Root New to Rooting...

[kevintroy]

Hi there, i bought myself a new Desire last week and I just found out that I can "root" it (im presuming its similar to jailbreaking my ipod touch which I have done) and I have a few questions

• When rooted, are you able to download apps that are normally paid for and install them onto the device (the same way you can for an ipod)
• What are the criteria for rooting the device and what are the chances of "bricking" my device - Im currently on Windows 7 Professional if its any help. My phone is a 24 month contract with Vodafone (UK network)
• I've heard that 2.2 Froyo is out, but is it an official version? I checked my desire for updates and I can't get 2.2 because im presuming it isnt officially available for the Desire yet. Also in this question, is it possible to have 2.2 Froyo but keep the bottom dock? I prefer the layout of the dock to the 3 small icons
• If I do decide to root, what is the easiest guide to follow? I'd prefer one with pictures so that I can see i'm doing everything right
• What is a Goldcard and how does it work?

Thanks to anyone who can help me

 

[Mik3h]

1. No, these apps are tied to your google account when purchasing.

2. The chance of bricking is very, very low. Just be sure to make a nandroid backup to restore (this is done after rooting) before flashing any custom ROMs. If, for some reason you needed to restore the phone to stock Vodafone ROM, you can download this and flash it to unroot the phone.

3.It IS an official version from HTC, but it's a nearly-finished build which has been touched up by developers on XDA. And yes I'd imagine it is possible, but can't be sure (but if you can't get it working or don't like it, you can always restore back to Desire 2.1 from the backup you made.)

4. This one - [HOWTO] Root Your HTC Desire in One Click! | Root My Droid
Once step 1. has been completed, the phone is rooted. You can then put the Froyo ROM (and radio update) - [ROM-FroYo] Official Froyo HTC Sense ROM (16/07 v1.0c | OpenDesire Team) - xda-developers on the SD card and follow Step 2.

5. A goldcard was a modification made to an SD card to allow you to boot a recovery image on the phone to allow the flashing of custom ROMs. It's an outdated method now, so you need not concern yourself with it

 

[lekky]

1: apps are very cheap and usually free so no need to do that

 

[Mik3h]

Agreed, it would be really good to encourage the buying of apps, which in turn would lead to the growth of the marketplace.

 

[Tunga]

When rooted, are you able to download apps that are normally paid for and install them onto the device (the same way you can for an ipod)

I'm not sure what you meant by this question exactly.

If it was "Can I still buy and install apps from the market", then the answer is yes.

If it was "Can I steal apps from other places and install them for free", then the answer is also yes, though this can be done regardless of rooting. Howver the important point to make here would be: this sucks and you shouldn't do it. Developers spend their time making apps for us and you should either support them by payign for their work, find a free alternative, or make your own .