices and versions of the recovery as well.
This is what you see when you reboot your device into ClockworkMod recovery:

If you are using ClockworkMod Touch recovery, you can simply tap on these options to navigate between different sections and perform all the actions. On the non-touch versions of the recovery though, you can navigate between items using the Volume-Up and Volume-Down button, and use the ‘Power’ button to enter/launch the highlighted option on most Android devices. On devices equipped with a trackball or an optical track pad such as the G1, G2, Nexus One, HTC Desire etc., the trackball or track pad can be used for navigation and clicking it activates the selected option. Let’s review each of these options and their sub-menu options in detail now.

1. reboot system now
   This one is self-explanatory.
2. install zip from sdcard
   This option brings up the following sub-menu:
   
   
   1. choose zip from sdcard
      Lets you install any zip file from any location on your SD card. The file can be for a ROM, a kernel, an application, a theme or any mod as long as it is in recovery-flashable zip format. This is the most widely used option for installing a ROM that you have downloaded and copied to your SD card. Entering this option will bring up a screen that will allow you to browse your SD card for the zip file and select it for installation.
      
   2. apply /sdcard/update.zip
      This option can be used for installation of any official or unofficial update, ROM, kernel etc. that is in a zip format installable from recovery, as long as the file is named update.zip and it has been placed on the root of your SD card (i.e. not in any sub-folder).
   3. toggle signature verification
      This turns the signature verification on and off. When signature verification is on, you will not be able to install any custom ROMs that haven’t been digitally signed to allow installation on the device (most custom ROMs aren’t signed). Switching it off skips the signature verification check and proceeds with the installation.
3. install zip from sideload
   This option puts the phone into the new ADB sideload mode, allowing you to install zip files from your computer using the ADB sideload command introduced in Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.
4. wipe data/factory reset
   This option wipes all user data on the device as well as cache. Doing this will leave your phone in the state it was in when you bought it or when any custom ROM was first installed. It will also wipe any sd-ext partition that you might have setup (more on this later). Selecting pretty much any operation in ClockworMod (including this one) will bring up a confirmation prompt that can save you from a lot of potential trouble in case you accidentally select the wrong operation.
   
5. wipe cache partition
   Wipes the cache partition of the device to clear all the data accumulated there over use. This is often used before installing a new ROM, app, kernel or any similar mod via recovery.
6. backup and restore Undoubtedly one of the most important features provided by a custom recovery, the backup and restore feature – also known as Nandroid backup – allows you to take a snapshot of your phone’s entire internal memory including all partitions, and save it on the SD card. Here is how it looks:
   
   
   1. backup
      Takes a full backup of your device, as explained above.
   2. restore
      Lets you restore a previously taken backup. Entering this option presents you with a list of existing backups from the SD card that you can choose from for restoration.
      
   3. delete
      Lets you delete a previously taken backup to free up space on your SD card.
   4. advanced restore
      This option is similar to the Restore option but once a backup has been selected to be restored, this option allows you to choose the parts of it to restore. You can choose to restore the boot, system, data, cache and sd-ext partitions, as shown here:
      
   5. free unused backup data
      Lets you reclaim space on your SD card by freeing up any redundant backup data that isn’t required.
   6. choose default backup format
      Allows you to choose between ‘tar’ and ‘dup’ for the backup format. Leave this one as it is, unless you are sure you want to change it.
      
7. mounts and storage
   Allows you to perform maintenance tasks on all the internal and external partitions of your android device
   
   
   1. mount/unmount /system, /data, /cache, /sdcard or /sd-ext
      These options let you toggle between mounting or unmounting these respective partitions. Most users don’t need to change these options.
   2. format boot, system, data, cache, sdcard or sd-ext
      These let you directly format any of these partitions. Take extreme care with this option as formatting any of these partitions will result in losing all data on them, especially the boot and system partitions. Formatting the system partition will remove your ROM and leave your phone without an operating system while wiping the boot partition may brick your phone unless you restore or flash another one before rebooting your device. To learn more about the contents of all these partitions, see our guide to Android partitions.
   3. mount USB storage
      Lets you enable USB mass storage mode for your SD card right from recovery so that you can connect it to your computer via USB and transfer any files to/from it without having to leave recovery.
8. advanced
   This section contains a few options most users will not require, though these can come handy quite often, especially wiping Dalvik cache, which is required before most ROM installations. Here are the options from this section:
   
