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Root Questions about rooting

C

chrisdorman1

Member
Hello fellow droiders,

I got my Droid X about 6 months ago, and have yet to do anything "cool" with the phone. I have been a long-time Blackberry owner so I have basically only used my phones as well.. phones. (with email!). I like to believe I am tech-savvy, but after reading these forums I have found that I am not, lol. I would like to do more with my Droid X, but I am unsure as to what I can actually do. Right now it is being used as an expensive game player and internet browser.

So I guess my question is -

Why root it? I have read the sticky about rooting it, but nothing really catches my eye. The wireless tether seems cool.. but that's about all I can see. I really don't care about having a new "look" or theme, so what else can I do with a rooted phone?

I a m kind of weary to root my phone.. well because I don't want a brick. My phone is my lifeline to everyone, and I don't need that problem on my hands. I have never done anything like this, so it all seems kind of new and confusing to me. Words like "flashing" and ROMS scare me. I read the rooting "lingo" but it doesn't put my mind at ease, lol.

Enlighten me!

-chris
 
for one i like to think im tech savvy as well, but phone tech savvy, no way lol

rooting has its benefits, if you are unsure about roming and themeing, and you just dont see the need for root, i wouldnt do it.

i havent heard of a phone being bricked from rooting yet. so if it happened to you, you would be the first.

this forum is the home of people who enjoy helping others (Steven58) ;) and myself and a few others. no matter what your problem is, it will be answered as quickly as possible. rooting gives you complete permission over your phone, its basically the same as having administrator access on your pc, and without superuser permission its basically the same as being a guest on your own phone. so if you want complete permission over your phone, being rooted is a way to go, if you think it is fine as is, i would stay stock, and then you can venture down this way when you feel more comfortable with what you are doing. :)
 
- wifi tethering
- ad blocking in free apps
- custom roms that run smoother and faster then stock with verizons crap removed
- custom themes, animations, etc.
- use of applications that require root (often tell you more about/do more with your phone)
- simply having complete control over the $500 device you paid for (or $200 + 2 yr. contract; however you want to view it).

Im sure there is more that Im not thinking of off hand.

It is not hard to do, just a little scary the first time. Ive gone pretty far in to messing with it and done things you probably wont ever do (that I knew I shouldnt be doing) and bricked my phone 2 or 3 times then sbf'd back.

Basically if you're scared and dont see a benifit then why bother?

Personally I wouldnt own an un rooted phone. But that is me, not you.

If you're a little scared but ready to try it; then go for it.

The only things you'll need to do are:
- Follow directions exactly
- Do it with a fully charged battery
- If something goes wrong; dont panic, be patient (meaning do it when you have time to spend on it if something goes wrong....I did a friends at work that was a different method/phone and messed his phone up....did not have a lot of time to repair it....the time crunch made it stressful....but we got it done)....so back to what I was saying; do it when you have some time to mess with it so that if something goes wrong you wont panic and it gives us time to help you through it.
 
thankfully though, we have 1-click root apps that you dont have to worry about a thing, just push the button and your good, but if you ever do these things, and you get stuck, or at t he moto M screen and it wont go past there, no need to panic as faber said, just put a thread in these forums, and watch how many people will inform you of what you need to do, its the main people that have been around here for a while and who enjoy doing this. good luck to you in whatever you decide to do my friend :)
 
Here's the deal. If you're unsure and if you're phone's lifeline, don't do it. However, if you have an adventuresome spirit, do it. This is, in my opinion, the finest place on the internet to get help for rooting and other issues.

Will you perma-brick? No. There's always a way out. My phone's my lifeline. I've gotten caught in a boot-loop when I've not followed directions (sometimes I think I know better than the directions ;)) Actually, it's been quite a long time since I've had those kind of troubles. Experience is good.

Additionally, the help is so good here, I've even called people and helped them over the phone or chatting over google.

Your choice. Me? My phone's my hobby, so I love modifying it.

You win either way. You choose to? We're here for you as your DX support community. You choose not to? We're still here for you as your DX support community. :D
 
Ok decided to jump headfirst in. Just downloaded Z4 and I'm following Roooolers guide. How do I know if I am saving it to my SD card? When I pull up my phone on the H: drive, I see a lot of files, but I don't know if that's internal stuff or external.
 
copy z4 to sd card (it should be an z4root.APK if you have a zipped file download you may need to right click then extract here to get the .apk out)

go in to settings/applications on your phone and let it run third party apps (untrusted developers/whatever) then go in to settings/applications and enable usb debugging.

use a file manager; astro, whatever....i use this;
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.rhythm.hexise.inst&feature=order_history

find z4 root on your sd card and click it so it will install.

then run it. use permanent root; if it doesnt work the first time dont sweat it, close it and try again.
if it never works; find a different copy of z4 root. here is one;
z4.zip

when z4 is done, install these;
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.noshufou.android.su&feature=order_history
https://market.android.com/details?id=com.koushikdutta.droidx.bootstrap&feature=order_history
 
chrisdorman1 said:
windows box?

