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Wednesday, 28 October 2015 12:33

Embedding a Module into a Joomla Article

There are 2 inbuilt Joomla plugins to load modules into content. These in-built plugins cannot load modules by their ID so you will need to use a 3rd party extension for that. There are some great 3rd party plugins that will also allow you to insert modules into content but by the module ID if you want.

[loadmodule] and [loadposition] Plugins

Unless you know how to use these powerful features or even the syntax you will find them very difficult to use. There usage is slighty different but the syntax is very similiar so if you can use one you can use the other. With both the plugins don't forget you will need to enable it in the Plugin manager. If you want a module to appear you must make sure that it is published. You also need to make sure the module is visible on the pages you want in its menu tab, or you can restrict it.

[loadmodule]

This plugin allows you insert modules into content by specifying the module group ( ie custom / custom_html / login / mod_login ). I have not check which variations od the module group names work and where to get them from. If there is more than 1 module published in that group they will all be publish, so if you only want 1 module to be embedded you need to specify the title of the module. You can specify a module by it's name even if there is only 1 module in that group, it does not ahrm. The last switch is for styling and i am not sure exactly how to use it.

Syntax
[loadmodule moduletype,title,style]

Examples
[loadmodule custom] - This will load all of the 'Custom HTML' modules that are published
[loadmodule custom,My Code] - This will load the 'Custom HTML' module titled 'My Code'

NB: Swap [] for {} - I used brackets instead of curly braces so Joomla did not parse the demo text.

[loadposition]

This plugin will load all modules from the specified position one after the other.

The way to use this to get a specific module to display in your content is to create your module and assign it to a custom module position. To put a module in a custom position, when you edit the module rather than using the drop down menu to select a position you can just type your own in (i.e. myposition) and then save the module.

Syntax
[loadposition position,style]

Examples
[loadposition right] - This will load all modules in the right module position.
[loadposition myposition] - This will load all modules in the custom module position called 'myposition'.

NB: Swap [] for {} - I used brackets instead of curly braces so Joomla did not parse the demo text.

Getting the Module's Type

  • You can get the module's type from the module list in joomla. This only gives you an indication of the modules name
    i.e. BT Google Maps
  • You then get the modules required name from your website via ftp. Browse to /modules/ and in there you will see the modules name which should be similiar to the name above. In some circumstances the names might not be similiar.
    i.e. mod_bt_googlemaps

3rd Party Extensions

Links

Published in Joomla
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Wednesday, 21 October 2015 08:52

Complete migration from a rooted Samsung S2 to a Stock Note 3 converted to Cyanogenmod with root

in this guide i will go through how i flashed my samsung note 3 and i will try and explain all the different aspects. I am a little more expertienced now at flashing but when i show what the different terms are and why you are doing something, it will all be come clear.

Samsung ODIN Software

ODIN is the Samsung Software that is used to flash Samsung phones. It is not officially release but is very useful for flashing and rooting your phone.

I ODIN it references several all the parts of the firmware:

  • Bootloader
  • PDA
  • PHONE
  • CSC
  • UMS

i dont know what all the bits do but you seem to do all of your flashing to the PDA section. When you flash to the PDA it is not just a straight binary flash but the process is file aware so it is possible to flash files and not just the whole firmware or partition.

There is also these following areas of the firmware:

  • Modem 1
  • Modem 2

Different Parts of the Flash ROM

It is good just to know a little bit about what you are messing with before doing anything on your phone that could potentially break it.

A tar file for samsung phones to be flashed via Odin can contain several files, The md5 or tar file is a zip file and can contain all or some of the partitions. It might also have a pit file in it:

  • sboot.bin
  • param.bin
  • cm.bin
  • boot.img
  • recovery.img
  • system.img
  • modem.bin
  • cache.img
  • carrier.img

Bootloader

  • The bootloader probably lives on the Boot Partition.
  • Bootloader is the MBR of android but also includes a bit of software called 'Download Mode', to allow you to connect to the phone via ODIN or the android ADB via a USB cable even if you cannot load the 'Recovery Partition' or the Android OS. People oftern refer to the 'Download Mode' as the Bootloader
  • The Bootloader is highly specialised and is very specific to your phone. Official ROMs can often have upgrades to the Bootloader and modem firmwares but because they are so specialised I don't think custom ROMs tend to get involved in changing the Bootloader or modem firmwares.
  • It allows you to boot to the 'Recovery Partition' or enter the 'Download Mode'.
  • 'Download Mode' is essentially the same as Bootloader Mode. - http://www.kingoapp.com/help/download-mode.htm
  • As a test, when you use ClockWorkMod Recovery to load into the 'Bootloader Mode,' 'Download Mode' is loaded
  • The bootloader can be updated by flashing, however because it is so specialised only the manufactures would update this section of the firmware. The bootloader consists of the MBR and the 'Downloading Mode'. Teh recovery partition is something different as this is a partition on its own

From Chainfire's website

When newer firmwares are released for a certain device, sometimes that firmware includes new bootloaders that prevent kernels based on the old firmwares from booting. This usually coincides with a transition to a newer Android version. In that case, the CF-Auto-Root for download here may no longer work - flashing or booting might fail. It is too much work for me to keep track of all these firmwares, so if you encounter this issue, it is up to you to submit the recovery.img file from the latest firmware for your device to the CF-Auto-Root thread on XDA-Developers.com.

eMMC

  • Embedded Multi Media Card / MultiMediaCard
  • That's how people refer to the internal memory of the NC.., Essentially a micro sd card that is soldered to the board.
  • What is eMMC | Datalight

Boot Partition

To be added when i know fully how to describe this, but this might be where the Bootlader lives.

