Rooting - Clearing Things Up

[hajabooja]

Ok, so I am new to Android (obviously) and I used the guide that is pinned at the top of this forum (How to Install 2.1 the easy way) and I had no problems at all. Everything worked perfect. However, I am reading all these other ways to root and what not. So my question is, is my phone rooted the same way as if I were to use this guide - Complete How-To Root, Busybox, Flash/Recovery, Framework-res.apk, custom boot ani... ?

Also, I read a little further down to stop using mtdblock3 and use mtdblock4. However, the guide that I used had me use the mtdblock3 thru the SUPermissions app. Do I need to go back and change this and if so how? I am starting to learn how to use ADB and stuff so I wanted to get all of this straightened out. Thanks!

[Bear in NM]

Haj,

The "best" su/root file will be the one that leaves a SU App in your pull out drawer of programs. If you have not yet used any Root aps, when you press on it you will get a black screen. When you launch your first Root ap, you will get a permission pop up asking to allow. When you allow these root apps to run, they will show up in the SU icon menu as green plus signs with some number and text. These are permissions. If you are seeing any of this then you likley have the "correct" SU installed.

The mtd mounting is a one time thing where you are mounting the system and changing the r/w to allow for moving files. If you follow the Berzerker thread to the image steps on Sholes, you will see that his steps mount as null, to avoid improperly mounting the wrong mtd block. Where you will have a trainwreck, according to what I have read is if you mount the wrong block at certain times, like in recovery.

So you do not have to go back and revisit the mtd mounting until you are ready to do something new. And hopefully the thread that tells you how to do this new thing will mount the proper block. Or do as I do, and do nothing when you see the newest wizbang change until a few others have done it and not bricked their phone. Or you can get wild and crazy and install Root Manager or SUFBS (Super User manger and Terminal) and use these to change r/w rather than manually mounting and r/wing through terminal. These programs can be dangerous to a new user, but once you understand what mounting and r/w are about, you can proceed carefully with them.

Craig

[hajabooja]

Ok, I do have the SU app in the drawer. So that's all set. Now when you say "Do something new" do you mean flash to a new rom or what? I have flashed back and forth to different roms using Nandroid. However, I see a lot of people using ADB to flash to the new roms (mainly over at AllDroid). Is there a up side or a down side to doing either one? I know that the Nandroid way is just like a ghost image of what someone installed on their device. So should I worry about using the mtdblock3?

[Bear in NM]

Haj,

By something new I mean flashing a new rom. Or adding a 2.1 ap to 2.0.1. Or changing the themes. Basically anything that requires you to mount your system, and change the r/w to allow for the file to be moved to a place on your phone root file system that you can now access with root.

I think the upside to using adb to do things is that it gets you handy using adb in the event you are stuck in a boot loop or something, and REALLY need to know how to use adb.

Both methods accomplish the same results, more a question of user comfort level, I guess.

The upside to using the advanced nandroid is that it allows you to have several different images on the phone, and you can "easily" switch. I think down the road this may be easier for the masses, but for now it allows the folks who are beta testing the roms to move back and forth easier, to chase bugs, what not. And if you follow sholes closely, you can see that one of the "last" steps is gonna be a rom that is encased in a "update.zip" file to make things even easier.

And to the mtd block, only worry if you are manually mounting your phone through the shell. If the instructions to the new "thing" include mtd mounting, if the steps appear from a reputable source, either trust them, ask the poster, wait for others to do the steps and report, or research more on our mtd block locations and learn what should be the correct mtd block. If you are up and running, you do not have to go back and do anything with mtd's. Only next time.

Craig

[Berzerker]

For future reference, mounting partitions in recovery mode can either be done through the GUI, or a simple "mount /sdcard" or "mount /system" command. I do all of my adb shell stuff in recovery mode just because it's so easy to mount/umount and mv files around.