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Root Is Bootstrap necessary...

N

not2shabby

Newbie
if all I want to do is root and run some apps? I've read a bunch of threads and I'm still not sure. Don't flame me too bad, total nOOb here, 1st smart phone and only had it a few weeks. TIA!
 
i guess not, you should be able to root, use superuser and add whatever apps you want.

you may find it necessary later if you want to add something thats a .zip or make back ups and flash those....but to just add root needed apps, i could be wrong, but i dont think its necessary.
 
Bootstrap allows you to create a backup of your entire phone (less sd card) as it was on a certain day.

Titanium or similar apps, only backup apps and their data.

Both are excellent at fixing problems, but custom rom or not, I would still want to be able to backup my phone with recovery.

Likewise, Rom Manager is an excellent backup manager. It also uses bootstrap. Some people have issues with it, but it has always worked for me.
 
If you are even thinking of doing anything with custom roms or doing anything that might mess up your phone then definitely get it.
 
It's not "technically" necessary if all you want to do is root and install some root-only apps. But there's not really any reason not to use it. You can get it free off Koush's website if you can't afford to donate $2. Making one stock backup of your phone is worth $2, if that's the last thing you ever use bootstrap for.
 
Alllllllrighty then! Better safe than sorry, I'll go ahead and do it. One more question; after I downloaded Z4root and installed it, my phone acted funny. It kept taking several seconds to load a screen after I clicked on something. I rebooted it a few times and removed the battery once or twice and it seems ok now. Anybody else experience this?

edit: I actually tried to download it from my laptop 1st by dragging it to mass storage, that's when my phone starting getting funky. It didn't show up on the sd card either so I downloaded with the phone's browser and then ran it. I've the SU icon and the root ran in just a few seconds, so I assume it worked.
 
z4 takes minutes to run, typically up to 5 and they suggest rebooting and trying again if it takes more than that.

It sounds to me like it was still running in the background, causing the lag.

If you open it again, it should say if you're rooted.
 
Ahhh, that makes sense. When I open the Z4 app it has temp root, perm root, and un-root and at the bottom says my device has an 'su' binary so the force un-root option has been activated.
So now I guess it's time to download bootstrap and Ti and do some backups before anything else, right?
 
I would certainly recommend bootstrap. It isn't going to harm you phone, and allows you to recover the phone if/when necessary.

For example, yesterday I received a replacement phone due to a headphone jack failure on my original DroidX. I simply created a bootstrap backup of the old phone. Then rooted and installed bootstrap on the replacement phone, moved the CD card to new the phone and recovered all my apps settings and data by doing a simple recovery. Within 30 minutes of unboxing my new phone, it was working exactly like my old phone including a custom ROM and theme and all my applications.

To do that from scratch would have taken quite some time as just downloading the all the apps takes time. Plus I would have lost custom settings and data on my apps.
 
not2shabby said:
Ahhh, that makes sense. When I open the Z4 app it has temp root, perm root, and un-root and at the bottom says my device has an 'su' binary so the force un-root option has been activated.
So now I guess it's time to download bootstrap and Ti and do some backups before anything else, right?
Click to expand...

Mine says:
Re-root

Un-root
​
... and I definitely am rooted.

I have version 1.30. (menu button... about).

Either you're not rooted or you just have an older version. If yours is older you can get the latest here: http://handheld.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/Enhancements/z4root-110178.shtml
 
It wasn't rooted! I ran the permanent root and it took a little while but now it's definately rooted! I went ahead and bought bootstrap and Ti backup pro and ran them, so I'm ready to roll now! Any suggestions for the latest, greatest root apps? Not sure I'm quite ready for custom ROM's, etc...I'm not even sure of the advantages. I need to do some more reading...
 
Well lets see, my root apps are as follows...

1. AdFree
2. AdjBrightness
3. AutoKiller *
4. Boot Animation Changer
5. DX/D2 Overclocker *
6. Droid X Bootstrapper ***
7. Font Changer
8. Hot Reboot
9. QuickClock Advance
10. Root Explorer *
11. Search2Play
12. SetCPU *
13. Terminal Emulator
14. Wireless Tether ***
15. Drocap2

That's just the order in which they are in my 'Superuser' list. The ones I highly recommend are starred.
 
Thanks! I just installed wireless tether and ran it. It works, but I got a message saying it's an unsecured connection, others may see what I'm doing. Is there a way to make it secure and prevent others from tapping into it if say, I'm in a hotel somewhere?

Edit, nevermind, I went into settings and figured it out....duh!
 
I have 4 bars and download here is less than 1, today it's .76. I am not being throttled, if that's what you're thinking.

My wi-fi OTOH is 5 to 22 depending on where I'm at.
 
colchiro said:
I have 4 bars and download here is less than 1, today it's .76. I am not being throttled, if that's what you're thinking.

My wi-fi OTOH is 5 to 22 depending on where I'm at.
Click to expand...

0.76 is pretty slow, good enough for browsing, but not downloading.....I get around 22 on my home network too, not really fair to compare.....lol :D
 
To answer your question, no it is not necessary if all you want to do is root and run a root-only app like wireless tether or adfree.

However, if you want to customize further/backup, then yes it is necessary. If you want to flash a rom, theme, etc., bootstrap is the only way that I know how. Furthermore, you will need it to create a nandroid backup so you can restore in case anything goes wrong.

Once you start modding, you will want backups and the ability to restore. And you might as well learn how to SBF now because chances are you will need it sometime in the future.

One warning many haven't picked up: Once you bootstrap, you will need to do some mods to un-bootstrap if you want to get OTAs. I forget the process, but there are two files or so that you either need to delete or rename so that you can get OTAs after a bootstrap. I ran into this problem myself. Just do a search. The thread should be under my name on how to do it.


I would also recommend root explorer. It will make your life easy for modding.
 
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