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Root Thinking about rooting...

Sweet Chaos

Sweet Chaos

Android Enthusiast
So I've been having some issues with my phone and I have been thinking about rooting it. Due to what Verizon has determined is a defunct phone, they're giving me a new one on Tuesday, but if that doesn't fix some of the problems I've been having I think I have decided to go with rooting, but I am nervous and have some questions.

I read the sticky thread on this forum and it was a bit overwhelming to me. Di01? Mods? Kernels? This is all greek to me. This forum makes it look very easy, but it doesn't explain where all that other stuff comes in. So I just install the Samsung browsers to my PC, hook my phone to my PC, download whatever files they have listed there, and run start_root.. and I'm done? That seems too easy for all the other stuff that was linked in the stickied folder.

Sorry if this has been answered before, but I just want to make sure I know EXACTLY what I'm doing before I start messing with my phone. Thanks in advance for any help you guys offer.
 
I'm still trying to figure out how I got CWM to work on my sf so I can't help there. Last night I was one step away from bricking the dam thing when a light went on and I got the com rom to work.

For a rom you'll need root, a CWM (clock work mod) and a rom. The rom needs a kernel or you'll have to find a kernel. Beyond that I'm so confused what does what and can only recommend lots of reading.

As far as root goes....that's easy with almost no chance of brick.

[APP]SuperOneClick v1.9.1 (Root, Unroot, Enable Non-Market App) - xda-developers

shortfuse.org

eta: It you got the ota (over the air) update to 2.2 you are running ED01. That's the official froyo rom. Every thing you need to know is how to get things to work from there AND how to get back to ed01 if something happens. xda forums has the most information....even though it's a freaking mess.

eta2: That link in your post doesn't work ...at least not with 2.2 (ed01)
 
I think.. that confused me even more lol. So the roms... I see people that have VooDoo or whatever in their signatures... what is that? Do I need to know all that? Or when I download that file will all of that be taken care of?
 
Root is just administrator access. It doesn't change anything, just lets you run apps that change things.

Custom ROMs change firmware. That's the built-in applications, the way stuff like the notification bar works and looks, etc. (Themes are changes that only alter the way things look. But you usually need a custom ROM to install those on top of.) These invariably include root, since why would anyone who install a custom ROM *not* want root?

Custom kernels change the really deep stuff in the phone. That includes filesystem (the Voodoo conversion to ext4), clock speed, voltage draw, etc. Most custom ROMs include a custom kernel, but you can switch to another one as long as it's the same basic build and matches the basic build of the ROM (most of the current ones are Touchwiz Froyo based on EB01/EC01/ED01 and thus interchangeable).

To install custom ROMs and kernels you don't actually need root -- the ROM will give you root anyway. What you need is a custom recovery, which handles a bootup state ("Recovery mode") when the regular phone stuff doesn't run and you can change low-level files around without blowing the phone up. The custom recoveries we use on the Fascinate are all based on koush's ClockworkMod (though koush himself has been a dick about actually supporting the Fascinate) and are referred to as Clockwork, CWM, etc. You install the recovery using Odin, which is a PC program (you can also use Heimdall for Mac or Linux) that connects via USB. You open Odin, put the phone into "Download mode" (google a how-to on that), connect it to the computer, and remove the battery (there's also a way to put it into download mode with the battery out to start -- either works). Then flash the Clockwork-for-Odin file into "PDA".

Two tricky things:
(1) The stock Samsung kernel restores the stock recovery if you allow it to boot up normally all the way. So you need to flash a custom kernel (or a ROM that includes a custom kernel) on the *very first boot* after flashing Clockwork recovery. This is why you should take the battery out, so the thing doesn't actually boot normally after Odin finishes. So when Odin finishes flashing Clockwork and the phone turns off, unplug it from the USB, put the battery back, and put the phone into "Recovery mode" -- hold both volume buttons down, then hold down power until the Samsung logo appears. Then choose and flash the ROM/kernel zip right away.

(2) There are two versions of Clockwork floating around, 2.5 and 3.0. 2.5 uses "Amend" scripting for installing things and 3.0 uses "Edify". 2.5 also is supposed to support Edify, but apparently has some issues in certain situations. So you need to figure out which kind of scripting the ROM/kernel you want is packaged in, and Odin in the appropriate version of Clockwork. If both, you might as well go to Edify because some of the devs are pushing for this as the "future". The latest 2.5 Clockwork should be dated March 30, and the latest 3.0 should be from late April or later. Note that some kernel/ROM packages may actually flash a 3.0 Clockwork over whatever you have, so that next time you enter recovery you'll need to be using Edify-scripted zip packages.
 
Ah, that's how I got it to take my cwm. I flashed a rom, mind you the wrong one, but that's why cwm stuck. Sweet, now I understand the process.

So Sweet, if I help you with a walk through, will you go out with me then?




j/k I'm happily married ;)
 
S44, thanks for explaining what a rom and kernal are. It makes a little more sense now.

Crude, Lol. Right now, I'll love anyone forever if they can give me a step-by-step walkthrough.

Alright, well I just got my replacement phone from Verizon today so I'm going to try it out a bit and then I'll decide if I'm going to root. If I do, it's only going to be to remove all the bloatware that Verizon has put on it. Is that going to be a complicated process for me?
 
No, it's pre-removed. If you want to choose your own, either look into the Blackhole ROM or just root (no need to flash anything) and use Titanium Backup to freeze any bloatware apps you aren't interested in.
 
Incidentally, once you enter the custom world, you'll soon want to try cool stuff like Voodoo lagfix and sound, BLN, mild undervolting, and ROMs.
 
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