Recovery Partition

The recovery partition is basically a seperate partition with some software on it that allows you to do certain features such as install apk, clear cache and format drives. A Custom recovery add extra features such as nandroid backups (complete binary backup of your phone) There are several different types of Custom Recovery but the most common one is ClockWorkMod. The Recovery Partition is completely seperate to your system/Android OS and you data.

System Partition

This is where the Android OS lives and the bloatware that phone manufacturers want on your phone and you cannot remove

Data Partition

This is where the apps you install live with their data.

Cache Partition

This is obviously where the cache is stored.

EFS Partition

General Flashing Information

Bricked / Bricking

This is a term that is banded about by the people in the know but i have struggled to actually find out what a bricked phone is. The term is very loosly banded about to me a dead phone which has been killed by a flashing fault. But what are these flashing faults.

Moving your data from your old phone to your new one

You have got your new phone but all you files and data are on the old handset. Here i will go through the various different methid i have found for moving your files

Data you might want to backup:

  • Phone Settings (watch out for compatability, do not move these unless you really have i.e. Samsung Touchwiz to Cyanoigenmod settings might not work)
  • Contacts
  • Calendar
  • Call Logs
  • SMS Messages
  • Phone Settings
  • Apps
  • App Data

Backup and Restore

There are many methods of migrating you Settings and Data but i have listed the obvious ones here, you might have a look through the links at the bottom of this section for more ideas. One thing to bear in mind is that you can have muliple calendars and contact store. Most people just use the Google ones, however if you use multiple calendars I do not know if any of these methods move the other calendars and contacts local stores (or where ever they are). You could perhaps use MyPhoneExplorer or the data might indeed get moved when you migrate you apps. Just bear this in mind when you are checking your new phone to make sure everything has been moved.

There are several ways of moving your files with and without root but depending on whether or not your source and destination phone are rooted will determine which method you will use. As a rule of thumb if you use a method on the source phone that requires root privileges to backup your data then the destination phone will reauire root privileges to restore the data.

Backup and Restore without Root

  • Google Account Method / Automatic Setup Assistant
    • On newer android phones, i think 4.4.4+ when you turn on a virgin Anroid phone (your new phone) and enter you Google account details (the same account as on your old phone) the logon procedure will ask you if you want to migrate your settings from an old device, there will be a list of your recent Android devices on that account. Select your old phone and google will install all of the same apps and their data on to your new phone. There are several caveats with this process. Not all apps store their data in the cloud at Google which is a requirement for that data to be installed on your new phone The process will not move local data such as K9 Email email stores or downloaded podcasts in rat poison and so on. Apparently most modern apps store their data in the google cloud but i must say i did not really notice that when i used this method. The second caveat is that if an application on your old phone is either not compatible with your new handset or no longer exist on the Google Play store it will not be installed, this implies that the process re-installs the app from the store rather than migrating the files on your old phone. This method is not perfect but should get better with new itterations of Android. SMS and Call Logs were not and phone settings appeared also not to have transfered, i was transfering from a v4.4.4 Samsung S2 so this might define what is transfered i.e. phone settings will transfer if the Android version numbers are the same. The google Calendar and contacts will already be up on the cloud so will appear on your phone anyway and do not require any special actions by you.
    • This is the new automatic setup assistant in Android 5.0 Lollipop | Android Central
    • How to Transfer Settings From One Android Phone to Another | eHow - very basic instructions
  • Tap / Bump
    • Available only in Android 5.0+ and requires your phone to have NFC and Bluetooth. The simplistic description is that you bump your new and old phones together, the NFC authorises the transfer and then the data is then transfered over bluetooth. I am not sure what data and files are moved as i have not tried it, but it is an inbuilt feature of Android.
    • This is the new automatic setup assistant in Android 5.0 Lollipop | Android Central
  • Google Apps
    • G Cloud Backup
      • This is a 3rd party backup app for keeping a copy of your data for disater recovery etc. but you can use it to backup your data and then restore it on your new phone. The data is stored on their server which ahs a limit og 1GB for free accounts and unlimited for the paid version. The free version will be fine for most people just moving your contacts, SMS Messages, Call Logs and Calendar which are not usually that big. you might need the paid version to move all your apps and their data with this method.
      • How to Transfer data from one Android Device to Another - YouTube - This shows you have to easily bacup you stuff with the G Cloud Backup App
    • SMS Backup + - Android Apps on Google Play - I have not used this
    • Super Backup : SMS & Contacts - Android Apps on Google Play - (apps/sms/contacts/call logs/calendars/bookmarks) I have not used this for moving contacts and settings but it is excellent for exporting your AOSP browser links
  • MyPhoneExplorer - This is a very useful program that offers many features but the ones we are interested here for this project is that this software syncs your Calendar/Contacts/SMS Messages/Call Logs to a local store on your windows PC which is then used to sync this data to Outlook and vice versa. This in effect backups up your phone's Calendar/Contacts/SMS Messages/Call Logs to the local MyPhoneExplorer local store and your phone's Contacts/Calendar to Outlook aswell. This local MyPhoneExplorer store can be backed up and restored, between phones if required. This can all be done without root.

Backup and Restore with Root

When you have root on both phones the process is a lot neater but you can also use all of the processes listed above.

