If you are not happy with the stock android software that came with your Samsung handset and want to add more spices to it, then flashing becomes an inevitable part at one point of time. Also, being able to flash stock firmwares on a handset has it's own advantages. Apart from the fact that flashing is risky and can sometime lead to a bricked handset --if not done properly-- there are probably no cons of it. The pros include the ability to revive/recover a handset from the state of soft brick or from the screen of death, manually upgrade the firmware of your handset with the latest update available and fix almost all software related problems.

Odinatrix Tool/Utility - Helps prepare Odin flashable tar files.

So, if you are an advance user messing with your handset now and again, then flashing is the best process you can familiarize yourself with. This has been possible and quite simple, thanks to the sites like samfirmware.com and/or sampro.pl on the web, as they provide Samsung smartphones users with required flashing tools (Odin and corresponding .pit or .ops file) as well as downloads for official stock firmwares.

However, not all handsets can be flashed and not all firmwares provided at these site can be used directly with Odin firmware flashing tool. The 'i' models of various galaxy series such as Galaxy Mini/Pop GT-S5570i (aka. Pop Plus, Mini Plus, Next Turbo and other common names around the world), Galaxy Ace GT-S5830i (aka Ace Plus) as well as Galaxy Young S5630 smartphones users seem to have problem flashing firmwares from samfirmware.com directly using Odin. This is where Odinatrix steps in and saves your day :D

Thanks to an ACervellati and Doc_cheilvenerdi.org for creating and sharing this awesome tool/script that takes the firmwares provided by samfirmware.com and then convert it into Odin flashable firmwares files. Like SplitFUS2 tool, Odinatrix also splits the given one package firmware into multiple .tar files that can be then used to flash your phone. However, they are different from one another: Odinatrix is for Windows while SplitFUS2 is especially for Linux. Though the latter can be operated in windows PC with the help of Cygwin, it is quite difficult and tedious process to setup everything for beginners and this is where Odinatrix wins the game. So, I recommend using Odinatrix to prepare Odin flashable files from the firmware you download from samfirmware or other similar sites.

Another advantage of Odinatrix is that it seems to support a wide range of samsung devices. It supports splitting of firmwares for Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830i model, Galaxy Pop/Mini GT-S5570i model as well as for Samsung Galaxy Y GT-S5630 model. With this tool, you can split a single .tar or .tar.md5 firmware file into multiple .tar files which afterwards can be used for CSC, PHONE and PDA fields in Odin Multidownloader tool to flash your handset with official firmware.

Is Odinatrix really useful? How do I get started?

1. Download Odinatrix and then extract it on your Desktop or on any place you prefer.
   

   File Name: Odinatrix-WINDOWS.zip
   File Size: 3.16 MB

2. Now download the firmware for your device released for your region from samfirmware.com or other similar sites. 
3. Once you get the firmware zip, extract it and you'll get a .tar.md5 or .tar file on your PC. 
4. Copy this file inside the Odinatrix directory that was created while extracting the Odinatrix tool in Step 1.
5. When everything is set, open/double-click the runme.bat executable file.
6. You'll be presented with a command window with few instructions. Make sure you read the whole of the information and meet all the requirements. 
7. When you are ready, press enter key and it will look for the firmware file in the directory it is currently in. So, if you haven't yet copied the .tar or .tar.md5 file to this directory then do so now and try again.
8. If Odinatrix finds a firmware, then it'll list it in the command window and ask you to press any key to proceed. 

Confirm TAR Processing Prompt - Press Enter to continue.

9. Press Enter key and it'll examine if the firmware has a deformed header or not. That is, if it can be flashed directly using Odin or not. If it has good tar header or if it can be flashed via Odin then, it will say so and exit the process. Else, it'll begin the process of splitting the firmware (.tar.md5) file into multiples .tar files files as well as create a single .tar.md5 file having good header, which is what the developers refer to as sanitizing of archives.
10. The process will take long time (about 30-60 minutes), so you'll need to wait patiently.
11. When done, it'll show the following result (as seen in the image below) and you'll get three .tar files and one .tar.md5 file in the output folder within your Odinatrix directory.

