Help Noob Questions

[xPureEvilx]

Ok so Iam new to the Droid World and Iam guessing with a droid being available for $45/month there will be alot more people like me. So alot of this stuff is new to us, so hopefully the vets out there can give us some straight answers.

Lingo questions:
Flash?
Roms?
MSL - How do I get it? Do I really need to know it?
Root - I believe this means to put the phone back into a true factory version
PRL - Priority Roaming List... but what does it really do?

Software questions:
CDMA Workshop - How do I get it to read my phone? Do I need to root it first? how do I use it to change my PRL? Where do I get a good PRL list?

Dev tools - which ones are good for droid noobs with other programing knowledge?

Most Important:
How do I back everything up, and how do I restore it after I mess it up (which Iam sure I will at some point lol)

Hopefully you guys can give us some good answers

Thank You,
PureEvil

 

[boostedKush]

You my friend have a lot to read. In a jist, in very vague chewed down explanation, flashing is basically installing. You flash new roms to your phone. A rom is basically the operating system as a whole. Many people make custom roms with tweaks and improvement where you can flash it to ur phone. Root means root access. Again, you have a lot of researching and reading to do on rooting. By gaining root access you have a lot more power and permisions to tweak and modify files on your phone
You need to BA rooted to be able to flash a rom on your phone.

Titanium backup is the best app IMO to restore your apps, data, and settings. There are Beth free and paid licenses for the app. I actually got the paid version since its completely worth it.

There's already a thread in this section that tells u how to get the msl.

As in tools, Odin is a must have. Again google and researching will be your best friend here. If u have the precedent (given this is the precedent section) there's also a guide in this section where it will proved you with Odin, the stock rooted rom, all the files u need for Odin and some instructions. That would be the best way for you to start.

Android world is amazing but much much much research and reading is needed.

Also, an "oops" or a mess up can VERY easily ruin your phone aka brick your phone. In that case u need to buy a new one. Research will always be your best friend.


Sorry for all the autocorrect fail sauce.

 

[woobieizer]

I got CDMA Workshop to read my phone: ##8778# - Enter MSL - select USB....

FYI Iam a noob so make sure this isnt a bad thing from someone else before doing it. lol

He just sent me back to school and boy am I glad he's asking all the questions I'm too afraid to post, and also for reading/doing all the hard work..

Keep up the good work! xPureEvilx!!