Root ROOTING For Dummies

[nick1313]

So my question before I root tomorrow is step 1really to wipe your phone (factory reset) and not to back it up instead? Wont you lose all your texts etc? Is backingup your stuff implied or does the factory reset not remove ur important data?

Well you don't necessarily have to wipe your phone completely but you will have much less issues.

Here's what I did.

1. Get appbrain and sync all your apps with it so that you don't have to search through the market for them all over again. It's free in the market.
2. Copy all my contents of my sd card to my computer for safe keeping, just in case.
3. You can back up all your text with a program called sms backup or I think titanium backup has that option as well. I don't use it because don't see any reason to save my text.
4. Factory reset will put your phone back to the way it was when you bought it at the store. It's optional, just like the guide says, but I would highly recommend it, because you will run into issues.

I did exactly what you are talking about with a friends phone this weekend and honestly you will NEVER go back to that backup even if you do it that. It's HUGE!!! Compared to other ROMs. The most important thing is your contacts/apps. Contacts are backed up through google and apps you can back up with purchased TB or appbrain (free).

EDIT: I just wanted to point out that I followed that guide step by step. I've rooted two evo's with absolutely no problems. I even formatted my SD card on each one of them and one of them had been used stock for about 6 months.

 

[ocnbrze]

yeah i understand that the first step sucks but it is definitely worth it. believe me things could absolutely go wrong if you do not take precautions which is what doing a factory reset is. just follow the guide and it will lead you to the land of rooting.

 

[miker625]

Clockwork? I would suggest using AmonRa, much better recovery method, IMO, and in the opinions of many other devs out there. Most ROMs that you flash to have usb debugging checked as default, at least all the ones I've used. I can't say enough good things about MikFroyo 4.5. I would say give that a try.

LOL...yeah Clockwork...oops. I will look into AmonRa instructions and give MikFroyo a look. Thanks Nick!!

 

[miker625]

Okay, so I have AmonRa on my Evo now. Looks nice. So, do I need to delete the PC36IMG file from my SD card after the update? I am guessing it will prompt to update every time I boot into bootloader if it sees the file on the SD card.

Also, is the rom flashing procedure the same with Amon Ra as it is with Clockwork?? I didn't see any instructions for flashing with Amon, versus Clockwork.

Thanks!!!

 

[Xtremedays]

Yes, you need to either remove the PC36IMG file from your sdcard or rename it so that it doesn't try and flash it every time you go to hboot. As far as flashing, yes it is similar. Amon RA says "flash zip from sdcard" I believe where Clockwork is a little different. Make sure before you flash that you do the appropriate wipes(data/factory reset and davlik-cache for roms, and just davlik-cache for kernels-themes-mods) and always, always(did I say always) make a nandroid before making any changes to your phone. In Amon, you want to make at least one nandroid with wimax selected and save a copy to your computer. This will backup your 4g RSA keys in case you ever have a problem and lose them.

 

[miker625]

Yes, you need to either remove the PC36IMG file from your sdcard or rename it so that it doesn't try and flash it every time you go to hboot. As far as flashing, yes it is similar. Amon RA says "flash zip from sdcard" I believe where Clockwork is a little different. Make sure before you flash that you do the appropriate wipes(data/factory reset and davlik-cache for roms, and just davlik-cache for kernels-themes-mods) and always, always(did I say always) make a nandroid before making any changes to your phone. In Amon, you want to make at least one nandroid with wimax selected and save a copy to your computer. This will backup your 4g RSA keys in case you ever have a problem and lose them.

Okay, just flashed MikFroyo 4.5 and it said it was completed. Went to reboot...now been sitting on the white "htc EVO 4G" screen for about 15 minutes....

 

[Xtremedays]

Okay, just flashed MikFroyo 4.5 and it said it was completed. Went to reboot...now been sitting on the white "htc EVO 4G" screen for about 15 minutes....

Try a battery pull and then reboot the phone again. I had the same issue on my wife's Evo when I rooted her's and installed Mik 4.4. Just seems to be a first time boot thing with some roms.

First time boot will take a bit though as the phone has to write some files to the sdcard that are not there as yet.

 

[miker625]

Try a battery pull and then reboot the phone again. I had the same issue on my wife's Evo when I rooted her's and installed Mik 4.4. Just seems to be a first time boot thing with some roms.

First time boot will take a bit though as the phone has to write some files to the sdcard that are not there as yet.

Thank you!! Yeah, that worked. Pulled battery and booted into hboot, did Fast Boot and seem to be all good now. Yay!!