  • MyPhoneExplorer - As above but you also have the ability to extract your apps. I dont thing the App Data is recovered but I have not tested this.
  • Titanium Backup - This is the best software for Backing Up and Restoring Apps and their data. This process can allow you easily to backup on one phone and then restore it to the new phone which effectively moves all of you Apps and their data. I am not sure if you can use this to transfer data other than Apps. When using Titanium Backup watch out for App compatabilities. Ssome apps will not work on newer/older versions of android etc..
  • Nandroid Backup? Can you just doa  data backup - I am not sure how you can use this as a backup and restore feature but it does nevertheless backup your data
  • Manual backup of the dat folder - a bit messy

Instructions

This method requires root but transfers Call Logs/SMS Messages/Calendar/Contacts/Apps/App Data

My setup:

  • Rooted Samsung Galaxy S2 running Cyanogenmod
  • I already use MyPhoneExplorer to sync all my data (Call Logs/SMS Messages/Calendar/Contacts)
  • My Target Phone is a Rooted Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with a virgin (not intialised/first run/factory reset) Cyangogenmod ROM

What i Did:

Backed up the Data from the Old Phone (Samsung S2)

  1. Installed Titanium backup and backed up all of my apps to the external SD Card (if you do not have an external SD Card you can use the internal one and copy using the phones USB mode)
  2. Disabled all wireless on my S2 and removed the SIM card
  3. Synced my S2 to MyPhoneExplorer and Outlook via USB
  4. I did a backup from MyPhoneExplorer windows software which includes Call Logs/SMS Messages/Calendar/Contacts
    • The software on the phone and windows must be running for this to work
    • Make sure you run a backup on MyPhoneExplorer because when you switch to a new phone it seems to wipes its local store, it might have it in storage if you ever reconnect your old phone but i am not 100%.
  5. Disconnected the S2 from my PC
  6. Powered off the S2 and extracted the SD Card

Restored the Data to the New Phone (Samsung Note 3)

  1. I Installed the SD Card into the Note 3
  2. Some onscreen instructions will now follow as part of the setup process
  3. When prompted to login in to your Google account, login with your details.
  4. Once you have logged into your Google Account you will be asked to Tap/Bump which you can do if you old phone has NFC and Bluetooth and if you have decided that is how you are going to transfer you data, other wise skip.
  5. When prompted to select a device to download apps and settings from, you should select your old phone (S2).
  6. Most of my Apps that were on my S2 downloaded and installed and possibly some with settings. The calendar and contacts will also sync because they are in my Google account. (NB: apps that no longer exist on Google Play or that are not compatible with your new handset will not download and install)
  7. Once the Apps and settings have all downloaded reboot
  8. Check you still have root with the root checker. If you do not have root follow the instructions below (Cyanogenmod ROMs only):
    • Goto Settings --> About Phone
    • Tap on 'Build number' until the developer options are enabled
    • Click back
    • Go into 'Developer Options'
    • Click on 'Root Access'
    • Select 'Apps only' unless you have another preference.
  9. In 'Developer options'
    • make sure that 'Update Cyanogen recovery' is disabled otherwise when you update you ROM via OTA and some other methods you will replace your Custom Recovery with the Cyanogenmod Recovery.
  10. Enable Install from 'Unknown Sources' in Settings --> Security
  11. Use Titanium Backup to restore your Apps + data you backed up rom the old phone. (This should of downloaded with the app sync)
  12. Disable Install from 'Unknown Sources' in Settings --> Security (optional)
  13. Run the MyPhoneExplorer Android Client
  14. Goto MyPhoneExplorer Android Client settings:
    1. Calendars to sync - disable all but your Google calendar
    2. Contact-Accounts to sync - disable all but your Google contacts
  15. Enter a PIN
  16. Start the Windows MyPhoneExplorer software
  17. Connect the phone to your PC with a USB Cable or to your WIFI - If you want to use WIFI you must disconnect your network from the internet this is to prevent an empty Contacts and Calendar on the phone being synced to your Google Account
  18. You are now prompted for the PIN which you should enter
  19. The MyPhoneExplorer local data store is now emptied (or changed to a blank one for the new phone)
  20. Enter a name for your new phone i.e. Note 3 - Cyanogenmod
  21. Click OK
  22. Goto Extras --> Restore backup and select the MyPhoneExplorer you made earlier, click Open
  23. An error message now appears Ignore this and click OK. There will be no issues.
    The selected backup was originally created with another type of phone. Compatibility problems may occur!
  24. Click 'Restore Backup'
  25. If you are using Outlook for your emails and you sync your contacts and calendar with Outlook you will need to setup the sync rules again to point to Outlook. I would also make sure that each of the syncs are set to Prompt for all changes, this is especially important the first few times you run the MyPhoneExplorer (Sync. File --> Settings --> Sync) set Contacts/Events and tasks/Notes to sync with Outlook. I would also check the sync settings are to your tastes, my preference is to sync both directions but allow me to check each change.
  26. Run Multi-Sync
  27. Put your network back on the internet / Unplug the USB cable
  28. Done

All of your data and settings are back on your phone.

Moving your data links

How To Identify your Phone's Model

You need to identify the correct model of your phone so you know which files to download for the following procedures.

  • When you first turn on your phone you might see the model number such as SM-N9005 for the Note 3.

or

  • Goto Settings --> General --> About Device
  • You will find the Model number on this page

Bootloader Specific ROM?

I do not know of any other way of figuring this out. Each carrier can have their own Bootloader and this seems very specific requiring a different ROM.

i.e.

  • International (hlte)
  • T-Mobile (hltetmo)

If you download a ROM and try flashing it, TWRP will tell you if you have the wrong ROM and what the correct one should be without any flashing or causing any issues. This is a quick and easy way of figuring out the exact ROM you need.

or If you

  • goto Settings --> About phone
  • and look at the Build number you might see some helpful codes here.

Rooting

What is Rooting

Basically rooting is the process giving you admin access on your phone by altering key files so that you can do more stuff which the phone providers do not want you to do. It is very similiar to making your account on your windows PC and administrator account

Rooting is just pushing an apk and a binary in /system partition.

  • When you root your device, the first thing you should do is make a backup of your EFS partition before you start flashing your device.
  • Rooting you Samsung Note 3 with pop the Knox couter and it cannot be reset and this voids your warranty.
  • Rooting your phone will void your warranty.

