Yep, makes sense...i appreciate the explanation and graphic (like some others, i'm a visual learner).
Perhaps another stupid question...
If i do this, am I in any way then restricted on which custom ROM i can run as a result? I'm not running any yet but am considering one of these ROMs i keep reading about like the "bugless" one. I'm a recent WM convert so i'm not yet up to speed on the role of, or difference between, a backup, nandroid (backup?), DroidHelperPro backup (app backup i think?), etc... Once i get comfortable with understanding what the role of each is and situation/sequence each is used in to revert back to previous setup in case of problem/failure i'll jump into the custom ROM game.
So with that said, is there any resource available (I haven't found it yet) that gives a total overview of these tools and their relationship to each other. FWIW, i'm not a idiot, in fact quite techy and experienced, just not in the Android platform so i'm trying to get over the initial learning curve.
When you're starting out, no question is a stupid question. That's what these forums are for! So, basically you've already rooted you Droid (good), and you have DroidRootPro.. also good. Follow the directions in that app to install BusyBox and the nandroid recovery (it should be .99.2b, and if it's not, go to
SirPsychoS Recovery Image - Droid-Devs and update it, which is very simple). Once you have the latest versions of busybox and Nandroid backup, you're ready to start.)
So, power off your phone, and when you power is on, hold x and the power button to boot to the nandroid recovery screen. it's like the last one but you dont have to press the camera and volume to get to it and there are a few other options included. navigate to backup/restore and then to advanced nandroid backup. make sure EVERYTHING has a * next to it and then click perform backup. Doing this is VITAL, as it's making a backup of your current Droid exactly how it is. if you have any problem with any ROM, boom, you just boot to recovery and restore this and start from scratch again, no harm done.
Before you flash any new ROMs or make any substantial changes, it's a good idea to make a nandroid backup. they are stored in the /sdcard/nandroid folder, with the name of it being, essentially, the date. It's also a good idea to rename these to something that you will easily recognize, and to make backups of them on your computer.. just in case
.
So, you're running 2.0.1 right now. There are a lot of ROMs based on 2.0.1 and others are based on 2.1. For the most part, if you're going to flash a ROM based on 2.0.1, what you do (and it will tell you on the forum) is format your system and wipe the cache. Sometimes you will have to wipe the data, but you don't necessarily have to. Personally, I try to flash it without wiping my data and if it works, great, and if not, i wipe my data and then it works. going from 2.0.1 to 2.1 or vice versa, you generally have to wipe your data.
You know that your Droid is underclocked at 550mhz. My suggestion is to overclock it to 800 mhz (most ROMs now that are up to date have already included this as a feature when updating to their ROM via a Nandroid restore). Oh, and when doing a Nandroid restore to flash a new ROM to your Droid, be sure to read everything on the forum where you are downloading the custom ROM. Now, back to the overclocking.. 800 mhz is stable, 900 mhz is stable. Personally, I have not noticed any heat increase at these two levels. 950 mhz is stable, but with a minor heat increase, as is 1 Ghz. 1 Ghz is as high as I've gone. I usually use the app SetCPU (downloadable from the Market for a buck to support the dev or you can get it for free at xda-developers forums) and set my Droid to run at 800 mhz at all time because it is a little bit easier on the battery and cpu in general, and I can't notice a whole lot of speed change from 800 mhz to 950 mhz. but from 550 mhz to 800, it's a completely different device. i highly recommend overclocking it. and to answer one of your main questions, if you are running at 800 mhz you can run any custom ROM (at least to my knowledge, I've tested about 3 or 4, including bugless beauty). and speaking of bugless beauty, the dev (pete) released a bugless besat which includes the overclocking.
So, to recap:
-install busybox and flash_image with DroidRootPro
-boot to recovery, make an advanced Nandroid backup
-for a ROM, visit
AllDroid - View forum - Droid and read up on all the custom ROMs, choosing one to your liking
-the ROM will most likely include overclocking, in which case you would be very interested in getting SetCPU and selecting autodetect when choosing a device (do NOT select DROID)
-enjoy!