Odinatrix Processing Completed information with exit prompt.

Odinatrix is done with the task. So, what next?

Odinatrix Final Output after sanitization of firmware is completed

Well, now that odinatrix has successfully processed your firmware archive and sanitized it, you are ready to flash your handset with stock samsung firmware. If you go to the output folder within Odinatrix directory, you should see four files (see image aside), one a full package .tar.md5 file and remaining .tar files each for using as PDA, PHONE and CSC in your respective version of Odin tool while flashing.

So, you are now ready to flash official samsung firmware on your galaxy series of smartphone. Just get the version of Odin that is suitable for (or supported by) your smart phone and then run it on your PC and :

1. Load respective .ops/.pit file on OPS/PIT field.
2. Load PDA_SXY_SXZ_SXY_HOME.tar file outputted by Odinatrix in PDA field.
3. Load MODEM_SXY_SXZ_SXY_HOME.tar file in PHONE field. 
4. Load CSC_SXY_SXZ_SXY_HOME.tar file in CSC field.

   Where, X= 4 or 5 digit Model Number
                Y= 5 digits PDA Version
                 Z= 5 digits CSC Version
   Example : X=5570I , Y=DDLD2, Z=DDLD2

5. When everything is ready, connect your phone in download mode to your PC. 
6. Press Start button after odin recognizes your device.
7. Wait for few minutes (about 5-6 mins) till the firmware is downloaded and installed on your smartphone. 
8. When Odin says PASS in upper left box (within Odin) you may disconnect your handset from your Personal Computer and enjoy using latest firmware on your device. 

And we are done with this. Have you come across any other tool fulfilling similar purpose? How was your experience using it? You can share with us your thoughts at the comments below. Also, if you have any doubts regarding odinatrix or the methodology of using it to prepare Odin ready firmware files, then please don't hesitate to leave a comment below.

From past few days, I've seen around different android groups spread via social networks, the issue of downloading mediafire links in android devices. Seeing this it made me think, is this really a big issues at all. Well, I still think it isn't? And, there are probably many different ways download files that are hosted on file sharing site like mediafire on your mobile phone. Below are five easiest methods of downloading such files.

Question :
I bought an 8GB SD Card the other day, but, it didnt work on my galaxy mini. The guy at the shop said that Samsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570 can not handle it. So, I am stuck on my 2gb SD Card.
I just wanted to ask you if partitioning this 2GB SD Card, will I be able to make the partition to 500MB ?
The original 180MB for apps is way too low, and I think I could do with 500MB somehow.
Reply :

The guy at the shop probably didn't know much about it. In fact, Galaxy Mini can support sdcard upto 32 GB, however I don't recommend using it, since your device will load slow as it'll take much time to scan the card and load files. 8 GB or 16 GB memory card should be enough for galaxy mini users. Now, for you case, if you are really not satisfied then, I suggest you pay a visit to some other shops and seek for a 4, 8 or 16 GB card. Don't forget to try it out on the spot. It should work fine.
Note : Some cards need to be formatted before you can see or use them.

Also, yes, you can partition your 2 GB card to create a sd-ext partition of 500 MB which should be enough if you are a normal users. Simply follow the step by step instructions given at this article to partition your sd-card. In case you buy a new card, don't allocate more than 2 GB for your sd-ext partition. 500 MB or 1 GB should be enough for normal users.

Also, it is to be noted that, even if you use sd-ext partition (to preserve your internal memory), it doesn't necessarily mean all apps should be installed in sd-ext/app/ directory. Some apps, which support Androids' app2sd (a new feature introduced by Google with Android 2.2.1 Froyo release, which let's developer to install some or all part of application and data to be stored in sd-card.)  feature will be installed in sd-card as usual. This means, most games will be installed in sd-card which justifies the reason why you shouldn't allot more than 1 GB of memory for your second partition in sd-card.

Good luck and happy partitioning.

Question :
I use CyanogenMod RC 5.7 on my Galaxy Mini/Pop GT-S5570 and No Frills CPU Control App to configure CPU frequencies. And I have a question which is best "governor" and "I/O scheduler" for my galaxy mini?

