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Root Guide to Rooting Without a Computer

That's good info, Andy, thanks...I was curious about overclocking as i've seen in discussed in my reading. For now, I really just want to move my apps to the sd card and have room for tons more apps, LOL. i'm assuming i can do this just with rooting?

thanks again!
 
Check out my op. I have added a couple of flashable recovery files to the download list. These will allow you to install the CWM3.0.2.4 recovery for flashing CM7 roms, and the xionia recovery for flashing the 2.2 roms. These zips install from your recovery and do not require the use the Terminal Emulator to install. You will still need to do the initial installation of a custom recovery that way, but can use these once you have a custom recovery installed. It may come in handy when switching between roms. Just trying help out people who don't feel comfortable with typing commands in terminal.
 
mkbkr1 said:
Check out my op. I have added a couple of flashable recovery files to the download list. These will allow you to install the CWM3.0.2.4 recovery for flashing CM7 roms, and the xionia recovery for flashing the 2.2 roms. These zips install from your recovery and do not require the use the Terminal Emulator to install. You will still need to do the initial installation of a custom recovery that way, but can use these once you have a custom recovery installed. It may come in handy when switching between roms. Just trying help out people who don't feel comfortable with typing commands in terminal.
Click to expand...
I'll keep your updated info in mind when I find a new member that needs to be sent to your tutorial, or just a member who would benefit from one of the recovery's you just mentioned.
 
Hi mkbkr1,

Thanks for the info...hope you don't mind the question, but I don't understand this statement:

"These zips install from your recovery and do not require the use the Terminal Emulator to install. You will still need to do the initial installation of a custom recovery that way, but can use these once you have a custom recovery installed."

I'm totally lost on what that means and what I'd need to do...

Thanks!
 
When you first root your phone, you will need to follow the guide to install the flash _image, and the recovery using terminal emulator. After that, if you wish to change it to the CWM recovery for flashing CM7 roms you can flash the zip I linked through that recovery.
 
OK, still a bit over my head, LOL. I don't know what "flash the zip" means.

but i should be ok, b/c i'm just planning to root and if i want to brave a ROM in future, I think I'm headed for Harmonia, which to my understanding is a 2.2 and would use the xionia recovery that will be part of the root i do per your OP instructions...am i right?

Thanks lots!
 
You might look at the Bumblebee ROM. It has almost the amount of app memory as Harmonia but is way faster. If you like to play games and have a good deal of apps then Bumblebee might be a good choice.
 
OK, Yikes, is anyone available? I started the rooting and thought all was going well...got thru the gingerbreak, phone rebooted, saw superuser app, downloaded busybox, and opened Terminal Emulator to type in the code...

And then, problems...I just posted to the All Things Root Forum to find help...can anyone read what happened in my post there and tell me what to do?

EDIT:

OK, I think I might have extracted in androzip incorrectly...but the gingerbreak did work. but then, i deleted gingerbreak app, like instructions said was OK to do...and now i'm in androzip and searching for the other files that should be there, the flash image and recovery, and i don't see them anywhere...where did they go? am i in trouble here? anyone?

ok, now i see the files...in ./sdcard/download. did i not extract them? then how did the gingerbreak work? and what do i do now? i'm afraid to do anything at this point b/c i'm so dumb with this!

EDIT AGAIN:
OK, I found the downloaded files...I had never put them on the root of the sd card. I moved them to root correctly. Question...since it wasn't on root of sd card, did the gingerbreak actually work right?

i went in to TE and typed up the code as in OP, and it went fine this time, and it rebooted my phone, but NOT to a new boot screen with the options that are in the end of the OP...it just ended up on my original home screen. what do i do now?????
 
I posted in your other thread. Move flash_image to the root of the card and try the terminal em.stuff again. If you get a # after you type SU, when you have root and gingerbreak worked,continue.
 
Ok...deep breath, and here I am to say a HUGE thank you to mkbkr1, sadielynn, andyopie and all the great people here who have worked on this tutorial and helped me in this process.

To make a long story short, the rooting procedure did NOT go smoothly for me, LOL, as SadieLynn can attest and mkbkr1 and anyone else who saw my "help,help" post...

What was supposed to be a simple 10 minute gingerbreak root turned into a two-hour sweat fest, LOL. Truly, I bring new levels to the concept of "newbie." Think of me as a 5 year old who was just enrolled in an advanced calculus class...or put in charge of flying the space shuttle, LOL!! :)

I did get the root to work and I got the recovery to run and I made my backup and did the reboot. For now, I cannot bear to think of doing anything else, like putting on a ROM. Honestly, I'm scared silly to attempt it, based on how awfully I did in the root, which was supposed to be the "easy part."

