Root Newbie needs help!

[Rodeojones]

Any assistance you can offer me would be much appreciated.

I'm in the process of rooting my Droid. I'm using the technique that Kellex at Droid Life: A Motorola Droid Blog has posted. I liked having a video to follow along with. I installed SPRecovery on my phone with no issues - while running stock 2.1 just like he did in the video. Worked like a charm. Even did a Nandroid backup just to test it out. His next video shows you how to install a custom Rom on a non-rooted phone. Once installed, it will give you root. Seemed like a fool-proof way to go. I went with one of the links to a ROM he had on the page (JRummy's Blue Theme). Downloaded the file, renamed it update.zip and placed in on my SD card (exactly as he did on the video). Next, using SPRecovery, I wiped my data and cache - again doing exactly what he's doing on the video. When I went to install the update.zip file it almost immediately said the install was aborted. Meanwhile, on the video he was having his phone updated with no problems. Did I miss something? I'm not sure if it matters, but I'm using Windows Vista and I downloaded the file from Internet Explorer. I'm also running Helix Launcher 2 as my default home on my Droid. Would any of these cause the update to not work correctly? Any suggestions? Thank you in advance.

 

[bp328i]

Did you select allow install of update zip or something like that, (2nd down) before install update zip (3rd down)?

 

[Rodeojones]

Did you select allow install of update zip (2nd down) before install update zip (3rd down)?

Yes, I did. I followed along with the video, doing everything along with Kellex. I read through the comments on the page I followed and see that I'm not the only one to have had this issue. I'm going to try again to make sure I did indeed do everything correctly.

 

[bp328i]

Hmmm. I just used this http://androidforums.com/all-things-root-droid/63010-how-install-sprecovery-unrooted-2-1-ota.html a few days ago on a friends Droid and then installed NexTheme-ESE81-R3-widgets.zip and had no issues. If you have SPRecovery installed you might just want to try a different ROM.

 

[bp328i]

One more question when you renamed the file on your pc did you name it update or update.zip?

 

[Rodeojones]

Just tried it again and I'm getting the same error. Specifically, it says:
--Install from sdcard--
Finding update package...
Opening update package...
Verifying update package...
E:Can't open /sdcard/update.zip
(No such file or directory)
Installation aborted.

Could the file I'm using be bad?

 

[Rodeojones]

One more question when you renamed the file on your pc did you name it update or update.zip?

Both. The first time I renamed it just "update". The second time I renamed it update.zip. Both times I'm getting the same error message.

Maybe I need to try another ROM?

 

[bp328i]

That sounds like you named it update.zip on your PC. When you do that it is really naming it update.zip.zip try renaming it just update. I learned this the hard way...lol

 

[bp328i]

NexTheme-ESE81-R3-widgets.zip Is a very good one.

 

[Rodeojones]

That sounds like you named it update.zip on your PC. When you do that it is really naming it update.zip.zip try renaming it just update.

I know. Which is why I just renamed it "update" the first time I tried. Before I try the link to the ROM you've suggested, a question about it. Does it allow for overclocking? (I'm aware that I'll need to get SetCPU for this.) This is the main reason I want to root. So if this ROM doesn't have the ability to overclock I might need to look elsewhere.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

 

[bp328i]

Yes, you can overclock with it. You will need a different kernel, another update zip file. I was running that ROM at 1.1ghz with no issues.

 

[bp328i]

P3Droid Kernels

 

[Rodeojones]

Awesome! I'm going to play with this a bit and see if I have any success. I'm assuming that updating to the new kernel you gave me a link to is the same process as uploading the ROM itself (meaning place update file on root of my SD card, then use SPRecovery to install).

Thanks again for all your help! Hopefully it works this time.

 

[bp328i]

Yes, same steps, rename to update, place on the root of your SD card reboot into recovery and install. Good luck and welcome to rooting.

 

[Rodeojones]

It worked! Apparently the link to the zip file for the JRummy theme I was trying to install was bad. This was rather painless and easy once I got a ROM file that was good.

One last question. Now that I'm rooted and know how to load custom ROMS, what do I do if I want to get rid of the one I'm running now and try another? Do I just do everything the same as before (wipe the system and cache clean and then install using SPRecovery)?

I haven't gotten to the new kernel stage just yet, but I will do so after lunch. I seriously can't stress how helpful you've been. Thank you.