Reply : 
Well, in cyanogenmod  rc5.7 you can simply configure CPU Settings from within the rom's Settings=>>CyanogenMod Settings=>>Performance=>>CPU Settings options. It provides more configuration option than No Frills CPU control app. But, you can use any according to your preferences.

While, which configuration is better for Governor and I/O Scheduler filed depends upon the use of the device. Most, better and battery efficient configuration is to select SmartAssv2 as Governor and sio as I/O Scheduler. Smartass governor monitors the device's usages regularly and adjust CPU frequency accordingly between Maximum and minimum frequency. This way it will both be efficient for performance as well as battery life.

To optimize your device for efficient battery life, simply set Max. CPU frequency to not more than 700 MHz and minimum CPU frequency to below 300 MHz. Also, you can optimize the Max. CPU screen-off frequency by selecting it to around 400 Mhz. While this will save battery, it might make your device lag while waking up from sleep or in case you use background data and sync continuously even while screen is off. If that is the case then, the normal 600 Mhz or any other frequency near it should be fine.

It is well known that custom roms such as cyanogenmod doesn't come with a task manager. The developers believe android system to be intelligent enough to handle various stages of android activity and thus, manage task properly by itself. However, end users are more interested in managing the task by themselves.

Such users believe that killing task will free more RAM space as well as save their battery and prolong it's life. While it sounds to be true, it is not. Instead killing process that are required for the system will cause them to be loaded again in the memory, which consumes more battery then it would when they were active in the memory. Yes, starting new applications in mobile devices consumes more energy then keeping it alive. So, android handles them quite efficiently by caching frequently used processes. Thus, I'd recommend users not to mess with the running processes and leave everything up to the system to manage them.

However, I'll not end it here. As the title suggests, this article will help you get working task manager in your android custom roms. The task manager app below is tested to be working fine in Samsung Galaxy Mini/Pop GT-S5570, but, it will probably work on other devices too. So, if you are here looking for one, just give it a try.

I've also, posted about getting task manager on custom roms previously at this article. However, users found the process (instructions) mentioned there very difficult to follow. So, in this article, I'll provide you with a simple flashable zip file which you can flash in your custom recovery and get the task done easily. So, let's begin :

• Download Task Manager.zip file from below :
  

  File Name : TaskManager.zip
  File Size : 856 KB
  File Type : Zip | Flashable via Recovery
  Download : Link 1
  

• Copy the downloaded zip file to root directory of your sd-card.
• Reboot your android device to clockwork mod recovery. [Press Home + Power button simultaneously to go to recovery.]
• Select Install Zip From SD-Card => Choose Zip From SD-Card and select the file named TaskManager.zip from the list.
• Wait till it is installed on your system.
• Reboot your device, when everything is done.

That's all. Now you should get Task Manager app on your app drawer. Run the application and manage all the processes as much as you like. However, you might also want to consider my note from above and leave the job to the system. It's all your choice.

Question :
May I know what is ODIN and ROM? There isn't any official firmware upgrade through Samsung Kies. And I don't know how to upgrade my phone. My current device is Samsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570 with android version is 2.2.1 Froyo in it. Also, I'm from Malaysia (if that helps). Can u help me?

Reply :
ODIN is a leaked program for flashing (installing) official Samsung Firmwares (aka. ROMs) on Samsung Handsets. Different versions of Odin are available for different Samsung android smartphone and the choice of the version of Odin depends upon your device's model. As for Galaxy Mini/Pop you need to use Odin Multidownloader v4.38 which can be downloaded from http://yagyagaire.blogspot.com/p/downloads-for-galaxy-mini-gt-s5570.html along with other necessary files including roms and recoveries.

ROM on the other hand stands for Read Only Memory. But, here it doesn't intend to mean the type of memory. Instead, it is used as a synonym to Firmware which is a program stored in read only memory. Or, in more simpler terms ROM here means the system that is running in your handset. There are various ROMs including some from Samsung and other from different users/developers open source community out there. While roms from Samsung are called Official Firmwares, systems from other open source community are called Custom Roms as they are customized from the source code of the official firmwares taken as base.

