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Root New to Bolt need some help

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xmetalfan99

Member
I just received my Bolt this past week. It is my first smart phone and I need some help. Sorry if some of these questions are noobish.

1) What program if any do I need to add music to the SD card when my phone is connected to a pc?

2) I plan on rooting my phone in a week or two. I read the stickies, but am worried I missed something. Can someone dumb it down for me? What files do I already need dled to my comp? I am missing these links or info somewhere.

3) When rooted, at what points should I unroot my phone?

Thanks in advance.
 
xmetalfan99 said:
I just received my Bolt this past week. It is my first smart phone and I need some help. Sorry if some of these questions are noobish.

1) What program if any do I need to add music to the SD card when my phone is connected to a pc?

2) I plan on rooting my phone in a week or two. I read the stickies, but am worried I missed something. Can someone dumb it down for me? What files do I already need dled to my comp? I am missing these links or info somewhere.

3) When rooted, at what points should I unroot my phone?

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

You don't need a program to transfer music directly to your SD card. You can drag and drop from window to window. I use Google Music and just stream everything from the phone, so I am unsure of what program to use for listening to music otherwise. I am sure there are some on the market that would suit your needs, you would just need to point the program to the folder you put your music in on your SD card.

Rooting your phone:

1. Use Revolutionary rooting tool.
2. Install superuser
3. Create backup in recovery (clockwork mod)
4. Select ROM of your choice, download and copy to SD card
5. Wipe data/cache/davlik cache in recovery
6. Install ROM from SD card in recovery (choose zip from SD card option)
7. Reboot and enjoy

This is a VERY simple guide, and the tutorials in the rooted section are much better at describing the above. Hopefully your apps and contacts are being backed up by Google, so that when you load the new ROM these will restore to your phone easily.

You shouldn't ever need to unroot your phone, unless you decide you just don't like being rooted (hard to see that happening, but it does happen).
 
xmetalfan99 said:
I just received my Bolt this past week. It is my first smart phone and I need some help. Sorry if some of these questions are noobish.

1) What program if any do I need to add music to the SD card when my phone is connected to a pc?
none. when connected to your pc,your sd card will be viewed as any other usb storage device. you can copy/paste to it or drag and drop files to it. a couple of hints:
-create a folder called "imaages" for pics. it will be available when you want to select wallpaper,or a contact id.
-create a folder called "ringtones" place stuff you want to use for ringtones in it
-create a folder called "notifications" and place sounds youd like to use for alerts or notifications in it.
2) I plan on rooting my phone in a week or two. I read the stickies, but am worried I missed something. Can someone dumb it down for me? What files do I already need dled to my comp? I am missing these links or info somewhere.as said above,just revolutionary and superuser. you can download the "tbolt" file from the unroot directions and follow them to "adb devices" in order to get your serial number for revolutionary. copy things in your command window by right click,click mark,highlight the serial number in white,then hit enter. when you go to get your beta key from revolutionary,you can right click then "paste" when it asks for the serial number. :) the tbolt folder contains adb and fastboot applications,and is not a bad thing to have on your C drive of your pc,in case you need them,IMO.

3) When rooted, at what points should I unroot my phone?
revoltuinarys hboot should never be removed,unless you absolutely 100% HAVE to for a warranty claim. its benefits greatly outweigh the stock hboot,there is no reason to remove it. if you run a stock rom,you will need to replace the custom recovery with a stock one,if you wish to recive an official OTA. more info on that later if needed. there is not really any reason,IMO to unroot.

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

holler if you have other questions :)
 
That question is very subjective. I am a fan of AOSP based roms and would suggest trying CM7 or Liquid. But if you like Sense try out some Sense based roms. Basically try a few and decide what you like the best.
 
xmetalfan99 said:
What would be the best rom to install?
Click to expand...

Try out one of the sense 3.5 ROM's if you are into Sense (I prefer either BAMF Son of a Bliss 1.04, or the newest nightly of Synergy Eternity ROM). The older sense versions have a call answer bug (won't allow you to answer a call, only hang up), which can be annoying (BAMF does have a fix for that on their ROM's, however).

I started with sense ROM's because I enjoyed sense and wanted my phone to function as it had before, without bloat. Now I enjoy MIUI, but with each type of ROM you have a give and take of things you will have to live without (i.e. No Verizon apps on AOSP ROM's, not as much customizing on Sense ROM's).
 
xeno2011 said:
Try out one of the sense 3.5 ROM's if you are into Sense (I prefer either BAMF Son of a Bliss 1.04, or the newest nightly of Synergy Eternity ROM). The older sense versions have a call answer bug (won't allow you to answer a call, only hang up), which can be annoying (BAMF does have a fix for that on their ROM's, however).

I started with sense ROM's because I enjoyed sense and wanted my phone to function as it had before, without bloat. Now I enjoy MIUI, but with each type of ROM you have a give and take of things you will have to live without (i.e. No Verizon apps on AOSP ROM's, not as much customizing on Sense ROM's).
Click to expand...

So, if I like the current interface, go with Sense.

After I root and add a rom, what do I need to do?

Will the phone be completely functional right after root and flashing a rom? I want to root my phone to get rid of the bloatware mainly. Currently, I don't care about all the extra customization options.
 
You may want to try the stock debloated rom first then.

You root first.

Before you flash the rom you will want to use a program like titanium backup to backup your user apps and data. Once you have everything backed up boot into recovery and flash the rom like described above. After the flash you reboot and sign in to google. Download the backup app you used previously and restore your user apps and data.

I like using titanium backup pro for making backups personally.

Edit: You can get the stock debloated rom here http://rootzwiki.com/topic/7639-romflashable-2116055-debloat-rooted/
 
Yeahha said:
You may want to try the stock debloated rom first then.

