Root Am I finally ready to root?

[vnsnty]

*This is not a guide*
This is me asking if I have all of the right information to do what I want to, if there is an easier or safer way to do anything below please let me know
*This is not a guide*
I wrote little of what is here, most is copy/pasted from forum experts for my own reference
*This is not a guide*
*This is not a guide*

I want to restore my Droid X to fresh off the shelf status and then root it. I'm laying out my plans here based on information I've gathered from these and other forums. Posting to make sure I have the most up to date information and links as I've done lots of fooling around with computers but nothing with phones.

From what I've read, the simple principles are :
root with z4root for 'admin access'
what is the bootstrap for?
create a backup right away with titanium backup (for unrooting/trying other roms?)
use Rom Manager to enable/manage custom roms (new UIs)


Ok so here we go:
1 - hook up to computer to get any pictures/video/music off
- export contacts to SD card
2 - write down apps to redownload after reset

3 - get RSD Lite here ( MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service )

4 - get droidx 2.2 SBF ( MEGAUPLOAD - The leading online storage and file delivery service )
- Unzip the 2.2 sbf to a working/temp folder
- Open RSD Lite, tap the

 

[VoidedSaint]

always back up your stock system before you root, by booting into recovery you can then do a system backup, we all recommend you do that first before you begin rooting


but it seems you have done your homework, and that is a good job, congratulations, you are ready to root and start trying roms/themes

just remember no question is a dumb question, unless you ask steven where he likes to party, cause no one wants to know

you dont really need to overclock, its fun to make your phone faster, but 1ghz processor on a phone is already plenty fast, most roms will deodex you as soon as you flash them, if not all, so you do not have to worry about that.

when you begin flashing roms, just remember to try multiple ones out first before you stick with one, because liberty is great for some, and apex is great for others, darkslide is really nice, and so is gummyjar and rubix, just try these roms out and take a look at the themes as well, you wont be dissapointed, and welcome to the community!

 

[vnsnty]

thanks for your response, im looking forward to becoming more active in the community as I learn more!

so you think i should very first off get titanium backup and create a saved state?

if I create this saved state, then factory-reset the phone, format the sd card, and root, can that restore be used to literally go back to the exact state of the phone before changing anything?

 

[k0smo86]

thanks for your response, im looking forward to becoming more active in the community as I learn more!

so you think i should very first off get titanium backup and create a saved state?

if I create this saved state, then factory-reset the phone, format the sd card, and root, can that restore be used to literally go back to the exact state of the phone before changing anything?

No, only Bootstrap can do that. So before you can make an exact state, you need to be rooted with Droid X Bootstrap installed.

 

[vnsnty]

always back up your stock system before you root, by booting into recovery you can then do a system backup, we all recommend you do that first before you begin rooting

1 - whats the best way to create a backup before rooting if i need to root to use the bootstrap recovery?

2 - do i need to follow the aboive instructions on factory reset or can i just boot in to recovery and choose "factory reset"?

 

[Outlaw71]

You were born ready to root. Rooting is simply. Easy. Cake.

Is the question you're really asking, "am I ready to ROM"?

 

[Outlaw71]

1 - whats the best way to create a backup before rooting if i need to root to use the bootstrap recovery?

2 - do i need to follow the aboive instructions on factory reset or can i just boot in to recovery and choose "factory reset"?

I think you have a bit of a misinterpratation of rooting. Rooting isn't going to screw up your phone, it's when people make mistakes either flashing a ROM or theming (I"m guilty of which) that they 'brick' their phone. But even a bricked phone is just an SBF away from right back to normal.

The rooting process is fast and easy. If you have already downloaded Z4Root then just hit 'permanent root' and let it do it's thing. You're not going to find your device works any differently than before you rooted, except now you'll be able to run those root apps that you couldn't before.