   
   1. reboot recovery
      Lets you directly and very conveniently reboot from recovery right back into recovery. This is useful option for certain back-to-back installations that require the device to at least boot once between them.
   2. wipe dalvik cache
      Allows you to wipe the cache for the Dalvik virtual machine (the custom-built Java virtual machine for Android).This is required before most ROM installations and at other occasions too, for fixing some problems.
   3. wipe battery stats
      Wipes the saved battery usage statistics and effectively recalibrates the battery. Useful in various scenarios when Android isn’t showing correct battery levels. This option is not shown in the above screenshot, but is present in many versions of ClockworkMod recovery.
   4. report error
      In case of errors, this feature can be used to save a log of recent ClockworkMod recovery operations on the SD card that you can later report from Android using ROM Manager.
   5. key test
      Lets you press any of the hardware keys to see if they are properly functioning, and to see their key codes.
   6. show log
      Shows you a log of your recent recovery operations.
   7. fix permissions
      Fixes the file permissions for the internal memory partitions back to default. This is very useful as a fix for several errors and Force-Closes that start appearing after you or an application you installed and provided root access end up messing up the permissions of important files.
   8. partition sdcard
      This option gives you a no-frills way to partition your SD card properly for use with ROMs that support data2ext (a very handy hack for low internal memory devices that enables an /sd-ext partition on the SD card to be used as the internal user data storage i.e. as the /data partition). Once this option is selected, you will be given options to choose the sizes for the /sd-ext partition as well as an optional /swap partition on the SD card, and will then automatically format it for you, leaving the remaining space for normal SD card usage. This option will wipe all data from your SD card so use it with caution!

Using ClockworkMod for ROM, kernel, apps, theme or mod installation

While in the complete feature tour we have already shown you how to install a ROM, kernel, app, theme or any similar mod from a recovery-flashable zip file using the recovery options, those of you who jumped straight to this section expecting to get just this information quickly are at the right place!
This guide is primary focused on a full feature tour of ClockworkMod recovery but in our previously written guide on how to flash a ROM or app from a zip to an Android device file from recovery, we have already covered in detail how to use ClockworkMod for installing any ROM, kernel, app, theme or mod using a recovery-flashable zip file. While that guide is based on an older version of ClockworkMod recovery, everything in it still applies to the latest versions and should work flawlessly.

That’s all there is to ClockworkMod recovery so far. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we do!

How To Install ClockworkMod Recovery On Your Android Phone

Clockwork Recovery (also known as ClockworkMod or ClockworkMod Recovery) is a recovery console used to perform a range of operations on Android devices. It is widely used by those who customize their phones by flashing custom ROMS to them. It also allows you to perform and restore backups of your Android phone. Fortunately, installing it is a very easy process. Read on after the break to find out how.
UPDATE: To learn all there is to learn about ClockworkMod recovery, see our detailed guide on what is ClockworkMod recovery and how to use it.

Your phone must be rooted prior to the installation of ClockworkMod. The rooting procedure differs from phone to phone and you can do a quick search on our site to find out process for yours, or just visit our Android rooting guide. Once you have the phone rooted, simply follow these easy steps and you will have Clockwork Recovery installed on your phone in no time!

1. From your phone, launch the Android Market and search for a free app called ‘ROM Manager’. Once found, install it. You can also find it at AppBrain using the link given below, or scan this QR Code to get it directly on your phone.
2. Once it has been installed, launch ‘ROM Manager’ on your phone.
3. In ROM Manager, tap ‘Flash ClockworkMod Recovery’. Specify or confirm your phone model if prompted during the process, and follow any on-screen instructions.
4. Be patient as ClockworkMod is installed, as it can take quite some time. Once the process if finsihed, you have ClockworkMod installed on your phone.