If it would be helpful to the Guide developer here, or anyone else helping newbies to root, I thought I'd mention the things I messed up on (mostly b/c I'm really dumb about computer and technological stuff). Here goes:

I incorrectly extracted the zipped files with Androzip ... I did not get them on the root of the sd card, but I didn't know that. I went forward with the gingerbreak and it worked...but typing the commands into terminal to do the next step did not work...until I realized that the files were not on sd root. I went in to Androzip and figured out how to move them to root (yes, embarrassingly, that was difficult...see? five-year-old calculus student? doesn't work! LOL).

Then I did the Terminal Emulator commands again, and the phone "rebooted," but not into recovery. Hmmm...what did I do wrong?

Well, it turns out that I had not actually installed Busybox. I DID download it from market, but I never opened it, not realizing that I needed to actually do something to install it. That is one place where the instructions were not clear enough for a true newbie/dummy like myself. I found Busybox Installer in my apps drawer (yes, I even know what that is now, ugh!), I clicked it, and it told me that it was not installed. I went ahead and installed it (selecting the newest version and placing it in system/bin...no, I do not know what that is, but during some frantic online searches, I read in a different forum that it should go in the same place as "su," and I DID manage to use androzip to find "su" in the /bin, so that's where I assigned Busybox. hope that was correct!)

Anyhoo, after doing that, I went BACK to Terminal Emulator and typed out the code AGAIN, and this time, YAY! it booted to recovery. I did everything described in the OP here and it worked!!! Wow!

And now, I'm exhausted...really...

But, I'm so glad I didn't destroy my phone and rip out all my hair! :)

OK...so now, if someone would please be willing to answer the following questions, keeping in mind how very dumb I am and how much hand-holding I clearly need, LOL:

1) How do I ever get back into that recovery boot menu? Why and when would I need to do that?

also, the instuctions said:

"Before starting, go to setting-applications make sure unknown sources is checked, this will allow you install Gingerbreak from you sd card, then click on development and turn on usb debugging."

1b) Can I go in now an uncheck those things? I have not...am unsure what to do...

I am not ready to ROM yet...don't know if I have it in me without three techy people sitting here with me, LOL! BUT, I do want to "do stuff..." specifically, I want to switch over to my brand new 16 gb sd card.

2) Can I do that without messing up my phone now that the root/recovery files are on my original 2gb sd card that I used this eve? In other words, what about those files that are on my card...do I still need them? Should I copy that stuff onto my computer?

3) How do I switch over to the new card?

4) Per "optional" instructions in OP here, I deleted app "gingerbreak" from app drawer. But in androzip, I still see gingerbreak on the sd card. Does this matter? Should I delete it? How?

5) I did not install Rom Manager...it was not in the OP instructions. Do I need it? why/why not?

6) For now, all I really want to do is move apps to the sd card (once the new one is in place). What is the best way to do that? I have read Links2SD guide and will again...but what are the apps I need to do what I want with app moving?

7) What apps should I now get and use with this new rooted phone...what are essential? I think i want to be able to clean all my cache with one click. What should I choose to do that?

EDIT: oops, remembered an important one:
8) My recovery backup is on the original 2gb card I used for the root. What happens when I replace with new, bigger card? Do I need to do the recovery backup again on that card? Will switching cards mess me up now? Did I already ask that? hahaha

OK, I think that's all the questions for now. I REALLy appreciate everyone's time and talent. I hope I'm not asking too much in the above questions...I'm just really "gun shy" right now if that makes sense. :)

Thanks again and I'm open to any and all input, comments, suggestions, advice...even if it is, "you're just too dumb for this, quit now!!" LOL TIA!!!

EDIT again:
If I've put this in the wrong thread and should have started a new thread for these questions, I apologize...just let me know and I'll start fresh.
 
Quick question. I read there's no problem wiping cache and Dalvik cache from recovery (rooted using method here, stock ROM). I just did that, no real problems, other than my available memory went from 102 available to 53 available. I rebooted twice to be sure. What can cause that?

edit: Discovered problem/fix. Have to go back into Link2SD and Re-link Libraries and Dalvik cache. Back up to 105mb! This phone is awesome!

edit2: Curious, is there any real difference in wiping cache partition and Dalvik cache from recovery and using the tools in link2SD (clean up 2nd partition ans clean up Dalvik cache)?
 