 

[Xtremedays]

Thank you!! Yeah, that worked. Pulled battery and booted into hboot, did Fast Boot and seem to be all good now. Yay!!

Glad you got it. Mikfroyo is an awesome rom. I ran it for a few weeks til I switched to Gingerbread roms.

 

[nick1313]

Yes, you need to either remove the PC36IMG file from your sdcard or rename it so that it doesn't try and flash it every time you go to hboot. As far as flashing, yes it is similar. Amon RA says "flash zip from sdcard" I believe where Clockwork is a little different. Make sure before you flash that you do the appropriate wipes(data/factory reset and davlik-cache for roms, and just davlik-cache for kernels-themes-mods) and always, always(did I say always) make a nandroid before making any changes to your phone. In Amon, you want to make at least one nandroid with wimax selected and save a copy to your computer. This will backup your 4g RSA keys in case you ever have a problem and lose them.

Yes Nandroid, nandroid, nandroid!!! I end up having about 6 different nands for one ROM until I get it the way I want. All of them named precisely what they are (mik4.5base+settings+preMod+postmod+etc etc). With AmonRa you nands are saved in a folder on your sd called nandroid and you have to go in there and rename them. I made a seperate wimax only back up of my keys and just called it wimax. Be sure to save all your nands somewhere safe and not JUST your sd card.

Okay, just flashed MikFroyo 4.5 and it said it was completed. Went to reboot...now been sitting on the white "htc EVO 4G" screen for about 15 minutes....

That will happen from time to time like xtremedays said. Even when you flash different themes/mods it will happen.

Thank you!! Yeah, that worked. Pulled battery and booted into hboot, did Fast Boot and seem to be all good now. Yay!!

Great. Now if you have more questions about MikFroyo specifically post in that thread and watch the guys in there race to help you. It's quite humorous, actually. Like I said my screen name is the same and welcome to Team Mik.

 

[watchcricket]

Gurus,

Need your help. Although I spent almost a day reading most of this thread, I failed to root my Evo running the 3.70.XX.XXX.X ROM and 2.10 HBOOT version.

I tried unRevoked 3.32 on my mac (didn't reset and format the SD card). The program rebooted my Evo twice but never went to the "HBOOT" screen but always powered ON as usual. I don't have the details (log messages) from unrevoked3 program but I remember it just gave up and said "Recovering..." and finally "Done".

Now, I would like to try the same from my Windows XP SP3. Is there still some hope?
This is a 2 day old phone and so I do not want to backup any data but would at least like to go back to the stock if this rooting doesn't work! What do I need to do just to be on the safe side after all said and done?

Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,
VV

 

[Xtremedays]

Gurus,

Need your help. Although I spent almost a day reading most of this thread, I failed to root my Evo running the 3.70.XX.XXX.X ROM and 2.10 HBOOT version.

I tried unRevoked 3.32 on my mac (didn't reset and format the SD card). The program rebooted my Evo twice but never went to the "HBOOT" screen but always powered ON as usual. I don't have the details (log messages) from unrevoked3 program but I remember it just gave up and said "Recovering..." and finally "Done".

Now, I would like to try the same from my Windows XP SP3. Is there still some hope?
This is a 2 day old phone and so I do not want to backup any data but would at least like to go back to the stock if this rooting doesn't work! What do I need to do just to be on the safe side after all said and done?

Thanks in advance.

Best Regards,
VV

First go to hboot and see if you have s-off. If so try and go to recovery and see if you have a recovery flashed.

 

[watchcricket]

First go to hboot and see if you have s-off. If so try and go to recovery and see if you have a recovery flashed.

Many thanks for your time/response. Been doing "refresh" for a long time now!

Yes, my hboot says S-OFF. It shows the following:

SUPERSONIC EVT2-3 SHIP S-OFF
HBOOT- 2.10.0001
MICROP-041f
TOUCH PANEL-ATMEL224_16ab
RADIO-2.15.00.11.19
Oct 15 2010,12:07:00

I selected the Recovery and see the following:

ClockworkMod Recovery v2.6.0.1

- reboot systme now
- apply sdcard:update.zip
- wipe data/factory reset
- wipe cache partition
- install zip from sdcard
- backup and restore
- mounts and storage
- advanced
- +++++Go Back+++++

ClockworkMod Recovery v2.6.0.1

So, is this good? Can I root from now? Or do you have do a hard reset and try it all over again using a Windows XP? Thanks in advance.

Edited:
By the way, I am expecting my 16GB microSD this afternoon. So, should I wait, hard reset, format microSD and try to root using my Windows XP?

