Root Rooting orig Motorola Droid

[SHPlaxBro]

I am thinking about rooting my original droid. I really need the speed bost. my app launcher has CONSTANT problems where i press the home button and nothing shows up but my background. i download GO launcher EX, it is better than the stock launcher, but still has problems. i would also like the features like wifi hotspots and screenshots.
what other features do i gain from rooting?
i am not sure how to go about this. what is a newer and most reliable rom that is safe and more importantly fast.
what changes when i use a custom rom?
how do i go about installing one?
what happens with all my apps that i have now?
and what is overclocking??
i have been doing research but this site sometimes seems hard to navigate. thanks for any help!

will i have to reset all my preferences on all my apps and phone settings once this process is over?

can i brick my phone by overclocking? i understand my droid isn't as powerful as the phones on the market now

 

[AdamHildenbran]

Hey.. Rooting your phone gives you endless possibilities. Look up z4root.apk and download it and install it. It will root your phone. Overclocking is when your phone does more than what it is set to do.

 

[skilaufen]

Welcome to the forums.

Rooting is a great way to speed up your phone and bring new life to your Droid; however, beware that even though it is easy to root and relatively safe you can still royally mess up your phone. You need to read up on it and make sure you understand what flashing a recovery is, making a backup (the most important thing you can do), using clockwork recovery, and choosing which ROM to flash.

If you leave it as stock then you should still flash an alternate recovery and back up your current ROM before removing system apps or bloatware.

I don't write this to discourage you only make you aware of what you should know before going down a road that could result in problems. I would look through the droid root section of the forum in the link below. If you have questions or are not sure about something post and a lot of people here are more the willing to answer your questions or help you out. Rooting your phone and getting into custom ROMs will make it feel like a new phone. I have never regretted doing it.

Droid - All Things Root - Android Forums

 

[chadwick108]

i have also had good luck with superoneclick root just make sure that you have read up before you start flashing. also make sure that you are able to push some form of recovery and always create a nandroid folder to save your backups. as far as bricking...as long as you are decent with computers and a little computer savvy you can reflash back to stock rom and start all over. good luck and happy rooting!!

 

[teddyearp]

Another welcome. Nothing like a few questions to get the day going. As far as a previous poster suggesting z4root to root your phone, I've heard more people have failures than success using that, just saying.

Think of your phone as a mini computer, so as it is with a computer so it is with your phone. Customizing it in any way requires the proper knowledge and skills. If you don't know how to change a file name, don't root your phone. If you don't know what (and/or how to change) a file extension, also wait. I must totally concur on what skilaufen posted, you can never read too much.

OK, wifi hot spot might not work as you expect as once your phone is rooted any connection is still "Ad Hoc".

The most popular screen cap app is drocap2 in the market.

Other features are custom recovery (a must), overclocking, custom Roms, the stuff you mentioned above, and the ability to install/fix your redraw problem (the thing that has led you to ask this in the first place).

I have some guides at my site linked in my sig to help you actually do it, if you can't find one here.

I'm not going to answer which ROM, if I had a dollar for every post in every thread that question is asked in, I'd be a millionaire.

Flashing a ROM on a Droid 1 - Best Practices - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

The guide above mentions using either Titanium or MyBackupPro for your apps instead of letting them reinstall by themselves. I prefer the latter.

However, if you don't know what overclocking is, re-read the second paragraph above.

good luck

 

[SHPlaxBro]

Another welcome. Nothing like a few questions to get the day going. As far as a previous poster suggesting z4root to root your phone, I've heard more people have failures than success using that, just saying.

Think of your phone as a mini computer, so as it is with a computer so it is with your phone. Customizing it in any way requires the proper knowledge and skills. If you don't know how to change a file name, don't root your phone. If you don't know what (and/or how to change) a file extension, also wait. I must totally concur on what skilaufen posted, you can never read too much.

OK, wifi hot spot might not work as you expect as once your phone is rooted any connection is still "Ad Hoc".

The most popular screen cap app is drocap2 in the market.

Other features are custom recovery (a must), overclocking, custom Roms, the stuff you mentioned above, and the ability to install/fix your redraw problem (the thing that has led you to ask this in the first place).

I have some guides at my site linked in my sig to help you actually do it, if you can't find one here.