I'm on my computer and opened the H: drive (where my DX is), and I see a lot of files that are on my DX. I just don't know where the SD card is.
Click to expand...
go to your computers start bar and click to open "computer"
 
64044599.png
chrisdorman1 said:
oh so all of that is my SD card? I couldn't tell if that was internal memory or external. I guess the "14.7 GB" of memory should of been a indication of that.
Click to expand...
correct

64044599.png
http://img140.imageshack.us/i/64044599.png/

64044599.th.png
%20%20Uploaded%20with%20ImageShack.us[/IMG]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us
 
that is your sd card.
drag drop z4 root on to it, you dont even have to open it if you dont want.
z4 should end in ".apk"
 
gotta run kid to pool, ill be back to check on you. or someone else will come along.
 
chrisdorman1 said:
oh so all of that is my SD card? I couldn't tell if that was internal memory or external. I guess the "14.7 GB" of memory should of been a indication of that.
Click to expand...

if you are new to this is understandable to not understand it, it took me a while to figure out what the root of the sdcard was :p im not a phone guy at all, but after having enough problems and having these wonderful people walk me through it, lets just say i know enough to make it work the way i want it, and to fix whatever i mess up :P
 
faber78 said:
think he blew up his phone in a cloud of smoke and dust?
Click to expand...

almost.. lol

But I do think I have a problem. I rooted it, got all the apps I needed (titanium, bootstrap, rom manager).. and I went ahead and installed Apex. I installed a them for Apex (gingerbread). But when I went to reboot my DX, I am stuck at the Motorola logo screen. Been that way for about 20 minutes now.
 
chrisdorman1 said:
almost.. lol

But I do think I have a problem. I rooted it, got all the apps I needed (titanium, bootstrap, rom manager).. and I went ahead and installed Apex. I installed a them for Apex (gingerbread). But when I went to reboot my DX, I am stuck at the Motorola logo screen. Been that way for about 20 minutes now.
Click to expand...

Pull the battery and try again. I hope you did a nandroid backup from bootstrap. You should always make backups before messing with your phone. :D
 
emaN resU said:
Pull the battery and try again. I hope you did a nandroid backup from bootstrap. You should always make backups before messing with your phone. :D
Click to expand...

tried that and it took me back to the bootstrap recovery screen (clock something). I ran a backup before I installed Apex. Not sure if I did it after. All of this has been in a matter of an hour, so I figured there wasn't much to backup the 2nd time.
 
emaN resU said:
Nah, not with excellent guidance and superb MS Paint examples from an experienced rooter! :p
Click to expand...
lol....that actually made me laugh....^
chrisdorman1 said:
almost.. lol

But I do think I have a problem. I rooted it, got all the apps I needed (titanium, bootstrap, rom manager).. and I went ahead and installed Apex. I installed a them for Apex (gingerbread). But when I went to reboot my DX, I am stuck at the Motorola logo screen. Been that way for about 20 minutes now.
Click to expand...
pull battery and put back in see what happens.

if you can get back in to recovery then install apex this way:

advanced: clear delvik/battery stats
back out to main menu (in recovery): clear data/cache
mounts: mount system/data (will say unmount once mounted)
install zip/chose zip/apex.zip
reboot

once back in to android do a reboot
back in android again: go to settings/privacy/factory reset
back in android again: set up and let market/google restore apps/contacts

edit: if all goes well to this point, do one last reboot before installing any themes.
 
faber78 said:
lol....that actually made me laugh....^

pull battery and put back in see what happens.

if you can get back in to recovery then install apex this way:

advanced: clear delvik/battery stats
back out to main menu (in recovery): clear data/cache
mounts: mount system/data (will say unmount once mounted)
install zip/chose zip/apex.zip
reboot

once back in to android do a reboot
back in android again: go to settings/privacy/factory reset
back in android again: set up and let market/google restore apps/contacts

edit: if all goes well to this point, do one last reboot before installing any themes.
Click to expand...

is this to install the apex gingerbread theme or the apex v1.4.1? Or are they one in the same?

edit - I assume it's for v1.4.1 after reading your edit.
 
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