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Rooting 101 ??

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oOMavrikOo

Android Expert
I really want to root my Hero. The problem is that I'm not experienced enough to try something like that. I'm afraid that I'll screw something up in the programming and ruin my brand new phone. So, my question is... Should I try rooting based on Youtube videos and forum advice, or should I just leave it alone and keep the phone the way it is? I really want to get rid of the stock bloatware on the phone. What should I do?
 
I too am in the process of researching rooting. I feel I have learned a lot in the last week or so by reading this forum (and XDA), Googling information, and watching YouTube videos. Up until my friend rooted his Sprint HTC Hero, I still had a lot of reservations about doing it. Now, I am getting closer and closer to feeling 100% comfortable with the whole process.

I have been pretty happy with my stock Android 2.1 Sprint HTC Hero. I got it back in February when it was still on Android 1.5 and the update process, for me, was fairly painless. I think if you feel comfortable with your handset for a while in its current form, then rooting it will just be the next natural and progressive step in its ownership by you. As Kelmar said, do lots of research first.
 
Took me like 3 months to decide to root & it took me like 1 hour to root it. Would have took me about 30 minutes but I didn't have enough space on my memory card so I had to search for a new one.

I read this & watched this video while rooting. (XDA site seems to be down now but you can find instructions on this site) As long as you follow the instructions & make sure you have at least 100 mb of space on your SD card (don't need that much but better safe than sorry) you should be fine. And if you get lost, ask questions.
 
I was really worried about getting into command line rooting, especially when I knew I didn't understand linux code. But once I read about the Universal 1 click root, that is what motivated me to start the process. Its as difficult as running an apk file from the SD card and you have root.

Then its just a matter of deciding what you want to do, remove stuff or go with a whole new ROM. I drug over the Cyanogen Mod (Froyo) ROM to my SD card and after backing up the old system, wiped, then flashed the new one. Its smooth and nice looking, like a new phone.

As the others said, read a bunch and pick the path that suits your level of technical ability.

R.
 
I just finished rooting and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. It took me a couple of months to decided to do it because I knew I would screw it up but I didn't. Go with the one-click method and it is incredible simple.
 
Does the One-Click Method permanently root your Sprint HTC Hero by itself or is it only a soft root that allows you enough time to install a recovery image? I have been really interested in this method of rooting, but I would like to stay rooted for as long as I want and in every ROM I have, including the stock Android 2.1 Sense ROM. I only want to unroot in the event I reflash the RUU Android 2.1 ROM for a Sprint service call or something. I want to be in control. ;)

Any information on this would be greatly appreciated. I am getting really close to understanding all of this quite well and ultimately moving forward to actually rooting my Sprint HTC Hero. :D
 
I was really worried about getting into command line rooting, especially when I knew I didn't understand linux code. But once I read about the Universal 1 click root, that is what motivated me to start the process. Its as difficult as running an apk file from the SD card and you have root.

Then its just a matter of deciding what you want to do, remove stuff or go with a whole new ROM. I drug over the Cyanogen Mod (Froyo) ROM to my SD card and after backing up the old system, wiped, then flashed the new one. Its smooth and nice looking, like a new phone.

As the others said, read a bunch and pick the path that suits your level of technical ability.

R.
Click to expand...

One of my main faults is that I'm really not that technical when it comes to most of what "rooting" is. I think the idea of getting into the coding of the phone and tinkering with it's guts kinda intimidates me. It reminds me alot of a few years ago when I first started learning html coding for websites. I was decent at it, but when I actually started getting deeper and deeper into everything that was possible, I got intimidated to the point where I just quit building websites altogether.

I'm just nervous about rooting. I don't want to screw anything up that I can't fix.
 
With the confidence provided by this group I rooted over the weekend. Had to "cheat" and use the one click method after failing using the more involved way. I also lack technical savy, but it all worked out. So far I have deleted bloatware, and downloaded Titanium BU and Overclock apps (neither available for non-rooted). LOTS of info on different roms and the +/- to each on this forum. Just taking my time and learning... Hope that helps you in your decision process.
 
Please keep in mind that if you use a "one-click root", you will still have to manually flash a recovery image. I'd reccommend checking out Regaw's guide to rooting if you are on 2.1 which includes flashing a recovery image and making a nandroid. This guide contains all the newbie steps that teach you how to go about flashing this and wiping that....
 
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