Hello all,
I have been lurking for quite a while, and just recently joined the community. I have been one of those who have been waiting for 2.2 to drop, so as to have a safer improvement to some of the more annoying qualities of the fascinate. Recently, my phone has been starting to act a bit buggy, which suggests that I may be looking at a factory reset if it gets worse. This means I lose my data, which I would prefer not to lose (I worked HARD for those Angry Birds levels!), and it seems the only way to back that data up is to use an app that requires rooting.
So, if I'm going to root, I may as well know what I'm doing, and if I'm going to root anyway, what my other options might be, right? I've spent a lot of time browsing this forum, and the unfamiliar terms and software (and the fact that new software is released over time, which obsoletes older information) are a bit of an alphabet soup to this noob. Even this thread, which I'm sure is incredibly useful to the experienced folk around here, is confusing to me, since it offers a lot of "whats" but not "whys." It's also not clear to me whether I would need to follow all steps there or just some, and if just some, which ones are important and which ones are optional.
So let me see if I understand what I have read correctly.
1) To root, one can either follow the one-step directions here:
How to Root - Android Forums
or else walk through the process systematically, as outlined here (among other places):
Newbie Guide to Rooting the Fascinate - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum
Once rooted, I have access to the deeper levels of the phone and can overwrite rules that Verizon has put in place. This will allow me to run apps that require root (such as wireless tether or titanium backup), or to put various types of hacks on the phone if I'd like (like debinging). I could stop here if I'd like, or else I could:
2) Add custom roms, kernels, and themes to the phone. A kernel is the baseline way that the operating system interacts with the phone's hardware. On top of the kernel, you place a rom, which is a modified version of the android operating system. A theme is simply a customized look of a rom.
To do any of this kind of work, I would need to install Odin on my computer, which is software that allows me to push the Clockwork Recovery application on my phone, which allows me to create a backup of my current operating system in case a problem emerges. The Clockwork Recovery backup operation is referred to as Nandroid. Additionally, Odin will allow me to push the stock fascinate operating system on my phone if I want to do that.
Once I have backed up my phone by pushing Clockwork Recovery (CWM?) and making a Nandroid, I can use the ROM Manager app from the market to download various sets of roms, kernels, and themes. I could also push the ones listed in this thread using Odin:
http://androidforums.com/fascinate-all-things-root/214596-list-fascinate-themes-roms.html
3) When selecting roms, kernels, and themes, it is important to make sure that each is running the same Verizon radio version. My unrooted phone uses DI01, but I might wish to use DJ05, which has an improved radio and fixes GPS lock problems. I have the option of selecting a baseline DJO5 radio, rom, and kernel, which will change nothing about my phone other than the radio. However, I could also:
a) Push DJ05, then push a ROM and a kernel that is compatible with the radio.
b) Skip the DJO5 step and push right through to selecting a rom and kernel that uses the radio.
I should avoid a voodoo kernel, since I have no idea what it's for.
This is more or less what I have gleaned from reading here, and please correct me where I am misunderstanding. Additionally, I am mostly unclear about step 3 above. For example, when selecting a ROM, does it usually have its own kernel? And you'd only change the kernel if there were some kind of performance change you'd like (such as improved battery life or overclocking)? Additionally, if you want a new theme, do the themes play nicely with any ROM? Or are there certain themes for certain ROMS? Do you install kernel first, then ROM, then theme? Or vice versa?
I have been lurking for quite a while, and just recently joined the community. I have been one of those who have been waiting for 2.2 to drop, so as to have a safer improvement to some of the more annoying qualities of the fascinate. Recently, my phone has been starting to act a bit buggy, which suggests that I may be looking at a factory reset if it gets worse. This means I lose my data, which I would prefer not to lose (I worked HARD for those Angry Birds levels!), and it seems the only way to back that data up is to use an app that requires rooting.
So, if I'm going to root, I may as well know what I'm doing, and if I'm going to root anyway, what my other options might be, right? I've spent a lot of time browsing this forum, and the unfamiliar terms and software (and the fact that new software is released over time, which obsoletes older information) are a bit of an alphabet soup to this noob. Even this thread, which I'm sure is incredibly useful to the experienced folk around here, is confusing to me, since it offers a lot of "whats" but not "whys." It's also not clear to me whether I would need to follow all steps there or just some, and if just some, which ones are important and which ones are optional.
So let me see if I understand what I have read correctly.
1) To root, one can either follow the one-step directions here:
How to Root - Android Forums
or else walk through the process systematically, as outlined here (among other places):
Newbie Guide to Rooting the Fascinate - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum
Once rooted, I have access to the deeper levels of the phone and can overwrite rules that Verizon has put in place. This will allow me to run apps that require root (such as wireless tether or titanium backup), or to put various types of hacks on the phone if I'd like (like debinging). I could stop here if I'd like, or else I could:
2) Add custom roms, kernels, and themes to the phone. A kernel is the baseline way that the operating system interacts with the phone's hardware. On top of the kernel, you place a rom, which is a modified version of the android operating system. A theme is simply a customized look of a rom.
To do any of this kind of work, I would need to install Odin on my computer, which is software that allows me to push the Clockwork Recovery application on my phone, which allows me to create a backup of my current operating system in case a problem emerges. The Clockwork Recovery backup operation is referred to as Nandroid. Additionally, Odin will allow me to push the stock fascinate operating system on my phone if I want to do that.
Once I have backed up my phone by pushing Clockwork Recovery (CWM?) and making a Nandroid, I can use the ROM Manager app from the market to download various sets of roms, kernels, and themes. I could also push the ones listed in this thread using Odin:
http://androidforums.com/fascinate-all-things-root/214596-list-fascinate-themes-roms.html
3) When selecting roms, kernels, and themes, it is important to make sure that each is running the same Verizon radio version. My unrooted phone uses DI01, but I might wish to use DJ05, which has an improved radio and fixes GPS lock problems. I have the option of selecting a baseline DJO5 radio, rom, and kernel, which will change nothing about my phone other than the radio. However, I could also:
a) Push DJ05, then push a ROM and a kernel that is compatible with the radio.
b) Skip the DJO5 step and push right through to selecting a rom and kernel that uses the radio.
I should avoid a voodoo kernel, since I have no idea what it's for.
This is more or less what I have gleaned from reading here, and please correct me where I am misunderstanding. Additionally, I am mostly unclear about step 3 above. For example, when selecting a ROM, does it usually have its own kernel? And you'd only change the kernel if there were some kind of performance change you'd like (such as improved battery life or overclocking)? Additionally, if you want a new theme, do the themes play nicely with any ROM? Or are there certain themes for certain ROMS? Do you install kernel first, then ROM, then theme? Or vice versa?