Then you get Tibackup and start backing up everything. And you get bootstrapper to make a nandroid. Then I would suggest taking your time with the ROMs and what not. You seem pretty new to all this, and rushing into ROMs can have adverse psychological effects if you screw something up before you really know what you're doing. It can scare you off of doing any of it altogether.

So I say just root it for now. Get to know the root apps that are available to you after having done so. And hang out in this section for a while to get an idea of what it's all about.

 

[VoidedSaint]

sorry at work so cant really check this all the time, outlaw is right, id say root your X first, then, download the required apps
*Droid X Bootstrapper* - Above all the most important thing to download
Clockwork Mod (to download some other nice roms)(you may need to purchase the key, your choice though)
Root Explorer
Android Terminal is your best friend with the Apex Rom
Wireless Tether
Ad Free ^_^
Autokiller Memory

you need those first and foremost, you will spend about $10 or less but its well worth it

once you have done that open droid x bootstrap
Now there are 2 ways of doing this
First way:
Hit Bootstrap Recovery
allow super user access
wait for success and hit ok
close and open Rom Manager(Clockwork mod)
Select your current device since its the initial time you start up the app
scroll down to Backup Current ROM
Name it something you will remember easily like STOCK
allow super user access (if it asks)and wait

other option is
Droix X Bootstrap
Reboot Recovery
scroll down to back up and there and follow the steps

wait for your phone to reboot

now you have successfully created a backup of your current rom

unfortunately i tried to do this just now and i think i have a bug in my apex download or its a bug in apex, but once you boot into reocovery you will see the option to backup or restore, and then just follow the instructions ^_^

 

[vnsnty]

1 - what is the difference between Titanium backup backups and 'creating a nandroid?' (or are they the same?)

2 - do i need to follow the above instructions (with rsb lite and the .spd) to factory reset or can I just boot in to recovery and choose "factory reset" to factory reset?

3 - whats the difference between clockwork mod and RomManager?

thanks again for all your help guys

 

[VoidedSaint]

Rom manager is made by clockworkmod its what you need i call it clockworkmod sorry

rsd lite is how you sbf to stock settings if your stuck on the ugly moto M screen, its the safest way to return to stock if you need to send your device back, but you can only go to 2.3.320 not 2.3.15 if you did 2.3.15 your going to have problems, its best to go to 2.3.320 or if the sbf is out for 2.3.340 then you go to that, its not that complicated i promise, if you are stuck at the Moto M, post on this board asap, we will guide you through the process of resolving the issue without saying use the search feature, everyone here is very helpful.

nandroid backsup your current settings on your phone
titanium backsup apps
2 completely different things ^_^

titanium is great to uninstall apps, freeze them, back them up(angrybirds)(alchemy) or to kill the process

 

[jlewis74]

The way I did it.

1. Download Z4root and run permanate root.
2. Down load Bootstrap Recovery
3. Download Rom Manager
4. Download Titanium Backup
5. Make sure you have Astro File Manager installed

I copied this part from ColChiro

Install recovery.
Install rom manager.
Install Titanium Backup, open it and press the menu button, select batch and make a backup of "all apps + all data".
Open recovery (DroidX bootstrap), tap the top button, should say you were give supervisor permission, followed by success. Tap the second button to go into recovery. Vol up/down button moves cursor, back button goes to previous screen, camera button does what the cursor is highlighted. Go to recovery and select ti and create a backup, then reboot.
Open rom manager and create a backup. Call it stock_02-07-2011 (don't use spaces). Make sure the backup completes. Should take a couple minutes. If it reboots right away, it did not work.

Here's my first root app: Quick Boot (Reboot) - Android Application on the Android market

Then when you are ready to install a custom ROM download it to the root of your SD card. Boot to clockwork and wipe/factory reset to clear your phone. When it reboots go to install from SD card, then use the volume control to find the file and install it. Once installed reboot and you should be good to go.

I am still somewhat new to this so if I messed anything up please let me know but this worked for me.

