First time rooting and installing cm9. help!

[mackytung]

So guys, I'm a newbie here and have tons of questions to ask. So if any of you have the time to help me out, that would be appreciated.

I'm going to try to root my phone and install CM9 (i believe this is what I need if i want to have the ICS launcher thingy... haha)

1.) I have a mac, is it possible to root and install cm9 using a mac? if so, is it hard? cause if it is... i can borrow my friends windows.

2.) since im COMPLETELY new to this, any chances i can permanently brick my phone? ( i will try my best to follow tutorials online)

3.) I believe that the camera/vid. camera doesnt work in CM9. is this still the case?

4.) will i lose all my apps, contacts, messages, etc when I get CM9?

5.) Can anyone guide me through the steps when I root my phone? ( i shall do this tomorrow)

6.) lastly, when/if i get cm9, will i still be able to change certain stuff like my lockscreen (via widgetlocker)?

my galaxy s 2 is firmware 2.3.3 baseband I9100DXKF1

thank you so mch for your help.

 

[Logan47]

1/ No idea on the mac.
2/ There is always a slight chance you can brick but rare to totally break the device, however read up, don't skip any steps and don't get ahead of yourself and you should be fine. Be aware the process of rooting and so on voids your warranty so be sure you wish to go ahead.
Good thread here to get you going on understanding what you are getting in to;
http://androidforums.com/galaxy-s2-...t/482994-rooting-galaxy-s2-dummies-guide.html
3/ Camera works but I never use the video so not sure. I'd check here on the CM9 thread at XDA for current issues.
[ROM][GT-I9100][4.0.4] CyanogenMod 9 nightly builds | DISCUSSION THREAD - xda-developers
This is an ongoing development of nightly roms which are updated with fixes but it is Not a final build so just a heads up that you'll likely find bugs.
4/ Yes you'll have to wipe everything to install cm9 but if you root prior to that following the guide then you'll be able to back up apps and data with Titanium Backup from the google store, the best app you'll ever have as a rooted user.
5/ See the link to root guide above.
6/ No idea about widget locker as I've never used it but possibly so.

Sorry it's a bit rushed but it's 3:30am here and my mind is foggy.....Good luck!

 

[Kie]

So guys, I'm a newbie here and have tons of questions to ask. So if any of you have the time to help me out, that would be appreciated.

I'm going to try to root my phone and install CM9 (i believe this is what I need if i want to have the ICS launcher thingy... haha)

1.) I have a mac, is it possible to root and install cm9 using a mac? if so, is it hard? cause if it is... i can borrow my friends windows.

2.) since im COMPLETELY new to this, any chances i can permanently brick my phone? ( i will try my best to follow tutorials online)

3.) I believe that the camera/vid. camera doesnt work in CM9. is this still the case?

4.) will i lose all my apps, contacts, messages, etc when I get CM9?

5.) Can anyone guide me through the steps when I root my phone? ( i shall do this tomorrow)

6.) lastly, when/if i get cm9, will i still be able to change certain stuff like my lockscreen (via widgetlocker)?

my galaxy s 2 is firmware 2.3.3 baseband I9100DXKF1

thank you so mch for your help.

Logan answered most of them, but I'll chime in on a couple:

4.) Titanium backup is a great way to save apps and app data. You can sync your contacts with your google account so they won't be lost. There's a great app on the play store called SMS Backup and Restore which will keep your messages backed up.

6.) CM9 is AOSP-based, which has options in the ROM Control section of the Settings menu to customise the lockscreen. Like Logan I haven't used widgetlocker so I can't answer that part

 

[mackytung]

I see. thanks for your reply. anyways, i may install MIUI. is there any big difference from CM7 (or 9)? Cause as I was looking at the forums in xda, i saw COUNTLESS amazing MIUI setups (icons, widgets, dialer theme, notification theme, etc). is this also possible in CM7/9? and where do I get these themes/icons for miui?

<3 thanks

 

[mackytung]

lastly, can i update my phone thru kies even once myy phone has been rooted?

if not, should i update to 4.00 first then root? or just go straight to rooting?

 

[Logan47]

Never used miui so can't comment on any aspect of it. You won't be able to update through kies once on custom rom. I'd go through the basics of rooting first before jumping around too much, then when you feel comfortable try your chosen rom and it's various themes.