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Root New with Questions...

R

rnr81

Newbie
Hi, I'm Rory, I have desire HD which I haven't messed with yet as I didn't want to risk the warranty, and its on Orange at the moment

I have a couple of questions, potentially stupid ones as it happens but here goes:

What does rooting actually do?? my guess is strips it of all the network crap/bloatware??

Does rooting remove network lock so I can use another providers sim? if not, can this be done free another way?

I heard of 2 methods, advance ace hack and unrevoked3, do they do the same thing or do u use one then the other?? if its the former, which one is best and why?

I saw a vid on the tube about rooting, which said a new rom isn't necessary, but the chap in the vid went thru the process of putting a custom one on for his tutorial, what happens if you don't put a custom rom on, does rooting leave a "default" rom on for normal use?

custom roms, why are there so many to choose from?? (I want my desire hd to run very quickly while still letting me use all my current apps and get rid of things like twitter, news, news and weather, most of Orange's apps etc)

last one, does compatibility of apps vary depending on certain roms?

Thanks in advance for any useful info

Rory
 
rnr81 said:
Hi, I'm Rory,
Click to expand...

Hello Rory - welcome to the forums!! :)

I have desire HD which I haven't messed with yet as I didn't want to risk the warranty, and its on Orange at the moment

I have a couple of questions, potentially stupid ones as it happens but here goes:
Click to expand...

Don't worry... questions is good... better to be prepared and understand!! :)

What does rooting actually do?? my guess is strips it of all the network crap/bloatware??
Click to expand...

Here is a bit more info on rooting http://androidforums.com/faqs/443432-what-root-being-rooted-mean.html and http://androidforums.com/faqs/443075-root-terminology.html

Does rooting remove network lock so I can use another providers sim? if not, can this be done free another way?
Click to expand...

The AAHK does sim-unlock your phone (I've used it to root a mates phone to use on a different network).

I heard of 2 methods, advance ace hack and unrevoked3, do they do the same thing or do u use one then the other?? if its the former, which one is best and why?
Click to expand...

I would say use the AAHK (it's a one click tool and is relatively straight forward to use)... if you need help, shout up and we will try to sort you :)

I saw a vid on the tube about rooting, which said a new rom isn't necessary, but the chap in the vid went thru the process of putting a custom one on for his tutorial, what happens if you don't put a custom rom on, does rooting leave a "default" rom on for normal use?
Click to expand...

You don't have to put a custom ROM on but, if you've gone as far as rooting then, in my opinion, you may as well go the whole hog and put a custom ROM on there :)

custom roms, why are there so many to choose from?? (I want my desire hd to run very quickly while still letting me use all my current apps and get rid of things like twitter, news, news and weather, most of Orange's apps etc)
Click to expand...

There are so many custom ROM's, as there are lots of ROM developers :)

I rooted to get rid of bloatware rubbish (and also to run custom ROMs)... I haven't looked back! I actually went for CyanogenMod 7 (at the time), which is vanilla Android - different look/feel to what HTC give you with their Sense UI - we can discuss ROM's further if you decide to go for it!! :)

last one, does compatibility of apps vary depending on certain roms?

Thanks in advance for any useful info

Rory
Click to expand...

I think that the majority of apps should work on most ROM's. There are some that do not work on rooted phones - I think that Sky's TV app doesn't work... it's something to do with them not liking people having root access. Most that you download from Google Play should be ok though!! :)
 
already stuck, can't find anywhere with a valid link to get AAHK ??


Scratch that, I wasn't lookin hard enough...
 
Do you mean when you try to run the AAHK?

I've only used it once myself... on a PC you need to disable all malwear/antivirus software on your computer and remove any HTC drivers/sync software (they all affect the hack kit). In fact, the best environment to run the kit in is Linux (that's what I used).
 
Superuser is what is used to give root only apps (such as Titanium Backup) root access. Each time an app requires root access (well... the first time at least, as it remembers that you let it have root access) a pop-up will appear for you to grant access.

