Root A new guy tries rooting...

[xmorphicx]

Hello all. I bought the Evo the first day it came out, but until yesterday, did not really have any desire to root. Yesterday, I began looking at videos on YouTube of popular ROMs and decided to give it a shot.

Now, I did a little bit of research before I started, but clearly not enough. =)

I tried following a step-by-step guide, but somehow messed it up. I ended up getting Cyanogen 7 on my phone by renaming the file "PC36IMG.ZIP," and rebooting while holding VOLUME DOWN. Once that was on, there was an option built into the ROM to add ClockworkMod, which I did and added a Gapps package to give me Market, etc.

Anyway, I lost most of my apps, etc... and while I really enjoyed the ROM, I ended up flashing (right term?) the stock Evo ROM (used the PC36IMG.ZIP method)... and after about 10 OTA updates, I'm back at the newest stock version (the one that comes with Swype).

Soooo....

Basically, I somehow blundered my way through the process... and managed to restore my phone to what seems like original condition. Now I want to learn how to do it the right way.

I've read the stickies, but they are a bit overwhelming, and I have some specific questions.

1. Is using a utility like Unrevoked the easiest way to root my phone?

2. Is rooting actually installing a different (rooted) ROM on your phone, or is it just "unlocking" the door to root access?

3. Once I am rooted and want to try some different ROMs... will Nandroid and Titanium backup be enough to carry over my apps, and restore my phone if that's what I choose? Or do I need additional apps to help?

4. What's the difference between what happens when you use a "PC36IMG.ZIP" file and if you go into recovery and use "UPDATE.ZIP"?

5. If I decide to install Cyanogen 6 or 7, and Gingerbread is officially released for the Evo... is updating as easy as using Nandroid to restore back to rooted stock (does that even make sense?), and then doing the OTA update? Or do I have to unroot...

Thanks in advance for the help. I'm trying to do as much independent learning with the nice stickies here, but sometimes they don't answer specific questions!

 

[anderson620]

1. In my opinion, UnrEVOked is the easiest way to obtain root. Some may argue that it is not the best way, but not many argue the ease of it.
2. "Rooting" is gaining root access to the 'inner workings' of the phone. Installing a rooted ROM is not possible without a custom recovery.
3. Nandroid is an ABSOLUTE MUST and should be done before making ANY changes to your phone. Titanium will restore apps. Nandroid will restore your phone to a previous state.
4. I've never noticed a difference in the outcome; someone more tech-saavy than I may be able to describe the workings behind it.
5. It is not possible to take an OTA and maintain root; at least, not that I've ever heard. If (or when) GB is released for the EVO it won't be long before someone has the "Stock Rooted" version. You certainly won't be missing anything by passing on the OTA and flashing the rooted GB. I've been running the CM7 nightlies for a while now and it's solid enough to be used as an everyday driver. Anything after it's current state is gravy!

Have fun.