To upgrade your device, you have to collect Odin, corresponding OPS file and latest firmware from sammobile.com or other leaked firmware distributors. And, once you have all the required files you put your device to download mode (Press Volume Down + Home + Power button while your device is turned off to get to download mode) and then connect it to your PC. After that you need to prepare Odin with the firmware file(s) and press Start button when everything is ready. Your device should be upgraded within few minutes ranging from 5-10 minutes. Note, that you will fail to flash firmware if you don't have proper Samsung drivers installed on your PC. Installing Samsung Kies installs the required drivers along with the software.

That was just an overview of how you flash the firmware on any Samsung device. For your case, (i.e. for Samsung Galaxy Mini GT-S5570 smartphone) you can follow the detailed instructions at this article. However, since you are from Malaysia you will need to replace the firmware (said in the article linked above) with the one that is released for your device from sammobile.com. For this you can check your PDA and baseband by dailing *#*#1234#*#* in your Phone keypad and then noting down the details. Then you can match the first seven digits from the code you obtain with the firmwares available at sammobile. Do let me know if you have any doubts at the comments below.

Question :
My bro is using blackberry mobile. When he sends any mail from mobile to me i'm just observing that message and at the bottom of the mail  I'm seeing like "Sent from black berry".

Whats does that mean and why it is shown? Also, can I have same with android ??

Reply :
That's called signature.... A signature is something that is appended automatically (by an app) at the end of every message you send via the application. It's a common case with forums and other communities and if you have participated in any forums then, you should by now have a fair idea about it. This article on Wikipedia will provide you with enough details needed to know about signature blocks (or simply signature).

However, in messaging it's possible when you use some kind of application to send messages (provided that the app support signatures). Your bro might be using some kind of application too that let's him add a signature at his messages and judging from the above report you made it seems like he also don't have clear idea about it since he is using the default signature (set by the app). And, it seems he is using Blackberry messenger application, if my guess is correct. You can ask him to confirm that.

I've not heard of it being possible with regular SMS.  Similar signature can be used if you want to send messages via Yahoo messenger app, so give it a try. I think Facebook for Mobile, Friend caster app also make use of signatures; however, I've not tried any of those either. Hope that's clear. If it is still unclear let me know at the comments below.

Question :
I own a Samsung Galaxy Mini and heard that it doesn't support official adobe flash player app. I would really love to see flash sites on my device so can you tell me how can I run flash on my handset with stock firmware. I've heard that flash player works on custom android ROMs, so I thought it just might work with stock Gingerbread too.

Reply :
Yes, adobe flash player works fine on custom roms on galaxy mini as well as on other device with ARM v6 CPU. However, I am not sure if it works well on stock Gingerbread firmware. But, you sure can give this a try and see if the flash player works fine on your stock Gingerbread ROM.
Download the files from step 1 and 2 below and then follow rest of the steps to install flash player on your device.
1. Download Adobe flash player version 11 : Adobe_Flash_Player_11.0_(11.0.1.152).apk

2. Download Lib files : Lib.zip

3. Install the flash player app on your handset using adb install command or by copying it to sdcard and then installing it manually.

4. Now, extract the lib.zip file and you will get few lib*.so files.

4. Then, Copy all these lib (*.so) files to /data/data/com.adobe.flashplayer/lib directory(folder).

4. Set permission of lib files as rw-r-r --Read & Write access for Owner and Read only access for Group and Others-- using Root explorer ( I believe you have rooted phone). Or if you are ok with terminal run this command in your terminal emulator or in ADB shell :
busybox chmod -R 644 /data/data/com.adobe.flashplayer/lib

5. Reboot your smartphone and then run a browser and visit any flash site to see if it works.

That's all. You are now ready to enjoy flash within your android device. If the above mentioned steps don't help you then make sure your browser supports flash and flash plugin is not set to off. Dolphin HD and Firefox are great browsers so just try with them. Also, if you are sure everything is set correctly and followed the procedure above correctly but if flash still doesn't appear in the sites then try again by rooting your device.

It should now work fine since someone already tested it a confirmed it to be working. However, do let me know if it works or not at the comments below.