I'm not going to answer which ROM, if I had a dollar for every post in every thread that question is asked in, I'd be a millionaire.

Flashing a ROM on a Droid 1 - Best Practices - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

The guide above mentions using either Titanium or MyBackupPro for your apps instead of letting them reinstall by themselves. I prefer the latter.

However, if you don't know what overclocking is, re-read the second paragraph above.

good luck

i understand the ad hoc connection. when i say wi-fi i just mean something other than PDA net where i have to connect with a cable to my laptop. for some reason i can't use the bluetooth feature on it with my mac, but that's another situation.

my friends suggest titanium back up as well. is there a reason you prefer to let them reinstall themselves?

 

[skilaufen]

I would also agree with what teddy said, and his site has good references along with the all things root forum (especially the sticky posts) I linked. We are not trying to discourage you only make sure your properly armed. I am thrilled you posted first rather than did everything without researching.

Too often people go forward then hit a bootloop or install a ROM for a different phone or some other simple error, but they forget to do a backup or didn't flash the right recovery and they can't get back to a working ROM. They then come to us and it takes alot longer and is much more work to fix things than had they taken the time to read and ask questions first.

As to Titanium Backup, it will save and restore your apps and their data faster, but some ROMs don't handle restored apps as well as others and sometimes corruptions can occur which cause other problems. Also with TiBu you have to be careful that you don't back up your system apps as restoring them can be catastrophic to your custom ROM. Unless you have some sorta of data that just has to be saved I would let your apps restore from the market when you log back in. This is only my opinion on it.

As to which ROM to try. Again as teddy said this gets asked all the time. The problem with recommending a ROM is that it is like recommending a car. I may like Honda but others may hate them. The best is to read up on the various ROMs and pick the one that appeals to you most. I like stock type ROMs so I have pretty much been a dedicated Bugless Beast and GPA rommer. Cyanoge Mod, Ultimate Droid, and others offer more customizations. Hence why we can't really offer suggestions.

My best recommendation is to read the sticky posts in the Droid-All things Root section, read the stuff on Teddy's site, and then post any questions you have or are not sure of and we will be happy to answer them. You will be happy you did. It isn't hard and once you've done all of that you will be much happier with your rooting and ROMming experience.

 

[SHPlaxBro]

"As to Titanium Backup, it will save and restore your apps and their data faster, but some ROMs don't handle restored apps as well as others and sometimes corruptions can occur which cause other problems. Also with TiBu you have to be careful that you don't back up your system apps as restoring them can be catastrophic to your custom ROM. Unless you have some sorta of data that just has to be saved I would let your apps restore from the market when you log back in. This is only my opinion on it."

so TiBu will save all my settings and such on those apps?
and will rooting take up any more memory than i am using now?

 

[skilaufen]

so TiBu will save all my settings and such on those apps?
and will rooting take up any more memory than i am using now?

Yes TiBu will save your apps and their respective data (ie: how far you have progressed in a game or all other info.)

Rooting and using a stock ROM will not save any memory as it is the same ROM. The "bloatware" you could remove are not going to save you much in memory since the Droid is so light already.

Runing a custom ROM would take up less memory generally because you can save more if not all of your apps to the SD card.

 

[mrterry]

As a new-ish user of other-than-stock ROMS, I'd like to suggest that if you choose to root, stay rooted on your stock ROM for a few til you get a feel for what it's like to all of a sudden have all this 'power' available to you. No, rooting does not in and of itself give your phone any amazing, godlike abilities... but it does give YOU, the user, the godlike power to screw everything up in a single click.

If you dont understand linux, and/or what having root/su access really is, you should probably be aware that you dont get windows-like warnings asking "are you SURE you want to do this?" because linux ASSUMES that as su, you are already aware of the results of your actions, and as such will do whatever you tell it without a second thought. Delete, move, or rename the wrong file, and you can render your handset inoperable.

As far as what ROM to choose, well, thats all on you and what your personal preferences are. I'm like skilaufen in that I prefer a more stock look and layout, and I'm a big fan of Pete Alfonso's GPA roms because they really retain that "stock" feel. Cyanogen is, much more 'modded' than stock- *I* didnt like having so much stock stuff removed, but there are users out there who don't want ANY google stuff on their phone, and CGM goes a good way in removing it. There are many others of differing variety available that may or may not suit you. The only way to find out is to try them.