Once it has been installed, booting into ClockworkMod recovery is pretty simple. You can either launch Rom Manager and tap ‘Reboot into Recovery’, or use our guide on how to boot your Android phone into recovery.
Download ROM Manager from Play Store

How To Boot Your Android Phone Into Recovery

The recovery console can be quite useful in backup up or restoring your Android phone, as well as flashing custom ROMs to it. While power users are familiar with booting our phones into the recovery console, beginners face trouble doing so. The following is a small guide to help you boot your phone into recovery mode.

Before you can boot into it, you must already have the recovery mode installed. To install it, you can follow our guide on how to install Clockwork Recovery to your Android phone.

Once it has been installed, booting into ClockworkMod recovery is pretty simple. You can either launch Rom Manager and tap ‘Reboot into Recovery’, or use the following method to manually do so:

1. Power your phone off and then boot it into bootloader / fastboot mode.
2. Once in bootloader / fastboot mode, use your phone’s volume keys, trackball or optical sensor to scroll to the option saying ‘recovery’, and that’s it. Your phone will now boot into Clockwork recovery.

Note: Booting your phone into its bootloader / fastboot mode uses your phone’s hardware keys, and varies from phone to phone. For most phones, you can do so by keeping the ‘Volume down’ key held, pressing the ‘Power’ key and then releasing the ‘Volume down’ key once you see the bootloader screen. In case this does not work, try doing it with the ‘Volume up’ key instead of the ‘Volume down’ key. If you still can’t get it to work, you can do a quick Google search using the keywords “how to boot <device name> in recovery”.

Things to Do Before and After Installing a Custom ROM + Troubleshooter

Android being an Open Source operating system for mobile phones, offers limitless possibilities of optimization and customization as per your requirements. Half the charm of an Android phone lies in the root-based apps, beautiful mods and patches, and custom ROMs. If you have not rooted your phone yet, believe me you are not getting the most out of it. Rooting offers many advantages indeed but, at the same time it is also a little risky as it breaks into the wall of security build by the operating system.

According to a survey, 80% of Android phone users live happy with an unrooted device and the reasons for this are various- some people think of it as a sort of criminal activity, some are afraid of losing warranty, some are afraid of bricking their phone, while most people do not even know about the existence of a term like “rooting”. If you are one who has enclosed himself in side that great wall of security and have doubt in mind related to rooting, do not forget to read the following article:

• To Root, or not to Root, that’s the Question!
• Download ROMs for Your Android Device

Anyways, the procedures like rooting and installing a custom ROM is a bit risky and it’s true, but if you go through it carefully, no harm will ever done to your Android device. People brick their phone because they make some mistake. That’s the way accidents happen! As an Android blogger, I have to root, flash stock and custom ROMs, install mods and patches almost everyday. And believe me all my device are pretty healthy and sound. If you understand things, take precautions, create backups and do things carefully, you’ll never be caught into an uncomfortable situation.

Here are a few tips that that will help you keep things under your control and you will be able to not only keep all your data safe, but also restore your device to its normal condition.

Got TWRP Recovery on Your Device?

Do you think you are well familiar with all the features, functions and possibilities of the TWRP Recovery? Think again! Read our detailed and in-depth introduction to the Team Win Recovery Project: Click Here

Ensure Decent Battery Level

Whenever you have to install a custom ROM or mod or mod on your phone, try to be ready for the worst situations. Just imagine you are installing a ROM and your phones turns off in the middle of things due to low battery! You will have to charge the battery with an external charger because your device will not be able to charge the battery because it does not have any ROM that makes this function work. In such a situation, you will not be able to restart the procedure or even restore from a backup Therefore, it very important that your phone is amply charged before you set out on the adventure.

Backup Your Apps, Contacts, Messages, etc.