(hand raising) I rooted my V with super one click no problems, so I tried to root wife's V and it kept giving me a pop up that says something about version OS later than 2.0 and then failing could not shell root or root period. So I downloaded this gingerbreak.apk and now I am nervous to even run it. After all your help and advice I feel comfortable with installing the ROM and theme and gapps. It just seemed rooting my phone was much easier.
 
Yeah, from what I understand, Android 2.2.2 you have to use gingerbreak in order to root. And you may have to do it 2 to 3 times in order for it to take. I read in another forum it took someone 5 tries to get it rooted with gingerbreak. So don't get disheartened if it doesn't work the first few times.
 
<--Biggest newb ever here. Followed the directions step by step and it worked perfectly for me. Thank you so much for the step by step guide. The other step by step guides skip many steps that are crucial for total newbs like myself.
 
sushifor5 said:
Ok...deep breath, and here I am to say a HUGE thank you to mkbkr1, sadielynn, andyopie and all the great people here who have worked on this tutorial and helped me in this process.

To make a long story short, the rooting procedure did NOT go smoothly for me, LOL, as SadieLynn can attest and mkbkr1 and anyone else who saw my "help,help" post...

What was supposed to be a simple 10 minute gingerbreak root turned into a two-hour sweat fest, LOL. Truly, I bring new levels to the concept of "newbie." Think of me as a 5 year old who was just enrolled in an advanced calculus class...or put in charge of flying the space shuttle, LOL!! :)

I did get the root to work and I got the recovery to run and I made my backup and did the reboot. For now, I cannot bear to think of doing anything else, like putting on a ROM. Honestly, I'm scared silly to attempt it, based on how awfully I did in the root, which was supposed to be the "easy part."

If it would be helpful to the Guide developer here, or anyone else helping newbies to root, I thought I'd mention the things I messed up on (mostly b/c I'm really dumb about computer and technological stuff). Here goes:

I incorrectly extracted the zipped files with Androzip ... I did not get them on the root of the sd card, but I didn't know that. I went forward with the gingerbreak and it worked...but typing the commands into terminal to do the next step did not work...until I realized that the files were not on sd root. I went in to Androzip and figured out how to move them to root (yes, embarrassingly, that was difficult...see? five-year-old calculus student? doesn't work! LOL).

Then I did the Terminal Emulator commands again, and the phone "rebooted," but not into recovery. Hmmm...what did I do wrong?

Well, it turns out that I had not actually installed Busybox. I DID download it from market, but I never opened it, not realizing that I needed to actually do something to install it. That is one place where the instructions were not clear enough for a true newbie/dummy like myself. I found Busybox Installer in my apps drawer (yes, I even know what that is now, ugh!), I clicked it, and it told me that it was not installed. I went ahead and installed it (selecting the newest version and placing it in system/bin...no, I do not know what that is, but during some frantic online searches, I read in a different forum that it should go in the same place as "su," and I DID manage to use androzip to find "su" in the /bin, so that's where I assigned Busybox. hope that was correct!)

Anyhoo, after doing that, I went BACK to Terminal Emulator and typed out the code AGAIN, and this time, YAY! it booted to recovery. I did everything described in the OP here and it worked!!! Wow!

And now, I'm exhausted...really...

But, I'm so glad I didn't destroy my phone and rip out all my hair! :)

OK...so now, if someone would please be willing to answer the following questions, keeping in mind how very dumb I am and how much hand-holding I clearly need, LOL:

1) How do I ever get back into that recovery boot menu? Why and when would I need to do that?

also, the instuctions said:

"Before starting, go to setting-applications make sure unknown sources is checked, this will allow you install Gingerbreak from you sd card, then click on development and turn on usb debugging."

1b) Can I go in now an uncheck those things? I have not...am unsure what to do...

I am not ready to ROM yet...don't know if I have it in me without three techy people sitting here with me, LOL! BUT, I do want to "do stuff..." specifically, I want to switch over to my brand new 16 gb sd card.

2) Can I do that without messing up my phone now that the root/recovery files are on my original 2gb sd card that I used this eve? In other words, what about those files that are on my card...do I still need them? Should I copy that stuff onto my computer?

3) How do I switch over to the new card?

4) Per "optional" instructions in OP here, I deleted app "gingerbreak" from app drawer. But in androzip, I still see gingerbreak on the sd card. Does this matter? Should I delete it? How?

5) I did not install Rom Manager...it was not in the OP instructions. Do I need it? why/why not?

6) For now, all I really want to do is move apps to the sd card (once the new one is in place). What is the best way to do that? I have read Links2SD guide and will again...but what are the apps I need to do what I want with app moving?