Different ways of rooting

    • Chainfire's Auto Root method
    • Flash a pre-rooted kernel (that is compatible with your device) via ODIN
    • Flash a custom recovery via ODIN and then flash a rooted ROM
    • Fully flash a new ROM via ODIN tha has a rooted kernel

Before rooting your phone

  • Do a full backup via your hardware provider's software (i.e. kies) and this might back the EFS partition up?
  • Backup all of your data (see below for non-root methods)

Rooting Notes

  • Using the chainfire method to gain root access will not cause the EFS partition to become corrupt because it only addressess 1 partition and Rooting is just pushing an apk and a binary in /system partition. The EFS is located on it's own partition so should not be touched.
  • When you flash a custom ROM, if that ROM has root access, your phone will become rooted. A ROM will usually flash a custom kernel with root access already configured.
  • Updating a phone with a stock ROM can remove root because it sometimes replaces the modified files that are required for root. This does not always happen but it is a safe bet to assume this as Official ROMs do not come with root.

Instructions (Chainfire Method)

  1. Make sure you phone has 100% battery or nearly full
  2. Make sre Samsung Kies 3 is installed for the Phone's USB drivers
  3. Watch this official video from XDA developers on how to root your phone using the chainfire method -  How to Root the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 - YouTube and follow the instructions
    • Download the correct file for your phone from the CF-Auto-Root Website and unzip it
    • Turn the phone off
    • Start the phone in download mode by holding (down + Home + Power) at the same time until you feel vibration
    • click 'Volume Up' to continue
    • run ODIN in the extracted files from chainfire
    • plug the phone in to your computer with a USB cable
    • Windows will now install drivers for the phone in download mode and ODIN will recognise the phone
    • Click on the 'PDA' button in ODIN and browsefor the mds file in the package which should be in the package directory you just ran ODIN from
    • click the start button
    • the process should take no more than 30 seconds and should say PASS when it is done
    • The phone will reboot into the recovery mode and apply all of the require patches
    • The phone will then restart and load Android. You will notice that Android will appear to upgrade an app
    • check 'Super SU' is installed and that you have root rights
      • If Titanium Backup loads without moaning you have root rights
      • or you can use Root Checker
    • Done (you now have a rooted phone)

Rooting Links

Backing up the EFS Partition

Th EFS partition stores all of the phones hardware configurations set at the factory such as IMEI and MAC addresses, this is very important. Flashing a bad ROM can cause this partition to get lost, although it does not happen with every flash it only takes 1 bad flash which could even be your first. So i suggesst that the first thign you do is backup the EFS partition, several times. To back it up you need root access. The least risky method of getting root access is the chainfire method. I would also install the EFS backup app on your phone even before you root it so as soon as your phone is rooted you can back it up withou any fuss.

EFS Backup apps

Instructions

  1. make sure you have a blank SD card in your phone (you can use the internal one if you want but it is not removable)
  2. install a EFS backup app on your phone from the play stoy (add here) samsung note series (and possibly other phones) need more than the efs backing up now for the imei number
  3. root phone via chainfire method (pushes the apk to system partition) - this does not alter partitions so is reasonable safe
    • install kies for the drivers
    • download the auto installer from chainfire
    • downloads the right image for your device from chain fire
    • attach the dew video
    • proceeed with caution
  4. backup EFS via an app to the external SD card
  5. extract the SD-Card and place the file on you computer or somewhere safe
  6. install a custom recovery parttion and perform a full nandroid backup (optional)

you now have a rooted phone with the EFS partition backed up, and it is safe to flash custom roms

Backing up EFS Notes

  • so it looks like, root your phone, backup your efs partition before flashing ROMs as this is the most likely caused of loosing the efs information
  • flashing a recovery would also not affect the EFS (see link) but to do this you would already be rooted, you can perhaps flash the recovery directly via ODIN (not tested or recommended)
  • flashing corrupt/dodgy ROMs is what causes the EFS partition to get corrrupt.
  • If there is no way other than to flash a ROM to get root then that is what you need to do. {add the various notes here}

Backing up EFS Links

Flash a Custom Recovery

I believe that Custom Recoveries are phone specific rather than generic.

Different Flashing Methods

Now that you have root on your phone you need to flash a custom recovery so you can upgrade your ROM easily. Tehre a couple of ways of doing that.

  1. Use ODIN to flash a Custom Recovery
  2. Use an App to flash a Custom Recovery (this requires root)
    1. Rashr - How to ROOT Samsung Galaxy NOTE 3 EASILY! - YouTube | wwjoshdew @ 12.33 - This will allows you to flash CWM/TWRP/Philz/Stock Recoveries
    2. Clockworkmod ROM Manager - Flash your recovery to the latest and greatest ClockworkMod recovery amongst other things. There is also a Pro version with more features.

Different Recoverys

Instructions - ClockworkMod Recovery via Clockworkmod ROM Manager

This method did not work for me, the Recovery does not get updated. I only tried with the non-touch version.

This is what i did an prefer as it is easier but remeber the phone must be rooted.