Whether you have rooted your phone or not, always backup your apps, contacts, call-log, messages, bookmarks, calendar entries, etc. The best way is to schedule regular backups, preferably to external storage of your device and your computer. Here are some nice free apps that will make this task easy for you.

Put Your Phone in Debugging Mode

The term “debugging” is used in connection with development. Putting your Android device in debugging mode prepares it for direct connection with your computer via a USB cable without notification or read log data. Flashing/installing anything that does not come under official method, might be regarded as a development activity. It’s another thing that you did not developed the ROM you are going to install, but still it is a work of custom development. That’s is why, whenever you perform any such task, it is highly recommended that you turn on the USB Debugging mode from Developer Options under Settings of your device. On Android phones with Jelly Bean 4.2 and higher, the Developer Options are hidden by default and can be made to show by tapping 7 times on “Build Version” from Settings> About.

Further, you should also install the appropriate USB Drivers on your computer as you can need them anytime. To download the compatible USB Drivers for your phone/manufacturer, visit our USB drivers collection page.

Backup Your Phone’s IMEI (Samsung Users Only)

When you install a custom ROM on you phone, sometimes it happens that the folder that stores your phone’s IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) number is wiped. As a result, your phone’s IMEI number is lost it does not receive network signal. To avoid this happen to your phone, do not forget to backup the “efs” partition.

To backup your Samsung Galaxy phone’s IMEI or EFS data, read our guide by clicking the following link:
How to Backup and Restore EFS Data / IMEI on Samsung Galaxy Devices

In case you have a low/mid range Galaxy device from Samsung, you can use an app called Galaxy ToolBox for the purpose.

Download: Galaxy ToolBox.apk (187.15 KB)

Download @
Google Play

Galaxy Toolbox

Developer: Doky

Price: Free

Enter Recovery Mode Easily:

If you are a hard-core Android enthusiast who likes to play with new ROMs and mods every now and then, be careful or you might damage the hardware keys of your Android phone. Since booting into recovery mode of a phone or tablet requires hard-pressing of certain combination of hardware keys, doing it frequently can have a negative effect on the functioning of these keys. I have experience it myself when I had a Galaxy S. Fortunately, there are several apps that can make booting into download, bootloader or recovery mode very easy without being cruel to the poor hardware keys.

Here are some good free apps for you that will let you do this without touching the hard keys. If you have installed a custom ROM, you need not install any such app separately as most ROM developers integrate the boot options in the ROM itself. Besides, we have an vast collection of methods of entering Fastboot, Bootloader, Download and Recovery modes on most Android devices.

• How to Boot Android Devices in Fastboot, Download, Bootloader or Recovery Mode

Backup the Complete ROM (Important)

Being able to install a custom ROM on your Android phone means that you have installed custom recovery like ClockworkMod or TWRP on your Android device. Well, having a custom recovery on any phone is a great advantage. It can perform all tasks done by stock recovery while adding lots of other useful options.

One such great feature is its ability to backup the whole ROM, custom or stock, on your phone’s internal or external storage. You can back as many ROMs as your phone’s storage can afford. I strongly recommend that you always keep a backup of your phone’s original/stock ROM. Before you install a new custom ROM, always create a backup of your current ROM. Scroll down to the “backup and restore” option and backup the ROM to the internal or external storage of you device. If you select “backup”, the ROM will be saved to internal storage. To save it to external SD card, select “backup to external sdcard” option.

All backed up ROMs are saved on a folder called “clockworkmod” on your device’s internal or external SD card, depending on what location you chose while creating the backup.

It’s is always better to store the backed up ROM on the external storage because sometimes the phone is caught in a bootloop, or the screen goes into a frozen state, or you may experience lags, or anything, and decide to reset/wipe your phone to get it back to normal. In doing so, all data stored on the internal storage is deleted. In certain situations you might have the opportunity to backup your data but in some cases you might not be able to do that.