Your apps should come back on their own when you input your google account info via the market. I would connect to Wifi and let the market install all your apps before doing to much.

 

[VoidedSaint]

you got it right, congrats bud

 

[jlewis74]

Thank man, I did a lot of reading before I moved forward with my ROM. But I do like it, I am running Liberty 1.5 right now. Thinking of trying another one soon.

 

[vnsnty]

thanks again for the help guys, ill be doing this soon, ill let you know how it went

titanium backs up apps
nandroid is the saved state of your phone - apps, got that

can you back up apps with titanium and only restore some of them, for example, restore angry birds but leave out other apps you dont want back?

 

[VoidedSaint]

you can back up any app, then restore any app when you so choose with titanium backup

 

[Toolanddiemaker]

What is the difference between Bootstrap recovery and Rom manager? why do you need both? sorry just asking because I don't know.

 

[VoidedSaint]

some people have issues with rom manager, bootstrap recovery is needed to install stuff through rom manager

Reboot Recovery that is within bootstrap recovery is basically bypassing both steps

when you want to download a rom you need to hit bootstrap recovery and then go download rom from rom manager
that way it flashes the rom
however you can download the rom from your pc, and transfer it to the root of your sd card, and then you can reboot into recovery with droid x bootstrap and install zip from location and your set

they are the same thing but you will end up needing them both one day, i promise you that lol

 

[Toolanddiemaker]

some people have issues with rom manager, bootstrap recovery is needed to install stuff through rom manager

Reboot Recovery that is within bootstrap recovery is basically bypassing both steps

when you want to download a rom you need to hit bootstrap recovery and then go download rom from rom manager
that way it flashes the rom
however you can download the rom from your pc, and transfer it to the root of your sd card, and then you can reboot into recovery with droid x bootstrap and install zip from location and your set

they are the same thing but you will end up needing them both one day, i promise you that lol

Ok thanks that makes sense, I'm rooted stock right now but am looking at roms. I bought bootstrap, for the market, but I uninstalled today because every morning when i turn my phone on it goes to recovery for some reason. Not a hugh deal, I just hit the key to reboot now. But I can't figure out why it's doing it. Yesterday I uninstalled and reinstalled still did it this morning. Any suggestions?

 

[VoidedSaint]

so your rooted, and without a rom? the bootstrap shouldnt be causing that, since it doesnt run until you open it, i encountered an error like this when i flashed a rom and factory data wiped everything, then i started getting it, but i just backed up to a previous version

i would say try unrooting, and uninstalling bootstrap
and see if that stops the issue

then reroot using z4root
and reinstall bootstrap
reboot and see if the problem persists

but you could just try flashing a rom like apex v1.4 and see if that also stops, but i would try unrooting and rerooting first, IMO

 

[Outlaw71]

When turning your phone on, booting into recovery isn't any big deal. I think it's in either ROM Manager or another apps menu somewhere that it asks it you want your phone to boot into recovery every time you turn it on. I wish I could remember which app it was, but I can't. Sometimes my phone boots into recovery sometimes it doesn't. Either way it's no biggie. Certainly no reason to ditch Bootstrapper.

Bootstrapper and ROM Manager go hand in hand. I use Bootstrapper to make my nandroid, then go into ROM Manager to rename it. A nandroid is like a restore point. While TitaniumBackUp is what you use to back up your apps and your data. It's always good to have multiple protection, so I use TiBU, make a nandroid, and sync my AppBrain before flashing any/all new ROMs.

 

[vnsnty]

do i need to follow the above instructions (with rsb lite and the .spd) to factory reset my DX or can I just boot in to recovery and choose "factory reset" to factory reset?

 

[VoidedSaint]

to go back to a stock dx you need to rsd light and the correct sbf which will be 2.3.320 and then you can download clockwork mod (after you temp root) and then install the maderstock 2.3.340 which will bring you at the current OTA by verizon ^_^