  1. Backup all of you data (optional)
  2. Install Clockworkmod ROM Manager from the Play Store
  3. Open Clockworkmod ROM Manager and it will prompt you with the following message
    To get started using ROM Manager, you must first set up a custom recovery......
  4. Click on "INSTALL OR UPDATE RECOVERY" --> ClockworkMod Recovery
    • I need to select this option because I do not have a Custom Recovery installed
    • If at this point you do have either ClockworkMod Recovery or Team Win Recovery Project installed you should select the appropriate option at the bottom under RECOVERY ALREADY INSTALLED
  5. You now need to confirm your phone model by clicking on the appropriate option.
    • The model should be the only one listed
    • My model lists HLTE
    • If it is not listed you will need to click "Device Not Listed Above" and perhaps select another Recovery software
  6. You will now be prompted to enable "Flash ClockworkMod Touch"
    • The most advanced ClockworkMod Recovery available. Features full touch control.
    • This seems to be a paid feature via the Google Play store as an in APP purchase or is free form the ClockworkMod website
    • I will be leaving this off for now because i am old fashioned
  7. Confirm your options are correct and then click "Flash ClockworkMod Recovery"
  8. The Recovery will now be downloaded to you phone and flashed
    • this will require an internet connection
    • the recovery flash file will be saved/cached on your phone so you will not have to download it again or you can keep it for later
  9. Once downloaded the flashing process will request root access, grant this.
  10. The recovery will now be flash and when finished will give you the message
    Successfully flashed
    ClockworkMod recovery!
  11. Click OK
  12. If you did not install the touch version you will get the message
    The ClockworkMod Touch Recovery upgrade is available for your device. Upgrade your recovery via a simple in app purchase!
  13. Click Cancel not to install "ClockworkMod Touch Recovery"
  14. Done!

Instructions - ClockworkMod Recovery via Rashr

This is a very simple method

  1. Watch this video -  How to ROOT Samsung Galaxy NOTE 3 EASILY! - YouTube | wwjoshdew @ 12.33
  2. Install Rashr via the Play store
  3. Open Rashr on your phone
  4. Grant Super User / Root permissions if requested
  5. Click on 'CWM Recovery'
  6. Select the appropriate Recovery option, for my Note 3 I can either choose ClockworkMod Touch 6.0.4.8 (hlte) or ClockworkMod 6.0.4.8 (hlte)

Instructions - TWRP Recovery via Rashr - (recommended)

This is a very simple method

  1. Watch this video - How to ROOT Samsung Galaxy NOTE 3 EASILY! - YouTube | wwjoshdew @ 12.33
  2. Install Rashr via the Play store
  3. Open Rashr on your phone
  4. Grant Super User / Root permissions if requested
  5. Click on 'TWRP Recovery'
  6. Select the appropriate Recovery option, for my Note 3 I choose TWRP 2.8.6.0 (hltetmo-4.4)

Flashing Custom Recovery Notes

  • When exiting ClockworkMod Recovery you are prompted with a message
    Root access possibly lost. Fix?
      THIS CAN NOT BE UNDONE.
    This issue can be caused by version differences of the SU files and differences in the  validation routines of the ClockworkMod Recovery and it's various versions. Do not apply the fix. If when you boot into the Android OS you have lost root for some reason you can always go back to the ClockworkMod Recovery partition and then apply the fix.

Flashing Cyanogenmod

  • Do a nandroid backup of your offcial ROM with root just incase things go wrong. This prevents you having to re-root if you need to reflash the stock ROM.
  • You should always do you nandroid backup  to an external SD card where possible before flashin your new ROM, especially the rooted cutom ROM
  • These instructions assume you already have root

Instructions

  1. If upgrading to cCyanogenmod on the same phone (optional)
    • Sync with MyPhoneExplorer
    • Perform a backup from MyPhoneExplorer windows software which includes Call Logs/SMS Messages/Calendar/Contacts
    • Backup your Apps + Apps Data with Titanium Backup to your external SD Card (if you dont have one use the internal SD Card)
  2. Download the correct Cyanogenmod ROM for your phone and then copy it to the SD card
  3. Download the correct copy of GAPPS for your version of Android and then copy it to the SD Card (PICO version is fine)
  4. Restart phone in to ClockworkMod or TWRP Recovery (Vol Up + Home + Power)
  5. Perform full backup (Nandroid backup) to your external SD Card (if you dont have one use the internal SD Card)
  6. If you have used the internal SD Card for any backups you now need to copy them to your PC
  7. Restart phone in to ClockworkMod or TWRP Recovery (if required)  (Vol Up + Home + Power)
  8. Flash the Cyanogenmod ROM
    • TWRP Recovery
      • Click on Install
      • Browse to where you have saved your CyanogenMod ROM
      • Click 'Add More Zips'
      • Select the GAPPS file
      • Swipe on 'Swipe to Confirm Flash'
      • Potential Errors that now might occur here:
        • You might at this point get an error message saying the ROM is not right for your device if you have not got the correct one - So make a note of what type of device TWRP identifies your phone as. (i.e. mine is hltetmo) and repeat this section with the correct ROM.
        • Can't install this package on top of incompatible data. Please try another package or run a factory reset. - Basically you need to backup you applications with Titanium Backup, then wipe the Data partition before repeating this section again. To fix this load into the TWRP Recovery and click Wipe, and then perfomr the Factory Reset by swiping (make sure you have a backup of your data), then click Back and perform the TWRP Flash Section again
      • If all goes well you should now have a Successful message
      • Click 'Wipe Cache/Dalvik'
      • Swipe to Wipe
      • Once completed click Back
      • Click Reboot System
      • Done
  9. The ROM will now load, install and configure it's self

Your ROM is now updated, If you have data to restore you should now follow the second part of the "Moving your data from your old phone to your new one" section

Flashing Cyanogenmod Notes

  • After flashing the CM ROM the Recovery Partition might of been replaced by the CM Recovery. In Cyanogenmod settings you can enable a setting that will prevent the future replacement of the Custom Recovery with the CM Recovery. If it has been replaced the Recovery Partition will need to be replaced again with ClockworkMod Recovery if you want that to be you Custom Recovery. The CM recovery is Ok.
  • If ClockworkMod fails to flash, just use one of the other custom recoveries.
  • There are 2 way to flash a ROM
    1. zip - Using a custom recovery you can update your ROM there
    2. img - this is done via ODIN and is a bit tricky. This should only be used when you have bricked your phone as it could also potential brick your phone. Do not use this method unless you have a backup of your EFS partition and preferable also a Nandroid Backup
  • Cyanogenmod says upgrading to 12.1 from below 5.0 you have to wipe your data. This prevents incompatibilities because there are too many differences.
  • The 12.1 ROM I installed had a mandatory recovery update applied even though on my v11 version of cyanogenmod had "Update Cyanogen Recovery" was set to off, yet i received the new recovery. Maybe there is a workaround like with mobile odin and not flashing recovery.

