I'm an absolute noob, asking all about 'ROM's'. Help!

[eperrine]

Hi all, i'll keep this as simple as possible.
So my friend that i met over the internet rooted my Samsung Galaxy S2 for me. Now, seeing all these INCREDIBLE home screens in this forums threads, i REALLY want a 'custom ROM' (whatever that is), and something on the lines of 'MIUI' style if that makes any sense.

1) What is a ROM?
2) Is it complicated to install into my phone?
3) Is it risky to put a ROM on my phone?
4) Once i've got the ROM, what do i do now? Can i customize it the way i want, through my phone? Or does it get very tricky to choose and install a preferred design?
5) What effect will it have on my phone? For example, battery life.
6) Any other information i should know about?

Thanks so much!
P.S. Wow, this site is looking fantastic! Bravo.

[jchammer123]

Hi all, i'll keep this as simple as possible.
So my friend that i met over the internet rooted my Samsung Galaxy S2 for me. Now, seeing all these INCREDIBLE home screens in this forums threads, i REALLY want a 'custom ROM' (whatever that is), and something on the lines of 'MIUI' style if that makes any sense.

1) What is a ROM?
2) Is it complicated to install into my phone?
3) Is it risky to put a ROM on my phone?
4) Once i've got the ROM, what do i do now? Can i customize it the way i want, through my phone? Or does it get very tricky to choose and install a preferred design?
5) What effect will it have on my phone? For example, battery life.
6) Any other information i should know about?

Thanks so much!
P.S. Wow, this site is looking fantastic! Bravo.

A rom is basically a different OS on your phone. These amazing devs have taken the Android OS and added their tweaks to it to make them faster and better. I don't know what roms are out for your phone, just search around this site and you'll find some. Or download Rom Manager from the market and you can install roms that way. Rom Manager is a good tool to have for beginners. Miui is a great rom to have. Miui is one of the very few roms that is entirely built from scratch, most roms are AOSP based. You can go to miui.us and see if this rom is built for your phone. Just do some research and ask questions here and you'll be flashing roms like crazy in no time!

Remember, don't forget to make a backup before you flash anything!!!

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums

[guidot]

FWIW you don't need root or a custom ROM to have nice homescreens/lockscreens.

[icemanwbs]

Agree with guidot. I'm stock and have found many amazing tweaks and "looks" for my homescreens

Sent from my SCH-I500 using DroidForums

[Natey2]

I'm pro stock.
Custom ROMs may "cost" you in other areas. Check if certain functions of your phone will be compromised (i.e. not work anymore) if you use certain versions of certain ROMs, e.g. HDMI output, camera, etc.
And some app developers don't test their market apps against all ROMs out there, so a particular app may malfunction under certain ROM versions.
Just my $0.02...

Sent from my unrooted DroidX using DroidForums app.

[chubyboy]

Something related,i am also new to this, I just rooted my ascend last night to get more control and would like to be able to overclock it but I read somewhere that I would have to get a different kernel and I frankly have no idea as to what that involves nor where to get one and how to install it.

Sent from my M860 using DroidForums

[Crash1701]

Something related,i am also new to this, I just rooted my ascend last night to get more control and would like to be able to overclock it but I read somewhere that I would have to get a different kernel and I frankly have no idea as to what that involves nor where to get one and how to install it.

Sent from my M860 using DroidForums

I'm in the same boat. I tried looking for a better description of a Kernel but I'm still a little lost. I understand ( in laymen terms ) What rooting does and what the ROM's are, but the Kernel throws me for a little loop. Is there a good place to start researching what we can do with these, benefits/penalties, etc. ???

Thanks!

[Droid Firefighter]

A kernel is what sets your processor speed and voltage. Each phone will act a little different with each kernal. One may work on my Dinc2 but not on someone else's Dinc2. Most times the kernal will work and give you great performance. Each kernal has a max speed and a voltage rating (ultra low, low, high, ultra high etc for the voltage). Raid zero has several kernals for overclocking your phone. As was stated earlier, make sure to back up your phone before you make any changes. That will give you a safe restore point. Once you download the kernal, just flash it over your current ROM. Do not wipe data and cache when installing a new kernal. That will wipe the os off the phone. You will also have to check to make sure the kernal is supported for your phone. That info should be listed where you find the kernals. Good luck, and let us know if you have any more questions.

This post is Incredible 2

[Crash1701]

A kernel is what sets your processor speed and voltage. Each phone will act a little different with each kernal. One may work on my Dinc2 but not on someone else's Dinc2. Most times the kernal will work and give you great performance. Each kernal has a max speed and a voltage rating (ultra low, low, high, ultra high etc for the voltage). Raid zero has several kernals for overclocking your phone. As was stated earlier, make sure to back up your phone before you make any changes. That will give you a safe restore point. Once you download the kernal, just flash it over your current ROM. Do not wipe data and cache when installing a new kernal. That will wipe the os off the phone. You will also have to check to make sure the kernal is supported for your phone. That info should be listed where you find the kernals. Good luck, and let us know if you have any more questions.

This post is Incredible 2

Thanks for the info. I'm gonna start looking into it some more. Are there any recommended areas to look that help me with the process of flashing each one over. I understand that having the ROM manager is a good start and pretty self explanatory, right?

[Droid Firefighter]

Look in the droid hacks section here on the forums. Each developer has their own area and some of them have section for their kernals. Again, make sure the one you choose is for your phone. ROM manager is a good place to start yes. Remember, always do a back up before flashing anything new to your phone. Good luck and have fun!

This post is Incredible 2