Busybox is another root thing - it provides simple, but powerful, Linux utilities, that Android doesn't come with by default. Again, this is used by Root only apps.

BusyBox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Your next step would be to put a custom ROM on your phone... more info on that is in the root sticky I linked a couple of posts above :)

If you need any help/have any other questions, feel free to post back again and I'm sure we'll be able to sort you... better to ask questions than get stuck :)
 
Ok I do have a couple of questions regarding ROMs before I start playing with them

My intention was to simply have a bloatware free version of my HTC, I was happy with the appearance anyway but I do like a change from time to time, so is flashing a rom as simple as flashing a rom, as i keep seeing info on radios, kernels undervolting, clocking, and clockworkmod app?


basically, what is the minimum requirement to simply flash a new ROM?

what does AOSP/AOKP and MIUI mean?

sorry for my persistent need for help but theres lots of info and i'm not sure what is essential and what is optional

also I uninstalled BusyBox by accident, do I really need that, when I searched on the market there were a few and I wasn't sure which one I had initially
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1531218
 
rnr81 said:
Ok I do have a couple of questions regarding ROMs before I start playing with them
Click to expand...

No worries... let's go for it! :)

My intention was to simply have a bloatware free version of my HTC, I was happy with the appearance anyway but I do like a change from time to time, so is flashing a rom as simple as flashing a rom, as i keep seeing info on radios, kernels undervolting, clocking, and clockworkmod app?
Click to expand...
Yes... flashing a ROM is as simple as flashing a ROM. Radios/kernels/undervolting/overclocking are all things you can look in to once you feel comfortable with flashing ROM's - not difficult, but not worth worrying about at first :)

ClockWorkMod is a custom recovery - it is what you use to flash the different ROM's. When you reboot in to recovery, you then use the volume keys to navigate up and down and the power button to select the option you have highlighted.
basically, what is the minimum requirement to simply flash a new ROM?
Click to expand...


  • Download the new ROM you want and check the MD5 sum
  • Put a copy of the new ROM you want to flash on the root of your SD card (as in not in any folders)
  • Back up texts/call logs (if you want) with apps that are available on Google Play
  • Back your apps (and their data) up with Titanium Backup (it is worth getting the paid version, as it is not much and it allows you to batch backup/restore)
  • Reboot in to recovery
  • Make a backup of your current ROM (this is like a picture of your phone how it is now, before you do anything with it) - this can save your bacon should anything go wrong (nothing should go wrong, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared)
  • Perform all wipes (cache, factory reset, dalvik cache)
  • Install zip from SD card (in ClockWorkMod you select the option to chose the zip yourself)
  • Let CWM (ClockWorkMod) do it's thing
  • Reboot the phone and enjoy :)

On first boot, it may take a little longer... don't worry! If it doesn't boot, then pull the battery and wait a couple of mins, before reinserting and turning back on... if it still doesn't boot, you can always go back to the backup you've made :)

what does AOSP/AOKP and MIUI mean?
Click to expand...
AOSP = Android Open Source Project -> Google leaded project for Android -> http://source.android.com/faqs.html#...bility-program
AOKP = Android Open Kang Project -> commonly used custom ROM (ICS Android 4.x) based on AOSP
Click to expand...
MIUI is a name for a custom ROM - their ROM's are similar to iPhone (I believe... I've never tried them)

sorry for my persistent need for help but theres lots of info and i'm not sure what is essential and what is optional
Click to expand...
Better to ask - easier to avoid than get stuck and need help :)

also I uninstalled BusyBox by accident, do I really need that, when I searched on the market there were a few and I wasn't sure which one I had initially
Click to expand...
Yes - reinstall it... it is useful (you won't do anything with it, but your phone will). I don't think it would matter too much which version you put on your phone... when you flash a custom ROM, it is usually included :)
 
md5 sum?