Flashing Cyanogenmod Links

My Overview Instructions - What I Did

I will overview the whole process here that i used to move my Data etc.. from my Rooted Galaxy S2 to a new Stock Galaxy Note 3 that I rooted and upgraded to Cyanogenmod 12 (Android 5.1.1)

On the S2 (Old Phone)

  1. Removed my SIM card and disabled wireless on my S2
  2. Backed up all of my Apps + data to my external SD Card with Titanium Backup
  3. Synced my Call Logs/SMS Messages/Calendar/Contacts with MyPhoneExplorer
  4. Did a MyPhoneExplorer backup on my windows PC
  5. Powered of the S2 and extracted the SD Card

On the Note 3 (New Phone)

  1. I installed the SD Card into my Note 3
  2. Rooted the phone with the Chainfire method
  3. backed up the EFS partition and the 2 modem firmwares with an app and copied the backups to my PC
  4. Installed TWRP Custom Recovery via Rashr app
  5. I downloaded Cyanogenmod ROM and GApps for my phone and copy them onto the SD Card
  6. I booted into the TWRP Recovery
  7. Factory reset the phone
  8. Installed / Flashed the Cyanogenmod ROM and GApps for my phone
  9. Booted Andorid and logged into my Android account Skipping Tap/Bump
  10. Selected my Samsung S2 to download recent settings and apps from.
  11. Enabled Root in developer options for Apps only
  12. Restored Apps + Data with Titanium Backup
  13. Once the apps had all downloaded i disabled WIFI
  14. Plugged in phone to windows PC
  15. On the phone i setup a PIN in the MyPhoneExplorer Client and then followed the promts in the windows software
  16. I restored the S2 MyPhoneExplorer backup to MyPhoneExplorer ignoring error messages
  17. I configured the sync operations to point to Outlook (only required if you have outlook)
  18. I Synced my phone and Outlook with MyPhoneExplorer via USB cable

Done !!!

Cyanogenmod ROMs

You will need to download the appropriate ROM for your phone/kernel.

ROM Notes

If it all goes wrong!

So if the upgrade goes wrong and you want to go backto your old setup but your do not have ClockworkMod Recovery installed, but you have the CM Recovery do the following:

  • Make sure that the v11 ROM (or other) is on your SD card
  • Boot into the CM recovery
  • Apply the ROM
  • Power down
  • Boot into recovery mode which should now be clockworkmod again
  • Restore your backup

!!! done

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Tuesday, 20 October 2015 20:32

JDownloader - "Hoster" should display hoster name and not just the icon

I noticed that on the downloads window, under the "hoster" row all I can see is the icon, which in 99% the cases I can't figure which hoster it refers too". Is it possible to get the hoster name again?

Solution

  1. Goto settings --> Advanced Settings
  2. Filter by pasting in: GraphicalUserInterfaceSettings: Show Full Hostname
  3. Set GraphicalUserInterfaceSettings: Show Full Hostname to true
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Tuesday, 20 October 2015 16:20

Error 9C59 When Installing Internet Explorer 10

When trying to install IE 10 you receive the error 9C59, here are a list of things you can try.

Possible solutions and relevant links

Examples of what people did

My Solution

The package manager command was what fixed it for me but it is definately worth running all of the solutions because it could be one or a few of them that fix this issue

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Tuesday, 20 October 2015 15:37

Configure HTTrack to mirror websites

This article will give you the settings to get HTTrack just to scrape your chosen website without trying to download the whole internet. HTTrack is powerful but needs to be setup correctly to get the best results.

Solution / Explanation

Scan Rules Tab

  • This is a good generic rule set
    +*.png +*.gif +*.jpg +*.jpeg +*.css +*.js -ad.doubleclick.net/* -mime:application/foobar +mime:text/html +mime:image/*
  • This is a good generic rule set but restricted to a particular domain
    +*.png +*.gif +*.jpg +*.jpeg +*.css +*.js -ad.doubleclick.net/* -mime:application/foobar +mime:text/html +mime:image/*
-*[name].templates.joomla-monster.com/*
  • To just get images and html use 
    -* +mime:text/html +mime:image/*

Limits Tab

  • Maxmimum mirroring depth = empty
    • this prevents httrack going offsite
    • 0 =  scrape everything, the first page is 1 subsequent pages, and images are 2 etc..
  • Maximum external depth = empty
    • this sets the depths of the external website that should be scanned
    • 0 =  scrape everything, the first page is 1 subsequent pages, and images are 2 etc..

Flow Control Tab

  • Number of connections = 4
    • this prevents the scrapping getting flagged b ecause of to many connections
    • Keep connections persistent = yes

Links Tab

  • Attempt to detect all links = yes
  • Get non-HTML files related to a link, eg external zip or pictures = yes
    • will get images, etc even if off site..
  • Get HTML files first = yes
    • this gets the html first just incase httrack gets blocked.