ROM Manager, Titanium Backup, Root Explorer, SetCPU- all of them are great to have. Get the paid versions- all told it'll set ya back like 10 bucks, and it's the best 10 extra bucks you'll spend on your phone.

And with ClockworkMod recovery, a complete nandroid backup is just a reboot away, if you happen to screw up an install, or just dont like the newest ROM you put on.

Above all, have fun with it My progress on Dragon Age 2 has ground to a halt because I play more ROMs than I do games nowadays lol!

 

[SHPlaxBro]

alright so i've really taken all of this into consideration.
think im going to go with cyanogenmod 7 for my ROM. it seems stable, fast, and i like the features it has to offer. anyone against this desicion?

all i still have trouble with is the process of flashing. still not sure what it is, it's purpose, etc.

 

[45droid]

I am thinking about rooting my original droid. I really need the speed bost. my app launcher has CONSTANT problems where i press the home button and nothing shows up but my background. i download GO launcher EX, it is better than the stock launcher, but still has problems. i would also like the features like wifi hotspots and screenshots.
what other features do i gain from rooting?
i am not sure how to go about this. what is a newer and most reliable rom that is safe and more importantly fast.
what changes when i use a custom rom?
how do i go about installing one?
what happens with all my apps that i have now?
and what is overclocking??
i have been doing research but this site sometimes seems hard to navigate. thanks for any help!

will i have to reset all my preferences on all my apps and phone settings once this process is over?

can i brick my phone by overclocking? i understand my droid isn't as powerful as the phones on the market now

Welcome! I just posted this thread...

I'm running UD 3.1.1 and have saved some of ChevyNo1's LV kernals (renamed update.zip) to the root of my SD. Wiped cache and dalvik. Installed update.zip (not update.zip.zip) and with every version I get stuck on the 'M' screen and have to pull battery, boot to recovery and install UD 3.1.1.

... and as I was typing that I was thinking that just two weeks ago I wouldn't have really know what that quote meant. Point being, aside from all of the tangible benefits of rooting, you will learn alot and have some fun too. Cheers.

 

[skilaufen]

alright so i've really taken all of this into consideration.
think im going to go with cyanogenmod 7 for my ROM. it seems stable, fast, and i like the features it has to offer. anyone against this desicion?

all i still have trouble with is the process of flashing. still not sure what it is, it's purpose, etc.

Flashing is applying a new ROM or better yet think of it as your OS that runs all your stuff. I went ahead and listed the steps to flash a ROM below, but still caution you to make sure you understand what your doing.

1. Root
2. Download ROM Manager (it is worth paying for the premium version)
3. Flash clockwork recovery from ROM Manager,
4. BACK UP CURRENT WORKING ROM!
5. Download CM7 and gapps to your sd card (double check on cyanogens site but I'm pretty sure you need to flash both the ROM and Gapps.
6. Turn your phone off and then power it on while holding the "X" key. Hold key until you enter recovery (green colored choices).
***If your phone does not enter recovery or you end up at a screen with a triangle and ! then let phone reboot, go into ROM Manager and flash clockwork recovery again. Then reboot into recovery by the method listed above or from within ROM Manager.
7. Once in recovery use the volume rocker to navigate the choices, the gold (or white if your gold leafing has pealed off *grin*) camera button to select choices, and the power button to return to previous menus.
8. WIPE BOTH DATA AND CACHE (preferrable three times each)
9. After wiping then go to apply zip from sd card. Navigate to where the ROM .zip is and click the camera button.
9. Confirm your choice with the camera button and wait till flash is complete. I believe you can then flash the gapps .zip ( though I am not 100% sure and would refer you to Cyanogen's website for confirmation).
10. After you finish flashing, navigate back to recovery main menu and reboot phone.
11. Follow instructions to log into your gmail and you should be set.
12. Once every thing is reloaded and settled and the ROM is running okay MAKE ANOTHER BACKUP.
13. Enjoy your new ROM


I capitalized the major things to remember (ie. Backing up). Remember also to wipe data and cache everytime you change ROM developers or move between froyo and GB.