 

[Xtremedays]

Boot up the phone normally and see if you the superuser app in the app drawer. Download Terminal emulator from the market if you do and run it after install. Type "su" without the quotes. If the $ turns into a # then you are rooted.

BTW, you have 2 of the 3 things at this point that Unrevoked is supposed to do. The rest can be done manually if you don't have a rooted rom.

 

[watchcricket]

Boot up the phone normally and see if you the superuser app in the app drawer. Download Terminal emulator from the market if you do and run it after install. Type "su" without the quotes. If the $ turns into a # then you are rooted.

BTW, you have 2 of the 3 things at this point that Unrevoked is supposed to do. The rest can be done manually if you don't have a rooted rom.

Downloaded the Android Terminal Emulator and installed it. Opened it, typed "su" without quotes and hit "Enter". It popped a dialog asking for permission

Superuser Request

The following app is requesting superuser access:
App: Terminal Emulator (10095)
Package: jackpal.androidterm
Requested UID: root(0)
Command: /system/bin/sh

After I allowed the permission, the emulator displayed "Permission denied" and went back to $ prompt.

What are my options now? I have no clue! Thanks in advance.

 

[Xtremedays]

Are you planning on flashing a custom rom or do you want to stay with the stock rom and just be rooted?

You are rooted at this point but the stock rom is not rooted.

 

[watchcricket]

Are you planning on flashing a custom rom or do you want to stay with the stock rom and just be rooted?

You are rooted at this point but the stock rom is not rooted.

First of all, many thanks for your prompt responses.

Well, as I said, I am expecting a 16GB microSD card this afternoon and would like to start all over again (2 day old phone) with a good ROM (thinking of Sprint Lovers as it close to the stock ROM). Please advise.

 

[Xtremedays]

First of all, many thanks for your prompt responses.

Well, as I said, I am expecting a 16GB microSD card this afternoon and would like to start all over again (2 day old phone) with a good ROM (thinking of Sprint Lovers as it close to the stock ROM). Please advise.

That one would be a fine one to start with. Follow the steps in the Rooting guide and you should be good to go. Like I said, you are rooted, just the stock rom did not get rooted. If you download and flash Sprint Lover's it will take care of that as it is a rooted rom. If you have any questions or issues, feel free to ask. Many on here are willing to help. Welcome to the world of root! Happy flashing!

 

[watchcricket]

That one would be a fine one to start with. Follow the steps in the Rooting guide and you should be good to go. Like I said, you are rooted, just the stock rom did not get rooted. If you download and flash Sprint Lover's it will take care of that as it is a rooted rom. If you have any questions or issues, feel free to ask. Many on here are willing to help. Welcome to the world of root! Happy flashing!

Do you think I should wait for the 16GB and then flash OR you think I can do the flash now and can always format/use the SD card later? Thanks in advance.

 

[Xtremedays]

Do you think I should wait for the 16GB and then flash OR you think I can do the flash now and can always format/use the SD card later? Thanks in advance.

I would flash it now and just format the card when you get it. Make sure that before you make any changes to your phone you make a nandroid backup from recovery. Copy the contents of you sd card to your computer then to your new card when you get it so you keep anything that you want on your new card.

 

[watchcricket]

I would flash it now and just format the card when you get it. Make sure that before you make any changes to your phone you make a nandroid backup from recovery. Copy the contents of you sd card to your computer then to your new card when you get it so you keep anything that you want on your new card.

One last question: Do I take a nandroid backup from recovery before I flash the new ROM or afterward? Also, any app that you recommend for backup? Titanium Backup?

 

[dfreeman]

Thanks for sharing this information, great post buddy, thanks for sharing the love.

 

[Xtremedays]

One last question: Do I take a nandroid backup from recovery before I flash the new ROM or afterward? Also, any app that you recommend for backup? Titanium Backup?

Titanium to back up your apps and app data. I would not use it to restore system data though as it can cause issues with the rom. Backup BEFORE you make any changes so if something goes wrong, you have a good version to go back to. I also backup after I get a good setup so I have it available later if something goes wrong.

 

[nick1313]

First of all, many thanks for your prompt responses.

Well, as I said, I am expecting a 16GB microSD card this afternoon and would like to start all over again (2 day old phone) with a good ROM (thinking of Sprint Lovers as it close to the stock ROM). Please advise.

MikFroyo 4.5 is another great one.

 

[frenchy714]

MikFroyo 4.5 is another great one.

Stock Turbo is also a good ROM with plenty of goodies under the hood w/ a stock feel.