Build Tab

  • No external Pages = no
    • Rewrite all external links (links that needs an Internet connection) so that there can be a warning page before ("Warning, you need to be online to go to this link..")Useful if you want to separate the local and online realm

Browser ID Tab

  • I use this browser ID string for better results 
    Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:56.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/56.0
  • HTML Footer = none
    • this removes the HTTtrack mesage from the footer
  • Language = en.*
  • Default referer = https://www.google.co.uk/

Spider Tab

  • Spider: no robots.txt rules
    • we want everything

 

Leave everything else as default

 

Notes

  • SquareSpace is using javascript to render the assets on the page so HTTrack can not download these.

Example Config

This is my working configuration for HTTrack, try it on a demo site before doing anything large.

To use this

  • create a file called HTTrack working options.opt
  • paste the code in below
  • Goto (Preferences-->Load Options)
  • select the file you have just created
  • build your project and it will use the new options

You can save these as your default options by clicking (Preferences-->Save default options)

Near=1
Test=0
ParseAll=1
HTMLFirst=1
Cache=1
NoRecatch=0
Dos=0
Index=1
WordIndex=0
MailIndex=0
Log=1
RemoveTimeout=0
RemoveRateout=0
KeepAlive=1
FollowRobotsTxt=0
NoErrorPages=0
NoExternalPages=0
NoPwdInPages=0
NoQueryStrings=0
NoPurgeOldFiles=0
Cookies=1
CheckType=1
ParseJava=1
HTTP10=0
TolerantRequests=0
UpdateHack=1
URLHack=1
StoreAllInCache=0
LogType=0
UseHTTPProxyForFTP=1
Build=0
PrimaryScan=3
Travel=1
GlobalTravel=0
RewriteLinks=0
BuildString=%%h%%p/%%n%%q.%%t
Category=Ripped Web Sites
MaxHtml=
MaxOther=
MaxAll=
MaxWait=
Sockets=4
Retry=
MaxTime=
TimeOut=
RateOut=
UserID=Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:56.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/56.0
Footer=(none)
AcceptLanguage=en, *
OtherHeaders=
DefaultReferer=https://www.google.co.uk/
MaxRate=25000
WildCardFilters=+*.png +*.gif +*.jpg +*.jpeg +*.css +*.js -ad.doubleclick.net/* -mime:application/foobar
Proxy=
Port=
Depth=
ExtDepth=
MaxConn=
MaxLinks=
MIMEDefsExt1=
MIMEDefsExt2=
MIMEDefsExt3=
MIMEDefsExt4=
MIMEDefsExt5=
MIMEDefsExt6=
MIMEDefsExt7=
MIMEDefsExt8=
MIMEDefsMime1=
MIMEDefsMime2=
MIMEDefsMime3=
MIMEDefsMime4=
MIMEDefsMime5=
MIMEDefsMime6=
MIMEDefsMime7=
MIMEDefsMime8=
CurrentUrl=
CurrentAction=0
CurrentURLList=

Links

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Tuesday, 20 October 2015 14:40

Remove 'Added by HTTrack'

When you use HTTrack to rip websites the software has to translate pages in to html pages with a defined extension of .html

When it creates the pages it adds some custom meta tags in for some reason. According to the HTTrack forums these addtions cannot be turned off which causes messy code.

I want to remove the <!-- Added by HTTrack --> stuff

Index Pages (ie index.html)

<!-- Added by HTTrack --><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8" /><!-- /Added by HTTrack -->

Other Pages (before <head> and after </body>)

<!-- Created by HTTrack Website Copier/3.48-21 [XR&CO'2014] -->

Solutions

Turn off 'HTML footer'

you can remove the 'Created by HTTrack....' comments before the <head> tag and after the </body> tag by doing the following before ripping the site

  1. Goto 'Set Options'
  2. Select the 'Browser ID' Tab
  3. Set 'HTML Footer' to (none)

WinHTTrack Browser ID Tab

Some Command Line Switches

You can use some command line switches when ripping a website to prevent the comments being added but they are not perfect or complete.

  • --preserve  :  You can you can turn off the page link and charset rewrite using this option but it forces the site to be generated using -K4 option, that preserves the original links. I am not 100% if it removes the <!-- Added by HTTrack -->
  • --footer " "  : This swith basically swaps the footer tag output (and i guess the <head> tag) with nothing, a workaround more than an option
    • the space in --footer" " might be optional for this trick to work

After Rip

To remove the 'content-type...' meta tag and <!-- Added by HTTrack --> added by HTTrack you will have to do one of the following as there is no in-built fix for this. It might be added on purpose to make sure that the web pages load.

  1. Remove the new tags manually with a text editor
  2. Write a script with a programming language using regex to find and remove the offending meta tags
  3. Use a text replace utility such as ecobyte Replace Text

Links

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Tuesday, 20 October 2015 13:09

Windows Explorer Custom Toolbars Greyed out

I completely reset my IE7 settings. However, after doing this, all my custom Windows Explorer toolbars and explorer bar panes (ie. QT Toolbar, findeXer, QT Addressbar and Roboform Bar) and Roboform toolbar for IE7 is greyed-out. I can't select it. I have tried reinstalling but that doesn't work.

Solution

  1. Go to Tools
  2. Manage Add-ons
  3. Enable or disable Add-ons?
  4. If the ones you want are listed there, are they disabled? If so, enable them.
Published in Windows General
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Sunday, 11 October 2015 13:04

VLC Player - Increase volume range

In older version of VLC you were able to increase the volume quite a lot but now it seems restricted to 125%, this can be changed.

  1. Tools -> Preferences (Show settings = All) -> Interface -> Main interfaces -> Qt
  2. Then at the very bottom of the right panel set the "Maximum Volume displayed" option.
  3. Save, exit and restart VLC.
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Sunday, 11 October 2015 11:13

My Firefox Performance Notes

There are some workaround or options that you can do to improve the perfromance of Firefox. Workarounds can be a personal choice.