I downloaded icecoldsandwich 8.5 and all its doing is looping on bootup, has been doing this for a few mins now so i'm being patient to see if anything changed, otherwise i'll give revolution a go, that seems to promote good battery life which I wouldn't mind
 
Mehta23 said:
If you get a boot loop, pull the battery, try it again.
Otherwise try re flashing the rom.
Click to expand...

tried both steps twice without success, went with Revolution HD 6.3 which is nice and "clean" and my phone is now as I required in my first post

just one more Q now, I did use Titanium to get rid of stuff but i'm reluctant to pay for stuff (the pro versions of apps) so if that means backing up my apps one by one, then i'm patient enough to do that

so... my question is:

do I have to faff re-installing Apps EACH TIME I try a new ROM?

other than that, all is well :) and thanks for all the advice so far
 
Yes, you would need to re-install apps each time you change ROM's... I tend to let the phone download stuff from Google Play and then restore data. If you pay for TB, then you would be able to batch backup/restore but, if you are happy doing them one at a time, then the free app is fully functional!

Good to know that you are all sorted now!! :)
 
Hello again, I haven't been on for a while as I had settled on a rom (changed from revolution to blackout ICS and have just tried cm10.1 (too buggy atm) and now gonna put another on) but I have a question, not rom specific as such

did rooting my phone do anything specific to the Micro SD, and are there any kind of system files on my micro SD that the rooted phone now depends on, or can I clear it/put a bigger one in and slap the Rom zips on to start fresh??
 
rnr81 said:
Hello again, I haven't been on for a while as I had settled on a rom (changed from revolution to blackout ICS and have just tried cm10.1 (too buggy atm) and now gonna put another on) but I have a question, not rom specific as such

did rooting my phone do anything specific to the Micro SD, and are there any kind of system files on my micro SD that the rooted phone now depends on, or can I clear it/put a bigger one in and slap the Rom zips on to start fresh??
Click to expand...

hello..
you can change SD if you want :) everything will be ok
and would like to recommended you to try some of 4.2 ROM..CM10.1 by Mustaavalkosta, Nightlies or M-Series are the best..
 
Ok I'm back, I've not posted much as I've been more than happy on blackout ICS, I did try a cm as I think I mentioned above, but reverted as it was buggy, recently my phone forgot there was a card slot, and rebooting normally didn't fix, I panicked a bit as no card li its the phone somewhat, but when I booted into recovery the card was visible, sigh of relief, gave cm10.1 another go, buggy as hell still, tried the M version now, that one just hangs, on almost everything I wanna do, I get the xxxxxxxx is not responding, close wait report, press wait and it catches up, I can't be doin with that all the time, even turning the phone portrait to landscape confuses it sometimes

Is there a stable cm10.1 or similar?? I'm gonna revert back to blackout for the time being and hope the reinstall sorts the card bug I had before but if anyone can suggest a fast AND stable ROM that lasts about 16 hours under 'average' use between charges I'll be a happy chappy
 
The RC of CM10.1 by Mustavoka (I can never remember the name and that isn't it ^_^) is very good. I can't tell you about battery life as my phone/battery is dying a slow and painful death.
 
ok since my last post i've tried a couple more roms, all with limited success, an reverted again back to Blackout ICS,

I tried Jellytime, but my gps didn't work, never ever ever found a signal, even after a re-flash, I didn't realise how much I actually use my sat nav until I started using JT, tried Mitral, I like it but drained the battery within only an hour while doing the usual house keeping of putting my apps back on, worth noting that while faffing with Roms I have only been re-installing apps I know i'll need imminently as opposed to the fun crap I would normally put on later

I can't recommend Blackout ICS enough for battery life, I know battery life is never great on phones nowadays but it does seem to last more than any other rom i've tried since
 
Hi Guys, a little off topic but I have a question, i've just been given a HTC Sensation its in mint condition and original at the moment

my question is given that I have a mint Desire HD also, and I don't need both, which would you keep

its worth mentioning that wifi hot spot has never worked on my HD, which seems to be common with the HD, is it the same with the sensation?? if not, is the sensation as easy/good to play around with regarding rooting and romming

My HD has never let me down other than the lack of Wiffy Hotspot

opinions welcomed and thanks in advance

Rory
 
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