 

[bp328i]

Yes, same process. or you can use ROM Manager from the Market $3.99 (so worth it) BUT it does 99.9% of the work for you. With it you can flash a new ROM make backups, download ROM's, new fonts. It has the new release of Bugless Beast 1.0 awesome ROM (NexTheme ) and it's already overclocked to 600mhz, 800mhz, or 1Ghz, you pick which one you want. Best $3.99 I have ever spent.

 

[Rodeojones]

Just downloaded ROM Manager. From what I understand, you need to have ClockworkMod Recovery to use it. Is that true? As you know, I'm already running SPRecovery. I'd love to have an app that allows me to quickly flash ROMs rather than using SPRecovery (not that SPRecovery is difficult now that I've got it figured out). Do I need to get ClockworkMod or is there a work-around with what I've got now?

 

[bp328i]

Yes you need Clockwork, but the app will flash it for you. With clockwork you no longer need to rename any update.zip's to update you can just put it on your SD card and pick "Install zip from sdcard", but there is still an option to apply "Update.zip" but no need. One other thing is a SP nandroid will not work with clockwork and the other way around. If you ever need SP again their is an option at the bottom of ROM Manager to "Flash Alternate Recovery" which is SP.

 

[Rodeojones]

This is great! Why did I wait so long to root? Now that I've got ROM Manager up and running I've just got to decide which ROM to go with. I'm leaning towards the new Bugless Beast V1.0. Seems to be lots of hype surrounding it, so I figured why not. I think I'm going to use the Smoked Glass theme.

I like that ROM Manager seems to all the leg-work for you. Even allowing you to choose the custom kernel you want. But I'm glad I figured out how to do this the "long" way using SPRecovery. I'm currenlty in rooted Droid heaven!

 

[bp328i]

This is great! Why did I wait so long to root? Now that I've got ROM Manager up and running I've just got to decide which ROM to go with. I'm leaning towards the new Bugless Beast V1.0. Seems to be lots of hype surrounding it, so I figured why not. I think I'm going to use the Smoked Glass theme.

I like that ROM Manager seems to all the leg-work for you. Even allowing you to choose the custom kernel you want. But I'm glad I figured out how to do this the "long" way using SPRecovery. I'm currenlty in rooted Droid heaven!

Told you it was worth the $3.99......The new Bugless is very nice, I was running it last night.

 

[Rodeojones]

How long should it take to download the new Bugless Beast from ROM Manager? It's been downloading for about 30 minutes now. According to the status of the download, I'm on step 1 of 3 and I'm sitting at 86% - which I've been at for the last 7-10 minutes with no further advancement. Is this normal? I want to make sure I didn't mess something up. I just opened ROM Manager (after having purchased the premium version), chose Bugless Beast, chose my kernel and theme and have been waiting ever since.

 

[bp328i]

It can take about a good while to download a full rom but that seems a little long. You can always use a task killer to stop ROM Manager and start over. It's pretty hard to mess something up with ROM Manager.

 

[Rodeojones]

And now the download is completely gone. I'm still running the initial ROM I installed and there's no more Bugless Beast download happening. Do I have to wipe the previous data and cache prior to downloading or is this a part of the download process (perhaps as a prompt that comes up mid-download)? What might I have done wrong here?

Also, is this something that would go quicker if I'm using wifi as opposed to 3G (like many other downloads work)? I just realized I hadn't set up my wifi after loading the initial ROM.

 

[Fabolous]

Probably easiest to just go here:

[ROM] Bugless Beast V1.0 ESE81

Download the ROM, kernel, and theme you want. Place them on your sdcard. Then, use the 'install ROM from sdcard' option in ROM manager to install them.

You need to install the ROM first, then you can install the theme or kernel.

 

[Rodeojones]

Probably easiest to just go here:

[ROM] Bugless Beast V1.0 ESE81

Download the ROM, kernel, and theme you want. Place them on your sdcard. Then, use the 'install ROM from sdcard' option in ROM manager to install them.

You need to install the ROM first, then you can install the theme or kernel.

Thanks! I'm new to ROM Manager, so I'm still figuring it out.. I'll try this right now. But do I need to rename them like I did when I initially used SPRecovery? If so, what do I name them since I'll be uploading three files (I'm assuming you do all three at once)?