Causes

The main culprits for Firefox hanging or running slow are Flash/Add-ons/On-Page Javascripts.

I have listed all possibly issues below:

  • Add-ons / Extensions - (the ones you get from Add-ons for Firefox).
    • NoScript
    • Web Developer Toolbar
    • Firebug
    • LastPass - This does a lookup for each page back to their server (I think!)
    • Extensions that work on a per-tab can in particular cause hanging when loading new tabs because they are starting a new instance of themselves. They also can affect performance.
    • Rapport - A UK banking Security software. Very disk intensive and is always doing stuff.
  • Add-ons / Plugins
    • Flash
  • Javascript - This is not so much a problem with Firefox but can cause massive performance issues by taking a singl page from 3mb to 96mb.
  • Mis-configuration in about:config
  • Corrupt Firefox Application Files
  • Antivirus
    I would not recommend blindly browsing the internet withou antivirus, but you should look at the settings to see if anything can cause issues in Firefox.
    • HIPS in Comodo
  • Virus / Malware - There is a chance you Firefox has been infected
  • Hardware Acceleration - If Firefox does not play nice with your graphics card then this setting could potentially cause issues with page rendering.
  • Proxy / Connection Settings - If firefox spends time looking up a Proxy that either does not exist or runs slow you perfromance will depends on this system.
  • Enable HTTP Piping - This is a new technology so is more an improvement but also depends on servers supporting it.

Solutions

  • Disable Extensions 1 by 1 until Firefox runs better - You might also find a difference by uninstalling the Add-on rather than just disabling it. Start with the list from about as they are the most likely.
  • Disable all Add-ons / Plugins - Start with flash
  • Reset the Firefox back to factory -  you will loose all of your data
  • Use uBlock Origin - this will block most junk Javascript on all pages reducing the amount of RAM they use.
  • Scan for Virus and Malware - Remove any infections that have hooked into Firefox.
  • Wireshark - Scan all outgoing traffic when using Firefox and see if there are any external calls that you dont recognise that potential can be causing hanging.
  • Tab Memory Usage Diagnostics - Use an Add-on to see which Tab is using all of the RAM. It is surprising to see the amount of RAM some pages use. The more RAM the slower you browsing experience will be.
  • Disable Hardware Acceleration - Options --> Advanced --> 'Use hardware acceleration when available'
  • Disable Proxy - Options --> Advanced --> Network Tab --> 'Connection - Settings' - set to 'No Proxy'. It was set to 'Use system proxy settings'

My Recommendations

These are the settings that worked well for me

  • Ublock Origin - Unblock ads for sites that you want to support but this reduces your memory footprint massively.
  • Set the Shockwave Flash Plugin to prompt me to allow it to run - Stops dodgy badly written, CPU intensive Flash from running but gives you the option if you need it for things like video sites withou having to dig into settings. Flash is getting phased out for HTML5.
  • Disabled HIPS in Comodo CIS - when I browse normally i leave this on
  • Disabled the following Add-ons
    • NoScript
    • Web Developer Toolbar
    • Firebug
    • LastPass - I put it back on for normal browsing
    • Rapport - This is not a good thing to do because bank security is better than performance.
  • Disable Hardware Acceleration

Links

Firefox / Tabs Hanging

Ram Disk / RAM as cache

I have not really used this but the main feature of this is that instead of using your swap file for holding pages you can store everything in RAM. If you have a SSD you might not see that much improvement.

Flash

Add-ons

General

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Sunday, 11 October 2015 10:22

Fixing Firefox Memory Leaks

Most performance issues are caused by memory leaks and these are usualy caused by extensions or add-ons. I will outline how to try and find out what extensions or plugin is causing the rising memory usage. Once you have read this article you will find this process a lot easier rahter than taking a stab in the dark.  These instructions more than a fix help you idetify the cause of the problem which is fixed by removing (disabling might work) the offending extension or add-on.

Usual culprits

There are a few addons and extensions that are usual causes of slow performance or memory leaks so i will list them here

Add-ons

  • All ad-blocking plugins, uBlock, uBlock Origin, AdBlock, AdBlock Plus etc...
  • No-Script
  • Firebug
  • LastPass
  • Web-Developer Toolbar

Extensions

  • Flash

Others Culprits

Any add-on or extension that does a look-up per page will slow things down especially if the remote server they are querying is slow or un-responsive.

What can I do?

Disable the usual culprits

This is an easy method, just disable all of the usual culprits and see if things improve.

Disable Add-ons 1 by 1

The usual advice is to diable you add-ons 1 by 1 and see which is causing the perfromance hot or massive use of memory. This will work but can take many hours of disabling a single plugin and then using Firefox to see if it runs correctly.

You could conversly disable all add-ons and then enable them 1 by 1, see if Firefox runs correctly and then move on to the next addons.

This method can take forever because you need to make sure that Firefox is running correctly and you need to do this for above 30minutes to make sure there are no issues.

Analyse the Memory usage / Use Addons to find the culprit

This is my prefered method. Use the following methods and tools to analyse what is actually using memory.

Addons

To see what is using the ram you can install add-ons listed below, which will give you data for each tab you are using and/or you can view per add-ons ram usage. After installing these addons use firefox for a while until it slows down and then have alook at the tab information to see if there are any obvious candidates and then you can move on to seeing which addon is using the ram. Once you find a candidate, disable it, restart Firefox and continue using to see if the performance issue is fixed

In-Built to Firefox

Only experts can use the infromation here to identify what is using all of the ram, and those people will know how to use this. I dont know hwo to use this information so anything i say would just be guessing.

  • about:memory - if you go to this page you will see some raw data about memory usage (expert only)

Links

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