How much detail should I include in the methods of my thesis?

For example, I used the Maximum Likelihood algorithm from the R package. This is a small part of my research, in an effort to find which techniques work best for my data and some things I try I will not include in my final program. So if I go into all the details, with equations etc of every single method I try and fail will it not be too much irrelevant information? Could I just give a few lines of description of how the algorithm works without going into too much detail?

How much detail should I include in the methods of my thesis?
It's really up to you. It depends on who you're presenting the thesis to. Some professors will let you slide on the details and others won't. I would suggest you include it just to be on the safe side.