How to Restore a Previously Backed up ROM:

As I said earlier, you should always keep a backed up copy of the rooted stock ROM on the external SD card of your phone. If the phone does not have an external SD slot, you can save the backup to the internal SD card (not safe though). If you frequently flash an AOSP, AOKP or CM based ROM, always keep a copy of the Google Apps flashable zip saved on your phone.

So if you installed a custom ROM and you are having problems with it or you just want to go back to the previous or any backed up ROM, do this:

1. Boot you phone into CWM recovery mode
2. “wipe data/factory reset”
3. “wipe cache partition”
4. Then go to “backup and restore> restore”, select the location (internal or external) of the backup.
5. Select the file and confirm your choice by selecting “yes”.

So, this was a detailed tutorial to help you land safely whenever you install a ROM. I have tried to be inclusive but if feel that something is missing, do not forget to share with us via comments. I believe the tips given here will prove useful to you. Thanks for being with us! For more Tips & Tricks on Android, take a tour of our other tutorials.

Installing a Custom ROM

Now here is my classic way of installing a custom ROM. I recommend it to all because it has proved perfectly successful and never hurled down my phones into a single bootloop so far. Always follow these steps in CWM Recovery:

1. “wipe data/factory reset”
2. “wipe cache partition”
3. Go to advanced and “wipe dalvik cache” and “wipe battery stats”
4. Go to mounts and storage and “format system”
5. The go to “install zip from sdcard> choose zip from sdcard” and select the ROM file you want to install.
6. In case, the developer has recommended to install GApps too, you should install it just after flashing the ROM (use Step 5).
7. When it is installed, reboot the device.

Installing a custom ROM with these wipes has a great advantages. Whenever you flash a new ROM, install it as fresh copy. Less wipes means more chances of old and new system files’ clash, resulting in poor performance, lags and even a bootloop. While some enlightened giants might disapprove of the idea of wiping the battery stats of the old ROM, I still recommend to wipe it as it takes nothing. However, you should also listen to any recommendations of the developer whose ROM you are going to install.

Installing Google Apps

Most AOSP (Android Open Source Project), AOKP (Android Open Kang Project) and CyanogenMod based ROMs do not come with the Google apps pre-installed, so you have to install them separately. To download and install the latest and compatible Google apps to your phone, head over to our great collection.

Getting Signature Verification Error While Installing?

Well, it is an uncommon situation that while installing a custom ROM on your Android device you see installation aborted message because of Signature Verification error. Two possible reasons for this to happen might be-

1. You are trying to install a custom ROM using stock recovery that comes default with all Android phones. Remember, a custom ROM or mod requires a custom recovery like CWM or TWRP installed on it. If you are getting signature error, first of all try to find out the type of recovery your phone has. Boot into the recovery mode and read the lines on the top of the screen. If it reads “Android System Recovery”, you need to install a custom recovery first.
2. The most common reason for the signature verification error while installing a ROM is a badly downloaded zip. All custom ROMs and mods for Android devices come in ZIPs that are packed with a MD5 Signature. If a downloaded zip is corrupt, it is sure to have a corrupt signature. To fix this, you can take aid of a MD5 Signature versification tool. You can also try to extract the downloaded zip on your computer. One nice quality of a ZIP archive is that it cannot be extracted properly if it is corrupt. In the case of a bad zip file, you should redownload it and try installing again.

(Status 7) Installation Aborted Error

Another instance of installation of a custom ROM or mod aborted might be due to the presence an older or incompatible version of ClockworkMod Recovery on your Android device. In such cases, you will get the following message while installing the ROM:

– installing : /sdcard/xxxxxxxxx.zip
finding update package…
opening update package…
installing update…
assert failed: getprop(“ro.product.device”) == “m0″ || getprop(“ro.bulid.product”)
== “m0″ || getprop(“ro.product.device”) == “galaxy s3″ || getprop(“ro.bulid.product”)== “galaxy s3″
E: Error in /sdcard/xxxxxxxxx.zip
(status 7)
installation aborted.

To solve this issue, you can try updating your CWM recovery. There is another solution to this too but it’s is a little tricky. In this method, you’ll have to edit a code line in the “updater-script” found inside the ROM .zip file without extracting it.