 

[SHPlaxBro]

cm7 is in beta so im going cm6. nbd.
when i back up what do i do with my contacts?

 

[icecold]

cm7 is in beta so im going cm6. nbd.
when i back up what do i do with my contacts?

Those SHOULD sync with Google...otherwise backup using MyBackup Root to be safe...

 

[SHPlaxBro]

yeah nevermind. didnt realize it did automatically with gmail. got it on my computer now.

will i have to import them later or should they be there?

 

[SHPlaxBro]

I capitalized the major things to remember (ie. Backing up). Remember also to wipe data and cache everytime you change ROM developers or move between froyo and GB.

do i have to do this when i go from stock froyo to cm6 froyo?

 

[teddyearp]

Carefully reread skilaufen's post, he has pretty much answered your last three questions.

But just in case, before you flash, go on your phone here:
menu -> settings -> accounts and sync
and make sure the checkboxes are all checked and everything else is green. Then for CM6, make sure you download the proper gaaps add-on as well otherwise you will have no market, etc.
Make a backup.
Boot into recovery.
Wipe data/cache (oince is usually enough, I don't know the logic behind multiples)
Select install from sdcard (not apply zip, sorry skilaufen) and navigate to the CM6 rom.
Let it install, once done and before booting up your phone repeat for the gapps portion.
Then boot your phone up normally.
You will see the android 'dude', sign into your gmail/google account and follow the next few prompts and once it says it is syncing, set you phone down and leave it alone for several minutes until you see a "XXX applications restored" message in your notification bar.

This should restore your contacts and most of your applications, but you will have to reset your custom ringers and other sounds. I use MyBackupPro (you can do the same with the free MyBackupRoot) to backup and restore call logs, bookmarks, sms, and mms.

good luck

 

[skilaufen]

Select install from sdcard (not apply zip, sorry skilaufen)

I don't mind at all. I typed that on my phone so I couldn't check it. I do it by rote now so I picked the wrong one from memory. I appreciate the cover.

 

[SHPlaxBro]

Then for CM6, make sure you download the proper gaaps add-on as well otherwise you will have no market, etc.

i've downloaded cm6 but i don't know where to find their gapps. it's def not included in the ROM? i looked around their site and found nothing about it

 

[teddyearp]

It should be in the same thread that has the link to download CM6.1.2. Here's my copy:

http://ted.servepics.com/nap/droid/gapps-hdpi-20101114-signed.zip

Here's, the thread:

[OFFICIAL] CyanogenMod-6.1.2 for the Moto Droid: There're bugs in my Froyo! (12/15/2010) - CyanogenMod Forum

Hmmm, just looked at the thread and it is linking the latest (20110301)gapps, so you might want to use that one.

good luck

 

[SHPlaxBro]

cm7 is available and it's running GB. it's still in beta but i hear it runs pretty smooth. is it worth using instead of cm6 with froyo.
will i use the same gapps?

 

[teddyearp]

Yes, CM7RC2 is out, but definately in beta, in fact the latest (#29/2011-03-22)nighty that has been generated is better; no you do NOT use the same gapps, but I still find a bug or two and am back on cm6.1.2/build266 for a daily driver.

There have been some really good changes merged into the git, so we're all hoping for a much better RC3 and/or at least a new nightly real soon.

 

[SHPlaxBro]

so you're saying stick with cm6.1.2 at least until cm7 is solid

and to update any of these roms do you have to go through the whole process of flashing again, or is there some easy OTA update like with the android stock roms

 

[skilaufen]

so you're saying stick with cm6.1.2 at least until cm7 is solid

and to update any of these roms do you have to go through the whole process of flashing again, or is there some easy OTA update like with the android stock roms

If your going from a GB nightly to a GB night generally no wipe is needed unless specified by the dev. You just flash the updates like you flash the rom but without wiping.

When I went from GPA10 to 11 to 12...etc right up to the current version 14 I did not wipe nor is it required by pete the dev. When you switch between a froyo and GB rom you have to wipe data and cache. Though if you have a set of backups (froyo for example when trying GB roms) it is easier as you can restore a fully ready rom.

I know I answered more than you asked, but I wanted to eliminate any confusion for others who might find read this in the future.