Root A few questions about rooting

[Rand0m]

I apologize for this post as I know this information is out there but I need to make sure I am doing everything correctly and to answer a few questions that confuse me.

My first question is based solely on confusion. I've watched a few how-to rooting videos (YouTube - ‪Motorola Droid How to ROOT your Droid - The Easy Way!‬‎ as well as the one in the guide above) and the instructions above. My confusion stems from the fact that all of these have different directions, different things to install and different steps (the guide above has 20 while these videos show much less). I understand that I need to download a rooted update.zip and install that. I'm running FRG01B or Froyo 2.2 through that same process.

Second question is that once I am rooted do I need anything else other than ROM manager? Am I incorrect in thinking that this app will create a restore? Some videos have shown a process called nandroid backup and others seem to just use ROM manager. Oh and once the phone is rooted and backed up can you load any ROM? I'm looking to use bugless, specifically this theme'd ROM: [THEME] Bugless Evolution (ROM) - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

I apologize for the questions, I know that most of the frequent viewers of this section and mods have to deal with these all the time but I want to make sure I'm doing this right. Any tips and suggestions would be a great help. Thanks.

 

[breadnatty08]

What is it exactly in the sticky Guide to Rooting that you have questions about? It's a tried and true method; takes a little longer than hitting an "easy" button, but I think it's better for the user to really know what's happening. ROM Manager is basically all you will need once rooted. It will install Clockwork Recovery which will allow you to backup your system (called a Nandroid), restore those backups if needed, and download and install ROMs/themes/kernals.
Just read through that sticky again and let us know what other questions you have.

 

[VIO]

Rom manager is really two programs bundled together. First there is the front end App that provides the user with an at-the-phone quick and easy way to download ROM releases.

The second more important part is Clockwork Recovery, which is a deep program that sits outside the operating system and allows you to alter and manage system partitions, flash ROMS and (most importantly) make a complete and utter backup of the phone.

So a run of the mill Rom install goes something like: Rom Manager downloads the rom and then boots itself into recovery. It makes a backup (if you so choose), and then "installs" or flashes the ROM to the phone.

 

[Rand0m]

What is it exactly in the sticky Guide to Rooting that you have questions about? It's a tried and true method; takes a little longer than hitting an "easy" button, but I think it's better for the user to really know what's happening. ROM Manager is basically all you will need once rooted. It will install Clockwork Recovery which will allow you to backup your system (called a Nandroid), restore those backups if needed, and download and install ROMs/themes/kernals.
Just read through that sticky again and let us know what other questions you have.

I think I am confused at the very beginning of the step process. Why do I need to download something to go into system32 for windows? I have don't understand that step and I am nervous to do anything to system32 considering how important it is for the machine. Is there a better way to explain it, am I confused?

Rom manager is really two programs bundled together. First there is the front end App that provides the user with an at-the-phone quick and easy way to download ROM releases.

The second more important part is Clockwork Recovery, which is a deep program that sits outside the operating system and allows you to alter and manage system partitions, flash ROMS and (most importantly) make a complete and utter backup of the phone.

So a run of the mill Rom install goes something like: Rom Manager downloads the rom and then boots itself into recovery. It makes a backup (if you so choose), and then "installs" or flashes the ROM to the phone.

I've seen footage of people creating nandroid back ups. Is this when you flash into recovery and create a back up to your sd card?

Sorry for the questions... I really do appreciate the help.

 

[VIO]

I think I am confused at the very beginning of the step process. Why do I need to download something to go into system32 for windows? I have don't understand that step and I am nervous to do anything to system32 considering how important it is for the machine. Is there a better way to explain it, am I confused?

Understandable, it is a bit unnerving to just throw a random .exe file into your system folder if you don't know what it does.

md5sum is a file identification program. It checks the md5 hash code generated on a file. This hash code will change if nearly any alteration or change is made to the file, so it functions like a file fingerprint.

It is important here because using RSDlite is the riskiest (tho not that risky) part of the process and we don't want to try and flash a corrupted .sbf file that can screw stuff up.

so you download the .sbf and run md5sum on it to get the md5 hash code of the file you downloaded matches the one in thread, therefore verifying that the file you downloaded is not corrupt, tampered with, or just different for some reason.

the reason it goes in the system32 folder, is that that folder is already part of your system's "Path" variable which just means that when I try to run a command in the DOS prompt it checks for that command in folders specified in the Path. It's a shortcut, so I don't have to type "C:\windows\system32\md5sum" every time I want to check a md5sum.

you don't need to put it in the system32 folder you could run it from anywhere but you would need to specify the location of the command every time. Or you could add its location to the Path variable.

I've seen footage of people creating nandroid back ups. Is this when you flash into recovery and create a back up to your sd card?

Sorry for the questions... I really do appreciate the help.

yeah, first you go to recovery, then you create a Nandroid backup.