If you prefer to do this, remove the following lines found at the beginning of “updater-script” found at this path: ROM.zip> META-INF> com> google> android> updater-script:

 assert(getprop("ro.product.device") == "m0" ||
 getprop("ro.build.product") == "m0" || getprop("ro.product.device") == "galaxys3" || getprop("ro.build.product") == "galaxys3");

Upgrading Custom ROM without Loosing Apps & Settings

We always recommend a full wipe before installing a new custom ROM for best performance. Doing this, deletes all the apps and resets the Settings of your device and this is certainly not a desirable thing. Nobody wants to install all apps and configure the device again and again. While you have no option but to wipe everything with a new ROM, things can be more pleasant if you are going to install a greater updated version of the same ROM.

You can upgrade your phone’s custom ROM without losing your installed apps, data, contacts, messages, call-log and settings. Here are the steps that you need to follow while installing the newer update package of a ROM over an older one:

1. Copy the custom ROM in zip package to your device.
2. Boot the phone in CWM or TWRP recovery.
3. Wipe the cache partition
4. Wipe dalvik cache (found under “advanced” option in CWM)
5. Then install the ROM and when it is done, wipe dalvik cache again.
6. Finally, reboot the device.

Installing an updated version of a ROM this way will keeps your apps and settings intact.

Recovering from a Bootloop

Having performed the wipes recommended above, there are nominal chances that your phone might be stuck on the bootscreen but in case you get into such a situation, what would you do?

Bootloop is a situation when your phone refuses to boot/start normally due to some system file clash or incompatible element that prevents it to boot. To recover from a bootloop, follow the steps given at this tutorial.

How to Install a Mod or Patch or Kernel:

If your phone is on the stock ROM with CWM installed or a custom ROM, you can find different Mods and patches and Kernel for your device. If you have to install any such file, do this:

1. Boot your phone into CloclworkMod recovery mode.
2. Again, do not forget to backup your current ROM before flashing anything on your phone.
3. Go to “install zip from sdcard> choose zip from sdcard” and select the file you want to install.
4. When the installation is done, go to “advanced” and “wipe dalvik cache” (not necessary in all cases).
5. Finally reboot device using “reboot system now” option.

Avoid Restoring Apps & Data Backed Up on Another ROM:

Whatever ROM we install on our device, we want it to be quickly ready with our favorite apps and configuration. And therefore we keep all such data backed up so that they we can restore them in case we factory reset the device or install a new ROM. Restoring previously backed up apps or data is a a very convenient thing as it saves a lot of time and effort but this convenience might give rise to another inconvenient situation.

In fact, all such backup apps (Titanium Backup, for example) are meant to restore data on the same ROM on which the backup was created. Due to system file discrepancies among different ROMs, restoring apps and data this way might make your phone laggy and slow. Therefore, I recommend you to avoid doing this for better performance of the new ROM.

Fixing Battery Heat Up and Drain:

Better performance and battery-life is why most of us turn to custom ROMs. We keep trying from the available ROMs and stick to one that meets up to our expectations. Now there are two ways to find out how the battery performs- with the help of a battery monitor app (stock or third-party) and by taking note of the battery performance during the hours of a day.

If you feel that your device is not yielding good battery just because the battery monitor stats show it, you might be wrong in your judgement as most such apps sometimes lie to us.

Remember that with any ROM installed on your Android device, you will discover two things: 1. battery heat up, and 2. battery drain. And these issues for the most part are due to process of your phone’s new software and battery sync. It usually requires 3-4 full-charge and discharge cycles before things go to a normal state and after this, you will notice great improvement in battery performance. So, do not be quick in concluding anything about battery.

Let the battery calibrate and while you wait try one more thing. Whether you get a new phone or new software on your old device, avoid putting your device into charging mode frequently. Turn off the phone, plug charger, wait till it is fully charged and then use it till it is fully discharged. Repeating this several times will improve the battery-life of your device. I have tested it and it really works.