7) What apps should I now get and use with this new rooted phone...what are essential? I think i want to be able to clean all my cache with one click. What should I choose to do that?

EDIT: oops, remembered an important one:
8) My recovery backup is on the original 2gb card I used for the root. What happens when I replace with new, bigger card? Do I need to do the recovery backup again on that card? Will switching cards mess me up now? Did I already ask that? hahaha

OK, I think that's all the questions for now. I REALLy appreciate everyone's time and talent. I hope I'm not asking too much in the above questions...I'm just really "gun shy" right now if that makes sense. :)

Thanks again and I'm open to any and all input, comments, suggestions, advice...even if it is, "you're just too dumb for this, quit now!!" LOL TIA!!!

EDIT again:
If I've put this in the wrong thread and should have started a new thread for these questions, I apologize...just let me know and I'll start fresh.
Click to expand...

Sushi. The questions you've asked throughout this thread have answered many of my own questions. Thank you for being so inquisitive.

I am also looking for answers to some of the questions you've posted above. Specifically questions 1, 1b, 2, and 8. Hopefully someone else can chime in and answer them for us.
 
I'm glad you rooted your phone and everything went well! And thanks for viewing my never-ending inquisitiveness as a positive thing. I often imagine that I'm bugging people to death! LOL But if my risk-adverse obsessiveness and incessant need to know minute details helps others, I'm really happy!! :)

I must say I LOVE my rooted phone, so thanks again to everyone here!!!
 
ok everything went according to plans. But once in recovery mode i only get a few options
reboot
install update zip
factory reset
wipe cache
these are the only ones i see so im trying to figure out what i need to do to get other options so i can back up my stock
 
sushifor5 said:
I'm glad you rooted your phone and everything went well! And thanks for viewing my never-ending inquisitiveness as a positive thing. I often imagine that I'm bugging people to death! LOL But if my risk-adverse obsessiveness and incessant need to know minute details helps others, I'm really happy!! :)

I must say I LOVE my rooted phone, so thanks again to everyone here!!!
Click to expand...


I just installed harmonia. It was incredibly easy. You have to install 1.5 then 1.6 if you want 1.6 to work correctly. Feels good having a fresh phone.

I installed titanium backup to backup my apps but how do I restore them on harmonia? As usual I have no idea what I'm doing.
 
cotyce said:
ok everything went according to plans. But once in recovery mode i only get a few options
reboot
install update zip
factory reset
wipe cache
these are the only ones i see so im trying to figure out what i need to do to get other options so i can back up my stock
Click to expand...
There are only 4 options there. Which means you still have the stock recovery it looks like. A custom recovery would have at least 8 options.
 
G19 said:
I just installed harmonia. It was incredibly easy. You have to install 1.5 then 1.6 if you want 1.6 to work correctly. Feels good having a fresh phone.

I installed titanium backup to backup my apps but how do I restore them on harmonia? As usual I have no idea what I'm doing.
Click to expand...

Congrats on flashing a Rom, as they say. :) I have yet to try that one. I hope you get an answer on doing the restore...I'll be watching to learn as well.
 
sushifor5 said:
Congrats on flashing a Rom, as they say. :) I have yet to try that one. I hope you get an answer on doing the restore...I'll be watching to learn as well.
Click to expand...

Figured it out today. All you do is install titanium backup again and select which apps you'd like to restore. It was easy.

You really need to do this. My phone has never worked so smoothly. It is a lot faster and crisper than it was before. Feels like when you do a fresh install of windows on a problematic computer.
 
G19 said:
Figured it out today. All you do is install titanium backup again and select which apps you'd like to restore. It was easy.

You really need to do this. My phone has never worked so smoothly. It is a lot faster and crisper than it was before. Feels like when you do a fresh install of windows on a problematic computer.
Click to expand...

Good to hear...I am seriously considering it, but still just playing around with the rooted phone and trying a new launcher and learning the ropes, LOL.

Tell me what you meant when you said install TB again? Do you mean you downloaded it again from the market? I'm a "need to know the explicits" newbie, LOL. TIA!
 
sushifor5 said:
Good to hear...I am seriously considering it, but still just playing around with the rooted phone and trying a new launcher and learning the ropes, LOL.

Tell me what you meant when you said install TB again? Do you mean you downloaded it again from the market? I'm a "need to know the explicits" newbie, LOL. TIA!
Click to expand...


I'm the same way :P

Yes, I downloaded it again from the marketplace. I just flashed bumblebee. Its easily as awesome as harmonia. So smooth and fast. Plus the boot animation is way sexier.

21cgv1v.jpg
 
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