Question :
I have few more concerns about rooting the cell; means I read a lot that you can do anything with one's cell phone once you get root access. But after i rooted my cell, i didn't find any difference. The main difference was that i had access to system files. I don't know what to do with those system files, I can't even manipulate any file, as i have no idea what they do. I thought that after rooting, I will get lots of options in settings menu and all other administrator options. But there weren't any. So, what exactly does rooting do to my smartphone.
Reply :
Rooting exactly is the process of breaking through the security that is put by the OEM on any handset to smart phone. It is just like obtaining root access in your Linux PC or having administrative privileges in Windows system. In other words, rooting provides you with superusers access meaning you will then have the ability to browse system files, edit them, customize your device and take the control of your device in your hands.

Here's are few advantages of rooting your device :

• You get access to system files.
• You get to run many applications and other tweaks [also known as root apps as they require you to have a rooted device to run/function properly.]
• You can remove bloatwares and other system apps that comes pre-installed with your device.
• You can customize your device to your liking (change fonts, themes, etc ) with the help of various apps and tweaks.
• Ability to backup, restore and manage applications and the data.
• And there are many more such as removing ads from applications and browsers, etc.

The real problem with you seem to be you are unknown of how you can do these all things on your android device. In reality, most of the task above require high knowledge and they are done with apps or tweaks in the market. If you just search for root apps in market you should be able to get a helluva lot of them --some for free and some for a price. You can try the fee ones and see what you can do with them. Here (http://yagyagaire.blogspot.com/2011/09/top-ten-android-applications-for-rooted.html) are few apps to name that will help you get started exploiting your rooted smart phone.

While there are many advantages of rooting, like other cases it also has disadvantages. One who doesn't know what he is doing will probably damage his/her device. Rooting provides system access as a result some malwares or applications may steal your private data and information. Not, only that there's also a chance to brick your device if it is not done properly.

Despite these people root their device to enjoy all the freedom they get by rooting. However, rooting will mean nothing to you if you don't know much about and how to use it's power to get the best out of your handset.

Question :
What is root directory? I am instructed to copy a file to root directory at this article (http://yagyagaire.blogspot.com/2011/12/rooting-samsung-galaxy-pop-with.html) but I can't seem to find it. Can you explain it in detail and tell me where can I find it?

Reply :
The root directory is the first or top-most directory in a hierarchy. It can be likened to the root of a tree — the starting point where all branches (other folders or sub-directories) originate. For example : The C:\ drive in your PC is root directory and folders inside it are called child or sub-directories. Similarly, D:\ , E:\ or any other drive are root directories.

In the case of sdcard it's a removable disk that is mounted in your PC. The first window you see by opening it is called root folder and in the article above, you are simply instructed to copy it to this folder and not inside any other folders within the /sdcard/ directory. You can even view this by using root explorer and navigating to root (usually denoted by /) directory.

For your information, you can simply ignore it and just copy and paste it inside sd-card you mounted in your PC.The above article asks you to do so because it is easier to find the file in recovery if you don't paste it inside other folders. Also, some recoveries might not let you navigate inside folders in recovery mode so, it is useful in such situation too.

Hope that was clear. If you still have doubts then this Wikipedia article on root directory should help you learn more.

Question :

Does deleting folders like ".android_secure" on SD card cause interruption while turning on the phone? or Can I delete all the folders on it.

Answer :

No, probably it won't interrupt the booting process --meaning your device will boot fine even if you delete all the folders in sd-card or format your sdcard. However, some of your apps will not work since '.android_secure', Android, data and few other folders (especially those whose name starts with a period(.) sign are created by system (Android OS) and thus are important folders. '.android_secure' folder holds apps that have inbuilt a2sd support and they are installed in sd-card by default even if you don't have any custom a2sd script. Similarly, other folders mentioned holds data/cache along with some parts of applications. So, removing them means making some of the apps disappear from your App Drawer or from functioning them properly. This may require you to re-install all those apps to make them working again.

So, in conclusion it is better not to delete all the folders in your sdcard. But, in case you need to make sure you keep the ones mentioned above and other system folders and remove remaining ones. That would prevent you from having any type of trouble with your device.