You root first.

Before you flash the rom you will want to use a program like titanium backup to backup your user apps and data. Once you have everything backed up boot into recovery and flash the rom like described above. After the flash you reboot and sign in to google. Download the backup app you used previously and restore your user apps and data.

I like using titanium backup pro for making backups personally.

Edit: You can get the stock debloated rom here [ROM][FLASHABLE] 2.11.605.5 Debloat Rooted - RootzWiki
Click to expand...

Just to confirm, I don't need to mess with radios or anything like that with that rom. Once I get the hang of the "basic" rom, if you will, I will fiddle with others. Are there any glitches that I may need to take care of right off the bat with the rom you listed?
 
There shouldn't be any issues with that rom it is a basic debloated rom. I would wipe /system in recovery before flashing it but I just like to wipe /system when I flash roms. If you are on GB right now you shouldn't need to flash a radio since you should have the most updated radio.
 
Yeahha said:
There shouldn't be any issues with that rom it is a basic debloated rom. I would wipe /system in recovery before flashing it but I just like to wipe /system when I flash roms. If you are on GB right now you shouldn't need to flash a radio since you should have the most updated radio.
Click to expand...

Could you dumb the wipe / system in recovery please? I am nervous about rooting due to o many warnings about bricking and the possibility of OTAs not asking for permission.

All the lingo that I am not familiar with is confusing me.
 
The risk of bricking isn't really much of a risk if you take your time. If you are running a custom rom then you should not get any OTA, if you are running the stock rom and get an OTA the worst thing that happens is an easily fixable softbrick but I don't forsee an OTA any time soon for the bolt.

Wiping /system will make more sense once you are rooted and in recovery. But basically you will go to the advanced option, then go to mounts and storage, and choose format /system

This deletes the /system partition on the phone memory. When you flash the rom it will have a clean place to write /system. Sometimes if you don't wipe it and if the rom doesn't wipe it then you will get errors with system apps because of remnants of your old /system being left behind after the flash.

Edit: I don't know any way to explain it without using the jargon, as you get more comfortable with a rooted phone you will pick it up as well.

Since you are not rooted yet I would suggest dealing with the process 1 step at a time. First you should worry about rooting instead of flashing a rom. What you decided to do after you root doesn't need to bother you currently because if you don't root everything we are discussing doesn't matter
 
Yeahha said:
The risk of bricking isn't really much of a risk if you take your time. If you are running a custom rom then you should not get any OTA, if you are running the stock rom and get an OTA the worst thing that happens is an easily fixable softbrick but I don't forsee an OTA any time soon for the bolt.

Wiping /system will make more sense once you are rooted and in recovery. But basically you will go to the advanced option, then go to mounts and storage, and choose format /system

This deletes the /system partition on the phone memory. When you flash the rom it will have a clean place to write /system. Sometimes if you don't wipe it and if the rom doesn't wipe it then you will get errors with system apps because of remnants of your old /system being left behind after the flash.

Edit: I don't know any way to explain it without using the jargon, as you get more comfortable with a rooted phone you will pick it up as well.

Since you are not rooted yet I would suggest dealing with the process 1 step at a time. First you should worry about rooting instead of flashing a rom. What you decided to do after you root doesn't need to bother you currently because if you don't root everything we are discussing doesn't matter
Click to expand...

Your explanation with the jargon made sense to me. Thank you.

I like having a plan laid out for projects and I can get ahead of myself easily when doing this. One of those bad practices I picked up in school that I can't seem to get rid of. O well.

Someone my GF works with at BB suggested CyanogenMod. What are your thoughts on that rom?
 
I like CM7 it is AOSP based not sense based so it will look quite different to you.

Making your plans beforehand can have advantages. I just didn't want you to feel overwhelmed by trying to take on too much at once with this.
 
Yeahha said:
I like CM7 it is AOSP based not sense based so it will look quite different to you.

Making your plans beforehand can have advantages. I just didn't want you to feel overwhelmed by trying to take on too much at once with this.
Click to expand...

I don't really feel overwhelmed per say, but worried about da mighty true brick. Which you said really is not something to worry about. I just dled CM7's latest update as of 12/6. It seems like they update it often.

I think it is time to install the sync drivers and get started


EDIT: The link I have to the drivers isn't working. Does anyone have a link to the right drivers?

Second EDIT: Found it
 
I have everything dled and will be going through the process of rooting tomorrow AM.

Quick question, am I able to remove bloatware just with the Superuser or must I have a different rom?
 
Using a rom is the easiest way IMO. But you can use programs like titanium backup to remove bloatware. There is a link to bloatware that is safe to remove in the sticky.
 
Yeahha said:
Using a rom is the easiest way IMO. But you can use programs like titanium backup to remove bloatware. There is a link to bloatware that is safe to remove in the sticky.
Click to expand...

Yup, I read through that last night.

When they say "place the file in the root of the SD card", do they mean the root folder or just to put it on the sd card somewhere you can find it easily and quickly.
 
Yeahha said:
The root of the sd card means not in any folder just on the sd
Click to expand...

Obe last question before I risk my new phone. After adding a new ROM, do I need to reactivate my phone? This is the deciding factor as I live in an extended network area and don't feel like hoping on the highway for a few miles to reactivate it today.

EDIT: I lied, I have one more question. Can I root my phone and worry about a ROM later? I assume yes since Rooting is just turning S-OFF.
 
Good news, rooting completed. No hickups during the process at all.

Next step is adding custom roms. Any tips or suggestions? Do I need to install radios with the roms or are the radios not needed?

Also, I still have my phone in debugging mode. Can I turn that off or should I leave it on?

EDIT: I DLed Rom Manager.
 
I don't use rom manager at all personally. If you were on GB then you don't need to worry about the radio.
 
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